Chapter Seven
Rebel
I threw my jacket on the bed of my motel room and sprawled in the one chair. Thumbing through my contacts I found Charlie and hit send. Charlie was a good time guy who always had the best lowdown on parties. I needed an invite to the Angels’ party tonight and he was my best shot.
“Amigo, what’s up?” His happy-go-lucky nature rang in his words.
“Dude, I need a night of drunken hell-raising.” I always was down for that. “I’m in Dallas for a chick but she fucked that shit up, so now—”
“Compadre, I have the perfect party for us.” He laughed into the phone. “Bikers, willing women and booze that flows like a river.”
“Sign me up, bro.” Score. That had to be the Angels’ party. “When’s the party start?”
“You know me, it never ends. I’m over here at the Cantina. Drop by and we’ll go wild.”
I glanced at my watch. Three o’clock. Shit. I’d be pushing my limits to party with Charlie and still be upright by the Angels’ party.
“So I got a pinch of business for the club,” I lied, not wanting to meet up too early with a man who beat my impressive tolerance for alcohol. “Can I text you in a bit and catch up with you?”
“Long as it’s before seven, man. That party is by invite only. Come with me or stay home.” He chuckled. “And I know you don’t want to do that.”
“You got it, man. I’ll catch you by five for sure.”
We shot the shit a few more minutes before I clicked off. I kicked off my boots before I climbed in the bed. A quick nap before I met Charlie. With that dude, I never knew where we might end up.
In bed, I scrolled through my contacts to Elle’s number. We’d agreed to share information. I hit the text button and stared at the blank screen. Then I typed: Meeting up with a guy. May have more info on Stone by ten tonight. Will text you if I score details.
Not ten seconds went by before my phone pinged in response. Let’s take him tonight.
The woman was eager but crazy. No way to grab Stone while he was surrounded by his club. It’d be a suicide mission. He’ll be surrounded by Angels, but we can tag and follow. Take him once he’s away.
Seconds passed to minutes with no response. I set an alarm for an hour from now before I plugged my phone in to recharge. I let my eyes close. Images of Elle dressed in her tight jeans, T-shirt and boots replayed in my mind. Hell if I didn’t find her sexier dressed for work than I had at Lucky’s when she’d all but pranced around naked. Not many women could take down a man in five-inch heels or tackle Stone to the ground, for that matter. Her in-your-face aggression turned me on most of all, and I planned to taste her in the most personal way before we parted ways. The need to taste her had been the only reason I’d agreed to help because no matter what magic she pulled out, she’d never raise the cash. It was beyond impossible, and I should know, I was the king of longshots. But that deal wasn’t even a longshot, it was a pipe dream and my blonde beauty was headed for a painful crash with reality. Not mine. Why had I even thought that? I loved women and one would never be enough for me.
When my alarm rang, I rolled over to silence it before I headed to the bathroom. I splashed cold water on my face, staring at the stubble that had grown on my cheeks. I needed to run the razor over my face soon. Never one to be clean shaven like Dare, but beards were a pain in the ass.
I changed into a Brotherhood tee and slipped on my cut. No guns tonight because no matter how well I was armed, the Angels would be better armed. I’d settle for my fists and the two knives I carried in ankle holsters. I don’t think Stone got a good look at me today, but if he did then I might run into a bit of trouble. Trouble liked me because I loved that bitch. Part of me hoped someone would call me out, nothing beat a fight.
I opened a small case and removed two trackers. They were decent quality but nowhere near as sophisticated as law enforcement trackers. Within a mile or two, they did the job and the app was easy to use. Tonight would be a success if I managed to get one of my beauties on Stone’s bike and leave the party alive. I was almost certain of the second, but the first might be tricky.
Charlie still held court in the middle of the Cantina, so I headed his way. The dude was as chill as anyone I’d ever met, but there was serious shit underneath the chill because Charlie rode nomad for the Bandits. And nomad meant one of three things: enforcer, spy, or bat-shit crazy. Maybe all three. But he’d been in a bad spot a couple years back, outnumbered seven to one and I’d jumped in to help out. We’d been tight since then.
I’d never choose the nomad life because it defeated the purpose of joining a club—the brotherhood. I suppose there were lots of reasons for joining, hell not all my brothers had joined for the same reasons.
“Charlie, how’s it hanging?” I strode toward him, a smile on my face.
His long hair swung behind him when he stood up and embraced me. “Dude, it’s been too long.” He stroked his scraggly beard and stared into my eyes. “You ain’t got any shit going against the Angels?” He and I had spent many bottles of whiskey talking about my bounty business. I knew what he asked me.
“No shit, man, not today anyway.” I met his stare. He had the coldest fucking eyes when he wanted to but I had nothing to hide.
“Give Rebel your chair.” He glanced down at a guy sitting next to him. I spied his cut, another Bandit, a lot younger than either of us, maybe new to his patch. The kid all but jumped out of the seat and found a place down the table. “Whiskey, two bottles,” Charlie shouted toward the bartender.
In under a minute, the bottles and fresh tumblers appeared in front of us. Charlie and I drank to old friends and then another to new friends since I didn’t know half the people partying with the guy tonight.
“Tell me this shit about your club. Word is you’re stockpiling recruits. You expanding?”
Everyone was interested in the Brotherhood’s business these days. Jericho had shaken shit up and the waves still rippled through our biker brethren.
“No and never south.” No reason to even poke at that bear. Texas had a club within spitting distance of anywhere. California was the only place more crowded with MCs. “You seen the Old Man?”
I needed to know if he’d been spouting shit about us. We had few beefs with clubs and none of those were with serious fuckers like the Bandits. I’d personally end the bastard if the Old Man tried to start trouble.
“He tried to stop by but he wasn’t welcome. Hasn’t been welcome in any club I know of.” Charlie leaned back and puffed on his cigarette. The bar was no smoking, like every damn place these days, but no bar owner ever asked him to stop. If Charlie was in your bar, then hundreds maybe thousands of dollars hit the till each night.
I nodded and drained another glass. “We cleaned up and needed replacements, when we went looking they came to us like we were the fucking Pied Piper.”
With a laugh he drained his glass. “Good to know.” He leaned forward and the table quieted. “You guys hear how me and Rebel met?” Not waiting for any response he launched into the story of our first night out.
My phone pinged. Take me to the party. I can do undercover.
Can you fuck in public? I shot the reply off and deleted the text stream. No way was I taking my bounty hunter into the wolf’s den. She may have survived DeRulo’s kind of party but not mine.
Another ping sounded. Do you wanna fuck me in public?
My cock wanted to take her up on the proposal. In a hot minute.
Charlie laughed and looked at me. “Man, never met anyone who just jumps in like you did that night.”
If he only knew. “Shit, we Brotherhood boys started fighting on our mama’s tit. Nothing we like more. Hell, you should meet Dare and Thorn.”
“Thinking about heading up to your sex club. Heard good things about that place.” He winked at me.
Most of what he’d heard had been from me. I’d run the club for four years and bitched more than once what a pain in the ass those damn women were.
My phone pinged three times. Charlie’s eyebrow cocked.
“The girl trying to find her way back to my bike.”
He laughed. “Must have a hot pussy to go with the mouth that got her in trouble.”
I ignored my phone and bullshitted with the guys around me. I drained the whiskey and poured more trying not to look at my phone.
When my phone started ringing, I growled and walked out of the bar. Time to set Elle straight. She pushed my cover story with Charlie.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I snarled.
“This is my score. I need to be with you. Why are you ignoring me?” Her sexy voice did nothing to keep my cock down.
“Princess, you can’t handle my parties. Naked babes are everywhere and we party with bodily fluids. You down to fuck?”
“You?” A breathy sigh revved me up.
“Yeah, me.” Damn I wanted her. “And if you wander off, it makes you free game for anyone there.”
She sucked in a breath. “I can live with that.”
My cock was taking over the rest of me. This was a bad idea, but damn, for the first time in forever I wanted this woman on the back of my bike, in my lap, with my cock buried deep in her. I would no doubt regret this. “Charlie is my way in, so if I text you, it’s because Charlie is on board. Do what I say and you’ll be in.”
“Yeah. Make that happen.” Did she want me or her eyes on Stone?
“No matter what we can’t take him when he’s surrounded by his club,” I warned her again.
“I know, but I need to be there. If I lose this contract, I’m done.”
She was done either way but I wouldn’t be the one to burst her bubble of denial.
“Look, I’m gonna send you a pic. If, and that’s a big if, I work you in then you best bring some scissors when you come. You need to get the shirt from my saddlebags and make it look like it does on the bitch in the picture. You come in any other way and I’ll send your ass packing.”
She gulped and I waited for her to open the pic.
“Really?” she whispered.
“Totally, that’s the most any girl will wear tonight.”
“Okay, got it.” Her voice was smaller now.
I felt like a fucking jerk, but she’d been the one to shove her way into my world. “You don’t need to do this. I can’t even cut you out.”
“I need to be there.” The kick-ass defiance rang in her tone now. “Make it happen.”
I walked back into the bar. Charlie’s shrewd eyes followed me and a troublemaking smile met me when I sat down and drained two glasses of whiskey.
“Where’d you go?” He elbowed me.
“Business.”
“Chick business. The same one who screwed you over.”
“Let’s just say we disagreed and I walked.” I poured more Johnnie Walker. “Now she wants me back, made all kinds of wicked promises.” I swallowed the whiskey. “But man, we got plans so she’s in the cold.”
He narrowed eyes and studied me. “I’ve never seen you look twice at a chick you’ve fucked. This one got a golden pussy?”
“She’s got something, and all my good sense says to run the other way.”
Charlie laughed loud and all eyes rested on us. “Who says it has to be one or the other? I’d like to meet the girl who gives you the cold sweats.”
Damn. Part of me wanted Charlie to dismiss Elle. Elle. The woman had dug under my skin and infected me with a bad case of lust.
“Brother, I’m good hanging with you. She had her chance.”
“Give her another.” He drew a drag from the cigarette that never left his mouth.
“I’ll make her earn it.” I pulled out my phone.
Send me a picture of your tits and all is forgiven. I hit send. Let’s see how much she really wanted to be on the back of my bike.