Dearest Biker MC The Complete Series Box Set Page 53
I was tired from the day, and I promised myself I was going to make a point that night to satisfy the lust growing inside us again. I could pull him into my room, or I could sneak into his. Either way, he was going to feel how good he made me feel before the day was out.
I’d make damn sure of that.
A knock at the door made my heart sink. I was enjoying the time that we had to ourselves, and I didn’t want anyone else to join in. I knew that was selfish, but it was how I felt. I liked the freedom of Hanserd being gone, and didn’t want to be awkward and nervous around anyone else walking through the door.
“I’ll be right back,” he said. He rose from the couch and headed into the hall, and within a few seconds I heard Aaron’s voice.
“We need to talk,” he said.
“Again?” Spencer asked. “What the fuck happened now?”
“It happened again,” Aaron said.
Spencer let out an exasperated sigh. “Come in and we’ll talk about it.”
Aaron followed him into the living room, and I grinned. “How was your time with that bachelorette? She was pretty hot, I’m sure she was pretty exciting in bed.”
He shrugged. “Must not have been anything too good because I really don’t remember a lot of last night.”
“As long as you remembered her name this morning it’s not too big of a sin,” I replied with another smile. He chuckled, but turned his attention back to Spencer, and I couldn’t help but feel sad for him in the moment. It was clear he was looking for something, but life wasn’t giving it to him.
Spencer had pointed out before that most of the men were in the military before they were in the MC, and I knew Aaron was dealing with a lot of PTSD. I wished there was a way I could help him, but I knew it was out of my control. He’d have to get his drinking under control. That’s what was truly holding him back.
I wished he’d see the pattern. He drank too much to handle the PTSD, but he was making his mental problems worse with his drinking. If he could just make that connection, then he would be a lot happier in life. But if Spencer couldn’t even get him to see what the problem was, I didn’t think anyone could.
I hoped he’d get his issues under control before he drank himself into an early grave.
“So, what happened?” Spencer asked again. “Don’t tell me that we had another man looking for a hit.”
He nodded. “That’s exactly what happened. I’m pissed that it was Nathan and Adam who were approached this time. If Vance and Zach had been, you know they would have put an end to it right then and there.”
“Or Carl, for that matter.” Spencer shook his head. I got the impression they all really thought highly of Carl, and I hoped he’d get the situation under control.
I still wasn’t quite sure why the MC was in charge of keeping the peace in town. I wanted to turn the situation over to the cops. Hell, if there was anyone who was legally allowed to take action against these hitmen and not go to jail, then it was them. I worried that any of the MC members might be locked up for just doing what they felt was right.
“This one was in town,” Aaron said. “Instead of going to The Enemies, they came right to us this time. Clearly, they didn’t hear about you beating the ever living shit out of that guy at the bar last night.”
“Evidently not. We’re going to have to take care of this. The last thing we need is for people to be hiring guns out in town. You know how Zach feels about all that,” Spencer said as he crossed his arms. “I would rather we got it taken care of before one of us ends up shot.”
I cringed. I hated hearing people talk about such things considering my own history. They still didn’t know what I’d done, and I didn’t ever want it to come to light. I was sorry for it, and I had paid my sentence. Even if I had been kicked out of prison for being raped, I felt like I had paid what I owed society.
I had to keep that all to myself. I didn’t want Spencer to ever know that I’d stooped to that level, or what he would think of me if he did find out. The thought made me sick to my stomach, and I fell silent as I turned my attention back to the TV.
I’d let the men handle this. They were both trained and part of the club, I was just staying at the house myself. Even if I got more involved with Spencer, I didn’t want to get involved in the MC myself. There were too many memories of what I’d done in the past, I didn’t want to dig them up with more violence in my life.
Hanserd was gone, and that’s all I had to worry about. They could take care of this new guy on their own, and I’d stay out of it.
If anyone could take care of this situation, I believed Spencer could. He wasn’t afraid of anything, though I was still terrified of life. As Aaron headed back out the door, I promised myself I was going to ask him more about what he did in the club.
It didn’t sound like it was all entirely on the up and up. But then, I didn’t think he would do anything to break the law, either. Not with his own history. I wouldn’t know until I asked, but I was also afraid of the answer.
I’d long since learned there were some things that were better not shared, and lifestyles like my own in the past or Spencer’s were now on the list. But still, it was going to drive me insane until I knew.
I just had to ask.
21
Spencer
I walked Aaron to the door, closing it behind him. It was nice to see him less drunk than usual, though I could smell the alcohol on his breath. I wasn’t going to say anything about it to him right now. There was too much on my mind to focus on what he was doing.
“Are you okay?” Brooke asked when I sat back down on the couch. “I don’t understand how there can be another one of these guys or how you’re going to catch him.”
“Like I told Aaron. We’re going to set a trap. If this guy didn’t want to share that much information with Nathan and Adam, we’re going to have to get it out of him in one way or another,” I said.
“But how are you going to set a trap for him? I’m guessing he’s going to be suspicious when he comes in to meet you guys,” Brooke replied.
“We’re going to call him from a payphone. I’m going to record it, and we’ll set up a time to meet with him and figure out more details. When we know where he’s going to be, then we’ll be able to get down there and get him. Aaron is going to go let the rest of the crew know about it now.”
She fell silent. I could see there was something on her mind, and I felt bad. She didn’t like any of this shit that we had to deal with, but that was my life. Hell, if she was going to be by my side, then this was going to become our life one day.
I’d never ask if she wanted into the club. It was hard to say if Carl would even let her. He was often strict about the members he chose, and though Vanessa had technically been part of her father’s club, Carl wasn’t a fan of adding members at the moment.
He let her join unofficially. I didn’t want to ask him if he’d do the same for Brooke. Hell, I wasn’t even sure Brooke would want to be in the club. She had been so traumatized when she was in prison, it wouldn’t surprise me if she didn’t even want to be around the club at all.
“Are you okay?” I asked. “You seem pretty quiet about this.”
“I just don’t like the thought of you being put in any danger. We’re talking about a guy who wants to hire you guys to murder someone. I would think that means he’s dangerous,” she said quietly.
“I’m sure he’s not the safest person to have around. But, you’ve got to also think about the other side of the coin,” I said. “If he’s hiring us to do the dirty work, then maybe he’s not into doing it himself. There could be any number of reasons why he wouldn’t want to get his hands dirty here.”
She nodded, though her eyes were still on the television. I knew there was more on her mind than she was telling me, and I wanted to get it out of her, but I wasn’t sure how. I didn’t want to pry into her thoughts, but something was clearly on her mind.
Finally, she just told me straight what it was.
“What’s that?” I encouraged. “Tell me.”
“Why don’t you just go to the cops with this? I mean, if there is anyone who could handle it without you getting hurt, it would be them, you know? I would rather that’s what you did,” she said.
Now, it was my turn to fall silent. I knew she was just worried about me, But I didn’t like the implication that I couldn’t handle this. Standing with my brothers, we were a force to be reckoned with – and whoever this guy was, he was going to learn that the hard way.
If we had the phone number and were going to make contact with him the next morning, then we were as good as in for making the deal. I knew I could handle it, and I knew with Zach and Adam behind me, we’d bring him down and throw him the Hell out of Dodge.
“I’m sorry,” Brooke said. “I didn’t mean to imply that you weren’t able to take care of this. I just don’t know why you don’t want to stay safe, you know? Whenever you are part of things like this, you’re risking getting shot – killed, even.”
Her voice cracked when she spoke, and I sighed. I knew she didn’t mean to offend me, but I also knew she needed to trust me. Especially if we were going to have a shot at being real with each other. She was going to have to know that I could take care of these things, and there were going to be times when I was in danger.
Yes, I could get killed when I did things like this. I knew it well, and I didn’t care. I wanted to live. But, keeping the streets safe from men like that was worth the risk. It was part of the reason Carl had formed the club in the first place. He wanted to protect the people in town – the people who were on his turf and who looked up to him as a pillar in the community.
It was part of the reason I had joined the MC when I got out of prison. I didn’t want to keep living the shitty life I’d signed up for. I wanted to do something good with myself and my time, and when I met Carl, I knew that was exactly the path I wanted to take.
Carl was different than many of the MCs around. He didn’t want us to murder or kill anyone. There were times that that happened, yes, but he wanted us to handle this like I handled Hanserd last night. Fists were what came out first, and that’s just the way it was.
“The cops here are corrupt. Hell, there’s times I think they are worse than the criminals on the street,” I said at last. It was the best way I could explain it to her. “That’s why we run the streets as much as we do. We keep a lot of the crime at bay, keeping the city safe for everyone. We fight drugs, we fight hitmen, we throw out those who are fucking people over. We don’t put up with any of that shit.”
“I just want you to promise me you’re going to be careful. It sounds like this man is dangerous, and I don’t like the sound of you going after him,” Brooke replied. “You came in like a spitfire yesterday on Hanserd. I don’t want you to lose your head and end up getting shot.”
“Oh, come now,” I said with a smile. “You thought that was hot. I could see it in your eyes.”
I leaned in closer to her, and she pulled away at first, but soon started kissing me again. It was hard not to make out with her when we were sitting together. Hell, it was hard not to make out with her ever. I was a sucker for her lips. So soft, so plump.
I continued to explore her with my hands, getting little moans and soft gasps out of her. She loved the touch of my fingertips, and I loved her body. I’d meet up with the brothers tomorrow morning, and we’d decide how we were going to handle this situation.
But tonight, I was back to giving Brooke all my attention. I didn’t want to think about what the next morning would bring or the asshole we’d have to throw out of town. I liked keeping these people safe, but I didn’t like getting in fights.
And, Brooke was right. There was a chance something could go wrong and one of us could get shot. Zach was as hotheaded as any of us, and Nathan loved to rush into danger. Of course, they were a little better about it now that they had families of their own, but they still got caught up in the heat of the moment when they had to.
I didn’t know what I was going to do about Aaron. There wasn’t any way he’d be able to show up and be any help if he was going to be drunk. Sure, it wasn’t really my place to say anything about it to him, but I didn’t want Zach to get so fed up with him that he kicked him out of the MC.
I could agree that it was getting out of hand. But he was still my best friend, and I worried about him and the choices he was making. I would love to tear that bottle out of his hand and throw it away forever.
I tried to wipe the worry out of my brain and focus only on Brooke. She was so good at taking it away from me and making me feel better, but I knew she was worried, too. She didn’t want me to go, and it was going to be hard leaving her.
But, I had to do this. For the MC. For the town. I wasn’t going to hold out on them over worry. I had to be there with each of them as we pulled off this mission. It was for the good of everyone, and we would be saving a life in the process.
Brooke was going to have to understand that this was my life, and I wasn’t going to give it up. I loved her, I could admit that to myself though I hadn’t yet said it out loud to her, but I loved my brothers, too. I swore my allegiance to the MC, and I wasn’t going to change that now.
Hell, I couldn’t. They were my family, and they had been the only family I had for as long as I could remember. I’d be there tomorrow, even with the danger hovering over the situation.
My phone rang, and I sat up, reluctant to let Brooke go. “It’s Aaron, I’ve really got to answer this,” I said with a grim smile.
“Okay,” she replied. She had a slight pout on her face, but didn’t argue.
“Aaron, did you talk to Zach?” I asked.
“I talked to everyone, and we’re a go for the payphone idea. Zach said we ought to use the one that’s by the diner. It’s like one of the only payphones left in town,” Aaron laughed.
“Why aren’t those a thing anymore?” I asked with a shake of my head. “Anyway, I knew there was the one by the diner, so let’s follow Zach and use that one.”
“Sounds good. We’re going to aim to be there early, this guy is all business and doesn’t want to waste any of his time,” Aaron replied.
“Hell, none of us do,” I said with a sigh. “Alright. I’ll meet you at the diner in the morning.”
“I’ll be there,” he promised. He hung up, and I settled back onto the couch, putting my arm around Brooke with a smile. I didn’t know how much she’d heard, but I wasn’t going to bother her with any more of the drama that was slowly descending down on us.
We could worry about that in the morning. Hell, I was the only one who really needed to give it any thought. She wasn’t going to be there, that was for damn sure.
I could take care of myself, and I was going to. And, I would protect her with my very life. Nothing was going to touch us – nothing in the world.
I didn’t care what I had to get through.
22
Brooke
I was a nervous wreck most of the day. I didn’t Spencer to leave, and I told him so as many times as I felt I could get away with before he got pissed off. I had tried to convince him that the cops were the best way to go, but he was adamant that they had been the ones taking care of the town for years, and he wasn’t going to drag the cops into the mix now.
“Can I at least come with you, then?” I demanded. It was the first time I really wanted to demand something from him, but I was growing pissed off because he didn’t want me to go. I worried, and I knew something bad was going to happen if he left.
Shit, it was a foreboding feeling that I had, and one that I didn’t think I could ignore. My entire life, I had been right about those kind of things, and I didn’t see it changing now.
“Hell no, you aren’t coming. I need to know you are safe if I’m going to pull this off,” Spencer replied.
“But I need to know you’re safe!” I shot back.
/> “There is a slight chance something could go wrong,” he replied. “I’m not going to risk your life because you want to come with us.”
“You shouldn’t be risking your own life, either. That’s the entire reason why we have cops. They make sure life is safe for the rest of us, so you don’t have to,” I argued.
He sighed. “I know you’re worried, but you’re going to have to trust me on this. I’m not going to let my brothers go alone, and you aren’t coming. I can’t focus on what I need to do if I’m worried about you the entire time, and I would be if you came along. I need you to stay here and be safe for me, can you do that?”
He put his hands on my shoulder as he spoke, forcing me to look at him. “Can you do that?”
Finally, I nodded. I wanted to argue more. I wanted to get him to see my side of things and not go, but it clearly wasn’t going to happen that way. He was going, and I was staying. I’d be a nervous wreck the entire night until he came back, but that was just the way things were.
He wasn’t going to allow anything else, and I couldn’t fight with him.
“I need to hear it with your words,” he said.
“I can do that,” I mumbled. “But I want you to hurry back.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can. This is going to take as long as it takes. There’s no way to rush things like this, okay?” He looked at me again with his piercing gaze, and I nodded. I knew he wasn’t going to change how he did this operation just for my peace of mind.
He couldn’t. He had to work around the situation and the other MC members, whether I liked it or not.
But the later the time got, the more worried I became. They had left early in the morning, and I was sure it wasn’t going to go into the afternoon. He was on his bike, so he was an open target when it came to someone firing a gun at him. The thought made me sick to my stomach.