Vice

by Elana Johnson

  He had to sleep for at least six hours tonight, and with any luck, he’d get a full eight hours.

  Lucas waited on the curb, and Vice slung his leg over the back of the bike. “Thanks for coming to get me.”

  “No Felicia?”

  “She doesn’t have dinner until five-thirty,” Vice said. “And I didn’t want to bother her.”

  “Ah, got it.” Lucas and Vice made it to his house in only a few minutes, and Lucas made himself at home by making coffee and pulling a frozen pizza from the freezer. Vice’s money had to stretch farther now that he was dating Felicia again, as they ate out a lot more often than he would on his own.

  “Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something,” Lucas said.

  “Yeah.” Vice sighed as he laid down on the couch and kicked off his work shoes. His loafers pinched his pinky toes, and relief rushed through his body with their removal.

  “My house is getting sold.”

  Vice perked up, because he knew that was bad news for Lucas. “Are you sure? They’ve threatened to sell before.”

  “They’ve been showing it for a month, and they got an offer.”

  “They’ve been showing it for a month?” Vice sat up and looked into the kitchen, but Lucas wasn’t facing him. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  Lucas shrugged. “I wasn’t sure anything would happen.” He turned around, a serious look on his face. “I have to be out by Christmas.”

  “You can stay here,” Vice said without missing a beat. “In fact, you should just move back in. Smoky is lonely without you, and I wouldn’t mind.”

  “I don’t want to cramp your style with Felicia.”

  “We’re hardly ever here.” He shook his head. “She’s not a factor in this.”

  “I can stay with Mav until I find a place.”

  “House,” Vice said. “You don’t need to find a new place. Come back here.” They’d shared the house until Lucas had decided he wanted to be on his own.

  He came into the living room and exhaled heavily as he sat down on the recliner. He cradled his head in his hands and ran his fingers through his hair. “I just feel…you don’t mind?”

  “Of course not.” Vice watched his best friend. “Luke, you’re my brother. I’d do anything for you.”

  Their eyes met, and Lucas nodded. “Thanks, bro.” He held out his fist, and Vice bumped his knuckles against Lucas’s. “I just don’t want to be a burden. I want to feel like I can take care of myself.”

  “You aren’t a burden,” he said. “And you can take care of yourself.”

  “The hours at the library are getting cut again.” Lucas leaned back in the chair. “I need a new job.”

  “I’ll help you find one.”

  “Yeah? When are you going to do that? Between the club, your full-time job, and Felicia, I don’t think you sleep more than four hours a night.”

  “Just right now,” Vice said. “It won’t be like this forever.”

  “I’m going to look for something tomorrow,” he said. “I spend a ton of time in the National Park. Maybe they’d hire me as a guide or something.”

  “Smoky would love that.” Vice smiled at him in what he hoped was a reassuring way. “I can ask Felicia if they’re hiring at the grocery store too. They seem to need people all the time.”

  “That’s not a bad idea,” he said, hope entering his dark gray eyes. “Would you?”

  “Of course.” Vice settled back into the couch cushions. “And now, I’d like to nap before we have to head to the club. So some peace and quiet. Go check out your old bedroom. Whatever.”

  As if Smoky knew Vice was about to fall asleep, he barked a couple of times, the echo catching in the walls it was so loud.

  “Smoky,” Vice complained.

  “I’ll take him out,” Lucas said. “You take your nap.”

  And Vice did just that, waking up later when Lucas shook his shoulder and said, “You should eat something before we have to head.”

  Vice groaned as he hauled himself into a sitting position. He took a few minutes to stretch the way he knew he needed to. Then he did all the things Lucas said to do—eat, brush his teeth, get his winter gloves—and then they motored down the road to Ruby’s.

  By the time Vice arrived, he was wide awake, his eyes scanning in every direction for danger. Mav had all of his eagles employed right now, and no one had seen hide nor hair of the Breath. No other bikers had entered town, except the Rough Riders.

  The addition of the four men from farther south brought a new vibe to Ruby’s that Vice didn’t entirely hate. He didn’t quite know what to do with it either.

  “There you are,” Mav said as he and House entered the clubhouse after parking and hanging up their helmets. “I was hoping last night didn’t kill you. I even called Felicia.”

  Alarm shot through Vice. “You did? Why would you do that to me?”

  “Because you’re not truthful about what you can and can’t do.” Maverick delivered the line without any emotion in his face or voice.

  “That is just not true,” Vice said. “I’m fine. I told her I was fine, and I’m fine.”

  “He slept for two hours this afternoon, Boss,” House said, slapping Mav on the chest once. “He’s fine.”

  “Thank you,” Vice said, glaring at Mav before following House into the meeting room. The four Rough Riders were already there, the remains of their take-out on the table where they sat.

  “Hey, guys,” he said. “Have you met House?”

  Victor stood up, his blue eyes blazing. “I don’t think so. I’m Victor. This is Bones, Pyne, and Doctor.” He indicated the other three men with him.

  “House.” He shook hands with all of them, and Vice and House sat at the table with them. “What have you guys been up to today?”

  “Out and about,” Bones said, gathering his dark hair into a ponytail on the back of his head. Totally evasive answer; exactly what Vice would expect from a biker who didn’t want to say what he’d been doing.

  “Checking out the old Hawks haunts,” Victor said. “We did some interviews, and we haven’t been able to get anyone to tell us if they’ve seen anyone from the Breath.”

  “Maybe they haven’t come,” House said.

  “But they will,” Vice said. “That’s the problem. They’ll come, and the war will be on.”

  “And what does that look like?” Pyne asked. He wore glasses and seemed like the studious type, which didn’t really scream member of a biker gang to Vice. But the Rough Riders weren’t really all that rough. They’d cleaned up the streets of Sunshine, which had been quite dreary until the motorcycle club had stepped in and started handling the homeless situation, as well as the drug problem.

  Their president was a wealthy entrepreneur who’d left Manhattan for the middle of nowhere Michigan. He’d bought several city blocks downtown, and he’d developed a huge mall and shopping center, which had provided jobs and a reason for people to come to the town. Now people had an option besides Chicago for big-city shopping, and Sunshine was the fastest growing city in the state. Forbidden Lake was growing too, due to Anderson Tanner and his huge technology firm. He’d created over two hundred jobs in the past year alone.

  “No one knows what that looks like,” Doctor said.

  “I think Ian Rawlins has some idea of what that looks like,” Vice said. “And it’s not pretty.”

  They continued talking about what they could do, what retaliation methods the Breath might have at their disposal, and how far everyone was willing to go. For Vice, he almost thought it would be okay to let the Breath into Forbidden Lake. It was just once a week. Eight hours, like Fire had said.

  The drugs wouldn’t stay in Forbidden Lake, and Vice thought they could easily tip off the police about what the Breath were doing. When he’d told Mav that, the Boss had said, “And then what? The Breathers will know it was us. That just starts the war, but we’re the ones to fire the first shot.”

  “No,” Vice had argued. “They fire
d the first shot when they tried to kill all of us in that parking lot.” For some reason, that act really bothered him. He wasn’t sure why no one else was as upset as he was.

  They are, he’d told himself. Everyone had a different way of showing things, and Vice didn’t internalize as much as some of the others—Mav especially.

  The ice cream came out, and more members showed up. Vice took his place at the front of the room with House, the Boss, and Tyson, who’d been specially invited to build the bridges between the Sentinels and the Rough Riders. He also had knowledge of Daddy and the Breathers, and their discussion started promptly at nine o’clock.

  Vice listened as everyone spoke. He’d learned from Mav to listen five times as much as he spoke, and that way, everyone felt validated and like they had a voice.

  When Bones from the Rough Riders—who’d been aptly named as the man maybe had one percent body fat on his six-foot-five frame—finally said, “You guys just need to decide what you’re willing to trade. Honestly. That’s it. They can either come in on Wednesday, or you can engage with them. Which is more dangerous?”

  To Vice, that answer was easy. Beyond easy.

  He wanted to stay safe. He didn’t want to train Smoky to bark at any little noise, and he didn’t want to lay awake at night, worrying that Felicia could be the Breathers next target just to get to him.

  He looked at Mav, who looked back at him. “Well?” the Boss asked.

  “There’s no war if we grant them Wednesday night,” Vice said. “And I think we’d all prefer peace.”

  “But at what cost?” Mav asked. “We have a duty to live up to our club motto, and we protect, serve, and ride to the aid of any who needs it.” He looked around the room. “We’re going to vote on this, so get yourselves ready.”

  “You have a family, man,” Vice said. “What about them?”

  Turmoil rolled across Mav’s face in a rare show of his emotions. He faced the club, clapping his hand on Vice’s shoulder. “My wife is pregnant with my first child. I think giving up Wednesday night to protect and serve them is worth it. I vote we let the Breath come into town on Wednesday nights. We can write up some stipulations for them and see what happens.”

  Vice’s heart swelled and shrank, all in the space of a breath. “Karly’s pregnant?” He grabbed Maverick in a hug and pounded him on the back. “Congrats, brother.”

  They faced the room again. “I’m with the Boss. I’ve just gotten my girlfriend back, and the last thing I need is trouble from the club right now.” He looked at House, who usually voted third. Along with Gramps, the four of them usually set the tone during votes, and by the time House had agreed with Mav and Vice to allow the Breath to come to town, Vice knew everyone would vote that way.

  The fact was, they all enjoyed their peaceful life in Forbidden Lake. The residents here did too, and there was no reason to bring death and danger to their doorsteps over a few kilos of marijuana.

  Of course, deep down, Vice knew it was more than that. But Tyson had told him that he’d spent years doing things he didn’t agree with just to keep himself and his family safe. Some things simply had to be done in order to stay alive, and Vice watched him as the last of the club members voted.

  He didn’t look happy or sad, upset or content. He just stood in the corner, his arms folded, watching.

  “Then it’s settled,” Mav said. “Gramps and Electron, I want you to work with Doctor, Pyne, and Tyson on stipulations. I’m going to contact Fire right now.” He strode out of the room, his step sure.

  Vice felt like laughing and crying at the same time, and he sagged into the nearest seat. Tyson came to sit beside him, and Vice looked at him. “Why does it feel like we did the wrong thing? And yet, it’s what I wanted.”

  Felicia’s beautiful face flashed in his mind’s eye. He saw her cowering on the floor in front of that freezer, and he absolutely couldn’t put her in danger like that again.

  Tyson clapped his hand on his knee and said, “I wish I could say it gets easier, but it doesn’t. For what it’s worth, I would’ve voted the same as the rest of you.”

  “And that’s it?”

  “Oh, no,” Tyson said, shaking his head. “Now you start working on a plan to get them out of your town. You just bought yourself some time, brother. That’s all. Time that’s safe, where you can figure out the best way to get them out of Forbidden Lake forever.”

  “And how do we do that?”

  “I have no idea.” Tyson shrugged, though he wasn’t being flippant. “But the real work starts now.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Tyson,” Gramps said. “We need you over here.”

  “Chin up,” Tyson said as he got up. “And go kiss your girl. You look like you could use it.” He left too, and Vice suddenly wanted to do exactly what he’d said.

  He got to his feet, though they protested violently, and stepped over to House. “I’m not staying. You?”

  “I’m going to for a little bit.”

  “You coming back to the house?”

  “Yep.”

  “I’ll leave the light on for you.” Vice clapped House in a brotherly hug and headed out. Felicia got off work at ten-thirty, and with any luck he’d catch her before she went to bed.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Felicia had just pulled her pajama shirt over her head when her phone went off several times in a row. Before she could even reach for it, her doorbell rang.

  Startled now, with fear racing through her, she backed into the corner of her bedroom. Her first thought was to call Jordan, and she reached for her phone on the nightstand.

  All of the texts were from him.

  On my way to you.

  I’m here.

  Can I come in?

  The phone rang in her hand, and she almost dropped it. Her adrenaline really needed to calm down, and she swiped on the call from Jordan.

  “Hi,” he said. “I’ve scared you, haven’t I?”

  “I got all of your texts at once,” she said. “So yes, I’m a little startled.” She drew in a deep breath. “You were the one who rang the doorbell?”

  “That’s right. I think your neighbors might call the cops if I stand here much longer.” He tacked on a chuckle, but it sounded nervous.

  “I’m coming.” She lowered the phone and darted out of the bedroom. He’d never shown up at her house after work like this, and she wondered why he had now. She paused in the living room to make sure all the proper parts were covered appropriately, and then she opened the front door.

  Jordan turned toward her, the look on his face pure desire. “Hi.”

  “Hi there.” She stepped back and let him enter, his presence filling her house before she could fill her lungs with air. “What’s going on?”

  “I wanted to see you.” He took her into his arms almost before she got the door closed. He kissed her, the movement starting slow and accelerating the longer she kissed him back. Oh, this was a fantastic late-night house call, though she detected some nerves in the depths of his kisses.

  She tucked herself in his arms and swayed with him. “What’s going on?” she repeated.

  “We voted to let the Breath come to town on Wednesday nights.”

  “Oh.” Felicia stepped back and met his eye. “You voted for that?”

  “I think it would be suicide otherwise,” he said. “I saw what happened to Ian. I can hardly sleep because of it. I can’t—I will not—let that happen to you. To me. To anyone else I love.”

  Felicia’s eyebrows went up, because she wasn’t sure what Jordan had just said.

  “And I wanted to see you and let you know.” He gave her a small smile. “But I’m not staying. I’m exhausted.”

  “Doctor at ten-thirty,” she said. “Did you still want me to come?”

  “Absolutely,” he said, nuzzling her neck now. Every cell in her body heated, and Felicia let him kiss her for a few seconds.

  “All right, Vice,” she whispered. “You get on home to bed. I need my beauty
sleep too.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He kissed her one last time and headed out the front door. Felicia locked it behind him and went to the front window to watch him put on his helmet and drive into the darkness.

  She sighed, a happy little sound that testified to her how deep she was with Jordan.

  Had he really just said he loved her?

  And if so, why was Felicia’s heart pounding in a way that told her to flee?

  Sunday afternoon found Felicia standing in Jordan’s garage, wearing a leather jacket that was slightly too big for her. She’d said it was fine, because it was. Jordan had gotten it from a friend who used to ride, and she found the gesture romantic and thrilling.

  “There doesn’t seem to be enough room for me there,” she said to him. She held the helmet he’d given her. He’d called it a dome and said that was biker slang for helmet. She felt like she was getting initiated into a whole new world, and she actually liked it.

  “There’s plenty of room,” he said from his position on the front part of the seat on his motorcycle. “I ride on the back with Lucas all the time.”

  Felicia wondered what that looked like, the two tall, burly bikers on the same machine. She figured if they could fit, so could she as she weighed considerably less than Jordan.

  “Just put your left foot on the peg there, and throw your right leg over,” he said.

  She did, and the next thing she knew, she was seated behind him. “Oh.”

  He laughed, and Felicia wrapped her arms around his torso, which caused him to quiet.

  “Oh, I like this,” he practically purred. His hands covered hers on his chest, and Felicia liked it too.

  “You need gloves, though,” he said. “It’s mighty cold when we’re moving.”

  “You’ll block most of the wind,” she said. And the sun was shining today, which only made the snow bright and beautiful. But there wasn’t enough heat to actually melt it.