by Sweet, Izzy
Shaking and trembling, I squeeze my knees together and watch him start to pace.
There’s so much malevolent energy rolling off him right now the air seems to buzz with it, and I find myself holding my breath.
“Goddammit!” he suddenly roars and punches the tile wall.
Punches it so fucking hard, he leaves blood smeared all over it.
“Coy!” I gasp and jump off the counter.
Grabbing him by the wrist, I look down at his bloody, busted-up knuckles and feel so much sadness welling up inside me I almost can’t contain it.
It always ends like this lately. Whenever we finally get to be together, it always ends with me pissing him off because I can’t stay.
Coy is only a couple of months older than me, but ever since he turned eighteen and started prospecting into the club, it’s like he’s suddenly in a rush for us to settle down, get married, and start a family.
“Fuck, Allie… I’m sorry, don’t cry, baby,” he says as a tear breaks free and rolls down my cheek.
Closing my eyes, I will all the tears and despair back. I will not breakdown in front of him, I refuse to.
Wrapping me up in his arms, Coy pulls me close and hugs me against his chest.
“I’m sorry, too,” I choke out before I finally get a grip on myself.
This shit, it’s only temporary.
Remembering that, I feel a little better.
We’ve already survived six months of my parent’s trying to keep us apart, what’s a little more time?
I let Coy hold me for much longer than I should. Forgetting for a few moments why I shouldn’t as I press my ear against him and listen to the thumping beats of his heart.
I soak up all his warmth, soak up the now.
With the clock ticking louder and louder in my ears, I force myself to gather up every ounce of willpower I have and gently push him away.
“Two more weeks,” I say, looking up at him.
Only two more weeks and I’ll be eighteen. I’ll be free from my overbearing parents and anyone else who wants to stop me from being with Coy.
I let my eyes feast on all the little details of his face, burning them into my brain for later.
When the loneliness threatens to consume me.
The dark scruff covering his jaw. The sharp lines of his cheeks. His lips… full lips that kiss me so hard they shatter me.
And those eyes.
Dark, fiery eyes that always cut straight through me, cut to my very core.
“Two weeks too fucking long,” he grumbles.
“You say that now, but wait until you can’t get rid of me,” I try to tease.
Fuck, for once I want to walk out of here on a good note.
“Never,” he declares vehemently and pulls me back into his arms. “I’m never letting you get away. I fucking marked you, woman. You’re mine.”
Coy
Gremlin bustin’ in right in the middle of me fucking my woman has my nerves frayed as shit. I already don’t get to spend enough time with Allie as it is, but him fucking burstin’ in to remind me we gotta go out to work pissed me the fuck off.
Not at him or the club, but at the thought that Allie and I will have to fucking split apart again. I have to put up with this shit because of her fucking uptight, dickhead parents.
And all this time apart is fucking killing me.
Never have I seen a pair of more uptight people in my life. Her parents act like just because I’m not rich, I don’t deserve to breathe the same damn air as Allie. Fuck, if they only knew we’re gettin’ married as soon as she hits eighteen, they’d probably have heart attacks.
Fuck, if they knew we’re fucking, they’d probably hire someone to take my ass out. Then again, since we’re the only ones around here that would do the work, I don’t think that’s gonna happen.
I’ve got one foot in the club, prospecting my way in, and the other is trying to stay on firm ground with Allie.
And I won’t back down from either one.
All I’ve ever wanted was to be a Royal Bastard and to take Allie as my own.
Both are so fucking close now I can taste them. Two fucking weeks and Allie’s going to come home with me and never go back to those strait-laced hypocrites.
We’ll get married, I’ll get her knocked up to cement the deal, and then we’ll go on with our lives as it should be.
I hold Allie close to my chest, breathing her scent in, not ready to let her go yet.
Fuck, I’m never ready to let her go. It defies every fucking possessive instinct in my body to let her walk away from me.
Gremlin yells and pounds on the door. “Yo, Coy! We gotta move, man! Ain’t got a lotta time left before we have to be there!”
Goddammit. It nearly fucking kills me to pull away from Allie, but I force myself to do it.
Two more weeks. Two more fucking weeks, I remind myself.
Then she’s mine and I’m keeping her ass where it belongs—in my fucking bed.
“Alright!” I shout back at the door and swipe up my black leather kutte with the word Prospect stitched at the bottom.
Being the son of the Louisville Royal Bastards President doesn’t mean shit. I could be worth a billion dollars and I’d still have to go through the probationary period. I’ve gotta prospect just like any other man who wants in the club, no exceptions.
Fuck, bein’ the Pres’s son means I probably catch more hell than any of the other guys. Gotta make sure I know I’m a brother and not someone special.
I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way, except for right fucking now.
Yanking the bedroom door open to see Gremlin standing there with his arms crossed over his chest gives me pause. Normally, he’s the happy-go-lucky kind of fuck. Right now, he looks harassed and pissed.
“What’s up?” I ask, grabbing and pulling Allie’s hand so she’s standing beside me.
“We’re gonna be late as fuck if we don’t move now. Hound’s already pissed we ain’t gone yet,” he says and motions back through the clubhouse to parts unknown.
Fuck, Hound is my father, and if he’s pissed…
Well shit, I can only be on bathroom duty so many times before I’ll want to kill myself.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“Alright, we’ll swing by Allie’s on the way there,” I say, moving down the hallway, heading for the barroom of our clubhouse.
“No fuckin’ way, man,” Gremlin says with a shake of his head. “We can’t be making any stops.”
“What the fuck are we supposed to do then?” I ask and look from him to Allie. “We sure as fuck can’t take her with us, and she ain’t staying here, either.”
No way in the world would I leave her here with the club skanks and sweetbutts. Hell no, not going to fucking happen. I’d trust my brothers with her life, but not the skanks and sweetbutts. Half of them want to climb the club ladder to ol’ lady, and the others are too dumb to speak.
They also look at Allie as some type of rival, like they could replace her if they could only get her out of their way.
“Fuck!” I growl out at Gremlin. “Who’s on sober duty tonight?”
“Horse, I think,” Gremlin says as he walks toward the bar. “Want me to get his ass?”
“Yeah, see if he can…” I say before looking down at Allie’s questioning look.
“What’s going on?” she asks, her brow furrowing.
“I gotta go on a job,” I sigh and rake my fingers through my hair. “I fucking hate doing this, but I need Horse to get you home tonight.”
“But I—” she starts to say, but I shake my head quickly at her.
I look into her eyes, knowing she’ll understand. “Club business, Allie Cat.”
“Oh… okay,” she sighs with resignation.
And that’s exactly why I feel the way I do about Allie. She doesn’t challenge me when it comes to the club. She knows that it’s who I am and a part of my life. She also knows by bein’ with me she’s gonna be a part of this l
ife too.
I lead her back to my room and grab one of my old leather riding jackets for her.
“Gotta keep that wind off ya,” I say as I look down at the thin-ass jean jacket she wore on the way over here.
Also gotta keep her skin from peeling off her if she were to ever crash.
Lifting it up, she sniffs it and grins at my look.
“Whatcha doin’?” I ask.
“Making sure it’s not stinky. That one jacket you used to have smelled like roadkill,” she says then quickly shoots by me before I can catch her.
“That was cologne, brat!” I say as I catch up to her and firmly swat her ass.
“Ouch!” she yelps and reaches back to rub that juicy ass of hers. “Is that what they call it nowadays? I thought it smelled like someone hit a skunk.”
Laughter erupts to my left as we make it back to the bar and Gremlin hears what she’s sayin’. “Dude, she givin’ ya the lowdown on that shit you used to wear?”
“For fuck’s sake! That shit cost me ninety dollars a fucking bottle!” I growl. Yanking Allie over to my side, I murmur, “It got you, didn’t it?”
Looking up at me with wide, innocent eyes, she says, “No, my big, strong biker, it was all those huge muscles…”
Rolling my eyes at her, I swat her ass again to make her jump. I love her reaction, love the little squeak and wince she gives. It’s a huge fucking turn on.
Yelping, Allie dances away from me as she shrugs herself into my jacket. She’s so small though it makes her look even tinier. Fuck, that’s a sexy look. Might just have to have her walk around our bedroom with just that jacket on.
I can just imagine those sexy legs peeking out from under the jacket as she sits demurely on the bed, her tits covered from me…
Fucking hell, tonight of all nights is not when I want to be doin’ shit like a fucking body disposal. I’d rather be in bed with my dick firmly planted in Allie’s sweet little pussy.
“Where’s Horse?” I ask Gremlin as I try to keep my eyes off Allie for one fucking moment.
“Outside, gettin’ ready. Had to get the seat cleaned off, I guess,” he says with a shrug of his shoulders.
“Probably had fuckin’ bird shit on his seat again, fuckin’ animal,” I say with a laugh as I pull Allie back to my side. “Let’s get you home before the parents freak, baby.”
Allie sighs quietly as she looks around at all the revelry that’s going on. “Rather be here with you guys… but yeah.”
Smirking, I look around the clubhouse. Fun is being had in every corner. Drinking, fucking, pool, yelling, and fighting. One of our brothers came down from our Anchorage Chapter and we gotta make sure we show Rain a good time while he’s here.
The haze of pot and tobacco smoke is pretty thick where my old man, Hound, sits. He’s been trying to use some of the good ol’ green medicine to beat the fucking bug he’s got going on.
But the moment he lays eyes on me, I can feel the weight of responsibility coming down on my shoulders.
Nodding my head to the door, I motion to him I’m taking off.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here, prospect. The Pres ain’t lookin’ too fucking happy,” Gremlin says.
I grab Allie by the hand and pull her with me. I need to put some space between me and my old man right now. Ever since he went to the doctor a couple weeks back, he’s been on fuckin’ edge. If mom was still around, she could ferret out whatever’s been up his ass lately. But as it is, all I’ve seen him do is smoke pot or yell at whoever’s closest to him.
Pushing the door to the club open, I take a deep breath of the warm night air. Fuck, it’s good to live here. I’ve been to a few major cities and shit, but they smell like ass compared to Kentucky.
“You ready to go home, Allie Cat?” I ask as I pull her into a tight fucking hug.
God, this woman is everything to me. Letting her leave like this kills me every damn time.
“Maybe if you were taking me,” Allie mutters to herself before she slips her backpack over her shoulders.
“Aw, I ain’t that bad to ride with when I’m sober!” Horse shouts with that fucking braying laugh of his.
Allie tried to ask me once why we call him Horse. I explained it’s because of his laugh. I’ll be damned if I’m gonna tell her it’s because of the huge fucking horse cock he’s got swingin’ between his legs.
Walking her over to Horse’s bike, I watch as he starts it up before I turn back to Allie. “I love you, Allie.”
Her eyes brighten like they always do when I say those three words to her. “I love you too, Coy. I’ll call you tomorrow as soon as I get away from them.”
Helping her onto the back of the bike, I nod at her then say, “Two weeks and you’re mine for good.”
“Two weeks,” she says before putting her hands up on Horse’s shoulders.
Fuck, seeing her touch another man makes me clench my teeth so fucking hard they hurt. I don’t give a fuck if it’s a brother, I can’t fucking stand it.
But thanks to her fucking parents and my obligations, I can’t do shit about it.
I shove my hands in my pockets to fight the urge to yank her off his seat.
And just like that, the one thing in this world I love as much as my bike is racing into the night without me.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here, prospect. Jude ain’t gonna wait forever,” Gremlin says as he walks over to his bike and gets on.
I head over to my own. Standing it up and starting it up, I look back at the clubhouse. It’s not the first time I’ve looked up at the Royal Bastards skull painted on the building and wondered if it knows something I don’t.
For the briefest of moments, I swear it’s trying to tell me something, but before I can figure it out, Gremlin is tearin’ ass out of the driveway.
* * *
Pulling up to our business, Kentucky Pet Crematorium and Funeral Services, I grin at the building. It causes quite a few laughs between the old man and me knowing this business is one of our best earners. It’s completely legal in the eyes of the law, but it also happens to be the one we do the most illegal shit at.
We offer honest pricing and provide top-notch services for deceased animals. From cremations to funerals, we do really good business. We don’t fuck around with trying to rip people off, and the business goes above and beyond all expectations. Shit like that keeps us in the good graces of the community.
That we also do all our body disposal services in the same building is just a happy by-product.
We make our money a little differently than some of our brother Chapters. Our main sources of income come from body disposal, money laundering, and strip clubs. That’s the illegal side of things. We use legal fronts like laundry mats, nail salons, and car washes to clean most of the money we bring in from the illegal side of things.
We’re kind of like a one-stop shop for all things dirty. Fuck, we’ll even do some gun running if need be. We don’t touch the drug trade, though. My old man’s got a huge fucking hang-up on hard drugs being dealt by anyone in our Chapter.
It just don’t fuckin’ happen.
“Fucking hell, Coy,” Gremlin says as he kills his engine. “What the fuck did Hound ever do to owe someone like this guy from Garden City?”
“Beats me,” I say. “Even if I did know, I probably wouldn’t want to.”
“Fuckin’ dude’s crazy,” Gremlin says as we make our way over to the blacked-out Tahoe parked next to the gate leading to the back of the building.
The window slides down and reveals a black-haired man in his mid-twenties grinning at us. “Hello boys! Good to see you’ve finally decided to show up.”
Walking up to the side of the vehicle, I’m tempted to look through his back window to see what I’m dealin’ with but decide against it. I’ll see whatever nightmare is back there soon enough.
Reaching through the window and clasping Jude’s hand, I give it a firm but not fucking with him, shake. He may be a city boy, but this dude’
s tough as fucking nails, like a biker.
“How’s it goin’, Jude?” I ask before quickly adding, “Sorry about bein’ late, some shit held us up.”
“Nothing to worry about, been pretty quiet around here,” he says before motioning to the back of his SUV. “Where should we dump the load?”
I walk over to the gate and unlock it. “Let’s get it around back, same as always?”
Pulling in through the entrance, Jude shakes his head. “This one’s going to be slightly… different.”
“This might be a long night,” Gremlin grumbles from my side and starts shaking his head as soon as Jude rolls past us.
Looking over at Gremlin, I ask, “You got something better planned?
“Yeah, that new girl Sugar,” he says with a shrug.
“Yeah, that’s if Horse don’t make it back to her first,” I say with a laugh.
Gremlin growls. “That fucker better not touch her. He’s on fucking DD duty tonight. Fuckin’ prospect gonna get his ass handed to him if I catch him fucking around.”
I shrug my shoulders. I don’t got much to say about that. I’m a fucking prospect, I know the rules. Besides, Gremlin’s the Sergeant at Arms. If he says something, it’s fucking law. That and he’s just as fucked in the head as this Jude guy is.
Both of ‘em are batshit insane.
Walking up to the back of the facility, I open the door and head over to the garage door. Opening it up, I motion to Jude to back into the building. Just because we’ve got the local law enforcement on the take doesn’t mean we can risk hauling dead bodies into the building out in the open.
Jude parks and hops out of the Tahoe. “Might want to stand back, this one got messy.”
Fuck.
Taking a deep breath and an extra-large step back, I look to Gremlin. He stays right where he is.
Fucking batshit insane the both of ‘em, I swear.
Jude opens the back of the Tahoe, and yep, he was right.
It got messy.
Inside is a fucking body that looks like it came from a butcher shop. It’s missing its hands, feet, and head. Completely fucking naked, I can see the dick has been mutilated beyond almost all recognition.