Greatest MC Romance Box Set

by Blair Grey

  “Nope.” He had no idea what he was talking about. “Not true at all.”

  “Well, what about Captain Kangaroo?” he asked. “He was a Marine sniper. A jarhead just like you.”

  “Wrong again.” Freaking Navy kids never got anything right when it came to the Marines. “I do have one fact for you, squid. Bozo the Clown was in the Navy.”

  “Nah, man!” Seemingly not believing me, he took out his cell phone to Google my claim to find it all too true. “Well, shit. That sucks balls.”

  “It makes perfect sense if you ask me.” I loved to bring out that fact when in the company of squids. Just as we topped the stairs, I saw a woman walk into a room. Her voluptuous backside caught my attention. “Excuse me, miss?”

  Coming back out, she looked at me with striking brown eyes. Caramel highlights in her chestnut hair caught the overhead lights. “Yes?”

  “We’re Thomas and Robertson from Baltimore, here to see The Keepers’ council.” I extended my hand. “I’m Clyde Thomas, former Marine.” I jerked my free thumb at numb-nuts who’d come up to stand beside me. “This is Garrett Robertson, former Navy man.”

  Wearing a white cotton blouse and black leather pants with matching spikey-heeled boots, I knew this woman was a true biker. She took my hand with a firm shake. “Santos, Tequila - fellow Marine. Or former one anyway. And president of this MC. Please come in. It’s me you’ve been talking to. It’s nice to put a face to the voice.”

  “Yeah, yours too.” And how sweet her voice was - in a tough, strong, and powerful way. “I’m glad you decided to give us the time to meet with you and your council.”

  “Sure.” She extended her hand to Garrett. “Tequila. Nice to meet you, Garrett.”

  “You too, ma’am.” He shook her hand then we followed her into the room where others had already assembled.

  A woman stood near two empty seats in the middle of the long table everyone else sat on the other side of. “Hello, gentlemen. You two may sit here so you can see the council as they ask you questions. And feel free to ask your own questions if you have any.”

  Garrett already had one. “I’ve got a question for you. What’s your name?”

  “I am the secretary, Sandra McCormick. You’ve met our president, Tequila Santos. Sitting to her right is our vice president, Marcos Villarreal. To Tequila’s left is out treasurer, Phillip Constantine. And on the other side of him is our enforcer, Julia Costas.” A woman walked in behind us and Sandra pointed her out. “And our last member is the sergeant at arms, Leslie Ann Bixby. Before I take my seat, is there anything I can get you, gentlemen? Water? Soda? Beer?”

  “Nothing for me.” I looked at Garret to let him know that he wasn’t getting anything either.

  With a frown, he nodded. “Nothing for me.”

  I wanted to get down to it. After the meeting, I wanted to take a ride around to see the sights. It had been ages since I’d been to D.C. “We’re ready whenever you guys are.”

  Sandra took her seat at the far end of the table. “I’m ready, Tequila.”

  The president didn’t smile as she looked at me with a no-nonsense expression on her pretty face. “I want to be upfront with you about things, Mr. Thomas.”

  “Clyde.” I didn’t want to be formal about things. Business was just business. We weren’t drafting legislation or making foreign policies. We were here to talk about hiring some security is all. “I would really like it if we all could skip the formalities and treat each other like friends.”

  Tequila’s long fingers with short nails that shined under the lights with a clear coat of polish drummed on the table. “Friends? I would rather not get that intimate with you if you don’t mind. We are here today because the Iron Cobras, which you, as sergeant at arms, are representing. Your MC needs extra security. You must know that every MC is responsible for its own security. If they can’t secure their members, then maybe they need to downsize. Maybe they need to let some of them split off and form another chapter of your club.”

  “I don’t think that’s necessary.” I could see she wasn’t going to play nice with us. “In our not too distant past, we’ve had a few stumbling blocks that would’ve been prevented if we’d had more security. And we are taking responsibility for that.”

  “We?” Leslie Ann asked. “I too hold the same position within this MC as you do within yours. As sergeant at arms, it’s my responsibility to make sure we have enough security to effectively watch over our members and our business ventures. So please explain how you failed at doing the same thing for the Iron Cobras.”

  I didn’t want to make excuses for myself and understood that no one would take them seriously if I did. “We haven’t had much going on. But then one thing popped up. We handled it effectively and in the process, one of the members gained a wife and babies. Before you say anything about that, I know that most people think that doesn’t matter.”

  “You’re wrong,” the president said. “I take my family responsibilities seriously, as does everyone else here. Since we take things like that so seriously, we all make sure our families are protected at all times. That way we can handle issues that might pop up.”

  The enforcer chimed in, “Speaking of issues.” She ran her hand through her long, dark hair. “It’s best to be one step ahead at all times to avoid issues from gaining much ground before they’re dealt with.”

  “I agree.” These people were on top of their game in a major way. “The thing is that your MC is comprised of highly trained people. Our MC is not. We’re made up of mechanics, laborers, we’ve even got a chef, and many other kinds of men. We’ve got a few ex-military, but not many. The thing is, they can learn. And we can build up our membership by accepting more prospects. But it’s going to take us some time to do that. We need security now. And we’ve got four of our best men not wanting to put their lives on the line right now.”

  Marcos held up one hand to stop me. “Simple. Stay out of trouble while you build up.”

  “I agree. But sometimes trouble reaches out to us. Don’t ask me why - it just does.” We’d have to shut down everything to make sure nothing happened at all. And I knew we couldn’t do that.

  Tequila whispered to her vice president who nodded. Then she spoke to me, “Clyde, are you and your assistant busy for the next few months?”

  Garrett nudged my shoulder. “I’m free as a bird.”

  “What do you have in mind?” I had to ask before I said anything else.

  “We’ll send five members of our security team to watch over your MC. But in the meantime, your president and the rest of the council will have to make it a priority to accept new members to your MC. Meanwhile, you and Garrett will be training with our best agents here in D.C. so that you can become a master at security and teach the people you put into security within your club. We can’t give you a year. We can give you a few months. Six – max.”

  The treasurer picked up where the president had left off, “We can give you nice accommodations to stay in while you’re here. And all you can drink and eat at our bar will be available to you both with no money leaving your pockets.”

  Tequila finally smiled at me. “This will come at a cost to your MC, Clyde. It’s not some handout we’re offering you here. You will be charged our premium price for the security team. Plus, we will charge for your training, room, and board. It won’t be cheap. Do you think your club will pay?”

  “I think they will.” I hoped they would. I’d never had a better opportunity in my life.

  Phillip, the treasurer, nodded. “I’ll get in touch with your treasurer to see what kind of a deal we can make then. If all goes well, we can start this thing right away. If that’s okay with you guys.”

  We hadn’t brought a thing with us. “We’ll have to have a couple of hours to go back to our homes to pack some things then come back here. But yeah, we can start things right away.”

  “Make it so,” Tequila told her treasurer. Her eyes came to mine as she got up. “And you and your a
ssistant will join me for a drink at our bar while Phillip works his magic. I’m confident that he’ll strike a deal that will benefit both of our MCs.”

  As we followed her out, the only thing that I knew for sure was that she was hot, and I was on fire for her. Sure, she wasn’t my normal type – shy, timid, willing to do anything I told her to. But it was always fun to step out of my comfort zone now and then.

  Stepping up to walk beside her, I had to ask as I saw no wedding nor engagement ring on her finger. “So, am I to assume that you’re not married?”

  She looked at my naked ring finger. “Am I to assume that you aren’t married?”

  Nodding, I held up my left hand, wiggling my fingers to display the lack of a ring. Then Garrett did the same thing, as he said, “Seems we’re all single. Are we all loving it?”

  Freaking squid!

  Chapter Four

  Tequila

  Just as we stepped into the bar, my cell vibrated in my pocket. There was only one person who would be calling me at this time, so I excused myself to take the call in private. “If you guys will take a seat at the bar and order whatever you want, get me a Scotch on the rocks, please, I’ll be right back.”

  Clyde nodded, his green eyes looking even greener underneath the neon lights. “Sure thing. Take your time.”

  Sliding my finger across the screen, I answered my mother’s call as I walked toward the bathrooms. “Hey, Mom. What’s up?”

  “Tommy is what’s up. He won’t do his homework, Mija. I don’t know what to do with this boy. His mouth is so smart.” Her loud sigh told me she was getting fed up.

  “He’s ten, Mom. Kids that age test their boundaries. Just tell him that I’m going to be coming home in about two hours. If his homework is finished, then I’ll happily bring him some of his favorite chicken nuggets. If he gives you any more trouble about doing it, and if it’s not done within the next two hours, tell him that I’ll bring him chicken gizzards and plenty of them for his dinner tonight.”

  “You know that you won’t do that, Tequila,” she reprimanded me. “I’ve told you over and over again that you can’t threaten him with things you will never come through on. How about I tell him that you will bring him the nuggets only if he acts right and does his homework? I’ll leave out your idle-threat.”

  “Okay, Mom. Do it your way.” I had no idea why she even bothered to tell me things about the kid when she was just going to do things her way anyway. “See you in a couple of hours.”

  Going back to my guests, I stopped for a moment. Clyde Thomas was one nice-looking man. His muscular physique demanded that I take a moment to appreciate it. Being about six-three, he was three-quarters of a foot taller than me. It made him what I had deemed the perfect height for me.

  Being able to reach up and wrap my arms around a man’s neck so he could pick me up was one of the things I looked for in a sexual partner. If he was going to be around for a few months, which I certainly hoped he would, it wouldn’t hurt to have him warm me up now and then.

  With short, dark hair, and a well-groomed beard to match, he had the desirable qualities all women want in a man. And I was sure he’d had many, many women in his lifetime. Who knew, I might be able to give the man a bit of the karmic justice he had coming to him for all the womanizing he’d done.

  Turning around on the barstool, Clyde caught me looking at him. So, I waved and started walking again before he got the idea that I’d stopped merely to look him over.

  Garrett moved to the stool next to him so that I could sit between them. “Here you go, Tequila. We got you that Scotch on the rocks you wanted.”

  The kid was pleasant and hot in his own way too. Blonde curls that he kept cut short and blue eyes made him look like an All-American guy. But there was a hint of pain in those blue eyes of his that spoke of unsettled things. He had some growing up to do and maybe some demons to slay as well.

  Clyde’s sideways grin told me he thought he’d caught me in the act of sizing him up. Which I had been doing. But I would never admit to it. “So, what’s a girl like you doing in a place like Washington D.C.?”

  “Trying to stay sane.” I picked up my glass and took a drink. “What are a couple of guys like you doing in Baltimore?”

  Garrett stared at the beer bottle he had both hands wrapped around. “Just trying not to kill anyone.”

  “Good to know,” Clyde said with a chuckle. “I’ve lived in Baltimore my whole life. Only left long enough to travel around with the Marines for a few years, then went right back home. I bought a place a few streets over from where I grew up.”

  “Just couldn’t leave the place, huh?” I found that interesting. “Any reason that you’ve stuck around? Other than your family?”

  “I like the town. You know how it is when you leave the country. You see shit that you would never see here. And you’re damn glad that you would never see it here. It makes you see the place you came from in a different way. A safe place, a place with memories, a place you can’t wait to get back to.” He smiled as he must’ve really loved his hometown. “Once I got back home, I didn’t even think about leaving again. I’d had my fill of traveling. How about you?”

  It took another shot of liquid courage to make me talk. I wasn’t the kind of person who wore her heart on her sleeve. But this guy needed to know some things about me. “Well, my family traveled a lot when I was young. My father was a Marine and we moved from one place to the next, following him as best my mother could.”

  “That’s hard on a kid,” Garrett said with a nod. “My dad was in the Army and my mom did the same thing. She drug us all over the world, following that man. A man who didn’t give two-shits if we were there or not. I can’t recall many things he said directly to me. He would come in, sit at the table, say a few things to my mom, then he’d be gone again – out with the guys. Mom finally figured out that he’d been cheating on her their entire marriage. She brought me and my two younger sisters back to live with her parents in Maryland. We never really got our happily ever after.”

  “Your life’s not over,” I felt he needed to be reminded of that. “What are you, early twenties, right?”

  “Twenty-five.” He took a swig of the beer.

  “See, plenty of time to live and change your story, Garrett.” He had to know that life could change – it didn’t have to be the same thing forever. “My younger sister thought along the same lines that you’re thinking right now.” I looked at Clyde. “She would’ve been twenty-nine this year.”

  Clyde understood me perfectly. “Would have been? Damn. Sorry to hear that, Tequila. Losing a sibling must be hard.”

  “It is.” I took another drink. “She was a good kid. Made good grades. But she was quiet and shy and sometimes girls like that have things happen to them that they really don’t understand.” Looking right into Clyde’s blues eyes, I let him know what had happened to my little sister. “Her life took turns she’d never seen coming and had no idea how to deal with. Drugs became her escape. One night, they helped her escape this world forever.”

  “Accidental overdose or suicide?” Garrett asked, knowingly. “My younger sister committed suicide. Not with drugs. That would’ve been so much less messy. She got our grandpa’s pistol to end her life.”

  A shiver of anguish ran through me as I felt his pain. “I’m sorry that you had to go through that.”

  “Oh, I didn’t,” he said with a frown. “My mom and grandparents had to see that. I was away in the Navy, training to become a SEAL. Easily the most coveted role in the Navy. But what happened to her made it hard for me to deal with things. I was released. The paperwork will follow me for the rest of my life.”

  “Shit, Garrett.” I felt his pain in ways he couldn’t imagine. “So, discharged with ODPMC. Not fun.”

  “Not even a little,” he agreed.

  Clyde must’ve felt like he needed to lighten the mood as he said, “Well, at the Iron Cobras we don’t care about things like that. And if our council will appr
ove this thing, then you’re going to get enough training here with The Keepers to get you a job as – let’s say – second in command of the Iron Cobras’ new and improved security team.”

  Nodding, Garrett looked like he could pull himself off the ledge of despair for a while. “Now that does sound good. You ain’t just yanking this prospect’s chain now are ya?”

  Clyde tapped the bar to get them another round of beers. “A couple more, please.” He looked around me at Garrett. “Just so you know, the boss gave me the authority to give you membership. And I am the man in charge of our security as well. That makes me the most important person in your life right now, squid. But I don’t want you to worry about shit. I got you, buddy.”

  It was nice to know that Clyde wasn’t a complete asshole without a heart or soul. “Cool of you,” I said before I took another sip of my drink as I watched the man beam with what I assumed was pride in himself for being a good person.

  “Nah, he’s a great guy and deserves the things that come his way.” Clyde lifted his new bottle of beer and Garrett tapped his to it. “To the squid, may he become a big blue whale with only great things to come in his life.”

  “To the jarhead,” Garrett added. “May he not be blind to my excellence and give me the job I deserve. And may he graduate from jarhead someday and get a real fucking haircut.”

  I had to clank my glass to theirs as I agreed, “To a new haircut.”

  Although Clyde tapped my glass, he sneered at me. “Sort of traitorous of a fellow Marine.”

  I took a drink as I nodded. “Yeah, I know.” I put the glass down as I eyed him. “I’m not a Marine anymore. And that haircut sucks.”

  Clyde ran one hand over his short hair. “It can grow out.”

  “Then let it.” I couldn’t stop smiling at the hot guy. “You’re cute now. Think of how gorgeous you’d be with those dark waves cascading over those broad shoulders of yours.”