Heart of a Rebel: Rebel Aces MC Part 1

by K. D. Latronico

  Pushing past a few bodies, I hurried over to the small group waiting just inside the door. "Hey! I didn't know you guys were coming," I said as I greeted Ronnie first with a hug, following it up with a hug for Kim and then Quinn.

  "It was last minute! Figured we deserved a girl’s night out. We were gonna call you guys but Ward said you were all working, so we killed two birds with one stone and came here!"

  I laughed. "Good idea. Come on; let me get you a good table." Leading the trio behind me to one of our better tables, not far from the bar with a direct route to the stage where karaoke was set up. "You guys gonna sing?"

  Kim laughed, shaking her head. "Not me, maybe these two."

  Quinn's eyes widened and she shook her head. "No. That's all you, Ronnie."

  Rhonda rolled her eyes. "Chicken shits. I'll think about it, let me get a drink first."

  "Here, what do you want? I'll grab it from the bar. First rounds on me."

  Kim's grin spread. "That's what I'm talking about. Gin and tonic, please."

  "Yuengling," Rhonda added.

  Finally, Quinn smiled sheepishly. "Ginger ale's good for me."

  Nodding, taking a mental note of their orders, I turned to leave. "You better be singing tonight, Leah. That's why we came!" Kim called after me.

  Laughing, I raise my hand in the air, motioning behind me as I walked up to the bar. "When I get a minute, you know I will!"

  CHAPTER 15

  WARD

  "ANY WORD ON OUR newly freed friends yet?"

  Tank shook his head as he absentmindedly played with the Swiss Army knife in his right hand, seated across from me at my desk. "Nope, nothing. I know they've been released, but it's almost like they went underground immediately. It's the first day, so I'll give it a few before I get Woodchuck sniffing around to see what he can find out."

  I nod slowly, understanding what my VP was saying, but it didn't put me at ease. I wanted to know immediately where they were, where they were staying, who they were staying with. It was the best way for us to keep tabs on them, tap their phones and track their movements. Unfortunately, these were guys that hadn't been in the free world in over a decade, so any links to their past had pretty much vanished. Likely, they would end up with new burner phones if they were really planning to get back to their old ways, and it was going to take a lot of work on our part to find them and stay on them.

  "Alright. We should get on putting my parents' place and the girls' house in the regular watch rotation, as well as keep up the extra security at Hello, Darling. Once we know a little bit more I'm probably gonna want a prospect tail on both Leah and Lana. From now until I say so, Silver isn't to go on any runs on his own. Sound reasonable?"

  I looked at the two men occupying seats in my office - Tank and Kang, my Road Captain. They were both at the clubhouse when I had eventually gotten here so I pulled them into a quick meeting to go over things. I always went over everything with Tank, but I tried my best to keep my executive board up to speed on plans so that I could bounce ideas off of them and see what would be best for the club. I'm still getting my footing as far as the presidency goes, but luckily my father had set a reachable standard on how to run the club.

  Both men nodded, so I continued. "Good. Where are we at with the next run?" I asked, turning my attention to the lone Australian in the club.

  "Still on schedule for next Monday. Should only take about half the night. I've got Jekyll, Bear, Moose, and DT on the schedule, shouldn't need any more than that."

  "Sounds good. Anything else we need to discuss before church tomorrow?"

  "Nope. I think we're good." Tank stood. "I've got some proposals to go over and whiskey with my name on it. See you tomorrow, Pres."

  After the guys left my office I eventually followed, heading down the hall to the main room. Joker was seated at the bar, giving the prospect behind it shit for one reason or another.

  "Ay, quit harassing the help, fucker."

  My best friend spun around, his messy blonde hair flopping in his face. When he caught sight of me a grin spread across his face. "Just weeding out the weak, brother. You should thank me for my time and expertise."

  "Yeah, I'll take that into consideration when I give you your next pay cut," I added sarcastically, stopping next to him at the bar. "What are you up to?"

  "Other than busting Teddy's balls and trying to get a drink? Fuck all. What's up?"

  I try my best to remain as casual as possible, not wanting to see weirdly overeager. "Want to take a ride? I was gonna do a check in at Darlings."

  Something crosses his face for a split second that I can't quite make out. I catch the hesitation, though, almost as if he's weighing his options. Or, see if the risk is worth the reward, maybe? "Yeah, sure. I can do that." He knocks his tatted knuckles against the wood of the bar and stands, pushing the stool back.

  As we head to the front to grab our bikes, I can't help but laugh at myself for how pathetic I'm being. It had only been a few hours since I'd left Leah and I was dying to see her again. So much for all those years of trying to deny how I felt about her. And staying away? What kind of idiot had I really been?

  And it wasn't even like last night had been the first time I had a taste of her. I could see if that started my addiction for her, but we'd been together in the past. I took her virginity, for god's sake. But really, was this where my addiction actually started? No, not really. This was just the moment that I allowed that door - the door that I had padlocked, dead bolted and chained - to finally be opened.

  And now that it was, there was no closing it.

  It was close to ten by the time we got to the club, and from the outside, I could see that it was fairly busy. Which was nice, knowing that Leah's pride and joy was doing well even on a non-weekend, non-performance night. I knew first hand exactly how hard she worked to make this a reality. The club may have backed them with money and labor, but this entire concept was the brainchild of the twins. From top to bottom, this was straight from their creative brains. It made me ridiculously proud, even just beyond my feelings for Leah.

  After all, they had been through, they kept on living. And this was proof of that.

  Parking our bikes out front, a strategic move to deter anyone coming in to fuck around, Joker and I headed to the front door. Just inside, standing guard was Ortiz, a stern look on his face as he turned to take in who was entering the building. Upon seeing us he gave one nod, his expression unchanging.

  "Ortiz. How's it going tonight?"

  "Good."

  I nodded, looking around. "No trouble so far?"

  "None. Sir."

  Nodding again, I started to walk inside. "Good deal."

  Once we were a few steps away from him, Joker leaned in. "God that guy has the personality of a fucking door stopper," which made me grunt with laughter. My best friend wasn't exactly wrong. I'd never heard more than two words at a time come out of the guy's mouth, and his expression never changed. At least he was good at his job.

  Gazing around the room, I immediately spotted exactly who I was looking for. It was hard to miss her in a crowd, that bright, thick red hair hanging down her back in waves - not easy to lose. Or to forget. I find myself smiling as I watch her talking animatedly to their DJ up in the booth at the front of the room. Paying no mind to my present company or the person on stage screeching Def Leppard, I just watch her in her element for a bit.

  I'll never forget the first time I watched her dance on the stage of this very club. It was the very first performance, opening night of Hello, Darling, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I stood in the back with the rest of the guys, but hell, I wanted to be front and center. My eyes had been fixed on her beauty during every number she was on stage for. Leah commanded this kind of presence that was rare. It came so naturally for her. People were drawn in, captivated by her. The way she moved, nearly gliding across the stage, her facial expressions taking you on a ride and telling its own kind of story, combined with the way her b
ody swayed and bounced to the beat of the music. She was perfection on that stage.

  That night and every night to follow, any bystander or audience member would be able to see exactly what I saw in her already. Perfection.

  If I hadn't been long gone when it came to her at that point, it would have happened that night.

  "Hey, your sister is here." Joker's voice jostles me from my trance and I tear my eyes - reluctantly - from Leah. I see his point to a table where Kim sits with Ronnie and Quinn, a drink in her hand and her mouth running a mile a minute as she tells some story, her free hand wild as she goes on.

  "Well, look at that." I shake my head. My sister had been destined to be a lawyer. The woman could talk and argue her way out of a lockbox.

  I head that way, not noticing Joker hesitate at the bar. When I glance there later I can see why; Lana is working and keeps tossing glances my buddy's way. If I had thought mine and Leah's situation was complicated before yesterday, those two are the end all be all of complicated romances.

  "Well, look who got a girl's night out," I say as I come up alongside the girls' table. Two heads snap up at me in surprise. Quinn was sober and saw me coming.

  "Simon! Coming to patrol or check out the scenery?" Kim snickers at her own joke. Telling by the empty glasses in front of her, she was a few gin and tonics in and buzzing happily.

  "Making sure you three stay out of trouble." I eyed Kim and Ronnie. "How are you guys getting home?"

  Ronnie waved her hand at me. "Uber!"

  I arched an eyebrow and opened my mouth to protest when Quinn cut in. "I was going to drive, but they insisted that they weren't going to make me DD just because I was knocked up. We took an Uber here, but Moose is gonna pick us up to take us home. Figured it was the safest option for the time we'd probably be leaving."

  The unease that I had felt at the idea of the three women leaving here in a stranger's car went away as quickly as it came. "Great thinking, Quinn. I'll have to thank Moose next time I see him."

  At my praise, Quinn's smile spread across her face. I didn't know too much about her other than the basics, but what I did know made my blood boil. She had been in a really bad situation most of her life, one that took a lot of guts to get out of, especially while pregnant. It was a great risk, but I was grateful that she did it. Now we could keep an eye on her, keep her safe, and give her and her baby a good life.

  "Ooh, yay!" my sister suddenly squealed. "Leah's finally gonna sing!"

  Snapping my head in the direction of the stage just as the opening riff to Heart's Barracuda begins, I find that my sister wasn't lying. Leah's up for karaoke, and she's rolling her neck, stretching her arm as she prepares to sing. Opening her eyes, she takes a look over in the direction of the table, likely to smile at the girls, but when she spots me her eyes and smile immediately go wide. If it wasn't for the lighting in here and the distance between us, I probably could see her pupils dilate in excitement.

  She doesn't miss a beat once she needs to sing, and she's just so fucking good. I'm constantly in awe of the talent that Leah possesses. In better circumstances, maybe she and Lana would have been able to leave Port Townsend and gone off to California to make names for themselves. They certainly had what it takes, but then that would mean she wouldn't be here right now, and wouldn't be in my life. Maybe it's selfish, but I'm grateful that she's never left.

  Her voice was ridiculous. She had this crazy range that makes it singing a difficult song like this a walk in the park. My woman just makes it look easy. My woman. That's what she was, though, wasn't she? Mine.

  Fuck yeah. She was mine.

  CHAPTER 16

  LEAH

  EVER SINCE I WAS LITTLE, I loved to sing and dance. There are videos of Lana and me as early as three years old with Disney princess dresses on, brushes in our hands as a stand-in for microphones, singing something barely intelligible and putting on a show for the camera. From day one, my sister and I were a team. We loved performing, and we never stopped, even for the brief sabbatical we took from it after our parent's death. Eventually, we just felt right to go back to it like no time had passed.

  Our mother had busted her ass to make sure that we could still make it to dance classes, shows, and performances. No matter what, she was in the audience at every chorus event or play while we were in school. She arranged for us to be in carpools if she couldn't take us herself, and when we got older and understood how tight money was, she insisted that she still wanted us to go. When things were really rough with my dad, she encouraged us to keep singing, keep being who we were.

  Sometimes it made me sad to know that my mother would never see our club, never see what we accomplished. Never get to see the fruit of our labors, the result of the blood, sweat, and tears we put into Hello, Darling from top to bottom. The hard work that went into every night we were open, every decision we made, every performance we had.

  But at the same time, even though I don't necessarily believe in a higher power, I have to believe that somehow, some way, my mama is watching us. And every time I'm on stage, I have that in mind.

  She isn't exactly the only one I'm performing for tonight, though - even if it is just karaoke. After spotting Ward over by Kim and the other girls' table just before I started my song, my eyes weren't able to keep away from his for more than a few moments at a time. It never failed, too. Every time I looked up, he was staring at me, and when I was looking away - at the screen despite knowing the words by heart, at the crowd, or just closing my eyes to belt a note out - I could just feel his eyes on me.

  Before yesterday it would have unnerved me. But now it just got my blood pumping. It sent waves of warmth right through me. It was as if I hadn't spent most of the day and night with him inside of me, and I wanted more.

  Goddamnit. I was addicted.

  Hopping down from the stage after taking a bow at the conclusion of my song, I didn't even pretend to walk casually over to the group. I strutted right over, giving the girls at the table a little shimmy before catch Ward's gaze again.

  "Hey! I didn't expect you to stop by tonight."

  Now, this is where I start to doubt myself a bit. We had the talk and admitted what we wanted, but we didn't really go further than that. Or go into it at all. For all I knew, we were keeping things quiet until we figured it out. I wasn't going to make anything weird, so I just greeted him like I normally would, despite the fact that I really wanted to jump his bones.

  Apparently, Ward had other plans. "Figured I'd stop by, check in, see you." With one large step, he closed the gap between us, and even in the dim lighting, I could see the heat there in his eyes. One more move and his massive hands cupped my jaw and he leaned in and kissed me.

  I mean...kissed me.

  It was possessive. His mouth laid claim to mine, and in the process, he laid claim to every single part of me. It's not like I wasn't his already, though, but I certainly hadn't expected this. After his hesitation in going further with me in the first place, I figured he wouldn't want half the town to know about this immediately.

  Well, I was wrong, and fuck it if I was gonna do anything to stop him.

  The kiss is quite a showing and we have an audience. After a few beats of stunned silence, I hear Ronnie let out a loud whoop! and Kim shouts out, "I fucking knew it!"

  When he finally pulled away, my face - hell, my entire body is flushed, my lips are swollen, and my heart is pounding. Just catching the look on Ward's face though is enough to stop it right in its tracks. He's grinning at me but didn’t move his hands from my face. "You were amazing up there, as usual."

  The heat in my face – and other places - flared. "Thank you."

  "Alright, alright, who's gonna spill what this is?" Kim's voice cut through our little moment and knowing her as well as I did, there was no way she was going to let this go.

  Ward turned to the three girls who were all eagerly awaiting an answer and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me to his side with a grin. "What does it look like? K
im, how'd you like it if I bugged you about your love life? Huh? How's that going?"

  That's what I was trying to say to Lana.

  The older brunette's eyes widened and then she flipped him off. "Whatever, little brother. No need to rub it in."

  Ward chuckled. "Well, if you're done, I've gotta go over some business with one of the owners." Without another word, he turned us and guided me back towards our office, as Kim yelled after us.

  "Sure! Business! That's what they're calling it now!"

  The moment we walked into the office and the door was closed, Ward had me up against it, his mouth on mine. If this was what work visits were going to be like, I already wanted them to happen every single day.

  "Fuck, I already can't get enough of you."

  If he hadn't already gotten my panties to melt away with that kiss earlier, they were certainly dissolved now. I groaned, tugging at his shirt, trying to pull him closer, if that was even possible. "It's only been a few hours," I whispered against his lips, "you addicted already?"

  He chuckled, his voice deep, almost gravely, enough to get my skin tingling. "I was addicted the first time I had you. I just had a lot of restraint."

  I bit at his lower lip, causing him to groan. "Too much restraint." My tongue darted out, skimming along the lip I had just bitten. "That better be gone now."

  Before he could answer, there was a pounding at the door, causing me to jump. "Ward!" Joker's voice came through as he continued banging his fist against the wood. "Put your fucking pants on, we got a problem."

  Ward cursed, loudly. "Where?"

  "The warehouse. We gotta fuckin' go."

  CHAPTER 17

  WARD

  THE MOMENT WE PULL up to the warehouse location, I immediately know we're fucked.

  Flames were being extinguished by the fire department as they shot out of the back of the building. From the front, the place was still standing, but I didn't need to inspect it closely to know that damage had been done.