I could, however, teach Bane a lesson. I’d show him what being disloyal would get him. It would get him the ire of not only me, but every Brother in the club if they learned what he did. I figured eventually they all would.
“Go take your ride,” I told him.
He lifted his chin and walked out the door. I looked at Viper then Blood.
“Think of every damn thing that needs to be done around here. The dirtier and harder the better. Bane’s about to work his ass off. Get the list to me quick. Vip and I are going to have a little discussion with him, then we’re giving him the start of his penance.”
“You got it, Prez. I’ll make a list and get it to you.”
“Good.”
“Go find the fucker, we need to talk to him.”
~***~
Chapter 6
I too have my own demons, and I have struggled. I’ve made my own mistakes, and I’m not proud of them.
~Michael Bergin~
Bane
September 6th, 1998
After Eagle stormed out, all my Brothers at the table threw me dirty looks, got up and walked off. Things weren’t getting better at all, if anything, they were getting worse. Eagle still hated me and I couldn’t blame him. There wasn’t anything I could do that would ever change that either. I was the one who had fucked up our friendship, it was all on me. All because I was screwed up in the head and hadn’t been able to deal with seeing Eagle so enamoured by Kenzie.
Confronting Eagle the morning after being with Kenzie, he’d knocked the shit out of me not once but twice, yet I didn’t have a single complaint. I deserved what he did and so much more.
I didn’t do women. I. Did. Not. Do. Women. I didn’t go back for seconds unless it was with a club girl. Yet I don’t think anyone could have been more surprised than I was when I showed back up at Kenzie’s apartment later that evening after Eagle had knocked my ass out. I found myself standing on her doorstep asking her to let me in.
I’d gone there not really knowing why. I only knew something in her drew me. I couldn’t figure out what it was. I only knew I felt helpless to resist her. Over the next couple of weeks, I found myself at Kenzie’s every night. We talked, we laughed, we realized we had several things in common. I was completely dumbfounded when I heard myself asking her if we could be together.
We had been seeing each other since. I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing either. I still didn’t want a permanent relationship and neither of us had even attempted to try to define what our status was. It’s almost like we were just two lonely people being together so we weren’t lonely anymore.
Since our ride ended up a bust, Kenz and I came upstairs to my room. She wanted a shower, said she smelled like sex. I smiled at that. What the woman didn’t know, I thought as I pulled my shirt over my head, she was gonna smell like it again before long. I was about to fuck her in the shower and then we were taking the party to my bed.
A knock sounded on my door as I was unbuckling my belt. I walked over and opened it, only to find Blood standing there.
“Prez and Viper want to see you in Prez’s office now,” he stated and turned around and walked off.
Fuck. This wasn’t gonna be good. I’d thought I would have already been called on the carpet, but as a couple months slipped by, I’d been hoping nothing was going to be said. I should have known better, especially the way the guys had acted earlier. I buckled my belt back up, pulled on my shirt, and walked into the bathroom.
“Kenz,” I called out to her as I admired her naked form through the glass shower doors.
She turned toward me, her hands soaping her breasts. I groaned. Jesus, I wanted to go back to my original plan and jump into the shower with her. My dick agreed, he was already hard and raring to go.
“I, umm…” I got distracted watching her fingers pluck her nipples. This woman was so damn sexy she’d make a priest give up his collar for a night with her.
“You, umm, what?” she asked me as she slid her hand down her body, her fingers brushed through her small, neat patch of red hair.
“I got to…” I groaned as her fingers slipped between her pussy lips and she started stroking her clit.
If it had been anyone other than my Prez and VP, I’d have said fuck it and joined her in the shower. However, I knew if my ass didn’t get down there in the next five minutes, someone would be at my door. Probably Blood and that fucker would come in here and drag my naked ass downstairs.
“Christ, Kenzie. You have no idea how bad I want to join you, but I just got summoned to Dog’s office.”
She pulled her hand out from between her legs, all playfulness gone now. I mourned the loss of watching her.
“You think they are going to say something to you?”
“Yeah, babe. Pretty sure they are. Wait up here for me, okay? Don’t you fucking dare put on any clothes. After they wipe my ass all over the floor, I’m going to need some lovin’.”
“Okay,” she whispered, her voice full of worry.
“It’ll be okay, Kenz.”
She nodded. I turned, walked out of the bathroom, then my door and made my way to Dog’s office. I knocked on the wall and stepped in the doorway. Dog glanced over at me and the look on his face was not happy. I sighed. It had been too good to be true to think I wasn’t going to get my ass called out on this. Wasn’t anything I could say either. This was all my damn fault. I just hoped when I walked out the door I still had my cut on my back.
“Come in and shut the door behind you,” he growled.
I did what he told me. Viper was sitting in one of the chairs that sat in front of Dog’s desk and he didn’t look happy either.
“Park your ass in a chair.”
Again, I did what I was told.
“We heard some shit we aren’t too happy with,” the growling of his tone of voice continued.
I nodded.
“Want to tell us what happened?”
“Not really,” I muttered.
“Fucking do it anyway,” Dog snapped.
“Think real long and hard what you are going to tell us too, Bane,” Viper added.
I let out a deep breath. Hell. “Not sure what you want me to say. Eagle made a play for a girl, I made a play and I got the girl.”
I’d started the nails in my coffin months ago, apparently, I hadn’t driven enough in it.
“God dammit, you little fucker. You better say more than that or I’m getting up from behind this desk and when I get done with your ass, you’ll be lucky if you can walk, much less fuck the girl you have in your room upstairs,” Dog snarled.
Viper murmured, “I’ll hold his arms, not that you need it, just feel like I want to help out.”
I grimaced. Fuck. They meant this shit. I ran my hand down my face.
“Prez, Vip, I’m sure Eagle has told you everything, if Blood hasn’t already. I don’t know what you want me to add to the story.”
“You want to keep that cut on your back, Bane?” Dog hurled at me, he was fucking serious as a heart attack too.
Christ. I really didn’t want to lose my cut. I probably deserved to, but I didn’t want to.
“Eagle saw the girl first, made a move on her. While he was in the men’s room, I made a move on her. When he asked her to pick, she didn’t respond to his question immediately and he told her he would answer the question for her and left. I took Kenzie home and we’ve been seeing each other ever since.”
“He made the first move, huh?” Viper inquired.
“Yeah.”
“You little shit,” Dog fumed, “you forget he was your Brother?”
“No, Prez,” I said quietly.
“You had to because a Brother doesn’t fucking stab another Brother in the back and, Bane, that’s exactly what you did.”
I stared into the eyes of my cousin, a member of my family, but he was also my Prez and here, his word was law.
“You’re right. I did.”
“Why the fuck did you do that, Bane?” Now
Viper was the one growling.
“Christ, I don’t know. Something came over me that night. I don’t know what it was or why I did it.”
“Well, that’s a pretty fucking convenient excuse,” Dog drawled angrily. “You can’t do any better than that?”
“Prez, I honestly don’t know what came over me that night. Eagle couldn’t have wanted her too bad though, he didn’t even try to fight for her. He didn’t really even give her a chance to answer his question when he asked her to choose. He just told her he’d choose for her and turned around and walked out. Hell, even I would have at least made more of an attempt than that.”
“You ever think he wasn’t going to stab his Brother in the back the way you just had him?” Viper asked me.
I winced. Fuck, I felt that deep.
“Neither of us are real happy with you at this moment. For now, you can keep your cut. Not promising at some point in the future if this shit doesn’t get better that it might not be taken. What I should do is put it up to vote before the Brothers.
“Only thing saving your ass right now is the fact you’ve been a member for over eight years and never done anything like this before. I’m hoping the fact that you two used to be best friends will eventually come in to play here.”
“Me too,” I muttered. I knew it wouldn’t but I was holding out hope.
“Don’t hold your breath, Bane, or you’ll suffocate and with the way you treated your Brother not sure anyone would try to make sure your ass was still breathing,” Viper ruthlessly surmised.
Yeah, he was pissed at me. I’m thankful he wasn’t the Prez or my ass would be walking out of this office minus a cut.
“I agree with Viper, Bane. Not sure any of your Brothers would help. That’s a sad testament too, Brother.”
I closed my eyes and dropped my head. Jesus, it fucking hurt that it felt like they were already writing me off. I didn’t have the right to complain, I never would, because this was all on me.
“Here’s what’s going to happen for now,” Dog spoke up. “Blood is making a list. He’s gonna give you a copy of it and Vip and I will have a copy of it. You’re gonna do whatever is on that list and we’d better not hear a damn fucking word out of you about what is on it. You got that?”
“Yeah, Prez. I got that,” I managed to get out.
“Bane, one last thing. If you do anything like this again, I won’t call a meeting of Brothers, I’ll strip your cut off your back so fast you won’t know what hit you. Then you can take the beat down that you deserve to have right now.”
I swallowed hard and nodded.
“Get the fuck out of here. I’m tired of looking at your face. I’m pretty damn disappointed in you, boy,” Dog remarked as he looked at me with an expression of disgust and disappointment.
It was a long walk back up to my room. Deep down, I’d know I would be called on my actions sooner or later. I just hadn’t known how fucking bad it would feel to realize that my Prez and VP felt the way they did, as I stood before my bedroom door, it hit me that the rest of my Brothers probably felt the same way. That was a bitter pill to swallow, especially considering I was the one to cause them to feel the way they did.
All I could do now was pray that fucking demon would stay quiet and, if he didn’t, I’d better hope I could try to find some control over my actions or I’d lose another one of the things that meant the world to me. I didn’t have many more to lose. If I lost them all, I wasn’t sure what I would do.
~***~
Chapter 7
Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.
~Mother Teresa~
Eagle
September 12th, 1998
Since my talk with Dog, Vip and Blood, I felt better in terms of my treatment of Bane. They understood and didn’t blame me for feeling betrayed. I knew now that I didn’t have to worry about forcing an emotion that I didn’t feel toward the man. I’m sure many wouldn’t understand how I could let a woman come between Bane and me. While I feel like he stole Kenzie from me, it went deeper than that.
He not only betrayed the friendship we’ve had since we were young, he betrayed our Brotherhood and he betrayed his family.
Me.
All of that combined together, I couldn’t look past. For now, it wasn’t in me to do and, truthfully, I’m not sure if it ever would be. I couldn’t even look him in the face without wanting to knock his ass out again.
As far as Kenzie was concerned, it fucking hurt to see her at all. I’d taken to leaving the compound or else going to my room when I thought she might come to the Clubhouse. This evening, I wasn’t going to be able to do that. Boomer and Audrey were getting married. While Bane didn’t have any trouble letting down a Brother, I wasn’t that man. I would be there to support Slade and Cas as their parents got married.
I waited until the last possible minute before going downstairs to find a place to sit. I noticed that a spot had been saved for me with the group I normally sat with, but that wasn’t happening today. It probably wasn’t going to be happening anymore anytime soon. I’d decided it was time for a little relief. While I couldn’t get completely away from them, I didn’t have to sit at the same fucking table with them either. There was a chair at the table where Screw, Hatchet, BamBam, Cotton, Axel and Streak sat, that would suit me just fine.
I focused on the wedding. The women had outdone themselves, well one woman in particular, Clair. I had noticed her working hard all this past week. I’d done what I could to help out. While Bane had been over at Kenzie’s place probably fucking her, I had been hanging mini lights across the ceiling of the Great Room.
Son of a bitch.
How the fuck do I get them out of my damn head? The thought of them together was going to drive me insane. I swear it was. It had gotten to the point that I was thinking about renting a place in town so I didn’t have to be at the Clubhouse at all except for Church.
Let me tell you, the thought of doing that fucking gutted me too. Being a member of this club had been my dream since I was old enough to wipe my own ass. I’d always lived and breathed this club. Somehow I had to mentally come to a place where the thought of Bane and Kenzie didn’t run me away from all that I had worked so hard to achieve.
When couples took the floor to dance, I did my best not to watch them. No matter how hard I tried though, my damn eyes were drawn to Kenzie. I didn’t pay attention to him at all, only her, and what I saw should have made me cheerful, only it didn’t. While she didn’t look unhappy, she didn’t look chipper either. I should have been fucking smiling in glee, yet I couldn’t.
I may hate that she chose him over me, but I didn’t wish her any ill will. He, on the other hand, could go bald, get warts all over his face, lose all his damn teeth, and his dick could go permanently limp and I’d be happier than a pig in a poke.
Realizing I’d stared at her too long, I knew I needed to do something to get my mind off her. I glanced around the room trying to find a club girl that wasn’t already occupied. My eyes caught Sydney’s as she walked off the dance floor and I crooked a finger at her. She started across the room toward me, swinging her hips as she came. I forced myself to concentrate solely on her. It was damn time I enjoyed a sexual encounter that didn’t include my fucking hand.
I patted my lap when she got close to me. She sent a sultry smile my way and, thank the heavens above, my fucking dick twitched. I had gotten to the point that I had been afraid it would only respond to the thought of… No, no, just hell, no.
“Hey, darlin’,” I murmured after she sat down on my lap.
I ran my hands up her face, caressing her cheeks as my fingers slid across her skin and into her hair. “You think you could help a Brother out? I’ve got a powerful need for a sexy woman to blow my mind tonight.”
Sydney leaned into me, tilting her head slightly and ran her tongue out and over my mouth. My lips parted involuntarily at her action.
“I think I can help you out with that, ha
ndsome,” she breathed out huskily right before she placed her lips over mine.
I forced every thought out of my head other than Sydney. I was going to give her my all, I wasn’t letting anyone else intrude on pleasuring this beautiful woman. She deserved the very best of me and by damn that was exactly what I was going to give her.
I slanted my head a little and deepened our kiss. I let my tongue lazily stroke hers. Back and forth they danced against each other in slow teasing movements. She shifted her hips on my cock and he hardened against the juncture of her thighs. I could feel the heat of her pussy through the sexy little dress she was wearing.
Soon our breaths were coming faster as we plundered each other’s mouths. I pulled one hand out of her hair and ran it down her neck, across her breastbone and downward until my hand was cupping her breast. I gently squeezed and could tell that Sydney wasn’t wearing a bra. I lazily ran my thumb back and forth across her nipple until it tightened into a hard little point. Thanking the stars above that we were in a darker area of the room and Sydney’s back was to the crowd, I discreetly raised my hand up and slid my fingers into the top of her strapless dress, raking my digits against the sharp point.
Sydney whimpered and I groaned. It was time to take this somewhere else. With one last tweak of her tempting tip, I reluctantly pulled my hand off her satiny skin. I lifted my head just enough to be able to look into her face. Her eyes opened slowly, lazily. Her beautiful bottle green orbs were glazed with passion.
“How about we take this upstairs, beautiful. I’ve got a hankering to see your luscious body sprawled naked on my bed while I spend my time licking every inch of you.”
A shudder ran through her at hearing what I said. She stood up and held her hand out to me, I wrapped my fingers through hers, stood and headed toward the stairs. When we got to the bottom of the steps, Sydney pulled her tiny little dress up some, put her hands on my shoulders and jumped up, wrapping her mile-long legs around my waist. My hips thrust forward when I felt her pussy grinding on my cock.
Bane (Angel's Rebellion MC: #7) Page 6