Thrill Seeker (Kings of Vengeance MC Book 5)

by Winter Travers

  “You’re not going to push me away again, Deedra. If that is what you think you’re doing right now, you got another thing coming.”

  “Think,” I blurted.

  Point tipped his head to the side. “Come again?”

  I sighed. Yeah, I would be the one to try to correct him about something that didn’t really matter. “It’s supposed to be another think coming. Which makes sense if you think about it, but thing makes sense, too. It’s kind of a touchy subject in certain groups of people.”

  “I’m five seconds away from kissing you, and this is what you want to talk about?” he chuckled.

  “Not really, but my brain makes me blurt stuff out that I would much rather just keep inside.” I winced. “Maybe forget I said anything?”

  A knock sounded on the door. “Pizza is here. Come and get it before it’s all gone.”

  “Go away, Zephyr,” Point called.

  “Point,” I hissed. “That’s rude.”

  Point rolled his eyes. “We’re in the middle of something here, Dee.”

  I frowned and pursed my lips. “Not when you call me Dee, and I’m hungry.”

  “Is this you running away again?” he grunted.

  I teetered my hand back and forth. “Sort of, but not really. Just running to the pizza and hope you come with.” I was slightly running away but with the intention to not actually leave.

  Point shook his head and pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “We’re continuing this later,” he promised.

  “Sure.” Maybe. I might need a few drinks if we were actually going to talk seriously. “You think there is any wine left?”

  Point gathered me in his arms and rolled us to the edge of the bed. “If you want some, we better get our asses out there right now. Those chicks tend to drink like fish.”

  I planted my feet on the ground and stood. “Then let’s go, Wendel. Mama needs a drink.”

  *

  Chapter Thirteen

  From jokes to bullets…

  Point

  That one drink Deedra needed turned into seven.

  Then Fancy brought out the vodka, and all bets were off.

  “Can I tell you,” Kimber twirled her finger in Deedra’s face, “a dirty joke?”

  Deedra hiccupped and nodded. “Hit meh.”

  Kimber smiled wide. “It’s gonna be so funny that you are going to put it on tha news.”

  “I need to hear it first,” Deedra insisted. Her eyes were hazy and a loopy smile played on her lips.

  Kimber leaned close. “Pig fell in the mud!” she shouted.

  “Oh, gawd,” Quinn groaned. “She’s reached the stage of drunkenness where she tells dad jokes.”

  Deedra slapped the table and snorted. “That’s so good,” she laughed. She twirled her finger around like Kimber did. “Tell me another one.”

  Kimber cleared her throat. “Did you hear the rumor about butter?” she asked.

  Fancy groaned.

  Deedra shook her head. “No. Tell me.”

  Kimber folded her arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair. “Well, I’m not going to spread it.”

  Deedra snorted so hard she choked and broke into a coughing fit.

  Kimber leaned back to high-five Petra and almost fell out of her chair.

  “You think it’s about time we cut them off?” Dyno asked.

  The women were all gathered around the table closest to the kitchen, and the guys had posted up by the table closest to the couch.

  As soon as Deedra and I had walked into the common room, she peeled off with the girls and left me alone. She kept stealing glances my way, but she didn’t come over by me. I had planned to stay the rest of the night in my room with her, remembering how we used to be, but she ran scared.

  At least she was still in the same room as me.

  Quinn finished his beer and set it on the table. “Kimber is about to be cut off. She tells one more lame joke, and she’s gonna tip right off her chair. She thinks she’s Jim Carrey right now.”

  “Why couldn’t the bicycle stand up by itself?” she slurred to anyone who was listening.

  “Why?” Core called from the couch.

  “It was too tired!” Kimber cracked.

  “Timber,” Quinn whispered.

  Kimber slapped her knee and reared back as she laughed like a crazy hyena. The front legs of the chair left the ground, and as soon as she was too far back, the back legs slipped out from under her, and she landed on her ass.

  “Oh,” Rhino winced. “She is going to feel that in the morning.”

  “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up,” Kimber cried. “Where’s my life alert?”

  Fancy fell to her knees, laughing while Deedra leaned forward to get a glimpse of Kimber.

  “Timber,” Quinn whispered again.

  Deedra lost her balance and fell forward. Her arms flailed out, and she landed hard on her knees.

  “Jesus,” Dyno grimaced. “She isn’t going to be able to walk come morning.”

  “Help, help,” Kimber called. “Someone hand me a drink. I got another joke!”

  “Oh, my God,” Fancy wheezed. “You’re knocked flat on your butt, and you’re still cracking jokes.”

  “I drove by the graveyard today. Totally overcrowded.” She paused and rolled onto her side. “People must be dying to get in there.”

  Quinn chuckled. “That one was actually pretty good. She must have been brushing up on her dad jokes.”

  Kimber twirled her hand in the air. “And that, folks, is my final.”

  “Finale,” Fancy wheezed.

  Kimber managed to stand up and took a drunken bow. “Ya know what I mean.” She pointed at Quinn. “Now, I need you to take my drunk bed to ass because I am drunk.” She held up two fingers a little bit a part. “Tiny bit drunk. Just tiny,” she slurred.

  “I think you mean drunk ass,” Deedra called from the floor. She was still on her knees, but she had reached over for her cup and finished the last sip. “Your ass is drunk, not your bed,” she clarified.

  “Thank you, Sherlock,” Kimber slurred. “I need my Quinn before I falls over again. I might have drank a smidge too much.”

  Quinn moved over to Kimber and put an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s go, babe.”

  She held her finger in the air. “I have an encore.”

  “Yess,” Petra hissed. She held her cup in the air. “Encore, encore.”

  “What time did the man go to the dentist?” She pointed her finger in Quinn’s face. “Don’t joke my ruin.” She shook her head. “You know what I mean.”

  “What time?” Deedra called. She was loving these lame jokes.

  Kimber smiled wide. “Tooth hurt-y.”

  Deedra broke out into another fit of laughter while Fancy shook her head.

  “Lame,” she groaned. “You told that one at the last Book Club.”

  “Are they still trying to make this whole Book Club thing happen?” Zephyr asked. “All they do is cackle like a bunch of hens and get drunk.”

  Queenie pointed her finger at Zephyr. “Shhh, Zebra. Uh, I mean Zucchini.”

  “And this is where Queenie calls it a night,” Sledge laughed. “Thankfully, Gunner won’t have to see you like this.” He walked over to Queenie and held out his hand to her.

  “I have a baby.” She took his hand and smiled. “And I’m drunk.”

  “That you are, Q,” Sledge chuckled. “Let’s get you to bed.”

  Queenie squealed. “Naptime!” she called.

  “Ugh,” Kimber grunted. “Take me to bed, Quinn. I don’t need to hear anything more about naptime.” They ambled down the hallway while Kimber tried to tell one more joke. She gave up when she asked why the chicken tossed the road. Kimber was completely gone and couldn’t string two words together anymore.

  Dyno, Rhino, and Sledge managed to gather their ol’ ladies and headed to their rooms with a chorus of groans and goodbyes.

  I kneeled down next to Deedra and pushed her hair from her face. �
��You all right, Dee?”

  She pasted a wonky smile on her face. “Those bitches sure do know how to drink. I think I’m drunk, Point.” She hiccupped and closed her eyes. “The room is spinning.”

  “I think you might be right,” I chuckled.

  She slapped my arm. “Help me up and take me home. I’m gonna have to wake up in my own bed. I’m gonna have a humdinger of a hangover.”

  “A humdinger, huh?” I lifted her off the ground, and she leaned heavily into me. “You think you can ride on the back of my bike?”

  She moaned and shook her head. “Maybe when I’m not possibly drunk.”

  “You might be right. We can take your car.” I could have tried to convince her to stay at the clubhouse, but I liked the idea of being at her place with no one to interrupt us. Not that I had any plans other than sleeping in the same bed as Deedra, but once we woke up, we were going to finally have that serious talk.

  It took a little bit, but I managed to load her up in the car, and we headed over to her house.

  Her phone dinged a couple of times, but she couldn’t find it in her purse, and I was concentrating on the road.

  “Fuck ‘em,” she slurred. She tossed her purse in the back and laughed. I cringed at the sound of basically everything inside falling out into the backseat. She was going to regret that come morning.

  Ten minutes later, we pulled into her driveway, and I managed to get her out of the car without her falling or hitting her head on the doorframe.

  She draped herself on me, and we trudged to the front door.

  A shadow moved to my left, and I quickly tucked Deedra to my side and turned her away from whatever the fuck was in the bushes.

  “What in the world,” she muffled. “You’ve put me in the stones, Wendel.”

  I reached for my gun and pointed in the direction of the bushes. “Who’s there?” I demanded.

  “Me,” Deedra hiccupped. “I’m in the stones.”

  Fucking hell. Now was not the time for Deedra to be so drunk she didn’t know what the hell was going on around her.

  The bushes moved, and then, a figure stepped into the light. “What the hell are you doing here?” I demanded.

  The kid Deedra had been talking to outside of the diner held up his hands. “I came to talk to Deedra. I tried to call her, but she didn’t answer.”

  “Joseph?” Deedra called. She wrapped her arms around my waist and ducked her head to see around me. “What are you doing here?”

  “I asked him the same thing, Dee.”

  She hiccupped. “I know. I thought you were talking to me.” She shook her head. “Remind me not to drink again.”

  That wasn’t going to happen as long as she hung out with the Book Club.

  “What the hell are you doing here, kid?” I had enough to deal with. This kid needed to get the hell out of here and come talk to Deedra when she wasn’t drunk as shit.

  “I didn’t know where else to go.” The kid looked around. “I messed up.”

  “Oh, no,” Deedra gasped.

  “And you brought your trouble to Deedra’s doorstep?” I growled. This kid needed to get his ass off Deedra’s front step and figure his own shit out.

  “No one knows I’m here.” He looked around nervously. “I lost them when I jumped the train bridge.”

  Fucking hell. This kid has someone fucking chasing him, and he possibly led them straight to Deedra’s door. “Who the hell did you lose?” I demanded.

  The kid looked me up and down. “Look, I don’t know who the hell you are, man, so I’d much rather just talk to Deedra.”

  I took a step toward him.

  Deedra gripped my shirt. “Point,” she whispered.

  “I’m her husband, kid. Who the fuck are you?” I didn’t need to explain anything to this kid. I only took a breath because I knew Deedra had some connection to him.

  “What did you do?” Deedra asked. “What happened?”

  The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and an uneasy feeling washed over me. I stepped back and snaked my arm behind me around Deedra. “Get in the house, Deedra.”

  “What? No,” she grumbled. “I want to know what’s ha—”

  Shots rang out, cutting off Deedra. I spun on my heel, wrapped my arms around her, and tackled her to the ground. Deedra screamed as more shots sounded, and one hit the stones next to us.

  A guttural grunt came where the kid had been standing, and I heard the thud of his body hitting the ground.

  The shots stopped, and tires squealed.

  “Point!” Deedra shouted.

  I kept her covered with my body and raised my head to look around. I didn’t know who they were shooting at, but it felt like the threat was gone. “Stay still,” I grunted.

  What in the fuck just happened?

  My eyes dropped to the lifeless body lying on the sidewalk where Deedra and I had just been.

  Fuck.

  “Joseph,” she gasped. She wiggled out of my hold and crawled over to the kid. “Oh, my God.”

  She managed to press two fingers to his neck.

  I already knew what she was discovering.

  The kid was dead.

  *

  Chapter Fourteen

  Better or worse…

  Deedra

  “Why?” I numbly sat on the edge of my bed and sighed. “Why did this happen, Point?”

  He pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor. “I don’t know, Dee. The only people who know are the ones who shot him.”

  “Joseph,” I whispered. “His name was Joseph.”

  “I know, babe.” He toed his boots off and unbuttoned his jeans.

  “But I didn’t know his last name.” I wiped my nose with the back of my hand.

  Three and a half hours ago, Joseph had been alive, and I had been blissfully drunk.

  Now I was sobered up, and Joseph was dead.

  And we didn’t know why.

  “Get undressed.”

  I looked up at Point. “I don’t think I can sleep.”

  “Try, Dee. It’s late, and you’re gonna have a busy day tomorrow.”

  I blinked. “I’m part of the news instead of reporting it, aren’t I?”

  Point dropped his pants. “Yeah.”

  That was a switch. “Are we going to have to talk to the police more?”

  They had taken a statement from both Point and me, but that was it.

  “Probably. They’re as clueless as we are about why there was a drive-by shooting in your neighborhood.”

  “We have to figure out what happened to Joseph.” That was all I could think about. Why was this young man killed on my front step? Did it have anything to do with me? Where the bullets somehow meant for Point? Did the MC have something to do with it?

  “The police will, Deedra. You gotta let them do their job. You’re not gonna go running around willy-nilly looking for whoever killed Joseph.”

  “But he’s dead, Point,” I insisted. Why wasn’t this more alarming to him?

  “Yeah, it’s a fucking miracle you’re not dead, Deedra. Do you realize how fucking lucky you and I are? They lit up the side of your garage like the fourth of fucking July. Three bullets hit not even a foot away from us.”

  Each of his words slammed into me like a freight train.

  “I…I know,” I stuttered. At least, I thought I knew. What had happened was finally hitting me. “I’m sorry.”

  “Oh, hell,” Point mumbled. He gathered me in his arms and laid back on the bed. “Why the hell are you apologizing, woman?”

  “Because it’s all…I was the…He was there because of me.” A sob escaped my lips, and Point’s arms wrapped around me tightly. “What if this is all my fault?”

  “Shh,” Point cooed. “This isn’t your fault, Deedra. He told us he messed up and was running from someone. That has nothing to do with you.”

  But was that true, though? Maybe Joseph was trying to get information for me, and he got caught. “I don’t know why they ha
d to kill him. Why?”

  That thought was what I kept coming back to. Why did Joseph have to die?

  He was so young, and even though he had a rough start to life, he was turning things around. He was supposed to move into his new apartment in two weeks, and he was actively looking for a job.

  “You need to take a breath, Deedra, and relax. Right now, you aren’t going to be able to figure it out.” He brushed my hair from my face and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “The answers will come to light in the daylight.”

  I sighed and relaxed into his arms. “He didn’t have anyone, Point. He came to me for help, and I couldn’t help him.”

  “You’re not a miracle worker, Deedra. I know you’re trying to work your way through this, but you can’t blame yourself for what happened.”

  Point was right, but I couldn’t keep my mind from running rampant with guilt. A wave of exhaustion settled over me. “Maybe I can sleep for a little bit,” I yawned.

  Point moved his arms, rolled from the bed, and grabbed my foot.

  “What are you doing?” I mumbled.

  “Getting you undressed so you can sleep comfortably. You still have your shoes on, Dee.” He unlaced my sneaker and tossed it on the floor. He did the other one and then reached for the zipper of my jeans. “You want to sleep in that shirt?” He tugged off my jeans and dropped them on the floor.

  “You never liked to put clothes in the hamper,” I grumbled.

  “Shirt, Dee. You wearing that or want something different?”

  I glanced at my dresser. The sweatshirt I had stolen from him three years was in the top drawer. “Top drawer.”

  He already knew I had taken it—no reason not to wear it if he wanted me to be comfortable.

  Point walked to the dresser and chuckled when he opened the drawer. “I knew you took it,” he laughed. He grabbed the sweatshirt and tossed it to me. “Put that on, thief, and let’s go to sleep.”

  I tugged my shirt over my head and pulled the sweatshirt on. I managed to unhook my bra underneath and yanked it out the bottom.

  “You’re gonna have to do that for me another night without the sweatshirt on.” He flipped off the light and climbed into bed.