Joker (Salvation Kings MC Book 2)

by Ana Night

  “Did I do something? Last night?” Gabe asked.

  Joker’s whole body tensed for a second, then he flashed a small smile.

  “You took off your clothes the second we got home.”

  That wasn’t exactly a surprise to him. He always got really hot when he was that drunk. In college, he’d once woken up naked on someone’s lawn after one hell of a party.

  “That’s all?”

  “What? You remember something?”

  Gabe cocked his head to the side. “Is there something you don’t want me to remember?”

  When Joker didn’t answer, he walked up to him. He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Joker.

  “What is it?”

  Joker shrugged. “You were drunk. You did a lot of stupid things. You sure you want me to get specific?”

  Joker

  The way Gabe was looking at him made it obvious he didn’t really believe him. Gabe knew there was more, but no way in hell was he telling him. Unless Gabe remembered on his own, he wasn’t going to fucking remind him.

  The sound of motorcycles nearing spared him from saying anything else. He pushed away from the wall just as Zayne and Stiletto pulled up. He followed them inside, Gabe right on his heels. He put his bag on the floor and walked to his chair. He didn’t sit down, only leaned his arms on the backrest as he glanced around the room. Gabe stayed in the far corner, leaned against the wall.

  Joker waited until everyone had arrived before he spoke.

  “We’re going to the cabin,” Joker said. “We have a shipment coming in. I don’t know exactly when just that it’ll be within the next four days.”

  “Who’s going?” Rooster asked.

  “Well, Joker’s going, obviously,” Zayne said and glanced around the table. “It’s gonna be a rather large shipment. Gash, Viper, Hawk, Wildcat, Bullet, and Gabe are going.”

  Gabe’s head shot up and he stepped away from the wall.

  “I’m going?” Gabe asked.

  He hadn’t been happy about it, but he’d agreed with Zayne on letting Gabe join them. He knew Gabe needed the experience, the responsibility, but he still didn’t like bringing Gabe into a possibly hostile situation. He wasn’t equipped for it.

  “Yes, you’re going,” Joker said with a nod. “Grizz is back at the gym, him and Nancy can hold down the fort. The tattoo shop is fully booked the next few weeks so they can’t spare anyone.”

  There were no complaints from anyone, which was what he expected of them. It didn’t matter who did which job, they all got paid.

  Joker gave them some more information and then said, “Those of you who need to pack, go now.”

  The ones who were going with him were quick to leave. All except for Gabe. He waited for the others to leave the room before he walked to Joker’s side and sat down next to him.

  “I’ve never been to the cabin before.”

  “Don’t get too excited,” Joker said.

  The cabin was a piece of property King had bought on the cheap a few years before. They’d spent a lot of time fixing it up. It was more or less in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by woods. It was why they used it for things like this. Their business partner sometimes needed them to keep a few of their shipments for a certain amount of time before they could transport them. They were what they called level fours. Level fives were the highest on the scale and that was people who needed immediate transportation. They tended to be more dangerous than level fours. Of course, there was also danger involved in keeping these people in the same place for an extended amount of time.

  It took a little over half an hour to get to the cabin. They wouldn’t all be driving together, though. People tended to notice a group of bikers and that was the last thing they needed. Viper and Hawk had already loaded their bikes into a truck and driven off to the cabin. The rest would join them later.

  “Let’s go.” Joker pushed his chair back and stood.

  He grabbed his bag on the way out and waited for Gabe to catch up. They walked outside together where he went to the car Wildcat was sitting on the front seat of, the door open and her legs hanging out. She looked up when they neared, a smile pulling at her lips when her gaze landed on Gabe.

  “You finally get to play with the big kids, huh?”

  Joker grunted and threw his bag into the backseat.

  “I guess,” Gabe said, wearing a smile of his own. “You driving the cage up there?”

  Wildcat sighed. “I pulled the shortest straw. I already brought a bag so the others went home to pack.”

  Joker took Gabe’s bag out of his hand, though he barely noticed as he was busy talking to Wildcat. He put it with his own and closed the door. There was no need for them to carry that much luggage when there was plenty of room in the cage.

  “Get a move on, prospect,” he yelled over his shoulder.

  He pulled his helmet on and found his gloves. Gabe came jogging towards him and as soon as he was on his bike, they took off onto the road.

  Gabe

  The cabin wasn’t what he’d expected. It was a lot nicer. He knew Joker and Zayne had helped his dad fix it up while he was still in high school. They’d done a great job. It looked new, yet lived in. The place was huge and was pretty secluded, surrounded by acres of trees.

  He parked his bike next to Joker’s and pulled a small bag out of his saddlebag. His other bag was in Wildcat’s car and he didn’t know when the others would get there, but he had the essentials in this bag, so he’d be fine. He followed Joker who was headed towards the front door, saying hello to Hawk who was sitting on the porch. Gabe looked around as they walked inside, taking in everything. Viper was sitting at the dining table, cleaning one of his guns.

  “Hey, Viper,” Gabe said.

  Viper looked up at him. “Gabe. How was the ride?”

  “Good. It’s beautiful out here.”

  “I know, right?” Viper asked with a smile.

  “The rooms are this way,” Joker said and continued through the dining room.

  Joker led him to a hallway with several doors on each side. He knew there were six bedrooms. And though they were small ones, there was room for two in each. Three if they weren’t all Joker’s size. Joker walked into one room and Gabe peeked inside to see a queen size bed. Even though he definitely wanted to claim the other side of that bed, he knew Joker would just throw him out, so he opened the door to the room on the opposite side of the hallway. He placed his bag on one of the twin beds. He’d unpack later. He wanted to see the rest of the cabin first.

  He walked into Joker’s room and looked at the beautiful wood furniture he knew was either Joker’s or Zayne’s handiwork. They’d made almost every piece of furniture from scratch.

  “Hey,” Gabe said. “Thanks for letting me come.”

  Joker didn’t answer, he just frowned for a second before looking away.

  “You didn’t want me to come, did you?” He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “If you didn’t want me here, then why…”

  Joker glanced up. “Saint thought it was a good idea.”

  “And you obviously disagree,” Gabe said.

  He shook his head. Why was he even surprised? Joker never wanted him to do anything. He rarely got to do anything with the other prospects, let alone do anything meaningful. He was lucky if he got to clean a car or serve at the bar. The most he’d ever been allowed to do was go on a run with Saint and Joker. But that was only because there were kids involved and his father hadn’t wanted to scare them, so Gabe went along because he was the least threatening looking in the club. He’d been glad to be included then, but once he’d had time to think it through later, he’d realized his father thought him more harmless than Auggie. No offense to the man, but he was only a danger to himself. Auggie could barely hold up a bike and he was prone to injury.

  “Not entirely,” Joker said, bringing Gabe out of his thoughts.

  “What?”

  Joker sighed and said, “No, I don’t want you here. I’d
much prefer you be somewhere safe. But Zayne thought you needed the experience and I do agree with that.”

  “Somewhere safe,” Gabe mumbled, stuck on the words.

  Joker arched a brow at him.

  “You really think I need to be somewhere safe? I’m a prospect, not a fucking hang-around. I know what I’ve gotten myself into. If I wanted to be safe, I wouldn’t be here.”

  “I don’t see how that changes—”

  Gabe threw his hands up and snapped, “Stop treating me differently.”

  “If I didn’t treat you differently, you wouldn’t even get to see this place. We don’t usually bring prospects into these things,” Joker said.

  “That’s because they don’t know about it, but I do. I’ve known since the beginning.”

  “Which is why you’re allowed here.”

  He wasn’t getting anywhere with Joker. He seemed set in his ways. He let out a frustrated growl and turned on his heels. He needed to get the hell out of there. He walked through the cabin, past Viper, and out the door. He stopped by the railing on the patio, putting his hands on it and dropping his head forward. He squeezed his eyes shut, unable to get Joker’s words out of his head. Joker thought he was a liability. That he needed constant handholding and protection. He hated that Joker saw him like that.

  He turned and leaned back against the railing, his eyes landing on Hawk who was still sitting in a chair in the corner, watching him. Hawk didn’t ask him what was wrong. He probably already knew and besides, it wasn’t like Hawk to get involved in people’s shit.

  Hawk stood and made his way down the steps, then stopped to glance up at Gabe.

  “Come on. I’ll show you ‘round.”

  Gabe took a deep breath before following Hawk.

  Joker

  He’d watched Gabe walk away with his jaw clenched. He shook his head, cursing under his breath. Gabe was stubborn as hell. He was definitely going to be trouble. At least to Joker. There was a fire in Gabe, a passion that burned hot, but often his temper got the best of him. He wouldn’t be surprised if that happened mostly when he was around.

  He walked into the living room where he found Viper. Joker gazed out the window, seeing Gabe on the front porch, moving towards the stairs. He considered going out there for a second, then thought better of it. Viper made a sound that had Joker turning to throw a glare his way.

  “What?”

  Viper shrugged, a smile playing on his lips. “I didn’t say nothing.”

  Joker snorted, thinking that Viper might as well get whatever it was off of his chest. He crossed his arms and arched a brow at Viper.

  “You’re being a dick,” Viper said. “If you wouldn’t have brought any other prospect here, you shouldn’t have brought him.”

  Joker’s brows hit his hairline. “You heard that?”

  Viper snorted and said, “You were kinda loud.”

  “Shit,” Joker mumbled.

  He walked to the dining table and pulled out a chair. He fell into it with a heavy sigh.

  “I just want to protect him, is that really so bad?”

  “No,” Viper said with a shake of his head. “But you’re treating him differently because of it.”

  “Fuck,” Joker mumbled and dropped his head into his hands. “What the fuck am I supposed to do? He’s not ready. He thinks he is, but he isn’t.”

  “Or maybe he is, and you just refuse to see it,” Viper said.

  Joker dropped his hands to glare at Viper.

  “So, what do we know about the shipment?”

  Joker grunted and said, “They’re two families. One of three and one of five and that’s pretty much all I know.”

  “We’ve had quite an uptick of shipments the past few months,” Viper said.

  “Yeah. I think that new business partner he talked about recruiting a year ago is paying off.”

  “Have you considered putting a halt to it until we’ve figured everything out with the Henchmen?”

  Joker sighed and leaned back. “I wish we could, but this is people’s lives we’re talking about. King would never even consider it.”

  “Maybe he should. We can only do so much, especially if we end up in an all-out war,” Viper said.

  Joker nodded, knowing Viper was right. If it came to that, he would have to at least try to convince King to press pause on the shipments.

  Chapter Four

  Gabe

  THE SUN was beating down on them hard. Gabe raised his bottle of water and emptied it. They’d been roasting in the sun for several hours and while he did love the summer heat, his sensitive skin certainly didn’t.

  “Does anyone have any sunscreen?” he yelled, sitting up in his sun chair.

  He’d be lying if he said he was surprised the guy who had brought some was Joker. Pretty much since Joker joined the Kings, he’d been taking care of Gabe. He just didn’t know if it was because his father had told him to, or if there was another reason.

  Joker held the sunscreen out in front of him and Gabe put his water bottle on the ground before taking it from him. He glanced up at Joker, letting his eyes roam all over his body. His sunglasses were mirrored but he didn’t doubt that Joker caught it.

  “You knew we’d be out here. You should’ve known to bring some,” Joker said, his tone chiding.

  Gabe squirted a decent amount of sunscreen into his palm and began spreading it on his chest and shoulders. “Why would I do that when I knew you’d do it for me?”

  “I’m not your fucking caretaker,” Joker growled.

  “Really? ‘Cause you sure act like one.”

  “You keep that shit up, prospect, and I’ll have to reprimand you.”

  Gabe snorted and continued applying the sunscreen to his upper body and arms. They both knew Joker wouldn’t reprimand him. It was one thing that’d been cool about being the prez’s son when he was a kid, but now that he was trying to become a part of the club, it just sucked. No one treated him like anything but the P’s son. They didn’t tell him anything or let him do anything to prove himself. He was reaching the end of his rope and he didn’t know what to do. He loved the club and the people there, wanted to make his father proud, but he feared he could never do that with the way things were.

  Joker put his hands on the arms of Gabe’s chair and leaned down. Gabe took his sunglasses off and met Joker’s gaze.

  “You have that look on your face,” Joker said.

  Gabe leaned back, raising a brow at Joker. “What look?”

  “I don’t know. But you’ve had it a lot lately.”

  “You mean my ‘what should I do with my life’ look?” Gabe asked.

  Joker frowned and asked, “What do you mean?”

  “Nothing.”

  He pushed out of the chair, forcing Joker to let go and step back. He threw a glance at the men around them and huffed. He headed towards the cabin, but he only made it onto the front porch before a hand on his shoulder brought him to a halt.

  “Don’t you dare walk away from me like that,” Joker said in a low, rough voice.

  Gabe swallowed hard, trying to suppress the wave of desire that voice caused.

  “What do you mean?” Joker repeated.

  “I…” He shook his head, turning his gaze down. “I don’t know what to do.”

  Joker wrapped his fingers around Gabe’s wrist and pulled him through the front door. Gabe followed without complaint. Joker led him through the living room and into the bedroom section. He didn’t stop until they were inside the room Joker had claimed for himself and once there, he closed the door behind them.

  “You’re talking about the club,” Joker said.

  Gabe nodded and sat down on the queen-sized bed. He wasn’t about to lie to Joker, but he didn’t exactly want to have this conversation with him either. If there was one person who could make him stay, it was Joker.

  “Talk to me.”

  “What do you want me to say?” Gabe shook his head. “I can’t stay, but I also can’t leave.”
/>
  “Why do you want to leave?” Joker asked, taking a step closer to Gabe and then hesitating.

  Gabe eyed him warily for a moment before drawing in a deep breath.

  “The club is my family and they always will be, but I’m not actually a part of the club. Not the way I want to be. Not the way I’ve tried so damned hard to be. I’m stuck. I don’t know how to get out of this. How am I supposed to earn my colors if you won’t let me?”

  Joker’s jaw was clenched tight.

  “I don’t want you to get hurt,” Joker said through gritted teeth.

  Gabe shot off the bed, yelling, “I’m not fucking fragile.”

  “I know,” Joker hissed.

  “Really? ‘Cause you’ve got a fucked up way of showing it,” Gabe said.

  “I never said you were fragile. I just said I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “Why?”

  “Gabe,” Joker said, a warning in his tone

  He walked to stand in front of Joker and pushed at his chest, but Joker didn’t budge. Instead, Joker stepped into his space, his hands coming up to cup Gabe’s cheeks.

  “I’ve always known, Gabe. I just didn’t want to see it. I couldn’t. You’re too damned good for me, don’t you know that?”

  “I think I should be the one to decide who is and isn’t good enough for me,” Gabe said.

  He held his breath as Joker’s eyes dropped to his lips. Joker ran his thumb over Gabe’s bottom lip, making a silent gasp escape him. Joker lowered his head, putting no more than an inch between their lips.

  A loud knock on the door made Joker jerk back. The knocking continued as Joker stared at Gabe with something akin to panic in his eyes.

  “Hey, Joker? You in there?” Gash yelled.

  Joker tore his gaze away from Gabe and walked to the door. Gabe watched him go and let out a frustrated breath.

  Joker

  He closed the door, leaving behind Gabe and whatever had been about to happen in his room. He turned his attention to Gash while he tried to convince himself he hadn’t been about to kiss Gabriel.