I jump in as Buzzard’s face grows dark. “I think the VP means the club girls, not the old ladies.” When that’s appeased the married men, I start to sum up. “We look at the club as an entity, consider who might have a beef with the Satan’s Devils. At the same time we look at each of us individually and that includes the women. We get eyes and ears on the ground. We keep our businesses running with maximum security.” I break off, looking between Cad and Pal. “How long until the new cameras are up and running?”
“Got it on order,” it’s Pal who responds. “Installation is easy. By the end of the week?”
I nod, then resume. “Everyone not out investigatin’ stays on the compound. Women to be protected at all times. Two men out front on the gate.” I glance at Demon, sending him a silent message, have I forgotten anything?
Demon steps in. “No brother to be ridin’ alone, that goes without sayin’.” His glare, a copy of my own, lands on each of the brothers. “If you’ve got something you’re hidin’, you need to come clean to the prez or me. We won’t share shit that has no bearin’. You been dippin’ your wick where it shouldn’t have been? I want to know it.”
Fuck me. There are several of them who look guilty. Well, bikers attract tail. Always have, always will.
“I’ll look into any names you give me,” Cad offers.
“You really want a list of people I’ve fucked?” Ink’s eyes look wild. “What if I didn’t know their names?”
Demon’s forehead crashes down on the table. Turning sideways, he gives me a look. And a sly grin. Seems like he’ll be giving me a list too.
“Cad, you might have your work cut out.” I’m shaking my head as I tell him. “Might be easier to ask who hasn’t fucked someone they shouldn’t.”
It’s pure accident, but my eyes fall on the newest member sitting at the end of the table. Everyone else’s do too. It’s Lizard who puts a label on him. He points straight at Pal, “Not him, he’s a fuckin’ virgin.”
It was a figure of speech. But instead of giving us the finger or some other gesture, the lad goes bright red. It’s the fact he says nothing that gets us incredulously laughing.
“Fuck me, you fuckin’ are, aren’t you? You’re waiting for that bitch.” Thunder roars with laughter.
“Hey, come to me if you want some pointers, Brother,” Mace offers.
“Have you even got a dick? It work?” That’s from Ink. “Probably fallen off by now if you haven’t used it.”
Poor Pal looks like he wants to slide under the table.
I take pity on him. “Well the rest of you assholes who overwork your dicks, I’ll see you in alphabetical order.” I raise the gavel. “Meeting fuckin’ dismissed. Bomber you’re up first.”
“Haven’t got anything to say, Prez,” Bomber protests.
I glare at him. “Everyone, Bomb. That includes men with old ladies.”
Demon holds up his hand. “One last thing, Prez?” I nod. “Jeannie and Mo will hopefully have got together that list you asked them to of supplies we’re going to need. Volunteers to go get them?”
“I’ll go,” Pyro offers. “With Taser. Will take you some time to go through the brothers by the expressions around this table.”
He’s right. I’m just wondering how long this list of people they’ve fucked is going to be.
“Prez. Just before we break. Been looking into the police chief some more.”
“What you got, Cad?”
“Zilch. Can’t dig anything up. If he’s targeting us, from his record he’d do it legal.”
“This doesn’t have the feel of a set-up,” I raise my chin to Cad. “Thanks, Brother.”
Cad nods.
“Okay, assholes. Let’s get this shit done.”
As everyone stands and leaves, Bomber hesitates. “You want me in your office, Prez?”
I nod to him. “I’ll be there in a moment.”
When he leaves, it’s just me and my son. Demon’s head is moving from side to side. “Reckon you know what you’re in for?”
I don’t, that’s the problem. “My gut feel is it’s personal. Against the club. We’ve either got a common enemy, or someone gunning for one of us. Seems too haphazard to be something organised by a gang.”
“Runt was the one who got shot.”
“Speed of the attack meant they were aiming for the poor fucker on guard duty. Could have been any one of us. We were rotatin’ the prospects so they all got food at the barbeque. I can’t see how Runt could have been the target.”
“Maybe you’re right.” He doesn’t sound convinced.
“You any other ideas?”
“Other than you acting as father confessor?” Demon grins. “Nah.”
Bomber’s waiting for me in my office as instructed. I walk in and go to my chair, with the desk in between us. Behind me hangs the flag that’s in all our chapters, the insignia of the Satan’s Devils.
“Got fuck all to say, Prez.”
“Whoa. Let me get my ass in the chair first, Bomb.” I sit, then lean forward with my chin resting on my hands. “No judgement, Brother. But are you fucking around on Jeannie?”
Instead of an instant denial, my old friend starts to shake his head, then his eyes crease as thought he’s remembering something. The silence seems to stretch out. Bomber made Jeannie his old lady a few months after Mo and I married. A year later they’d made it legal. Seemed solid as fuck all these years. Even today I’d noticed they were still demonstrable toward each other, a closeness still shared that I seemed to have lost with my wife.
“Brother,” I say in encouragement. “I need to know.”
His lips thin as they press together, his hands are clasped between his legs. He takes in a deep breath, then says firmly, “I don’t fuck around on Jeannie.”
I stay quiet. Something else is coming. Despite what he said in church, does she fuck around on him?
Suddenly he sits back, folding his arms across his chest defensively, then looks at me with a challenge in his eyes. “You know what it’s like. Thirty-five, thirty-six years is a fuck of a long time to be with one woman. To stay attracted to each other? Well that’s fuckin’ hard. Things become so familiar, making love becomes practiced. Hard to put the spice back in it.”
I know what he’s talking about. Fuck, do I.
Again I don’t speak, letting him continue.
“Well, Jeannie and I decided we’d do something different. We don’t cheat on each other. Or not in our eyes. We, er, we joined a swinger’s club a few years back.”
I feel my eyes open wide. Like me, Bomber and Jeannie have a house off compound, we don’t live in each other’s pockets. But I never would have guessed that about him. Now I’m quiet as I don’t know what the fuck to say. I couldn’t have predicted I’d hear that.
He takes it as unspoken criticism, and glares. “We don’t cheat. We do fuck other people. But only when we’re doing it in the same room.”
Could I do that? Let Mo be fucked by another man while I was watching? Fuck no. He’d get a bullet in his ass before he could get his dick close to her cunt. She’s all mine. No one else’s.
I try to gather my thoughts, to put my prez hat back on. “You do what you have to Brother. Ain’t no business of mine. What I need to know is, were all the parties willing? Anyone not too happy seeing you fucking his old lady?”
“Nothing immediately comes to me, but I’ll give it some thought, Prez. Make a list of names and addresses.”
Just how many on that fucking list?
“Appreciate that, Bomb.”
“That all?”
“Yeah.”
He stands to leave. “Don’t tell Jeannie I told you. Unless, you and Mo?”
“No way, Bomber. Sorry.” I’m proud I can keep my voice even.
He chuckles. “Didn’t think so. Pity.”
When my office door closes behind him, I have to wonder whether he’s just told me he wouldn’t mind fucking my wife. I’m not stupid, I’ve always known Jeannie h
ad her eyes on me from the start.
No way. No fucking way.
Hold on. Hadn’t Bomber suggested Jeannie, him, I and Moira get together one evening? Yeah. He had. An innocent request? Fuck, he’s got me thinking now. Before I take him up on that offer, I’ll have to make sure I know exactly what he does, and doesn’t expect. No way. No fucking way.
Chapter 26
Moira
I can’t believe this is happening. Glancing around, I see the club girls sitting at the bar. They seem to have composed themselves now the immediate threat has gone and are doing shots. To my disgust, Sheila’s pouring hers into Titsy’s bare cleavage, the ample breasts that frame it are being held up in the latter’s two hands. Sheila then proceeds to noisily slurp, suck and lick the vodka or tequila, who cares for the details, all up.
Runt, who’s appeared with a bandage on his arm, is resting on the couch soaking the sight up. The other two prospects, supposedly on guard are also distracted.
Not my first rodeo, certainly not the first time I’ve seen something like this. But Hell had promised me a family afternoon, and it’s turned into a freak show as normal. Worse than that, he’s forbidden me to leave and go home. Fuck that. I’d prefer to take my chances, though I’ve still got my brains. As old lady to the president, if someone’s coming after the club, I might be a target.
“You’ll be with Hell in his room. Bomber and Buzz have rooms here, so Sindy and me will be fine.” Jeannie’s mouth narrows as she looks at Jayden. “Haven’t got any spare rooms, so Jay will need to bunk down with Pal.”
“No,” I tell her. “She can take Pal’s room. Pal will have to sleep somewhere else.”
“For goodness sake, Mo. She’s not your daughter. I’ve seen enough of that boy to know he wouldn’t take what wasn’t on offer.”
“I told her sister I’d watch out for her,” I insist, disliking the idea immediately. “Putting temptation in her way isn’t taking care of her.”
“Well you can tell Pal he’s sleeping on the sofa.” Jeannie doesn’t seem to understand.
“I will.” I respond, my temper rising. “Not going to have that girl taken advantage of. I’ll give Pal a piece of my mind. Pal won’t…”
“Hey, what’s all this about Pal? Pal won’t…?” I hadn’t realised Jay had come up behind me.
I open my mouth, but Jeannie gets in first. “There are no spare rooms, Jay, so you’ll have to stay in Paladin’s.”
“Paladin will sleep on one of the couches,” I get in, tossing a glare at my friend.
Jay looks around. Her jaw setting when she sees the lumpy, filthy, worn out couches. When she turns back to me, her eyes are sparking. “No he won’t. If that’s the way it has to be, I’ll stay with him. In his room.”
“No you won’t.” I contradict. “I promised your sister.”
“What Mo?” she challenges me. “Just what did you promise her? All I heard was you offering to give me a room in your house. You promised nothing about defending my honour, nor keeping Pal and I apart. My sister trusts Paladin. And so do I.”
“You’re not seventeen yet…”
“I will be in two months. Sixty days. And that’s going to make how much of a difference? You gonna call the cops on me? Get Pal arrested?”
“So you will be sleeping together,” I throw back, through gritted teeth. “You want to throw your life away? Hitch up with a biker at sixteen?” I notice Jeannie’s staring at me in confusion as the words keep tumbling out of my mouth. “You’re going to jump at the chance to fuck?”
Jayden’s looking equally taken aback, but unlike me, she’s able to speak calmly. “I’m not saying that. What I am saying, is that whatever I do, it’s my business. Not yours.” She turns to Jeannie. “Thank you. I’ll discuss the arrangements with Pal.”
When she swings on her heels, the men are exiting their meeting. As soon as she spies him, Jay’s straight over to talk to her man. Being on lockdown hasn’t seemed to have upset her at all. But then, I suppose she’s more used to that, than being able to get on with her life free of constraints.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Jeannie hisses. “I was fifteen for fucks sake when I lost my virginity, never regretted it. That girl’s already lost hers. Now you’re keeping her to a mythical age limit. Lots of places she’d already be legal anyways.”
“I don’t want her to repeat the mistakes I made.”
Jeannie’s eyes soften. “You made no mistake, Mo. If anyone did, it was down to me. I plagued the hell out of you until you gave in and came to the club. That you were Hell’s put a fucking target on your head. Neither of us had a clue what was going to happen, wouldn’t have come within a mile of the place if we had. Jayden’s not you. You, shit, me too. We were both naïve and clueless. Jay’s been living in a club for two years. She’s known Pal for that long too. I say we leave those young folks alone and let them work it out by themselves.”
I don’t know what the hell to think. Am I being unreasonable? “I’ll talk to Hell. Maybe there’s a spare office Pal can sleep in.”
My friend is shaking her head. “You’re not going to let this drop, are you?”
My eyes swing back around to her. “I can’t.”
Seeing Bomber leaving Hell’s office, I take my chance and pop my head around his door. “I need to talk to you.”
For some reason, seeing me makes him grin. Then he stands. He walks around to my side of the desk. He steps, no prowls toward me. A look on his face so intense, I take a step back. “Er, if you’re busy…”
One hand goes around my waist, the other goes to the back of my head. With a gentle touch he slides his fingers into my hair, and angles my face up. His eyes search mine, his flaring. Oh my. Suddenly his lips are on mine. This is no gentle polite kiss, the type we’ve been satisfied with for a long time now. This is a kiss of possession, as though he’s reminding me I’m his.
I let him lead, he’s fully in command. His tongue demands entry, I let him have it. He’s controlling, he’s making parts of me come alive that I thought were dead. Slowly, almost reluctantly, he pulls back. “Not time now, Mo, but I warn you, might take one of those little blue pills tonight.”
“Might be a good idea,” I agree.
“Mo, my Mo.” His eyes gentle as they smile at me, his fingers smooth across the skin of my face, he doesn’t seem to care about the new wrinkles. He’s not wearing his glasses; he won’t be able to see the details. Nor am I mine, I realise, as I stare back at his still handsome face. There’s a reason why you lose your close-up vision in old age.
His forehead comes down to touch mine. “What was that about?” I ask.
“Just reminding you who you belong to, Mo.”
Who else would want me?
“Now,” he pulls back, holding me at arm’s length. “What did you want to talk about?”
I can’t remember. Oh, hang on, yes. “Jay can’t stay in Pal’s room, Hell.”
He looks puzzled. “Then she can sleep somewhere else.”
“Jeannie says there’s nowhere. All the rooms are full.”
“I’ll have a word with Pal.” Hell grins, as if he knows something I don’t. “I think she’ll be safe enough with him.”
“I don’t want to push them together, Hell. She’s too young.”
“Mo, darlin’. They both are. But they’re old enough to know what they want.”
“I don’t like it. There must be something…”
“Nah, Mo. Jayden stays in Pal’s room.”
“Hell, you’re not listening to me. I…”
He taps me on the nose. “Jayden stays in Paladin’s room. No, let me finish, Mo, you haven’t heard what I haven’t yet said. She’ll stay there, but on her own. I’ve got plans for Pal, he’ll be somewhere else instead.”
Resting my cheek against my man’s shoulder, he cradles the back of my head. We stand like that for a moment, sharing a closeness that we haven’t enjoyed for a long time. I realise I’ve only been thinking about myself,
and how much I hate being on lockdown. I haven’t given a thought to him and the problems he’s dealing with. Like finding out who the club’s enemies are.
“Are you okay, Hell? Do you know who’s coming after us?”
He draws in a deep breath, then lets out a loud sigh. “No fuckin’ idea. Not yet. But I’m working on it.”
“How can I help?”
“Just be my ol’ lady.”
I haven’t felt that for a very long time. Maybe I should stop focusing on me and think about him instead. I don’t know if I’ll be very successful, but if he’s expecting me to step up, perhaps the least I can do is try.
“Okay.”
One last kiss, and I leave him. Buzzard is waiting outside, I step back to let him enter, and then go into the clubroom again. Approaching the bar, I hear a commotion.
“Well this is plain fuckin’ stupid. I had plans for tonight.” Tulia’s getting riled.
“I wanted to go shopping tomorrow. I need some new clothes,” Sheila’s joining in. “I don’t see why we should have to be available twenty-four seven just because the men can’t go out.”
Before Bella can open her mouth, I’m in front of them, while part of me wonders why they want to go shopping when the lack of clothing seems more their norm, I raise my voice. “Do any of you understand what a lockdown is?”
“We’re not stupid.” Bella’s expression makes me want to slap her face, but I refrain. “The men have obviously fucked up. They need to stay out of sight. Someone’s gunning for them.”
“Someone’s gunning for the club,” I correct. “And what are you?”
“Whores,” says Bella, putting it plainly, obviously having no concerns with the term.
“Club girls,” says Tulia, making it sound more gentile.
I point at her. “You’re right. You’re part of the club. Same as us old ladies. Someone wants to hurt the club? They could try and take any of us. Lockdown’s for everyone’s benefit.”
Tulia’s mouth opens and shuts. Bella huffs. As I turn around, Jeannie raises a glass toward me. I grin back. Actually, I’d forgotten I used to enjoy keeping the girls in line. Before I stopped coming to the club.
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