Riding On Fumes: Bad Boy Motorcycle Club Romance (The Crow's MC Book 2)

by Cassandra Bloom

  “You’re fucking kidding me,” I groaned. “And, what, they just happened to discover the error now?”

  “Don’t shoot the messenger, kid,” Danny held his hands up, palms-out. “Or the messenger’s cocksucker, in this case.”

  “This got something to do with the Crew?” I demanded.

  Danny was already nodding as he folded his massive arms over his barrel chest and said, “Informant with the DA’s office says some money ‘might have’ exchanged hands behind closed doors.”

  “Another guy lucky enough to suck your dick?” I asked noncommittally.

  “Nah,” he shrugged the question off. “Just a poker buddy. The game, I mean, not—well, you get it. Anyway, he said he thought we might’ve had something to do with that little exchange. Care to guess why?”

  I wiped my face and shook my head. “Stab in the dark:” I said with a groan, “they recognized a few former Crow members?”

  “And ‘Bingo’ was his name-o,” Danny said, only half-singing the words.

  “So the Crew sprang Mia’s brother,” I said what we’d already established aloud, testing the sound of it and deciding I really didn’t like it. I shook my head, confused. “Why on earth would they do that? The whole reason Mia was hooking for them in the first place was to keep him from getting offed by them. Why would they go through all the trouble of getting him out if the one thing that was keeping him alive ran off?”

  “See, I was thinking the same thing,” Danny said with an appreciative nod. “And it got me thinking. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that Mack had outright paid off all his debts, right? Would it be fair to say that the Crew would no longer be gunning for him?”

  “Presumably, sure,” I said, nodding.

  He mirrored my nod with one of his own. “Right, one might even say they’d be square. Now let’s say that Mack had only sort of paid off his debts, what then?”

  I frowned. “I’m not sure I’m following,” I confessed.

  Danny sighed and leaned against the desk. “Consider this: Mack’s dug himself in deep with the Crew, an’ now he’s bein’ hauled off to the pig pen. Shit’s bad in there, sure, but it’s a lot worse out here, where the Crew is, an’ it could be downright fatal in there if he doesn’t do something to take the boot off his neck. So what if he made them some sort of offer? What if he gave them, not money—not exactly—but the means to make it? It’d take a lot of that heat off of him, wouldn’t it?”

  My frown deepened into a scowl.

  Danny nodded, seeing I was catching on. “So what would happen if that money-maker high-tailed it? The Crew’s come to see that, yeah, it works as a money-maker, and, worse yet, it’s startin’ to drag a bunch of other money-makers out of their pockets, as well. Worse yet, that money-maker’s bangin’ the head of their enemies, for all they know that money-maker’s makin’ money for us now.” Danny shrugged and shook his head for effect, saying, “They dunno that love’s a factor—prolly don’t give a rat’s piss-stained nutsack, either—but they do know that Mack’s bargaining chip has given them the slip. So what better way to get it back…” he trailed off then, staring at me.

  I was shaking with rage. “Then to spring the motherfucker who gave it to them in the first place,” I finished for him.

  Danny nodded, but there was no joy in it.

  “So you think that Mack gave the Carrion Crew Mia? That he’s out there trying to get her back to cover his own ass?” I pressed on.

  “Which makes more sense:” Danny offered with a groan, “that that’s the case… or that Mack managed to slip free on a legit technicality, decided to stick around, and has just randomly decided to fuck with ya two jus’ for fun?”

  “Fuck,” I said.

  “Fuck,” Danny agreed.

  I sat down on the couch that waited along the side wall for just this sort of “I need to sit down”-moment. My vision blacked out as I dropped my face into my hands. I violently rubbed eyes with the heels of my palms, finding the hot pain exquisite. Freeing my left hand, I smacked myself in the temple—once, twice, and finally three times—and then, throwing my head back, roared in rage at the ceiling.

  “MOTHERFUCKER!”

  Danny watched all this, sympathetic but passive; he waited through my outburst. I appreciated him all the more for it.

  It made perfect sense: send Mack to collect. Either he managed and the Crew had regained their asset without having to spend any of their own time or money to do it or they finally got to off Mack for all that he owed them.

  And then they’d start investing their own time and money to regaining their asset; to getting Mia back.

  Desperation.

  The name of the game was “Desperation.”

  The Crew was desperate. Mack was desperate.

  And now I was desperate.

  The problem, of course, was that I had an unfair advantage in this game.

  The Crew? They got sloppy when they got desperate.

  Mack? He got stupid when he got desperate.

  But me? I got mean. I got crazy. I got vulgar and violent, and I got even. When Jason Presley got desperate, people got hurt. Mack had gotten me desperate for all the wrong reasons when he’d fed me all that bullshit about Mia, and she’d gotten hurt for it.

  Now the target was set on a new target, a far more deserving one, and—oh yeah!—I was gonna get all sorts of crazy, vulgar, and violent; I was gonna get very, very even.

  Because if I didn’t—if I failed; (if you’re not fast enough)—then Mia would be dragged into an even worse hell than before, I’d be dead, and the Crow’s would be left wounded and exposed to—

  “Stop those thoughts right there,” Danny said and I was surprised to see that he was standing over me, his hands on my shoulders.

  “Stop?” I croaked.

  “I can tell what ye’re thinkin,’” Danny said, squeezing my shoulders tighter. “This ain’t yer fault and neither was Anne’s death. Ya gotta stop blamin’ yerself.”

  “And if I fail again?” I asked.

  “Ya didn’t fail nobody, Jace,” Danny shook me slightly. “Get that through that thick skull o’ yers. Ain’t nobody blamin’ ya fer what happened.”

  “Nobody is left to,” I said, shooting him a glare. “Except me. And I blame myself every day.”

  “Ya think this is what Mia needs?” Danny asked.

  I stopped.

  The guilt that grew at the reminder of Mia seemed to bring me back. I shook my head and leaned against Danny, clenching my eyes shut. Why did it have to be so hard? Why was everything so ass backwards?

  “It’ll be alright, ye’ll see,” Danny said, patting my back.

  “You getting sentimental on me now?” I asked, feeling a halfhearted smile on my face.

  “When the time calls fer it.”

  I nodded, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves. It didn’t seem fair. I finally felt that I was on the right track. That the Crows were doing what they could with the Carrion crew. That Mia and I were back together.

  Things had seemed so good again.

  Then everything came crashing down.

  I had to stop Mack. Had to find him no matter the cost.

  “What ya plannin’ there, Chase?” Danny asked, ironically using the nickname the rest of the Crows knew me by.

  “Planning on living up to that name, I guess,” I admitted, then frowned. “But chasing’s no good if you don’t know where your target is.”

  “Take it ya mean Mack?” Danny asked.

  I nodded.

  “An’ what about the Crew?”

  I frowned and looked down. “I’m not sure,” I confessed, shaking my head. “But I know we’ll never survive a full-on war against them. The Crew’s got weapons and numbers—a lot of those numbers coming from our dwindling own, no less—and a direct attack would almost certainly ensure their win.”

  “Those are facts,” Danny agreed.

  I sighed and leaned back. “But the Crew are cowards. From the highest to the
lowest. They were created by cowards, and they’ve only ever grown by scaring others into joining. They’re a pirated ship manned by not a single member who’d be willing to go down with the vessel should it start to sink.”

  “Those are also facts,” Danny said, nodding.

  “So how best to get a ship like that sinking?” I mused aloud.

  “Ship’s already sinkin,’” Danny pointed out. “That’s why they’re scramblin’ like mad to patch ‘er up.”

  I considered that for a moment, nodding. “Hey… yeah,” I said with dawning insight. “Yeah! The only reason they’re not running for the door is because the chicken-shits in charge are scarier?”

  Danny nodded. “Ship’s sinkin’ slow, but the captain’s a crazy asshole with a loaded gun tellin’ ‘em that some loose floorboards’ll patch things up right as rain.”

  “The captain…” I repeated, thinking. “The captain…”

  “Ya sound like ya got a plan brewin,’” Danny said, and I felt his gaze on me, curious and intrigued.

  “Maybe,” I admitted, shaking my head, “but it’s nothing solid yet. In the meantime,” I grunted as I pulled myself to my feet, “I was hoping you might get a few of your sources banded together to track down—”

  My phone chimed, and I paused to glance at the notification:

  FROM: UNKNOWN NUMBER

  Scowling at this, I opened the message, already beginning to shake with rage as I read:

  cornr of church

  an lyle. 10 mins.

  dont dispoint me

  boy toy

  I growled and shook my head. You’d think a manipulative little turd like that would learn how to spell, I thought, resisting the urge to take out my rage on my phone.

  “Everythin’ okay?” Danny asked. “Ya sorta checked-out jus’ then. Mia send ya a dirty picture or somethin’?”

  “Cancel that last order,” I heard myself grumble, starting for the door. “I know where he is.”

  “What? What’chu talk—No!” Danny was following after me now. “Don’t tell me that weasely li’l rat-fuck…?”

  I interrupted him with a nod. “He wants to meet,” I said, offering a venomous grin over my shoulder. “Same way as before—same place even.”

  “That’s one dumb motherfucker,” Danny whispered, sounding almost sympathetic.

  I nodded. “Sounds like the perfect candidate to be taught a lesson. We’ll worry about the Crew later. First I’m gonna—”

  “Waste a bunch of time talkin’ when ya should be on yer bike an’ haulin’ ass out to kick his?” Danny challenged. “Boy, if ya don’t get out there and lay boot heels to that fag-fuck’s butthole I’m’a lay boot heels to yers!”

  ****

  The rain had started while I’d been inside. Now it splattered my face as I sped down the highway, working to keep a steady speed going without hydroplaning off the road. I narrowed my eyes, fighting to see past the sting of the rain as it slapped my face. I had worn the helmet I had usually reserved for Mia, but even with the helmet, my eyes weren’t completely safe from the rain. I continued forward, driving faster and feeling the tires threaten to lose traction of the roads.

  “Oh no you don’t!” I yelled at no one in particular, swerving slightly to retain a steady grip on the road.

  I continued down the highway, desperate to end this all, but not wanting to risk my life. If I got into an accident, I would be no good to anyone. I hated how trapped I felt as I continued to drive down the highway at a slower pace. I wanted desperately to drive faster. To end all of this now!

  “DAMMIT!” I roared over my engine, continuing forward.

  I knew that if anyone saw me right now, they’d think I was crazy. They wouldn’t be half wrong, to be fair.

  I was crazy.

  Crazy to get to Mia.

  Crazy to make sure she was safe and in my arms again.

  And, sure, probably more than a little certifiable, as well.

  But who could blame me? It was a crazy world, to be fair.

  The exit for downtown finally came and I took it, crying out as the bike nearly slid right out from under me. At the last second, the bike managed to find its grip again and I held out tight, maneuvering the best I could as I prayed that the bike didn’t hydroplane again.

  It didn’t.

  I got to the corner in just over ten minutes later. I cursed at this fact, but decided it likely didn’t matter in the long run. I looked around and then down at my phone, unsure if I was expecting to suddenly notice some unseen detail in the first message or if I was expecting to see a new message waiting. In either case, there was nothing there to see. Looking back out, I squinted through the rain, wondering if he was standing somewhere else. I needed him to be there. Needed to end this all.

  But there was nobody there.

  There was nobody there…

  But me.

  Alone.

  Occupying Mia’s old street corner, standing in the pouring rain, while Mack was out there, somewhere else, probably—

  My eyes widened.

  Somewhere else?

  No…

  There was only one place Mack would want to be. It was me who he needed “somewhere else.”

  And wasn’t this corner just the best “somewhere else” to put me?

  “Mia…” I whispered.

  And then I was riding again, leaving rainwater and tears spraying out behind me as I went.

  THIRTEEN

  ~MIA~

  Jace certainly knew how to wake a girl up.

  I smiled, thinking back to the memory of this morning as I looked through his walk-in pantry, wanting to give him something in return for the pleasure he’d given me this morning. My body warmed as the memory swam through my mind like a scene from a dirty movie:

  I cried out, waking up to find Jace’s head between my thighs, the feel of his tongue stroking me entrance perfectly. I shivered, moving my hands to his head, falling victim to the pleasure he so willingly gave. I arched my head back, marveling at just how lucky I was to have a man who would wake me up like this.

  “You awake now?” he said, continuing to lap at me even harder.

  “I am now,” I said, my voice husky with pleasure.

  “Good,” he smirked. “Now I won’t be so gentle.”

  I gasped he returned to his “job” with that much more intensity. His fingers joined with his tongue, working me simultaneously and I couldn’t hold on any longer. I fell back against the pillows, arching upward as my body came alive. I screamed out as my orgasm rocketed through me, wave after wave of pleasure wracking my body.

  “Jace, I need you inside me! Please,” I panted.

  He nodded, moving off me and headed to grab a condom. I took his hand, squeezing gently to stop him.

  “Jace, it’s fine,” I said. “I’m on the pill.”

  “Are you sure?” he looked over, his face filled with pleasure at my request.

  “I want this,” I smiled. “You’ll be my first without any…”

  “Thank you, Mia,” he said, leaning down and capturing my lips in his.

  Within seconds, he was filling me to the hilt. I panted, loving the feel of him inside me, with nothing between us. It felt so much more intimate and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him back into another passionate kiss. He began to buck inside me, his cock hitting me perfectly as he did.

  “Oh wow,” he panted. “It feels so good, Mia.”

  “It really does,” I shivered. “I’m already close!”

  “Do it! Come for me,” he groaned. “I’m close too!”

  As he increased the tempo, a second orgasm crashed through me and I arched back, gasping at how strong this orgasm was. At the same time, Jace had arched back, groaning at his own release as he began to flood me deep. I moaned, loving the feel of him inside me. I felt that much closer to him and as we both finished together, I fell back, Jace falling beside me.

  “Wow,” he panted. “That was incredible.”

 
“It felt different,” I smiled warmly. “I can see why people complain about condoms.”

  He smirked, leaning forward and kissed my forehead. I snuggled closer, knowing he’d be leaving soon. While I knew he wasn’t going to be gone for long, a part of me suddenly felt afraid. I didn’t want him to leave all of a sudden.

  I cleared my thoughts at that, still unsure where that sudden emotion had come from earlier. I hadn’t brought it up to Jace, not wanting to seem like a burden and deciding that it was just a residual thought from our earlier separation. Going back to my task, I continued to look through the pantry.

  “Get it together, Mia,” I whispered to myself.

  I looked up at the sound of my phone ringing and stepped out of the pantry, looking around for my phone. When I found it, I saw that it was Candy and quickly picked it up, hitting the “accept” icon.

  “Little early for you to be awake, isn’t it?” I teased.

  “Is that how you talk to your best friend ever?” Candy’s voice replied with mock-hurt.

  “I guess so,” I said, maintaining the playful back-and-forth.

  “Hmm,” she resigned without words, then asked, “So you two okay then?”

  “We are, yeah,” I said with a smiled. “Thanks… you know, for everything.”

  “Uh-huh,” she hummed, sounding cocky. “Tol’ya it wasn’t forever, didn’t I?”

  “You did,” I admitted.

  “So you want me to come over?” she asked. “Day’s open—like my door, thanks to your lover-boy—and I was thinking you could treat me to a movie in that private theater you get to call a living room.”

  I laughed at that. “Anything to ogle Jace’s place some more, right?” I asked.

  “Well, that… and I bet you he has some real good booze hidden there,” Candy laughed.

  I remembered the wine from the night before and laughed again. “He does, I can confirm,” I told her. “But it’s not the sort of stuff I can start freely pouring out. Not unless you got ten-grand lying around.”