Freak (Fallen Lords MC Book 7)

by Winter Travers

  “We need two rooms for Carnie and Wendy’s family.” Slayer filled the glass with ice and soda. “Double the expense no one saw coming.”

  Nikki grabbed the glass and took a sip. “They can stay at my place.”

  “Pipe will love that,” Slayer laughed.

  Nikki waved her hand. “He’s been staying here since the whole Bobby thing blew up.”

  Gah, I had really messed up everything by coming to the Fallen Lords for help. Nikki wasn’t even sleeping in the same bed as Pipe. “I’m sorry.”

  Nikki tipped her head to the side. “Girl, for what? I’m actually getting to bed at a decent hour, and Pipe isn’t hogging the covers.” She bumped her shoulder into me. “I should be thanking you for stirring things up around here.”

  “You’re really okay with her family staying with you?” Freak asked.

  Nikki nodded. “Yeah. And if they drive me crazy, I can always come here and stay in Pipe’s room. It’s really not a big deal. We have two extra bedrooms and a bathroom that hardly ever gets used.”

  “That’s my shitting bathroom, woman.”

  Nikki whirled around and plastered a smile on her face. “I was trying to downplay the fact you have a bathroom only for shitting.”

  Pipe draped his arm across Nikki’s shoulders and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. “It’s only when you’re home. If you’re gone, I use ours.”

  “Please, just stop,” Nikki whispered.

  “I will as soon as you tell me why you were talking about our house.”

  This was either going to go well, or Pipe was not going to like the fact Nikki had just offered up their house to my family.

  “Well, you know how you’ve been staying at the clubhouse the past few nights?”

  Pipe nodded. “You know I got club business going on right now, Nik.”

  She patted his chest. “I totally know that, and I’m completely fine with it.”

  “So…”

  “So, I told Carnie and Wendy that if they wanted, their family could stay with me. At our house.” Nikki beamed eagerly up at him. “If you think about it, you could rest easier knowing I wasn’t home by myself.”

  “Nikki,” Pipe drawled.

  Her hand snaked up his chest, and she patted his cheek. “I’ll make it worth your while after they head back home.”

  “How much worth my while?”

  She reached up on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear.

  Pipe listened closely, and a smirk spread across his lips. “You make that happen, and they can stay for however long they want.”

  Nikki pressed a kiss to his cheek and turned to Wendy and me. “That’s settled.” She gave us two thumbs. “You want to tell them or should I? I don’t want to interrupt whatever conversation you guys are having.”

  Wendy slipped off her stool and threaded her arm through Nikki’s. “I’ll go with you. Come on, Carnie.”

  I glanced at Freak. “Uh.”

  Freak rested his hand on my arm. “Let them go. I need to talk to you for a second.”

  Wendy and Nikki looked down at his tattooed hand.

  “Just, uh, come on over when he’s done with you,” Nikki snickered.

  Wendy and Nikki peeled off into a fit of giggles and wandered over to where Mayra was talking to Mom and Elle. Slayer shook his head and followed behind them.

  “So, uh,” I cleared my throat. “Is everything all right?”

  Freak threaded his fingers through mine and leaned close. “You tell me.”

  I pursed my lips and looked from side to side. “Uh, well. My mom, dad, and aunt showed up out of the blue, and as far as I know, Bobby is still trying to kill me. I’m unsure on if that can be defined as all right, but I think so?”

  Freak shook his head. “Gotta say, you’re good at going with the flow, doll.”

  I shrugged. “Would you rather me be freaking out and running around screaming because my mom and dad showed up?” Because if he wanted that, I could do it, no problem. I was trying to put on my adult pants and not be shrinking violet.

  He squeezed my hand. “I guess I’m good with you being cool and calm. Just wanted to make sure you weren’t on the verge of a breakdown.”

  Verge? Hell, for all I knew, when this was all over, I could go off the deep end and wind up in a nunnery in the hills of Montana. “Cool as ice.” I bit my lip, and my eyes connected with his. “I will say you seemed a little annoyed with me before Nikki walked in.”

  Freak looked down at our hands. “Can’t really deny that. Your parents showing up was not really something I expected to happen. Wrecker was not happy at all when your mom walked into Church.”

  I could only imagine. Thankfully, I had only been five seconds behind her, but I saw the look on Wrecker’s face. He was not happy at all. “First, I slap his hand, and then, my mom invites herself into his meeting. I don’t think Wrecker is too enchanted with the Wilkes women at the moment.”

  “You never know with him, doll. He is having a baby with Alice, after all. She’s the craziest out of all of the Girl Gang.”

  “That’s not nice,” I chided.

  “Trust me, she’ll take it as a compliment.”

  I glanced over my shoulder toward the couch where Alice and my dad were. “I’m slightly worried about what those two are talking about.” The mukbang conversation from the other day popped into my head. “She knows how to behave, right?”

  My dad was rather straight-laced and didn’t tend to have conversations about videos found on the odd side of YouTube. Freak didn’t answer. I turned around to see a cringe on his face.

  “Well, I think for the most part, Alice knows when to let her freak flag fly, but she really is a nutball.”

  “I should probably get over there.”

  Freak squeezed my hand. “You’re staying here still, right?”

  “Yes, unless you feel like moving into Nikki’s house with me. I mean, Pipe does have his pooping bathroom I’m sure he’ll let you use.” A grin spread across my lips.

  “I’m good here. Easier for me to keep an eye on you when I know the lay of the land.”

  I had sort of forgotten that Freak was keeping an eye on me. I had fallen into an easy flow at the clubhouse, that it didn’t feel like I was in any danger at all. “Then I’ll stay here.”

  I’m sure my mom would love for me and Wendy to come stay with her at Nikki’s, but Freak was right. I needed to stay here with him.

  *

  Chapter Nine

  Freak

  “How is you get the one that doesn’t like drinking?” Nickel asked.

  I watched Nikki and Karmen twirl each other in a circle then fall onto the couch laughing hysterically. “Lucky?”

  Pipe snorted. “Like you got a damn horseshoe up your ass. You find a girl that listens to you and does what you ask her to do. Chick is cool as a cucumber.”

  Carnie was super chill. Being able to go with the flow was a characteristic the rest of the Girl Gang lacked. “I’m sure she’s got a crazy side to her. I bet once this Bobby thing gets sorted out, she’ll join in on the Girl Gang meetings.”

  Meetings which always turned into a hilarious drunk fest with Captain Karmen leading the crew.

  Pipe opened his mouth to talk, but Nickel cut him off.

  “Who bought her the damn hat?” Nickel plopped down in the chair next to me and sighed. “Swear to God, if it was one of you fuckers, I’m gonna punch you in the nuts.”

  “You don’t like the pirate hat?” Pipe chuckled.

  “It was you, wasn’t it?” Nickel growled.

  Pipe held up his hands and shook his head. “Not I, brother. I know how hard it is to keep up with Nikki. Give her a damn prop and she would be crazy as hell.”

  “Oh, hell,” I laughed. “Carnie’s mom just stole the hat.”

  All eyes were on Agnes and Karmen.

  “It’s a showdown,” Nickel whispered. “Karmen is scrappy as hell.”

  “I don’t know,” I countered. “Agnes s
eems like she has seen some shit in her life.”

  “They’re both mighty drunk. This could go anyway right now.” Pipe pulled out a cigarette and stuck it in the corner of his mouth. “We totally should have invested in the inflatable wrestling ring.”

  “The one you fill with Jell-O?” I remembered when I was a prospect, there had been talks of wrestling Wednesdays, but then Nickel finally made his move with Karmen and it was just one thing after another.

  Pipe nodded. “That’s the one I’m talking about. Could you imagine these chicks getting mad with each other and then climbing into a vat of Jell-O to duke it out?”

  I glanced at Pipe. “Sounds like you’ve thought of the Jell-O pit more than once.”

  “Whoa, shit.” Karmen grabbed the hat back from Agnes and plopped it on her head.

  “Telling ya, Jell-O wrestling would be a perfect way to solve this right now.”

  Nickel shushed him and leaned toward Karmen and Agnes.

  “The only way you get the hat is if you can out-drink the Captain.” Karmen hiccupped and smiled wide. “I pity the fool who goes up against the Captain.”

  “Jesus,” Nickel hissed. “That damn hat gives her confidence that knows no bounds.”

  “Let’s go, girlie. I was drinking before you were even born.” Agnes propped her hands on her hips and stared down Karmen.

  “There is no way in hell that you are over the age of fifty-five, so that means I totally was alive when you started drinking.” Karmen held up her fingers. She wiggled them then moved them up and down as her lips mouthed what I assumed were numbers.

  “Lord. She does this all the time. She thinks she is some math genius when she gets a couple of drinks in her. She couldn’t even tell me what five plus seven is right now.”

  “Fifteen!” Karmen spun around and pointed her finger at Nickel.

  “How in the hell did she hear me?” Nickel whispered.

  Karmen smiled triumphantly and moved her finger toward her mouth and blew on it. “Captain Karmen at your service.”

  “Yup,” Pipe laughed. “She is completely in the bag.”

  Nickel clapped me on the shoulder. “You’re a lucky man, Freak. While we are trying to help our women down the hallway to our rooms, you’re going to be falling into bed with Carnie and sleeping before we even make it to the bed.”

  “Sleeping, right,” Pipe chuckled. “I’m sure Freak is way past that with Carnie.”

  I shifted in my chair and took a long pull off my beer.

  “Or not,” Nickel chuckled.

  “Things with Carnie and I are exactly where they need to be.”

  Did I wish that I was sleeping in her bed and not on the couch? Hell yeah, but I could tell she wasn’t ready for that yet.

  Pipe tipped his beer toward me. “Is it her age?”

  “Age?” Nickel and I asked in unison.

  What did Carnie’s age have to do with anything?

  “Brother, she’s only twenty.”

  My eyes blurred, and I felt heat crawl up my neck. “Say what?”

  “The reason she isn’t drinking is because she legally can’t.” Pipe shook his head. “You’re robbing the cradle with that one.”

  Nickel took a swig of his beer then tipped it toward me. “Hey, she’s at least legal. Now, if she was seventeen, then I would be wondering what the hell you are doing, Freak.”

  She was legal, but she was only twenty.

  Carnie was twenty, and I was thirty-one.

  Eleven years apart.

  “Nickel!” Karmen shouted. “Tell Agnes that I can drink her under the table.”

  “Oh, hell. I think I better start trying to get her to our room before she gets anymore rowdy.” Nickel drained the last of his beer and tossed it in the trash.

  Pipe shook his head. “I think she is living in the land of rowdy right now.”

  Nickel managed to get between Agnes and Karmen, but all I could think about was the fact Carnie was only twenty.

  “Yo, earth to Freak.” Pipe waved his hand in front of my face. “You look pale as shit, brother.”

  I looked at Pipe and blinked. “She’s only twenty.”

  Pipe clapped me on the shoulder. “Yeah, but does it really matter?”

  My eyes found Carnie in the corner talking to Cora and Raven.

  Her dark auburn hair flowed down her back, and the tight jeans she was wearing hugged her curves perfectly.

  “She’s only twenty, brother. When I was twenty, I hadn’t done anything with my life and wanted to see everything there was to see.”

  “And?” Pipe asked.

  “And my place is here. I know what I want in life. The Fallen Lords are where I belong.”

  Pipe tipped his head to the side. “What does that have to do with Carnie?”

  The conversation between Carnie and me about going to culinary school flashed through my mind. She had things she wanted to do. She had dreams that she needed to follow.

  How the hell was she supposed to do that with me attached to her?

  Nothing had happened between us besides a few touches and brushes of my hand.

  Nothing had happened between us, and that was the way it was going to stay.

  I wasn’t going to be the guy to hold Carnie back from the future she dreamed of.

  “I don’t like the way you look right now, brother. Whatever the hell you are thinking, I gotta think it’s way off base.”

  I shook my head and finished my beer. “Nah, what I’m thinking is right on.”

  I just didn’t know how Carnie was going to react to it, though.

  Anything that could have been between us was over before it even had a chance to start.

  *

  Chapter Ten

  Carnie

  “I never should have taken that hat from Karmen.”

  At least, that was what I thought Mom said. Her face was buried in Dad’s shoulder, and she was leaning heavily on him.

  “Well, you’re not twenty-one, honey. You need to add thirty years onto that.” Dad patted her arm. “You sure you don’t want to come stay at Nikki’s with us?”

  I shook my head. “I need to stay here, Dad. At least until they find out where Bobby is.”

  Dad shook his head. “I didn’t like that guy when you came home with him. I should have put my foot down about not dating him.”

  “This isn’t your fault, Dad.” I was dealing with enough. I didn’t need to worry about my dad feeling guilty.

  “I know you girls are growing up, but I still feel like I need to protect you two.”

  “She’s got a biker, Jimmy.” She motioned widely with her arm. “A whole barn full of them.”

  “Barn?” I laughed.

  Dad chuckled and shook his head. “I really need to get her to bed. She’s going to have a raging headache in the morning once she wakes up.”

  “Then I just won’t sleep,” Mom slurred. “Problem solved.”

  “We ready to get Lushy Agnes home?” Elle looked down at Mom and sighed. “You never could handle your booze very well, Aggie.”

  “Shh.” Mom reached to press her finger to Elle’s lips, but pressed it into her neck instead. “I’m trying not to sleep.”

  “This is going to be interesting,” Elle laughed. She turned to me and sighed. “I’ll let you know what we’re up to tomorrow. I see Aggie spending all day in bed, but she may surprise us.”

  “Right,” Dad drawled. “I’m gonna load her in the car. Nikki and Pipe are going to lead the way to their house.”

  Dad half-dragged and half-carried Mom out of the clubhouse.

  “You’re sure you’re okay here?” Elle rested a hand on my shoulder. While my mom had tried to keep up with the Girl Gang, Elle had kept her own pace and managed to just get slightly tipsy.

  “It seems crazy, but this is the safest place for me right now, Elle. The Fallen Lords kind of specialize in this kind of thing.” Knowing what they had done to help Mayra and basically all of the other girls, I knew being here was
for the best.

  Elle pursed her lips. “Well, you may be onto something there. These guys all seem nice enough, but there isn’t a one of them that I would want to go up against.”

  “Not even Wrecker?”

  She chuckled and shook her head. “That would be a big, fat nope.”

  “Good. Because I whacked him with a spoon the other day, and my life flashed before my eyes after I did it.”

  “Oh, girl.” Elle wrapped me up in a quick hug and looked down at me. “I know you weren’t drinking so I’m gonna need to know that story sooner than later.”

  I smiled and nodded. “I’ll tell you, but I’m sure Cora would be more than willing to.”

  “I’ll have to corner her tomorrow.” Elle kissed me on the cheek and headed out the front door.

  “You ready for bed?”

  I glanced over at Freak who was sitting within earshot. “Uh, yeah.” He hadn’t really talked to me much since Mom decided to try to out-drink Karmen. He kept close, but something felt off. “Are you ready for bed?”

  He nodded and made his way down the hallway.

  “Good luck with that one tonight,” Raven tsked. “I asked him how his night was going and he snapped my head off.”

  Oh, boy. “I’m sure he is just tired.” At least that’s what I hoped for. He didn’t seem too warm and friendly when he had asked me if I was ready for bed. “I’m making French toast for breakfast.”

  Raven looked over at Karmen who was still going strong with the pirate hat on her head. “I would probably make that brunch. I don’t think anyone is going to be up early tomorrow.”

  I nodded and laughed. “I think you might be right.”

  I waved to Karmen and the rest of the girls and made my way back to my room.

  Freak was already lying on the couch with the lights off and the TV on.

  “Bathroom is all yours,” he grunted.

  My steps faltered at his harsh tone. “Uh, thanks.”

  Something was wrong.

  Something had changed, and I had no clue what it was.

  “Everything okay?” I asked quietly.

  “As good as can be.”

  He didn’t call me doll, and he didn’t look at me.