D cocked a brow at Pierce, making his challenge clear. “Wanna come at me?”
Pierce’s gaze swept the table, then he said, “Feelin’ a little outnumbered here. Will let it go this time, brother. Next time...” He let the last hang.
“Next time,” D agreed. He glanced around the table. “We done here?”
“Motion to adjourn,” Dex yelled.
“Second,” Jag added.
Pierce sat down in his chair at the head of the table before asking, “All in favor?”
“Ayes,” rose around the room.
“Gettin’ the fuck outta here,” D muttered to his father.
“Get gone. Go cool off. I’ll keep Pierce here for a few,” Ace said quietly.
“You do that,” D muttered then caught Hawk’s gaze and jerked his chin toward the door. D pushed to his feet and Hawk followed him out, Dex and Jag trailing just behind his brother.
“Bar,” D grunted and headed through the double swinging doors of the commercial kitchen that sat between the clubhouse and The Iron Horse Roadhouse. When he pushed out into the bar, the dead quiet hit him since it was still early morning on a weekday.
The four of them gathered at The Iron Horse’s long, lacquered wooden bar and within a few seconds, Zak came through the kitchen doors to join them.
“What the fuck happened in there?” Z asked, slipping behind the bar to grab a pop from the cooler.
“Just D bein’ a little prickly over nothin’,” Hawk answered, eyeballing Diesel.
“Ain’t over nothin’,” D grumbled.
“Fender fluff’s nothin’,” Hawk answered. “Ain’t a bad term, D, you know that. Just hit you the wrong way. Any bitch on the back of a bike who ain’t an ol’ lady is considered that. Nothin’ new.”
“Never thought I’d see the day D was makin’ a fuss over a b—” Jag’s words stopped abruptly as he rethought them. “Woman,” Jag corrected, wearing a smirk. “’Specially my fuckin’ sister.”
D ignored Jag.
Jewel’s brother continued, “Believe me, if I thought that fucker was insultin’ Jewel, I’d have been the first to introduce him to my fist. Gladly.”
“Right,” D grunted.
“So why we all in here for this impromptu meetin’?” Dex asked, ducking behind the bar and grabbing a can of Coke for himself.
“Gonna head out to the farm later, talk to Annie. Bringin’ Jewelee to take Kelsea aside since they’re close. See if we can get what’s goin’ on between Kels an’ Pierce, if anything. If there is, more fuel for the fire to get his fuckin’ ass out.”
“We gonna do the writ? Or we gonna wait until his term’s up? Let’s decide that first,” Hawk suggested.
“I’m up for gettin’ his ass out ASAP,” Jag said.
“Right. But again, might be a bit messy instead of just waitin’ for the annual vote,” Hawk answered.
“Gotta wait until January for that. Wanna wait that long?” Jag asked, looking a bit annoyed.
“Been president since Z went to prison. Had him at the head of the table for the last decade. What’s another few fuckin’ months? Might give us time to convince all of the brothers to vote Z back in an’ Pierce out.”
“Still wanna see what the fuck’s goin’ on with Kelsea an’ him. I’ll decide after that,” D insisted.
“You do that, then we can go from there. If it’s shit he shouldn’t be doin’ then we can kick his ass out an’ turn our back on ‘im,” Hawk said.
“Strippin’ his colors ain’t just takin’ his cut,” Dex reminded them.
They were all well aware of what stripping his colors meant. It involved not only taking his cut and pulling his membership, it meant something would have to be done about all his DAMC tattoos. Because once they turned their backs on him, he was no longer DAMC and everything that once was had to be wiped clean. And those colors inked into his skin needed to be covered or removed in one way or another.
Plus, they needed to make decisions when it came to Shadow Valley Gun Shop and the gun range. Pierce managed it but didn’t own it one hundred percent. Club funds had started the business, which was profitable and made the club a good amount of scratch.
What a fucking mess, D thought. He really didn’t want to get into all of this now, not with the search for Black Jack still in full swing and trying to make sure everyone was safe from the Shadow Warriors. Because he predicted the next hit from them was coming soon.
In the last few months, things had been escalating with them. So he didn’t expect the nomads to quietly ride off and never be heard from again.
D snorted. It would be way too easy. And when was shit ever easy?
“Want anyone to go with you?” Z asked.
“Nope. Takin’ Jewelee. Good ‘nough.”
“When you goin’?” Hawk asked. “I’ll give Pop a heads up.”
“Later. Soon as Jewelee’s done at the shop.”
“Might wanna let her know first,” Hawk said, amusement flashing in his eyes.
“Ain’t whipped like you, brother.”
Hawk threw his head back and laughed. “So you think.”
Diesel grunted and headed out of the bar, striding through the kitchen before his blood pressure rose again.
Chapter Thirteen
Diesel watched his aunt pace across her small kitchen. She and Kelsea lived in one of the ten cabins that were situated behind his parents’ farmhouse. The small farm had originally belonged to his grandfather, Doc. But since Doc was doing life at SCI Greene for murder, Ace and Janice had moved into the main house to take care of both the farm and D’s cranky grandmother, Lonnie.
Ace’s sisters, Annie and Allie, lived in two of the cabins so they could be close and help Janice take care of the crotchety old woman. D’s grandmother certainly didn’t make life easy on any of them.
Even though the older woman had lived the MC lifestyle being married to Doc, once D’s grandfather got tossed into prison, the woman didn’t want anything to do with the club or bikers. And since her son was a biker and so were her grandsons, it sort of made things uncomfortable when it came to holiday get-togethers since all she did was bitch about the MC. D and Hawk usually tried to find an excuse not to come to the farm at all. Unfortunately, Ace was stuck taking care of his mother, but because of that, he spent a lot of time at the pawn shop. More time than was necessary to run the business and D didn’t blame him. He’d want to escape, too.
If it was up to Diesel, he’d stick his grandmother in a home and wash his hands of her. But D’s mother, Janice, had the patience of a saint, so Lonnie still lived with them and probably would until the day she died.
If she didn’t kill them all first.
Most of the cabins on the property were rented out long term since they were pretty decently sized. Ace had even offered one of them to Diesel so he could move out of church. He didn’t accept since he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be tied down to anything more than a room with a bathroom like he had now. Even if it was a shithole. And with his room at church, he could drink as much as he wanted and just head upstairs when he was done. He could raid the kitchen for grub when he was hungry and, even better, he could get one of the sweet butts to clean up his room, scrub his toilet, and do his laundry.
Out on the farm, he’d have to find someone else to do it. Someone would be needed to pick up his shit and make sure he had food. And that most likely meant having a woman around. Like a house mouse.
Or Jewel.
Even though the cabins were a good size, he didn’t feel like sharing the space with a house mouse. Or anyone, period.
It was bad enough he was climbing in Jewel’s bed every night. Even the thought of that little bit of commitment made his skin crawl. Though, once he was in bed with her, that uncomfortable feeling quickly disappeared.
And by morning, the opposite happened... He found himself not wanting to leave. But he did.
He wondered how the talk between Jewel and Kelsea was going. As soon as they arrived earli
er, Jewelee locked her and his cousin in the bedroom so they could talk privately.
But now, D watched his aunt pace, which made him suspicious.
“So, no problems with workin’ at the shop? Know Pierce can be handsy an’ shit, Annie. Just wanna make sure he ain’t doin’ nothin’ to you that you don’t want done.”
Annie paused in her pacing and turned her head his direction, her brown eyes bugged out. “Diesel, really... I’m not sure I want to talk about this with my nephew.”
“Just tryin’ to look out for you an’ Kelsea.”
“I get that, but still...” She stopped in front of the kitchen sink and stared out of the window. Since it was dark outside, there wasn’t anything to see. But her face was clearly reflected in the glass.
That reflection showed that something was bothering his aunt and he needed to get to the bottom of it.
“Anythin’ goin’ on between him an’ Kelsea that you know of?”
“What?” she whispered and turned to face him, her face paler than normal and showing a look of shock. “Why would you ask that?”
“Wanna make sure he ain’t doin’ shit to her, either.”
“He wouldn’t... he couldn’t...”
Her insistence that Pierce wouldn’t or couldn’t didn’t make any sense. The man thought he was God’s gift to women and Kelsea was a woman. A young one, but still... “Why not?”
“Oh my God, D.” Annie covered her mouth with a shaky hand, closed her eyes and then turned away again. This time he couldn’t watch her face in the window since she stared down into the sink instead.
D scowled at his aunt’s back. “What?”
When he didn’t get an answer, his heart began to thump. What the fuck was going on?
“Annie, what?” he barked. Any patience he’d held onto was now gone.
“I... I always thought this would stay a secret...”
Diesel pushed off from where he’d been leaning against the wall and strode over to Annie. “What?”
When she still didn’t answer him, he grabbed her arm and gave her a shake to snap her out of wherever she was stuck in her head.
“Annie.”
She turned slowly and faced D, her face now as white as a sheet. “Pierce is...” She closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them, she seemed even more uneasy. “Kelsea’s father,” she finished in a whisper.
His head jerked back and he dropped his hand, stepping quickly away from his aunt, as what she just revealed sunk in. Then it hit him. This complicated everything. Even more than it already was. “Jesus fuckin’ Christ,” he muttered. Suddenly, it hit him even harder. “Did Pierce force you?”
“Force me?”
Fuck. “To have sex.”
“No.”
Relief flooded through D because he knew the club president had an issue with being pushy with DAMC women in the past. And his aunt worked part-time for the asshole at the gun shop. He couldn’t imagine that Annie would work for him if he’d forced himself on her. That wouldn’t make sense.
But then, life could be fucking strange and things didn’t always make sense.
“He got no idea?”
Again, Annie didn’t answer him.
“Annie, fuckin’ talk to me. Pierce know?”
“No.”
“Sure?”
Eyes wide, Annie whispered, “You can’t tell him.”
Jesus Fuckin’ Christ. D was definitely not telling him. But now that he knew that information, it made more sense why Pierce was watching Kelsea when she danced with a Knight. But that would be only if he knew.
Or suspected.
“Why’d you keep it from ‘im?”
“For God’s sake, Diesel, it’s Pierce, that’s why. I was young and stupid. I thought... Shit. I don’t even want to admit to what I thought.” She waved a hand. “We hooked up a few times, especially when we were partying heavily all those years ago. The club was a lot crazier back then.”
“Nothin’ happened since then.” It wasn’t a question. He wanted, no needed, for her to confirm that.
Once again, Annie stayed quiet.
D scrubbed his palm over his short hair. This was not good. Her silence revealed that Annie was still hooking up with Pierce on the side. And with Kelsea being Pierce’s daughter...
“He ever ask you ‘bout Kels?”
“Yes.”
“An’ you denied it.” Again, not a question; in his gut, he already knew the answer.
“Yes.”
“Anybody else know? Ace?”
“No. Nobody knows. Not even Kelsea. That’s why when you asked if...” She shook her head. Her worried eyes hit Diesel. “Do you think...”
Holy fuck. He hoped not. Again, his take on it was Pierce might suspect something. But hopefully Jewelee was making sure that Kelsea wasn’t doing anything stupid like hooking up with Pierce without anyone knowing.
Even if Kels wasn’t Pierce’s daughter, it would still be a whole fucked up situation if her mom and her were both having sex with the same man and neither knew the other was doing it.
Jesus fuckin’ Christ.
D could even see Pierce thinking that was funny because he was getting one over on both women. The fucker. D had no idea why Randi, Pierce’s ol’ lady, didn’t kick his ass to the curb. Or just fucking shank him.
But, that wasn’t his problem. His problem was making sure Kelsea wasn’t partaking in things that would turn most people’s stomach. Like his. Because the thought of that possible snafu just made D want to fucking puke.
“Still don’t get why you kept it from both of ‘em,” D finally said.
“Once I got pregnant, I stopped partying and backed away from the club. I didn’t really want Pierce having a say in raising her. And you know what it’s like with my mother. She hates the club now and all you bikers. It was bad enough when I was a single mother but to be knocked up by a biker...” She shook her head. “I didn’t need to add any more to my grief. Didn’t, and still don’t, need her judging Kelsea, either.”
“Think the woman would be more understandin’ since she was married to a fuckin’ biker...”
“One that committed murder and mayhem,” Annie stated, lifting a hand, then shaking her head. “Not a proud moment for her. She totally switched gears after all that shit went down.”
“Right,” D grunted.
“Even so, Pierce’s ol’ lady at the time would’ve stabbed me in my sleep if she found out I was carrying his baby. He always preferred the crazy ones.”
That was true. He still did. That’s why he didn’t understand why Annie was still chasing the man’s dick. And when he thought back, he never remembered his aunt being with anyone. Not once. Never married, never dated. Nothing.
She was in love with Pierce. Had to be. D could figure out no other explanation why she’d deal with him all these years. And keep it a secret.
This made him reconsider how they would need to handle Pierce’s removal from the president’s spot. He wasn’t sure whether they’d impeach him or wait for the next club election, and then have to decide even if they’d go so far as turning their back on him and kicking his ass out of the club.
Fuck.
He had ties now. Blood ties.
“Ain’t gonna tell Pierce. Ain’t gonna tell Kelsea. Gonna leave that shit up to you, Annie. If she finds out, she might never forgive you for keepin’ that shit from ‘er.”
Annie nodded, walked over to the small kitchen table and pulled out a chair. She slid onto the seat and dropped her head into her hands, her dark blonde hair falling over her face. “You’ll have to tell me what Jewel finds out,” she said, her voice muffled.
“Yeah.”
“Even if it’s bad,” she added, without looking up.
“Yeah.”
She groaned. “Then I’ll need to find a solution if it is.”
Fuck. “Yeah.” He glanced toward the kitchen doorway. He needed to talk to Jewelee, to hear what she found out.
The possibilities were churning his gut. He pulled his cell from his back pocket and texted her. Got news. How long?
His phone dinged not even thirty seconds later. Now?
He slowly typed a message back. Yeah. Out front.
Ok was her answer.
He lifted his head from his phone. “Gonna go out an’ talk to Jewelee. Will let you know.”
Annie took a deep breath, then nodded.
With a last look at his aunt, who sat there looking wrecked, D turned and left the kitchen, strode through the front room and out the door.
He approached his sled, then began to pace. He needed a fucking cigarette and he hadn’t smoked in over five years. He actually dreaded to hear what Jewel may reveal.
He had to stop thinking the worst.
If he couldn’t have a smoke, then he needed a whiskey. Not one shot, not even ten shots. The whole fucking bottle.
He kept his eyes peeled to the front door and he jerked when Jewel finally stepped out.
Thank fuck. He couldn’t take any more waiting.
She had her eyes on him as she approached. She wore a serious expression and that scared the fuck out of him.
“Talk,” he barked.
She frowned. “Jeez, D. Cool your jets.”
“Woman. This is serious shit.”
She looked up at him in surprise. “Why? What now?”
“Tell me first,” he insisted.
“She’s not doing Pierce, thankfully. Actually, the idea grossed her out. Hell, it grossed me out. Fucking perverted motherfucker.”
Relief flooded D and he could breathe somewhat easier. “You sure?”
“Yeah, I mean Kelsea screws some questionable people, but I don’t think she’d lie to me about that. Hell, she was doing that guy Slash from the Demons. I mean, if you want to talk about questionable...”
D’s nostrils flared. “That his name? Slash?”
Jewel’s mouth dropped open and her eyes rounded. She placed her palm flat on his stomach. “D, let that go. Don’t cause enemies with the Demons because of Kels being stupid.”
D blew out a breath. She was right. He had enough on his plate right now and so did the club. But if he ran into this Slash any time soon, he’d deal with it. Until then, he needed to deal with the Warriors and this whole Pierce thing.
Down & Dirty: Diesel (Dirty Angels MC Book 4) Page 15