“Motion carried. But I think we all know we’ll be revisiting this again.”
Demon’s right. At least we’re not as much in the dark as we were, we know who’s after her and why. Just not who betrayed and outed her.
“Prez?” Hellfire raises his hand. “All this talk about possible outcomes, is it time to consider strengthening our ranks? It was going to come up soon anyway; how about bringing Wills and Dan to the table and giving Beaver and Karl their prospect patches?”
With his lips curved sarcastically, Demon responds, “Is this the right time to bring new blood around the table?”
What he means is the more people in the know, the more risk of something slipping. I have a contrary view, one which supports Hell’s desire to have a larger pool of men. “Wills and Dan done their time?”
“And then some.” Demon’s eyes stare at me, and he raises his chin.
He knows I’m going somewhere, just not where yet. “Then you trust them to know where the bodies are buried.” A round of low laughter and smirks. Of course they do, wouldn’t be near getting a patch if they didn’t. “Beaver and Karl. Investigated enough to bring them on board as prospects?”
Cad perks up. “I have. Nothing in their backgrounds looked off.”
“Where you going with this, Beef?”
“Wills and Dan. If there’s nothing else in their way, bring them to the table. Can’t trust them with the life of a brother, then we shouldn’t even be discussing giving them their patch. And they already know Stevie’s staying with me.” Nods of agreement from everyone. “Beaver and Karl, though, they stay in the dark. Get them to bring shit up to the cabin, but warn me, for fuck’s sake. I’ll get it looking like a bachelor pad, find somewhere to stash Stevie while they’re visiting. If they’re on the up and up they won’t spout shit in any event, if not, they won’t see anything to talk about.”
“Like that idea, Prez.” Hellfire’s regarding me carefully.
Prez raises and dips his chin. A silent communication goes between him and his father. Then he picks up the gavel again. “Next church we patch them in. Think we’re all talked out tonight, Brothers. I, for one, want a drink and to fuck my ol’ lady.”
The gavel starts to descend. “Prez, before you finish up, can I say something?”
Skull’s spoken for only the second time this meeting. There are sighs that their gratification in whatever way they prefer is going to be delayed for a moment, but Skull gets the nod to continue.
He shifts awkwardly in his seat. “I, er, I, well. There’s a woman.”
“You want some advice?” I ask, my lips curving. “You know your dick, well…”
“I know what to do with my dick, thank you, Brother.” But his lips quirk as he continues, “I’m pretty serious about her. Would like to bring her to the club.”
“You talkin’ claimin’ an ol’ lady?” Demon’s eyes are wide. So are everyone else’s. “She a civilian?”
“Yeah, that’s why I’d like her to come around. See if she’ll be a good fit.”
“Give me her name, Skull. I’ll look into her.”
“If she passes Cad’s investigation, sure, Skull. Be interested to see what’s got your motor revving.”
There’s laughter, but also shock. Unlike in Tucson where brothers are dropping like flies falling into the old lady trap, here in Pueblo, most are single. Looks like another one’s going down soon though. I eye Skull thoughtfully. Whoever this woman is, he seems pretty smitten.
“She comes here? She’s mine.” Showing more determination than I’ve noticed before, Skull goes on the offensive.
“We’ll behave,” Ink reassures him.
“Gotta test her out though.” As Skull starts to stand, Pyro continues fast, “Not gonna fuck her, man. Whether her pussy is tight is your business. Nah, just gotta make sure she understands club business ain’t hers. Ain’t gonna put up with a bitch whining she’s not being told shit.”
This time the gavel does hit the table. “Church fuckin’ over.”
Chapter Twenty-One
I could have hung around to have a beer, but I’ve got enough back at the cabin. I could have fucked a sweet butt, but I’ve got… Damn it. I’ve no idea what I’ve got waiting for me on my return. As I pass the brothers stopping only to exchange a few necessary pleasantries, I try to make as direct a line as possible to my bike. Once outside in the fresh air, I’m suddenly not so impatient, and my mind starts whirring.
Will Stevie be waiting to continue what was interrupted this afternoon?
Part of me is hoping she’ll be waiting for me in my bed, wearing some sort of negligee, half of me is hoping she’s not. It’s the latter that my head is hoping for, my cock, needless to say, the former. But my brain has to win out.
I’ve had my share of casual hook-ups, but only those where I, or they, don’t hang around until morning. If I thought Stevie would fuck then be happy being kicked out of my bed, I’d be over that like a rash. Problem is, we’re living together for the foreseeable future. I enjoy being around her, life’s easy and comfortable. I fuck her, it could upset what we have. Relief for my cock in exchange for what? Awkwardness, and one of us getting more involved than we should.
I could do her once and walk away without a look back. Not sure I could say the same for Stevie.
She’s got needs too. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to take care of them? I laugh to myself, confident that I wouldn’t leave her wanting. Except, perhaps, for more.
What if it was me who wanted a repeat performance? Nah, once has satisfied me before, can’t think of a woman who I’d become addicted to. Except for the one I never had.
“Hey, Beef. You got a minute?” a voice hollers. I turn to see Prez standing just outside the door, and mentally berate myself for not escaping when I had the chance.
A prez is a prez. When one queries your availability the only thing to do is make time and look cheerful doing it. “Yeah. Your office?”
His nod is all the invitation I need. Suppressing a sigh, I make my way back across the parking lot, retrace my steps through the clubroom, and enter his domain.
Demon is standing with his back toward me, seemingly studying the Satan’s Devils’ flag hanging behind his desk. If I squint and look at nothing but the image of Lucifer and the three little demons, I could be back in Tucson. The same flag hangs in all our chapters.
He half turns as though to check it is me, and that I’ve closed the door, then studies our insignia again. “You okay with what we agreed?”
Kicking out a chair, I sit. “Fine, Prez.”
“You want anyone up there with you, just in case, now that we know the Wretched Soulz are sniffing around? Boys won’t mind drawing up a rotation.”
I give his suggestion a moment of thought. “Don’t think it’s worth it at present. If something goes wrong and word gets out about where she is, then, yeah, I’d welcome support at that stage.”
“Your call, Beef. If and when you want to make it.”
“Thank you,” I say to his back. It’s becoming habit with Stevie not to rely on chin lifts the whole time.
At last, he turns, propping his hip onto the desk. “What do you make of Skull, Beef?”
I haven’t really had time to get to know him. Again, I take a moment to gather my thoughts. “He’s quiet. Doesn’t contribute, but he takes in everything.”
Demon nods as though I’ve echoed what’s on his mind. “That he does.”
“Still finding his place at the table?” I suggest. “Sometimes it takes time. Particularly after what happened to him.”
“You know about that?” At my nod, he resumes, “We made him hurt. I accepted it when he understood why and said he would have done the same thing were the positions reversed. That nothing is more important than our family. Clues pointed his way, he could see that.”
“He returned,” I state the obvious.
“He did.”
My brow creases. “You think there’s another reason behind it
? That he wants vengeance?”
“Wraith warned me to watch him.”
“Bringing this woman on board might steady him.” I hope for Skull’s sake she’s a good fit and they vote to allow him to claim her.
“Took me by surprise, didn’t see it coming. Skull keeps himself to himself.”
“You think he’s got an ulterior motive?” Can’t see it myself. What nefarious purpose could bringing a woman onto the compound serve? “Just get Cad to investigate her thoroughly if you’re concerned.”
“Yeah, that was already my plan. I’m just worried Wraith sees something I’m missing.”
Ah. So that’s what’s behind it. Demon’s still wet behind the ears in his president’s role. They’ve already had one traitor in the club. Is he doubting his own ability to read people? “How long were you VP, Demon?”
My question takes him by surprise. “Um, er, ten years?”
I nod. “Then you know your club. You know your men. Sure, you didn’t know Taser had a screw loose, but one bad apple doesn’t mean there’s more. What do you think, Demon?”
My reminder about the length of time he sat at his father’s left hand seems to have made him straighten. “Christ, Beef. You’re right. As VP or Prez I’d put money on Skull being exactly what he appears, a fresh patch around a strange table, worried about saying something out of line. Listening to learn how to behave. Have seen it before, will see it again. Wills and Dan will probably be much the same for the first couple of months.” His gaze is now assessing. “Wearing the prez’s hat is harder than I expected. Before I had Hell there to knock me around the head if I started taking a ride on the crazy train.”
“You need a VP,” I tell him abruptly. “Someone to bounce your ideas off. Thunder would help if you let him.”
“Thunder’s too busy telling me I’m not what he needs, to try to become that for me,” he says, drily.
Which brings me to the point of my visit to Pueblo. Maybe I can get this sorted, get Stevie back with the marshals again, and return to my home. Nothing stopping me now. Sally knows where she stands. Home. Fuck, I can almost smell Tucson in the air.
“I’m sure you’re aware of my difficulty,” Demon responds with a sharp look at me. “After all, that’s why you’re here. You’ve got a job to do, and Drummer won’t let you leave until it’s done.”
“You want me gone?”
His head bobs back and forth fast. “Not what I’m saying. But a president like Drummer doesn’t send out one of his most trusted men as an enforcer to another chapter unless there’s something to enforce.”
I lean forward, clasping my hands between my knees. “It’s not anything to do with you, Demon. Drummer’s just concerned you’re not running at full strength.”
His finger and thumb pinch the bridge of his nose. “I’ve been thinking on your suggestion about bringing someone in from the other chapters. Should have brought it up at church, but I’m concerned about the brothers’ reaction.”
I can’t see an alternative. “Then tell them to suck it up or stand up themselves.”
He huffs a laugh. “Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
His head now moves up, then down, then slowly rises again. “Have you got anyone in mind?”
“Other prezes won’t like it if you start poaching one of their VPs. So I think you need to start looking down, maybe an enforcer or sergeant-at-arms ready to move on.”
“Like?”
“I won’t suggest anyone from San Diego. They’re still finding their feet after what went down a couple of years back.” A bad business. The old president, Snake, and seven of his members had hatched a plan to get rid of Drummer, become the mother chapter, and point the Devils in the direction of the drug running game. Snake and the ringleaders are dead, the rest of the traitors out bad. I shudder just thinking about such a fate, preferring death myself. No reputable MC would take in a member who’d been put out in bad standing by his club. Not being a brother would kill me for sure.
“Understandable. Lost and Dart are making a go of it.”
Yes, Lost moved up to the top spot, Dart, his new VP, was a member from Tucson who’d gone to help the club out, found his place and stayed. He’s doing well, settled in now. “Vegas is more stable. How did you take to Indian and Twister while they were here?” Indian’s the sergeant-at-arms, Twister the enforcer.
Demon snorts. “Look, our clubhouse was burning down around us. Men acted okay, had our backs, but it wasn’t particularly conducive to conducting interviews.”
I run through the other men that I know in my head. I don’t know much about any of them. Rope and Cuff I know best, and certainly not for any ability that shows they would shine as a new VP. “Maybe ask Red?”
“Could. But then I’ve got the problem of men here not trusting them to have our backs.”
“It’s simple. Find a possible. Get them here under some pretext. Let them sit around the table, drink with the men, share the whores. Let everyone see what they’re made of. Gives them a chance to see if Pueblo suits them, and your members the chance to know their mettle.”
Demon’s eyes flare, for a second giving me the reason for his name. “Good fuckin’ idea, Beef.” His hand thumps the table. “That’s what I’ll do. If they don’t like it here, or don’t match up, no harm no foul. I’ll get onto Red in the morning.”
My mind can work on two things at once. Now we’ve at least got an approach to him getting a new VP, it circles back to the problem he called me in here for. “Getting back to Skull. You can’t go on gut feelings or crediting him with shit in his head that isn’t there. Take Rock, for example.” My reference brings a wistful smile to my lips. I miss my best friend. We’re still close, though not so much as when we used to share women before his girl Becca came along. She’s one he won’t share, and I can’t blame him for that, however much I’d like to persuade him.
“Rock?” His brow creases.
“When Drummer set him up and we thought he’d turned traitor? I was the last person to believe it, but Drummer had set all the evidence in place. Before he painted Rock in such a bad light, he had it in black and white so no one could question it.” With a grimace I continue, “Even I believed my best friend had turned bad.”
“Your point?”
“You’re looking for a problem which might not exist because Wraith said something. Best way to piss a brother off is to keep watching for him to take a step out of line. You let him prospect, patched him in. Give him the same trust you do everyone else until the point where you think he’s fucked up. Then look at it all twice and make sure your case against him is watertight. That brother’s already been on the right side when you thought he was wrong once, don’t make the same mistake again.”
Demon takes in a deep breath, holds it, then lets it out. “You talk a lot of fuckin’ sense, Brother.”
Do I? I frown. Not sure I’ve ever been accused of that. Then I grin. “Has to be a first time for everything, I suppose. While I’m apparently being wise, give this woman of Skull’s a good welcome. Get Violet to take her under her wing. If Skull’s fallen for her, having her getting along with the ol’ ladies will cement his loyalty to the club.”
Demon digests that for a moment. Then he stands, walks around to me, and his meaty hand lands on the back of my cut. “You gonna stay for a drink?”
He’s offering, but my original intention to get back to Stevie hasn’t changed. “Nah, I think I’ll head back. Stevie’s all alone.” Well, she’s got the prospects with her, but I’d rather I was there.
Demon shakes his head. “I can’t imagine it, you know? Being isolated at that cabin and not being able to see? She must jump at every fuckin’ sound.”
“She’s pretty damn smart. We hear a twig snapping. She could probably fuckin’ tell you the weight of whatever walked on it.”
“Yeah?” At my nod, he resumes, “Christ. We could use her as a lookout sometime.” He grins, obviously seeing a use for her talen
ts. “Girl seems smart.”
She is. I find myself preening at the compliment he’s given her, but fuck knows why. She’s my job, that’s all.
I’m still grinning when I make my way, finally, to my bike. Before I mount up, I slap the palm of my hand against my forehead. I really must stop thinking about her as anything other than someone I need to keep safe. If she makes any offer to me tonight, I’ll have to turn it down and for more than one reason.
She’s a target for a killer, we already know that. Letting my guard drop might lead to her death, and there’s no way in hell I want to be responsible for that. My job is just to keep her safe until Max can take up his guide dog duties again and we hand her over to the marshals. They’ll give her a new identity for a second time, she’ll drop out of sight and be in another state where I’ll never be able to find her.
The dog’s doing as well as can be expected, at least I can tell Stevie that. I pause with my finger over the engine start button, wondering how long it will be before the dog’s fit. My days guarding the woman could soon be over, and if our plan works out, Demon will get his VP. Not too long and I’ll be breathing the air of Tucson. Sounds fucking good to me.
The brothers know I’m at the cabin, but until we get the message out I’m there by myself, or for all intents and purposes I am, I still need to be careful not to be followed. I go this way and that, turning an hour’s ride into two as I carefully make sure I’ve got no tail.
Once out on the open road and able to relax, my fucking head goes there, throwing up memories of Stevie sitting on my cock earlier today. I’d seen brothers fucking unconcerned in the clubroom after my impromptu meeting with Demon, it must have been that which reminded me and brings into my mind ideas of what I could do to Stevie.
It would be different, for sure. She wouldn’t be able to see what I was doing. What difference would that make? I wouldn’t be able to make love with my eyes, it would be my hands and tongue that would paint the picture of my desire for her.
Devil's Due: Satan's Devils MC Colorado Chapter #3 Page 18