We headed north again when we reached northeastern Colorado, and crossed western Nebraska and South Dakota through rolling hills and farmland before arriving at Sturgis and what South Dakota referred to as “mountains,” though after having been through California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado, we all agreed that what South Dakota had really didn’t qualify as mountains.
We hooked up with other SB brothers from across the U.S. and rubbed shoulders with some of the older clubs. For the most part, clubs stuck to their own or to their allied clubs and avoided their rivals. The unavoidable rarely happened, but when it did, there was a general understanding among the clubs, which was more or less enforced by the Godfather, that there wasn’t to be any brawling taking place between rival clubs.
The rally idea had been a way of allowing all of the independent MCs to enjoy getting together with other brothers from across the U.S. and not have to worry about things getting stirred or everybody fighting. Everyone, for the most part, was living under a white flag and having one big party. There was no doubt in the mind of any biker in the country; Sturgis was the place to be and never to be missed.
Kelly and I were enjoying ourselves, and everyone was getting to know her a little bit better, though they were careful not to cross any lines. We did get totally blitzed one night and ended up in a pretty wild orgy. That was really the first time that I had ever shared Kelly with the other guys. Though I was drunk and enjoying being shared myself, I realized later that I was beginning to change my outlook concerning her. I really wasn’t all that eager to share.
“So,” I asked, testing the waters the following afternoon, when we finally decided to roll out of bed and face the world again. “Did you have fun last night?”
“Ugh,” she said, rocking her palm back and forth to show her ambivalence. “I think I’m not really into that anymore.”
“Me neither,” I responded.
“You don’t like sharing me or you don’t like being with other girls anymore?” she grinned.
It was a loaded question. On the one hand I’d seem jealous, on the other I’d seem too serious. I took the middle ground. “I’m just not into that whole thing anymore.”
“Me either,” she replied.
I’d provided the middle ground for her too. We hadn’t necessarily been struggling before we headed off to Sturgis, but I think that we were both trying to figure out where we wanted things to go between us. I don’t know about her, but I was really fighting the urge to want to settle down with her. It was something that I wasn’t used to. I had been a lone wolf for a very long time. I was wired that way, or had been, anyway.
Everything I did was for my own benefit and in pursuit of whatever I wanted. That was slowly beginning to change, and I was starting to consider more and more how my thoughts, words and actions were going to affect her. I’d fought it off as much as I could, but I wasn’t sure how much longer I was going to be able to keep going like that. Pepper’s advice was constantly ringing in my mind, reminding me that I had a decision to make, but I just kept putting it off. I was beginning to notice that my stomach seemed to be tied up in knots all of the time.
“OMG, Sunshine!” I heard a voice squeal behind us.
Kelly whirled around as well and squealed out, “Princess!”
“I haven’t seen you in forever!”
“I know, right?” The two girls embraced and then started off chatting. I completely blocked out their conversation when I saw Sabre standing behind Princess. He was glaring at me like he wanted to gut me.
I nodded at him. I didn’t have anything personal against him. He was a member of a rival club, and I didn’t owe him any friendly conversation or even any consideration, but I didn’t intend to “mad dog” him like he was doing to me.
I wondered if, by some impossible chance, he knew that I was the one who had carried out the hits on his guys. I knew it was very unlikely, but the look in his eyes had me wondering. I saw his gaze move to Kelly, and I realized she was what had him so pissed off.
There are times when I just feel like flexing and little muscle and letting someone know who is top dog. In spite of the fact that I knew that it would provoke Sabre, I reached down, rubbed Kelly’s shoulders and said. “Introduce me to your friend, Kel?”
I got exactly the reaction that I was hoping for. It was going to start a war and I knew it, but I just couldn’t help myself.
“You stay the fuck away from her friend,” Sabre growled. “Come on, Princess.”
“Leaving so soon?” I taunted. “Let the girls chat a little. They haven’t seen each other in a long time.”
“Maybe we ought to chat a little,” he said, moving in to within inches of me. We were standing eye to eye and nose to nose.
“What do you want to talk about?” I smiled. Smiling always pissed angry people off even more.
“Don’t think that the fucking ‘understanding’ is enough to keep me from kicking your ass,” he said.
“I’m your Huckleberry,” I replied, and my face changed from a smile to a glare as I spoke. Yeah, I know, it was cheesy, but it seemed like the perfect moment to be a smartass and that was the perfect line for the occasion.
“Princess!” he snapped. “Let’s go!”
He said the words, but he didn’t move. I wasn’t sure if he expected me to back away, but that wasn’t likely to happen.
“Use your head, Razor,” Pepper said in a low tone. He had come up behind me.
“Yeah, Razor, use your head,” Sabre mocked. “Don’t fuck with me.”
I hadn’t shifted my eyes from his, but out of my peripheral vision, I thought I saw Shovelhead creeping away into the crowd. Had Shovelhead been with Sabre? I’d ask Pepper later. “I’ll see you back home,” I said ominously.
“Yeah, you will,” Sabre replied, taking several steps backward and then turning away with Princess. The look that he tossed back over his shoulder at Kelly was enough to make me start to lunge forward.
“Easy, tiger,” Pepper said, clamping down on my shoulder.
Chapter 22: Sabre
Seeing Kelly with any SB puke would have pissed me off, but seeing her with Razor was even worse. I’d heard rumors that he was supposed to be one hell of a badass. In fact, there were a lot of people, even in my own club, who seemed to be of the opinion that I couldn’t handle him. Backing away from him was damned hard to do, but I already had enough trouble from the Godfather, and I didn’t need any more. Had I started something with Razor at a rally, it would have spelled the end of my branch of the Lost Disciples, maybe even called down a hit on my own head.
“You want to know another little secret?” Shovelhead asked. He’d been with me before Princess and I bumped into Razor and Kelly, but he’d slipped away from me. Later that evening, he’d looked me up again and we’d wandered away from everybody else so we wouldn’t be seen together. It wouldn’t be good for either one of us.
“I want every secret you’ve got,” I said. “I’m going to take that bastard down.”
“It won’t be easy,” he replied.
“I’m getting fuckin’ tired of hearing people say that!” I snapped. “You cut him and he’ll bleed, just like everybody else.”
“You may not have to cut him,” Shovelhead responded in a quiet voice.
“Oh, but you see,” I spun around and glared at him with a threatening tone in my voice. “I really want to cut him. I want everyone to see that he’s just another Navy pussy with a fancy title attached.”
“Suit yourself,” Shovelhead replied.
I realized that if Shovelhead had important information about Razor, it might be useful to know if I was going to take him down. I wasn’t going to underestimate him. He wouldn’t have had the reputation that he did if he wasn’t at least something of a badass. I sat down, took a couple of long drinks from the bottle of beer that Shovelhead had handed me earlier. “Tell me what you know.”
“I think I’ve figured something out about Razor,” he began. “I think he
has a very deep, dark secret.”
“Would you stop fucking around and come out with it?” I wasn’t sure why Shovelhead was beating around the bush, but it was annoying me.
“Fine,” he hesitated again. “It is possible that he is working for an enforcer.”
The moment I heard the words, I understood why Shovelhead had been beating around the bush. Having that knowledge and sharing it with someone would instantly put him on the enforcer’s hit list. In fact, whether it was true or not, he had just placed his life in my hands. All I had to do was let someone know that he’d told me. It was a really powerful position that he’d put me in. Not only was I going to have complete control over Shovelhead, but I could pass along that little secret to Gentry…
The thought didn’t hit me at first, but when it did, my blood started to boil. Had Razor been the one who had taken out my guys? Fuck Gentry, if Razor was the one who had killed Clap and Gonzo, then I wanted to kill him myself. I wanted to take his cocky ass down and then slice his throat with quiet precision while he looked up into my eyes. No doubt, the arrogant bastard had done the same to Clap and Gonzo, but he’d done it while they were sleeping. I’d do it like a man, standing toe to toe. I was already creating a vision of the scene in my head, a vision of me holding him on the ground, seeing the fear rise up in his eyes and then drawing my blade slowly across his neck
It took me several minutes to push the image out of my mind and to calm myself a little bit before I spoke. “You sure about this?”
“Not a hundred percent,” Shovelhead replied.
“I don’t need a hundred percent,” I growled.
“You can probably get it if you ask your buddy Gentry.”
“What does he have to do with it?”
“Well, I think that I saw a police officer talking to Razor when he was doing some undercover work. I couldn’t get close without giving myself away and I only saw him that one time, but he flashed an FBI badge to the officer.”
“An FBI badge? Where would he get an FBI badge?”
“That’s why I said that it wouldn’t be easy to take him out.”
I realized that Shovelhead wasn’t questioning my ability to beat him in a fight, like so many of the others had suggested. He was talking about his tactical skills, his ability to collect intelligence and go unseen while he did so.
I saw the smug son of a bitch’s face, especially that smile and the sweet voice that he’d no doubt used for my benefit when he spoke to Kelly. I’d see that smirk disappear right before I cut his throat. And then an idea hit me. Just like the Philistines used Delilah to get to Samson, maybe I could use Kelly to get to Razor.
“Tell me about Razor and Kelly,” I said.
“What’s Kelly have to…” He smiled at me when he caught on to where I was headed. “You dog. Oldest trick in the book, but I like it.”
“I’m glad you approve,” I replied sarcastically. “Tell me what you know. Is she just one of his bitches, or is there something serious going on?”
“I think he’s given up all of his other girls and is sticking just to her.”
“How do you know that?”
“We got into one hell of a fight over her.”
“Then why isn’t one of you dead?” From what I could judge, a fight between Razor and Shovelhead would only come to an end with one of them dead.
“Fucking Jake pulled out a pistol just as we were about to switch from fists to knives.”
“So, he’s staked a claim to her?”
“I think that’s safe to say.”
“And, is she of the same mindset?”
“I can’t tell you that. I’ve only spoken to her twice, and nobody says anything about her among the SB.”
It was a lot to absorb, and I needed time to sort through it. “Alright, get out of here. I’ll see you when we’re back home. This isn’t a good place for us to be seen together.”
“Yeah. I’ll catch up with you back home.” Shovelhead wandered off into the darkness.
Kelly and I had been pretty serious when we’d been together. In fact, it confused the hell out of me when she left. We had seemed to be two peas in a pod. We enjoyed a lot of the same things. We talked about some pretty deep feelings with each other, and I thought that our future together was pretty much set. Losing my temper and beating the crap out of her when I was high on some really bad shit brought all of that to an end. Well, at least physically. Had it ended her feelings for me too?
I mean, yeah, one would think that, if there were any feelings still lingering in her, she would have tried to contact me or something, but we’d been pretty tight. Maybe if I stirred the embers just a little bit, I might be able to rekindle the flame.
Chapter 23: Kelly
I’d known that it was a bad idea for me to wander off by myself, but I was a big girl and I’d been around bikers for a very long time. I knew how to handle myself. I’d hoped to bump into Shannon “Princess” Daughtery again and do a little catching up. Trying to hide from the LDs wasn’t really a priority anymore, at least, at the rally. That was pretty much already out in the open at that point.
Besides Shannon, I’d been pretty tight with several other girls who hung out with the LDs, and I’d even liked several of the guys. The look in Viktor’s eyes when he’d seen me had been a combination of confusion and a little bit of hurt, rather than hatred or the desire to kill me. Those looks had been reserved for Anthony, but what else could anyone expect whenever the arrogant ex-boyfriend bumps into the equally arrogant current boyfriend, right?
The way he looked at me in that brief moment had haunted me and, to tell you the truth, I was actually hoping to not only bump into Shannon or one of the other girls, but to bump into Viktor too. You know, to try to put things to rest between us. I hadn’t been completely proud of taking off the way that I did after we’d had a pretty good relationship going. I’d done the right thing, and I wasn’t second-guessing that decision, but I still felt like I needed to wrap it all up neatly and put a bow on it. Yeah, I know, it was a stupid idea, but not nearly as stupid as the fix that I got myself into later because of that stupid idea.
“Fancy seeing you here.” I recognized Viktor’s voice instantly.
I was nervous about meeting him, but I decided to play it cool. “Oh. Hi,” I said, turning toward him. “I was actually looking for Shannon.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t know where she is. You don’t mind talkin’ to me for a minute, do you?” He didn’t seem angry at all.
“Sure,” I replied. I decided to just jump right into it. “I’m sorry about taking off on you.”
“I guess I sort of understand,” he replied. “I shouldn’t have done what I did.”
There was an awkward pause. I wasn’t sure exactly what needed to be said to achieve closure. We’d both said our apologies.
“So, are you doin’ okay?” he asked after a few minutes.
“I’m doing good. Got a good job and I’m going to school.”
“Of course you are,” he grinned. “You’ve always been pretty smart. What you studying?”
“Cosmetology,” I replied. It didn’t dawn on me until after I said it that he’d probably connect what I was studying with where he might be able to find me.
“Yeah. I can see that,” he responded. “I remember how you used to like fixin’ the other girls’ hair and nails and stuff.”
“Yeah. I like it so far.”
There was another long pause. I knew that he was struggling with how to approach the next portion of our conversation. I was thinking about making an excuse to leave. There wasn’t much point in talking further.
“I’m worried about something,” he said.
“Okay?”
“I’m worried about you being with that Razor guy. He’s pretty dangerous.”
“He’s harmless, Viktor,” I smiled. I really wanted to get out of there before his jealous streak kicked in. “I ought to get back.”
“Look, Sunshine,” he said. “Razor
is the one who killed Clap and Gonzo. He’s a hired killer.”
“No way, Viktor,” I replied. “He’s not like that. He’s tough, yeah, and he’s arrogant, but most of these guys are.” I waved a hand, indicating the thousands of bikers who were amassed in one area. I was already on my way out.
“Okay,” he said, calling after me as I left. “Can’t say I didn’t warn you. Just be careful, alright?”
I left him standing there and looking after me as I walked away. What he’d said about Anthony couldn’t possibly been true. It was just some bullshit that he made up to try to get me away from Anthony so that he could get me back. The problem, however, was that there were things about Anthony that I didn’t know, things that lingered around the edges of mystery.
It wasn’t as much the words that he said but the way that he said them that kept the thought returning to me for the next week, even after we got back from Sturgis. I thought about coming right out and asking Anthony if what Viktor had said was true, but how did you bring up that conversation? “By the way, baby, my ex-boyfriend told me that you’re a hired killer. Is that true?” It wasn’t going to happen like that. So, I tried to push it out of my mind, but I noticed that it never quite left there. If that wasn’t bad enough, I started examining things that he said and did in a completely different light.
Instead of pushing it out of my head, I started to obsess about it. That was bad enough, but the day that I was walking out of class at the community college and saw Viktor sitting on his bike beside my car, I was pretty sure that my really stupid mistake was about to get even worse.
“What’s up, Sunshine?” he grinned as I approached. “I like your car.”
“No you don’t. It’s a piece of shit. I don’t even like it. How’d you find me?”
“You told me.”
I tried to remember the last conversation I’d had with him. “No I didn’t.”
“You said that you were studying cosmetology.”
“So you tracked me down. Gee, that’s not creepy.”
AFRICAN AMERICAN URBAN FICTION: BWWM ROMANCE: Billionaire Baby Daddy (Billionaire Secret Baby Pregnancy Romance) (Multicultural & Interracial Romance Short Stories) Page 146