by Karen Renee
“On top of your legal bills, you’re gonna cover it?”
Roll squeezed himself out of the uncomfortable, too-small chair. “First of all, brother, those charges are gonna get dropped. You know good and well, I didn’t put a finger on Kim. I’ve been set up, and that set-up will be proved wrong. Secondly, yeah, I’ll handle it even with any legal fees I might get saddled with. She’s my mother just as much as she’s yours.”
“I never see you around her—”
“Don’t try to guilt me right now, Ray. You know I’m here for you, for her, for your girls, any damn time you need me.”
Ray was silent because it was the truth. After a long moment, he said in a low voice, “I’ll get Dana to look into it.”
“Good. She comes up empty, I got friends that work at Baptist. They might have some ideas.”
“We gonna meet Trixie? Leah may not talk to me often, but she has mentioned that you’ve told her plenty about this woman. Be nice to find out who else gets your precious time.”
Before he walked into the clubhouse last night, Roll had thought Trixie was a foregone conclusion in his life. Seeing her with Simone, though, tore his heart out. She always deserved more than him, but now that he’d told her the truth, he needed to be firmer with her about moving on. The world would be an absolute poorer place without an offspring of hers in it.
“We’ll see,” Roll hedged, just as his phone gave a high-pitched trill. He checked the display and saw that Volt was calling church at noon. The phone showed it was a quarter after eleven. His intention had been to be here when his mother came back, but it wasn’t going to happen.
“Guessin’ your club has told you to hop to for them?”
Roll fought rolling his eyes at his overly dramatic brother. “They aren’t gonna be able to tell us anything for some time anyway. I got to visit with her this morning. Looks like she’s gettin’ a little bit of control over the left side of her face.”
“Very damn little,” his brother muttered.
Roll lifted his chin. “Any improvement is progress, Ray.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll be back. If not tonight, then definitely early in the morning, so I can be here when the doctors make their rounds. You don’t have to bust your ass to get here before work if you want.”
“Not a matter—”
“You need rest just like your wife does.”
Ray’s lips thinned and he nodded. “Fine. Thanks, Homer.”
Roll looked to the wall and back to his brother. “Do not call me that.”
“It’s what she named you.”
Leave it to his older brother to act so damn childish at a time like this. “It’s not what I go by. Not for the past thirty years. Later.”
***
In the cramped room for church, Roll sat toward the end of the huge conference table. Cal called the meeting to order, and Volt filled everyone in.
“Bottom line, James and his IT people weren’t able to get anything from the liquor store Roll and Trixie went to Friday night. The camera was there for show and wasn’t recording.”
Roll’s stomach dropped with the bad news.
“Martina has the receipt that shows Roll was at the fast food joint in the same vicinity, but said it’s circumstantial and not enough to get the charges fully dropped.”
“What do you mean, not enough?” Blood asked. Roll was glad he did, because Blood seemed to be the only brother Cal wouldn’t pounce on for interrupting their president.
“Just not enough. She said it’d be better if we had the photo footage with a time stamp.”
Roll could see that. He didn’t like it, but he could see where a time stamp and photo evidence would be preferred.
Silence stretched at the table, so Roll filled it. “Hardee’s doesn’t have me on video?”
Volt looked at him sympathetically. “The footage is limited to Trixie’s car and license plate. Mainly for processing orders in a timely fashion. None of that proves you were the one there. Anybody could’ve gotten a hold of your credit card to pay for the food and the liquor. Especially since it’s widely known Trixie hangs with you exclusively.”
Fuck. This was not good.
“Where’s Heathen now?” Blood asked.
Volt shot the table a dull look. “He’s been seen visiting Kim twice. Both visits were short, but after those visits he ditched the tail of both prospects.”
“Cut them loose,” Razor mumbled.
Volt shook his head. “No. Heathen’s hard-core and our prospects are just that, new, and green to maintainin’ a tail. I should’ve sent you and Cal, or Vamp and Turk. Bottom line, Abby’s got a friend keepin’ tabs on Kim’s progress. Once she’s conscious, Abby’ll let us know. There’s an outstanding marker a boy in blue owes Patch. We’re callin’ it in.”
Acid churned in Roll’s belly. He didn’t like the club calling markers in on his behalf, even if it really was on the behalf of his sister.
Before he could say it, Yak took the words out of his mouth. “We need eyes on Heathen, for damn sure.”
“No arguments here, Yak. Turk and Major have marching orders to keep stationed at Heathen’s house, and you and Vamp are scopin’ out the Devil Lancer compound.”
Vamp lifted his chin in acknowledgment. “We lookin’ for anything besides Heathen?”
Volt’s head shifted in the most minuscule manner from side to side. “No, but between you and Yak, I trust the two of you to listen to your gut reactions.”
The sound of at least four brothers trying to stifle their sighs filled the air. Volt closed out the meeting and the men stood to leave.
Blood shoved his arms against the table and his chair went back a good foot and a half from the table as he pinned Roll with his eyes. “You need to get a second opinion, man.”
Those words were ice in Roll’s veins, and he looked to Volt, but his president shook his head.
“Abby,” Blood started, paused, and finished, “….shoulda kept her mouth shut, I’m guessing.”
Roll closed his eyes momentarily, and after a deep breath he said, “You guess?”
Some of the brothers continued to leave the room, but others, sensing the tension in the air, stayed. The club was decidedly a family, but unfortunately, that meant that many members couldn’t keep their mouths shut about someone’s private business. Roll knew Volt would keep a tight lip on what he shared, but he could not believe Trixie had shared with Abby. Christ!
“Second opinion about what?” Cal asked, in a low voice.
“Not a fuckin’ thing, and none of the rest of you fuckers needs to worry about it, either.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Trixie
I was zipping up my toiletry bag when the door slammed open, making me jump, and then it slammed shut. Before I could set a foot out of the bathroom, Roll’s hulking body was there and his chest was heaving. That was concerning, but not half as distressing as the raw fury in his eyes.
“What is your—”
His voice was low and growly when he cut me off. “Of all the damn people, you had to go and tell Abigail Bledsoe about my issue?”
He said it like it was a question, but I knew it was purely rhetorical. “Well—”
“Blood’s woman. Hell, why’d you have to tell any damn one of the women at all?”
Suffice it to say, I recognized this was a personal issue for him, but to expect me not to try and confide this to anyone was bullshit. It impacted me because it was the lame-ass reason he was holding himself back from me. So, I was pissed and let my attitude fly.
“Newsflash, babe, your condition could be repaired. She’s a nurse! She might not be a urologist or whatever damn sort of doctor you need to go see, but I needed to talk to someone other than you. And better yet, I needed a trusted friend. So if you’re standin’ there actin’ like I committed a crime for that and expect me to apologize, you can fuck right the hell off!”
“Lower your voice,” he growled.
“You got i
t,” I hissed. Grabbing my toiletry bag, I tried to squeeze by him, but he moved with me.
His eyes looked pained when he muttered, “I don’t need my brothers knowin’ I got that kind of issue.”
My head reared back, and I couldn’t contain my scoff. “Is that what you’re so fired up about? That shit’s got nothin’ to do with how you’re hung. God knows I’m well-acquainted enough to be an expert on that.”
“Trixie,” he growled.
“Outta my way.”
His eyes dropped to the toiletry bag in my hand and he squinted at me. “Where’re you goin’? Cause you damn sure ain’t goin’ to Blood’s room.”
I leaned toward him. “I’m going home. Now step back.”
He scoffed, but his was almost sexy. “You sure as hell are not. So put that bag down.”
“I am.”
“Are you looking for another attack? He fuckin’ beat my sister worse than you. She’s in the damn hospital, and since he’s accused me of doin’ it, I can’t even visit her. Ain’t no fuckin’ way you’re leavin’ this clubhouse.”
My frustration and anger were at record levels. “I have a goddamned job! I have a fuckin’ life and it won’t include bein’ your on-again off-again fuck-buddy. Not any damn more! Now step the fuck back!” I ended on a shriek.
He moved back, and I was not a step past him when he grabbed me from behind, snatched the bag out of my hand, and threw it to the ground. Then we were both down on the bed, me belly first, and Roll’s massive frame on top of me.
Oh, hell no! I began to squirm, but Roll’s thighs trapped my legs, forcing them together, and his hands forced my wrists together above my head. I turned my head to give him a nasty look from the corner of my eye, but his lips were lowered to my ear.
“You are not my fuck-buddy. Never were, and never will be. I hear you say that shit ever again, I’ll spank your bare-ass no matter where we are or when it is. Am I clear?”
I huffed.
“Am I clear, Trix?”
“Yeah,” I gritted out.
“Now, where the hell did that shit come from?”
With few options available to me, I decided to give Roll the silent treatment. It wasn’t something I resorted to very often because I tended to be a chatty chick. Plus, my temper was such that, once it was off my chest, my anger went away.
Roll shifted and sighed. “I asked you a question, woman. Can tell you’re pissed, so tell me where that ‘fuck-buddy’ shit came from?”
I turned my head to the other side and remained silent. After another minute Roll shoved a hand beneath me and fumbled with the button to my shorts. I pressed my torso down to try and halt his progress.
“Why are you fightin’ me, Trixie? What the fuck has you so angry?”
You! I thought it so hard, I was amazed he couldn’t hear it.
Roll didn’t give up on my shorts and he undid them after another minute. His hand shot out from under me; one of his legs shifted so he could swiftly yank my shorts down. He was good at that, mainly because in yanking my shorts two of his fingers had hooked my panties and he pulled both garments free simultaneously.
The cool air of the room caressed my bare buttocks, but not for long. Roll’s hand came down sharp on my left cheek and the sound was louder than I thought possible. Then the pain set in and I realized why it was so loud.
He means business.
“Talk to me, Trixie Baker. I don’t care how fuckin’ rosy I have to make these plump ass-cheeks. You’re gonna tell me what the fuck you’re in a tizzy about.”
A tizzy! If he thought this was a tizzy, he was sadly mistaken. My thoughts were cut short when he slapped my right cheek harder than he had the left. The sting was uncomfortable, but perversely, it was turning me on. I shifted on the bed and Roll’s other leg framed my legs again tighter than before.
“No way, Patricka. You’re not gonna get yourself off while giving me the silent treatment. Talk.”
My anger flared anew when he called me by my full name, but I knew that was his goal, so I wasn’t rising to the bait.
He lifted a leg away in order to slap my left side again, and I could hear the smile in his voice. “Oughta see your creamy skin, though it’s not so creamy now. More strawberry milkshake, so spill, Patti.”
“Go to hell,” I muttered.
His chest leaned into my back, and I couldn’t stop myself from loving the feeling of him on me. “What are you pissed about?”
He was moving away from me and shifting a leg over, and his hand on my wrists was getting sweaty. I tried yanking away from his grip, but his fingers tightened just as he spanked me. I barely managed to turn my moan into a groan because that slap sent a rush of wet to my center. This was one of those delicious instances where it was so wrong it was exactly right. Neither me nor Roll was well known for being patient, and his patience was slipping, because he spanked me again. My reaction couldn’t be denied and he heard me moan.
“Fuck! Do not make me hard right now, woman. Tell me what you’re so fuckin’ angry about?” he ended with a shout.
“You,” I hollered.
“Me?”
“Yes! You’re a goddamned liar. You don’t fucking love me. You get me where you want me and you can’t fuckin’ be bothered to sleep with me or even be here in the morning for me.”
“What are you—”
“You’re so goddamned ashamed of me and always have been. Never, but never, are you around the morning after. Nothing has changed, but I damn well have! Now get the fuck off of me.”
He let go of my wrists and I surged up to my knees. That was a mistake because I should’ve just slid off the bed, and Roll never missed an opportunity. He grabbed me under my armpits and threw me to my back on the bed.
He lowered his weight to me, putting his face in mine. “Everything has changed. I have never ever been ashamed of you.”
“Bullshit,” I hissed.
“I love you so much, I want you to get everything you want out of life. I still do, but I’m gonna be selfish enough to insist you do it with me.”
“Not happenin’,” I said with resolve.
Pain sliced across Roll’s face and I regretted my words.
“Why?” he whispered.
“You won’t even take me to meet your mother.”
He closed his eyes and blew out a breath. His eyes were hard when he opened them. “You ever think maybe that’s about my mother, and not you? She’s in the fuckin’ hospital, Trix. Left side of her face is slack and she doesn’t even like that Ray and I are seein’ her that way. You really think she wants to meet my woman lookin’ like that? And in a hospital gown to boot? Fuck, no. I’m not doin’ that to her.”
“But I wouldn’t care ab—”
“She. Would.” He punctuated this declaration with a head nod after each word.
“That explains this mornin’, but what about the dozens upon dozens of mornings before now? You were never around.”
His lips thinned and I suspected his patience was doing much the same. “Listen to me and do it well, woman. I told you, I wanted you to get everything out of life. To my way of thinking, that meant you needed a man who could knock you up like you deserve to be.”
“You were wrong.” He shook his head and I put a hand on his cheek. “There are potential options. At the least—”
“Get a second opinion,” he finished.
My eyes slid to the side and back. “Well, yeah.”
“What Blood said too, which brings us full circle. You can’t do that shit.”
I had been very turned on, and I had hoped we’d end this asinine fight with some angry sex, but those words killed my mood. “Do not tell me what I can or can’t do—”
“When it’s about my personal shit, I most certainly—”
“That personal shit impacts my personal shit, jackass. They’re right and you don’t want to admit it. You need to get another opinion.”
He was silent for a long moment, but breathing very hard. “F
ine. This shit blows over, I’ll get another opinion.”
“Good,” I whispered.
His body shifted, and then he plunged two fingers inside me. “Shit. My spankings really did turn you on.”
His fingers started moving with purpose. I began to squirm, but then he pulled them out and brought them to his face. Licking his fingers clean, a toe-curling smile curved his lips. “Was gonna let you choose how we fuck, but you’re outta luck. Gonna eat you out, then I’m fuckin’ you bare. From behind so I can see my handiwork on your ass.”
“Handiwork is about right,” I deadpanned.
His toe-curling smile went molten and he jerked my legs up. “Just for that, you earned a couple extra licks. Wanna feel you spasm from that, but first I gotta give your pussy her own licks.”
Roll
Trixie was right. He should’ve opened up to her about his condition a long-ass time ago. Sliding into her wet heat without a rubber was the best feeling he would ever have, and he knew it. He knew she hadn’t had time to get tested, but it was a risk he was suddenly willing to take, and he was glad he did.
Later, when she came out of the bathroom, Trixie had a determined look on her face. Snatching her panties out of her shorts, she yanked them on, and getting into bed, she put her glorious tits to his bare chest.
“It’s a fuckin’ shame you assholes don’t let women sit the table at church.”
He chuckled. “Why’s that? Actually don’t tell me, I’m pretty certain I don’t want to know.”
She swatted his nipple and he grabbed her wrist, because he was surprised he liked that. She was not deterred by his grip on her arm. “I’m pretty damn certain your road name needs to be Beast, and not the transfer guy.”
He slid his eyes to her, hoping she was finished. She was not.
“See, you didn’t think I would be able to see what you did to my ass, but you forgot how flexible I am.”
“I didn’t forget,” he muttered, as he remembered a few things she did a couple years ago.
“Well, I managed to see the big, pink imprints your hands left on my tush. You’re a fuckin’ beast, mister!”