by Blair Grey
ROCCO: AN MC ROMANCE
The Steel Wings MC – Book #6
By Blair Grey
Copyright © 2019 by Blair Grey
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Chapter 1
Rocco
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The loud roar of the engines was all that filled the air. The night appeared to be silent otherwise, but it was hard to say for sure with the deafening tone of the bikes around us.
I rode with a smaller group of the MC, a few of the guys who were closest to me.
As the Chaplain for the Steel Wings, I did my best to remain as open and unbiased to the members of the club as possible. But, we were all human, and though I did my best to treat everyone within the MC with the same level of equality, I did end up being closer to some more than others.
Of course, if any of the men in the club were to come to me for any reason, I would be there to help them through the hardship in a spiritual manner. That was my job, and that’s what I was driven to do as much as possible.
Most often, I was the spiritual leader and support to any of the men when they were facing jail time or other major life issues. I would often accompany them to court if they had a date, or I would make time to go visit them when they were actually incarcerated.
I knew there were times when it wasn’t a good idea for me to go in, considering the rival MC members a guy could be locked up with, so if he were outnumbered behind bars, I would have to resort to writing letters to make sure they were comforted and encouraged without worry they’d get the shit beat out of them in the shower.
I was proud of what I did, being the one to stand with them through the hard times. Reminding them that God was there on their journey, and no matter what, we were all going to pull through.
We were more than just a motorcycle club. We were family. I thought of all the boys in the club as my brothers. I was there for them, and they were there for me. We had each other’s backs through the thick and the thin, no matter what.
Of course, incarceration and legal problems weren’t the only reasons I would serve as the spiritual guide within the MC. There were plenty of weddings to be had, as well.
Over the past year, it seemed I had done more weddings for the men who were closer to me than most than I had for anyone else in the club for quite some time, and I was happy for them. They had found women in this world, and they had joined with those women, forging through the path of life together. It was beautiful, and I was happy for each and every one of them as they settled down.
Well, settled down as much as any of us did in the MC. We were all rough, hard, and no-nonsense kind of guys, and we did things our way. We stood tall and proud with each other, and though there were some out there who had shown their softer side to these women, that didn’t change the fact that they were still some of the toughest men that I’d ever known.
There certainly wasn’t much settling down to be had among any of these men, that was for sure, but we were happy.
Then, there was the darker side of things. It wasn’t my favorite part of being the spiritual leader in the club, but being the man of the cloth as I was, I had to step up and fill the role as much as I could. And, that was the role of leader through death.
Being in the MC, there was no guarantee of life from one day to the next. Hell, there wasn’t that guarantee for anyone, ever, really. There was plenty of truth to that. But, for men who lived their lives dangerously and often on the edge, there was a greater chance any one of us might meet his maker sooner than the average Joe walking down the street.
When that happened, the club would look to me to get the men through the dark times, reminding them there was more to life than what was right before us. There was more to our spiritual welfare than what we could see with our own eyes.
Hell, there was more to it than what any of us were part of here on Earth.
I knew the men in the club all had their own beliefs, and I knew those beliefs were as diverse as the men who held them. But, I supported everyone and did my best to be there for each of them. I wasn’t the sort of guy to get caught up in any one belief system. It wasn’t my job to tell people to follow any one specific faith.
No, it was my job to be there for them through thick and thin and to make sure they all knew they had someone there for them through everything. If we weren’t together – if I couldn’t reach them even – then God could. There wasn’t a place on Earth or a situation they could find themselves in that could change that.
It was just a matter of belief, and I wanted each and every one to know without a shadow of a doubt they were going to be okay. Of course, we all knew we had each other, and not all the responsibility fell to me, even when it came to spiritual matters.
Jett, our president, was also able to perform weddings and funerals if the situation called for it, and I was there to support him when he did. There was no need for jealousy or the drive to be popular within the club. No, there was more to it than that.
We were a family, and we were there to build each other up, no matter what. Through thick and thin, we stood together. And, I was proud to call each of these men brothers.
Tonight, however, I wasn’t supposed to take on the role of spiritually spiritual leader. Tonight had been a good night for the club, and as we roared back toward home, we were all in the mood to celebrate.
We had been trying out different methods for making money within the club. Some had been working better than others, since we got rid of the cocaine especially, but nothing had really stuck around as long as we wanted it to.
We recently made a lot of money selling pills on the street, but that was short-lived, and it was time we moved on from that and into something that was going to last longer – and make us more money in the long run.
At least, that was the general plan.
It seemed we would try this or try that, but nothing was really taking root long term. Tonight, however, it looked as though we might find something that would last longer than the other endeavors. And, perhaps, would make more money in a shorter amount of time.
Gun running.
I knew Jett would rather deal with drugs than guns any day, but the fact of the matter was we were having a more difficult time with the drugs, and the guns were there for the taking. If we played our cards right, we could very well end up with a lot more money for a lot less work than what we were doing for the drugs.
And, the cops weren’t on us nearly as hard when they didn’t suspect we were out there with drugs. Sure, we still had to be careful, but we found it was a lot easier to transport guns under the radar than drugs, as odd as that was for everyone involved.
Still, right now, no one wanted to talk about what we going to do long term. No, we were all in great moods for what we had accomplished that day, and we were all eager to get back to the bar and celebrate.
Or, most of us were.
We pulled to a stop at an intersection, quieting the engines of the bikes enough so we could talk to each other without having to shout. Much, anyway.
“You want to head over to the bar and have a few drinks? Relax from the night?” Blade, our vice president, shouted across to Jett.
“That’s where I figured we were heading; you all deserve more than a few rounds on me!” he shouted back.
There was a cheer that ran through the MC, and everyone revved their engines to add to the excitement. I wasn’t one to drink a lot, but I was more than happy to head over to the bar for a few drinks with the rest of the boys, that was for sure. I joined in with my own revvin
g, eager to speed off down the road and into the starry night.
But, I couldn’t help but notice Roman, our SGT at Arms, was hanging back from the rest of the crowd. He seemed a little antsy, almost as though he was on edge.
“Relax,” I told him. “It’s a done deal. We’ve got the money in our pocket, and anything that happens now is going to be on the other guys!”
“Yeah, you’ve been on edge all night,” Knox pulled up alongside him on the outside and grinned. “You alright, buddy?”
“I’m fine, just got some stuff on my mind, is all,” Roman said. “You guys go ahead. I’m going to call out on tonight and just see where it takes me from here, alright?”
“You sure about that?” Jett asked. “You really pulled your weight back there. I’d like to buy you a drink. And, you know those of you who don’t have a good woman in your lives better find someone to enjoy tonight. You deserve it!”
He looked around the group and several of the men laughed and agreed, but Roman, though he smirked, merely shrugged.
“Pussy is pussy, man,” Trak piped in, but we all knew that wasn’t true. Not to mention, several of the men who were present had settled down with women in their lives, so they weren’t looking to find someone at the bar that night. Drinks would be fine with them, and then they would be ready to head home to the night.
Yet, even the thought of sex wasn’t enough to prompt Roman to join the rest of us down at Echo Mori.
“No, it’s good,” he said. “You guys go on.”
Jett didn’t pursue it, and neither did anyone else. They just gave the standard nod and revved the engines one more time before raising their feet from the pavement and speeding off into the night. I, however, hung back for just a moment longer, looking back at Roman with raised eyebrows.
“You sure you’re okay?” I asked. “Anything you want to talk about?”
“I’m okay,” he said again with a shake of his head. “There’s not much to say besides that. I’ll see you guys tomorrow, yeah?”
“You know where to find us if you change your mind,” I told him. He nodded, and I lifted my feet as I started up the engine once more, speeding off into the night. The taillights from the rest of the boys were up ahead, already fading into the black on the road, but I knew it wasn’t going to take me long to catch up.
Roman was pushed out of the back of my mind as the night went on. There was plenty of jokes and laughter spread around the room, along with a lot of gossip and conversation. There were plenty of women to go around, as well, though I wasn’t much in the mood to take anyone home with me that night.
I stayed with the club for a few hours until it was later than I cared to be out during the week, before I headed for the parking lot. The moon was still shining bright, and the couple drinks I had swirled around in my head as I made my way to my bike.
I was more than capable of driving myself home, but I still paused when I heard the sound of sirens blaring. They weren’t far from the bar from the sounds of things, but they were certainly heading somewhere.
If I had to venture a guess, I would say they were on their way to the restaurant district in town.
And, that couldn’t mean anything good at this hour.
Chapter 2
Amelia
I took a bite of the grapefruit, leaning over my plate to keep from getting any of the juice on my shirt. It wasn’t often that I would eat grapefruit without cutting it out of the rind first, but I was in a hurry today.
My day started with breaking news about an attempted murder the night before, and I wanted to be down to the office to try to catch up on a few other things that were piling up on my desk.
I loved my job as a lawyer, that was for sure, but I had to admit, there were days when it was far more hectic of a job than I ever thought it would be. My day was largely spent trying to get a hold of people to help with various cases and trying to piece together arguments that would effectively help my clients the way I needed to help them.
I was young for a lawyer. At twenty-seven, I often found the prosecution was a lot older than me, no matter what case I took. But, I was fierce. I was determined to make a name for myself in the field, and I tried to specialize with those who were in the falsely accused side of things.
I hated to see innocent people pay for things they didn’t do. It drove me insane, really, and I wanted nothing more than to bring justice to everyone. It didn’t take me long in my line of work to realize there were a lot of people who ended up stuck in the system for much longer than they should have been for the simple fact they were accused of a crime they didn’t commit.
But, lawyers were expensive. I knew because I was one. People got stuck fighting for their own innocence, and that only lead to more problems for them down the road. I felt bad for anyone dealing with that sort of thing, and I wanted nothing more than to be able to help them.
Hell, I wanted to help anyone, really. I felt for the victims of crime as much as I felt for those who were innocent, and I wanted to see them get the justice they deserved, as well. There was such a good feeling of seeing those dealing with problems in their lives triumph, and I felt good being the one to help them get there.
The pile of papers on my desk, however, made it difficult for me to be able give each of the cases as much attention as I wanted to give them. I felt everyone deserved my all, but with the high case load I dealt with, it was hard for me to give them that.
I knew my best bet at making sure they all got what they were hoping for out of their cases was to prioritize my time as best as I could. To be able to give them each as much of me as I could spare before having to move on to the next one.
It wasn’t ideal, but it was something, and something was better than nothing when it came to people who were trying to get on the right side of the law once more.
Of course, like all humanity, I was bound to the 24 hours a day that everyone else had to deal with, so I spent most of my time down at the office, trying to fit as much into my day as possible. There were people who would call and complain to me, sure, but that didn’t mean anything.
They could complain as much as they wanted. My assistant and good friend, Sarah, was always the one to deal with them. And damn, she was both loyal and incredibly tough when it came to the pushy clients.
She would take all the messages, but she wouldn’t take any shit from anyone, and she wouldn’t pass along any of their snarky messages they wanted me to hear, either. It was no-nonsense with her. And, that was why she had been my assistant for almost my entire career.
As I leaned back in my chair, I finished scrolling through the last of the emails she felt were worthy of my eyes the day before, then I closed the page and took a long drink of my coffee. I’d grown used to drinking my coffee and eating breakfast at the office, though breakfast often was fruit I would pack from home.
It was fast and easy, and for the most part, I could eat while I was doing the paperwork. The more I could get done in a day, the better, as far as I was concerned. But, it looked like things were going to be different today. With this big case that just broke the night before, we were bound to have even more to deal with in the office.
Not that we were going to be dealing with the case itself per se, but with the law enforcement having their hands and attention tied to what had gone on the night before, as well as dealing with the media blowing up over the entire thing, I knew it was just a matter of time before we were feeling the ripple effect.
Not that it was a big deal to me. I would keep my head down and try to push through the rest of my paperwork without getting too distracted by it. I had enough on my plate. I wasn’t going to get too caught up in the drama that was unfolding, as interesting as it might be.
The door opened, and Sarah came bustling into the office, paperwork under her arm and a coffee in her hand.
“When will the day come when I’ll beat you to the office?” she asked with a smile as she shook her head. “I was going to surprise you wit
h coffee this morning since you were here so late last night, but I see you already have some.”
“There’s always room for more coffee in my world,” I told her with a smile of my own. I finished the coffee that I had in my hand and accepted the cup offered by her with a laugh. She let out a soft chuckle as she set the papers down on the desk in front of me.
“What’s all that?” I asked.
“More discovery,” she said with a sigh. “For the Anderson case.”
“Terrific,” I said, though my tone told her how unenthusiastic I was feeling about the case.
“They called three times yesterday trying to get a court date set to change the plea, but I told them we need to get through the rest of the discovery first,” Sarah said with a sigh. “So here it is, if that’s what you want to do with your day.”
I sighed as I took a drink of the new cup of coffee she brought. “I guess I should be more focused on that than the murder that happened last night.”
“Attempted murder, anyway,” she said with a nod. I agreed.
“Yeah, attempted. From the sounds of things in the news, he’s not really expected to do well, for that that’s worth anyway,” I said.
“I’m just surprised it happened in the first place.” Sarah shook her head. “You hear of things like that going down, and you think it’s gang violence or something. You don’t stop to think that it’s just some poor guy closing up his restaurant for the night.”
“I know,” I agreed. “It makes me wonder if he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time or if he was targeted for some reason.”
“But who would target a guy like that with all the other stuff that goes on in this town?” Sarah shook her head again, and I couldn’t help but agree with her once more. She did have a point.
“I’m going to go with the idea he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It seems better to focus on that than to think about someone out there who wants to target an older gentleman just going about closing down his restaurant for the night. It’s not like it was even one of the upper class places in town! Who would have thought he would be the one to be attacked,” I said.