by Brook Wilder
Joel took a menacing step forward and Viper flinched before he could stop himself. Joel smiled, and it was a mean expression that drew across his face.
“You are a fucking moron, Viper. And anyone who follows you is a fucking moron. Anyone who would actually listen to you and think that you know a goddamn bit about what you’re talking about obviously has less going on upstairs than even you and that’s impressive because as far as I can tell, you’re dumb as a box of rocks. But I guess they’d have to be, to believe that you could ever be half the leader that I am–” Joel barely got out the words before Viper’s fist was flying towards him.
Without thinking, Honey was jumping forward into the brawl and it was as if he brought the whole crowd barreling down with him as the rest of the bar erupted into violence.
Well, there goes the fucking match, Honey thought to himself, but then all he could focus on was avoiding the fist that came at him, struggling through the roiling mass until he made it to where Joel was now facing off against two unfamiliar thugs. Wait a minute, one unfamiliar thug. As the taller one turned towards him, a vicious grin split Honey’s face. He knew that asshole. It was Buck, the same guy that had tried to harass Elle.
He didn’t wait to leap forward, a sharp uppercut landing square against Buck’s jaw. He turned to Joel, the same manic smile on his face.
“Just like old times, eh Joel?”
“Shut up, Honey,” his friend shouted between panting breaths as he ducked yet another cheap shot. Viper had seemed to have disappeared into the chaos. “Let’s just try and get out of here with all our limbs attached, got it?”
“Got it, boss.”
“Where’s Carla?” he asked suddenly, distracting Honey enough to allow Buck’s fist to clip his cheek. He cursed, spitting out a little blood before scanning the crowd.
“Tucker’s got her. By the door. Look like he’s holding her back, the little warrior.”
“We have to go Honey,” Joel said suddenly, and he hated the defeat he could hear in his friend’s voice. But he also knew he was right. They were severely outnumbered. Viper had been telling the truth. He really had been busy.
He was about to get out of the fray when he spotted Hot Wheels’ white blonde hair poking up from the middle where the fighting was hottest. Of course she would be in the goddamn middle of the fight, probably holding her own too, if he knew Wheels, but she wouldn’t be able to hold these assholes off for long.
With one last look at where Joel was shoving his way towards the door and Carla, Honey sighed in resignation and took off in the opposite direction, straight towards the belly of the beast.
***
Elle’s hands shook the entire drive home. She hated that they did, but there wasn’t a darned thing she could do about it. She tried meditating, she tried visualizing that she was on a warm, sunny beach somewhere. She tried all the tricks that the therapists and phycologists had taught her to manage her anxiety but she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that this wasn’t just anxiety.
She knew how that felt, had lived with it since she was a child. This was different, and so much worse. Because every time she thought about Honey, her heart did a funny little flip in her chest and butterflies erupted inside of her.
You are being ridiculous, Elle, that voice inside her head said sharply, pull yourself together. You wanted him. And you had him. You would have had him twice if you hadn’t chickened out at the last minute. It was that voice again, the little devilish side of herself that she didn’t truly believe was a part of her.
I did not chicken out, Elle shot back. Great, now he has me arguing with myself! The man was a menace, plain a simple. A menace to her well being and peace of mind. Who wants peace of mind when you can have all that delicious, hard–
Okay, okay, I get it, Elle mentally shouted, He’s hot. And amazing in bed, er, out of bed, um, standing. Whatever! But he’s not what I want. There was a moment of silence as the thought echoed on and on in her head. I don’t believe you.
Well, you are me, so you don’t really have a choice! Elle shook her head at herself. Because the truth was, no matter how much she protested, even to herself, she knew the truth. She knew just exactly how much she had wanted him, no, needed him. She’d said the words out loud and she had meant every single one of them. And that’s what made her hands shake on the long drive back to her house. They were still shaking as she got out of the car and walked up to the door, unlocked the deadbolt and went inside.
She’d been home for barely an hour, drinking tea in front of her fireplace when the sound of a knock at the front door startled her.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” she said irritably as she sloshed the now cooled liquid over the rim of the teacup when she jerked in surprise and quickly blotted the damp stains on the sweatpants she’d changed into. She had taken a shower and changed out of that dress as soon as she’d gotten in. It had gotten her into enough trouble.
Still muttering under her breath, she got to her feet and walked to the front door, wondering who would be knocking at this time of night. Elle grabbed the knob and threw open the door, and froze, staring wide eyed at the last person she expected, although she supposed she should have known better.
Her dark gaze widened even further as she spoke, “What the hell are you doing here?”
Chapter 14
“What the hell are you doing here?” Elle’s strident question echoed into the night, through his pounding head but he just forced a shrug and a grin.
“Well, it’s actually a funny story,” Honey said, making a move to go inside but Elle partially closed the door blocking his entry, “Come on, Elle. It’s late. I’m tired. Just let me in.”
“Not until you answer my question,” she said stubbornly. Well, she hadn’t even begun to see stubborn yet. He leaned close, so close he could smell the fragrant lilac soap that she used. She must have taken a shower between when she’d left the clubhouse and now. The thought of her naked and wet, bubbles trailing teasingly across her skin had him groaning out as his body tightened at the mental image. Too bad he was in no shape to act on any of the desires springing up inside him.
“I’ll answer your question as soon as you let me in.”
“That’s not how it works, Honey. You tell me first. Then I decide whether or not to let you in.”
“Not this time, baby. Sorry. I wasn’t lying. It’s too late and I really am dead tired. Especially after the night I had.”
“Well, I was there,” Elle muttered under breath and Honey remembered that she’d left through the back. She had no idea about the fight. With a stuttered laugh, he reached past her waist, using the way she stiffened at the contact to push the door all the way open and then step through, all in one smooth motion that left her standing where she was in the entryway, gaping at him in effrontery.
“What do you think you’re doing, Honey? You can’t just break into someone’s house,” Elle started in on him as she turned around, “You can’t just– Oh my god, Honey, what happened to you?” her tone softened and he saw concern bloom in the depths of her dark eyes, but again, he just shrugged.
“I told you, it’s a funny story”
“Well, it doesn’t look funny at all! You’re bleeding all over my carpet,” Elle cried as her eyes traced over his wounds. At least the ones that she could see. He could feel every other spot that a fist or booted foot landed across his chest and ribs and his leg twinged badly from the knife that someone had drawn.
That’s about the time he’d decided to cut his losses, grab Hot Wheels, and get the hell out of dodge. He hadn’t really felt like getting cut up that night. Of course, he’d had to drag Wheels out kicking and screaming. She wasn’t one to give up easy, no, not her.
“What happened, Honey? Why are you…?”
“Why do I look like a human punching bag?” Honey finished for her, groaning again as he moved to lean against the stool pulled up to the kitchen table. He was afraid if he sat down he wouldn’t be able to
get back up again.
“Well, yeah,” Elle walked closer, her gaze still lingering on his injuries, “Are you– Are you alright?”
“Alright?” Honey barked out with a pained laugh, “I’ve been worse, I can say that. But I’ve also been a hell of a lot better.”
“But what happened? Who did this? I’ll call the cops. I’ll call the police and they’ll find the scumbag and– and throw him in jail for the rest of his life. I’ll make sure of it. Just tell me his name!”
Honey looked at her in shock, surprised by the vehemence that laced her tone, and her words. She came to his defense so easily, so ready to fight for him, and it had warm shooting through him. But eventually he just shook his head.
“It’s not that simple. There was a fight, at the clubhouse.”
“Oh my, Carla! Is Carla alright?”
“Carla’s fine, she’s safe with Joel. And Tucker and Hot Wheels are safe too, even though I’ll probably get a black eye out of it.” Honey gingerly rubbed at the tender spot just above his left eye. Hot Wheels had a mean right hook.
“But what happened? I still don’t understand.”
“I don’t really myself, to tell you the truth,” Honey shook his head, a part of him still not believing what had happened, “Viper has been plotting against Joel.”
“I know. Well, I know that there was a split in the club about the farm,” Elle hurried to say at Honey’s look of surprise.
“Well, while Joel has been busy trying to find a viable source of income for the Dirty Cruisers, Viper’s been busy too. Convincing the members that Joel was wrong about taking the crew straight, and enlisting new members that were more loyal to that weasely son of bitch than to the Cruisers.”
“But…why? Why would he do that?” Elle said, shaking her head in bafflement as her big eyes threatened to drown him.
“Because he wants to be in charge. He wants to be the big bad leader of the Dirty Cruisers but he doesn’t have a clue as to what that really means. Joel has a plan to make a lot of money for the club, security, real security. It’s safe and legit. But Viper…He just doesn’t get it, or even worse, he just doesn’t care. He just wants the power, but he can’t handle any of the responsibility that comes with it.”
“So what does that mean for the farm, for Carla? What’s going to happen?” Elle asked, putting words the question that had been swimming in his own head. But he didn’t have an answer for her.
“Without the strength of the Dirty Cruisers behind us, behind Joel and his plan…I don’t know what’s going to happen, Elle. I just don’t know. But what I do know is that without the muscle we’re left vulnerable. All of us.”
Honey turn to take a step and hissed as pain shot through his leg. He stumbled, grabbing onto the back of the stool to catch himself before he landed in a pile of cuts and bruises on Elle’s kitchen floor.
“Go to the bathroom, now,” Elle ordered as she took a step forward. A noticeably painless step, Honey thought with a tinge of jealousy, “Go to the bathroom and take off your clothes. I’ll grab the first aid kit and be in there in a minute.”
“I can think of a few other things I’d rather you grab if I’m going to take my clothes off,” Honey said with a devilish grin cast in her direction, but it was rendered somewhat less effective by the grimace of pain as he tried to take another step. Elle just shook her head, sweeping her arm around his waist and leading him like an invalid.
“Come on, you big tough guy. Let me help you.”
“I don’t need your– Ah!” Honey yelled, then gritted his teeth, each step sending spikes of pain where the slashing cut on his leg was. Elle didn’t say a word, just gave him an arch look with those all knowing, all seeing eyes of hers and lead him the rest of the way to the bathroom.
***
A sense of déjà vu swept over Elle as she washed and bandaged his numerous cuts and scrapes. There was nothing she could do about the bruises except hand him the bag of months-old frozen carrots she’d wrapped up in a towel and instruct him to keep applying it wherever it hurt. Which apparently was everywhere because he kept shifting and making pained noises whenever she dabbed at him with the antiseptic cleaner.
She remembered the last time she had patched him up, after going to the clubhouse and the altercation with that Neanderthal, Buck. Elle wondered for a moment if he had anything to do with this.
“No, well, yes, but not just that asshole,” Honey said, and Elle realized she’d asked the question out loud.
“What happened, Honey? After I left.”
He sighed, and she could practically see his mind turning her question over and over, wondering what he should tell her, how much of the truth she could handle. He insisted on treating her like some wilting flower, and she knew she had her own share of problems but she could handle the facts.
“Just tell me, Honey. Tell me everything,” she huffed out, not looking up at him as she went to work on a particularly nasty cut across his thigh. He was leaning against her pink vanity sink in nothing but a pair of tight fitting boxers that left nothing to the imagination, not that she needed one to know what he looked like, and she was trying desperately to ignore that face.
“Viper confronted Joel. In front of everyone,” Honey finally said with a sigh, “There was a big brawl. I jumped in to defend Joel but…we were outnumbered.”
“I can see that.” Elle said softly, still not looking up but Honey continued as if she hadn’t interrupted.
“We were barely able to get out of there. I mean, the Cruisers are rough, we all are. You don’t join a crew like that unless you can handle yourself but I’ve never seen…The Cruisers are a family, you know? They’re my family. It was like watching brother fighting brother,” he trailed off, shaking his head in disgust and Elle could feel the anguish that it caused in him, not from the punches he’d taken, but from the thought of his family disintegrating right in front of him. Elle knew exactly how he felt. More so. And her heart went out to him.
Without thinking, she reached out a hand, laying it lightly on his chest, right over where his heart kept a strong and steady rhythm. The touch of his bare skin beneath her fingertips had electricity arcing through her entire body, memories of earlier flooding her mind. It was intense and overwhelming. It was too much. But before she could pull it away, his hand landed over hers, keeping it in place.
“Elle, I need– I need a place to stay. I can’t go back to my apartment at the clubhouse. I’m sure it’s been torn apart or lit on fire by now anyways.” She wasn’t sure what he’d been originally going to say, but it hadn’t been that. She thought over his words and implication of what he was asking sunk in. This time, she did pull her hand a way, cradling it behind her back.
“No,” she said simply, putting everything back in the first aid kit and stashing it under the sink. Elle turned and hurried out of the bathroom, and Honey limped along behind her. She was almost positive that he was exaggerating it to make her feel bad. She shook her head at the thought, pointing to the couch.
“What do you mean ‘no’? I didn’t even ask you anything!” Honey argued as he took a seat.
“You…You can’t stay here, Honey. It’s impossible. Do you want a cup of tea? I could really use a hot cup of tea.” Elle knew she was rambling as she walking into the open kitchen and started to fill the kettle with water.
“I’ll take something a little stronger if you have it,” Honey said, watching her as she moved, his eyes tracking her nervous path, “I need a place to stay, Elle. Just for a few days until I can figure something out–” his words cut off on a massive yawn but Elle just shook her head again.
“It really is impossible, Honey. I have my piano lessons and you have…well, you have whatever you have and it just won’t work. I don’t have houseguests and I especially don’t have houseguests that are members of a biker gang,” Elle continued to carry the one-sided conversation as she walked around the kitchen, “I think I have an old bottle of sherry somewhere. Hold on let me look.�
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She dug through the cabinets, finally finding the dusty bottle and cracked open the twist off lid before pouring a glass for Honey. Elle looked down at the bottle, then finally shrugged. She could use something a little stronger herself, come to think of it. Dealing with Honey was never easy, and especially not after what had happened between them. After pouring a splash into another glass, Elle carried them over to where Honey was still sitting on the couch.
Only, he wasn’t sitting anymore, but was lying stretched out, taking up the whole couch but even still his feet hung off of one end. And he was fast asleep. With a sigh, she set down the glasses on the coffee table, grabbed the knit blanket from the back of a nearby chair and draped it over him.
Elle stared down at his sleeping form for a long moment before giving herself a shake, and taking herself to bed. She found she was suddenly exhausted too. She would just have to deal with Honey in the morning.