by Jade Kuzma
“Shit like that takes time.”
“Welcome to Hades, Devil,” Roman said as he patted me on the arm.
The two of them headed toward the bar to get themselves a drink. It was the middle of the day and the place was filled with people enjoying themselves. Ivory was a small town compared to the big city and there were even less where Hades was. I didn’t take it for granted though. After living my life on the road and in the big city, simple townsfolk was something I could get used to.
I scanned the bar and noticed an old man in a silk brown suit slowly walking toward me. I would’ve been able to spot the motherfucker from a mile away. He had a bit of a bounce in his step even though it looked like he had trouble moving. His face was wrinkled, aged from a lifetime of partying too much I guessed. His hair was white and thin. At least he still had it.
He walked right up to me and read the patch on my chest.
“Joker,” he said.
He looked me up and down and examined me.
“You look like a Joker.”
“What do you know about road names?” I said.
“I’m the one who gave Sebastian his road name,” he said.
I squinted at him, trying to figure out who he was.
“Who are you?”
“Murphy. I’m an original Devil. Back then, we were called the West Devils.”
“Right…”
His story seemed to add up so far even though I was still a bit skeptical.
“…And what’s your road name? Wrinkles?”
I gave him an open-mouth grin but the old bastard didn’t seem too amused by it.
“Yeah, you’re a Joker, all right,” he sighed. “I guess there’s one in every club. Back in my day, it was Corey.”
“Corey, huh? What was Corey like?”
“See for yourself.”
He pointed right at me. I turned around and saw the small framed photo hanging on the wall. It was an old picture with five men in it. Despite how old it was, I could still make out their patches.
“That’s Corey,” he said. “Along with the other first five.”
I examined one of the men in the photo then turned to Murphy. It’d been a long time but there was still some resemblance.
“I guess your story checks out,” I said.
“What did Sebastian tell you about the patch?”
I stared at the photo while I thought about Murphy’s question. It took me a few seconds before I realized that there wasn’t any particular answer he was looking for.
“I know what it means to him,” I said. “I know what it means to Roman. I know what it means to you.”
I looked over at the bar and saw the other two club members laughing over a drink. They were more than just two members though. They were two brothers. Men who’d saved my life.
“I wouldn’t be here right now without them,” I said. “The money wouldn’t be enough to pay them back.”
“I see… But don’t get it confused.”
“What?”
“The money is always important.”
Murphy patted me on the arm and slowly walked away. I didn’t have much time to consider what he said to me because the entrance to the clubhouse opened up and the only person I cared about seeing at the moment walked in.
Faye spotted me quickly then came over to me.
“Hey,” she said, a coy smile on her lips.
I leaned down and put my mouth on hers. The way she tasted always made me forget about what I was thinking.
“How is everything?” I asked.
“Good,” she sighed. “It was benign. The doctors say she’ll make a full recovery. There’s nothing to worry about. She just has to stay in the hospital for a little while longer while she regains her strength. It took a lot out of her.”
“If there’s anything she needs—”
“I know. She’s already getting the best care in the world. You’ve done more than enough for her, Hunter.”
“…And what about you? Have you given much thought into what you’re doing?”
“Well… I figured since you got patched in and we’re sticking around in Ivory, I could find a nice place to work.”
“You don’t have to go back to work. I can take care of you.”
“I know that. But I can take care of myself, too. Anywhere is nicer after working for a man like Alvarez. And that’s not it.”
I raised an eyebrow at her.
“I was thinking about maybe taking some classes, too. To finish my degree. I figured I might as well since I came so close. That’s what you’d want me to do with your money, right?”
“Faye, I never would’ve gotten into Nirvana if it wasn’t for you. That money is yours. You can do what you want with it.”
“I guess it’s nice having options now.”
“Freedom. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”
Faye smiled at me. That green-eyed stare of hers did the same thing to me it did all those years ago. I loved her back then. Only now there was nothing stopping me from admitting it.
“How’d it go?” she asked.
“See for yourself.”
I took a step back from her and let her examine my kutte. She trailed her fingers along the patch.
“Joker?” she said.
“Every man needs a road name,” I said.
“Fitting,” she said, the smile growing even wider on her face.
“I heard rumors about this town.”
“Rumors? What kind of rumors?”
“They say the women just love to bend over for a man in a kutte.”
“Is that right?”
She bit her bottom lip, trying to stop the smile from coming to her lips. But that didn’t stop her cheeks from blushing.
“I have to admit,” she said. “It looks good on you. But leather vest, leather jacket… I care about you.”
“I know.”
I gave her another kiss and held her tight in my arms. I didn’t care that the rest of the clubhouse might have been looking at us. There was nothing that would stop me from hiding anything from the world. Not anymore.
She pulled away from me and stared up into my eyes. Her hand moved across my face. She rubbed my cheek softly with her fingertips.
“Dating a Devil,” she whispered. “I wonder what our classmates would say about me if they saw me now.”
“Who cares?”
“Who cares indeed.”
I managed to stop getting hypnotized by her stare long enough to regain my senses.
“You sure you’re comfortable living in a place like Ivory?” I asked. “We can always leave.”
She looked around the clubhouse. I waited for a response but she didn’t give it to me immediately. She just kept searching the bar like she was looking for something.
I almost thought she wanted out. But when she smiled at me, I knew that this was where we were meant to be. Faye didn’t have to say anything more.
I was a Devil and I would always be by her side.
Epilogue 2
FAYE
Two weeks later…
Hunter told me about Mia. Apparently, she was the daughter of some rich mafioso up in the big city. I couldn’t tell if there was any truth to it. Not that it mattered to me either way.
She was a good-looking woman. Tan skin. Long, black hair. Curves that probably caught the eye of a lot of men, especially in a place like Hades. It was easy to understand why a man like Roman fell for her.
But what had my attention was the small baby she rocked gently in her arms back and forth.
“What’s his name?” I asked.
“Owen,” she said.
“Owen… Hey, Owen. How are you doing? Such a cute little baby, yes, you are.”
He gave me a wide-eyed stare, his mouth half-open as he squirmed in his mother’s arms.
“I think he likes you,” Mia said.
“And I like him,” I said.
“You and Hunter… Have you ever thought about having on
e of your own?”
“What?”
“A baby. You ever think about it?”
I looked up at Hunter across the room. I couldn’t help but smile from all of the warm feelings just seeing him brought to me.
“I haven’t really thought too much about it,” I said. “Hunter and I love each other but we haven’t planned that far ahead.”
“Sometimes it just happens. You can never plan these things.”
“You’re right. Whatever happens though, I know that Hunter would be a great father.”
“He would be. All of the men in the MC are good people. I mean, there aren’t many of them but Sebastian would’ve never patched Hunter in if that wasn’t the case with him. I think you’ll be just fine with him.”
“Yeah… Yeah, I think I will.”
“Everybody!” Sebastian announced. “Everybody have a seat! Let’s get this thing started.”
Sebastian had closed up Hades Pub for the night. The only people here were those closest to the MC. It was a small group that I felt comfortable with.
I sat near the head of the table where the guest of honor was seated. Right across from me, Hunter smiled back at me. Everybody at the table turned toward Sebastian at the other end.
“Tonight,” he said. “Tonight… It’s a celebration. The New Devils MC have some clout in this town. Not just because our good friend Joker here decided to send six figures to the local Ivory homeless shelter. But also because he patched in. A new patch is always a special occasion.
“But tonight is about more than that. It’s about the celebration of life. And tonight, there’s someone here that gives all of us a reason to live and celebrate. Faye… Do you wanna say something?”
My eyes widened in surprise. There weren’t many people in the clubhouse but they were all looking right at me with friendly smiles on their faces.
“Well…”
I got up from my seat and looked at all of them.
“…I just wanted to say… Thanks. Thanks for doing this. I haven’t been in Ivory for very long but it’s already starting to feel like home because of all of you.”
Sebastian. Roman. Mia and her son. The old man Murphy. And the most important people in my life, Hunter and my sister.
Seeing Alice sitting there with a smile on her face, fully-recovered was a day that I never thought I would see. Everything I’d been through came back to me.
School. Working for Alvarez. Crossing my fingers and hoping that Hunter made it through. Somehow, we all made it and we were still standing.
“This means a lot to Alice,” I said. “But this means a lot to me, too. I… I don’t know what else to say. Just… Thank you.”
“We patched Hunter in because he’s the right kind of man to represent the Devils,” Sebastian said. “I wasn’t too happy when I heard that he’d donated all that money. But… There’ll be more money to come. There’ll be more opportunities, more challenges. We’ll all face them together.”
Sebastian held his drink up.
“Alice. Faye. Welcome to the family.”
Everybody toasted their drinks.
“Now, let’s get to it.”
Nobody seemed to mind that the celebration was nothing more than a bunch of pizzas and ice cream that was quickly melting. Everybody had smiles on their faces, none bigger than the one Alice had.
The conversation was lively and energetic. Every man in the Devils managed to bite their tongues and restrain from saying anything offensive around Alice. If anything, I couldn’t imagine a place more welcoming than how Hades Pub was at the moment right now.
The night and celebration went on. Alice laughed at all of the stories and jokes she was told. Sebastian made her feel like she was a part of the family.
I got up from my seat and excused myself. Even though there weren’t many people in the bar, I still took a step outside.
It was early in the night in Ivory. The sky was dark. The moon was out without a cloud in the sky. In the distance, I could see the mountains over the horizon. Up north, there was the city I spent most of my life in.
I heard the door open behind me. Hunter walked up to me and put his arms around me.
“You all right?” he asked.
“I’m fine. Just needed a bit of fresh air.”
“It gets a little stuffy in there. I told the boys that they needed to renovate it.”
“How’s Alice doing?”
“Just fine. They all seem to be taking a liking to her.”
“That’s funny.”
“Funny? How’s that funny?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Roman and Sebastian… How do I put it? Let’s just say, I wouldn’t be surprised if either one of them had a criminal record.”
“I see…”
Hunter sighed a deep breath and squeezed me tighter in his arms.
“…You can’t judge a book by its cover.”
I turned around, still wrapped in his arms, and smiled up at him.
“No, you can’t,” I said.
He leaned in and gave me a soft kiss. He pushed his lips forward and stuck my tongue between my teeth. Our loud kiss echoed through the empty streets of Old Town.
I sighed a deep breath of satisfaction after he pulled away.
I stared up into Hunter’s eyes and felt another wave of emotions wash over me. It was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. With Hunter, I was flying.
“I remember,” I said.
“You remember what?”
“Standing in the rain after you left. Even though you were gone, I just let the rain wash over me. I was so numb to it. I didn’t care. I was just waiting for you to come back. I remember standing there but I don’t even remember walking back into my house.”
“Well, you did. You walked back into your house and you moved on in your life.”
“I thought I did… But I didn’t. Everything I’d done… You were always there. My friend…”
He leaned forward and kissed me again.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“Don’t be. Being away from you made me realize what’s important in my life. I had to lose you to find you again… to find myself.”
I chuckled and shook my head.
“I’m not making any sense, am I?”
“No, you’re making perfect sense. I know just how you feel.”
“Do you?”
“I…”
He laughed softly, making me smile even more.
“I was never good with words,” he said. “I love you, Faye.”
“I love you.”
He pulled me closer for another kiss. I closed my eyes and savored the taste of his tongue.
“Hey!”
My sister’s squeaky voice interrupted my kiss. I pulled my lips away from Hunter and smiled at my sister.
“What’s wrong, Ally?”
“Mia brought a cake!” she said. “They’re cutting it up right now! Come on!”
I laughed at my sister’s enthusiasm. I would never get tired of seeing her smile.
“What do you say?” Hunter said. “You ready to head back into Hades with me?”
He took my hand in his. The growing smirk on his face made me blush. I gave him a nod before I responded.
“Let’s do this. Together.”
Thank you!
Thank you so much for reading JOKER! Stay tuned for more from the New Devils MC!
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The Black Reapers
PART 1: BRASH (A Bad Boy Biker Romance)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0795MH4LB
PART 2: NEEDLE (A Bad Boy Biker Romance)
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PART 3: SULLY (A Bad Boy Firefighter Romance)
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PART 4: CHAR (A Bad Boy Biker Romance)
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PART 5: GHOST (A Bad Boy Second Chance Romance)
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