The Winter of Regrets

by Needa Warrant

  “Hey, Cisco. I’m heading home. Tell V I’ll see him there, please. I don’t want to bother him while he’s talking, so I’ll just slip out.”

  “Sure, Kima. Looks like they’ll be awhile. You sure you don’t need a ride? You look shaken up.” Cisco figured he’d at least offer.

  Kima rolled her eyes. “I’ve seen worse. There’s no sense in hanging around. The night’s ruined. Make sure you let him know as soon as you can.” She pushed a few dollar bills toward him. Nobody even noticed as she slipped out.

  Thorn tossed aside the rag that was covered in his blood and stood up. Tearney stopped crying, having composed herself. She watched silently as Thorn took off his colors and headed toward Tramp. She looked around the clubhouse and saw the other women had disappeared. Her drink was still on the bar and she wanted it. What Thorn was going to do would rock this clubhouse.

  Cisco stood in front of her drink. “Hey,” she said to him. “Can I get a double shot of the strongest tequila you’ve got?”

  Cisco grabbed the only bottle they stocked and poured her half a glass. He put a saltshaker down on the bar and muttered, “No lime or lemons.”

  Both had their eyes on Thorn who pushed his way to Tramp. Tramp saw Thorn coming and motioned everyone but Veiko away. He watched the young bloodied biker come up next to him, his colors in his hand.

  “I’m done, Tramp. I can’t fight with a brother who’s my father-in-law.” Thorn wiped at the cut across his eyebrow with his bandana. The cut needed to be stitched and the blood dripped down his face.

  “I can deal with Nailz. He’ll be losing his colors for his bullshit. Darko wants you, eh?” Tramp spoke gruffly.

  Thorn wiped at his eye. “Yeah, he does. And to be honest, I think it’d be a better fit for me. The clubhouse, my dad meant for Bound for Hell to have, and it will stay that way even if I break the will, unless a judge says otherwise. I got no issue with any of the bros but Nailz, and Hunter would be pissed if I tore this club apart. I knew when I got with Tears there was a chance of this. You okay with me leaving on good terms?” Thorn pulled his buck knife from the sheath on his belt, ready to cut his patch off.

  Veiko spoke up. “I don’t wanna see you go, bro … but I told Tramp I thought it was best. You’re always gonna be our brother, always have a place in this club—and if it doesn’t work with Nefarious, you come back, you hear me? You’re out in good standing and free to join Nefarious, bro.”

  “I appreciate that,” he said, “but for me, it’s time to move on. Never thought I’d say that, man.”

  Tears stroked his hand, but he pushed her away. She moved aside to let him do this his own way.

  Jersey slapped Thorn on the back. “Bro, you can’t see with that blood dripping in your eye. I’ll cut them off for you. Afterwards, I’ll take you to the ER to get that eye stitched, too. Now sit your ass down before ya fall on it.”

  “I want some of those patches, Jerz. The ones with my dad’s name, leave ‘em. Just take the ones you gotta.” Thorn winced as the colors he had once loved so much were carefully cut from his denim vest.

  Thorn watched the men with whom he’d once planned to be brothers for life, and felt at peace. He was making the best choice. He wiped at his bleeding cut again, sat down, then looked at his wife. He motioned her over and she came quickly, slipping her small hand into his larger one. “It’s going to be fine, Tears. Your dad will cool down and all of this will be forgotten. We’ll be outta his sight and, in time, things will work out.”

  “No,” she said, her voice heavy, “it isn’t going to be fine. Don’t call that bastard my father. He hit Elena, he hit Veiko, and he hit you! I’ll never ever forgive him for tonight. Your face is going to be scarred too.”

  She tried to look at the bloody cut, but Thorn pulled her down into his lap. “Scars bother you, baby? Because I’ll probably be getting more of them over the years.” He whispered gently into her ear.

  “You’re getting that one stitched before we go home,” she muttered, a bit bossy, then finally gave her man a lopsided smile.

  The clubhouse seemed to go back to normal with Cisco sweeping up the broken glass and the brothers gathered around the pool table. The jukebox played music again and the familiar scent of pot filled the air.

  Veiko sat at a table with his chair tilted back, taking it all in. He was pissed off and felt like he had let Hunter down. Fucking Nailz had a lot of explaining to do. He’d miss Thorn, but they’d always be brothers. He looked around for Kima, forgetting Cisco had muttered she’d gone home earlier. It was going to be a long night and, to be honest, home was the best place for his ol’ lady. He’d give her a call to make sure she knew it was all good, but he doubted he’d be going home to her tonight.

  Nailz stumbled into Central Jersey’s clubhouse with a drunken grin on his face. He loved this place. It held many good memories for him, and it was home. Sea Woods didn’t feel like home to him yet and he missed this place. Bikers looked up and gave him a chin-nod, which he returned. Snake was sitting with Bullet at the bar with some chick he’d never seen before. She was rather plain but sported a big juicy ass. In his drunken state, it looked mighty fine enough to him. Nailz slipped beside her and cupped a cheek. The chick didn’t even jump, so he figured she was just another biker slut. If she didn’t have a donkey face, maybe he’d fuck her. Wasn’t like he was getting anything from Jo lately.

  He turned her so he could look at her. Bullet and Snake didn’t protest. She had a nice wide mouth, just the way he used to like his sluts to have—a big loud mouth to shove his big fat cock into and shut them up, cum on their face, then walk the hell away, or else shoot his load down their throats and gag them. Occasionally he’d fuck a slut or, as they liked to say, he nailed them, hence his club name. He’d nailed plenty of sluts in his life before he married Jo. He shuddered, thinking of his red-haired shrew of a wife. She was the one person he didn’t want to think about. He eyed up Bullet and Snake as he sat down.

  “What’re you lickers doin’?” he grunted at them. “Ain’t seen much of you two lately, but I don’t get up here near as much as I should.” Nailz was slurring his words. He pounded his cut-up fist on the bar, wanting a drink.

  Bullet and Snake looked at each other, wondering what the hell was up with Nailz. They hadn’t seen him this wasted since before he met Jo. Nailz didn’t get sloppy drunk, and he was way past that now. They looked at Rebecca, who seemed to study Nailz with interest. She would be able to handle the big man easily. Still, she needed to be warned.

  Snake pulled her aside. “Rebecca, if you fuck Nailz and tell a soul, I’ll cut your tongue out. I swear to God if his wife ever hears a word, you’ll won’t lick another dick.” His hand grabbed her throat and he looked into her frightened eyes with his dark ones, clearly enjoying the pain he was giving her. He didn’t like this slut; she was a mean gossip who wasn’t nice to the other girls at all. “You got me, bitch?”

  Rebecca quivered under Snake’s hand. She rasped, “Not a word outta my mouth, I swear to God, Snake. Let me go. I’ll do whatever he wants and nobody will know.”

  Snake smiled cruelly. “Good. He’s fucked up, so grab a bottle of JD and get him into the back room. We don’t need him getting outta control in the bar. Better do your best to make him happy; he can be a real bastard.”

  He let her go and watched her hurry to lean over the bar and ask for a bottle of JD. He nodded to the prospect who looked at him for permission. With a slight nod, the bottle was in Rebecca’s hands.

  Bullet tried to make sense out of Nailz’ slurred rambling but quickly grew tired of it. He watched Snake handle the slut and the problem of Nailz with ease. Bullet liked a quick thinker, and if he was going to run this chapter, Snake would be a good VP.

  “Nailz, bro, the chick wants to take your drunken ass in the back and make ya happy. Think your dick will get hard?” Bullet knew Nailz well enough to know that ribbing him would get him to prove his dick did indeed work.

  “Bottle of Jack
and a hot mouth? Fuck you, Bullet. I’m down with that. The chick will have to suck me off for hours, though. I get whiskey dick. Where’s the bitch?” He looked around, then found her by the bar. “What the hell’s your name, hun? Ya wanna get lucky and suck me off?”

  “My name’s Rebecca,” she answered dryly, “and I have a bottle of JD. I’d love to make you happy, Nailz.” She looked up at him with a big smile on her face. The bottle pressed against her tits, and she ran her tongue over her top lip, darting it in and out. She widened her eyes at Nailz.

  That was all Nailz needed: a woman wanting to make him happy and not complain. High-fiving Snake and Bullet, he left with her to go to the back room.

  After his departure, Bullet lit a cigarette and exhaled the smoke in a bluish cloud. “Nailz ain’t himself. Something’s off. Tramp is down in Sea Woods tonight. I’m a’ call down there and see what the fuck’s up.” He stood up and grabbed the change from the bar and headed to the payphone in the hallway.

  Snake kept his eyes on the hallway watching Bullet and making sure Nailz didn’t come out of the back room. Bullet had called it; something was really off with the big man tonight and he didn’t need to be fighting with Nailz. Usually Nailz won, and he didn’t want to be in a fight with him. That slut Rebecca had better keep the man happy.

  “Fucking Nailz was supposed to go home, not come up here. Fuck us! Tramp wants him here in the morning, big meeting. He’s sending Inky and Slick up here now to make sure he doesn’t leave.” Bullet kicked the barstool over. He noticed a lone biker walking through the door and called to him. “Nico. Over here. What the hell went down tonight with Nailz?”

  Nico righted the overturned stool and put his helmet on the bar. “Nailz attacked Veiko and Thorn. Fucker slapped Elena too, and Tramp ain’t happy. Thorn turned his patch in. He’s going over to Nefarious, but in good standing. Hell of a night, glad I got a room up here. I ain’t into the woods; hit a deer, and you’re a goner on a bike. Where’s Nailz? I spotted his truck so I decided to check on him. CeeCee is waiting in the hotel room for me.” He motioned the prospect bartending. “Rum and coke, and not the shit rum.”

  Snake grinned. “Rebecca’s keeping him happy in the back room. So far. Hope for our sake she keeps him occupied all night.”

  The three bikers all laughed and hoped Nailz was having the time of his life so he wouldn’t become a problem for them.

  Rebecca was bored out of her mind. Listening to Nailz’ slurred speech was driving her crazy, and she wasn’t happy being stuck in the back room with this asshole. He passed her the bottle and she took a long chug, letting the liquor burn down her throat; maybe that’d help make this bearable.

  “Want your cock sucked, or do you wanna fuck me?” she asked, her voice hoarse from the whiskey. The sooner she got this over with, the better.

  He stared at her, then let his legs fall open. “Yep. Unzip and pull it out,” he said, letting his head loll back on top of the couch.

  Rebecca knelt between his legs and fumbled with his heavy belt buckle for a few minutes. Finally opening it and unzipping his jeans, she found his cock. He didn’t move as she pulled it free from his pants and held on to it. It wasn’t getting bigger as she stroked. She tried harder, jerking him with mounting strength until the sound of his snore made her jump back.

  The bastard passed out on her.

  With a sigh, she grabbed the bottle and curled up on the far end of the ratty old couch. Looking at him passed out with his dick hanging out made her laugh quietly. Good, let him sleep, she thought. She wasn’t in the mood to suck the drunken biker off or hear his war stories, anyway. She’d stay where she was and let him think she’d given him the best blow job he’d ever gotten. Resting her head on the arm of the couch and watching him snore noisily, she closed her eyes and let the sound of his snores be the last thing she heard before she, too, fell asleep.

  An abrupt kick to the couch jarred both Nailz and Rebecca awake.

  Nailz looked over in horror at the girl on the other end of the couch and her smeared makeup. With a start, he realized his pants were open and his dick hung out. He stuffed his junk back into his jeans and zipped them up.

  Holy shit. He cheated on Jo with this ugly bitch. He looked up to see Bullet and Snake staring down at him hard. He tried to figure out what the hell he was doing up in Central Jersey’s clubhouse anyway. His head ached like a motherfucker and he felt sick. He tried to shut his eyes against the light, but the couch shook again, this time even harder.

  “We got a meeting,” said Bullet, “so say goodbye to Rebecca and get yourself up. Tramp ain’t in the mood to wait for your ass much longer.”

  “Rebecca.” Snake folded his arms. “Recall what I told you last night? I meant every word of it. If I hear that you told anyone you were with Nailz, I’ll cut that tongue out.” Snake pointed to the door. “Get the hell out of here. Club’s closed to sluts, now. Don’t try to lurk around.”

  “I promised you Snake,” she finally responded, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. “Nobody will ever know about … what Nailz and I did last night.” She looked at Nailz, whose eyes reflected only horror. “I … had a great time, and I know you did too,” she said quietly. “Next time you come back up here, we can party again. I’m always happy to make a bro feel good. Thanks sweetie.” She gave Nailz a wink, then smiled widely as she left.

  The second she’d gone, Nailz roared, “What the fuck?? There’s no fucking way I touched that chick! I don’t even know why I’m up here. I must’ve drank a few bottles of Jack.”

  Snake grinned. “You were so hot for Rebecca, that’s for sure. Couldn’t wait to get her back here. I’d say you had a good ol’ time last night. She won’t say shit,” he added. “I told her what would happen if she did. Get the fuck up, you’ll be lucky to have time to take a piss. Tramp’s waiting.”

  Nailz tried to recall the night before, but it was a total blur. “I fucked up real bad, didn’t I?” he said, a touch of sadness in his voice. Jo was going to flip out because he hadn’t come home. By the look on Snake’s and Bullet’s faces, he knew he’d made a serious error in judgment.

  Bullet just stood there with arms crossed. “You gonna tell me you got no memory of last night? At all?”

  Nailz tried to shake his head, but he felt the bile creeping up his throat and bolted to the bathroom. He was praying he didn’t puke in the hallway. He made it to the toilet where he heaved until there was nothing left to toss up. Shit, how was he going to explain this to Jo? He rinsed his mouth out and splashed water on his face. His eyes were bloodshot. His every movement slow and aching, he tried to fix his ponytail. Staring at his reflection, he felt like shit, but it was time to face the music.

  The Sea Woods chapter were all there, as well as the Central Jersey chapter, when Nailz entered the bar. The jukebox cut off and Nailz looked around. Fuck! He saw the tables pushed together at the end of the room where Tramp sat, Veiko to one side and Bullet to the other. Thrash sat a few chairs away, glaring at him. Back toward the door, Hyway and Slick seemed to be guarding it.

  He must have raised some havoc last night, but he honestly had blacked out. This was embarrassing, Nailz called men out; he was never in this position himself. Fucking karma, he thought. He made his way toward the table thinking a Bloody Mary might have helped, but everyone had moved away from the bar. The feeling of so many eyes on him wasn’t a comfortable feeling at all. Fuck this, he may as well find out what the hell he’d done and get it over with.

  Standing in front of the table of bikers, he quirked an eyebrow at Veiko, but his bro glared at him. Somebody kicked a chair his way and he kicked it back. He wasn’t sitting there listening to a bunch of bullshit. He noticed a large bruise on V’s face and his gut churned again.

  Looking straight at Tramp with his massive arms crossed over his huge chest, Nailz growled, “Get it over with. I fucked up. I blacked out and got no excuses. What now?”

  Tramp looked at Nailz with steel in his eyes. “‘I blacked o
ut’ is the excuse for hitting brothers, and for hitting Elena? We lost Thorn over your temper, motherfucker. You, of all the brothers in this club, knew better. Whatever personal shit you got going on, you don’t bring it to the club. You know every fucking rule this club has. You were a national VP, a national SAA too. If you think I can let this slide, you’re dead wrong, Nailz.” Tramp sighed, then said, “Colors off. Hand them over.”

  Nailz was stunned and furious in the space of two seconds. “Fuck this! You ain’t taking my colors! Who the hell did I hit?” Nailz didn’t believe any of this shit. “I’d never hit Elena, either. I don’t hit women, never did.”

  Veiko stood up. The bruises on his face were enough to make Nailz step back. He had done that to Veiko? Fuck!

  “Oh man, Veiko … I’m sorry, I was drunk. I don’t … remember any of it.” He felt like shit. “How bad did I hit Elena?”

  Thrash moved forward so fast Nailz never saw him coming. His fist slammed into Nailz’ face, and his foot came up and caught him in his stomach. Blow after blow rained down on Nailz and he took them, not even trying to deflect one of them. Falling to the floor, boots slammed into his ribs and he kept his face devoid of all emotion. He’d done this to men before and he wasn’t going to be a pussy.

  Finally, Tramp stood over him and pulled Thrash back.

  “Get up, Nailz. I need your colors. You’ll get ‘em back when I decide you deserve ‘em. Thorn is no longer a member. He went over to Nefarious. Stay the hell away from him and your daughter. Fix your issues with your wife. You’re fucking lucky I let Thrash handle this and you didn’t get stomped by all of the nomads. You’ll take yourself off Hunter’s will, too. Hunter didn’t want his son to lose the Lodge and you were added as an afterthought. Elena thinks that Hunter was drugged up on painkillers when he added you. Thorn plans to break the will.” He looked down at Nailz with fury in his eyes. “That leaves us in a bad spot with the lease he gave us. You fucked up, and if you don’t get your name off the will, you’re out of the club. O – U – T. You forced our hands, motherfucker. None of us want to lose you, and we didn’t want to lose Thorn as a brother. Don’t make me have your colors ripped off of you, bro.” Tramp reached his hand out to Nailz, who grabbed it and pulled himself up.