Six: Company of Sinners MC #2

by Lisa J. Hobman

  I glanced around the room looking for Cain but he was nowhere to be seen. Shit. Where was my partner in crime when I needed him?

  Colt stepped up to me with a menacing glare and jabbed a thick finger in my face. “Where the fuck have you been?” Oh great. An ear bashing from Colt. My favorite thing to pass the time.

  I shrugged. “Went for a ride to clear my head. Why?”

  His jaw was clenched and his eyes kind of wild and staring. Dude was real pissed. “I'm guessing Dee has told you what's gone down tonight while you were off sightseeing and fucking your whores.”

  I wasn't in the mood for his shit and I rolled my eyes feeling like a teenager being chastised by his Pa. “I wasn't fucking whores. Like I said, I needed to clear my head.”

  “Yeah? I don't see how you needed to, seeing as it's empty up there. You're supposed to be the fucking VP of this club, Six. And thanks to you and your little fuck buddy Fox we have a situation here. It seems Loki's Legion are laying claim to the land by the freeway. We need to make moves to stop them.”

  I suddenly felt drained and just wanted to go upstairs and shut out the noise. But the way he had spoken about Chloe made anger draw to the surface.

  I gritted my teeth. “She's not my fuck buddy. I haven't fucked her.”

  Colt lifted his bulky arms and dropped them with a slap by his sides in an exasperated shrug. “Well I'm so sorry for getting that little snippet wrong. Please won't you accept my sincere apology and pass one onto the stripper while you're at it. Now get to fucking chapel ass-hat!” He turned and stomped up the stairs.

  I fucking hated sarcasm. Hated it. And Colt used it a whole lot. Who the fuck did he think he was anyway? He was only around twelve years my senior but still acted like he owned my ass.

  I finally caught sight of Cain over by the door and it appeared he had just arrived too. He waved me over, a look of worry on his face. I decided Colt could wait and went to talk to my buddy.

  “Hey, Cain. S'up?” I embraced him and slapped his back.

  “Fuck, Six. You're never going to believe what the hell happened, dude.”

  “Loki's crew and the land?”

  He scrunched his brow. “Oh...so you heard? Shit, man I've been out looking for you. Colt wants you in chapel right now.”

  I couldn't help laughing. “Yeah I figured that from the way he just hollered at me in front of everyone.”

  I flung my arm around Cain's shoulder and we made our way up the stairs to try and figure a way out of this shitty situation. The thought of a rival club being so close to our land and our business made me uncomfortable to say the least. But I didn't want to show my concern.

  Chloe

  Phoning in sick wasn't something that sat easily with me. But regardless of the fact that Six apparently thought of me as some sad sack pity case, he had made the whole situation with the rival MC sound serious. And the last thing I needed was to get caught up in the middle of that shit. So I faked the flu and stayed home. My girlfriend, Ellie Cassidy, from the coffee shop I used to work at had heard on the grapevine that I was sick and she came to visit.

  I hadn't seen her in a while, but she was the closest thing to a best friend that I had in the area and in true best buddy style she came armed with lots of nice things which I presumed were to make me feel better.

  After looking through my peep hole I opened the door to her and was greeted with a loud squeal and her red, curled locks bouncing like a giddy puppy dog. “Hey girl!” Which was rapidly followed by a knowing glare and pursed lips. “Um...You don't look sick.”

  I stood there in the doorway chewing my lip and cringing as guilt washed over me. “No... I guess you should come in and I should explain, huh?”

  “Damn right, girl.”

  I stepped aside and she walked past me shaking her head. She placed the shopping bags full of goodies on the floor and at a glance I could see Oreo cookies, chips and a Magic Mike DVD poking out the top of one of them.

  I sighed, wondering where the hell to begin to explain the shit storm that had rained down on me lately. “Okay...so it's a long story.”

  “I've got all evening, babe. Fire away.” She flopped down onto the couch, tucked her hair behind her ears and smiled up at me. “Oh and seeing as you're not stacked up on meds go grab some glasses. I have wine.”

  I walked over to the kitchen and returned to her a few moments later clutching two glasses and a corkscrew. She pulled a bottle of merlot from one of the bags and grabbed the corkscrew from me with a grin.

  As she opened and poured the wine I began to explain what had happened at The Fox Hub with the sleazy bastard who had attacked me. She sat open mouthed and wide eyed clutching her wine glass and transfixed on me as I revisited the disturbing drama of that awful night.

  She gasped and a look of horror set in place on her pretty features. “Oh my God, Chloe that's terrible. You see I told you that leaving the coffee shop was a mistake. Things like that just don't happen at Hank's. You need to leave that damn place and come back. Hank would take you back in a heartbeat. I know he would.”

  Her concern for me was touching but the money I made at Hank's was nowhere near to what I made at The Fox Hub. Ellie was okay, her parents subsidized her income and she lived over their garage in a little converted apartment just large enough for her. She had her parents on her doorstep to look out for her, but I had no one to help me in that way. And there was nowhere else for me to live. Unless I wanted to live in a hovel surrounded by drug dealers. And I sure as hell did not.

  “You know I can't do that, Ellie. I just can't afford to.”

  She sighed deeply and then took a large gulp of her wine. “Yeah... I know. It's just... I would hate to have to work somewhere like that. And you're so much better than that place and those people.”

  “Honestly, it's good there. Most of the time anyway. This was just a one off stupid incident.” I was aware, thanks to the edge of anxiety to my voice that I sounded as though I was trying to convince myself as well as my friend.

  She nodded but the crease between her brows told me she wasn't exactly convinced. “So...this biker guy... The number guy... He's not creeping is he?”

  I smiled as I thought back to the misunderstanding I'd had with Six. “No...nothing like that.”

  “Umm, okay why have you gone beet red? Is there something you're not telling me here?”

  Shaking my head, the heat in my cheeks intensified. A total giveaway. “No...nothing at all. He's just... I just...”

  She placed her glass down with a jerk onto the coffee table, slopping some of the contents out. “Oh my God! You like him! The hairy ass biker!”

  I frowned at her choice of words as I reached for some tissues to wipe up the spillage and was compelled to defend him. “Hey, he's not a hairy ass biker.”

  If I thought her mouth and eyes couldn't widen any further, I was wrong. “You've seen his ass?”

  I scrunched my face hoping to show every ounce of the incredulity I felt at her almost accusation. “No! I have not seen his ass. Shit, Ellie, what do you take me for?”

  She leaned over and grabbed the wine bottle, proceeded to top up my glass and replace the contents of her own and then stared at me with eagle eyes. “Spill it woman. I need details. You're holding out on me and you clearly have the hots for this guy. Although from what you've said about him I'm at a loss as to why the hell he'd even register on your radar. How old is he anyway?”

  I pursed my lips as I pondered her question. “He's maybe around twenty six...twenty seven...I don't know. It was his birthday on Friday.”

  “Twenties, huh? Oh...well that's better than what I was expecting. I figured he was like forty or something.”

  I snorted, almost choking on my mouthful of wine. “Ellie, you've never met him and forty isn't old.”

  She giggled and I was thankful she was relaxing. “Too old for you. So come on. Describe him.”

  “Well...he's tall—”

  “Kinda figured that too. Gim
me the good stuff.”

  “He's...” I felt heart rate increase as an image of Six formed in my mind. “He's kind of like a bear.” I giggled at my own choice of description but it fit him well.

  Her nose crinkled as if assaulted by a pungent odor. “A bear? Oh my gosh is he like really hairy?”

  I burst out laughing and had to place my wine glass down for fear of another spill. “What is it with you and the hairy thing? No, he has a beard and long shaggy hair. And oh boy is he built. You know...muscular. His biceps...they're...I mean huge.” I gestured the thickness with my hands. “And his thighs too. But he's ripped. You can just tell he works out. He has those pecs that clothing just moulds itself to. And he has tattoos. Lots of tattoos. His eyes are a kind of caramel colour with little flecks of gold. Oh and his hair is a dirty-blonde color. And I know it's crazy but... he makes me feel safe in a way that I haven't since I was a kid.”

  Realizing I had been vomiting my inner thoughts and feelings on my friend I turned to make eye contact with her again and she had a wide grin on her face. “Oh fuck. You seriously have it bad, girl.”

  I shrugged off her comment and shifted my gaze to my wine glass. “What? No. No it's not like that. I mean...I mean he kissed me but then he stopped and apologized and things felt kinda awkward so I think he doesn't see me that way.”

  The snort that came from Ellie right then reminded me of the pigs on my Grampies farm when I was tiny and I turned to face her again.

  Oh yeah she was laughing at me alright. “Are you kidding me? He rescued you from an attacker, brought you home and kissed you. Oh yeah...I can see why you'd think he wasn't interested.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

  Heat rose in my cheeks along with my embarrassment. “Well, when you put it like that... Oh and...he calls me Chloe dancer.”

  Her hand came up to cover her mouth and her eyes misted over. “Like the song?”

  I raised my eyebrows in shock. “You know that song?”

  She nodded. “My brother used to love Mother Love Bone in the nineties. The singer died. So sad. But that's kinda sweet. It's a sad song, you should listen to it.”

  I pulled my lips in between my teeth for a moment as she peered at me questioningly. I took a deep breath. “He brought me a CD with it on. Just that one track.”

  “Oh yeah. He's sooo not into you.”

  Chapter Ten

  Six

  Shit was about to get ten times worse. Not only was there a major issue with Loki's Legion but something was going on with Cain too and he was choosing not to confide in me which got me worried. He usually told me everything. But not this time. Whatever the hell was going on he was keeping his cards so damn close to his chest that I just couldn't figure it out. I'd seen him on his phone looking at this cute little house in Rose Acres, but when I asked him about it he swiped the screen and made some dumb-ass joke about casing the joint.

  Yeah right.

  I could smell fucking bullshit a mile away and I knew there was more going on with him and that house than he was letting on.

  More threats had been made by Loki's Legion about the land they'd set their sights on and rumor had it that all fucking bets were off. We were seconds away from a lockdown and I was living on a knife edge just waiting for the order. Colt was trying his best to play the whole thing down but when I heard on the grapevine about some of the rival MC hanging around The Fox Hub, it got personal. I knew what they had in mind and I didn't like it one fucking bit.

  I'd been watching Chloe's apartment from a distance and I was relieved to see that she'd taken my advice to stay away from The Fox Hub until things calmed down. The only visitor she'd had had been some pretty red haired girl carrying groceries. I figured she was another dancer although I didn't recognize her and presumed she must have been one of the ones who wore a wig when they danced. She'd left Chloe's place in a cab around two in the morning and once the apartment was in darkness I'd gone home.

  The day after the redhead visited I decided to stop by and check up on CD. It was ten o’clock on the Thursday morning and I'd hardly slept, so I knew I must have looked like death on a fucking stick. As someone left the building I managed to wedge my boot in the door as it was about to close and I sneaked in to make my way up to her apartment.

  I wasn't really sure what to expect when I knocked on her door, so I stood there with a clenched jaw, waiting for her to respond. I could hear music coming from inside. When it registered what the music was my heart did this funny tripping over itself thing. What the fuck? So she liked the song I sent her enough to listen to it more than once. So what? Jeez what was wrong with me.

  When she opened the door I stood there with a dumb-ass fucking grin on my face. Like a kid on prom night.

  She scrunched her face as she stared up at me. “What's wrong with you? You're grinning like an idiot.”

  Try as I might I could straighten my face. “Oh...nothing. Just thinking I like your taste in music is all.”

  A pink tinge spread from the rise of her tits and rose up her neck until it reached her cheeks. I could've warmed my hands on the glow and I couldn't help chuckling.

  She rolled her eyes and turned away from me mumbling something about me being a prize a-hole. But it only made me laugh more. I watched her little round ass as she walked into the apartment. She was wearing those cut off jean shorts that showed off her shape and my dick sure was appreciative of the fine sight.

  “You coming in or are you going to stand in the doorway all day?” she called out to me. I realized I'd been blatantly staring at her behind and had to adjust myself in my boxers before I could walk.

  Fuck, what she did to me.

  Her bleached blonde hair with its brown streaks was piled up on the top of her head in a knot and she wore a black tank top that showed off her slender neck to perfection. Her flawless skin was free of make-up and she looked fresh and innocent. Immediately I wanted to slide my hand around the back of that neck and kiss a trail from just below her ear down to her nipples.

  Yeah I wasn't helping myself at all.

  I made my way over to the couch and sat down, following her every elegant move with my gaze fixed on her.

  “Hey, it's rude to stare.” Her harsh words dragged me from my trance and I made eye contact with her. Her cheeks were still bright pink.

  So fucking cute.

  I cleared my throat and tried to calm the wood in my pants. “Huh? Sorry. Sorry I guess I'm tired. Been a long night.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest and her tits pushed upward. “So do you want a drink or not?”

  Her reception to me was less than cordial and I couldn't figure out why. I lifted my hands and rubbed my face roughly. “Umm... yeah sure. Coffee would be good thanks.”

  She disappeared into the kitchen. I stood and made my way over to lean on the door frame. Fuck me if she didn't make preparing coffee look sexy as hell. “So, how've you been?”

  Without turning around, she huffed. “Oh I think you already know that, Stalky Stalkerson.”

  Busted. I sighed heavily and shrugged. “Hey, I'm just looking out for you, Chloe dancer. Wouldn't want the big bad wolf to find you and get in here, now would we?”

  She turned to face me and I watched as she swallowed hard and twisted a spoon around between her fingers. “I... I think it's a little too late for that, don't you?” she whispered.

  Suddenly I was unable to speak, caught up in those damned beautiful brown eyes of hers. Sucked into a speechless trance all over again. And for a couple seconds I stood there trying to figure out what to make of the fact that she had insinuated I was the big bad wolf.

  I stepped toward her, heart pounding, cock straining at my jeans, mouth dry. My gaze never strayed from her and when I was only inches away I lowered my face so our lips were almost touching. She was panting and her warm breath mingled with mine. On the verge of closing the remaining gap I heard her sharp intake of breath and thankfully it dragged me back from the edge of an abyss I swo
re I wouldn't fall into. I couldn't and wouldn't do that to her. The mantra played over and over in my head, she deserves better, she deserves better, she deserves way better.

  I stepped back and ran my hands through my straggly hair as my heart hit my ribs with such force that I feared a blackout. When I turned to look at Chloe again her head was down. Fuck she had actually been expecting me to kiss her again and I'd pulled away like it was the worst thing that could happen.

  Way to go asshole. “Hey, look I'm sorry. Like I said, I'm tired. And I only came to check up on you. You...you seem fine so I think should probably go. I've got tons of shit to do, you know?” Jeez it was like I only had one set of damn words to say. Like I was a broken fucking record.

  She lifted her head until her eyes locked on mine once more. “Oh yeah. I can imagine. Tons of shit,” she repeated with an edge of disappointment and sarcasm to her voice. She leaned over, flicked the kettle switch off and began to gather up the mugs.

  Fuck. What the hell is wrong with me? I stepped forward and reached out but my next action took me by surprise just as much as it did her.

  I ruffled her fucking hair. “Well, kiddo, I'll see ya later. Be good now.”

  She opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish and I felt so, so stupid.

  She eventually frowned and shook her head. “S...see you later.”

  Before I could apologize, try to take the action back or say anything else, I turned and made for the door. I had to leave. I'd just treated her like Cain treated his kid sister Rosa. Why the fuck had I done that? But I figured maybe it was for the best. Maybe this was the way I needed to act around her. She needed my protection from the Legion bastards. She didn't need me trying to get into her panties.

  I left the apartment without looking back and as I made my way to the bike I resolved that even though the hair ruffling shit was dumb as fuck it was the right way to go. If I treated her like a kid, then maybe eventually I'd start seeing her that way and my dick would co-operate.