Full Heat: A Brothers of Mayhem Novel

by Carla Swafford

  Once Wolf and Cutter sat on each side of him, Storm slammed his fist on the table to draw everyone’s attention.

  “We have a couple of decisions to make today. One is whether or not we’ll buy another warehouse or go for something new and build it from the ground up. Everyone has to remember our funds are low. Medical expenses for Brothers hurt the last few weeks have put a substantial dent in our club’s bank account.” Storm crossed his arms and let everyone shout at each other for a few minutes. When it appeared a couple of the Brothers would start swinging, he pounded on the table.

  “Okay. Let’s take a vote. Raise a hand for buying and renovating a warehouse.” A large portion lifted their hands; some raised both. “Fine. Now for building new.” Only a few voted. “That makes it easy. We’ll buy a warehouse.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Easy edging into the room. He ignored the old man, and continued with the business. “Thirty-Second has officially declared war on the Brothers of Mayhem. So be on the lookout for any suspicious sedans, take precautions, and respond as needed.” Even during church meetings he had to be careful with what he said. They were vigilant in doing background checks for members and prospects, but the local and federal authorities were known for making their way into their ranks. The presidents of one percent clubs were always targets. The Brothers understood what he meant.

  “That’s the most cowardly sounding shit I’ve ever heard!” Easy stepped up to the table and glared at Storm before turning around to face the crowd. “We need to blow them off the streets. Get rid of their low-riding asses for good!”

  Several of the Brothers shouted, “Hell, yeah!” Others looked to Storm to see his reaction.

  Storm stood. “Easy, all that you’re asking for is more fucking trouble. You will find yourself back in the fucking pen.”

  “I ain’t afraid of the pen. Not like you. Does it make your asshole clench up?”

  Without missing a beat, Storm dived over the table and on top of Easy, swinging one blow after another as he held the man down. Easy fought back, but he wasn’t as quick as Storm.

  Within seconds, arms came around Storm and Easy and pulled them apart.

  Blood streamed down their noses as they faced each other.

  “Get the fuck out of here and don’t come back,” Storm ordered, hoping another chance to swing would come up. He shook off their hands as he swallowed the bile rising in his throat.

  With a shake of his head, the older man’s eyes glinted with hatred. “You don’t have the balls to be president of this chapter. I don’t know what Speed was thinking backing you. I know he has his doubts, and I’ll make it clear you need to go.”

  “If you don’t leave now, I’ll make sure that flapping mouth of yours stays closed when they wire your broken jaw,” Storm said in a low voice and his chin tucked as he glared at the old man.

  “Everyone is tired of playing lapdog to the rich and famous. We’re free to do what we want. Ride, fuck, and take what we want!” Easy shot Storm the bird and turned away. A few of the older Brothers followed him.

  “Church is over. We’ll meet again in a few weeks.” Storm wiped his bloody nose on his sleeve and waited for the room to clear. Wolf and Cutter stayed.

  “Well, boss, what are we going to do with Easy?” Wolf asked.

  “I can take him out back and cut his throat.” Cutter’s unemotional offer reminded Storm of how scary the bastard could be.

  “Don’t worry. Once we get back on track and start on the clubhouse, everyone’ll be happy. He’s stirring up trouble because he doesn’t know how to be any different. Speed will hear about it and shut him up as usual.” Storm wished he really believed what he was saying. The club pulling together was more important than whatever agenda the asshole had planned. “If he won’t settle down, I’ll take care of him.”

  Storm needed a little time. Holding back and not beating the shit out of the son of a bitch was taking all his willpower. He only hoped the bastard didn’t destroy the chapter in his desperation to regain the power he’d lost all those years ago.

  —

  Mary Jane tried to concentrate on what the brunette, Missy, had to say about Loosey Lynda. It appeared the woman had hooked up with one of the bikers from the Brute Force MC. From what Missy had heard, they were known for being rough on their women. Mary Jane hoped Loosey Lynda hadn’t jumped from the frying pan into the fire.

  More shouting in the back had quieted down and a few minutes later a stream of Brothers poured from the meeting. Easy swaggered into the barroom, using a napkin someone handed him to wipe what looked like blood from his nose. She sighed. It didn’t take much to guess that Storm had punched his dad in the nose. She really wished the man would go away, find another chapter or club. There was no way Storm would forgive his father for killing his mom. So it would be best for them to stay far from each other.

  Then she spotted Storm after the second wave of Brothers walked in. His nose was swollen. For sure, they had been fighting.

  “Are you all right?” She touched his nose and the puffy area on his cheek, checking for cuts.

  With a jerk away from her touch, he grabbed her hand. He must have seen how his reaction bothered her for he brought her fingers to his mouth and kissed each tip. “I’m fine.”

  Melting under his unexpected tenderness, she smiled.

  “When we get back home, I’ll make you feel better,” she whispered.

  “Your home,” he corrected her.

  “Yours too until you decide differently.” He grinned at her. After last night, his attitude had been upbeat, so unlike himself. She hoped it continued. He deserved to be happy.

  For the next two hours, Mary Jane sat in Storm’s lap at a table with Wolf and Cutter and a couple of the old ladies. When the crowd started getting a little out of hand—clothes loosened or came off, old ladies and mamas danced on the bar—Mary Jane decided it was time to head back home.

  “Let’s get out of here,” she said as she wiggled her eyebrows.

  A grin slowly spread across his face. She caught her breath. He’d always had a wild beauty about him with his long hair and scruffy face, but when he smiled like that, without any wicked humor or devilish charm, just pure pleasure, he was handsome enough to lick.

  “Not a bad idea.” He tightened his hold on her hand and headed for the front door.

  At that moment, five county deputies walked into the barroom, with Jameson at the front.

  “What can I do for you, deputy?” He pushed Mary Jane behind him.

  She wasn’t sure why he felt the need. The deputies didn’t have their guns out, and the club wasn’t doing anything illegal. Well, nothing that the manager was complaining about. She guessed the deputies could arrest some of the men and women for indecent exposure. Their presence confused her.

  Van Halen’s “Can’t Stop Lovin’ You” stopped and brought an unnatural quiet to the room. Dancers stepped off the bar and several couples scrambled to straighten or pull on clothes.

  “It’s like this, Storm. At twenty hundred hours, four Thirty-Second gang members were fatally shot on Petty Road. Witnesses say that they saw four to six bikers with Brothers of Mayhem skulls on their backs in the area.” He nodded to his men and the deputies spread out, covering the doors and directing the men to one side of the room and the women to the other.

  Then five deputies from Jefferson County walked in. Once again, Sand County had called in backup to control the Brothers.

  She peeked around Storm’s shoulder and through the glass doors. The parking lot looked like insane Christmas lights strung out on top of cars.

  “Miss, please go over there.” A deputy gripped her wrist and she tried to pull away in alarm at the unexpected touch.

  “Get your hands off her.” Storm’s growl caused the deputies to freeze and reach for their weapons.

  “I’m okay, Storm. He just surprised me. They probably want to talk to us.” She glared at the deputy until he released her. Then she walked
over to the other women, most of whom were scared with eyes wide; a couple were crying. She put an arm around one woman and told her softly that everything was all right, while Missy whispered to the other sobbing girl and patted her shoulder.

  She only hoped that Storm held on to his temper. She would hate to be arrested for kicking an officer in the nuts in an effort to save him.

  —

  Two hours later, Jameson and his buddies left. Storm had shrugged as a few of their civil liberties had been violated when the deputies took pictures without asking for permission. He expected they would be placed online as known gang members to look out for. No crime had been committed in or around the bar. No one confirmed the patches on the bikers had belonged to the Brothers of Mayhem MC. None of that mattered. All of it was expected. If the Brothers had protested, Jameson would have just hauled them all down to the sheriff’s department and questioned every individual there. No one wanted that. It was bad enough they handcuffed and took away some of the Brothers with outstanding warrants.

  “What the fuck was that all about?” Wolf downed half of his beer as if he wanted to wash away all of the yes-sirs-no-sirs he had spouted during the questioning. Times like these reminded Mary Jane what she’d been told about Wolf. The man had been brought up in a true Southern family…Southern crime family…but nevertheless a good-mannered one. “We’ve been here all evening and not partying like I had hoped.”

  “Easy and a handful of his cronies aren’t and weren’t here.” Storm rolled a joint and stuck it between his lips. “They disappeared after church.” Cupping the end out of habit, he lit it. As soon as Jameson had mentioned bikers shooting at Thirty-Second gang members, he knew it was his old man. The bastard had little sense and no respect for Storm’s authority.

  His gaze drifted over to Mary Jane. She was comforting one of the women. It turned out one of the Jefferson County deputies was her cousin, and he’d threatened to call her parents. Turned out that her parents had kicked her out of the house last month and had just let her back in that week. She worried they would kick her out again. One of the Brothers offered his bed. Only problem was he would be in it too. She was scared. The Brother’s rep for roughing up his women was well known.

  “Did Easy not hear you when you said that we’d handle it?” Wolf leaned forward. Twofer and Cutter sat at the table grumbling about older Brothers not willing to listen to the younger ones.

  “He wants an all-out war,” Storm said.

  “Are you going to do what Jameson said? Are you going to meet with Toro and iron out some type of peace treaty?”

  “I’m thinking on it.”

  “No shit?” Twofer burst out.

  Before Storm could confirm or deny, in walked Easy and the men he’d found were dissatisfied with a young leader. Storm handed off his joint to Cutter and blocked Easy’s path to the bar.

  “Hey there, prez.” Easy filled the last word with sarcasm.

  “Where have you been?” Storm’s arms hung loose at his sides, but his hands were in tight fists, waiting for an opportunity to light into the old man. He wanted to punch the asshole and bust his nose again.

  “Out riding beneath the stars.” The old man started to take a step to the side; Storm grabbed his arm.

  “Someone shot at the Thirty-Second. Do you know anything about that?” Odds were Easy would deny the whole incident, but he wanted the old man to understand people were watching.

  “Fuck. No kidding? That’s some good news. It must’ve been some smart sons of bitches to take those scumbags out.” The dumbasses behind Easy chuckled. Storm glared at the men, and they quickly shut up.

  “I didn’t say anything about killing them.”

  “What’s the use of shooting at them if you don’t plan on killing one or two or three?” The old man laughed.

  “The chapter has barely recovered from the last debacle an old friend of yours created.” The former Skull and several Brothers had been arrested for selling stolen motorcycle parts overseas. “Don’t bring the law down on us like that again.”

  “Debacle? Such a big word for such a little boy.” The sneer on the old man’s face needed to be wiped off, but hitting him now would only divide the chapter further.

  Storm leaned in, almost nose to nose with the old man. “You ever pull a stunt like that again, I’ll kick your ass out of the club. I can promise your buddy Speed wouldn’t appreciate an all-out war with the Thirty-Second. He’d stand by me then.”

  “Kicking me out has been your song and dance since I returned. We’ll see.” Easy stepped back and headed toward the door.

  Storm watched as a small knot of Brothers left with him.

  Fuck! The last thing the chapter needed was Easy challenging him as president.

  Chapter 18

  Mary Jane looked around the living room as if she didn’t recognize Jimmy’s place. Her chest tightened at the thought. She guessed she should start calling it her place. Eyes grainy with sleep, she zombie-walked to the bathroom. After taking care of a few things including washing her face and brushing her teeth, she recovered a bit. Opening the door into her bedroom, it was empty and no sounds came from the rest of the house.

  She’d tried to comfort Storm the night before after Easy had left, but Storm would have nothing to do with it. He and his VP had huddled over the table with the chapter’s sergeant at arms, Cutter, for about an hour before the men stood and left.

  By the time they’d arrived at her house, her feet were dragging, and all she wanted was eight hours or more of sleep. Storm had slept on the couch, claiming he’d fallen asleep while trying to unwind and watch TV.

  That day, she’d been busy at her office. Her operations manager expected her to solve the problems he didn’t have permission to handle. Storm had stayed on his phone most of the day as he watched her. He intimidated most of the male employees, and a few of the women tried to flirt. She was relieved that he ignored them all. Jealousy had reared its head. She didn’t like the feeling. Tired but determined, she stalked back into the living room. Storm just thought he wasn’t coming to bed with her. If she had to force him, she’d do it. She needed him there as much as he needed her. He’d better get used to her being around.

  Remembering her decision a few days ago, she frowned. Why had she thought about leaving him? As she’d watched his reaction to the police and his father, she’d come to the realization that he needed her. With the exception of a handful of the Mayhem Brothers, he had no one like her on his side. Sure, all that bullshit brotherhood crap was there, but beneath the surface they would be out for themselves if anything went wrong. By the way Easy treated Storm, and the influence Easy was building, there would be no one left to look out for the man she cared about. Maybe even loved.

  She found him in the living room near where she’d left him moments earlier. He stared down at his phone’s screen, his finger occasionally tapping and scrolling.

  “I’m going to bed,” she said, waiting for him to look up.

  “Sure,” he said absently, his mind on what he was reading. The swelling on his nose had gone down, but a thin line of black cupped one eye.

  The tension radiating from his stiff stance told her trouble brewed for sure.

  “Storm.” The deep lines on each side of his mouth showed what the last few days had taken out of him. She wanted to console him. No matter how much he claimed he hated his father, it had to hurt. Easy Ryder was an arrogant man who thought of nothing but his need to control those around him. “Storm,” she said again, firmly.

  Still looking at the screen, he lifted his eyebrows and murmured, “Hmm?”

  Pulling off her blouse and unhooking her bra, she stood waiting for him to turn around as she unsnapped her jeans.

  He remained absorbed with the stupid phone.

  “Storm, look at me, please.”

  He raised a finger, asking for a moment.

  She pushed down her jeans and panties and stepped out of them.

  “Damn it. Look at m
e.” She stomped her bare foot.

  The harshness in her tone caught his attention, and he jerked his head up. His gaze drifted over her breasts and down to the apex of her legs. The fine hairs on her body stood up even though her skin felt flushed with heat.

  “Fuck,” he muttered. His gaze languidly climbed to her face.

  “Yes. Fuck me.” In case he didn’t understand what she wanted, her hand slid down between her folds. Her finger circled her clit, smearing the wetness he’d created by merely looking at her. Once her finger was coated, she brought it up and offered it to him. “See? I need you now.”

  In a couple long strides, he reached out and grabbed her hand. His stare burning with need, he pushed her hand back between her legs. His fingers surrounding hers massaged the tight knot. Then he drew her finger up to his hot mouth and sucked it in, twirling his tongue around the digit. His eyes closed as if he tasted a rare treat. Her body quivered.

  With a pop of suction, his lips released their hold.

  “You taste so good. Like a delicious hot drug.” He cupped her cheeks and rubbed a thumb over her lips. As if some magical power lured her closer, she rose on her tiptoes and kissed him. She loved stroking his tongue with hers. She loved how he growled when she did something he liked.

  His hands dropped to her breasts and squeezed, flicking her nipples. Small shots of electricity traveled down to her clit, tightening with need. His fingers slid down and clasped her waist as he lowered to run his tongue over the taut tips. Her breath left her lungs as he sucked and licked. Unable to resist, she threaded her fingers into his hair and held on.

  Kissing and nipping farther down her body, he kneeled at her feet.

  “Move your feet apart.” His breath tickled her trimmed pussy.

  She quickly followed his demand.

  His stiff tongue thrust between the sensitive lips, and she moaned.

  Oh, my God! To see the big, dangerous man feasting on her pussy was erotic enough without the sensations he created. Using his fingers, he opened her wider and concentrated on the hard bundle of nerves.