“How do you mean, Blood? What did she say?”
“For one she's a fucking good guesser. She guessed that I had been a Navy SEAL, said she could tell by the way I acted. How the fuck she can tell that, I don't know? But what she asked me next was what bothered me. She asked me if we had a tall, huge, bearded, bald headed man in our club.”
What. The. Fuck.
“She said she wasn't out to hurt the club, but that she really needed to talk to the man. And Prez, for the life of me, I swear I've seen this chick before.”
“You think she's a cop?” I asked him.
“She says she's not. And truthfully, I don't think she is.”
“What's she look like?”
“She's hot as fuck. Tall, maybe five foot nine or so, short silver colored hair, and she has full sleeves, well, as far as I could tell. She was dressed pretty conservatively considering she's a bartender.”
The description didn't ring a bell at all. But now, I wanted to know who the woman was.
“Call Macky and see if she's working tonight. If she is, I want her here so we can talk to her after Church.”
Blood nodded. “Will do.”
“Alright, let's grab a beer before Church.”
We all stood up and headed toward the door. My mind raced trying to figure out who this woman might be. I was like Blood. I hated being curious about anything. I wanted to know shit, like yesterday. But it appeared I was going to have to wait for at least an hour or so.
~*~
Ava
“Ava?” I heard Macky holler at me.
“I'll be right back,” I told Rick as I made my way to the kitchen.
“What's up, Macky?”
“You're being summoned.”
I looked at him puzzled. What did he mean I was being summoned?
“The Prez of the Angel's Rebellion just summoned you to come to the Clubhouse. There will be a Prospect here anytime. You'll go with him,” he said.
“Macky, I can't leave right now. It's Friday night,” I replied to him.
My gut clenched tight. This is what I had been hoping for. Hopefully, I’ll get to speak to the Prez. I needed to find my biker hero. I had to see if he could help me in my endeavor for vengeance for my husband and son.
“It's not that busy. Rick can handle it. Don't worry about coming back tonight. See you tomorrow night.”
“You sure, Macky?”
“Yeah girl, I'm sure. Now go on and get out of here. Might as well wait on him outside. He'll be here anytime.”
I nodded at him, “Alright, Macky, see you tomorrow.”
I turned and made my way back behind the bar and grabbed my helmet. As I started toward the door, Rick asked, “Where you going? It's Friday, I'm gonna need the help.”
“Got somewhere I need to be. Macky knows. If you have trouble with it, talk to him,” I told him as I continued out the door.
I went over to my bike and lifted the seat. In a specially sealed packet, I took out both pictures in it and slid them into my back pocket. I had no more than put the seat back down than a man rode into the parking lot. He rode straight to me, like he knew exactly who he was looking for, and I'm sure he did. I knew Blood would have described me and I did stand out quite a bit.
As he pulled his bike to a stop right in front of mine, he said, “Need you to get on and come with me.”
I shook my head. I wasn't leaving my bike here. No way, no how.
“I'll follow you,” I told him as I studied the Prospect cut on him.
“I was told to bring you to the Clubhouse.”
“And you will. Only I’ll be following you. I'm not leaving without my bike.”
I watched as he looked at my bike. I saw the appreciation cross his face once he got a good look at it. He looked back at me, indecision written all over his face.
“Look, this is the only way I'm going with you. Either on my bike or not at all. And don't think you can force me on behind you. I can shoot you before you ever get off your ride,” I told him as I lifted my t-shirt and showed him my gun.
He scowled at me grimly, “Alright, follow me.”
My answer was to get on my bike, start it, and put my helmet on. Once he saw I was ready to go, he headed toward the road. I had no clue where I was going. All I could do was hope this didn't turn into a SNAFU situation, with it ending bad for me. As we traveled even further into the countryside, I noticed we were riding even further from Rogers. Luckily, it was still daylight so I could see where we were going.
We had ridden about eight miles and had passed through a little community called Elk when the Prospect started slowing down. We turned into a driveway and my eyes widened upon seeing their Clubhouse for the first time. It was fucking huge. It also looked better protected than Fort Knox.
As we approached the gate, it slid open, allowing us to continue on without having to stop. I followed behind the man who had come for me and watched where he parked. He pointed to a spot a little further down.
After I backed my bike up and killed the engine, I got off and took off my helmet, sitting it on the seat. My fucking nerves were going haywire. I didn't know whether to be scared or hopeful. I ran my fingers through my hair, took a deep breath, turned and walked over to the Prospect.
I held my hand out to him, “Ava.”
He glanced at me, reached out and shook my hand and said, “Rebel.”
“Let's do this,” I said.
He pointed toward the door, “I'll follow you.”
I knew he didn't want me behind him since I was carrying. I made my way to the door and opened it only to step into a vestibule. About ten feet in front of me was another door with what appeared to be a number coded lock on the wall. I stepped to the side facing the inside wall of the antechamber with my hands resting over my head against the sheetrock so that Rebel could clearly see I meant no harm.
He stepped next to me, keeping an eye on me as he entered the code, once done, he pushed open the door. I was pleasantly surprised when we entered a huge ass room. I was thinking the place would reek of stale cigarette smoke, sex and booze. Yet it wasn’t that way at all. The room was clean with a pleasant citrusy smell to it.
There was a bar at the back, with a jukebox and dance floor on the left side of the room and three pool tables sitting directly across from the jukebox on the right side of the room. Tables and chairs separated the area and were scattered throughout. In the front left corner were couches and chairs placed in front of the biggest TV I had ever seen. As I glanced around, it didn't appear there was anyone else in the area.
“Let's wait at the bar,” he murmured.
I nodded and made my way in that direction. Before I could hop up on a stool, he stopped me.
“Gonna need your gun.”
I glanced at him. I really didn't want to give my guns up, but I knew the likelihood of seeing the President of the MC without being patted down were slim to none. I undid my belt and pulled my holster off of it. I handed him the gun, holster and all, then redid my belt. He looked at me and halfway smiled, I knew he liked my choice of fire power.
“That it?”
I sighed. I leaned down and pulled up my right pants leg. I undid the Velcro and handed him that gun in its holster as well.
“Anything else?”
I shook my head but lifted my shirt and turned around, then I lifted my left pants leg. I looked up at him and he nodded to me.
“Have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?”
“You have bottled water?”
“Pred, bring Ava a water.”
I turned and looked down the bar. The man must have come through the entryway to the left side of the bar because he wasn't there when we walked in. He had on a Prospect cut as well. He bent over to what I assumed was a small fridge under the bar, then walked toward me carrying a water. He handed the bottle to me and I reached over and took it from him with a smile.
“Ava,” I said as I held out my right hand.
“Pred
,” he replied as he shook my hand.
“Pred? Is it short for something?”
Rebel laughed softly. I glanced over at him to see him smiling at Pred.
“Predator.”
“Ah,” I murmured.
I really didn't need to ask why. He had that look about him. The one that said he would hunt you down and take you out with no questions asked. I found it really odd too because he appeared to be in his early twenties, so did Rebel for that matter. They were both good-looking young men who would be extremely good-looking mature men one day. They both were fairly good-sized. I was a tall woman, but one topped me by at least seven inches and the other was almost a foot taller than I was. One fair haired, the other dark haired. Yeah, they were definitely gonna break some hearts someday, if they weren't already.
I jumped up on a stool and turned it so I could see them both.
“Let me guess,” I said as I studied them. “Army, and you haven't been out long.”
They looked at each other then back at me, both clearly puzzled that I had made an accurate guess.
“How'd you know?” Rebel asked me a little suspiciously. “You a cop?”
I laughed. Apparently, that was the standard question when someone guessed shit about them.
“Nope,” I replied.
“So, how did you know?”
“Former military brat. My dad was a SEAL. And yeah, I know that's two totally different branches, but I've tended bar around a few different bases. I can fairly accurately pick which branch a person served in, I'm rarely wrong on that. It's just something I’ve always been good at. I also can usually tell if you’ve had specialized training. Neither of you specialized. For one, you're both too young. And two, you don't have the edginess of it like Blood does. However, you both have somewhat of a warrior vibe.”
“How old do you think we are?” Pred asked me out of curiosity. I could tell he thought he could guess my age by the expressive smile on his face.
“I would say you are both around twenty-two, possibly twenty-three.”
“Damn, you're good,” Pred said. “I bet I can guess your age as well.”
I smirked at him. There was no way he was even gonna get within a couple years. People rarely did.
“Alright hot shot, let's hear it.”
“You're twenty-four, twenty-five at the most.”
I laughed. It felt good to know others thought I was that young.
“Not even close, Kemosabe,” I said as I continued laughing quietly.
“Bullshit,” Pred threw back.
I just shook my head at him. I looked at Rebel only to see he was studying my face closely.
“What's your guess, Rebel?”
“You can call me, Reb. And I'm gonna say you're twenty-six, possibly twenty-seven.”
I snickered. I couldn't help it. It was a woman thing and it was extremely flattering to a woman to know she didn't look her age.
“You aren't gonna tell us you're older than that,” Reb said.
I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my driver's license and handed it to Reb. He looked at it, looked back at me, looked down at it again. I knew he was doing the math that would tell him I was thirty-three.
“I'll be damned,” he said as he passed my license to Pred.
Pred mimicked Reb. He looked at my license, looked at me and then back down at my license.
“Fuck. You sure don't look your age. You're freaking hot as hell.” Pred said, then promptly blushed as he handed my license back to me.
I laughed again. I couldn't help it. These two guys were making my day. I don't think I've felt this good in a long time. Maybe it's because I'm so close to finding out if my biker hero will help me or not. Fuck, I thought to myself, I was probably celebrating a little too early. I mentally shrugged to myself. Fuck it. Sometimes it's just nice to feel alive once in a while.
“Thanks for the compliment. I haven't had one in a long while.”
“Calling bullshit again,” Pred said.
“Yeah, I bet you get told all the time that you're hot,” Reb put in.
“You're right I do, but it's by drunk guys that want to get in my pants. So those are taken with a grain of salt. Pred, did you say it to get in my pants?” I asked him, only to see him blush again. Fuck, he was cute. If he was older, I might have considered a night with him.
“Umm, no, I didn't, but I wouldn't turn down a chance though,” he said with this lazy assed sexy smile gracing his face.
Holy shit! With that naughty as sin smile on his face, I could see the mature man he would one day look like and it was fucking hot as hell. I glanced at Reb to see he was glaring at Pred.
“You don't want him flirting with me, Reb? Will it get you in trouble to be talking with me?”
“Nah,” he said. “Just tired of this fucker having women look at him like that all the time. Makes me feel like a red-headed stepchild.”
I looked him up and down. No way this young man was a red-headed stepchild. He was fucking huge and muscled. His blonde hair and blue eyes were stunning together, and he had a ruggedly handsome face. But I could see he felt that Pred was better looking than him and it simply wasn't true.
“He is damn fine, Reb, and is gonna be hotter than hell as he gets older. But, believe me, you're nothing to sneeze at. If I were a betting woman, I'd say your blonde hair, blue eyes, ruggedness and size alone make women want to mount you like a stud horse and see how long they can hang on and ride.
“Both of you need to know that you aren't inferior to the other as far as looks go. If I were a different woman, one who didn't have something that needed to be done, I'd seriously think about taking on the two of you. But I am a different woman. Plus, I'm not a cougar, not my thing. And right now, all my focus is on one thing and one thing only.”
“Thanks for making me feel better,” Reb said as he smiled smugly at Pred. “What's your focus on?”
I glanced at Pred to see him smiling mockingly at Reb. I snickered again. These two young men were fun to be around. I felt like I could let my worries go for a little bit.
“Something that I can't discuss right now, sorry,” I said as I apologized to him. I wasn't saying anything to anyone about what I wanted until I found my biker hero.
As he nodded at me, I heard the sound of voices coming down the hallway. My throat closed up as my whole body tensed. Looked like it wouldn't be long now at all.
~***~
Chapter 5
Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears.
~Barbara Johnson~
Mad Dog
May 29th, 1998
As I waited for everyone to drop their phones in the basket and make their way inside, my thoughts were on this mystery woman. Since I hated waiting for any info, this was gonna be a long assed Church for me. That was one of my downfalls, I lacked patience when I wanted something. Cueball was the last one through the door and he shut it behind him. Once he settled, I was ready to begin.
“Okay, fuckers, let's do this. Seer briefly review last week's meeting, then Tater can give us a quick update on how the funds look. After that, we'll discuss Doom's suggestion of buying The Watering Hole,” I told the men.
After Seer and Tater were through, I opened up the discussion about the bar.
“Okay, thoughts on buying the bar?” I asked as I noticed the fingers of my left hand were tapping on my thigh. Damn, I needed to get my thoughts on Church.
“I personally think it's a good idea,” Tater said. “It would give us another income stream, that is if it makes money and I would have to think it does because Macky isn’t rich enough to support a business that loses money. And it would also give us another spot to work Prospects.”
Nods were seen around the room.
“Seer, thoughts?”
“I agree with Tater and think it's a good idea. Having the Prospects there as muscle would give them a little bit of learning on how to deal with rowdy drunk people. Some o
f the boys, such as Reb, Pred, Creed and Brick, have a little bit of advantage over Axel, Streak and Jace.”
I saw Hoss and Viper incline their heads at Seer’s comment. Axel and Streak were both Hoss’s sons, and while they had been raised around the MC, they had never really had to deal with any hard life issues and decisions. Jace on the other hand had been raised by Viper, but he didn’t seem to have quite the same intense vibe that Reb and Pred had.
“Yeah, I like that idea,” Hoss commented. “It would definitely give them a little bit more real-life experience. Here they've pretty much had it made. They've both got a good head on their shoulders, but Seer's right. Since they’ve left school, neither have had to deal with anything concerning civilians. They've been protected here, maybe a little too much.”
More nods went around the room.
“Any other thoughts?”
“Who would run it?” Cueball asked.
“Good question, Brother. Would any of you want to oversee it?” I asked as I looked around the room.
“No one?”
“I would, but since I'm new here I don't know how y'all would feel about it,” Slade said.
“You got any experience in it?” I inquired as I studied him. The devotion he showed his mom told me what kind of man he was. Good, with a big heart.
“Ran a bar back in Kentucky. Been a bartender since I was old enough to sling a drink.”
I glanced at Viper to see he was nodding. When his eyes caught mine, he lifted his chin at me. He was letting me know that Slade would be good at the job. I tilted my head back at him.
“Well then, we have one person who could oversee it, but I think we need two. Slade can't be expected to be there every day. Anyone else?”
“I could do it,” Hatchet said. “I've tended bar before. Haven't run a bar though, not like Slade.”
I lifted my chin at him, “Sounds good. I think we could make it work out. I’m sure Slade could teach you what you needed to know. Anyone have anything else to say on this matter?”
“Would we keep the same staff?” Blood asked.
I knew where he was coming from. He was curious if I would be willing to let this girl we were about to meet continue to work there.
Mad Dog (Angel’s Rebellion MC: #2) (Angel's Rebellion MC) Page 9