A Civilian for Silo

by J. A. Hornbuckle

  “Truthfully? I don’t care about the how or the why,” Reese said firmly, her eyes never leaving Ms. Colton’s face. “We thought you’d be able to suggest homes for our relocating brothers and families. But your selections leave a lot to be desired.”

  The agent raised her gaze to Reese but I caught the flash of anger in the realtor’s eyes. What did she have to be angry about? She was the one who screwed up!

  “According to your print out, this house is what you’d chosen for a family of four. Under the column marked ‘requirements’ it very clearly spells out what their needs are with regard to bedrooms and amenities.” Reese looked around the empty house before turning back to look at Ms. Colton. “Does this property meet any of them?”

  “Well, no…” the realtor hedged. I saw her draw her perfectly manicured finger down the list, reviewing the addresses as she glanced at the requirements for each. “Wait a sec. Here. Look!”

  Both Reese and I stepped closer to the clipboard.

  “This house, this address was meant to be for two singles as listed on the line below it.” She flipped a page and continued reading as I and Reese took another look around the space. Yeah, it would work for a pair of singles, either Hellions or Honeys. Reese had explained that the club frequently purchased properties and rented them out to other members as needed. “The listings are out of alignment with the requirements.”

  Reese’s gaze went back to the other woman, one eyebrow lifted. “Ya think?”

  The realtor handed Reese the clipboard with a sheepish look. “I can go back to the office and correct this…”

  Reese started shaking her head halfway through the other woman’s speech. “You’re not getting it. We need these properties at the soonest. Shelly and I have other irons in the fire and don’t have a lot of time to wait around until you get your paperwork straight.”

  Ms. Colton swallowed and opened her lips as if to speak but Reese raised a forefinger to stop her.

  “The Hellions put their faith in your abilities. Were they wrong?”

  But the realtor didn’t respond as she should have. If she’d been smart and acting as the professional she appeared to be, she would’ve been groveling at Reese’s feet in abject apology. Instead, the woman’s emotions got the best of her and she ran her mouth. “You can’t talk to me like that! I’m the only realtor in Billings who willingly lowered herself and her firm in order to work with you. Selling property to bikers? Jesus! No one even wants you here, much less provide you with housing so more of your dirty club can come. I don’t care if you have more money than God. I’m sure the only reason the Hellions do is because of their dirty drug deals and prostitution since that’s how you people operate.” She pulled herself to her full height and tugged at her jacket, her face a very unattractive shade of red. “I don’t have to take this shit from you or anyone else of your kind. I quit!”

  I know I was left stunned, blinking at the other woman’s venom and chanced a glance at Reese to gauge her reaction. And at her narrowed eyes and clenched jaw, I knew it was time for me to step up. Just as the realtor reached the door, I spoke. “Ms. Coltrane?”

  “It’s Colton!” she shouted, without turning around. “Can’t you even get my name right for once? Or are you as stupid as that bald guy you screw?”

  Uh-oh. The woman had finally gone too far. It was one thing to mock me but a whole different thing to call my Si’ stupid! I ran to where she waited, her hand on the doorknob and grabbed her by the back of her hair, yanking her down and around to face me. Her hands went to my forearm trying to break my hold, but I was not letting her go until I got a few things straight. “Don’t you ever fucking call my man stupid!” I gave her a little shake to warn her about moving.

  “Let go of me!” the other woman demanded. Yeah, fat chance of that happening until I said what I had to say.

  “Do you want to know how the Hellions really make their money? Do you? Because not only will you be missing out on more commissions than you’ve probably seen in a decade, you fucking blew a huge opportunity going forward!” My voice held an edge even I didn’t recognize. One that seemed to stop her in her tracks.

  “Wh-what do you mean?” Oh yeah, I had her attention and saw the avarice in her eyes, the greed that Silo had talked about earlier.

  “Hellion Construction. Ring a bell? They’re subcontractors for both commercial and residential sides of the building trade in four states. And you could’ve been a part of it with your skills in selling.” I untangled my hand from her hair and dropped it down to my side. “You fucking blew it, bitch.”

  I took a step back and watched as she processed what I’d told her. Saw it as she realized her mistake in her narrowed eyes and thinning lips. Yep. Greed, pure and simple.

  “Perhaps I was, uhm, a bit hasty when I…” she stuttered and I threw a grin over my shoulder at Reese who was almost laughing. I turned back to the realtor and watched as she smoothed the hair I’d mussed. “I believe I was operating under false information.”

  “Ya think?” I repeated Reese’s phrase from earlier with a giggle. I was still riding the high of almost getting in a catfight about her calling my Silo stupid.

  Reese stepped closer to me. “So you want to start again, Ms. Colton? Be the official Hellion realtor?”

  The realtor pulled at the hem of her jacket and straightened her shoulders. “Yes. Yes, I would. And please, call me Theresa.”

  ‘Score one for the badass Honeys’, I thought as I laughed and exchanged a high-five with Reese.

  However, my smile quickly died as I realized what my thought had indicated.

  That I had aligned myself with the females in the Hellion Motorcycle Club.

  An alignment I’d never envisioned for myself.

  In any way, shape or form.

  Chapter Twenty Four

  “You should’ve seen her, Silo,” Reese crowed over the laughter around the table as she recounted Shell’s hands-on approach in dealing with Theresa Colton. The realtor had spent the day with the girls, personally taking them through all the different properties on the list. And the way both his Shell and Reese had described it, by deciphering the spreadsheet that she’d screwed up, took them to houses and apartments that finally fucking met the brother’s requirements.

  “She grabbed the back of the bitch’s head by the hair! Her freaking hair! And whipped her around before the other woman could even blink!” Reese’s eyes were shining as they turned to Shelly’s. “It was freaking awesome!”

  Silo leaned towards his girl with a smile. “Didn’t know you had it fucking in you, princess.”

  “Me either, if you want to know the truth,” she replied with a bashful grin and looked down at the food on her plate. Reese and Brand had asked the other couple to dinner at their house where the talk and the laughter had flowed freely between the two couples.

  “There were only three on the list we didn’t think would work, but Theresa promised to get back to me by the end of the week with new ones.” Reese reached for both hers and Brand’s plate as she gave an update.

  “I just hope the next thing on our list doesn’t have us strong-arming someone to get our way,” Shelly giggled as she removed her and Silo’s dinnerware.

  “What have you got up next, draga?” Brand asked the question before Silo had a chance to.

  “The fundraisers, honey.”

  Silo shot his eyes to Reese’s happy face before looking at Brand and giving a small head shake.

  Brand nodded and turned back to his wife. “I am afraid that will have to be postponed, my Reese.”

  “Wait, why?” Shelly cried, putting her stack of dishes back on the table as she dropped back down into her chair. Silo watched as his girl exchanged a confused look with Reese.

  “There’s been some recent doings with another club of the fucking bad variety,” Silo started. “We need you and the other Honeys to keep it all on the fucking down-low until we get it worked out.”

  Reese stared at her husban
d. “Does this has anything to do with the shit that happened at the diner?”

  “Yes, draga.”

  “What’s she talking about?” Shelly asked on a whisper after picking up Silo’s hand.

  He leaned closer to reply equally as quiet. “I’ll tell you later.”

  “So we’re just supposed to sit on our hands and wait ‘em out, wait for them to make a freaking play before we can get on with our lives?” Reese’s voice was loud in the open space of her dining room and kitchen area. “That’s bullshit, Bayco!”

  Brand lowered his eyebrows as he stared at his wife. “The Hellions do not, nor have they ever, waited for someone to ‘make their freaking play’ as you called it. But we do whatever it takes to keep our families safe. Something I know you know, my Reese.”

  Silo saw the woman was pulling at her bottom lip, twisting it as her husband chided her for her hasty assumption and harsh words. But she seemed to realize that she’d jumped the gun and sighed. “Yeah, I know. I just don’t like being restricted from doing what I want because of some biker shit.”

  Using a hand to cover the grin that wanted to escape, Silo turned back to Shelly. “And I need you, pretty girl to stick close to home until we get this shit sorted.”

  “It’s really that bad?” she asked with concern in her eyes.

  “It really fucking is, Shell.”

  She rolled her eyes and turned her face to her new best friend. “Guess I’m back to being under house arrest.”

  “That sucks,” Reese agreed. “But we can still do the planning stuff, getting the quotes and everything, especially now that you have a phone.”

  “True.” Shelly’s eyes went unfocused for a moment before she turned back to Silo. “I’m gonna need more minutes.”

  “But you had fifty fucking bucks worth when I bought it! There’s no way in hell you can be out of fucking minutes already!” Hole-lee shit! Who had she been fucking calling to zip through that amount of minutes in only a couple of goddamn days?

  “I’m not out, I just don’t have a lot left.” Her correction, offered on a disdainful sniff, did nothing to calm Silo down. “I’m not used to having a phone that doesn’t have unlimited calls, text and data.”

  Silo skewered Brand with a glare at the chuckles of the other man. “I believe you have snagged yourself a handful, brother.”

  Silo’s eyes flicked first to Reese, then to Shelly before colliding with his president’s.

  “Is it any wonder they’re so fucking chummy, dude?” Silo shot back, only to receive a soft punch on the arm from his girl at his insinuation.

  And it was his turn to laugh at Brand’s rueful grin.

  *.*.*.*.*

  David sat in his car parked across the street from the low-life biker’s house and zipped up his hoodie. He’d somehow forgotten that Montana’s autumn got cold enough to sometimes snow. And he hated the cold which is why he always put in requests for jobs in the parts of the U.S. that had mild winters.

  He’d lost sight of Michelle in the middle of the afternoon, right after the black-haired woman had piled both of the other women into her luxury car. A car that was built for speed and was years newer than his rental. After losing them in traffic, David hadn’t been able to find any trace of them and didn’t know where they might be.

  At first he’d freaked out at the loss but then remembered that he knew where she lived. She’d have come home eventually and he’d been waiting for her ever since. But, he’d been waiting over four hours and neither Michelle nor the big bald guy had yet to show.

  He was cold, hungry and had to go to the bathroom.

  Plus, his patience was wearing very thin.

  How dare she keep him waiting!

  She had to know that her little brush-off of the other day wouldn’t be taken for anything other than a ruse to throw other people off. No, that little scenario had just been a bit of play-acting on her end to avoid suspicion.

  Because David knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her!

  Hearing the roar of motorcycle pipes, David slid down in the seat and pulled the bill of his baseball cap down lower on his face while keeping his eyes on the road. But instead of just a single bike, he saw four of them pull up at the curb in front of where his car was parked. The men’s faces were all pointed at Kettering’s house and David noted the design, the picture on their backs were different than what he’d seen previously. What did ‘Vitas Diablos’ mean anyway? Didn’t ‘Vitas’ translate to ‘life’? And he remembered the Spanish word for the devil was ‘Diablo’. Devil’s Life, then if his translations were correct.

  He caught a movement behind one of the windows that hadn’t had the mini-blinds all the way closed and saw it was the younger, buff man that shared the house. David didn’t know and didn’t care about the other residents who lived there, except that they were keeping him from his goal.

  His prize.

  His Michelle.

  One of the men in front of him came up off his bike and reached behind him, pulling something out of the waistband of his pants. There was a flurry of angry words between the four and another man grabbed the arm of the one who was off his motorcycle. More words were uttered, though David couldn’t understand them, before the man sat down again. Almost as one, the group pulled away from the curb and continued on down the street.

  ‘I wonder what the hell that was about.’ David thought but somehow knew that the other biker’s presence didn’t bode well for either him or anyone at the Kettering house.

  *.*.*.*.*

  I walked in the house and took off both my coat and the helmet before handing them to Silo. I knew he’d take them to the back porch and hang them up next to his. After greeting Lulu and Mel who were watching some reality show on the big screen TV, I headed back to Silo’s room and used the bathroom. When I returned, Silo was standing next to the bed.

  Without missing a beat, I went to the dresser and pulled out one of his Henley shirts to sleep in. “What was Reese talking about when she brought up the diner?” I asked, unbuttoning my top and shimmying out it.

  I heard the creak of the bedframe as Silo sat down on the edge of the mattress and then the thud of his boots as he removed them. “That other bike club confronted them when they were having dinner at a diner. Brand couldn’t fucking do anything about it being outnumbered and with the other customers around.”

  “Oh.” I pulled the Henley over my head, removing my bra from underneath it. The room was too chilly to get fully undressed all at one time. Shoving my hands into the long arms of the shirt I knew I would be rolling up, I grabbed the sides of my jeans and panties.

  “Baby? What the hell are you doing?” Silo’s voice wasn’t loud in the least but a deep, rich rumble.

  I stopped and looked to see he was twisted around watching me. “Fixing the drip in the kitchen sink? Something I asked you to take care of a week ago, I might add. What does it look like I’m doing?”

  “Looks like you’re getting ready for bed.”

  “Yeah, and?” I wiggled my way out of the jean/panty combo and added them to the growing pile of clothes at my feet before bending down to capture them all, dumping them into the dirty clothes hamper.

  “Like you’re getting ready to sleep in my bed.” I didn’t know why he felt the need to clarify my actions when it was perfectly evident where I would be taking my slumber that night.

  I climbed up onto the big mattress and did a knee-walk to the pillows before pulling back the covers. “You gotta a problem with that, big guy?”

  His face held a grin as he turned and stood, snagging his t-shirt between his shoulder blades before yanking it up and over his head. Providing me with a delicious view of his muscled, broad chest that led down to his cut abs and that little bit of hair that meandered down beyond the waist of his jeans. “Not in the fucking least, baby.”

  “So why all the questions?” I chuffed, fluffing my pillow and the covers before settling them.

&nbs
p; I heard the clanking of both his belt buckle and the chain that attached his wallet to his jeans before I raised my eyes to enjoy the sight of him wearing nothing but his boxer briefs. I was secretly thrilled to know I was probably the only person on the planet that knew Silo matched his underwear to his shirts.

  “Just didn’t want to get my goddamn hopes up.” I liked the way that sounded, the little bit of vulnerability his words allowed me to see.

  I raised an eyebrow. “So you’re hoping for something other than a good night’s sleep?”

  He lifted the blanket and top sheet before sliding all the way over to where I was lying, head in palm with an elbow in the pillow and my body turned to face him. “Betcha ass.”

  I was very aware of the grin I was wearing as his arms went around me to pull me right up against him. “Not a fucking night goes by, Shell, that I don’t want you with me. Real and true.”

  His sweet words earned him a sweet kiss which he quickly turned into something deeper and a hell of a lot sexier. It wasn’t long and he brought his hands and fingers into play, using them to build the fire his tongue had ignited as it had dueled with mine. I opened my legs to allow him greater access and he didn’t disappoint, stroking me in the right way and in just the perfect spot.

  “God, Si’,” I breathed against his mouth as we’d come up for air. “You do that so well.”

  He pulled back and I heard the drawer on his side of the bed open as he snagged a condom. “It’s because you fucking inspire me, princess. Hard to keep my damn hands to myself when I have perfection wiggling around in front of me.”

  “I don’t wiggle around!” I snapped.

  After rolling the latex on, he turned back to me with a challenging smile. “Oh, yeah? Want me to prove it?”

  “N-no,” I stammered, striving for sureness but my tone belied my uncertainty.

  He leaned into me, his mouth going for my neck and the sensitivity of the skin beneath my ear. “I like it when you wiggle, baby. I like hearing you moan when all I do is fucking touch or kiss you. And I fucking love it when you raise that sweet pussy up and slide it along my cock.”