Pipe

by Winter Travers

  “Yes,” Cora and I said in unison.

  “What? No, you can’t do that,” Karmen insisted.

  We all turned to stare at her. “Whose side are you on?” Alice asked.

  “The side that makes Nikki happy, and that is not the way to make her happy.”

  I looked up at Alice. “She’s wrong. That would make me extremely happy. Do it.”

  “Oh shit.”

  I turned to look at Pipe again and saw Bos setting a cup of coffee in front of him. “That is the first time I have ever seen that man serve anyone coffee.” Bos leaned against the counter and started talking to Pipe. “What in the hell?”

  “You want me to go over there and put Ex-Lax in both of their coffee?”

  “Does this mean no one is making my breakfast?” Karmen asked.

  “That baby is making you his slave. That is exactly why I’ll never have kids. I can barely take care of myself, and I like to be the one making demands, not the other way around.” Cora held up her cup to Alice. “Plus, no one or no baby will ever make me stop drinking coffee.”

  Karmen pushed the cup away from her and crossed her arms “The kid drives me crazy sometimes, but then I think about the fact it’s my and Nickel’s baby, and I’ll gladly give up coffee and eat like a rabid cow.”

  “Rabid cow? Is that what Alice was dressed up like the other weekend?”

  Alice jumped, coffee sloshing over the lips of the coffee pot, and she slapped her hand over her chest. “Jesus, make a little noise the next time you’re moving. How are we supposed to talk about you when you’re standing right here?” She flounced off and chased Bos back into the kitchen.

  “Karmen, Cora. I didn’t know you guys were going to be here today.”

  Cora pointed her spoon at him. “Kind of like we didn’t know you were going to be here. I think we’re even now.”

  “Touché, darlin’.” His eyes fell on me, and I shifted uncomfortably in the booth. “Morning, sugar.”

  Ugh. Damn the man for having a voice that sounded like honey dripping all over my body. “Pipe,” I scowled.

  “I’m heading back to Weston for a bit. You ladies need anything?”

  Cora set her spoon down. “A Starbucks.”

  Pipe laughed, the sound rich and deep. “Not sure I can fit that on the back of my bike.”

  Cora shrugged her shoulder. “It was worth a try. I’ll have to deal with this sludge for the weekend.”

  “Weekend?” Pipe asked.

  “Cora and I are staying with Nikki until Sunday,” Karmen explained.

  “I see. Well, you guys have a good weekend. I’m sure I’ll see you around.” Pipe tipped his head and thankfully left the diner.

  Cora fanned herself with her hand and pointed at me. “I’m not at all into that man, but can I just say you must have nerves of steel to ignore him the way you just did. I swear, if any guy would look at me the way he does you, my panties would burst into flames on the spot.”

  “You’re not helping,” Karmen hissed.

  Cora put her hand down and leaned forward. “I thought you said we were here to help her figure out what the hell she wanted. I say what she wants is another roll in the hay with that man.”

  Karmen tossed her hands in the air. “You think you could be a little bit more subtle?”

  Cora shook her head. “Subtly is not in my vocabulary. You want him, take him, Nikki.”

  I cleared my throat and played with my fork and spoon. “I tried that. He was with another chick.”

  Cora rolled her eyes. “Can I lay something out for you and you not get mad?”

  I looked over at Karmen who shrugged her shoulders. ‘Sure, I guess.”

  “That man that just walked out that door is your typical biker. Thinks he knows exactly what he wants but honestly doesn’t know a damn thing. Karmen gave me a brief rundown of what happened between you two, and I’m not surprised at all.”

  “You’re not surprised about what?” I asked.

  “I’m not surprised you two knocked boots, probably damn good by my indication, and he ran for the hills into the arms of the nearest whore because you scared the living hell out of him. He’s lived in a world where he calls the shots, and you’re making him feel something he doesn’t know how to deal with.”

  “I get what you’re saying, but then why the hell did he move here?”

  Cora sat back in the booth and smiled. “Because Pipe came to his senses. A lot quicker than I’ve ever seen before actually. My mom and dad did the dance you two are doing, except it took them almost ten years to get on the same page.”

  “Your parents went through this for ten years? It’s only been two months since Pipe and I hooked up, and I’m ready to run away and become a nun.”

  Cora shook her head. “You do that, and you’re stupid. Pipe wants you, Nikki. It’s plain as day.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, he wants to have sex with me again, that’s about it.”

  “See, now this is where the ball is firmly in your court, and you get to be the one to call the shots.”

  Karmen clapped her hands together and did a little shimmy in the booth. “I knew it. I thought he just ran because he was a dumbass, and I was right. This is so awesome.” Karmen high-fived Cora and looped her arm around my shoulders. “Now, how to make him grovel.”

  I shrugged off her arm and shook my head. “No. You guys are wrong. I know these guys in the MC think they can do whatever they want, but they can’t. Not in the real world.”

  Cora rolled her eyes. “They are in the real world, Nikki. Every guy thinks the same way they do. These bikers just take every liberty they can and run with it. I’ve lived in an MC all of my life, and trust me when I say I know what I’m talking about. Pipe is done doing the typical male shit. No man moves an hour away from his club for just a piece of pussy.”

  I blinked slowly, taking in her words. “I need more coffee.” I had resigned myself to the idea that Pipe didn’t want me, and now here he was living next to me, and Cora was telling me that was a huge step.

  A grin spread across Cora’s lips, and she crossed her arms over her chest. “You get it, but you don’t want to admit it. Just make that man grovel, Nikki, and you’ll get it soon enough.”

  “What’d I miss?” Alice set down Karmen’s huge platter of food in front of her and put her hands on her hips. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she said looking down at me.

  Karmen patted my shoulder and reached for the syrup. “She’ll be fine eventually. Cora just laid a load of information on her that she’s struggling to process.”

  “Well, was it good information?”

  Cora kicked me under the table, and I jumped a bit. “In time it will be.”

  I sighed and watched Alice bustle back to the kitchen to get the rest of our breakfast.

  That was good information?

  More like it was information so confusing I had no idea what was what anymore, and all I wanted to do was crawl back into my bed and never surface.

  “Chin up, buttercup,” Karmen smirked. “You have a badass motorcycle man who wants back in your bed. Make him work for it.”

  Jesus. That was easier said than done.

  Life was so much easier when I thought Pipe didn’t want me anymore.

  *

  Chapter 15

  Pipe

  “Holy fuck. I didn’t expect to see you for a week.”

  I sat down to the right of Wrecker and tossed my phone on the long table. “Yeah, well, the red carpet wasn’t exactly rolled out for me when I hit Kales Corners.” That was a damn understatement. The two interactions I had with Nikki were less than promising.

  “So what? You gave up?”

  “Nah, just regrouping. Karmen and Cora came to visit her all weekend, so I don’t really think I’m going to get any of her time.”

  “Nice excuse.”

  “You back already? I thought for sure Nikki was going to put up more of a fight than that.” Nickel walked into church a
nd took the seat on Wrecker’s left.

  I scoffed and shook my head. “Nah, she’s still there. With your ol’ lady, by the way. Thank you for that. Now I really can’t get to her.”

  Nickel grinned. “You really think I had any say over that? Right now, I’m at Karmen’s mercy until she pushes out that baby. One wrong word and she turns on the waterworks. I avoid that shit like the plague, brother. You don’t want her there? You tell her.”

  Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. “She’ll be gone Sunday. I can wait until then.”

  “Wise man,” Nickel mumbled.

  Brinks, Maniac, Clash, and Slayer filed into the room and took their places around the table.

  “Where the hell is Boink?” Wrecker asked.

  Nickel cleared his throat. “Last I saw, he was stumbling to his bed at six this morning when Karmen and Cora left.”

  “Jesus Christ. It’s like herding cats with you fuckers. When he manages to fall out of bed, make sure you tell him he’s cleaning the whole common room for missing church,” Wrecker growled.

  “Well, just look at it this way,” Clash chuckled. “You’ll never need to have kids with the seven of us around.”

  “Yeah, seven dumbass sons.” Wrecker grabbed the gavel in front of him and crashed it down on the table. “Let’s get this shit over with. Cora.”

  “Uh, what about her?” Slayer asked.

  “Where the hell is she?”

  Nickel looked around. “Um, she’s up in Kales Corners with Karmen, like Pipe said. I figured with Pipe living next door, it was fine for her to go.”

  “What part of she needs to have someone on her at all times was hard for you to understand. You think your woman and Nikki are going to keep her safe?” Wrecker barked.

  “How much trouble can those three get into, really?” Brinks asked.

  Nickel leaned forward and looked down the table at him. “Have you met Karmen? She’s a crazy wildcard at the moment.”

  “Then why the hell did you send her to Kales Corners with Cora?”

  Nickel stood up and pointed at me. “I damn well told you. Pipe was there to watch them.”

  “Don’t you think maybe you should have run that shit by me?” I drawled. If I had known I was supposed to hang around, I would have.

  “I didn’t think you would run with your tail between your legs not even forty-eight hours later. I thought you had balls of steel, man. I figured you would throw her over your shoulder, tell her what the hell was going to happen, and that would be it.” Nickel fell back into his chair, disgusted.

  I pulled a cigarette from my pocket and stuck it in the corner of my mouth.

  Wrecker turned to me and shook his head. “No smoking in here, dumbass.”

  “Since fucking when?”

  “Since I said so.”

  I ripped the cigarette out of my mouth and tossed it on the table next to my phone.

  “Can I ask a question?” Slayer said.

  “This oughta be good,” Clash chuckled.

  Slayer smacked him on the back of the head. “Shut it, dick.”

  Clash flipped him off and scooted his chair closer to Nickel. “Abusive asshole,” he muttered under his breath.

  “Fucking cats,” Wrecker mumbled under his breath. “What the fuck is your question?” he growled at Clash.

  He cleared his throat and looked around the table. “I might have missed this, but do we know why we need to keep an eye on Cora? I mean, she’s just Jenkins’ sister. What could possibly be going on with her?”

  Wrecker leaned back in his chair. “It’s not what she did, it’s what Jenkins is getting his club into. I know you all are starting to hate all of these runs we are doing, realizing we are getting into deep shit when what you don’t realize is that Jenkins is fucking knee deep in the shit.”

  “You’ve told us all of this before,” Maniac drawled. “I, for one, would like to know exactly what the fuck you are talking about you when you say, ‘knee deep in shit.’” He leaned forward and clasped his hands in front of him.

  “Yeah, I don’t think that’s too much to ask for. We are putting ourselves on the line for some chick we don’t even know, and furthermore, for a club and president that no one at this table can stand,” Nickel agreed.

  Wrecker stroked his beard and eyed everyone at the table. “The problem with you guys knowing more about what is going on is I don’t even know anything more than what I just told you.”

  “Then why the hell don’t we demand to know more. You think Jenkins or anyone in River Valley would put their ass on the line for us? I fucking doubt it.” Maniac slammed his hand down on the table, and Clash, Slayer, and Brinks all grunted their agreeance.

  “Look, I get where you guys are coming from, but I think busting into River Valley with our dicks swinging demanding answers isn’t the way we need to go about this.”

  “I agree with Wrecker.” I shifted in my chair and pointed to Nickel. “You’ve been restless for a while. I get that, and you and I talked about the effects of you jumping ship and rushing into opening a new chapter. You think you all have it bad now, you don’t know the shit Jenkins would bring down on a new club. Here in Weston, we are established, popping up wanting a new chapter opens the door for you to be Jenkins’ whipping boy.”

  Nickel shook his head. “I don’t want a new chapter anymore, I just want Jenkins to get out of the business of Weston. You don’t see us poking around in the bullshit he’s gotten himself into, do you? Instead, he’s pouring that bullshit over each chapter, fucking everyone over.”

  Wrecker stood up and leaned over the table, his hands braced in front of him. “Listen up, and listen real good. I hear everything you guys are saying, and I agree with it all. I want more than anything to go back to the club we were when all we had to worry about was who was buying the keg for the party. Unfortunately, those days are fucking gone. I’m not saying we will never have them back, I’m just saying to get them back, we need to tread very carefully. Because if we pull out, we not only upset Jenkins, we upset everyone he has tangled himself with.”

  Brinks smashed his finger into the table. “But we didn’t make those fucking deals, Jenkins did.”

  A smirk spread across Wrecker’s lips. “So you think they’ll care about that? We can just skip on over to them, tell them we are out and if they have a problem with it they can just deal with Jenkins, right? Come on, Brinks, you’re supposed to be the smart one of the group.”

  “Find out who the deal is made with, and I bet we can find a way to get out of them without any bloodshed,” Brinks insisted.

  Wrecker turned to me. “Brinks lives in a fucking fairytale land with unicorns and rainbows.”

  A chuckle escaped my lips, and Brinks growled. “I know what the fuck I’m talking about.”

  Wrecker threw his hands up in the air. “Fine, rainbow, you win. I’ll get whatever information you need, and you can ride off on your unicorn and save us all. Sound like a plan to all you fucking idiots?” Wrecker stormed out of church, slamming the door shut behind him.

  “Does that mean Brinks’ name is now Rainbow?” Maniac asked.

  “No, you fucking idiot, it means you all need to chill the fuck out. Wrecker and I don’t like this muling bullshit any more than you all do, but for now, it’s what we do.” I stood up and grabbed my phone, stuck my discarded cigarette in my mouth, and looked at the guys. “Try not to piss off Wrecker too much while I’m gone. With Cora up in Kales Corners with Nikki and Karmen, I won’t be back until Monday.”

  “I can go up there if you need me to,” Nickel volunteered.

  I shook my head. “You don’t need to. Now if you wanna go up to see your woman, knock yourself out. But I’ll take care of Cora.”

  The guys relaxed back in their chairs and started talking about what they were going to do this weekend. I shoved my phone in my pocket and set out to find Wrecker. As much as I didn’t want to have to deal with him when he was pissed off, I needed to talk before I left for the
three days.

  I walked into the common room and saw him behind the bar downing shots. “It’s only eleven o’clock. Starting pretty early, huh?”

  Wrecker glared at me and refilled his glass. “Dealing you fucking idiots would make a saint drink.”

  “What about a unicorn?” I laughed.

  He shook his head and tossed back the shot. “Fucking Brinks. Always sitting back, watching, and smart as a damn whip. Then he suggests we just nicely ask to be released from whatever shit we’re in like we’re letting them know we can’t make it to the damn dance next week.”

  I ran my fingers through my hair and tried not to laugh. “Rainbows, unicorns, and now dances. You sure the president of an MC?”

  Wrecker growled. “I don’t fucking know since half of those pansies in there are chicken shits.”

  I shrugged and leaned against the bar. “They have a point, Wrecker. We’re putting our asses on the line for something that isn’t benefiting us at all. We don’t see any of the money Jenkins gets off these runs.”

  Wrecker slammed his glass down on the bar. “I fucking know it, Pipe. I tried to fight it at the beginning, and I couldn’t. Jenkins has some powerful friends that were more than ready to come to Weston and make us bend any which way they felt right. Agreeing was better than taking a stand and all of us getting our faces rearranged.”

  I held up my hands. “Look, I get that too. I’m fucking Switzerland in this. I get the guys, and I get you. Now we have to figure out a way to get what everyone wants.”

  Wrecker hung his head. “I don’t fucking sleep at night because all I do is lay awake trying to find some exit strategy to get out of this, but there isn’t one, Pipe. We’re fucking stuck.”

  I sighed and lit the end of my cigarette. “Don’t tell me to put it out,” I threatened. Wrecker rolled his eyes but kept his mouth shut. “What if you try what Brinks said?”

  “Pipe, don’t tell me I’m going to have fucking call you Periwinkle now. I told you that shi—”

  I held up my hand and shook my head. “I’m not saying we simply ask to be out. I’m saying we do what Brinks said, find out who is at the core of this. Try to work a way that maybe we get in their good graces and work this situation in our favor. You and I both know we aren’t getting anything from this right now, so I say we find a way to benefit from this shit.”