by Jade Kuzma
“Seriously though,” Rex said. “How does it feel to be back home? You settled in?”
“For the most part, yeah,” I replied. “It’s been a long time but Ivory hasn’t changed much. It’s the reason I decided to come back here in the first place.”
“What was that like?” Teddy said. “Going out there, getting shot at and risking your life?”
“I never thought about it like that. I was just doing my duty. You spend too much time thinking about what might happen, you forget about what is happening.”
“And right now, what is happening is a celebration,” Rex said. “Looks like the bar is getting crowded. Get us another round, Q. Before we start to sober up.”
Quinn nodded and got up from his seat to follow his orders.
“Where’s Doc at?” I said.
“Doc?” Teddy scoffed. “The man’s with his old lady. There’s no point in causing trouble at Finn’s when you’re locked up like he is.”
“Almost forgot the man was tied-down. What about Jordan?”
“President got business to take care of,” Rex said.
“Business?” I said, an eyebrow raised.
“Taking care of his niece. The man’s got priorities.”
“Ash? Smoke?”
“Overtime. They’re always working overtime. Those motherfuckers are in demand, you know?”
“Right… Then I suppose it’s only us knuckleheads that are out tonight getting into trouble.”
“That’s right!” Teddy said as he slapped me on the arm. “Rex. Teddy. Mikey. Q. The four knuckleheads!”
“I like the sound of that!” Rex said, cackling to himself.
Just one harsh shot of whiskey was enough to make me laugh at how obnoxious the two of them were.
“And speaking of trouble,” Teddy said. “Since tonight is your night, Mikey, I figure you should get into some.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“How long has it been?”
Teddy eyeballed me. It didn’t take me more than a second to figure out what he was getting at but I didn’t respond.
“Damn… That long, huh? You must be backed up.”
Teddy and Rex laughed at one another. I rolled my eyes but chuckled right along with them.
“I don’t give a fuck about any of that,” I said.
“Clearly you don’t since it’s been so long,” Rex said.
“Tonight’s your night, brother,” Teddy said. “Take a walk with me.”
“What—”
“Take a walk with me. Come on.”
Teddy grabbed me by the arm. I didn’t bother trying to resist. He put an arm around me then held his hand out like he was showing me the majestic view. Only there was no Grand Canyon or Northern Lights. Tonight, it was just a sea of drunken bikers and women looking for something to do.
“Look at all that ass,” he said. “You can have anybody you want.”
“Some of these broads are old ladies. You know that, right?”
“Not all of them are. But even if they’re already taken, don’t let that stop you. You’re a Cobra! That shit is as appealing as that freshly-cropped goatee of yours.”
He slapped me the patch on my kutte to emphasize his point. I let Teddy keep going just because it was amusing to listen to.
“What are you into?” he said. “Big tits? Long, blond hair? High heels and no panties?”
“I don’t know, man,” I sighed. “You make it all sound so appealing.”
“Hmm… Lemme see… Nah, not her… She’s probably carrying something… Steph over there… Nah, you can’t celebrate with the town bicycle… You need to mess around with someone special…”
“Everybody is special at Finn’s.”
“True… Wait a second… I got it… What about her?”
He pointed in the distance. I followed his finger through the crowd and saw the woman sitting at the edge of the bar. I couldn’t get a good look outside of her blond hair and leather jacket.
“What about her?” I said with a shrug.
“Look at her. Sitting at the bar. All by herself with a drink in her hand.”
“Maybe her old man’s on the can.”
“Or she doesn’t have an old man. What’s wrong, Mikey? You don’t like pussy or something?”
“What is it with you and Rex and your schoolboy insults? Are you guys fucking teenagers or what?”
“There’s nothing wrong with not liking pussy. It’s a free country. Nobody gives a shit about that anymore.”
“Gay jokes… What else you got, Teddy?”
“I’m just saying… She might be the one.”
“Ha!”
I burst into laughter and shook my head. I kept staring at the woman who was focused on her half-empty glass of beer.
“Don’t do it for yourself,” he said. “Do it for me. And Rex.”
“Well, now you’re just giving me even less reason to say something to her. But I’ll tell you what. I’ll go talk to her. On one condition.”
“And what’s that?”
“After I’m done with her, you two shut the fuck up for five minutes.”
“Five minutes… You drive a hard bargain, Mikey. But it’s a deal.”
Teddy unwrapped his arm from my shoulder then took a seat back in front of Rex. The two of them were eyeballing me like they just dared me to steal something from the principal’s office.
“Idiots…”
I rolled my eyes before heading through the crowd toward the blond sitting by herself. The closer I got to her, the more I realized just how much she stood out from everybody else. In a sea of people laughing and chatting all around her, she was just staring at her beer like someone just died.
What’s this chick’s deal?
I walked right up next to her.
“Hey.”
It took her a few seconds before she slowly turned her head toward me.
Damn…
The way she looked at me caught me off guard. It wasn’t just her blue eyes. It wasn’t because her makeup wasn’t caked on. It didn’t look like she was wearing any makeup at all… She didn’t bat her eyelashes or give me some drunken stare. If anything, she looked like she wanted to kill me. I almost would’ve been terrified if she wasn’t about half my size.
She looked like she was fresh out of college. Forget Finn’s, you didn’t find a face like hers anywhere in Ivory. I was so distracted that I didn’t notice how much I was staring at her.
“You need some help?” she asked, her voice blunt.
“You by yourself?”
She narrowed her eyes at me.
“What’s it to you?”
“I’m just saying hello.”
“Okay. Well. Hello. Now, if you don’t mind I’d like to have my beer in peace. Alone—”
“What the hell are you doing in here?”
“What?”
“What the hell are you doing in a place like this?”
“Listen, I’m flattered. Really. But if you’re trying to hit on me—”
“You’re packing way too much to be just some girl trying to have a beer in peace. Your cannon is poking through your jacket and that switchblade in your pocket doesn’t look comfortable either.”
She narrowed her eyes at me.
“That’s the second time I’ve heard that today,” she said. “What is it with people in Ivory who can see shit like that?”
“People in Ivory can see shit like that because you’re making it obvious. Nothing wrong with carrying a little protection. But if you intend on starting shit with the wrong people, they’ll be ready.”
She looked back toward her beer.
Crazy…
I held back a laugh and shook my head. Whatever it was with this chick, it probably wasn’t worth the time.
“You have a good night,” I said as I turned around.
I took a step when I heard her voice over the crowd and music.
“…Hey! Wait!”
I turned back
around.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
What’s she up to?
I stared at her for a few seconds then watched the corner of her lips curl into a smile.
“…Micah.”
“Micah… I’m… I’m Audrey.”
“Audrey…”
“You got a minute to talk?”
“I got all night.”
Chapter 4
AUDREY
The crowd at Finn’s was what I expected it to be. A bunch of overgrown apes who wouldn’t know how to show some respect even if they were completely sober. Women who didn’t have the decency to cover themselves up. The bartenders seemed to keep egging it on because it meant more drinks and more tips for themselves. The only people who looked like they had their wits about them was the security, and even then, they seemed anxious for some poor sap to start some trouble so they had a reason to take him outside.
“Is everybody in Ivory like this?” I asked.
The only exception to the rule seemed to be the man sitting in front of me. Sure, he still had that same leather vest every other man in the room was wearing. He had the tattoos, too, which trailed along the tan skin of his muscled bicep. But he was the only man who looked at his reflection in the mirror and bother lining his facial hair up. Along with the dark blond hair cropped close to his head, he wouldn’t have fit in with everybody else if it weren’t for his outfit. Baggy jeans and some boots to handle the bike he undoubtedly parked outside. There was also the fact that I had the creak my head up to look at him. I lost track when guys were over six-feet. Micah needed every inch of it, considering how muscled his frame was underneath his t-shirt and leather vest.
“There’s two parts of Ivory,” he said. “There’s Ivory. And then there’s Finn’s.”
“And I just happened to be in the one part of this entire city where trouble is a regular occurrence…”
“People who aren’t from around here don’t usually come to Finn’s.”
“What gave it away? I mean, besides the fact that I’m packing.”
“That was all I needed. But there’s the leather jacket. No woman walks into Finn’s without showing a little skin.”
“Apparently…” I said as I looked around.
“Then there’s the fact that you’re sitting by yourself. If you wanted a beer, there are plenty of places to choose from.”
“I’m sure there are. But I…”
“But what?”
He raised his eyebrows at me when I cut myself off. There was something about the way he stared at me with those striking gray eyes of his. It wasn’t a drunken to satisfy his hormones. There was no intent behind it, though every man in the place was thinking about dragging a woman home to spend the night with him. But there was something else.
Careful now…
Maybe it was the beer talking to me, but I almost believed Micah just wanted to talk to me.
“How about you?” I said. “You’ve lived in Ivory for a long time?”
I answered his question then took a sip of my beer. He gave a skeptical look. The smile on his lips was charming. More charming than you’d expect from someone in a dirty, downer of a place like Finn’s.
“I’ve only just been back recently,” he said. “A couple of months ago.”
“What were you doing since then?”
“I was out on tour for a decade.”
“On tour? I take it you’re not some rock star, though I wouldn’t put it past you…”
“I wish. I wasn’t rocking out from city to city, selling out concerts. I was in Afghanistan and Iraq. Did a little bit of time in the East, too. Korea. Japan.”
“That’s rather worldly of you.”
“Worldly would be if I was sailing around on my yacht like an ambassador. I was an Army Ranger. There was nothing glamorous about it.”
“So… After living and growing up in Ivory, you went out to be an Army Ranger for a decade, then came back home.”
“That’s my whole life story.”
He winked at me then took a sip of his beer. Micah had a certain charm about him that almost made me blush. Almost. I didn’t smile as I took another gulp of beer.
“So, you came back home, and then what?” I asked.
“You already got my life story.”
“No, I haven’t. I don’t know what the deal with this is…”
I leaned against the bar and poked the patch on his leather vest.
“Winter Cobras. Boy Scouts have some weird names these days…”
“They sure do,” he said with a smirk.
“What is it about this place? It looks like every man in the room has some sort of gang affiliation.”
“Clubs aren’t gangs.”
“From where I’m sitting, the only difference is that you guys wear a uniform.”
“It’s not a uniform. The patch is a symbol. It means something. The men I share the patch with aren’t just my friends or fellow members. We’re not a group of thugs. We’re brothers. There’s a reason every member takes it serious before someone gets patched-in. It’s a long process.”
“And how long did it take you, Micah?”
“Two months.”
“Pfft!”
I couldn’t hold back a laugh even though he was rolling his eyes at me.
“I knew Jordan since before I left Ivory,” he said. “He trusts me. I’m an exception.”
“You certainly are…”
It took me a moment before I finally regained my composure. But with the way Micah stared at me, there was obviously some things running through his mind. I did my best not to stare back at him, my attention focused on the beer that was slowly starting to affect me. I took another sip and smacked my lips.
“I haven’t been in Ivory that long,” I said. “But I can’t remember a time when I went five minutes without seeing some chopper rolling down the road.”
“That’s just Ivory. Something you have to get used to.”
“I don’t think I’ll be around here long enough to get used to it.”
“Is that right? What are you doing here? Got some business to take care of?”
Audrey… You can’t trust this guy…
The voice of reason in my head was telling me everything I needed to hear. But when I looked into Micah’s eyes, I found it harder and harder to reason with myself. Micah had a quiet intensity about him. It didn’t hurt that he was some handsome. A strong jawline and a pointed nose. Bronze skin. But his eyes were so focused, I was drawn to them like looking at a painting on display at a museum.
“I’m here on business,” I said. “That’s all you need to know.”
“You from the big city? Up north?”
“I’ve spent some time there…”
“Nobody ever has business in Ivory. I’ve lived here all my life. I’ve heard everything. It’s a town nobody has ever heard of. Just some place in the middle of bumfuck nowhere you pass by when you’re trying to get to somewhere more important. The question for you, Audrey, is where are you trying to get to.”
I sighed a deep breath and looked away from him.
Maybe there is a way…
I didn’t want to kick him to the curb. There was something interesting about him. Something physically interesting. But I figured I might as well use it to my advantage.
“I talked to someone earlier today,” I said. “Sebastian Cain.”
“Venom. Devils President. I heard of him.”
“Do you think I can trust him?”
“From what I know, the Devils only recently came back. Cain and his buddy put together a solid group of guys and now they’ve got a rep in Ivory.”
“A good one, I hope.”
“I don’t know the man personally. Same for the rest of his club. Can’t vouch for him.”
“All I need to know is if I can trust him for information.”
“If you needed information, I’d say you went to the right man. Then again, there’s no reason you should trus
t my opinion.”
“Who says I am?”
I arched an eyebrow at him. He smirked in response.
“All right,” he said with a nod. “So, you’re not a complete idiot like the broads in this place. But I already figured that out just by looking at you. I can’t tell you whether or not to trust a man like Cain. That’s just a decision you’ll have to make for yourself.”
“Great. So your advice for me is that you don’t have any advice for me at all.”
“Sucks how shit works out sometimes, huh?”
Micah seemed to be in a good mood despite how much shit I was giving him. I figured his company was better than anybody else’s.
“So… You’re really not gonna tell me what the hell you’re doing in Ivory or Finn’s Bar?” he asked.
“I could tell you…”
“…But then you’d have to kill me.” He winked at me then turned his attention to the bartender. “Yo, bartender! Two more. Right here.”
I glanced at my phone and saw it was past midnight.
“Shit…”
“Something wrong?” he said.
“I didn’t realize how late it was.”
“It’s barely past midnight. You gotta get home in time for curfew?”
“Worse. The carriage outside turns back into a pumpkin.”
“Oh? Make sure you leave me a glass slipper.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I really appreciate you enlightening me on everything but I should… I should really go.”
The bartender shoved two full glasses of beer in front of us. Micah stayed leaning up against the beer, his face pointed at them while he gave me a side-eyed glance.
“Two beers,” he said. “I’ll have to give them to some broad in here…”
“You look like you can handle two beers for yourself.”
“Probably. Sounds like a good time.”
He picked one of the glasses up and chugged half of it down. I couldn’t help but laugh softly from the way he smacked his lips.
“It was nice meeting you, Audrey. You take care now.”