Brash: A Bad Boy Biker Romance (Black Reapers Motorcycle Club Book 1)

by Jade Kuzma

  “Nah,” I said. “I’m done.”

  “You should know better than to play cards when Needle is at the table.”

  “Oh, yeah? And why’s that?”

  “Because I taught him everything he knows.”

  Garnet winked at me.

  He was a few years older than me but not by much. Still, I looked at him like a mentor. He was a father figure, so it was easy for me to respect him. He was the one member of the club I wouldn’t mind losing money to.

  “So, why don’t you play?” I asked. “Show him and the rest of the boys how it’s done.”’

  “Small fish,” Garnet said. “We’ve got bigger issues to deal with.”

  “Bigger issues? Is something wrong?”

  “It’s not that serious but it is something we have to handle. I need to call a meeting right now.”

  “I don’t think Needle will be too happy about that…”

  “Needle can suck my dick.”

  I laughed at Garnet’s blunt response. He walked up to the table and clapped his hands to get everybody’s attention. They all shut up and turned toward the president of the club.

  “All right,” Garnet said. “Everybody listen up. Club meeting.”

  “What?” Needle exclaimed. “But I was just—”

  “Club meeting. Everybody in the chapel.”

  “Shit,” Needle sighed. “I was on a roll, too…”

  He muttered to himself as everybody got up from the table. We all moved from the small room and headed toward the chapel where we conducted all of our meetings.

  Everybody was inside with the door shut. Garnet stood at the head of the table with everybody else sitting around it.

  Needle.

  A real prick.

  Ghost.

  Like a brother.

  Brawn.

  Don’t fuck with him.

  Petey.

  A good man.

  “Okay,” Garnet said. “We’ve got some business to discuss.”

  “Business?” Needle said. “This is the first time I’m hearing about it.”

  “I know. That’s why we’re having this meeting.”

  Garnet rubbed his hands together as he continued.

  “Business is down,” he said. “The bar’s not making as much money as it used to. Something is happening in Ivory and it’s affecting everybody. We have to do something about it.”

  “So, what do we do?” I asked. “Do we make some changes to the bar?”

  “No,” Garnet said. “The bar will be fine. The weather is bad and we’ll be back in the black in a little bit of time. But the rest of our business is suffering. There’s something else going on in Ivory and it’s affecting our other sales.”

  “I don’t see what the issue is,” Needle chimed in. “There haven’t been any reports of the Sheriff’s Department cracking down on anything. Shit, if anything, it’s like they gave up.”

  “Exactly,” Garnet said. “It’s like the cops aren’t giving a shit. That means more traffic is moving through this city. More traffic means more competition. More competition means we’re not moving as much weight as we used to.”

  “So, what do we do?” I said with a shrug. “Do we eliminate the competition?”

  Everybody turned and looked at me. Fuck if I knew why the hell they were giving me such sarcastic looks. Maybe Needle was rubbing off on all of them.

  “Brash,” Ghost said to me. “Is violence always the first answer with you?”

  “No,” I said. “But it’s usually the correct one.”

  Ghost laughed softly to himself. The man was about my age but he’d been a member of the Reapers a few more years. Outside of Garnet, he’d been with the club longer than anybody else. I respected him just as much as anybody else.

  “That’s not what we’re here to discuss,” Garnet said. “That option is only on the table as a last resort. We’re here to talk about moving product.”

  “More of it or different types?” Needle said.

  “Both. It’s no secret that the Cobras and the Devils are moving some hard shit. It’s coming in from the south and they’re doing their part to bring it up to the big city. They’re getting well-compensated for it.”

  “That sounds like a good deal,” I said. “We should get in on that.”

  “I don’t know,” Ghost said, some hesitation in his voice. “Cocaine. Heroin. Opiates. All that heavy shit… I don’t know if that’s cool.”

  “Who gives a shit about cool?” I said. “How much money are we gonna make pushing weed? That shit’s too light. Teenagers are growing that shit in their backyard. There’s too much competition for that.”

  “You’re both right,” Garnet said. “We’re not making as much as the other clubs because we’re not in on the business. But the heavy shit is called that for a reason. Heavier side effects. Heavier traffic—”

  “And heavier money,” I said.

  “Not to mention heavier mandatory sentences,” Needle said to me. “You should know that better than anybody.”

  Needle wasn’t smiling at me like he usually was. Still, I wasn’t interested in being talked down to.

  “You guys don’t have to decide now,” Garnet said. “We’ll take a vote in a few days. I have a connect. A few of the other chapters can put us in touch with some people. You can decide whether or not you wanna take the risk. I want you all to think about it. Meeting adjourned.”

  Garnet excused everybody from the chapel. Some of the other members dispersed back to the table where they were playing cards.

  I made my way over to the bar counter and took a seat so I could enjoy a smoke. As I stared forward at the racks of alcohol in front of me, I saw Ghost take a seat next to me from the corner of my eye.

  “What’s going on with you?” he asked.

  “Me? Nothing’s going on. I’m fine.”

  “It’s only been a few weeks since you got out. How you feeling?”

  “That shit was easy.”

  “Don’t give me that tough guy shit. Time in the pen is never easy. You know you can talk to me, brother.”

  I looked over at Ghost.

  He was indeed a brother to me. Not a biological brother but as close as you could get. He and I had been through some shit. He’d always been there.

  I lit a cigarette and held the smoke in my lungs for a second before exhaling.

  “Shit’s weird,” I said.

  “What is?”

  “Going back to all of this. When you’re locked up, you do the same shit every day. You wake up, you eat, you train then you go to sleep. Then you do the same thing. Every single fucking day.”

  “I know how it is. I did time, too. We all did. Not as long as you but enough to understand what it’s like.”

  “Now that I’m out… It’s like I got all this freedom but I don’t know what to do with it. It’s like I’m trying to figure out how to get that routine back.”

  “You’ll be fine,” he said as he patted me on the back. “All you gotta do is find a place to blow off some steam. Then you’ll realize how valuable your freedom is.”

  “You know what would really make me feel free?”

  “What’s that?”

  “Punching Needle in the mouth. I hate when he fucking beats me at poker.”

  I shared a laugh with Ghost. He patted me on the back again.

  “That’s not like you,” he said. “That’s just the frustration talking. He’s your brother. We all are. And we’re all here for you.”

  “I know, I know. I know you and Needle and the others got my back. I think this is just some shit I’m gonna have to figure out for myself.”

  I stuffed the butt of my cig in an ashtray and sighed a deep breath. I shook my head at the thought of the frustration I couldn’t explain.

  “I’ve lived in Ivory all my life,” I said. “I never imagined it would feel like a foreign land to me.”

  “It’s home,” Ghost said. “It’ll always be home. You might have been gone a long tim
e but it hasn’t changed.”

  “Yeah, you’re right…” I sighed.

  “Hey, me and the boys are heading out tonight. You riding with us?”

  “Shit, yeah. You know I’ll use any excuse to take my baby out. Where we heading?”

  “Just heading out for some drinks. We need a little change of pace from the clubhouse.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Ghost stood up from his seat and looked over into the other room where the other guys were playing poker.

  “You wanna play another hand?” he asked me.

  “I don’t have any more money,” I said. “Last I checked, the club wasn’t doing too well either.”

  “I’ve got a bit. Come on, brother. Let’s wipe that smile off Needle’s face.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Chapter 3

  LYDIA

  I’ve been to plenty of bars and clubs in my lifetime. I was a young twenty-something, single, with no obligations. I had every reason to enjoy the weekend and be as carefree as I could be. I met the most interesting people in the world. From town and out of town, I never had a night out where I didn’t find someone who taught me something new.

  But this… No, this was different.

  “Is this for real?”

  Gina winked at me.

  “It sure is,” she responded.

  I assumed Gina wanted to go out for a quiet night of drinks. Maybe we would be heading out to a club to do a little dancing and meet some cute locals.

  I wasn’t prepared for this.

  While Gina worked her way over to the bar, I paced behind her, observing the wild scene surrounding me.

  The stench of leather, perfume and alcohol filled the air. The music playing in the background was overpowered by all of the rowdy conversations.

  The bar looked like it had seen better days. The wood-paneling on the walls needed a good dusting. There was a tinge of smoke lingering near the ceiling like smog. The windows were cracked.

  And then there were the people.

  The place was packed. Men and women were all talking to one another in the friendliest of ways.

  These weren’t just ordinary men. These were the kind of men I’d read about in magazines and seen on television. Tattoos from their wrists all the way up to their necks made their skin indistinguishable. Leather vests proudly displayed patches of their allegiances.

  The women they flirted with were shy, playful, and slutty all at the same time. Just looking at a couple talking to one another was like watching foreplay.

  I was so overwhelmed by my surroundings that I barely heard the voice shouting next to me.

  “Lydia! Lydia!”

  I turned and saw Gina motioning for me at the bar.

  “First round is on me!”

  Her enthusiasm put a smile on my face but I was still unsure of what to make of everything.

  “What’s this?” I said as I looked down at the shot glasses on the counter.

  “Just a little whiskey.”

  “Um… I don’t drink whiskey.”

  I winced at the thought of it, hoping I wouldn’t have to go through with it.

  “You’re in Ivory now,” she said. “You can’t have any fun if you don’t drink a little whiskey. What do you usually drink?”

  “I don’t know,” I said with a shrug. “Can you get me a mixed drink?”

  “Here…”

  She grabbed a glass and poured the shot of whiskey into it. Then she poured the other shot into it.

  “…Whiskey mixed with whiskey.”

  She shoved the glass into my hand while she ordered another shot. I looked around the room and giggled softly to myself.

  “When in Rome,” I sighed.

  I gulped the glass of whiskey down. The stinging alcohol made me grimace but I managed to keep it all down.

  “Hey! All right! That’s what I’m talking about!”

  The liquor was already affecting me. I blinked to clear my vision and noticed the younger woman smiling next to me. She was gulping down a shot of whiskey of her own, hollering loudly as soon as she pounded it down. Her giddy scream was lost among the noise in the bar.

  “What’s this place?” I asked.

  “Finn’s Bar,” she said. “It’s an Ivory staple. You wanna come here if you’re looking for some action.”

  “Action?”

  Gina raised her eyebrows at me, her eyes wide and her grin big enough to reveal every single one of her perfect white teeth.

  “You know what I mean…”

  I felt my face beginning to blush when she said it.

  “How long has it been?” she asked.

  “W-what?”

  She said it so bluntly I was caught off guard.

  “You know,” she said. “I’m assuming you don’t have a boyfriend if you came to Ivory all by yourself. You don’t seem like the long-distance relationship kinda gal.”

  “No,” I said with a laugh. “It’s just me. And it’s… It’s been awhile.”

  “Don’t worry. You can change that tonight. Um, if you want. Don’t ever let these assholes tell you what to do. They can be a little forceful at times. Then again, some women are into that kind of thing.”

  “They are an interesting bunch…”

  I observed the crowd, trying to get a better look at all of them.

  It seemed like every man was wearing a leather vest. I had trouble telling some of them apart.

  “What’s with the vests?” I said. “Are they in sort of gang?”

  “Motorcycle clubs. Hmm… I guess you don’t have that kind of thing up north.”

  “Not that I’m aware of.”

  “Ivory is a small town. These fucking guys get really bored, so they start their own clubs. Around here, you’re not a real man unless you’re patched in.”

  “Okay,” I said, still trying to understand what I was looking at. “Motorcycle clubs. Bikers. I think I got it. Are you sure this was the best bar in the city to take me to? They seem a little… untamed.”

  “This… This right here… This is Ivory.”

  She took a step back from the bar and threw her hands in the air. Gina was a petite girl, so I wouldn’t have been surprised if she were already drunk. I couldn’t help but laugh as she pumped her arms up and down and squealed. It was like she was celebrating absolutely nothing at all.

  “I feel like dancing!”

  The music was faint but it was just enough for her. Gina danced in place, her head down as she lost herself to the rhythm. I felt like I was completely out of place. I had to stop myself from blushing with embarrassment.

  My first night in Ivory and the one person I knew was already drunk off of her ass.

  Gina started to get some attention. Some of the bikers near us were all focusing on her. I couldn’t blame them. The way she swayed her hips… The way her breasts bounced in her barely-there top… She was the picture of a girl who was just asking for it.

  It wasn’t long before one of the leather-clad men walked up to her. He moved toward her, putting his arms around her waist so he could move to the music with her. I was concerned but only for a second. Gina put her head up and winked at me.

  She’d done this before.

  I shook my head in amazement at her then turned my attention back to the bar to order myself another drink.

  “I’m already here,” I sighed. “I might as well make the most of it.”

  The bartender poured me another shot of whiskey. Just the smell of the alcohol was enough to make me woozy. I started having second thoughts.

  “Are you really gonna drink that?”

  I turned to the side. I tilted my head up to look at the man suddenly standing next to me.

  He was wearing a leather vest. The tattoos trailed along his arms and toward his chest and neck. Over six-feet tall, his body was hard and muscled. But his physique wasn’t what was distracting me.

  He had these hazel brown eyes. They were hypnotizing in a way. It almost seemed l
ike they were spinning.

  I blinked my eyes to make sure I wasn’t drunk then got a better look at the blond standing next to me.

  “I was thinking about it,” I said to him.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “A girl like you shouldn’t be drinking whiskey like that. Not when you’ve already had two shots.”

  “How do you know I’ve had two shots?”

  “I’ve been watching you. Ever since you came in.”

  “Is that right? Is that something you should be saying to a girl?”

  “I don’t give a shit if it is. I’m just being honest.”

  He gave me a cocky smirk. If I were in a different mood, I would have rolled my eyes at his arrogance. But I had to give him some credit. Maybe it was because I thought he was good-looking.

  I couldn’t remember the last time a man like him hit on me. Clean-shaved but with a ruggedly handsome face, he’d earned the time he was clearly asking for.

  “I already ordered the drink,” I said. “I can’t just dump it now.”

  “Maybe I can drink it for you.”

  “Is that right? You want me to buy you a drink. What makes you think—”

  Before I could finish, he picked the shot of whiskey up and gulped it down.

  My eyes widened. My mouth hung open. I was so stunned that I wasn’t even sure how to react.

  He looked down at me with a grin on his face, revealing the pearly whites behind his lips.

  “You asshole!” I said.

  I spoke the first words that came to my mind. But rather than be offended, all he did was laugh at me.

  “Hey, I was just doing you a favor,” he said.

  “Were you? Please. Enlighten me.”

  “You don’t wanna drink that shit. You look like the kind of girl who’s into mixed drinks. Some fruity-thing with an umbrella in it.”

  “Making assumptions about me, are we?”

  “It’s not an assumption. I know you’re not from around here.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Ivory is a small town. I would have recognized someone as beautiful as you before.”

  A sudden rush of heat in my cheeks made my bite my bottom lip.

  Dammit!

  The way he smiled at me… It was working even though I didn’t want to admit it. And he knew it, too.

  There was no point in fighting it. I figured I might as well play his game.