She smirks, and her eyes grow wide like white saucers, scanning my cut with her glossy stare. “Your club, huh?”
“Do you understand what I’m saying?” I step out, widening my stance. “Stay away from her.”
“I’m not looking to cause any trouble for you or Jolene. I just needed you to know about Brendan.”
Brendan.
“He asks about you, you know. He doesn’t look like you though. No, he looks more like me. Light hair and even lighter eyes.”
“I said I don’t want to hear it. Don’t make me come back here again.” I spin on my heel and storm away.
“Hey,” Clint calls out. “Hey! Prez!”
I finally come to a stop beside my sled. I fidget with the fucking helmet. “What?”
“You just gonna be able to let that go?”
“Let what go?” I don’t feel like doing this right now. Not here.
“Man, you got a brother. And if that isn’t enough to make you stop and take notice, he’s being raised by that woman and whoever she spreads her legs for on any given night. You’re telling me that you don’t want to talk to him? To check up on him and make sure he’s ok?”
“Look, that’s not my place. She talks a hell of a lot nicer about him than she ever did me, so maybe he’s better off.”
Brendan.
I keep saying his name to myself. It rattles around in my skull, haunting me.
“If that’s what you gotta tell yourself, that’s fine with me. But I think I know you a hell of a lot better than that. And that’s some serious bullshit you’re spewing.”
“All I care about his Jolene. And this club. That bitch is like a contagious plague, and she needs to stay far the fuck away.”
“Alright, I get it. But I just gotta say, this ain’t the end of this topic.”
Brendan.
*
I crank up my bike, ready to let the night wind wash over me like a cleansing shower, working at my nerves and tired muscles.
Clint’s words are digging under my skin. I try to tell myself that’s all it is, but I realize it’s bigger than that when Val’s description ticks at me. She never spoke a single, kind word about me. Never bragged on me or talked about me like a person she might actually like, much less care about.
It’s late when we pull up to the house. I survey the row of bikes to see who’s made it back from their runs. Looks like we’re the last to return. I knew it would be a late night, but the ride out to Val’s took longer than expected.
“Hey, there they are. We were starting to get worried.” Patsy leaps into Clint’s big arms.
I observe the bustling room. The kitchen is packed for this time of night. The bitches are doing dishes while the guys sit around the dining table with after dinner smokes.
Everyone except Jolene.
“Where’s Jo?” I ask Jessa, who’s perched on Bear’s wide lap.
She shakes her head. “I don’t know. I think she had some kind of meeting or something. She didn’t really say.”
My heart freezes in my chest. “How long has she been gone?”
“Most of the day, actually.”
The breath stalls in my throat, and I spin, rushing out the door. I head straight to the diner. If I find Jolene with Val I swear, I will lose my shit. I zigzag through the small, dark town struggling for air, and my chest tightens.
I pull up into the dirt parking lot, sick to my empty stomach that her car is not here. Neither one of them are here.
So, for the second time in one day, I take off, peeling out of the driveway, heading across town with one destination in mind.
Val’s.
CHAPTER THREE
Jolene
My insides knot like a nasty snake pit. I know I’m not supposed to be here, but I can’t seem to stop myself. My leg bounces so hard that my knee rams against the bottom of the table. I don’t know the server, and by the way everyone is staring, this is the kind of place where everyone knows everyone, and all their business.
I’ve been waiting for nearly an hour, and that certainly doesn’t sit well with the waitress.
“You ready to order yet, ma’am?”
“Sorry, no. Can I just get another refill please?” I shove my empty coffee mug across the booth. I don’t react to her strong eye roll.
“Sure thing, then.” She saunters away in a huff as I gaze out the window, searching for her old heap of a car.
Finally, head lamps flood the dark parking lot. I notice her old Malibu and adjust myself against the old, booth cushion. She slides in across from me, and it takes no time for me to notice the fresh purple splashed across her cheek bone.
“That looks like it hurt.”
She swishes her hand through the air. “Oh, this? It’s nothing. Anyway, sorry I’m late. It was a little harder to get away this time.”
“I see that.”
Val shakes her blonde hair loose, attempting to shield her face. “Really, it’s nothing.”
“Ok, so moving on then. What’s this meeting about?”
“Did your man tell you he came to see me?”
I snap my back straight. “No, I haven’t seen him since this morning when I told him about you.”
“Well, he’s not happy about our meeting up. I tried to tell him about Brendan, but he didn’t want to hear it.”
“I mean, do you blame him? He’s been put through hell, and he’s not just going to open his heart up like that. Is that why we had to meet all the way out here, two hours from Jericho?”
She drops her chin, lowering her head into her leathered hands. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do, Jolene.” She swipes her tongue along her dry, bruised lips. Whoever he is, he gave her a real beating. “Brendan needs help. He’s in real danger. He can’t stay with me anymore. He needs a place to go.” She wipes the stray tear meandering down her swollen cheek.
My insides freeze. “You can’t be serious? What does that have to do with me?”
“Ronin grew up to be strong, and he’s the president of his own motorcycle club. He’s done well.”
“Yeah, he’s a hell of a lot more than that. And you’re damn right, he’s doing real well.” I don’t like the way she’s nodding in agreement.
“That’s what I’m talking about. He’s all those things and more. Just imagine what he could do with Brendan? He’ll be the only influence he’ll ever need, to teach him to be a man. A real man.”
I shake my rattled noggin. “Ok, why don’t you just start at the beginning.”
Val pulls air in through her nose, steadying her breathing. “Ok, well, he’s been getting in a lot of trouble. He’s real stubborn, but that doesn’t come as a surprise. He’s skipping school and failing.”
“Sounds like typically teenager shit.”
She shakes her head. “No, it goes a lot deeper than that.” She pauses, brushing her fingers across the gash on her cheek. “He’s the one who’s been hitting me.”
*
The silent night taunts me as I drive back home. I pull up to the house well after midnight, and my heart sinks when I don’t see Ronin’s bike. I slip inside, and I’m not surprised to see Jessa awake.
“Shit, you scared me,” she says, jumping up from the recliner.
“I thought you would be staying at Bear’s. Something amiss in lovers’ paradise?”
“No, nothing like that. He’s just spending time with the girls. Lynn had a special program at school. I went along, and she didn’t react too well. I thought it best to let him do his thing. He’s such a great dad.”
The muscles tense throughout my entire body when she brings up Bear being a dad. I know Ronin doesn’t have kids, but now he has a young brother. One who might very well depend on him like a parent.
“Yeah, he is. Have you seen Ronin?”
“Girl, he went looking for you. He was seriously pissed off about something, and then he up and took off on his own. Clint tried getting in touch with him for back up, but we haven’t heard anything.”
As I have to brace myself steady, I try to get air to my lungs. “Shit, I left my phone on charge. He’s gonna kill me.”
“And you’re gonna like it,” Jessa teases.
“Shut up.”
“Whatever, you’re home so I’m gonna go to bed.” She offers a lazy embrace before disappearing down the hall.
I use the time to my advantage, unlocking the back door to the bar. I slip upstairs to make sure the coast is clear.
*
The rumble of Ronin’s ride sends tremors through the cheap chair I’m curled up in, waiting on him to get home. My heartbeat quickens with each step as he makes his way toward me.
The front door opens, then closes gently behind him.
I stir, but my eyes don’t want to cooperate.
“Hey, baby.” He snakes an arm under my sleeping frame and swoops me up into his arms. “Let’s go to bed.”
“Mm,” I mumble into his furry neck. I smell the heat blazing off his skin from his late-night ride. It reminds me that he was out looking for me. I can’t go to bed, not yet. I have to tell him.
“Babe,” I say through a sleepy muffle. “We need to talk. Put me down.”
Ronin comes to an abrupt halt halfway down the narrow hallway and plants me back down on the floor.
“Does this have anything to do with where you’ve been all night?” He twists his lips into a knot, shoving his hands into his jean pockets. “I’ve been looking for you for hours.”
“Yeah, I know. And I’m sorry about that. I heard you went to see your mom today.”
He rolls his tense neck. “I went to put that bitch in her place. Wait, how’d you know? Clint?”
I shake my head. “No, I saw Val.”
“What the fuck, Jolene?” He spins and storms back to the living room. “I told her she was not to speak to you again. How am I supposed to protect you if you keep running off in the dark to meet dangerous people?”
“Val isn’t a danger to me. I can handle myself. Look, I know you’re pissed off, and I don’t blame you. But it goes deeper than that. She said she told you about your brother.”
“Well, she tried, but I wasn’t falling for her bullshit. Not this time. She’s fucking toxic, Jo.”
“I wish you had listened. I wish you had given her just two seconds of your time. Here, walk with me.”
We exit the house and head across the loose gravel, unlocking the door to The Clubhouse. I tiptoe up the stairs, and Ronin whispers from behind me.
“It’s hardly the right time for a booty call, don’t you think?” He teases me, kind of.
“Stop it,” I whisper, placing my index finger to my lips.
He obliges and follows. I stop outside the closed door to his old bedroom. I had to do a sweep for anything dangerous, placing the various weapons into a box, now locked away in the main house.
“If you would have listened for a minute, you would understand why I had to do this.” I turn the knob, cracking the door just enough to be able to get a solid peek.
“Who the fuck is that?” He speaks through a gasp at the sight of the tall, blonde fourteen-year-old fast asleep in his old, childhood bed.
“It’s your brother.”
“Are you out of your goddamn mind, woman?” His words become a loud whisper, and Brendan stirs in the massive bed.
I pull the door closed, shushing Ronin away.
“What the hell is that boy doing here?”
“Well, he’s moving in,” I say, matter of factly.
“I’ll be damn, he is. He’s not my problem. He can survive Val, just like I did.”
“You did it with help,” I remind him. “He needs our help. Do it for him, your brother. You wouldn’t be doing it to help out Val. This kid needs real help.”
“Why, what’s going on?”
“He’s getting into a lot of trouble. He’s trying to drop out of school, getting into fights. He’s already been arrested. And, well, he’s been hitting his mom.”
Ronin scoffs, tossing his head back and chuckling. “You know that’s a lie. Everything she says is a lie. She’s probably just tired of taking care of him.”
“Come on, don’t say that.”
He widens his dark eyes. “You cannot be serious, Jo. You know that nothing that comes out of her mouth holds an ounce of truth. You can’t let her wiggle her crazy ass in. First, it’s the kid. Next, it’ll be her. She’ll need help. I met the asshole she’s living with, and he’s no prize. Bastard’s probably the one hitting her.”
“No, I believe her. We talked about a lot of things, and Brendan didn’t protest when she told him why he was coming to live with us. With you.”
“Stop saying that. I’m not raising her kid.”
“Hey,” Brendan says sheepishly from the corner.
“Hey, sweetheart. Did we wake you up?”
“You know her about like I do.” He directs his attention to Ronin. “Mommy dearest, Val.”
“Yeah, I do. That’s why you’re not staying.”
Brendan folds the blanket around his thin frame. “She’s telling the truth. I did hit her, but what do you care?”
I freeze up when Ronin takes two, wide steps forward, closing the gap between him and his little brother.
“Boy, you must be mistaking me for someone who wants to hear your bullshit. Get back to bed, and we’ll talk more about this tomorrow.”
Brendan eyeballs Ronin before turning back down the hallway, glancing over his shoulder at me.
I don’t feel like doing this tonight, not with Ronin. But he has this new thing about going to bed angry. It’s going to be a long night.
CHAPTER FOUR
Ronin
Heat surges through my bowed chest. “I’m going to bed.”
“What? But you’re mad.” Jolene shakes her head, widening her eyes.
“Yeah, so?”
“So, I thought we had this thing about not going to bed mad. You can’t sleep this pissed off. Come on, we need to talk about it. Talk things through.”
“I don’t feel like it. It ain’t nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow.” I strip away my clothes, tossing them in the laundry basket in the corner before crawling under the covers, pulling the blanket up to my chin.
“You’re really going to bed? You’re really this pissed at me that you can’t look at or talk to me? Real grown-up of you. Fine, I’ll sleep on the couch.” She snatches up her pillow and the folded quilt at the foot of the bed.
She spins on her bare heel and slams the door behind her, probably waking half the house.
She’s right.
I am one hundred percent pissed off. But I should have made it right. I’m the one who implemented the not going to bed angry clause. We’re surrounded by so much shit, so much drama with the club life that we need to do everything we can to safe guard our relationship.
I could still slip out and fix this. The night’s not over.
I stretch my arms above my head, pulling all the muscles in my tired back straight.
I’ll fix it tomorrow.
*
I roll onto my side, give a long sigh, and reach for Jolene. Her side of the bed is cold and empty, and all of last night’s memories come flooding back.
I check my phone because the room is pitch black.
6:01
There’s no going back to sleep now, so I throw back the covers, and I give my balls a solid scratch on the way to the john. I don’t bother with a shower, just throwing on my clothes from yesterday.
My plans for the day consist of snatching up that kid and hauling his skinny ass back to his mother. Val can deal with whatever bullshit he’s got going on. I don’t need the headache.
My pulse quickens when I notice the pillow and the quilt folded over the arm of the couch.
She’s awake.
I make my way to the kitchen, practically drifting on the scent of strong, black coffee. Only, all of my senses stall when I skirt the corner.
Stoner smacks Bonnie on the
ass as she sets a plate with all the fixings down in front of him. Billy’s already elbow deep into his eggs, and Herc stands off to the side, observing from the corner.
Clint whispers in Patsy’s ear and she giggles from where the two are huddled by the refrigerator. Tammy stands at the stove frying up more ham, and Jolene… Jolene sits in her usual seat, right next to mine. Only there’s been an extra chair added to the large, picnic style table.
A shaggy blonde-headed boy sits on the other side of Jo, and she’s deep in conversation even though his gaze is glued on the floor.
“Ahem!” Herc clears his throat, calling attention to my presence.
All gazes land on me.
“Morning, Prez.” Clint raises his mug in the air, and the room follows along.
“Jolene, a word.” I can’t bring myself to look the kid in his young face.
She leans down to whisper something to him before storming past me into the living room.
“What?” She asks flatly.
“What do you mean? Aren’t we gonna talk?”
“You didn’t feel like talking to me last night. What makes you think I’m going to bother now? Besides, you’re being rude?”
“Rude!” The word gets caught in my throat. “You know what you’re doing. I know you do.”
Her face flushes red. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You do too. You introduced him to the crew so that I would look like a complete asshat when I kick him out.”
“What was I supposed to do? Force him to hide in the bedroom until you can whisk him away in the night? And drop him off with that crazy woman and her fuck of the week? Look, you are being extremely rude. Could you imagine if Ruth had the same mindset when it came to you when you needed help?”
The sentiment was like a knife to the heart. I pull air in, and it wheezes through my chest.
“I’m not trying to make you feel bad.” She moves in close enough for me to smell her floral shampoo. “Brendan’s on a bad course. He needs help. He’s just a kid.”
“Brendan, huh?”
“Yes,” she says as her yummy lips slip into a grin. “And if you give him just half a chance, you might really like him.”
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