Slowly, the Whiskey Knights’ president shook his head. “No. Vicious and Bizerk left their cuts behind when they hightailed it out of here, traitors to their colors. I would’ve shot them on sight.”
“You killed him, didn’t you?” Eagle asked, looking straight at Boone.
“I didn’t have a choice,” Boone replied coldly. “He was going to kill me.”
“Not to mention the fact that he and your other fucking reject chopped up one of our prospects and blew up our fucking bar,” Gabby snapped. He rarely said anything in meetings, but the whole situation rubbed him the wrong fucking way.
“Well, you killing Bizerk might account for why Vicious is suddenly back,” Eagle said blandly. “Following you.”
“You mean revenge.”
“Yeah, ’cause you killed the love of his life.”
Now it was their turn to stare in shock.
“Come again?” Gabby asked. “They were gay?”
“Nah,” Eagle said. He reached in his pocket and brought out a pack of cigarettes. He pulled one out, stuck it in his mouth and lit it with a lighter. “At least Bizerk wasn’t. I’m not too sure of Vicious. The man fucked pussy, but I do know he had an unhealthy obsession with Bizerk.”
“Shit,” Boone muttered as he glanced quickly at Kaiya.
Gabby could read the worry on his V.P.’s face. If Vicious wanted revenge, there wasn’t anything better than an eye for an eye.
“Enough talk about Vicious,” Stone Cold said. He pushed the duffel bag toward Boone. “I’m not going to insist on a toll as a token of good faith. Stay the day and night. The last room on the third floor is yours. Eat, drink, and fuck any sweet butt you’d like. You can even sample our product if you wish, to make sure it’s top quality shit.”
The Whiskey Knights chuckled among themselves, and as the meeting broke up, everybody rose to resume the party outside. Gabby caught Eagle staring once more at Kaiya.
He cracked his knuckles.
Chapter Thirteen
Kaiya wasn’t sure how to process the conversation that had happened in the meeting. She’d gotten most of it, missing only a few things when she couldn’t see someone’s lips. The Whiskey Knights were very different from the Men of Hell—darker, scarier. The compound seemed to have been a farm at one time. The untended fields lay fallow and overgrown. Now it was a fortified fortress that looked a lot like her grandfather’s estate in Los Angeles—the men, the guns, the sense of danger lurking everywhere. The differences came in minute details, like the drugs on blatant display. The sickly sweet smell of weed lingered in the air. Even the more hardcore drugs like crack and heroin were being passed around in small circles. Many women were undressed, showing more tits and ass than she’d ever seen in her life. There were even couples fucking out in the open. Her grandfather would’ve never allowed such open sexual behavior.
Did the Men of Hell party like this? The few times she’d walked into that part of the clubhouse, she’d not seen this type of behavior. Had they and Chloe been sheltering her from this side of gang life? Or were the Men of Hell a different type of club altogether?
She didn’t like the fact that once again someone seemed to be babying her, as if she were capable of breaking. What would it take to prove she was strong? Worthy of being trusted and part of club life? Hell, she didn’t even know what it meant to be part of the club life. She tugged on Boone’s hand. When he looked at her, she signed that she had to use the restroom. He glance over her head to Stone Cold and asked for her. Even though she read the answer on the other man’s lips, she still waited for Boone to direct her. She had a feeling she shouldn’t reveal too much to this man.
“Second floor, first door on the right.”
“I’ll wait for you,” Gabby signed.
She shook her head and told him she’d be right back. He didn’t like that, and she could tell by way he furrowed his brow, but she needed a moment. As she walked away, the stares of the men stayed on her back.
She lingered in the bathroom as she took care of business and washed up as best as possible—collecting herself. No use getting worked up over a possibility, especially since they were pilgrims in an unholy land. When she opened the door to exit, Eagle leaned against the opposite wall, arms folded over his chest as he waited. She blinked, suddenly unsure under his bold gaze.
“I know you can read my lips,” he said, straightening. “I see things and I knew you understood everything that was said in that meeting.”
She lifted her chin.
“I’m not here to twist your panties.” He smiled, although it was more predatory than anything else. “You with Boone?”
She nodded.
“Any chance he’d share you?”
She shook her head no.
“Are you sure?”
She walked away without answering and or looking back. She didn’t trust these Whiskey Knights at all, and now she trusted Eagle even less. She could feel his stare on her back and she withheld the shudder of nervousness that coursed through her. Why was he following them? Was it true what he’d said about Vicious? She didn’t know the man, since she’d come after he had shot Chloe, but she knew the story.
At the bottom of the stairs, she glanced where the club’s chapel was located and saw Stone Cold talking covertly to the men who had been sitting in front of the television. He suddenly looked up and their gazes met. The man scared her. He’d clearly gotten his nickname from how emotionless, how soulless his black eyes were. She turned away and headed toward the kitchen. Lisa was still there, chopping vegetables. She smiled at Kaiya and held up a finger, halting her retreat. Lisa wiped her hands and grabbed a pen and small notebook from a drawer. She wrote something and held it up.
“Would you like something to eat or drink?”
Kaiya’s first instinct was to say no, but her belly rumbled. It’d been a few hours since breakfast. She held her hand for the paper and pen and Lisa handed them over. “Eat. Thank you.”
Lisa smiled and nodded. She headed to the refrigerator where she took out deli meats and cheeses. She made a ham sandwich then handed it over. Kaiya nodded her thanks and began to eat.
Lisa wrote out another note.
“You don’t have to stay with the men. You can hang out with me.”
Kaiya smiled, not quite sure what to do. What was the procedure here? Was she supposed to hang out with Lisa? Was this a men’s only club situation? She gave a generic half shrug, half nod answer. Lisa went back to writing.
“I’ve heard about the M.O.H. A friend of mine is from Bair. The MC world is quite small, especially out here in the sticks.”
Kaiya nodded. What could she say to that? She was new to the motorcycle club slash gang world. Lisa was young, but the calculating gleam in her eyes told a deep, darker story. The blonde turned away to grab a beer from the refrigerator. She opened it and set it down in front of Kaiya. Kaiya reached for it and saluted Lisa as thanks.
“You’re very pretty,” she wrote.
Kaiya smiled her way of thanks and took a long drink.
“How long are you and your men staying?”
Kaiya held out her hand and Lisa placed the pen and notebook in her hand. “I think we’re leaving tomorrow.”
“Going where?”
Kaiya frowned. Was Lisa pumping her for information for Stone Cold? “Sioux City.”
She put down the pen and finished the sandwich, which had turned into a big ball of lead in her stomach. She didn’t like Lisa’s direct questions and wanted to get back to Boone’s and Gabby’s side. Grabbing her beer, she mouthed thank you and rose. With one last strained smile at Lisa, she exited out the back door. Once outside, she breathed easier and decided not to leave Gabby or Boone’s side again. The shark-infested waters were too thick to navigate.
It took her a few minutes to find them in the sea of bodies. There were too many people to wade through, who stared at her with a mixture of curiosity and distrust. When she finally spotted both men, she saw Eagle next to them. She hesitated
because she didn’t relish being under his slimy scrutiny once more. Then, in the next instant, Gabby hauled off and hit Eagle square in the jaw. The man fell back, but he just smiled through the powerful blow, pushed to his feet and returned the hit. Panic flooded through her and she hurried forward, intent on breaking up the brawl, but Boone grabbed her about the waist to hold her back. Soon, most of the Knights were watching the two big men fighting it out. Eagle had blood running from his mouth while Gabby’s cheek had been split. She screamed, but the futile sound was drowned out amidst the cheers and encouragement of the watching spectators. All she could do was wait until it was over.
* * * *
“What do you think?” Boone muttered to Gabby as they settled into the background with beers in their hands.
Gabby enjoyed a party like any other man, but it was hard to relax when they were surrounded by men wearing different colors. If the Whiskey Knights had been friends of the Men of Hell, it would be a completely different ball game. As it was, all he could do was try to ignore the unease twisting through him.
“I think everything Stone Cold said was a crock of shit,” Gabby replied.
Boone nodded and took a sip of beer. “Me too. How did he know who our new supplier was? Or that we were flat broke?”
“A spy?” Gabby asked.
“I don’t know,” Boone said. “I thought Romeo took care of the traitors in our midst. But what’s Stone Cold’s angle?”
“That I don’t know.”
Eagle sidled up to them with a knowing smirk deforming his lips. Gabby was sick and tired of seeing the smug look on the man’s face, as if he knew a secret everyone else didn’t.
“So what ’cha think of the meeting?” Eagle asked.
Boone shrugged. “Still processing.”
“Yeah. I understand. By the way, sweet little piece you have.”
Gabby tensed.
“I’m sure you’re talking about my bike,” Boone replied coldly.
“No,” Eagle replied breezily, as if he didn’t recognize the danger presented in both of them. “I was talking about your piece of ass. I was wondering if you’d be willing to share her.”
Gabby’s fist flew instantly, smashing into the Knight’s lip and splitting it. Eagle fell back, but he didn’t stay down long. He jumped up and charged, and the brawl only escalated. Fists and blood flew. Vaguely Gabby heard someone shouting at him to stop, but he’d be damned if he’d quit until the fucking asshole lay unmoving on the ground. Eagle might not have been as muscular, but he definitely held his own, giving as good as he was taking. Soon everyone was watching, urging them on. Their cries of encouragement rang in his ears, trigging the memory of another fight. Another time. When he’d been forced to fight his countrymen or risk them being killed. For a second, everything faded around him, and he was back on the sand. Back in that fucked-up hellhole. Sickness snaked inside him and he stumbled back, staring in horror at Eagle, struggling to breathe.
Instead of charging, Eagle stared at him in confusion. Then he backed down. Gabby looked around, saw Kaiya staring at him with wide, terrified eyes, and disgust sluiced through him. It had happened again. The madness had taken over for an instant. Horrified, Gabby turned and hurried away, pushing through the throng of people waiting for the fight to resume. He left the area, grabbing some booze to help him through the night. He left Kaiya in Boone’s care because she was better off with him. Boone wasn’t the monster. He wasn’t the one going crazy.
Gabby knew it was a matter of time until he lost his sanity for good. The madness never truly went away. He just wished he had the strength to end it all before he hurt someone he loved.
Like Kaiya.
Chapter Fourteen
Kaiya took a step after him, but Boone grabbed her arm and halted her. She frowned at him.
“He needs to be alone.”
She shook her head.
“Listen, Kaiya,” he said, placing both hands on her shoulder. “Gabby has problems and sometimes his way of dealing is by being alone. He would not want you with him right now. He doesn’t want anyone with him. Including me.”
He linked their fingers together and tugged her away from the spot where Gabby had disappeared. She kept glancing back until the throng of people closed around them and he was lost within a sea of bodies. The loss was monumental somehow, and she had a niggling feeling that this moment would be significant at some point down the line. It gave her a moment of pause as she contemplated if she was strong enough to handle whatever dark burden Gabby carried. After all, Chloe had shielded her from much of the messed-up situation of their family, and Kaiya was rapidly discovering that breaking free from the restrictions placed upon her meant facing a barrage of unknown emotions.
Someone must have turned the bass on or turned it up because it vibrated through the ground and caused some of the more scantily clad women to shake their assets. As they made their way through the throng of gyrating bodies and clouds of pot smoke, she realized Boone was well known among this group. Maybe it was respect for the patch he wore, the words Vice President white and bold upon his cut, or maybe it was the fact that he was just a big motherfucker. Men greeted him, and Boone socialized, a mask slipping over his face to be friendly to the natives. However, Kaiya could only think about Gabby. The look of fear and devastation on his face would haunt her for some time. She’d seen the same look upon Chloe’s face a time or two. Gabby must have gone through something very traumatic to put such bleak hopelessness in his eyes. She wished she could hold him and reassure him that things would be better, but she had no idea what that could be since she didn’t know his past. Was he keeping her out deliberately? She looked at Boone. Were they both blocking her out on purpose?
As the hours slipped by, she nursed the one beer Boone had handed her. Partly because she wanted to keep her wits about her but also because she didn’t want to chance running into Eagle again at the restroom. She occasionally saw him mingling through the throng of people. His laser gaze didn’t seem to miss anything, and she never saw alcohol in his hands. Every once in a while their eyes would meet, and her insides froze until she would press against Boone for a semblance of safety, but the truth of the matter was that something didn’t sit well with this club. Her stomach cramped, and she couldn’t shake the fact that all wasn’t what it seemed.
At some point, she and Boone had ended up near the outskirts of the party, closer to one of the barns. Boone touched her shoulder, and she looked up at him.
“You are thinking so loud I can feel it.”
She gave a ghost of a smile at his phrasing and signed back. “I am worried about Gabby. And I don’t like this club.”
He nodded. “I don’t either,” he signed back.
“Will you recommend them to Romeo for the collaboration?”
“Hell, no.”
Night had fallen and a cache of wood was added to the bonfire, causing the flames to rise high. Firelight twirled around the dancers nearby, adding an element of sensuality to their writhing bodies. In the sunlight, they had seemed garish, but the shadows flickering around them turned them into works of erotic art. Maybe it was all the alcohol flowing but with the darkness came a sense of carnal permission—freedom. Men and women engaged with all sorts of sexual acts, from blow jobs to outright fucking. Kaiya had watched porn on the Internet, but she’d never seen it on such display, live and in her face. At first, the blatant promiscuity was startling, but when Boone settled his hand on the nape of her neck, a shiver of awareness ran down her body at the control he wielded in his hands. He could easily wrap his fingers around her neck and strangle the breath from her body. He kissed her shoulder as he explored her body, moving his hand from her neck to roam down her waist and span around her hips. He pulled her back against his body and ground his very hard denim-clad cock into her ass. Desire flared through her, heart hammering in excitement. With Boone behind her, Kaiya stared at the debased revelry happening around them. It gave her a thrill to realize she was part of
it, joining the others in voyeuristic pleasure.
As Boone continued his tender assault on her body, her arousal grew until her pussy throbbed with desire, wet and sensitive against the crotch of her jeans. The lust in front of her became an aphrodisiac. She couldn’t look away from it as it drew her in with gossamer strings, trapping her in a sensual web of passion. Boone slid his hand down her pelvis to the fastening of her pants and deftly undid them enough so he could slip his hand inside. Featherlike strokes touched her at first as he parted her moist folds to find her clit. The little bud practically went up in flames when he rubbed it. He pushed one long finger inside her pussy, and she instantly clamped down to suck it deeper into her channel. God, she really wanted his cock to fill her up. Kaiya squirmed as Boone continued finger-fucking her and she rotated her hips more into his groin, relishing the hardness contained behind the zipper. In response, he added another finger and she couldn’t help but rock against his hand, seeking the climax she so desperately craved.
Her gaze met the amused stare of Lisa, who stood next to her old man. Stone Cold seemed oblivious to Boone and Kaiya as he talked to some men, but Lisa never took her gaze away, and desire slammed through Kaiya so quick and hot that it burned her up. Voyeurism was a new kink and knowing that someone saw her go up in flames was an experience too wild to tame. As Boone sucked on the side of her neck, she splintered apart. She hurtled off the precipice, and loved the rush toward ecstasy that gained by the second. It was beyond reason, beyond will, beyond anything but sensation, made more lascivious by having Lisa watch her fly apart.
When she rode the quivers of her orgasm, Boone pulled his fingers from her pussy and offered them to her, glistening with her own wet juices. Keeping her eyes fixated on Lisa, Kaiya sucked each finger into her mouth one by one. Then Boone took her hand to drag her away into the darkness, and the connection to Lisa was broken.
She had no time to process that, however, as Boone pushed her against the side of the barn and kissed her, hard. She encircled his neck as the tension built once more through her body.
Madness Ends Page 10