So, I’ve been sitting here in Stoney’s clubhouse, arguing with the bastard for the last couple hours. If I keep him occupied, he won’t realize Ricochet and Venom have been stirring up some shit in his neck of the woods.
I glance down at my phone and spot another text from Ricochet.
Spoke to that guy Charles. He got some sort of pamphlet shit from the people. Heading out with Venom to pay ‘em a visit now. They’re about twenty minutes away.
I already don’t like this. He’s not supposed to be going straight to the devil’s doorstep, so to speak, and letting these fuckers know we’re on their trail. I type back quickly.
No, don’t. You can go nosing around but you sure as fuck better not alert them. We’re making progress here, Ricochet. Don’t go fucking it all up or I’ll have your head on a platter.
“You look pissed,” Stoney mutters from the chair across from me.
I look up from my phone and try not to let my emotions show. “Bullshit back home. I’m sure you know what it’s like. You leave here often, don’t you?”
“On occasion, but not too frequently.”
Tracker, Stoney’s right-hand man, comes walking up and starts to look at his Prez but shifts his eyes over to me. “Heard Ricochet and Venom were at Dolly’s for a bit. A couple of the girls said they weren’t there to enjoy the show. You know anything about that?”
Shit, obviously they weren’t being as subtle as they could’ve been. I wear the poker face my momma taught me at the young age of three and look right into the man who really should be an enforcer. “I told them to go over and enjoy the show. It didn’t hurt that Dolly’s is where some chatter has happened in regards to the cult. You have a problem with my people showing up there?” I ask Tracker, but I turn my neck and glare right at Stoney. “Do you have a problem with it, Stoney?”
He sits up a bit straighter, crosses his arms and cocks a brow. “I don’t know, Tala. Should I have a problem?”
Reverse psychology isn’t something I’m fond of. And secondly, how the fuck does he know my real name? Everyone calls me ‘Boss’ unless you were my father, grandfather, or mom. “I don’t see why anyone would have a problem when we’re working to achieve the same goal.”
He scoffs, “Well, since when do partners double-cross the other to get more information?”
Whoa. Hold up a second. “Who in the world said we were ever partners? We’re allies, Stoney. We’re working together to achieve a common goal. I’m not your fuckin’ ol’ woman. I’m your friend, who you happened to have fucked. Don’t get shit twisted. I can barely stand you as it is.”
“Damn, Sugar. Didn’t realize we’re friends.” His stern expression grows into a devilish smirk.
Fuck, that’s not the way I wanted this conversation to be going. Now he’s just gonna try to keep fucking with me to get a reaction. “Let me rephrase so your ego doesn’t twist shit. I can’t stand you, Stoney. The only reason I’m sitting right here in your club is because you’ve had experience with cults too. I’m not sitting here because I like you, because I don’t. I can’t fucking stand you most of the time because you’re a misogynistic asshole who’s stuck back in the nineteen-eighties or something. I bet you don’t even believe in equal pay, or women voting too!”
Stoney shoots up from his chair and flips over the table we’re sitting at, almost crushing me underneath it. I barely get out of the way, but I notice the way the vein on his forehead pulses with his obvious anger.
“You are the very reason I will never lock down my dick for any woman. You always seem to think everything is about your kind when it’s not.”
I chuckle in a scoffing manner. “You’ve just proven my point.”
“You know what, Boss. I think you and your club should get the fuck out of Stonewall Mills. We’ll work together to take down this club, but don’t you ever think for a second we’re friends. ‘Cause we’re not. I can’t fuckin’ stand you either.”
I blink a couple times, processing what he’s just said, and take my leave, heading out to my bike parked in front of the club. It’s about time we get the hell out of here, especially before shit gets even more heated.
Chapter Nine
Stoney
“Are you still in a foul mood?” Kenny asks cheerfully the moment I answer my phone. It’s been about two weeks since Boss and I had our blow-up, but damn, it rubbed me the wrong way. As much as I don’t like to admit it, Tala somehow managed to get under my skin like some infectious parasite.
How? Who the hell knows. The woman screws with my head. We constantly fought over every little thing. I knew she didn’t trust me. She made that clear, and to be honest, I didn’t trust her either. It’s the way it was and will always be between us. Neither of us trusting the other.
“Who says I’m in a bad mood?” I grumble.
“No one said you were. I can hear it in your voice,” Kenny says, her tone changing from her cheerful self to being serious. That’s my daughter-in-law for you. She always knows when something is wrong with her family. She’s a miniature Momma B in the making, that’s for sure.
“Well, I’m good, sweetheart. What can I do for you?” I ask. I know she didn’t call me for no reason. It’s not her style. Kenny prefers to show up randomly rather than calling.
“I just wanted to call and tell you that if you don’t get your son to stop knocking me up, I’m going to castrate him,” she says nonchalantly.
“You tellin’ me I’m about to have another kid to be a grandpop too?” I ask while chuckling. I can’t help but shake my head at the fact she’s pregnant again.
“Yes, and it’s not funny. For once, I’d like to be able to have a drink. Do you know when the last time I drank tequila with Izzy was? Three years. Three fuckin’ years, because your son can’t seem to wrap his dick up. He’s always gotta rile me up and then fuck with my head.” Kenny’s ramblings continue for another full minute about not taking the chance of drinking while breast feeding the kids. Doesn’t help that both JC and Kayla are so close in age. Now there will be a third kid.
“Well, I did teach my son to wrap his shit,” I say doing my best not to laugh.
“Seems that conversation didn’t sink in. You Dane men and your super sperm. I swear.”
Throwing my head back, I burst out laughing. This is exactly what I needed. Kenny always seems to have a way of making me laugh.
“Glad to see my dilemma amuses you,” she grumbles.
“Sweetheart, I needed that laugh. Now stop being dramatic about being knocked up again and go tell your ol’ man,” I tell her.
“Then my job is done. Love you, Stoney,” she says before hanging up.
Shaking my head, I put my phone back in my pocket and tap the bar top, signaling for another beer. Tiny immediately hands me one. Since she’d come to me about her situation, I’ve had her working behind the bar slinging drinks rather than being a clubwhore. The girl’s life has been nothing if not rough and admitting the truth couldn’t have been easy for her.
As I lift my beer to my lips, my thoughts drift back to the shit that went down with Boss. I haven’t spoken to her and probably won’t ever speak to her again. Not unless it’s strictly business. We do have a cult to bring down, after all. The chance of us ever being friends went out the window with her hiding shit along with any resemblance of respect I might have had for her.
Fuck, the bitterness that courses through me as I think about that night has nothing on the acidity of my beer.
I don’t think I’ll ever understand her reasoning for not talking to me, considering she’d come to me for the alliance to begin with. Why would she try to jeopardize that?
Finishing my beer, I turn to face the room, blocking out all thoughts of the woman from my head. From now on, I won’t be dealing with her. I’ll let Tracker handle all communications between the Iron Vex MC and the Devil’s Riot MC. Hell, he even said some guy named Omen was the one who’d be talking to him. I’m pretty sure that’s Boss’ right-hand man u
p in Queens.
Glancing around the room, I find all my brothers having a good time. I can’t help but wonder why I’m sitting here sulking over something that meant nothing to begin with.
Pushing myself from the bar, I begin to head to my office. The job of being Prez is never done. We still have our own shit to deal with. One being Cougar. He’d slipped through my fingers when I’d realized he’d been the one leaking information to the Dragon’s Fire MC. He’s still out there and I intend to find the fucker and make him bleed for everything he’s done. He’d been the reason Flame found Kenny when he did, all because he was supposed to be a trusted brother.
I groan as I feel my phone going off again. Without looking at the screen, I answer it. “What?”
“Is that how you answer the phone for everyone, or am I the only one you speak this way to?” Mary snaps. Fuckin’ hell, she’s the last person I need to deal with right now.
“Guess I save it for treacherous bitches like yourself,” I growl.
“Don’t I feel special then,” she giggles.
Clenching my phone in my hand, I grind my teeth together. “What the fuck do you want now?”
“Same thing I always want.” Of course, she does. It’s all the bitch has ever been good at, trying to get money from me. But not anymore. I’m sick of fuckin’ giving her what she wants, even if it kept her away from Horse.
“Sorry, bitch, ATM is closed for good. I suggest you get that husband of yours to get off his ass and deal with your addictions,” I retort.
“You know what I’ll do if you don’t?” she snaps.
“Horse is a big boy and can handle himself. Try fuckin’ with him and see what happens. He’s not gonna put up with your shit. Don’t call me again. You do and you’ll regret it.” I don’t bother waiting for a response before I hang up.
And just like that, I’m reminded no bitch outside our family can be trusted. They are all the same— conniving, every single last one of them. Only out to get what they want and nothing more.
Chapter Ten
Boss
It’s been over a month and Halloween is only a few days away. I’m not the type of chick who typically enjoys the holidays, but my crew here at the Iron Vex always loves to make the best of any time we can all spend together. With our schedules, it’s not very often we get to all be in the same room at once, but tonight we do.
Iris, Faith, and Gold decorated the shit out of the club. Orange and black banners hang from every doorway with creepy fake cobwebs and spiders. The thing that threw me off the most is how they converted the rooftop into some crazy, creepy ass carnival shit. I’m just glad I had the common sense to sneak up here for a smoke break earlier so I wouldn’t shit myself later. It reminds me of a place that was shut down because people got murdered or something. Meanwhile, the bar looks like it was turned into a haunted house.
The party doesn’t start for another couple hours, but that hasn’t stopped Ricochet. He’s been waltzing around in an old-fashioned suit with a top hat and cane that looks like it was dipped in chalk. The smug bastard has been talking in this Eastern European accent too, which is driving me crazy.
I’m sitting at the end of the bar, staring at all the photos on the wall, looking at every memory we’ve had here over the last fifty-something years. Hell, back when I was a kid, I didn’t understand why my mom’s father wanted to take photographs so much, but now that I’m Prez, I get it. At any given moment, someone could be taken away from you and it’s better to not risk it, to spend as many moments as you can with the ones you love. Take the smiling photo with your friends and display it for everyone to see.
“Have you decided what you’re going to dress up as?” Iris, who’s now a sexy pirate, asks me. She has her hair pinned back in these pigtail-like braids, making her look like she walked off Jack Sparrow’s ship in Pirates of the Caribbean.
Shaking my head, I answer her. “No, I’m not even sure I’ll come tonight. I have a lot on my mind.” What I say to Iris is the biggest understatement of my life. Three days ago, I discovered something that will change . . . well, everything in every way.
“No, Boss! You have to come. The party wouldn’t be the same without our fearless leader,” Iris tells me, and while I’m sure it’s a bit different, my presence isn’t mandatory.
Faith walks behind the bar, raising a brow. “Are you seriously thinking of not coming tonight? What’re you gonna do instead, go eat Chinese alone in your room again?”
I hold up my finger. “First of all, it’s Filipino food, and secondly, don’t diss my mechado. It’s delicious and sometimes I just prefer to eat it in silence.”
Faith puts her hands up in the air in a surrendering way and giggles. “Sorry. I’m only being blunt. This party is going to be the best one we’ve thrown yet. You never skip out on parties. What’s wrong?” I know Faith is only trying to help, but what I’ve learned is something I don’t yet feel comfortable sharing. At least, not until I figure it out first, because everyone will be looking to me for answers. Every single person in the club will be anxious about it and I have to know the next step before they do.
“Nothing’s wrong, Faith. I’m just tired. It’s been a long week, but if you’re so adamant I attend tonight, I’m gonna run upstairs and take a nap for an hour. I’ll see you at eight,” I swiftly respond, rising from my barstool. I head up the stairs and go to my bedroom, shutting the door and locking it behind me.
I walk to the small armchair in the corner of my room and pop a squat, picking up the small white stick I’ve kept on my bedside the last couple days. I don’t know why I keep it here. Maybe it’s because the more I stare at the word ‘pregnant’, the more the reality will start sinking in. Or maybe I subconsciously think the wording will change to ‘not pregnant’ and I’m actually crazy.
At first, I thought I’d misread it, or my eyes were deceiving me, so I waited a few more days and tested again, which leads me to the test on my bedside table. There’s only one person I’ve had sex with in the last month.
Stoney.
I shut my eyes, realizing he’s the father of the boy or girl that’s growing in my uterus right now. We haven’t spoken since that day and have had our VPs discussing things just so we can avoid having to talk to one another. The way it all went down . . . it just got so heated, and if there’s one thing we have in common, it’s our bullheadedness.
I don’t want to be with Stoney in any way. He’s a great romp in the sack, but outside of that there aren’t really any appealing qualities about him. Well, okay, I lied. He ages like fine wine, so there’s that too, but once he opens his mouth, his attractiveness level shoots down dramatically.
There’s one man I’d love to be with, but I know it’ll never happen. He lives in another country and there’s just no way it would ever work out. One of us would have to give something important up to make it work and I’m sure as hell never going to give up being Prez just to be with a man.
Fuck, my life is a mess right now, but if one thing’s for certain, it’s that this baby is going to come into the most loving, supportive family it could ever dream of— the Iron Vex MC. I only hope the streak of bad luck my family has had over the years doesn’t continue. I crave one thing, just a small semblance of normalcy.
I just don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep this secret to myself. I may have only known about this baby for a few days, but I won’t ever let its father take it from my arms, and knowing what I do about Stoney, that’s exactly what he’ll do.
He’ll want it all to himself, because if we have a girl, he won’t want her turning out like the slut he’s said I am.
Authors Note:
E.C. and Elizabeth would like to thank you very much for reading their crossover collaboration event. Obviously, you’re able to tell that Boss is pregnant with Stoney’s baby. We can promise you all that Stoney and Boss’ story isn’t over. They won’t ever end up being forever loves since they clash way too hard and their personalities don’t m
esh, but . . . we think they’re going to make pretty amazing parents.
So, this begs the question— when will Stoney find out? How will Boss handle it? Who will tell Stoney?
You’ll find out soon! E.C. Land is releasing Stoney’s Property in May, so keep an eye out for that.
Elizabeth also had Boss cameo in Bet on Me (Royal Bastards MC: Baltimore #1), where she reveals the gender of Boss’ baby. If you want to read it, grab it here: https://amzn.to/2O0rB3h
E.C. and Elizabeth have decided the Iron Vex MC and the Devil’s Riot MC will constantly be crossing over in the others books. Here is the recommended reading order:
Enraged - Elizabeth Knox
Hades Pain - E.C. Land
Alluring Allies - E.C. Land & Elizabeth Knox
Bet on Me - Elizabeth Knox
Badgers Claim - E.C. Land
Stoney’s Property - E.C. Land
Bossed Up - Elizabeth Knox
. . . more to come!
Don’t for get to check out Elizabeth Knox & E.C. Land to see what they are to!
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Alluring Allies Page 4