Lexi downed a shot and bit a lime. After making a face, she swore. “Damn, chica, you are high-strung. He’s not at the ER, he’s downstairs and as soon as they know something, so will you. Now that Thunder claimed you, they won’t leave you out of the loop, just let them do their thing.”
Andy stopped and turned back to the bar. “What does everyone mean claimed me? Is that derogatory? I doubt dragging me out of a strip club with my tits out can be anything but.” She reclaimed her seat. Folding her arms on the bar top, she let her head drop onto them and release a frustrated scream. “So I guess I’m a club girl now. I refuse to wear one of those property of the Phantoms things.”
Lexi lifted her up by her hair and stared at her, hard. “Oh shit, you don’t… what did the two of you talk about before the shooting?”
“We didn’t exactly talk, just kind of. . .got busy. We came to an understanding, but I must’ve misunderstood. If he intended for me to be his whore, he didn’t tell me, but as soon as he’s healed, I’ll tell him where he can get off.”
Something else Lexi said finally sunk into her addled mind. “Wait, he’s downstairs. What in the actual fuck? I didn’t see them and, how? I need to go see—”
Granite’s appearance stole her words. He sauntered up to the bar and squeezed her shoulder, and Lexi poured him a shot. “Your old man is going to be just fine. He won’t be throwing any punches for a while, but you can go down soon. Whiskey is just cleaning him up right now.” He slammed his shot and another before he finished what he was going to say. “You did good, Andy. Thunder is a lucky man and so are we. I want to officially wel—”
Lexi interrupted, “Granite, no need to get all, uh, sentimental. Save it for after Thunder and Andy here have time to decompress… and talk. Here, have another. You too, hooker.”
Andy stood and got in the man’s face. “I don’t give a shit that you’re Thunder’s president, you’re not mine and I won’t be ordered around and told when I can see him. I going to go see him now, and if you have a problem with that, well, try to stop me. I have body slammed bigger men than you for fun.”
She downed a shot and looked around at the gaping jaws in the room.
Lexi was acting weird, and everyone was staring. What in the actual fuck?
Granite was doing his shot when he choked on it. Andy realized she’d just threatened the president of the MC. Lexi patted him on the back, as a look passed between them. One she recognized as ‘I know, right?’
Something was up, but honestly, Andy didn’t give a shit. Her only concern was Thunder.
When his coughing slowed, Granite laughed and grated out, “No shit?”
“No shit,” Lexi replied.
“Well, hell. I like you, Andy. You stand up for yourself and your man, respect.” His face took a more serious mean. “But, don’t threaten me again.” As quickly as he’d turned serious, his tone morphed back to playful. She was getting whiplash at how quickly he shifted gears.
“Maybe the gunshot isn’t what we needed to be concerned with.” Granite chuckled. “I can’t wait to see how he, I mean, how this plays out. Cheers, ladies.” More shots were poured.
As she raised her drink to toast, she noticed she hadn’t washed her hands. The sight of Thunder’s blood caused her to tremble. Her shot glass shattered on the bar and she finally broke down. Knowing it was coming didn’t prepare her for the impact of it.
17
Thunder
“Fuck, man. You’re about as gentle as an IED. Don’t be so heavy-handed,” Thunder grumbled at Whiskey, causing his brother to swipe at his skin even harder.
“For a pilot, you’re a fucking baby. It’s basically a flesh wound. I’ve injured myself worse shaving, but hey, what did I expect from an Air Force pussy.”
“When I’m at a hundred percent, I’m gonna kick your Marine ass for that slander, jarhead.”
“You’re welcome to try, chair force, welcome to try.” It felt good to laugh a bit. After some blood and a few IV’s, Thunder felt a hell of a lot better. Still tired as shit, but better.
“So, why the hell did I bleed so much from basically a flesh wound?”
“All those fucking herbal supplements and workout shit you take. It can thin the blood. It was just a perfect storm of fucked-up events. I will say, you’re lucky our shooter had the skills of one of your enlisted instead of one of mine, or with that bleeding, you wouldn’t be lying here complaining I don’t have a girly touch.”
As the only Marine and Air Force vet among them, they often traded barbs. It was kind of their thing.
“Whatever. I got a decent shot off too, you know. Shot that bastard in the leg as I was plummeting to the ground.”
“Plummeting, really? You know we could see you on the security camera, right? As soon as the motion sensor went off.” Whiskey held up his phone. “We accessed the feed to see what was up.”
Thunder went still at the thought. Was it the inside motion or the outside that caused them to watch the feed? Yeah, his brothers had seen his woman more than he cared to remember at that point, but it didn’t sit well if they seen him inside her. Witnessed her face when she was experiencing carnal bliss. That was just for him.
“Relax, asshole. Yes, your brief detour to the garage set off the cameras, but I ignored it when I realized what had tripped the motion sensor. It wasn’t until the inside motion sensor went off that we accessed the feed.”
“Did you get a clear pic of the bastard? Either of them?”
“Nope, ski masks, but one, the one you shot, appeared to be female. We’re thinking Petty and one of her minions.”
Thunder’s gut sank. Did he do such a shit job at protecting his club and flipping Bob that he’d helped that cunt go after them? “Rainbow?”
“Nope, wasn’t built like him.” Whiskey turned to throw the wipes away and remove his gloves. “Besides, no way in hell he would cross us. Not thinking you’ll go after his mom.”
Some things would never sit right with Thunder. Involving civilians was one. His club would never go after someone’s family, but Bob didn’t need to know that.
They both turned when the door bounced off the wall before slamming shut again and Granite stalked over to the bed Thunder lay in. “You need to tell that woman out there what she is now. I don’t give two shits why you claimed her or even if you really wanted to, but you did. That’s that. She deserves to know that she is a part of this family now until they put her six feet under, no matter what your sorry ass decides.”
Their Prez had smoke rolling out of his nostrils. Thunder thought it would be smartest not to say anything just yet. He knew Granite was still steamed from the way he’d treated her at the party. Thunder thought he wasn’t ready to settle down, but more than once since their brief locker room encounter, he thought he could with her.
She’d gotten under his skin and no woman could compare to a memory he thought could never be reality. Now, he’d gone and claimed her. He didn’t need to bring it to the table formally, he’d brought it to the table right there in Tails.
“I get that you let jealousy take over. But I warned you what it would mean if you got out of your goddamned seat. You did it anyway. You made that choice, not just for yourself but for her, too. You need to man the fuck up and deal with it. No matter what happens between the two of you, she’s got our protection. You made that public fucking knowledge when you snatched her off the stage. Now, she’s in danger from any of our enemies, even if she’s smart enough not to stick it out with your sorry ass. Which is highly likely because no woman wants to be with a man because he made a knee jerk reaction to seeing her tits out.”
“It wasn’t just a knee jerk reaction.” Thunder surprised himself with that admission. Maybe a brave, hopeful part of him—a part he didn’t know he had—did what his wounded, cynical self wasn’t brave enough to do.
“No? Then what was it then?”
Thunder didn’t have the answer his Prez was demanding.
“Was it becaus
e you pined away over a one-night stand for three years? Someone you built up to an impossible height who you never thought you could have, and now you can? Because I can tell you that won’t end well. No one can live up to an impossible status they’ve been built up to in someone’s mind. Over time, we either glorify the good and forget the bad or the potential for bad, or we do the opposite. But that’s in our head, brother.”
Thunder felt the accusation in Granite’s tone. He also heard the self-incrimination. Thunder always had an issue of speaking or acting first and thinking later. Caused him trouble in the military and it was still causing him trouble today.
He tried hard as fuck to not let the words that popped into his head come out of his mouth, but he’d spoken them before he could stop. “We talking about Andy or Theresa?”
Granite looked like he’d been the one shot. Thunder hadn’t posed the question to hurt his Prez, actually the opposite, but it wounded his brother all the same. Intent be damned.
“Prez, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like—”
Granite silenced him with a look. “We’re talking about you and that woman you put in danger out there. A woman you obviously care about on some level. Why didn’t you just pull out?”
Thunder was on the defensive now. “I did, the minute I saw the shadow.”
“Damn it, you thick-headed son of a… I mean pull out of the situation, not your dick. You should’ve never pursued. You left Andy vulnerable not minutes after you vowed to all of us you’d protect her.”
Granite was right, he usually was. Thunder left her open. The shooter could’ve taken aim and ended her while he’d been knocked on his ass. If he’d just let the first fucker run off into the night, he wouldn’t have been in the path of the other. He wouldn’t have gotten shot, and he would’ve already told Andy what she needed to know.
“You’re right, Prez. I screwed the pooch. It won’t happen again.”
“See that it doesn’t. I’ll send in your girl. I expect her to know the truth by tomorrow night. We’re going after Petty. In case shit goes sideways, I want all our weak spots here until we get her.”
By weak spots, he meant girlfriends, old ladies, hang-arounds, anyone they even remotely gave a shit about.
“Whiskey.” Granite halted his exit. “That includes Caleb. Go get him in a cage, I’ll not have that fucking Vespa parked out there with real sleds.”
Thunder chuckled at Granite’s disgust, but also at the smile he only got when thinking of Caleb. Granite hired Theresa’s kid to clean the garage when he was still in high school. Since then, he’d gone through three scooters and a mountain bike. Each one a little bit better than the one before, but still fucking scooters.
“Didn’t you hear, Prez, he’s riding a Yamaha now? He’s big time.” Thunder and Whiskey laughed; Granite groaned.
“Like that’s any better. I don’t care what it is, take a car. It ain’t coming on property.”
Thunder wondered if Granite was just being stubborn or if he was just that clueless about Caleb. The kid would be a Phantom someday, regardless of all their president’s moaning and groaning. It was obvious his intent was to protect him from the dangers that came with the life. It was also obvious that if Caleb was coming in for lockdown as a weak spot, he was already deep enough. The danger was his, with or without a back patch.
Thunder, however, wasn’t stupid enough to point that out. Once the door closed and Granite was gone, Whiskey commented what Thunder had been thinking. “Not a clue. Not a fucking clue. The man practically adopted that kid years ago and pretends he’s just someone who sweeps the damn floors.” Whiskey shook his head. “Heaven help us all when the kid finally gets a proper sled. I’ll sponsor him in myself if Granite still has his head in the sand about it. I think he’d make a fine addition to the club.”
“Amen, brother. And, he needs to get his shit together and claim Theresa while he’s at it.”
“Ha,” Whiskey scoffed. “You’re a fine one to talk about getting off your ass or claiming an old lady.”
Before Thunder could respond, Andy walked in. She looked beautiful, but worried and tired. The way her face morphed when their eyes clashed chipped away at a barrier another woman had erected.
“Hey, babe,” Thunder greeted. Andy smiled at him and then turned to Whiskey… and threw herself into his arms.
“What the hell? I’m the one who was shot. Where’s my healing love?”
Andy ignored him, but Whiskey held his hands out away from her body as she hung from his neck. He could hear her tears.
“Thank you.”
Simple. Two words. Those two syllables held the weight of his life, by virtue of them being spoken by her, his heart. Thunder decided right then, he was going to make a run at this whole settling down thing. If Andy gave him a chance, them a chance, she would not regret it. He made that mistake once and he wouldn’t do that again.
When she finally released Whiskey and stepped up to his side, he realized that settling down with a woman like her wouldn’t be a bad thing. No, it will be a damn good thing.
“I am so glad you’re okay. Don’t ever scare me like that again. Promise?” Andy’s eyes sparkled with the buds of tears. They still had a lot to figure out together. A lot to learn about each other, but that was old lady behavior if he’d ever seen it.
Thunder smiled. Using the arm that wasn’t throbbing, he cupped her neck and brought his mouth to hers. With their lips touching, he said, “Promise.” Then he kissed her with an emotion and a mindset he hadn’t before. He wasn’t thinking of pleasure. His thoughts were on the connection of a kiss. The intimacy.
This was new to him. In all his years, he’d never put intimacy into a kiss. Not even with Melissa. That admission brought a flood of memories, but also a touch of clarity which led to another piece of his wall coming down. Not that what she’d done to him was justified, but maybe, just maybe some of her actions were partially reactions.
He’d unintentionally ended the kiss, but their lips still touched. A warm tear fell down the side of his cheek. When he realized it belonged to Andy, it felt scalding hot.
Thunder shifted his hand from her neck to wipe her tears away. Her lids slid closed. She burrowed into his touch. Her beauty robbed him of his words.
“There was so much blood,” she breathed barely above a whisper, as if in disbelief. “So much, I thought.” She choked back more tears. “About how I’d never get to tell you that me not remembering the most amazing night of my life had nothing to do with you being inadequate or anything like that.”
“Shush, babe, shush. We have time, I’m fine. ‘Tis but a scratch.” He added with an English accent.
That earned him a laugh.
“Be serious,” she scolded with no pepper. “I thought I had lost you when I never even really had you.”
Fuck, I’m done for. She was trying to comfort him when what he’d said had been uncalled for. It should be him trying to make up for that night. And he would make up for it. They hadn’t professed their undying love for each other or anything that traditional. But there she stood, open and raw. Maybe she could accept this old lady thing better than he thought. He hoped, anyway.
“You’ve got me. I’m not going anywhere.”
18
Andrea
Whiskey wanted to monitor Thunder, at least until the pain meds he’d given him wore off. He’d muscled a recliner over so she could stay close to Thunder while he slept it off.
“How long do you think he’ll be out?” As much as she wanted him to wake up so they could talk, she also didn’t want him in pain. Flesh wound or not, having a hot bullet slice a path through skin had to hurt.
“At least another four hours. If you haven’t noticed, your man is stubborn as shit. If he’s awake, he’s going to be flailing about and that’s not good for the stitches. So, I double dosed him.” Whiskey’s smile was blinding.
“He’s not my man, but yeah. I have noticed the stubborn streak. It’s kinda hard to mi
ss.”
A rich, deep laugh cut through the stillness of the room. “I like you, Andy. If that fucker doesn’t get his shit together, they’ll be lined up to take his place, me included. You ever hear of the Moirai?”
“The sisters of fate from mythology?”
“Damn, all that and brains too, yeah, the sisters. Anyway, my abuela, who wasn’t Hispanic, by the way.” Whiskey looked her way shocked and held his hand against his chest. “I know, right? Because I am the picture of a Mexican god, but no. No one in our family knows fuckall about her actual heritage, but that’s not important. Anyway, she used to tell me the story of the three sisters. The spinner, the allotter, and the inflexible.”
Andy hung on his every word. “You can wiki all that if you want, but what you can’t wiki is my abuela’s version. She used to tell me, Mateo, what others tell is only half the story. One of the sisters, but I can’t tell you which, Mijo. Well, she fell in love with a mortal, one who wasn’t long for the world. They met in secret, and despite everything, she made a deal with the other sisters. A deal that bargained for him to find a mortal love with his short time, but at a price.”
Andy gasped.
“She loved him so much, she traded something valuable for his happiness.”
She’d never know that depth of love.
“Anyway, the sisters broke the rules and intervened, doing as the sister wanted. The gods were not happy with their interference, and well, because gods are dicks, they crave ultimate power, and like to fuck with the life of mortals.”
Andy giggled. “Oh, did I not mention my abuela has a foul mouth and a nasty temper?”
Andy hung on his every word. “The gods were unable to stop the sisters once they learned how to manipulate the fate of love, and because of the bargain struck between them. Which my abuela never told me what that was.”
Thunder (Desert Phantoms MC Book 1) Page 12