Page 6 of Deception (Deranged Drifters MC #22)

Chapter Six

Griffin’s Beach Lex

L ex sits in the clubhouse with the other old ladies while the men get together for a meeting before leaving on their run later.

“God, it’s weird being here when the sun is still up without there being an event of sorts. Or waking up here,” Lex says with a smirk as she looks around.

Most of the old ladies are in the room, which isn’t uncommon before a run. Things have felt very off lately, and they all seem to want to be around to say their goodbyes before the guys take off.

“Is something going on?” Felicity asks.

Looking around, Lex notices Autumn sitting off in the corner by herself.

Things have been more than a little tense since she was finally told to stop talking about how she was tortured.

The Slashers kidnapped her, along with Lex, Melanie, and Heidi, years before and locked them away in the basement in Black Valley.

Of everyone, she had it easiest but bitched the most.

“What do you mean?” Lex asks, turning her attention back to the brunette.

Felicity, Autumn, and Lex go back to grade school. They grew exponentially closer once they started dating Rocco and Ky. Lex and Colt weren’t dating back then, but he and Ky never did much without her, so she was a fixture.

“I don’t know… Things are… weird. The raids on the clubhouse haven’t been helping the feeling much.”

It would be a lie if Lex said she didn’t notice something, too, but Colt hasn’t said anything to her. It’s a little strange he’s keeping things as close to the vest as he is. Of the two of them, she’s usually the secret keeper.

“I agree, but I don’t know anything. Julian doesn’t seem to be giving up anytime soon. I thought Grayson said the town wanted him out, so maybe this is his last hurrah?”

“You’d know better than the rest of us.”

Turning, Lex glances at Autumn, who looks bored. “Hey, lady, you wanna join us over here?”

“I’m fine,” Autumn says, her tone screaming at Lex that she’s anything but impressed with the blonde.

The redhead wears her hair just past her shoulders, and it’s as though she’s reinventing herself. She’s always worn shorter locks, which works best with her small face.

“It’s more fun when you talk with people rather than at them behind their backs.”

“No, thanks.”

Melanie sits down and glances over her shoulder, sharing a hateful glance with Autumn. “Fuck her.”

“Be nice,” Lex says.

“She’s been talking about wanting out of the club,” she responds, her voice barely above a whisper.

Laughing, Felicity shakes her head. “Girl, that’s nothing new. That happens every couple of years. Then she comes back around.”

“Why’s she even here still, then? If she wants to leave so badly, why not just leave?”

“Because that girl will never leave Rocco again,” Lex says.

“I mean, we could fix that…” Felicity says with a smirk.

Vicky. She wrote in her diary how she slept with Rocco while he was dating Autumn because she overheard Autumn talking shit about Felicity in the bathroom.

It was sufficient for Felicity’s sister to know Rocco cheated with her and never said anything to anyone.

Her critique of Rocco wasn’t very favorable, either. Two birds, one secret.

Shaking her head, Lex sighs. “No.”

“How?” Melanie asks.

“Nothing.”

“You’re no fun,” Felicity says with a pout. “Seriously, though, what’s her deal?”

Lex shrugs. “She was close with Lane. Maybe she’s pissed at me like Zane is. In some twist of logic, I killed Lane, you know.”

Being the power of attorney for her sister-in-law’s medical care ruined every familial relationship Lex had. And close friends, too, it seems.

“I don’t know. It feels deeper than that,” Melanie says and tugs on her low-cut top. “Can you guys see my nipple rings through this?”

Both stare at her tits and nod. “Yep.”

“Good. I feel like Jace and I are losing our spark a bit, and I need to turn him on to level twelve tonight. I have a special treat for him at home.”

“How the hell do you not have sex-related injuries on a weekly basis considering the aggressive way you go at it? I mean… fuck,” Felicity says. “Ky and I go as far as light bondage, and that’s it. You do all the acrobatic and trapeze-style shit.”

Laughing, Melanie shrugs and flips her bleached hair over her shoulder.

She’s nothing but proud of her sexuality.

“The longest we’ve ever gone without actual sex is when he got his cock pierced.

Worked out well for me, though. I got off, but he couldn’t touch himself until he heeled. That was as vanilla as we ever got.”

“Bet he nearly died,” Lex says with a laugh.

“Did you know that you can turn on a man so much that he comes without even touching him?”

Lex’s mouth opens as she looks at Felicity and shakes her head. Felicity does the same, equally stunned and speechless.

“It’s totally possible. Not as good, but that’s how he made it through the last few weeks of the healing process. I got off with toys and his mouth, and he got off watching me get off.”

“I’m not surprised when I talk to you.”

Giggling, she shrugs. “What can I say? I have zero boundaries.”

“Clearly,” Felicity says with a chuckle and nod.

“Oh, I almost forgot. I think shit with Autumn runs deeper than we think.”

Talk about conversational whiplash. “Why?”

Lowering her voice, she glances to the sides before saying, “I heard she told Rocco she wanted them to leave the club behind.”

“Who’d you hear this from?”

“Kai.”

Lex continues to stay silent. Kai Russell is another daughter of the club as well as an old lady, and she’s not a gossip. If she heard Autumn say something, she told it with zero embellishments.

“What did Rocco say?”

“That he’s in the club for life, and if she feels that she needs out, she should leave. He wasn’t happy, which is about all I can give that man credit for. The way he kisses her ass, I half expected him to toss his kutte on the floor and ride off into the sunset with her.”

Shaking her head, Lex sighs. “No, he wouldn’t leave the club. He’d have to get kicked out. I hate to say it, but he loves the money we’re making right now too much to leave. And he doesn’t love her enough to walk.”

They both turn and look at her with wide eyes and eyebrows raised. She stares back with a confused look.

“You really think any man loves his woman enough to walk?” Felicity asks.

“You don’t? Colt offered to.”

“I don’t think Jace would,” Melanie asks, and she slouches a bit with a pout.

“You’d never ask him to, but if you did, he would. Besides the fact he loves you, no guy who went without sex for a decade would give up a nymphomaniac like you.”

She giggles. “I guess my sex drive has its perks, huh?”

“Ky?”

“Are you kidding me? He’d struggle the same way Colt and Jace would, but he’d leave for you. If he had to, he would.”

Intrigued, Felicity rests her elbows on the table and places her chin in her palm. “Who else?”

“Venom. Shep. VP never would. TK and Jennings are kind of a toss-up. Old school and set in their ways. Tripp would in a heartbeat. He’d black out his ink before leaving the clubhouse if Avery asked.”

They run through a few of the men, starting with Tyson Reeves, who Lex doesn’t think loves Tara quite enough to leave everything he knows behind.

It’s decided that Brock would be the one to adjust the best because of his wife’s family wealth and his computer skills.

Diesel never could, even if Nancy was still alive.

“Well, that was a fun game,” Melanie says.

“I think we need to make an effort to bring Autumn back into the fold, though,” Lex says and glances back to her old friend. “Besides our new positions, Felicity, Lane’s death really showed us how short life is. And she’s been here longer than a lot of others.”

“You really want to extend an olive branch?”

Sighing, she shrugs. Does she? Not really. Does she feel like she needs to? Yes. “Autumn will never make the first step because she would have to admit she was wrong.”

“Why do you keep looking at your phone?” Melanie asks. “Got a hot date you don’t want Colt to catch?”

She laughs. “Lucas should be here with Noah any minute now. I let them take my car to get ice cream. Lucas made the honor roll.”

Jaw dropping, she gasps. “You let your son drive your Mustang?”

“He’s a good kid. I trust him,” Lex says with a shake of her head. “Oh, I have the perfect idea to get all of the old ladies together. Lane’s birthday is coming up, and I think it would be really good for Margaret if we celebrated with her.”

“How’s she doing with the eating disorder?” Felicity asks.

“It’s day by day.” Looking at her phone, she wonders where the boys are. Lucas is almost always on time, and they’re almost half an hour late. “She still feels out of control. She asked VP if she could stay with us instead of him, and he told her no.”

Rolling her eyes, Felicity shakes her head. “Your father is a fucking moron. No offense.”

“You don’t have to worry about offending me. And I’m very aware.”

Maybe they ran into people they know. Don’t jump to the worst-case scenarios just because Hailey got kidnapped. They’re probably perfectly fine and just lost track of time.

The conversation changes to ideas about Lane’s birthday celebration when Lex’s phone rings. It’s an unknown number, and she answers, her heart in her throat. “Hello?”

“Yes, is this Alexis Nichols?”

“It is. Who is this?”

“This is Officer Yancy. Your sons have been in a car accident.”

Jumping up, her eyes glance at the Chapel door. “Where? Are they okay?”

“The EMTs are looking at them now. It’s right off of forty—”

“That’s the road to my house!”

“What’s wrong?” Felicity asks, her eyes wide and voice filled with worry that does nothing to calm Lex down.

Shaking, she says, “I’m on my way.”

“Lex, what’s going on?” Melanie asks. “You’re freaking us out.”

“Mel, get Colt. The boys were in an accident. It’s on the road to my fucking house.”

“I’ll drive you,” Felicity says, jumping into action as worry fills Lex’s mind.

What if they’re dead? There are no airbags in the Mustang. There are barely seatbelts. And if Noah was in the front seat, he could be… No! I’m not going there.

“Stop it,” Felicity says once they’re in the car and racing out of the parking lot. “I see the what ifs going through that mind of yours.”

Vomit rises in her throat, and she can’t say anything. Not without spewing her lunch all over the dashboard.

“It’s probably something minor, and someone overreacted. Maybe we’ll get to beat some bitch who thinks she’s going to walk away with a payday.”

“The cops said the EMTs are looking at them.”

“They get called for every accident. They could barely have a scratch. Honestly, there’s probably more damage to your car than the boys.”

She knows Felicity is just trying to make her feel better, but it does little to ease Lex’s fears. She loves that car, but she loves her kids more. If they’re hurt, she’s going to lose it. Put her in a straightjacket and show her to the padded room.

My boys have to be okay.