Page 7

Dozer

I steadied my bike as the engine purred to life, becoming a continuous roar with the three other riders. Rogue, Sully, and Blade relaxed into their seats. Adrenaline poisoned my blood.

After I clipped my helmet, I adjusted the skull tube mask covering my mouth and neck and my black goggles. We were all in full gear. Our leather cuts and the rumble of our bikes sent a surge of power through me. At first, I hadn’t been sure I was ready to embrace what needed to be done.

I was now.

My old man had balls of steel. He’d die for the brotherhood. As a kid I thought he was full of shit, but then I’d never seen one of my friends lying in a bed with his face bashed in. Pike spit teeth and blood for this club.

Now, I understood. When shit was bad, Tank said he counted on his MC brothers. Pike was counting on us, on me, to make sure Hellers evened the score.

We pulled out of the club in a two-by-two formation. Blade and Rogue up front, Sully and I rode behind.

The steady growl of our bikes thundered down the street. Once we hit the highway, Blade opened the throttle. We did the same to keep up. Wind whipped over me as I thought about what I’d face in the next few hours.

Something had changed in Blade after Rogue spoke to Pike. Blade had called for an emergency board meeting. Whatever happened behind those closed doors had changed the course of retaliation toward the Crawlers.

Bullet had disappeared, and Blade had ordered Hana to stay with Romeo.

Forty miles outside the city limits, we rode down a worn dirt trail toward the foothills.

A small house emerged in the distance. As the road faded in the reflection of my side mirror, a large barn loomed in front of me.

Dust and gravel billowed from our tires. I recognized Bullet’s bike in front of the house, but not the three other Harley cruisers.

I followed Blade’s lead and rested my bike on the side of the barn. Once I stored my helmet and goggles on my handlebar, I peeled the facemask over my head.

Bullet exited the barn wiping his bloody hands on a towel. Rogue strode toward him. They shared a few private words.

I popped a cigarette from my soft pack and clamped it between my lips. I tugged off my glove and dug my lighter out of my pocket.

“You ready for this,” Blade asked.

I lit the cigarette and inhaled. “I want to know what changed your mind.”

“Nothing changed my mind. Crawlers were always going to pay for what they did to Pike. They went after Pike to get to me. He was convenient. Not the one they want.”

“Hana?” I asked and took another drag off my cigarette.

Blade clenched his jaw. “They’re after me, and that puts Hana and the girls at risk.”

“Your old lady is going to want in on the fight.”

“That’s why we’re the only ones who know. What happens today stays here. I don’t trust anyone more than you and Romeo. If I’m in a fight, I want you next to me. That’s why I asked Romeo to stay with the girls.”

Romeo was with Pippa. My hands balled into fists. The thought of them together fueled the fire raging in my gut. I was ready for Crawler blood. Someone was getting fucked up.

“Wrench has a hard-on for Rogue. Night Crawlers want Heller Raiders dead.”

I climbed from my bike. “I’m in. I hope you have a way to get us out. This shit is going to get bloody.”

“Don’t worry. I learned from your old man. You don’t go to war without a plan to win it.”

“‘ Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.’” I repeated my dad’s favorite quote.

“Sounds like Tank,” he said.

“Sun Tzu, actually.” I wasn’t sure about Blade as our president, not yet but I had faith in his ability to lead our club. As my best friend, I trusted him with my life. And he could trust me with his.

Coming in from the bright sunlight, it took my eyes a moment to adjust to the shadows of the barn .

What the fuck was this place? Ah fuck. Shit just got real.

“We have guests,” Bullet said, standing behind an older biker. The man sat in a chair with his jeans and underwear around his chained ankles. His balls and dick dangled from the large hole cut in the seat. His cut was on the ground beneath him and appeared as if he’d already pissed on it. Wetness coated the leather and turned the dirt muddy.

“Introduce us,” Blade said, stepping forward.

“This is Roach.” Salt and pepper hair hung in a frizzy, snarled mess to his shoulders. Panic shimmered in his wide eyes. “Enforcer of the Night Crawlers and enjoys playing with fire. Turns out he’s the biggest fucking pussy of the three. Wants to trade with the new president of the Hellers. Information for his life.”

Bullet handed Blade a pair of gloves.

“I have all the information I need.” Blade squatted in front of Roach and tugged on the gloves. “Welcome to the party, Roach.”

A slow menacing smile curled Bullet’s lips. The asskicking he’d given me in the basement was nothing compared to the twisted punishment he was capable of.

Blade stood. His shoulders stiffened as he turned to me and Sully. “We’re all in, or we’re all out.”

There was no question on Bullet’s position. Somehow, he’d managed to get all three Crawlers out here in the middle of nowhere for his version, our version , of justice.

Sully cracked his knuckles.

I stepped forward. “Which one put the needle in Pike’s arm? ”

Bullet tipped his chin to a tall, skinny, pasty-faced biker. Rope bound his wrists and stretched his arms over his head. He dangled from the rafter, his bare feet just touching the ground. He wore his cut and nothing else. Track marks and tattoos covered his arms and legs. Goosebumps rippled his shivering flesh.

“Snow is the Crawler pharmacist. He’s feeling a little dope sick.” Bullet grabbed his hair and wrenched his head back. “He does all the cutting for the Crawlers. Mixes that good white heroin with laundry soap and rat poison.”

“And this fucker?” Sully asked of the third Crawler sitting naked on the ground with his wrists bound in front of him, covering his dick and balls with his cupped hands. Tears streamed down his plump cheeks.

Bullet laughed. “They call him Stitch. That’s the motherfucker who picked up Pike for the Crawler party. I returned the favor when I pulled him off Jinx.” Bullet had a stable of whores. Jinx was one of many. Not necessarily a pimp. Fuck, yeah, he was a pimp on the down low for a fair cut.

Bullet sparked a torch and adjusted the flame.

Rogue stepped closer and stared hard at the Crawler. “Roach, you look familiar to me. Do you remember my face?”

He responded with a violent shake of his head.

“I think you do. You haven’t taken your eyes off me since I walked in here. You’re hoping I don’t remember you. Maybe you’re hoping that I didn’t see who held the gun that night at the container yard.”

He continued to shake his head, grunting around the gag in his mouth .

Rogue rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. “Brothers,” he said to us, “tonight, we get justice for Texas.”

These guys were at the container yard? Texas was dead. My old man was taking the fall.

“Fuck you!” I thrust my boot against the guy’s chest. The chair tipped, crashing to the floor. Roach gasped with the impact. I stood over him and spit in his face.

“Time to pay, motherfucker.” Bullet torched his genitalia. Roach screamed around the gag in his mouth. The stench of burning flesh filled the barn.

This was only the beginning.

Rogue, Sully, and Bullet had hardened to the infliction of pain on the human body. I had a conscience, even though I chose to ignore it most of the time. This was different. We were avenging a wrong. At least that was what I was going to tell myself if this shit ever kept me up at night.

After today, I was no longer my dad’s kid in the MC. We were equals, both having blood on our hands. I finally understood what being part of a brotherhood meant.

I turned to Blade. His arms hung loose at his side with a needle still clutched in his hand. We’d pumped enough chemicals into the pharmacist to make him radioactive. None of them were his drug of choice.

I lit a cigarette. “You okay,” I asked, blowing thin streams of smoke from my nostrils. The coppery scent of blood burned in my nose .

He stabbed the needle into the guy, leaving it to protrude from his chest. “For Texas, for Pike…and for Kiss.” He pressed the plunger.

“For Hana, Pippa, Jazzy and Levi.”

He nodded. This was burning down the house so we could rebuild. We had what we needed, and three Crawlers were no longer a threat.

Sully handled the blubbering bastard, Stitch, on the floor. I heard the crunch of bone and the screams of pain as he spilled every twisted plan the Crawlers had for the Hellers.

Rogue put his hand on Blade’s shoulder as we walked out of the barn. The sun was starting to set. We’d spent the afternoon meeting out justice in a way law enforcement couldn’t.

“You made the right decision,” Rogue said.

“ We made the right decision,” Blade clarified. “I’m not Razor. I’m not making decisions without you, Sully, and Bullet. And I’m not going forward without Dozer and Romeo. I know we’re young and don’t have experience.”

“I told you I’d be here when you wore that patch. You’re the president of this club. I’m going to be here. Whatever you need, including Dozer and Romeo. I’ve got your back.”

Blade stared at the Crawler’s motorcycles parked in a row. “Take their cuts. They may come in handy when we need a decoy with the cartel. Keep their bikes here for a couple of weeks. Then we tear them apart and rebuild one for Pike. Sell the rest to Lee.”

Bang. I jumped and jerked my attention to the barn .

“Sully’s done with Stitch.” Rogue shifted a shoulder. “I’ll stay. We’ll take care of disposal. I assume you two want to go check on the girls.”

Rogue turned to me. “Are you ready to go?”

I nodded. Another F-word made it onto the list. Fatal. Don’t fuck with Hellers. We were lethal.

Pippa

Hana, Levi, and Jazzy were killing Romeo. We’d spent the evening swapping stories and drinking shots.

“They are ruining my image,” he said and grabbed his cigarettes off the coffee table. “I’m going out for a smoke.”

“I’ll come with you.” I popped off the couch and followed him outside to the patio.

“We’ll make something to eat,” Hana said. “Stay outside with Romeo. She sucks in the kitchen,” Hana said to Jazzy and Levi.

“If she’s with Romeo, she’s going to be sucking on the patio, too.” Jazzy’s quick jab had Hana laughing. I doubted Levi found it funny.

I sat next to him on the stoop and leaned my head on his shoulder.

“Pip, you have to talk to me. Straight shit because you’re losing your smile, and I’ve got a feeling it’s this fucked up situation with Dozer.”

“Maybe, I don’t know.”

He leaned in, wrapped his arm around me, and kissed my temple. “You do. You just don’t want to say it.” He inhaled off his cigarette. “I don’t want to keep asking if we’re done. I don’t think we are, but I think you want to start up with Dozer. Stop worrying about me. Do you want my help chasing Dozer?”

I stood and positioned in front of him. He scooted back on the stoop, and I straddled his lap. His beautiful eyes stared into mine. My tummy flipped. Definitely far from done. I wanted more from him. Contrary to what I’d said to Dozer, I wanted him to watch me again with Romeo.

“I saw him naked.”

He smiled with the cigarette precariously dangling between his lips as he grabbed my ass and nudged me onto his dick.

“I didn’t fuck him. I haven’t kissed him. Romeo, I haven’t even touched him.”

“You saw him naked and didn’t touch?”

“You saw him after the fight. He was a bloody, drunk mess. He came over, and I cleaned him up.” I took a breath. “And he dirtied me up. We masturbated in front of each other. Then this morning he was a total dick.”

“Maybe it’s time to force his hand. You need to be sure. He’s crushing hard.” He sipped my lips. “Don’t worry about my feelings. If you want this, this thing with both of us, I’ll make it happen.”

“What about us?”

“I’m not worried about you and me. This is about you, baby. I’m still going to be inside of you. He’s going to want to do more than watch. You’re not going to hurt my feelings. Do you want to fuck Dozer?”

I’d waited for the words. Dozer and I had been on a collision course, and Romeo was caught between us. “You know I do. I’m afraid of what happens after. ”

“A bit of jealousy is normal. Dozer? I don’t know. But what he’s feeling now is sending him to the basement. Bullet was rough on him. Next time, I’m afraid he’s going to take on someone who doesn’t understand. He’ll end up hurt or more likely hurting someone else.”

“And what happens if I fall for him?”

“If he’s not there to catch you, I will be. We’re friends. I’m always going to be here for you. I care about you, Pip. If Dozer makes you happy, I’m cool. If you want to share, I’m cool with that, too.” He tossed his cigarette into the can on the step, then cradled my head, angled my mouth, and kissed me.

Tumbling into his kiss was as easy as breathing. This wasn’t the desperate ache I felt with Dozer, but a sizzling slide into delicious temptation. Romeo made me smile.

“So how long do babysitting duties last?” I asked. “I want you to myself.”

Romeo nipped my lips. “Not all to yourself.”

“Do you think he’ll come over tonight? I know he’s doing work for the club.”

“He can’t stay away from you. Up,” he said.

I stood from his lap. He held my hand as we went back into the house. A roar of a motorcycle sounded in the driveway.

Hana rushed to the window. “It’s Blade.”

Jazzy flung open the front door. “About fucking time,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “What happened?”

“Club business.” He brushed past her .

Her brows furrowed, and she slammed the door. “Since when does that matter? Are you shitting me? Club business?”

Romeo laughed as Blade ignored Jazzy and latched onto Hana. His lips crashed into hers.

“This has turned into a couples’ party, and I’m not making out with Levi,” Jazzy said.

“Is Dozer on his way?” I asked Blade.

“No. He headed back to the MC.”

I glanced up at Romeo.

He kissed my forehead. “I’ll text him.”

Jazzy snorted and shook her head. “Levi, we’re screwed. We’re like the perpetual third wheel now. Hana has Blade, and Pippa has the rest.”

“Better keep her away from Rogue,” Levi said, with the stinging slap of an insult.

“Levi, that’s a secret.”

Clearly not bothered by the slight to me, Romeo laughed and sat on the couch. “Nah, it’s not. Maybe except Sully since he refuses to see you’ve developed in all the right places.”

Jazzy glared at me. “Your boyfriend—”

I shook my head. “Romeo’s not my boyfriend.”

“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “Your lay is talking about my tits.”

Rolling with the humor, I grinned and gave back. “You have a nice rack, but Levi has a better ass.”

Hana laughed and pointed to Jazzy and Levi. “Pip has the best tits, but she’s my bitch so hands off.”

“Um, not just your bitch considering how many hands I’ve seen on her.” Levi sat next to Romeo—close to Romeo—and put her feet on the coffee table .

Romeo tucked her close to his side. He really did earn his name. He turned toward me. “Pip, you have a little more confessing to do?”

“Are you getting possessive?” Levi asked him. “Because those football players are freaking beautiful. You’re just pretty.”

Jazzy laughed. “Oh no. Don’t let his ego out to play.”

Romeo smirked.

“I’m not doing the football team, just the running back,” I said.

“You’re into jocks, too?” Romeo leaned forward.

“Don’t worry, Coop’s dick is big,” Hana said. “Yours is better.”

Blade’s brows pinched. “Who the fuck is Coop, and when did you see his dick? And how would you know Romeo’s is better?”

“With Pippa, in the locker room a couple weeks ago during pre-season. I didn’t actually see it, just the outline in his boxers. And do you really want me to remind you of how I rode Romeo’s dick in the tattoo shop?”

“Fuck. Right. God damn good thing your technique has changed.”

I laughed and intentionally sat in the chair opposite of Romeo. Levi smiled and laughed for the first time while I was around.

Romeo’s phone pinged. He sent another text.

“Is something burning,” Blade asked.

“Oh fuck.” Hana rushed into the kitchen.

I held up my hands. “It wasn’t me this time. ”

“I’ll grab something to eat on my way home,” Jazzy said. “Are you ready, Levi? I’ll drop you home.”

Blade focused on Jazzy. “Are you packing?”

“Always. Why?” she asked.

“This shit with Pike goes back to the Crawlers.”

“No worries. I’m a daddy’s girl. He already told me to watch my back…and yours, too.”

Levi stopped in front of me. “This wasn’t horrible.”

“Want to ride with me and Hana to school tomorrow?”

“No thanks. You’re always late.” She followed Jazzy out the door.

Once Hana and Blade left, I sat with Romeo on the couch.

“What did he say?” I asked in reference to the text from Dozer.

“Not much. Something is wrong.”

“Then go to the MC. He has to be ready, too.”

Romeo leaned over me until he tumbled me to my back on the couch. “Are you going to tell me about Coop? Did you give up chasing jerseys for the back of a motorcycle?”

I stretched my neck, and Romeo kissed along the column. “Nope, never chased a jersey. But I am super close to Coop.”

Romeo stilled. “How close?”

“Not that kind of close.” I shoved him. “Greyson Cooper is my brother’s best friend.” I turned toward him and crossed my legs. “I need a favor. I need a boyfriend for Saturday.”

“Define boyfriend.” He leaned in to start nipping at my skin again .

“This is a meet the family kind of boyfriend thing.”

Romeo growled and flopped onto me.

“It’s my sister’s baby shower. With an Italian family, that is also known as another reason to get together for food. If I show up with a date, my dad will get off Diego’s and Coop’s asses. I don’t know if my dad worries about me or if he just wants to see me married, but he’s trying to set me up with a son of one of his business associates.”

“Ah, fuck, married?”

“I’m not proposing.”

“Baby, your good girl parents aren’t going to approve of me. I ride a motorcycle, drink, smoke, and defile their sweet daughter whenever I can. Pretty sure they’ll hate my guts.”

I sank my teeth into my lower lip. I wanted to take Dozer, had thought about asking him first, but he hated crowds. I didn’t want to put more pressure on him.

Romeo, the social butterfly, wouldn’t get bogged down by potential ramifications.

I wasn’t trying to rope either of them into boyfriend status. I just wanted to deter my dad from changing my status to engaged.

“I can’t get Dozer to come over and watch you fuck me. Not sure I’m going to be persuasive enough to get him to go meet my family.”

“If you ask him, he’ll go.” He sat up.

“Maybe. My family means well most of the time.”

“If you want me to meet your family, I will. ”

“No, you’re right. If I take you or Dozer, I’m going to cause a scene. I’m like a cat in heat with both of you. One look and I’ll be rubbing up against you.”

“Hmm, anything that has a reference to you and pussy is a good thing. Are you going to let me fuck you before I go?”

I crawled onto his lap, wrapped my arms around his neck, and kissed him. “I can’t. Not when he’s hurting because we’re together. He needs to be here.”

“Fuck.” He rested his forehead against mine.

“I need him, Romeo.”

“He’ll be here, or I’m strapping his ass to a chair and forcing him to watch.”

“Go check on him. Text me back.”

“Lock the doors and set the alarm.” He kissed me quickly. “And Pip, thanks for whatever you did with Levi. It was good to hear her laugh.”

“I’m easy to hate. You’re with me, and she’s in love with you.”

“Most of the time I wish she wasn’t.”

“But not all of the time?”

“She’s off limits. Dozer would kick my ass. Blade, too. She’s too sweet. I know her definition of boyfriend. I’d end up hurting her.”

“I think she knows that, too. That doesn’t make it any easier. You’re a good guy, pretty boy.”

“Nah. I’m a dog with a bone.” He laughed as he left.

The house was eerily quiet as I locked the doors and made sure the alarm was set. Maybe tomorrow I’d make it to class on time .

Dozer

I sat alone in the playhouse. Holding my phone, I reread the text from Romeo.

Romeo: Get over here. She misses you.

I missed her, but I wasn’t going to go over there and pretend I didn’t just have the worst fucking day of my life. Watch her laugh and smile with Romeo, just to want to drown her in my misery. I’d done that last night. I’d suffocated her spark.

I leaned my head back against the old building.

“I’ve been looking for you.”

Romeo approached and sat next to me.

“When did you get back?”

I figured he’d be balls deep in Pippa. My gut churned as if it had anything left in it to hurl.

“Blade stopped over at Pippa’s. Of course, she’s going to ask where you were. Everyone was there.”

“Don’t start with me, Romeo. I’m not good company.”

“You’re never good company. Fuck dude, she’s playing nice with Levi because of you.”

“Levi won’t play nice with her.”

“She did because she can’t stand to see you like this either.”

“Alone, quiet—”

“Nah, that we expect. You’re on the edge.” Romeo rested his wrists on his bent knees, his hands hanging limp. “Do you think I’m judging you?”

I didn’t reply. To say no would be a lie. To say anything else would reveal my insecurities.

“I’ve played it out in my head a thousand times,” Romeo said. “How I’d feel with you in the room with us. I’d be inside her, but she’d be thinking of you. Then you’d get inside her, and she’d still be thinking about you. I wonder if I’m in her head anywhere or if I’m a prop.”

“You’re not a prop. She told me she wouldn’t cheat on you.” And I still tried to get into her head.

“She’s not mine, Doze. Her being with you wouldn’t be cheating. Her being with me isn’t cheating on you. We both want to fuck her, but I know you want more.”

“I’ve thought about it,” I confessed.

“That’s the problem.” He sighed. “With her, it’s different.”

I squinted into the distance. I had a war inside my head. I got off on watching, but I needed more with her. “I think about you making her come. Your name on her lips. Your scent on her body.”

“When I fucked her out here, she was thinking of you. If it had been anyone else, I’m not sure I’d be okay with it. But we’ve been here before. I didn’t tell Pip you’ve watched me with Kiss.”

I bowed my head.

“You want Pippa to smell like me.” Romeo turned toward me. “Answer me this. And know that I love you. I don’t care. Nothing changes with us. We can’t control who we’re attracted to. Is this about Pip or is this about me?”

I growled and rubbed my hand over my head. “Romeo, it’s about her. Only about her.”

“Good.” He let out a breath. “When I’m fucking her in front of you, I want to make sure it’s about her pussy and not my dick. Because when you fuck her in front of me, I’m not just going to watch. If you’re in her pussy, I’m going to be in her mouth.”

“Christ. I’m obsessed with her, Romeo. I can’t stop thinking about her.”

He leaned back. “She wants you, too. Do want to share her?”

My heart pounded. “Yeah, I do. If there is someone else, it’s supposed to be you.”

“We’re already sharing her.” He smiled. “Or almost sharing her. She said you haven’t kissed her. She did tell me about the shower.”

“Fuck, is nothing sacred?”

“You still think we’re not already involved?”

“When I’m with her, she doesn’t smile. She doesn’t laugh. I’m fucked up, and I’m taking her down with me.”

“You make her feel something different. Something I don’t. Maybe that’s why she needs us both.” Romeo stood. “You’re hurting her now. She wants to be there for you, and you keep shutting her out. Fix it because this thing with the three of us is going to happen.”