Page 12 of Hidden Desires (Bikers of Mayhem #2)
ACE
T here was a weird tension in the air when Ace and Blade walked into the main part of the bar.
All the customers had been kicked out, and all that remained were the members of the Shadow Vipers.
Cade, Nikolai, and Lucas all sat at a table, waiting for Marcus to start whatever meeting he had suddenly called.
Across from them, Alexis sat in Jake’s lap, while he discreetly slid his hand along her thigh and up the side of her dress.
At the bar, Midas was sipping a whiskey while chatting with one of the new waitresses Marcus had plucked fresh out of nursing school. Apparently, she didn’t do too well on her final exam, but she looked fantastic in a nurse’s uniform. She promised to model it later for Midas.
“We all here?” Marcus asked once Ace had taken a seat next to Blade.
He wasn’t going to let the man continue acting all weird and shit. So what if he played with the dude’s dick? It wasn’t a big deal. Straight guys had their dicks played with all the time.
“Yeah, boss,” Nikolai said, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms across his chest.
“Earlier today, I got a call from Chester Milzner. For those of you who don’t remember, Chester used to be a member of the Shadow Vipers until his wife got pregnant, and they decided to move their family out to Vegas.”
“Oh, and how is old Chestnut doing out there in titty land?” Nikolai asked, running his hand through his short blond hair.
Ace didn’t really remember much about Chester. He was young when Chester was a member. From what Marcus had told him, Chester had been a big drinker, but got sober when his son was born. They moved to Vegas when his wife was offered a job working as a floor manager at one of her friends’ casinos.
“Earlier today, Chester’s son’s body was found dead out in the desert.”
The room fell silent.
“They aren’t sure how long he’d been out there, but when they found his body, it was covered in lacerations and flies.”
“That’s horrible.” Lucas gasped, placing his hands in front of his mouth and leaning into Caden for comfort.
“Do they know if he died of exposure?” Caden asked, pulling his boyfriend into his side. The man was always his protector.
“Chester said that when they found the body, there was a three-inch knife sticking out of the young man’s left eye. So, no. It doesn’t sound like he died from natural causes,” Marcus muttered, clearly pissed off by the situation.
Next to him, Blade shifted in his seat uncomfortably.
“I called this meeting because we are going down to Vegas to help our boy find out who murdered his son,” Marcus growled.
His jaw was clenched, and his cheeks shifted as he ground his teeth.
“It’s going to be an eleven-hour ride down to Sin City, so pack your bags and get some rest tonight. We ride out in the morning.”
“All of us?” Alexis asked, curling her hair behind her ear.
Alexis was a member of the Shadow Vipers through her marriage to her husband, Jake.
While she worked as a bartender for Marcus, she never got involved in the direct operations of gang activities.
She might be tough, but her skills were better suited to keeping people drunk and making sure that everyone respected the rules of Ride ’em Hard.
“No, I’m leaving a small skeleton crew here to hold down the fort until the rest of us return,” Marcus clarified.
“And how long will you all be gone?” Alexis asked, holding on to her man’s hands in her own.
“Don’t worry, you and Jake will be staying, as well as Midas and Lucas.”
“Nope. No way. I’m coming with my man. No way is he going to Sin City alone with a bunch of horndogs,” Lucas snapped.
The jealous, murderous rage in his best friend’s eyes was real. Ace could see what drew Caden and Lucas together.
Plus, ever since “the incident,” the guys in the crew were also secretly a little afraid of Lucas as well.
Caden and Nikolai burst out laughing.
Marcus rolled his eyes. “You two have issues. Fine. Caden, your shadow can come. But he’s sleeping in your room,” Marcus added.
Caden kissed his man on the head. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Okay, everyone, go home and get ready.” Marcus turned and walked over toward Ace and Blade.
“How are you doing, big bro?” Ace asked, standing up from his seat when his brother approached.
“I’m fine. Just pissed off for Chester. The poor guy moves down to Vegas for his family, then some fucker offs his son? Whoever did this is going to die.”
“Totally agree,” Blade said, stepping up next to his friend and boss.
Marcus turned to Blade.
“Blade, I need you on gun duty. Make sure the boys have enough ammo to take out an army.”
Then he turned back to Ace.
“I need you to book us some rooms at one of the hotels.”
“Make sure it has a rooftop patio and private massages on-site,” Nikolai shouted. He and Caden were lingering around, eavesdropping on their conversations.
Marcus let out a breath.
“We are there to murder someone, not get our meat stroked by some pretty young thing with daddy issues and loose morals,” Marcus noted.
Blade shrugged his shoulders. “There’s no reason that we can’t have a little fun while slicing up a man in the desert.”
The guy had a point. Plus, there was this cool little sex club that Ace was dying to check out.
“I’ll take care of it,” Ace answered.
“Thank you, brother. Oh, by the way, how was your date?”
Ace quickly glanced over at Blade, who was turning fifty shades of red.
“Turned out to be a dud.”
Marcus wrapped his arm around his little brother’s shoulders.
“Hang in there, buddy. You’ll find the man of your dreams before you know it.”
He hoped so. He couldn’t keep pining over a man he couldn’t have.