Page 7 of Wild Card (Royal Bastards MC: Cody, Wyoming #1)
SEVEN
Ash
“ H ow did the lake party go last night?” Earl asks, placing a plate of eggs and turkey rashers in front of me.
“We got a lead. Club’s wonder boy’s workin’ on it,” I assure him, picking up a fork so I can get stuck in.
I glance at the plate he’s put down next to the space I’m assuming is for Ruby, wondering if, after last night, she’s gonna join us.
I’ve had a hard on since she kissed me, and barely got any sleep last night.
It took all my strength and fuckin’ willpower not to go to her room and finish what she started.
“You know what time Ruby got in?” Earl starts eating himself.
“No idea,” I lie because I don’t wanna get into it right now. What I need to do is find that asshole boyfriend of hers and make him bite a fuckin’ curb.
We’re both nearly done with our breakfast when the door eventually opens and Ruby steps in.
She’s wearing sweat pants that are far too big for her, making me wonder if they’re Brett's. A cropped tee, and she has her hair tied up all messy and unruly, just how I like it. What she ain’t wearing is that huge, overexcessive ring on her finger, and that pleases me too.
“Jeez, what happened to your face?” Earl asks as she takes the seat between us and avoids eye contact with me.
“Oh, this?” She touches the scab that's formed on her lip and laughs. “You know how I can get when I’ve had a few too many. I’m clumsy when I’m sober.
I tripped in those damn heels Esmé lent me.
” She tries to sound convincing, but I can tell by the way Earl looks down the table at me that she don’t fool him.
Now the barroom’s in better light, I can see the bruise that's come up on her cheek, and it makes me even more determined to find the fucker that did it.
“Aside from that, did ya have fun?” He tips back his mug to finish the last of his coffee.
“As much fun as you can have at a country club.” She does her best to sound cheery, but that sparkle that was in her eyes yesterday ain’t there anymore. I want it back, and I wanna be the one who puts it there. I shake that feeling outta my head when I realize how pathetic it sounds.
“I gotta head over to Bozeman.” Earl stands up, picking up his plate.
“Can one of ya handle things around here while I’m gone?”
“Sure.” Ruby smiles up at him, and I can see from the slight flinch she makes that it causes her pain.
“I gotta head to the club; find out what we know, but I should be done by lunchtime if ya need me,” I offer.
“I’ll be fine, ain’t nothing I didn’t handle before you showed up.” I hear the bite of sarcasm in her tone and can’t help but smile. She’s cute when she’s trying to be brave.
“Just tryin’ to pull my weight.” I stand up, picking up my plate and taking Earl's from his hands before I head out through the door to the kitchen so I can get 'em washed up.
I’m just about done with stackin’ 'em when the door opens and Ruby marches inside.
“About last night.” She’s got her head held high and her shoulders back like she’s given herself a pep talk on the other side of the door.
“You wanna go round two?” I throw down the dish towel and reach out for her waist, dragging her tight against me. It fuckin’ feels like she belongs there, and for just a few seconds, she forgets to resist me and looks up at me with those big doe-like eyes of hers.
“Ash.” She slams her palm into my shoulder and forces herself away. “I have a boyfriend; last night shouldn’t have happened. I came in here to apologize agai–”
“You don’t have a boyfriend.” I shake my head at her. “What you have is a mangled wreck of a man who used to call himself your boyfriend, or at least that's what you’ll have once I’m through with him.” I rest my hands back on the counter and wait for her to protest.
“Ash, I know who you are and what you're a part of, but that's not how people deal with things in the real world. Last night was a huge mistake on Brett’s part; he’s extremely sorry about it.”
“Oh, well, as long as he’s extremely fuckin’ sorry, then it’s okay.” I can feel myself getting angry again, and it’s doing absolutely nothing to help Brett fuckin’ Porter’s cause.
“Don’t you dare be like that. You don’t know him, you don’t know me, and you know nothing about our relationship. Last night, I embarrassed him. He made a gesture that I wasn’t expecting, and I reacted in a way that wasn’t appropriate. He acted out of anger.”
“I see you ain’t wearing that gesture on your finger no more.” I look down at her empty finger.
“No. No, I’m not. I’m not ready for that yet, and it’s something the two of us will talk about today. Brett has a lot of pressure on him, his fath…” She pauses to shake her head. “...Why the hell am I explaining all this to you?” She laughs to herself.
“I don’t know, sweetheart, but it sounds to me like you need convincing more than I do.” I leave her on that thought and head out the door, picking up my cut on the way out and heading to where my bike is parked out back.
There’s a few members at the club when I arrive. Moby’s getting his dick polished in the corner, and Grizz is drinking a coffee at the bar. Despite the fact that I don’t really like the guy, I take a seat beside him so I can find out what we know.
“How d’ya like yours, handsome?” The woman on the other side of the bar asks, and since she’s holding an empty mug in her hand, I presume she means coffee.
“Just a straight black,” I tell her, figuring I could do with some fuel since I got fuck all sleep last night.
“I hear ya had a run-in with Kaleb Kingston last night?” Grizz looks unimpressed. I’m starting to think it’s the only face he’s got.
“A run-in that got us a lead,” I remind him, waiting for him to show some gratitude.
“You know he’s the town's hero, right?” He raises one of his big bushy eyebrows at me.
“What? ‘Cause he got some football scholarship?” I laugh, tipping my chin at the woman who places a coffee in front of me. “Kid was a prick, he got what he deserved, and we got what we needed.” I reach across the bar for a few sachets of sugar, ripping them open with my teeth before adding them in.
“Yeah, well, it came up as a dead end. Number belonged to a burner phone. Taint and Wraith rode out to the location Hack got its last bounce from and found nothing. The phone’s been turned off, and we got no more than we had yesterday,” he informs me.
“Little bastard must have given them a warnin’.” I shake my head and hear Moby moan as he bolts his load.
“He got no other place he can do that shit?” I snarl. Seeing a brother getting his dick sucked ain’t nothin’ new to me, but it’s barely ten am and my own cock is pulsing to the point of pain cause I can’t get a certain girl outta my head.
“Mobe didn’t go home last night; he slept here on the couch,” Grizz tells me, as if that's some kinda explanation.
“Mornin’, Sunshine.” Moby makes his way over to us, zipping up his jeans, then scruffing up my hair, while his little whore gathers up her clothes from the floor and heads for the bathroom.
“Looks like you had a good night.” Grizz sniggers while the woman behind the bar hands Moby a coffee.
“Thanks, darlin’.” Moby winks at her, taking a sip and smiling with satisfaction. “Girl’s been hangin’ out here a while; figured it was time I gave her what she’s been waitin’ for.” He grabs his junk and readjusts its position.
“That thing's gonna fall off the way you keep using it.” Grizz laughs at him.
“You know me, VP, I’m careful,” he assures him before looking at me. “Grizz give ya the lowdown on that number we got?”
“Yep, I should have pushed the kid for more information.” I beat myself up a little for it. I could have had some real fun with Kaleb.
“I think you did enough, you know we’re gonna have Kurt Kingston on our backs for this.” Grizz sighs.
“And who the fuck is Kurt Kingston?” I ask, I ain’t ever heard of the man. “He’s Kaleb’s dad; he owns a franchise of gas stations.”
“Ohhh, I’m shaking in my size elevens.” I roll my eyes, wondering what the fuck is wrong with this charter. I’m used to looking over my shoulder for rival gangs and mobsters, not fuckin’ gas station owners.
“Trust me, you don’t wanna fuck with him,” the woman behind the bar tells me. “Kurt is one of the richest men in Cody, and in this town, money rules.”
“Well, his son’s a jumped-up little prick.”
“A jumped-up little prick who knows how to throw and catch a ball.” A voice comes from behind me, and when I see Byron, I brace myself to receive some kinda lecture.
“Kid had it coming if you ask me.” He surprises me as he takes a seat next to Grizz at the bar, and I can’t help grinning to myself.
“Are you sure there weren’t anythin’ else to go on at that party? All those kids drinking in one place, I can’t see a dealer missing out on that kinda opportunity,” Grizz checks.
“There was nothing, no sign of anyone buying or selling. Maybe after all that's happened, the kids are freaking out a little.” I shrug.
“Or these dealers are getting smarter.” Byron scratches his stubble, looking agitated.
“You know the mayor, right?” I change the subject, cause I got my own problem to take care of.
“Yeah, I know the mayor.” He stares back at me suspiciously.
“I need his address. Gotta talk to his son about somethin'."
“What kinda something?” Byron’s eyes narrow to slits.
“It’s personal.” I ain’t given nothing away to these guys, club brothers or not. I barely know 'em.
“What business would you have with the mayor’s son, Wild Card?” Moby laughs, and when the girl who just swallowed his kids comes out from the ladies' room, she blushes like she’s unsure what to do.