Loving The Biker (MC Biker Romance) (2 page)

Two

Cole

I pulled into the gates of the clubhouse and parked my Hog next to Tank’s. He was standing beside it and talking to my sister, Raina, who was now his Old Lady. She smiled at me and I winked back.

“Hey, Prez,” I said, taking off my brain bucket.

“Where’ve you been, Ice?” he asked me, his face stony. He’d given me the road name the week before, saying that I had an ice-cold stare, almost as bad as my sister’s. Of course, Tank could make a grizzly bear shit himself with a single look. He and Raina were definitely made for each other. As petite and vulnerable as she looked, Raina took no B.S. from anyone, including her fiancé.

“I was at the hardware store, picking up a new motor for the garbage disposal,” I said, opening up one of the saddlebags on my bike. I pulled the part out and held it up. “Hopefully this will work.”

Tank frowned. “It took two hours?”

I wanted to tell him that he sounded like my fucking Ex, Patty. Always questioning and nagging me. But I held my tongue. I was just a prospect and it went with the territory.

“No. Hoss sent me over to his place to pick up his cell phone,” I said, reaching into my jean pocket.  I pulled it out and showed him. “He also wanted me to feed his fish and that crazy fucking dog of his.”

Hoss, the club’s Sergeant-At-Arms, owned a Pitbull and the dog almost ripped off my nuts the moment I’d walked through the front door. When I’d agreed to feed the damn thing, I had no idea he owned a Pit, which I knew were very territorial. Needless to say, the dog made it abundantly clear that I wasn’t wanted, even after I filled his bowl with food and gave him fresh water. I was still a stranger, invading his property and he wasn’t one to take a bribe.

“Homer?” asked Tank, breaking into a smile. “And you made it out of there alive?”

I wasn’t about to tell him that I’d kept a bat between me and the dog, so I played it cool. “Yeah. I just had to show him who’s boss.”

Chuckling, Tank glanced at Raina. “I’m impressed. Your brother has some massive balls, darlin’ and Homer usually eats those for breakfast.”

“Why does Hoss own such a mean dog?” she asked. Raina didn’t know much about dogs in general, although my nephew, Billy, had been begging her for a puppy.

“He’s only mean to strangers. Homer was beaten as a puppy and Hoss rescued him. The dog is still pretty skittish around people he doesn’t see very often, even when Hoss’s home. But he loves that old man and would die for him.”

Raina looked horrified. “How can anyone beat a puppy? There are a lot of sick assholes in this world.”

“Damn right there is. Especially in this town, which is another reason why I think you should join Jessica’s Tae Kwon Do class. You two can learn how to defend yourselves and get to know each other more in the process.”

“Isn’t she in Vegas, still?” asked Raina, running a hand through her dark hair. “With Jordan?”

“Yeah. I spoke to her last night though. It sounds as if they’ll be returning Sunday,” said Tank.

“Those two get hitched out there?” I asked him. They’d been gone for three weeks, which was a little surprising, considering it was Vegas. As far as I was concerned, there wasn’t much to do in Sin City but gamble, go to strip clubs, and party. Something for a weekend, not twenty-one days and definitely not with a chick. 

“I asked her and she said that they didn’t,” said Tank. “Which is good because I’m pretty sure Frannie would flip her lid. She wants Jessica to have a big wedding with the family.”

“Three weeks now. Wow,” said Raina.  “That can’t be cheap.”

“Hell, he’s got money stashed somewhere,” said Tank. “Anyway, they originally went out there for business and decided to stay longer. I think she said that they rented a house.”

“You sure they didn’t get married?” asked Raina, smiling. “And are just saving the news for when they get back?”

“It’s possible, but knowing Jessica, she’d also want a big wedding. On the other hand,” he scratched his chin, “I doubt that Jordan would agree to that.”

I’d heard rumor that Jordan Steele, Raptor’s brother, was the infamous “Judge”. When I’d asked Tank about it, however, he’d only laughed and brushed it off.

“Why is that?” I asked, curious. I, myself, never planned on getting married, but if I had to, I’d opt for a small church wedding in town and a big party afterward at Sal’s, my uncle’s bar.

“He’s a quiet guy. Isn’t very sociable either,” said Tank. He looked at Raina. “Hell, I was surprised that he even showed up for dinner that night, before they went on their trip.”

“He did look a little uncomfortable,” mused Raina.

“What about you two?” I asked. “You set a date yet?”

“Not yet,” said Raina, giving me the look. The one that said to drop the subject. I knew that Tank was pushing for a wedding harder than she was. But, she’d been married before and wasn’t in any kind of rush to walk down the aisle again.

I shoved Hoss’s small phone back into the front of my jeans. “You having a big church wedding?”

“Yes,” said Tank.

“No,” said Raina, at the same time.

They looked at each other.

He put his arm over her shoulders. “Baby, you know that I’ll do whatever you want, but… I gotta tell you… the guys expect a big hoopla of a wedding. So does Frannie.”

Raina’s first wedding had turned out to be much more expensive than originally planned. She always said that if she had to do it over again, she’d elope. 

“We’ll talk about it later,” said Raina.

“Sure.” Tank looked back at me. “By the way, Ice, we have church at two. I want you there today.”

In the past, I hadn’t been invited to many of the weekly meetings, so this was surprising. In general, Prospects were not privy to a lot of the private matters. I had a feeling that me being a former Devil’s Ranger, made them even more tight-lipped. I understood why, but it was a little disconcerting.

“Sounds good. I’ll be there,” I said, curious as to why I’d been invited.

With his arm still around Raina, he pulled her away from the bike and the couple headed toward the clubhouse. “Hoss’s inside… probably on Facebook,” he said, over his shoulder.

I snorted.

Hoss had recently set up an account and was already addicted. He was “Friending” everyone and getting messages from women in all parts of the world, some of them “enthralled with his handsome photo”.  Hoss wasn’t a bad looking guy, and I imagined that if he bathed more and lost a few inches around his beer gut, in turn… he might attract women here in town. But, he seemed to be intrigued with the ones online.

We’d all tried to warn him about scam artists, but Hoss insisted that the women messaging him were the real deal. That they liked bikers, even ones old enough to be their grandfather.

I followed Tank and Raina into the clubhouse and sought out Hoss. He was sitting at the bar aloe and on his laptop.

“Here’s your cell phone,” I said, noticing that he was on Facebook again.

“Thanks. How’s Homer?” He held out his hand and I gave it to him.

“Fine. Thanks for the warning,” I said dryly.

He laughed hoarsely. “You wouldn’t have went over there if I’d have told you the truth.”

“Sure I would have. But I’d have been more prepared to face ‘Cerberus’,’” I said, staring at his screen.

He gave me a confused look. “Cerberus?”

“It’s from Greek mythology. Cerberus was the hound of Hades. Who the fuck is Lana?”

“This chick from Florida. She has the hots for me,” he said, smiling proudly. “Hell, she thinks she loves me. Can’t say I blame her.”

I sighed. “Love? Really? You’ve gotta be shitting me….”

His face darkened. “What?”

“Think about it. Lana claims to be in love with you. Already. You don’t find that fishy?” I replied, watching as he began typing a message to a blond, twenty-something hottie who had sent him a picture of herself in black lingerie. Her looks alone told me that she was up to something.

“We’ve been messaging each other now for the last three days,” he explained. “She claims that she has feelings for me. I’ve seen guys around here fall for a chick in less time than that.”

Still frowning, I shook my head. “Jesus, you know, ‘she’ is probably really a ‘he’… and one of those romance scammers.”

“A what?”

“It was on the news a while back. Basically, it’s the same-old shit. People getting swindled out of money by assholes who pretend to be someone they’re not. They prey mostly on lonely people.”

“I’m not lonely, although most of my best friends
are
six feet under now,” he said, looking me out of the corner of his eye.

Ouch
. Talk about cutting in deep.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly, feeling like shit. The shame of knowing I’d been a part of that was sometimes enough to make me want to walk out of the clubhouse and never return. I’m not sure what held me back from doing just that, though. Maybe I was looking for a way to redeem myself. Or, maybe I was doing it for Raina. All I knew for sure was that we both had our own demons to conquer when it came to Slammer.

Hoss didn’t respond right away. He pulled out a cigarette and stuck it into his mouth. “Whether you’re sorry or not, isn’t going to change anything. Isn’t going to bring him back.”

“Hoss-”

Hoss held up his hand. “Hey, I can’t have this conversation with you,” he said, his voice hard. “I want you to know, however, that I don’t hold you personally responsible. You feel me?”

All I could do was nod.

“Shit happened and it’s over,” he continued, as if trying to convince himself of it more than me. “We can move beyond it or hold grudges.”

I could tell that he wasn’t finished, so I remained quiet.

“I guess that if Tank can find it in his heart to forgive you, then I’m willing to do the same. I just… don’t want to talk about it. Wounds are still too fresh.”

“I understand,” I replied.

He removed the unlit cigarette from his mouth and sniffed along the edge. “Damn, I miss these things. Almost as much as beaver.”

“You quit smoking?”

He gave me a shit-eating grin. “One I did. The other I’m hoping to get from blondie, here. Haven’t had me a fine piece of ass like that in a long time.”

“I’m telling you, watch out for that chick.”

“I am watching,” he said, clicking through the sexy pictures on her page. “And I like what I see.”

I noticed Raptor walk into the room with Chopper, the Intelligence Officer.

“Hey. What’s up?” asked Raptor, stepping over to us.

“Hoss thinks he’s met the girl of his dreams,” I said, smirking.

“I don’t know about the girl of my dreams, but I’d love to make hers come true by slipping her the old Hoss Special,” joked Hoss.

Chopper and I laughed.

“Old man, you’d better calm yourself before you go popping more blood vessels in your eyes,” said Raptor, patting him on the shoulder.

“That happened because of my contacts,” said Hoss, giving him a dirty look. “Not from jacking off. I told you that, fucker.”

Raptor laughed. “So touchy. You quit smoking again?”

“Yeah. As a matter of fact I did,” said Hoss.

“How’s that going?” asked Raptor.

“Not so good, especially when I’m reminded of it,” said Hoss.

“Candy helps,” I said, itching to have a cigarette myself. I’d been trying to cut back because I was broke, and even that was hell.

“I heard that, too. Should have had you pick me up some,” said Hoss. “Or gum. You try that nicotine gum?”

“No,” I said.

He pulled out a piece and unwrapped it. “I’ve been chewing on them for the last couple of days. Seems to take the edge off, I guess.”

“So, who are we looking at?” asked Chopper, leaning over Hoss’s shoulder.

“Lana. She wants to hook up,” said Hoss.

“With
you
?” asked Raptor in disbelief.

“Yeah, with me, dickhead.”

“Isn’t she kind of young for you?” asked Chopper.

“No. She’s old enough. In fact, Lana is a college student, living in Florida. She’s been living off of soup and macaroni-and-cheese for the last year. Ice thinks she’s lying but I don’t know. I mean, it sounds legitimate,” he said, waving his hand at the screen.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” said Chopper as he read the last message she sent to him, a dark expression on his face. “That chick says she loves you and is willing to fly over…
if
she had the money. Emphasis on ‘if’. You don’t see anything wrong with that?”

“Not really. College students are always broke. Nothing unusual about that,” he said matter-of-factly.

“What’s unusual is she wants to hook up with you,” joked Chopper.

Hoss flipped him off.

“She wants to hook him, not hook up,” said Raptor. “You’d better be careful Hoss. I’m serious.”

“Eh. I haven’t given her my credit card number or anything like that. It’s been innocent flirting. Like I told Ice, we’ve been chatting for the last few days.”