One Step Too Close - Coffin Nails MC Louisiana (Gay Biker Stepbrother Romance) (Sex & Mayhem Book 6) (22 page)

Ryder bit the inside of
his lip, watching his brothers in arms snort and cackle. Clearly, there was
only one matter left. “The new prospect.”

Grease, who seemed to
try to disappear in the chair, all red-faced, suddenly sat up straight with
glistening eyes. He seemed very happy about the possibility to be the one to do
the hazing for once.

Wolver nodded. “That’s
right. We have a new candidate. You all know him. He’s been hanging around the
club for a while, and he also works at the gym.”

“It’s Tower,” said
Ryder, happy to see no one protesting. “He’s strong, quick, a good shot, and he
is to be trusted.”

“Yeah, he’s quite the
meathead,” said Mikey with a wide grin.

Ryder waved toward him
with a small smile. At least something was going his way. “I also know that
Brain’s struggling with our money, and Tower’s an accountant.”

Everyone but Brain
himself seemed quite enthusiastic about this development, but the thing was
that Brain wasn’t as brainy as they’d all thought in the beginning. He did
finish college, unlike the rest of them, but he was not the master of math.

Jed raised his eyebrows.
“He’s an accountant?”

Ryder nodded. “Yes, he
did a course to run his own business. He knows how to deal with unwanted
taxes.”

“A prospect?” Brain
moaned and crossed his arms, but he would have no say in this. It would be
happening, and as far as Ryder was concerned, he was looking forward to have
Tower take over from Brain once he got patched in.

Wolver nodded. “Who’s in
favor, raise a hand.”

It seemed like a
non-issue, and even Brain gave in, joining all the others after a moment of
deliberation.

“Looks like it’s a no-
brainer
,”
Axe said and started snorting with laughter. “Get it?”

Brain was not impressed,
and threw a coaster at Axe, but everyone else laughed again. Wolver exchanged a
look with Ryder and shook his head.

“We voted, and Tower is
our new prospect,” he said, grabbing a wooden gavel and smashing it against a
coaster. “Grease, he’s waiting in front of the clubhouse. Get him.”

Grease stared at him for
two seconds, as if surprised that there was anything at all demanded of him now
that he wasn’t a prospect, but eventually Bert pushed him out of the seat.

Grease was back with
Tower a moment later, and Mikey tossed his old prospect vest at the door. Tower
caught it before it slapped him in the face and quickly put it on with a wide
grin. “Why is he talking about Jet Skis?”

Even Ryder laughed this
time.

Jed

Jed had thought his one
week of sobriety would be enough, but Ryder clearly didn’t believe so, because
when they all celebrated Tower’s prospecting, Ryder didn’t allow Jed to have even
a sip. Fighting against it would have been even more embarrassing than
pretending it was his own choice, but it still left him grumpy. Doing detox was
one thing, not being able to have a drink with the new prospect, quite another.
And it wasn’t like Jed was addicted in the first place. He’d just been having a
little bit too much fun for a while, and now Ryder was overreacting.

Ryder didn’t even want
to stay at the clubhouse for too long, and it pissed Jed off, because he so wanted
to witness Tower’s first job—cleaning out the inside of the tank. He’d need a
whole lot of bleach for that one. And a shower after, otherwise he’d end up
smelling of Axe’s cum.

They got into the car in
a weird silence that Jed wasn’t sure how to break. Ryder put his hands on the
steering wheel and stared ahead, kneading the leather. His gray eyes seemed
absent, and his breaths deep as he watched the other guys talk in front of the
clubhouse. When he finally spoke, it came as such a surprise, Jed was startled.

“Why did you speak up
against me?”

“What? I didn’t.” Jed
leaned back in the seat and looked out into the clouds that were getting dark
once again. “I actually make a point of staying quiet, because I didn’t want to
have an argument over a stupid beer.”

Ryder rolled his eyes.
“Really? We decided you’re going sober, and you want to finish after only a
week?”

“I thought that was what
it was gonna be. I’m not some drunkard. You thought I’d never be drinking again
or something? Because if you did, then we have a problem here.”

“Jed, we have much
bigger problems,” said Ryder, suddenly choking him with one sharp glance. “The
club can’t afford electricity, and I had to put us on a fucking payment plan,
but you guys act like it’s a joke!”

Jed sighed. So this is
what it was about. “That bad? I mean… I was just thinking out loud back there.
Crunching the numbers in my head. If it’d be worth it.”

Ryder pressed his lips
tight together. “I already did the numbers. Do you think I’m happy that we need
to suck it up and work more for less profit? I’m not, but I put the club first,
not like you lazy asses!” He looked away and folded his arms across his chest,
inevitably pulling Jed closer with the cuffs.

Jed sighed. “I guess.
It’s not like there’s even burger flippin’ jobs available around. Not to guys
like us.”

Ryder leaned against the
windowsill, his shoulders slumping slightly as he watched the guys pour beer
over Tower’s head through the window. “This club is my whole life. I’m putting
a lot of time and effort into making things work, and everyone’s against me.
Even you. I guess I expected more.”

Guilt punched Jed in the
gut, and he felt so bad that for a moment he was afraid to speak. He sort of
saw that now, but there was no way of taking it back. Ryder was there for the
important people in his life, always keeping an eye on Jed, helping him out
even when that meant keeping secrets from the club, and Jed wouldn’t even
support him in some stupid run that could end up being a fun experience for
everyone. They’d get out of town and chill, away from all the bullshit.

“I’m sorry.” Jed looked
around and when he was sure there was no one to see it, he ran the tips of his
fingers over Ryder’s knee.

Ryder stirred, but after
a second, he grabbed Jed’s hand and squeezed it with his warm palm. “I know. I’m
sorry too. One drink wouldn’t have hurt you. I guess I was pissed off.”

Jed smiled, hoping to
see Ryder happier as well. “Vengeful fucker.”

Ryder gave him a half
smile and pulled out the key. He uncuffed himself and handed it to Jed before
switching on the car. “Guilty.”

Jed removed the cuff off
his hand and stuffed it into the glove compartment. “You sure?”

Ryder glanced at him as
they left through the open gate. “I need to trust you.”

Jed nodded and stared at
Ryder’s handsome profile, still hardly believing all that had happened since
yesterday. He now shared a whole new closeness with Ryder, one that was truly
about honesty and no secrets.

“You can trust me,” he
whispered, too choked up to speak louder. Ryder wanting to be with Jed despite
all the struggle and trouble it would bring him was beyond amazing. Ryder liked
women as well as guys, and still chose Jed. He was loyal to the club, yet
wouldn’t rat Jed out about Dana. He loved the club above all things, yet cared
for Jed more. Jed wanted to live up to that, to be worth the sacrifice Ryder
was making for him.

“Promise?” asked Ryder,
driving into town.

“I promise. Are we going
where I think we’re going?”

Ryder smirked. “I think
so.”

“What’s the plan?”

Ryder took in some air
and blew it out soundly. “What’s in that video?”

Jed sighed. That was the
last thing he wanted to admit to, but there was no way around it. If Ryder was
to help, he needed to know the facts. “So, this guy is on his knees, I’ve got
the phone out, and I’m filming him, and all of a sudden, he flips, and he won’t
do the blowjob. I’ve got my pants open, he’s pissing me off, but then we get interrupted,
I drop the phone, and it catches my face from the floor. There’s also the
dating sites, but now that I think about it, they’re untraceable. I didn’t have
photos there, and I never told anyone anything that could point to me.”

Ryder sighed as they
drove past the gym. He turned left, toward the trailer park where Jed had been
living for the last few years. “That’s not too bad. I thought it would be
worse. How clear is your face? Did you switch on the flashlight during the
recording?”

“Not bad? It’s
clear-ish, and my voice is on there.” Jed raised his eyebrows. “I’m telling him
to suck my dick.” Even saying it out loud was so humiliating he could feel his
face flush.

Ryder cleared his
throat. “You could have kissed him on camera, or something. That’s far gayer
than having a guy suck you off.”

Jed looked down at his
knees and picked on a few threads ripped from the fabric. “You’re the only guy
I ever kissed.”

Ryder grinned, and his
face relaxed. “I know. I like that.”

Jed was dying to grab
Ryder’s hand, or better, kiss him. Or even better, suck his cock. But that was
not about to happen. He’d never be able to touch Ryder in public, when even
Dana, the bitch from hell, would give Jed fake kisses at parties. It wasn’t
fair.

“I like being your first
too.”

Ryder was silent for a
moment, but then he cleared his throat. “You know, maybe let’s just let her
send it. You can say you were drunk and just wanted your cock sucked.”

Jed’s eyes went wide and
he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You want the other guys to know I
told a guy to give me head? Are you insane? Next thing they will imply is that
I serve men on my knees. It would be hell. They’ll know! They’ll see it all
over my face.” He clenched his fists on his knees as panic set in.

Ryder was silent for a
few seconds, watching the road ahead. “I mean, they will think it’s gross, but
it’s all about how you present it. I think there’s a chance of doing this
without betraying the club.”

Jed took big breaths,
unable to think straight as his brain became a tangle of worms. “They’ll see
right through me. And I’ll have to get another fake girlfriend when Dana
leaves. They’ll think it’s something I do often but just got caught once.
Fucking fuck!”

Ryder grabbed Jed’s hand
and squeezed it. “Okay. Okay, we won’t let her do it. We will give her just
enough to fuck off without hurting the club. Is that okay, Jed?”

Jed clung onto Ryder’s
hand as if it was the only thing keeping him from falling down the same path
his bike had. “Y-yeah. There must be a good way to do it.”

Ryder nodded. “Don’t
worry, Jed. It’ll be fine.”

“I’m just so fucking
angry. It never would have happened if I kept my dick in my pants.” Jed groaned,
but never let go of Ryder’s hand.

“You couldn’t have
predicted that. We’ll just never film anything. All right?”

Jed took another gulp of
air. “Yep. No sexting.”

“No? Sexting’s hot.”
Ryder grinned as they drove along the fence surrounding the trailer park. Soon
they drove up to Jed’s trailer, where his other bike was waiting for him in its
protective cover. With the note in which he wrote Ryder could take it.

Jed reluctantly pulled
his hand away from Ryder. “Fuck. Now I wanna sext with you.”

Ryder laughed out loud.
“And I wanna kiss you,” he whispered, looking at Jed with those lovely gray
eyes.

“I’ll hold you to that.
Let’s get this over with first.” Jed exited the car quickly. It wasn’t that he
was eager to see Dana’s face. On the contrary, if he never saw it again, it
would be too soon. He wanted to sort something out with her, and get back to
Ryder’s house, where he belonged.

“Let’s do it,” added
Ryder, and they both marched up to the door. Jed opened it, and they walked
into the narrow corridor. The sound of a ballad was streaming from the living
room, telling Jed that Dana was in full girlfriend mode before she even
appeared in front of them, all dolled up.

“What a surprise! You
didn’t tell me Ryder was coming over,” she said in a voice dripping with
artificial honey.

“I know about the
video,” said Ryder, and it was as if Dana turned into a different person within
a split second. Her eyes became distant, the smile was dead on her face, and
she stopped pushing her chest forward.

“I see. Let me guess,
you want to threaten me?”

Jed’s whole body tensed
up with the loathing coursing in his veins at the sight of her. “We want to
tell you how it will go down, bitch!”

Dana pouted. “Oh, and
you brought your big brother, because you’re so scared?”

Ryder stepped forward in
a way so menacing, Jed expected her to run, but she didn’t. She waited for him
at the entrance to the living room and looked up as he approached.

“Nothing to say? That’s
because you don’t want everyone to turn against your sweet little brother.”

Ryder stood in place,
filling the corridor with his broad shoulders. “Sit down, and we’ll talk.”

It had to be the first
time Jed saw Dana listen to an order since she moved in with him. After a
moment’s hesitation, Jed sat at the table opposite her as well. Ryder joined
them as the last one. Seeing him in the small mobile home only made Jed realize
how much nicer Ryder’s house was, and that was all because in contrast to Jed,
Ryder put effort into his home.

Dana looked between the
two of them. “Looks like I’m finally getting somewhere, Mr. VP.”

“Cut the crap, and tell
me what you want,” said Ryder, stabbing her with his gaze. Completely focused,
Ryder was a beast Jed would not like to have as an enemy, but was more than
happy to have on his side.

“Oh, he hasn’t told you
yet?” asked Dana, but seeing Ryder’s unflinching gaze, she dropped all pretense
at joking. “I want access to Toro.”

“And then what?” Jed
couldn’t hold his anger in. “You fuck over our club?”

Dana didn’t flinch. “I
don’t care about your little club. I will do what I need to do to have Toro
cooperate with me and my boss. Don’t you worry. I need to be allowed close, but
I don’t want other women distracting him either.”

Ryder smirked. “That
would be easy with our new policies. But what is it to you? Are you out to kill
him?”

“No. But details of my
mission are classified. I don’t intend to harm him.” It sounded as if it was a
choice she was making. As if she considered killing a big, international gun
dealer something she could do. It gave Jed the creeps. “To be fair, I’ve heard
there’s a price on his head. There’s been at least three major attempts on his
life. Maybe you guys could profit there. With the club being poor and all
that.”

“What the fuck do you
know about our business?” Jed hissed at her, unable to be in the same room with
her without getting angry.

Dana raised her
eyebrows. “Your clubhouse needs a paintjob.”

Ryder narrowed his eyes.
“What is this about then? You want to go behind our back and make your boss
Toro’s partner?”

“Toro has many business
partners, so that shouldn’t be a problem. On the contrary. The better off he
is, the better off my boss is, the better off we all are. As long as a
different
club
from the region doesn’t make a connection with him, that
is...”

“Is that a threat?”
asked Ryder.

Dana raised her hands
and made a fake-innocent face. It was quite convincing for someone who was dead
inside. “Not at all. I’m just saying you probably want to make your deal quick,
because he prefers to have few strong partnerships. My boss is located in South
America, so he isn’t a threat to you. But other motorcycle clubs might be. Just
a friendly piece of advice. I could put in a good word for you provided you put
me in the right place when he comes over.”