Twisted Asphalt (Asphalt Outlaw Series Book 1) (18 page)

CHAPTER 24

Clubhouse. 10 minutes ago. C U there.

Mace stared at the blurred message, trying to decipher
exactly what it said. More important, who the fuck was it from? Pushing up from
the bed, he wiped the sleep out of his eyes, then glanced at Amy.

She had come last night in a fury unlike anything he had
seen from her. She didn’t know whether to cry or be pissed off. It took Mace
over an hour to get her to tell him what the hell happened. She was upset over
Thorne’s display of self-defamation, and the cryptic promise Maggie forced her
to make. Mace ended up holding her until she fell asleep.

Thorne’s reaction was expected and Mace tried to explain
that to Amy, but she heard none of it. Thorne’s hateful words had struck a
chord inside Amy, and she felt it was all her fault Thorne was disfigured. He
told her Demon was the root of all of this, not her. He was bat-shit crazy and
didn’t give a shit about anyone else but him. It didn’t work. Instead, she
cried herself to sleep in his arms.

Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, he looked down
at the phone. The message was from Stone. Mace frowned and texted back that
he’d be on his way in a few. He needed to shower and get a cup of coffee to
wake his ass up.

He skipped shaving, leaving him rather rough looking, but it
wasn’t like he was trying to win a popularity contest. Pouring coffee into a
thermos mug, he picked up his cut and headed out to the garage. Setting the
metal cup in the cup holder on the handlebars, he slipped on the cut and buttoned
it up. Pulling out his bandanna, he combed his hair out of his face and tied
the cloth off, fired up his bike and headed out.

Arriving at the clubhouse, he parked the bike and sat there
for a minute. Everyone was already inside. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he
sighed, hiked his leg over the seat, and walked toward the doors. Cancel that,
not only was everyone inside, they were already in the Chapel Room. Turning off
his phone, he placed it on the table and took his seat, before cracking open
his coffee and taking a long sip.

Saber closed the door and reclaimed his seat next to Mace as
Stone banged the gavel.

“I’m calling this meeting to order. We have a lot to cover
today. I’m not going to cover the last meeting, we all know what happened. More
things have come into light we need to discuss.” Stone leaned forward and laid
his hands on the table, looking at each one of the brothers before he spoke.
“Miguel Velasquez is now the president of Temer Gallo. We all know what that
means. He’s going to try to come into the territory and take it over. When you
have TGMC, you have drugs.”

There was a collective expel of breath, everyone
understanding the drug issues. SOMC did not support drugs. With drugs came
drama, drug use, lying, stealing and death. It was a bad scene to get into. At
least with strip clubs and porn, they had legit money to cover up the gun
running. And with the gun business, came honor among thieves. Yes, there were
some douchebags out there, but ninety-five percent of the time, people paid and
it was over with.

“Romeo and I will be going to Lompoc early in the morning.
It’s in three days, and I don’t feel good about it. I want to make sure it’s
secure for the delivery. Saber, you and Talon will take point; Mace, Axe, you
two will take rear and make sure you’re not followed. We don’t need the TGMC
trying to hijack the load. There’s no telling what Demon is capable of after
his last escapade with Saber and Thorne.

“I want everyone carrying. I don’t want to see anyone
getting hurt or taken by surprise. This shit is about to get real and I do not
want any chances taken. Arrival time is noon. The deal goes down at twelve
fifteen. Once the money is in hand, we boogie. They don’t need to test the
merch, so we can scatter and meet back here.”

Mace drew in a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds,
then slowly released it. This would be a very sticky situation. It was too
close to the Air Force base and open enough to be exposed. “You’re too exposed
there, Stone. You need to move it around to the warehouses and keep it locked
down. It’s safer that way.”

Romeo nodded. “I agree. They have a series of warehouses and
garages toward the base’s airfield, and it will give us more privacy and
advantage points to make sure you’re left alone for the deal.”

Stone rubbed his hand over his goatee, slowly nodding. “We
can do that. I agree, it needs to be private. I don’t want anyone to surprise
us.”

Where Romeo was telling Stone to go, was going to make it
easier for the ATF to take them down. Mace wasn’t going to let them know they
made his job easier. That was just fine by him. His heart was heavy knowing
that he wasn’t going to see Amy ever again. It wasn’t something he needed to
think about right now. He was going to have to call Jones and tell him the
exact location, now that he knew.

“Next order of business.” Stone paused, clearing his throat.
He let out a deep breath and sniffed, “I’ll be retiring after the run.” He held
up his hand while shaking his head. “Hush! Listen to me. I lost my wife, and I
almost lost my daughter to this life. I’m too old for this shit. I just want to
kick it at the ranch, and help my daughter breed her horses and keep running my
cattle.

“I don’t want my position in this club reflecting on my
daughter’s well-being anymore. Romeo is a guy, I hate to say it, but it’s not
going to affect him like it will Amy. TGMC targeted my daughter, not me, not
Romeo. She’s wearing a target and the only way for it to be removed is if I
step down.”

Mace licked his lips, falling back against his seat. Rolling
his top lip between his teeth, he looked around the room at all of the shocked
faces. Would they all look this shocked when they realized who their club
informant was? Would they try and find Mace and retaliate against him?

“I move for a vote. I nominate the following: Romeo as
president. Wolf as vice-president. Saber as sergeant at arms. Axe as treasurer,
Talon stays as secretary and Mace as road captain.”

Mace blinked, head jerking up to look at Stone in surprise.
Oh shit, they had a rude awakening coming. They could nominate him, and then
seat him, but in three days, he was gone. He would be nothing more than a bad
memory in their eyes.

Stone held up his gavel and looked around the room, “Do I
hear any objections to the new order? Does anyone have anything to say?” No one
spoke. “Then in three days hence, this motion is put into effect.” He slammed
down the gavel.

Mace watched everyone, not wanting to say anything. He had
his own thoughts to deal with. He wanted to run far away from all this shit. He
also wanted to throw in the towel and say fuck it. To hell with it all. Keep
the girl, give everything up and move on. He hated himself more than anything
in that moment.

Why did he have to stick to his morals? To abide by the law,
which he had sworn to uphold and protect at all costs? Why couldn’t he just
live and love like he wanted to?

Most men in this type of situation came out on top. They had
their cake and ate it too. Unfortunately, Mace didn’t see a way for any of it
to work. The minute Stone dismissed the meeting, Mace was gone. There was no
staying and bullshitting, no congratulating everyone. He couldn’t stand the
idea of being around everyone and lying about how excited he was to be road
captain. Yes, he was ecstatic that he held office, but it came with a price and
he wasn’t ready to pay the toll.

* * * *

Amy had cried enough. She had felt sorry for herself all day
long. In the end, Mace was right. None of it was her fault. Demon was a man, a
very evil, crazy, sadistic male, but he was responsible for his own actions.
She never made him believe she was in love with him; she had rebuffed every
move he made on her. She had said no on more than one occasion.

The man had tried to rape her! It wasn’t her fault. But, in
the end, it still felt like it was. Amy knew Mace was trying his best to make
her think otherwise, but it didn’t stop her from thinking of things she might
have done to deserve the unwanted advances.

She had done nothing.

Amy had been nothing more than herself, and it was obvious
that Demon couldn’t handle it. She had to come to grips with it, and soaking in
a hot bath had helped her do just that. Of course, Maggie’s request hadn’t
helped much either, but Amy would have done the same thing if Romeo had been
injured. Club life shortened your life span and Maggie was making sure her
sister was taken care of. Thorne was twenty-two, it wasn’t like she was a
child, she was a grown ass woman. With her disfigurement, Maggie was being
protective.

Maggie had called Amy earlier and told her the doctors were
releasing her in a couple of days. She was healing better than expected, which
was enough for a celebration. Amy put together a care package, which not only
took up a whole suitcase, but contained her portable DVD player,
Dirty
Dancing
and
Urban Cowboy
, and her favorite stuffed animal that
survived the explosion; a cute, cuddly pink rabbit her mother had given her
when she had chicken pox. Stopping by Thorne’s favorite sushi place, Amy got
enough sushi to feed all three girls. Thorne would welcome something healthy
and familiar.

Finally making it to the hospital, the door to Thorne’s room
cracked open when Amy neared it. She could tell something wasn’t quite right by
the look on Dalton’s face.

“What’s wrong?”

Dalton pulled the door closed, but never let go of the
handle. Concern flooded his features as he looked at Amy. “The doctor came in,
and I overheard their conversation. He said she won’t be able to even think
about looking at corrective surgery for her face for a year. She took it pretty
hard.”

Amy’s heart broke for Thorne. She wanted to scrub a hand
over her face but she was holding the tray of sushi. “Shit.”

Dalton frowned as he glanced through the small window, then
back to Amy. “I tried to talk to her, I even brought her some flowers, which
she threw at me, screaming ‘get out’ and ‘quit staring at the freak show’ She’s
going to need help, Amy.”

Amy chewed on the side of her cheek, blinking back unshed
tears. Thorne was not only physically scarred, but mentally as well. It had to
be killing her inside; it sure as hell was killing Amy, and she wasn’t the one
scarred for life. “We’ll get her help. I promise.”

Dalton nodded and pushed the door open for Amy. “I’ll help
any way I can.”

Amy paused mid-stride and looked up to Dalton in surprise. “Thank
you. You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to.” He dropped his voice, speaking low enough for
Amy to hear. “That’s my brother’s partner laying there, Amy. She’s family. I
may not be a medic or anything important, but family is.”

“You’re important, Dalton. We all are. No matter what we
do.” She patted his arm. When she pulled her hand away, she had to hide the
look of shock. His arm was solid muscle while not flexed. That was a scary
thought.

“Surprise! The party train has now arrived with sushi and
movies!” Amy danced into the room, relieved when she heard Thorne laugh at her
antics. “Do we want to start with Travolta or Swayze?”

Maggie grinned. “I’m down with some Swayze.”

“Ditto.” Thorne turned to look at Amy. “I’m sorry for
yesterday, Amy.”

“Don’t be. You have every right to be upset. It’s going to
take time to heal and get over the accident.”

“I know, but it wasn’t fair to blame you or Saber for it. I
know he rides, and it was a rival gang or some crap, but it still hurts knowing
that my dreams will never come true now.”

“Oh honey,” Amy set the food and suitcase down and rushed
over to Thorne, wrapping her arms around the girl, as best as she could,
considering. “Don’t give up. And fuck that shit. You’ll be on the cover of
Sports Illustrated, even if we have to go strong arm them. You’ve got what it
takes, and when you get out of here, we’re going to show them that. Just
watch.” Pulling back from her, she smiled. “I promise, don’t give up.”

“I’ll try. It’s not like I’ll find Prince Charming anytime
soon.”

Maggie rolled her eyes and snorted. “Who wants Prince
Charming when you can have Travolta or Swayze?”

Amy burst out laughing as she grabbed the food and set it
out on the rolling table. “Speaking of dreamboats, have you checked out the
prospect?” Amy fanned herself.

Maggie perked up and looked to the closed door. “No, why? I
haven’t paid much attention to him.”

Thorne cleared her throat as she placed a couple of pieces
of eel on her plate. “He’s hot, in a pretty boy sort of way.”

“No fricken way. His arms are like … solid as bricks!” Amy
fixed Maggie a plate and handed it to her. “He’s hotter than Saber and Saber is
sizzling.”

Maggie’s laugh turned into a snort; she almost dropped her
plate. “He doesn’t have the long lion mane Saber has, but he does have rugged
good looks.”

Amy was happy she changed the topic, men were always fun to
gossip about and it would give Thorne a chance to feel like a normal girl and
not the bride of Frankenstein.

“He’s a beast in the gym.” Thorne nibbled on her eel.

Amy’s brows shot up. “You’ve seen him before?”

“When I’d wait for Saber at the gym, he’d be in there
lifting.” Thorne shrugged as she poured herself a glass of water. “He’s
seriously beast. We’re talking Hulk smash shit. I would think he was juicing,
but looking at Saber, you know it’s genetics.”

Amy hooked up the player to the TV and put in the DVD.
Starting the movie, she sat down to attack her rice and tuna. It was
interesting Thorne knew so much about the prospect, but she was Saber’s partner
after all. Being around one another for hours on end, she probably knew more
about him than she wanted to know.