* * *
I wokeup the next day to my cell phone ringing. Fumbling around with my eyes still closed, I knocked it off my nightstand, making me crack my eyelids open to find it on the floor. Ryder’s name on the screen had me answering immediately, even though my voice was a harsh croak.
“Meeting at the bar in an hour.” Ryder hung up before I could reply, but that didn’t matter. It wasn’t a request.
Sitting up in bed, I stretched my arms over my head, feeling my back crack. Cramming myself into the backseat of that car last night had not been easy or comfortable, and I was paying for it today, but it was worth it. My morning erection throbbed at the memory of Erica’s moans and the way she’d gasped my name.
I still wasn’t sure what I wanted out of this relationship with her, but my body had plenty of ideas about it. I was yawning as I stumbled into the bathroom, tripping over my damn boot that I had kicked off the night before.
Righting myself, I headed to the shower and turned it on the hottest temperature I could stand. Shedding my boxers, I stepped under the spray, letting the warmth seep into my muscles and relax them. My shower at the gym last night had been a quick one, since I was so eager to get outside to meet Erica. This morning I took my time, washing every inch of my body slowly. My skin felt overly sensitive, and the erection jutting out at my hips wasn’t going away any time soon.
Finally, I decided that I’d have to do something about it. Leaning my back against the tiled wall of the shower, I gripped myself. A fantasy played out in my mind of Erica here with me, water droplets running down her naked body as she got on her knees. I remembered the way her eyes seemed to turn a darker shade of green when she was aroused, and I imagined her looking up at me through her eyelashes with that same raw heat. I wanted it to be her hand on me… her lips… her tight-
My orgasm rippled through me faster than I expected, and Erica’s name left my lips with a low moan. The evidence of my release washed down the drain, as I stood there trying to slow my racing heart.
One thing was clear: I needed more of Erica.
When I was done showering, I hurried through my morning routine and left the house ten minutes later. When I reached the bar, the parking lot was already half-full of motorcycles.
Our two Prospects, Denny and Blade, were flanking the door of the bar, ensuring that no one came in during our meeting other than Outlaw Souls members. I nodded to both men as I passed.
The front of the bar was desert, with chairs still up on the tables from mopping the night before. It wouldn’t open for several more hours. I headed to the backroom, where all the meetings were held. I could hear the voices of the members that were already waiting.
It looked like I was the last to arrive as I pushed open the door and everyone looked my way. Ryder stood up as I planted myself in the closest empty seat I saw.
“Alright. Now that we’re all here, I’ll get right to it.” He looked angry. “You all know that we’ve been tracking an increase in meth in the community. Well, thanks to Trainer spotting a dealer down by the boardwalk, we’ve officially been able to link it to Las Balas.”
“So, what are we going to do about it?” Moves asked. As our enforcer, he was always eager to go bust some heads.
“There’s a bigger problem. In our surveillance of the dealer, we discovered that we’d been betrayed by one of our own.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Carlos. He’s been spying on us for Las Balas for months,” Ryder spoke through gritted teeth.
“Why? Pin asked. I could hear my confusion reflected in his voice. Carlos was our friend, a part of the MC family. I couldn’t understand how he could do such a thing.
“It’s the bullshit drug,” Ryder explained. “He’s a meth head. I missed the signs-”
“We all did,” Swole cut in. She was the only one that didn’t appear shocked by this. I figured she helped RyderinterrogateCarlos. How else could they have acquired this information?
“Yeah, well,” Ryder scanned each of our faces, as if he were looking for a sign of disloyalty. He wouldn’t find one in me. “The point is, Carlos Brown has been banned from the club, and if anyone sees him in our territory again, let me know immediately.”
“I doubt he’ll be stupid enough to come around,” Swole said, cracking her knuckles. “That broken jaw of his should be a hell of a reminder that we aren’t to be trifled with.”
“All the same,” Ryder said. “La Balas have crossed a line by converting one of our patches. As far as I’m concerned, they’ve declared war.”
Twelve
Erica
I felt like I hadn’t spent any quality time with Dominic lately. Maybe it was some form of separation anxiety since I had a job now. I felt like I was missing a connection with him. He spent more time with the babysitter than with me.
So, when I picked him up from the sitter this evening, I didn’t take us home. Instead, we went to the pizza place for his favorite dinner. As Dominic sat opposite me in the booth, filling me in on his day, it struck me that this place already felt like home. We’d been here for two weeks and had started to build a life.
I just prayed that we would be able to stay.
“Mom?” Dominic suddenly looked pensive as he dropped his eyes.
