At that I stand straight up as Psycho shakes his head. The brothers’ mouths behind him are hanging open and Honey’s face is a bright red. Sparkle is actually chuckling as she walks toward the club girl, grabbing on to her arm, pulling her past Julie and Psycho, before handing her off to Rocket.
“Prospect, help this bitch pack her shit, put her ass in a club van, and take her to the bus stop. I know she doesn’t have a car, so it’s either the bus stop or train station and, personally, I don’t care which one. Honey, hey, look at me. I better not see your face around here again, or what that lil’ girl did to you will be nothing to what I plan to do. You get me?”
Honey’s eyes never leave Sparkle’s and I can see the fear in them. Sparkle is older than any of the club girls. She’s gorgeous with long, wavy red hair and the clearest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. She tries to hide the Irish brogue, but when she’s pissed it comes on heavy. She’s a tall woman and I’ve watched her kick a brother’s ass when shit goes down. Sparkle also has a heart of gold and is thankful for this job ’cause she’s got kids she’s trying to raise with an ol’ man who is an over-the-road trucker, so he’s rarely around. Generally, Sparkle is here every day after the kiddos go to school and most days leaves between three and four in the afternoon. If we need her she comes in when we call but has, at times, brought the little ones in. Even though they’re cute, this ain’t no fuckin’ place for kids. Not yet anyway. Onceour hands are clean then I’m good with Sparkle’s kids being here, but now those visits need to be few and far between.
I’m again in my head, so when I feel hands on my arm I go to jerk back, until I hear a soft voice telling me not to make a scene. Heading to my room, first I step in, then Julie, and finally Psycho. I close the door, turn, and raise my eyebrows. Psycho shakes his head and Julie’s face turns pinkish, which is cute as hell. Even with a killer headache, can’t let this opportunity to raze Julie go.
“Well, whatcha waiting for, Darlin’? Get out of those clothes so Psycho and I can rock your world. Brother, you want the front or back hole this time?”
Julie almost runs to the other side of the room while Psycho starts laughing out loud. Before she can get one word out, a heavy knock hits the door before it swings open and Incubus is standing in the doorway. I can tell by the glimmer in his eyes he’s here for some payback, so I give him a little nod.
“Fuck, I didn’t miss the party, did I, brothers? Heard our guest over there is looking for a party and, gotta say, been in the mood for an orgy. Shit, we haven’t had one for a while so I’m sure the other brothers will be in. Maybe we can have her do a train, but first I want to get my mouth and teeth on her.”
With that, Julie lets out a shriek and a little scream. Her eyes look like a trapped animal about to be killed. Knowing I need to step in, right when I go to push off the wall the pain intensifies so badly in my head that I land on my knees. Incubus and Psycho immediately are at my sides, pulling me up, and walking me to my bed. Incubus tells Julie to get a cold washcloth, while Psycho starts to take my boots off. I never lie in my kutte, so in a gutted voice I tell Incubus to get it off of me. When it’s off, Julie walks back into the room with a couple of towels. I’m now in my boxer briefs and a club T-shirt lying down. Incubus takes the towels, quietly thanking her, and hands off my kutte. All three of uswatch her as she gingerly looks at the kutte with all my patches relaying my life as a biker. A needle could have been heard at how quiet it got when Julie turned, walking to the small table in the corner. She pulled a chair out and placed my kutte on the back of that chair. Both of my brothers’ eyes jerk back to me, as I can’t believe my eyes. Most women would throw it on the floor or toss it. Not this one. She showed not only the kutte but me and my club respect. Julie turns, sees all of our expressions, and seems to go within herself.
“What… did I do something wrong? Didn’t want to just toss it on the floor. Hey, Blue Eyes, you okay? Damn, you look so pale. Hey, Incubus, what’s wrong with him?”
Before my brother can answer, the dark pulls me under as I succumb to my migraine. The last words I hear are Julie’s ordering my brothers to do something.This woman is gonna be so much fuckin’ trouble in my life, my club, and generally in every aspect that is me,is my final thought before nothing.
SIX
JULIE
Sitting at one of the longest tables I’ve ever sat at, I’m watching food being passed around. The table is only half full of what I’m thinking is the entire club, all men and a couple of the scantily clothed women. I’m sitting between Sparkle and Psycho, who asked me to sit next to him. Right after Psycho asked, Incubus shocked me to no end when he told me to park it right next to him. Well, since I already was sitting between Sparkle and the VP, Incubus stomped to the other side of the table and shoved Nickel out of the way to sit right across from me. Psycho bumped my side, saying loudly that I might have a new friend since Incubus seems to want to keep me to himself. Everyone, including the man in question, starts cackling, laughing, or just chuckling.
I notice immediately each and every one of these guys has on those vests, no, what did Blue Eyes call it…yeah, a kutte. It gives their nickname—or whatever that’s called—and what their position is in the club. Well, except Rocket, Nickel, and Dreamer, theirs just say Prospect, no name or anything else. On the back, lower down on the patch, it says Indiana Chapter and that’s it. Guess they don’t get all the fancy patches and stuff ’til they get in, who knows? Looking around, my curiosity is killingme. The guys with T-shirts on have tattoos with the same logo that is on the back of their kutte, though each is unique unto itself. Some are black and white while others are vibrant colors. Another thing that comes to mind is, they are not what I thought they would be from the television shows I’ve watched or in the books I’ve read. Yeah, I don’t need anyone to tell me they are all badass, even the prospects. Anyone with eyes can see that. But if you take a moment to watch and listen, they all have a heart. Not sure why they want to hide it, but deep down there is a camaraderie between them. I can hear each and every one asking about their president. Incubus tells them all that he’s resting and will be fine. Someone named Shorty is watching over him, according to Psycho. I have no idea if Shorty is a man or a woman, but the thought of some female sitting or worse lying next to him for some huge reason bothers me and that concerns me. Listening to the different conversations, I catch on that some of these men have families, ol’ ladies—which I’m assuming is like a girlfriend—and a few have kids, though not sure if it’s like a family unit or they knocked someone up.
A huge plate filled with pork chops, chicken, and what looks to be sausage appears before my eyes. Holy shit, that’s a lot of food. When I go to grab it, Psycho tells me he’ll hold it for me while I take some meat. The prospects start cackling as Rocket loudly shouts out, “That’s what he said,” and the three prospects start laughing hysterically. I look up to see Incubus giving Rocket the stink eye. The prospect ignores it, though I can see a tinge of fear in his eyes as Incubus stares him down. Psycho tells Incubus to chill which, surprisingly, has the club enforcer nodding and looking down at his plate. I grab a pork chop, putting it on my plate when Psycho tells me to try the chicken too. I haven’t eaten like this in a long time, so I indulge. After getting some mashed potatoes, corn, biscuits, and salad, I cut upmy meat. As I go to put a piece in my mouth, I hear a voice I wasn’t sure I’d ever hear again.
“Holy fuck, Cobalt wasn’t lying. Juju, is that you? Let me go, asshole, that’s my baby sister over there. No, I’m not gonna run. Please let me go, Hurricane.”
The guy hanging on to my brother’s arm is beyond huge. He has to stand at least six foot six inches or more, as my brother looks like a little kid standing next to him, and Jimmy is just under six feet. His auburn hair, which is super long, is lying down his back in a loose braid, a piece of leather holding the bottom. He has a face, I swear, could be in commercials; it’s so chiseled. I mean, Blue Eyes is gorgeous, but this guy literally takes my breath away. When his eyes look my way, I’m stunned to see one is golden brown while the other is emerald green. He must see the way I’m drooling over him because when he smiles, and those two dimples show up, I’m a goner. Hearing Sparkle giggling next to me, I look her way to see her watching the interaction. It dawns on me it got really quiet, so I glance around to see everyone watching me. Oh great, they all saw me drooling over their brother. Hearing a throat clearing, I look across the table to see Incubus smirking like a demented idiot. I raise my eyebrow and his smirk gets bigger.
“Oh, Cobalt ain’t gonna like hearing you were drooling over lil’ Hurricane over there. Our prez will not be happy, that’s for sure. Julie, don’t play poker ’cause, woman, you don’t have a poker face at all.”
Hearing feet moving quickly, I turn just in time to see Jimmy coming my way. I shift so I can stand up while Psycho pulls my chair out. Smiling at him, I wait with open arms for my big brother when I noticed he’s beaten to shit. Before I can ask what the hell happened, I’m in his arms being crushed to him. My breath gasps out but I don’t care; he’s here and alive. That’s all that matters for the moment.
“Thank Christ, I asked Cobalt and Incubus to make sure you were okay. Julie, you all right? Did anything happen before the guys got to you? Did Salvatore send some goombahs to grab you and bring you to him? I tried when they nabbed me, saying you didn’t know or see a thing, but he didn’t believe me. Wait, how did you end up at the Kings of Anarchy clubhouse? I mean, never did I think Cobalt would bring you into the wolves’ den.”
My brother tentatively glances at Incubus, who literally shows his teeth.What the fuck is wrong with that dude?I think to myself. When Jimmy lets me go, I hear a grunt, which has me looking at my brother closely. He’s leaning to one side and his face has paled, covered in sweat.
“Jimmy, who the hell beat you up? Have you been checked out yet? Blue Eyes said he’d have his medic give you a once-over, did he?”
When my brother puts his head down and I hear Incubus growl, “Stash,” it hits me who beat him up. I jerk my way to looking at Incubus, who looks right back at me. Not sure why I ask, but being me, I just have to. With all the snark I can muster up, I snap at him.
“You demonic bastard from hell, did you beat the shit out of my brother? Don’t grin at me like I’m a stupid bitch because that’s one thing I’m not. So if it’s even possible, tell me the truth.”
Watching Incubus, I hear Jimmy right beside me telling me to shut my mouth. I turn to look at him, and he’s so white it’s like he has no blood. When I look down, I see a huge blood stain on the right back side of his T-shirt. That’s right before he leans into me, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.
“Jimmy, nooooo. Someone, help him please. I promise to keep out of your business. Please help my brother. I can’t lose him too.”
Feeling strong arms wrapping around me, I look up to see Dreamer, who’s moving me out of the way, as Hurricane with a huge black doctor’s bag runs to my brother’s side. Psycho already ripped my brother’s T-shirt off with his bare hands, as Nickel brings a bunch of what looks like towels. As big as Hurricane is, I can’t believe how gentle he is. Just like a doctor or paramedic, he starts going through my brother’s stats with Psycho and Nickel assisting him. When the big guy cusses, I know something isn’t right.
“Hurricane, what’s wrong? Is he going to be okay? Can you fix it?”
He looks up at me and the look in his eyes sends my blood pressure to another level as he doesn’t answer me. The room vibe changes as everyone is up and moving. The table is cleared as Rocket throws a white sheet across it. My brother is carefully lifted onto the table and I see one of the other guys rolling in a machine, followed by another guy with another machine. So much is going on I can’t keep track of everyone, so when I see Incubus coming out of the kitchen area wiping his hands on a towel, I lose my shit, unfortunately.
“No, demon from hell, you aren’t touching my brother. You’ve done enough damage, don’t you think? If not for you he wouldn’t be in this position. Hey, I’m talking to you, asshole. Get away from my brother.”
