Tommy Rich: Defendes MC Series Book 7 (Defenders MC Series) (7 page)

“He will be taken care of at the clubhouse.  He seems like a good guy, shouldn’t have any trouble making the cut when he puts in his time.”

“He was really nice to me and wasn’t any trouble.”

“Well, that’s good.  I didn’t know who they would send and some of the new guys are terrible.”

Mina laughed.  They must be really bad if Candy didn’t like them, she liked everybody.  She decided to change the subject.

“Are you thinking scary movie while we wait?”

“Oh girl you know how I think!  Let’s do a slasher flick.  Something totally terrible.”

Mina laughed as she pulled out something cozy to wear and got ready to settle down for a fun night with her favorite friend.

“I need a shower first if that’s ok.”

“Go, go.  I’ll heat up everything and pick out a good one for us to watch.”

“Nothing too scary!  I don’t have a man to curl up with like you do!”

“You could!  Say the word and I will make a call.”

Mina laughed.  Candy made a call up booty call sound like ordering pizza.  She was one of a kind.

Eight

Mina climbed out of her car and tugged the neckline of her dress up.

“Stop it.  You aren’t showing anything important.  You look hot as hell.  Stop it.  If this new guy is it for you then you need one last hoorah.”  Candy rolled her eyes and smacked at Mina’s hands.  “Stop.”  She leaned over and inspected Mina’s exposed chest.  “Not even a sign of a nipple.  Stop fussing.”

Candy had pulled Mina’s inky hair up on her head so only a few thick curls fell down her back.  Her lips were painted red again and glossed to make them look moist.  She had done her makeup much the way she had for work only using a little more liner to define her eyes.  She heard a whistle and turned to see a blonde bombshell walking toward her and the woman was dressed as a sexy nurse to go with Candy’s candy striper outfit.  Both women were knockouts and their costumes were sexy without showing more than they should around the children.

“You look like a sexy little blood sucker, the guys will be wondering if you’ll be willing to suck something else so be prepared.”  Mrs. touched her long red tipped finger to Mina’s nose in a gesture that was way too motherly to come from a woman dressed as she was.

Mina smiled revealing her vampire teeth and the woman threw her head back and laughed.

“That may put them off, but a few will be relentless.  Remember our little strip number over at
Tease?   
They will.  Damn that was a fun night.  I’m hoping tonight turns out that well.”  She wiggled her eyebrows.  “Anybody gives you shit you come see me.”

Mina smiled.  “Yes ma’am and thank you.  I’m a little nervous.”

“Oh don’t you worry honey, we’ll watch after you.  Things won’t start getting rough until after nine so you’ll be safe and we will get your ass out of here by then unless you change your mind and want to stay.”

Mrs. leaned over and pressed her cheek to Mina’s as she wrapped her in a hug.

“I’m glad to have you honey.  Ink is precious to me and since you are his family that just sort of overlaps you too.  I hope we see more of you.  He loves you like a sister.”  She pulled back.  “Did you know that honey?  He really does.  Last Christmas he grumbled like a bear and Angel told me it was because he was gloomy because you couldn’t come up to share it with him.  Family matters girly.”

Mina didn’t know what to say.  She loved Ink too, but he was several years older than she and he had always been so quiet and brooding when they all lived with his parents, then it had just been the two of them after the accident that took his family.  He had been in the army and had been in the Persian Gulf for months.  He’d been home on leave when the officer came to the door.  Ink had stayed home with Mina so his parents could go out on a date.  They hadn’t wanted to leave him, but he insisted and even made his dad let him pay for the meal.  He’d told them he would be there for two weeks and they would have plenty of time to catch up.  He’d been wrong.

After the accident Ink was able to get discharged to take care of her.  She felt terrible, but he insisted that it was the right thing for him to do.

They had moved to the city with the money Ink’s parents had left to him.  The house had been rented and the cars both went back since the payments were too high to pay.  That had left the two of them with only a beat up old Harley and little else.

Ink enrolled in a technical school that was about an hour’s drive from the town where his parents had lived.  He and Mina had decided it made more sense to move there since it would be easier to find work and go to school in the larger town.   They called it the city because it was bigger than the one stoplight town they grew up in, but really it was just a small town.  It was just a bigger small town than what they were used to.  She didn’t think she’d be able to live in a big city and was grateful she didn’t have to.  She was also grateful that Ink had decided to take her in.  She was too young to be on her own and he was her only family.

He seemed haunted at times and Mina didn’t know how to reach him, but he always made sure there was some kind of food and they had a place to live.  She had no idea how he had managed it, but he had worked almost constantly to make sure she had what she needed and had as much comfort as possible.  All while going to school too.

The school helped Ink get a job with a tattoo studio after he finished and Mina waited tables.  Ink insisted on helping her through school as soon as he was out and making good money.  It was almost two years before he met a man who wanted to buy that old motorcycle.  Ink had refused, but the man hung around and haggled for months.  Ink became obsessed with bikers and the lifestyle they led after that.  The thought of that sort of freedom seemed to call to him after being shackled with so much responsibility.

Mina hadn’t understood any of it and it frightened her if she were honest.  She hated it when some of Ink’s new friends came to the apartment late at night.  She had started moving her dresser in front of her door before going to bed, but Ink always made it clear that she was off limits in that quiet way of his that tended to scare the shit out of men.

The men were in and out of town regularly and it wasn’t long until they had Ink convinced to move to Cool Creek.

There just happened to be an opening in the tattoo parlor the club used and the job was his if he would make the move.  He had asked Mina to tag along, but she had seen that he didn’t want her to, he wanted to spread his wings and fly for the first time in his life and she cut him loose.  He had done so much for her and she wouldn’t hold him back.  She had stayed in the little apartment and finished school.  When she graduated she found a job, with the help of the technical school she had attended and she started trying to put down roots, but she had never really been good at it.

Ink had gotten married about a year after that and she had seen very little of him.  Sure he called on her birthday and from time to time just to say hello, but Mina felt detached from the only family she had left and it saddened her.

Hearing Mrs.’s words made something bubble inside her and when the woman hugged her again Mina almost cried.  How pathetic was that?

She pasted on a bright smile and followed the two women inside where the other women were getting everything ready.  There was a skeleton wearing a grim reaper’s robe standing by the door and pumpkins sitting on the ground.

“There will be pumpkin carving later so I hope you aren’t squeamish about pulling the guts out.”  Mrs. said, pointing to the pumpkins.

“I’m a dental assistant… very little bothers me.”

“Oh good lord how can you do that?  People’s mouths are so gross!”

Mina laughed at the woman and shook her head.  “You get used to it after a while.”

This woman was tough as nails, if what Mina had been told was true, and yet here she was making Mina feel better.  Preacherman might be the backbone of the club, but this woman was the nervous system.

Mina saw Angel with her hands on her hips, blasting some woman with a mop of red hair and Candy laughed. 

“Wonder what Mace did to piss Angel off.  It’s about time somebody tore into her though.”

Mina was surprised.  She had never heard Candy take that tone about anyone before.

“I have a right to be here!”

“No you fucking don’t.”

“I’m his mother!  I should be able to at least see him.”  Mace argued.

“No, you are the whore who pushed him out into this world.  His mother will be with him tonight and she will not want to see your shank ass so no.”

“You can’t keep me from my kid.”

Mrs. stepped up to join in the conversation.  She didn’t raise her voice or even look angry.  “You have no right to that boy.  You signed him away like he was nothing.”

“I had no choice and you know it!!”

The sound of the slap Mrs. delivered rang in the room and had heads turning.  “You don’t get to talk to me.  I talk, you listen.  If you want to talk to me, you can tell Rena and she can let me know if it is worth me hearing it, which is doubtful.  Now then.  You will not show up tonight until eleven or you will be out of a job.  Give me anymore lip and you will be banned from the part and I’m sure that will put a dent in your plans for what you will earn tonight from my boys.”

Mace’s face turned so red Mina thought she might catch fire.

“Now then, Angel darling, that is how you handle the shanks around here.  No need to get your feathers ruffled, they aren’t worth the blood pressure spike.”

Mina watched the redhead stomp out of the room and Angel turned with a huff, “Fucking skank thinks she can hang around during family time just because her fucking kid is gonna be here.  Over my dead body.”

“Kid?  Mace has a kid?  How did I not know that?”  Candy’s eyes were wide.

“I don’t know how you didn’t know it sweet cheeks, but she got knocked up a few years ago and the daddy decided to take the kid since his old lady couldn’t have any.”  Angel shrugged.  “She didn’t even put up a fight.  What kind of woman just gives her kid away?  He’s about eight now, maybe nine.  Cutest little guy.  Lives in Phoenix.  His daddy transferred out once the kid was born.  Didn’t set well with his old lady having his whore this close.  I can see how that might be hard to swallow.”  She sighed.  “Anyway, Mace thought she should be able to hang out and pretend to be a decent person for a night, but all she really wants is a chance at one of the brothers.”

“Damn, I can’t believe I didn’t know.”

“Candy, I love you and you know it, but you had your head up your ass for a while back then so you may have missed a thing or two.”

Candy laughed and bumped Angel’s hip with her own.  “You are sort of a bitch Angel.”

“Sort of?  I need to try harder.”  She winked at Mina to show she was just kidding.  “I need to get dressed!  Take over and I will be right back, I hung my costume in daddy’s office.”

“You go on and get dolled up honey, we can handle this.”  Mrs. said as she surveyed the excitement.

Mina was beginning to feel the energy in the room as it bled into her.  This was going to be a night to remember.  Mina never did anything like this and she was determined to have enough fun to last a while.

A few of the brothers were milling around.  Some helped, some held plates of food and all were watching the women.  Mina felt sexy and a little reckless and the party hadn’t even started yet.  Candy pointed out a few of the brothers and prospects and made sure Mina knew which ones to stay away from.  She saw Sniper and grinned at the shameless wink he sent her as he walked her way.

“Hey there gorgeous.”

“Hey yourself.  Good to see you recovered from watching after me.”

“Watching you is no trouble at all.”  He flirted.

“SO that’s how it is huh?  You get to flirt now?”

“Yes ma’am.  All bets are off tonight and I plan on showing you what you’re missing out on if you go back to that tool you’re dating.”

Mina laughed.  “Tool?”

He grinned and nodded.  “You look hot.  I won’t be the only one looking tonight so be careful.  You know you can trust me so feel free to come grab me if you feel uncomfortable.  I won’t mind.”

She looked into his face and saw sincerity there.  He really wouldn’t mind.

“I promised your neighbor I’d look after you.  I keep my promises.”
“You’re a good man Sniper.”

“No Mina, I’m not, but I am a good friend so you’re covered there.”

“Thank you.  I am a little nervous about tonight.”

“You’ll be fine.  Just don’t stay too late.”

He winked again and walked away from her.  It did feel good to have a friend.  Between him, Ink, and the girls Mina would be fine.

Nine

“Tommy we made it and from the looks of things, just in time too.”  Jack looked down at his watch and grinned.  “It’s good to be home.”

Tommy nodded and let the familiar sounds of a club party fill his head.  It was after nine, but there were still a few kids running around outside, probably because their parents were too busy to take them home.  In another hour though the place would be a different story.  There would be nothing here for kids.  This was a man’s party and he was a man who needed a distraction.  Mrs. had been planning this party for a month and she liked her parties wild and well attended.  Tommy hoped that meant she had made sure fresh pussy would arrive about the time the kiddies left.

Willa had been haunting his thoughts for the last two hundred miles and he needed to get balls deep in a woman pretty quick so he could clear his head enough to think.  He had to get things straight in his head before he could deal with anything.

He was waiting for a report on Hannah.  The brothers wanted to move on her tonight while the party was in full swing.  That gave them all alibies and covered their asses.  He doubted anyone would miss her, but no one could connect the club with her disappearance.  He would be free after tonight and he would go after Willa.  He still didn’t know whether or not he wanted to kill Willa or fuck her, but it was time he figured it out. 

He knew she was around tonight, but he had been assured she would be sequestered after nine and he couldn’t go anywhere near her until he got himself under control.  Tonight though, after he’d fucked her out of his head and knew Hannah was taken care of, he would go after her.  He needed time with her and he needed to be able to think.

“Dat woman gon’ be da death of you Tommy boy.”  Gator observed as he stretched out his back and made for the front of the clubhouse.

“Maybe so, but I plan on finding out tonight.”

“Ah, da boy has it all planned out.  Careful with da plans.”

“I really don’t know what the fuck I’m gonna do.”  Tommy let out an exasperated laugh.

“Den it will all fall into place.”  Gator winked as he opened the door and music poured out into the night.  Gator was right.  He had never been able to predict anything about Willa.  She had always thrown him for a loop.

He couldn’t help the grin that split his face when he saw the jack o lanterns glowing near the front door.

Mrs. was good for the club.  She was making memories with the club kids that would stick with them.  They would know they had a strong foundation under their feet.  Mrs. made sure they all knew it.  Even grown men needed to be reminded of that sometimes.  She understood the needs of a man.  Tommy had never seen Preach do more than look at a woman and maybe smack an ass or two, but he knew that Mrs. took care of her man and she took care of the men in the club too.  Men needed fresh pussy and they needed blowjobs.  Didn’t fucking matter if they had a woman at home or not.  A man had needs.  She took care to keep the families separated from the wilder side of the men and that balance kept everyone happy.

She didn’t hold to a man making his woman feel like she came second in his life and if the man had a whore on the side it was to stay on the side and not be an embarrassment to his old lady.  More than one mouthy whore had found herself shipped out to other charters for disrespect and that was all Mrs.  She made sure the women were happy and the men too.  If the women weren’t happy then the men suffered and Mrs. didn’t like her boys to suffer.  Everyone knew that it was one thing for the brothers to get a little pussy on the side, but they also knew that if Preach wanted something on the side he’d better go way out of town or Mrs. would cut his balls off.  They had an understanding and they stuck to it.  If he fucked around then she could too and Preach was a jealous man.  He wouldn’t risk his woman in another man’s arms over any whore.  Tommy respected them both more than he had ever respected anyone.  Mrs. showed the girls how to stand up to their men and that it was alright if they fought as long as they made up with more energy.  That was the kind of woman Tommy wanted.  He wanted a woman who had a backbone and wouldn’t let him walk all over her the way his father had done with his mother.

He took a deep breath and shook his head.  Tonight was a party and he couldn’t let memories of the past upset him.

Tommy stepped into the clubhouse and grinned.  Mrs. had done good tonight.

He grabbed the first woman he came across and turned her toward him without even looking at her.  She wasn’t wearing a cut and that meant she wasn’t claimed.  Every club woman would have on a cut by this time of night and that meant this one was all his.  He crushed her mouth to his and felt his dick go hard as her tits smashed against his chest.  She smelled of vanilla and fresh baked cookies and woman.  Damn she tasted good.

Tommy grabbed her ass and rubbed his erection against her soft belly and she moaned, not the fake shit the usual girls did, but this was real.

He jerked back as something familiar wiggled its way into his brain and then he felt his blood boil.

“Hello Willa.”

Her face paled and she tried to step back, but Tommy still had both hands gripping her ass.  She pushed at his chest, but he just pulled her closer and ground his dick against her in a punishing rhythm.

“What the fuck are you doing here Willa?  You turned whore all the sudden?”  He was angry that she was there and unprotected.  He was angry that any of the brothers could have done the same thing he’d just done and he was angry that she’d made him so hard he hurt without even knowing it was her.

The sting of her palm meeting his face only made the blood pound in his head harder. 

“You just grab any woman and grope her?  Let me go Tommy.  You’re a pig!”

“You can’t fucking tell me what to do Willa.  I think it’s time we had a little talk.  Don’t you?”

“No.  I don’t want to talk to you.”

“No.  You don’t like to talk, do you?  You like it best when I just grab you and fuck you.  Remember how good that felt Willa?  We need to go somewhere.  I will fuck you all you want, but I want some fucking answers too.”

She was shaking her head, her long dark curls falling around her shoulders in tendrils that reached her breasts.  He wanted to wrap that hair around his fist and shove his dick down her throat.  He had always wanted Willa.  She was the only woman he had ever had in his head and it drove him a little crazy.  She had denied him at every turn and then she had betrayed him when he had finally given in and turned to another to protect her.  They had been kids back then, but she had taken her revenge and ruined his life.  She had never believed in him.  Now she would let him fuck her in secret, but she wouldn’t even talk to him while anyone was around.  He wasn’t her dirty little secret.

“Let me go!  I’m not your whore!  I’ll never let you hurt me again.”

He saw the panic in her eyes as her voice rose and he loved it.  He knew he was a sick bastard, but he got harder watching her.  She knew he wanted to hurt her, but she should know he never could, no matter how much he wanted to.  That was what haunted him most.  He would do anything to protect her, even make her hate him.

“Take your fucking hands off her Tommy.”  Ink stepped in and wrenched Tommy’s hands off Mina.  “You touch my family and I will kill you Tommy.  She is my fucking blood you little punk.  I told you once, now twice, the next time I’ll talk with something that brings blood.”

“Back the fuck off Ink.  I didn’t even know who the fuck she was.  The Willa I knew wouldn’t be caught dead dressing like a whore and sucking dick at one of our parties.  You must be real proud.”

Mina screamed when Tommy hit the floor.  She looked at Ink, but he didn’t look like he had even moved, but the proof was in the blood pouring from Tommy’s nose.

“Are you alright Mina?”  Ink’s blue eyes were filled with concern as he pulled her to his chest.  “You never could handle men like us.  You are meant for gentleness Mina.  What was Candy thinking letting you stay?”

She couldn’t even speak.  She just leaned on the man who shared her blood and let him comfort her as he had done when they were smaller, before her life had turned to shit.  They had been close as children, but didn’t see much of each other.  Then when she and her mother had moved in her had been all grown up.  She didn’t want his words to hurt her, but they did in a way.  She also didn’t want him to know that men like him were the type that made her legs weak.  He had always tried to shelter her from the harsher type, but they seemed to draw her.

He led her to the door and nodded toward Angel.  She nodded and sent him a wink. 

The night was cool, but the cape Mina wore kept her warm enough.  She told Ink about how Tommy had been her neighbor and how she had loved him.  She also told him that he had been screwing a girl in Mina’s treehouse the night his father killed hers.  Seeing Tommy with that girl had sent her home and made her a witness to the crime.  Until then she had just told him that they had been friends and it had been Tommy’s father who had killed hers.  Tonight she was letting him know how much Tommy had meant to her and it felt good to get it all out.  She had held it in so long.

“So he hates you because you testified.”  It wasn’t a question, but Mina nodded.

“He doesn’t believe his father was the one that shot dad.  He thinks I made it all up to get back at him for sleeping with that girl.”

“Did you?”

Mina didn’t let that sting.  He just wanted to get the facts.  “No.  I’d have given anything to have seen anyone else, but I know what I saw.”

Ink ran his hands through his hair making the short strands stand up in blue tipped spikes all over his head.  His silver rings caught in the glow of moonlight as did the studs piercing his eyebrow.  His arms were bare and Mina wondered how he wasn’t freezing without a coat, but Ink seemed content in the bitter air of the cold October night as he thought of what the situation with Tommy meant for them.  She stayed quiet and studied the dark shadows of the ink on his arms.  She couldn’t make out the pictures, but they almost seemed to reach out of Ink’s flesh and call to her.  She shivered and looked away as if the art on his skin could actually come out and play tonight. 

Halloween had always creeped her out a little.  She wanted to believe it was all fun and games, but it had been something more a long time ago, right?  Was any of the talk about magic and spirits really true?

She shook her head to try to clear it.  She wouldn’t sleep a wink if she kept thinking like that.

“When are you going home Mina?”

Her heart cracked a little.  “Tomorrow.”

He nodded.  “I love you Willamina.  You know that right?  I know I suck at that shit, but you are my family Mina and I will do anything to protect you.”  He looked at her as if there was something he wasn’t saying.

Mina wiped a tear from her cheek.  His words meant the world to her.  “I love you too Jonah.  You are all I have in the world. I hope none of this makes you think less of me.”

Ink pulled her close and kissed her head.  “Nobody has called me Jonah since the day I was married.  I like that you do.  Makes me remember, you know?  Even Angel calls me Ink.  Sometimes I guess I forget who I really am, where I’m from.”  He tilted his head.  “Nothing could make me think less of you.  There’s a ton of shit you don’t understand and I can’t tell you any of it, but I do love you and I will keep you safe.  Family matters, even for men like me.”

“Your dad would be so proud of you and your mom would fuss about the metal in your face.”  Mina laughed when Ink reached up and fingered the bars in his eyebrow.  “She would hate this wouldn’t she?  She sure would love Caterina though.  She reminds me of mom sometimes when she puts her little hands on her hips and gives me that look mom used to give when she meant business.”  He shook his head and looked out into the darkness.  “I hope I did alright by you Mina.  I was so fucked up back then and I didn’t know how to be around you.  You were so pure.  I was afraid to touch you, thought I’d get you dirty somehow that wouldn’t wash away.  Then when mom and dad… I guess I was afraid to get too close.  I had seen too much shit to be a normal guy and I sure didn’t know how to comfort you.  I shouldn’t have left you though and I’m sorry for it.  I don’t regret my life here.  It’s good for me.  I know you can’t understand that, but some of us can’t live the way most do.  Some of us need a little more freedom and space and fewer rules. Some of us live with too many demons to ever settle down to a normal life.”

“I was grown by the time you left and I think I always knew you weren’t like everyone else.  You have a free spirit.  I’m happy for you Jonah.  I hope that you don’t regret what you had to do to help me.  You gave up so much.”

“I was so glad to be out of the Army.  I was losing my mind.  I spent my time trying to patch up boys who were half blown apart by roadside bombs and shit.”  He pulled out a cigarette and lit it.  The orange glow lit his face for a few seconds before it dimmed.  “Helping you gave me purpose and something to do so I didn’t have to think.”

“Oh Jonah.  I’m so sorry.  I was ok when you came here.  I was ready to stand on my own feet, thanks to you.”

“But I left you in other ways too.  I shouldn’t have and I don’t plan to do it again.  I want you around.  Caterina needs family.  She needs to see women who live in the real world, women that aren’t… I don’t know.”  Ink looked down at the ground and kicked the dirt.