Chas's Fervor: Insurgents Motorcycle Club (Insurgents MC Romance Book 3) (28 page)

Chas pounded the table, saying, “Dustin and his crew have been running amok for too long. Shit, they’ve been pulling the club down and bringing heat from the fuckin’ feds to them and all the other charters and affiliates. I’m glad we took them down.”

Banger nodded while pointing at Hawk. “He’s gonna take it from here.”

Hawk stood and said, “I’ve heard from reliable sources that Dustin and Shack have been talking and hanging with Demon Riders. It figures those two pieces of shit would be doing that, but as we know, this could be a lethal combination. Demon Riders are affiliated with the Deadly Demons. Those fuckers have wanted the Kilson area of Nebraska for a goddamned long time, and there’s no fuckin’ way Insurgents are giving it up. Even though we pulled the charter, the territory is still Insurgents. Banger’s putting Bear and several other brothers from other charters, including a few nomads, in charge to get it back on track. Some of Dustin’s members were as sick with his shit as we were, and they wanna get their club back in working order.”

“Talking with pieces of shit like Demon Riders is fuckin’ treason!” Throttle’s outburst sent a strong vibration through the members. Many of them cursed, threw out threats on what they were gonna do to the renegade Insurgents, and fists slammed against walls, chairs, and tables.

“If the Demons think they can come in the fuckin’ back door with the Deadly Riders acting like they’re the ones in charge, I say fuck the truce and bring out the fuckin’ guns.” Jax’s face was red, his eyes flashing with anger. “I fuckin’ hate their asses, especially Reaper, the pussy asshole!”

The Deadly Demons started about a year after the Insurgents MC began, back in the early 1970s. The Insurgents were picky about whom they accepted as prospects and patched members, so the Deadly Demons MC was born from the ashes of the rejected Insurgents wannabes. Reaper, the president of the Demons, and Banger had a strained relationship. They’d known each other for many years, and they were both presidents of their MCs when some of the turf wars were decimating their clubs.

Jax hated Reaper more than any of the Insurgents because his mom was Reaper’s old lady. Jax fucking blamed him for taking away his mom and destroying his dad. When his mom left and fucked a rival MC president, the humiliation and bitterness ate away at Jax’s dad, and the only thing that soothed his pride was a bottle of whiskey. Jack Daniels became his best friend, and it was what killed him—drunk out of his mind, he met the bullet of a biker’s 45 when he hit on the biker’s old lady. Jax’s dad died face-down in the mud at Sturgis. The bitterness and hatred Jax felt for his mom and Reaper were always there, just under the surface, waiting to explode.

Banger repeatedly slammed down the gavel, but the anger of the members drowned it out. Hawk jumped up on the table, and at six-foot-three, he was an imposing figure. “Shut the fuck up!
Now!
”

The fury in the room died down to an angry grumbling. Satisfied, Hawk stepped down. “As Banger said from the start, we haven’t confirmed any of this shit as of yet. We called church because we gotta stay on top of it.
If
all this shit is true, then we’re gonna stop it. There’s no fuckin’ way anyone but the Insurgents will control the Kilson territory. By going after the Riders, the treaty with the fuckin’ Demons will probably be severed, since they gotta stand by their affiliate club.” Hawk looked each member in the eye. “We don’t want to be back into a turf war. We lost a lot of brothers, and we got women and children who will need protection. That said, we’re not a bunch of pussies who are gonna sit back and let our turf be overrun under our fuckin’ noses. If the Riders push this, we all know the fuckin’ Demons are the ones behind it, and we
will
shed their blood without any mercy.”

All the members were on their feet, arms in the air with balled fists, chanting, “Insurgents forever, forever Insurgents!”

Banger surveyed his membership, pride shining in his eyes. After several minutes of chanting and swearing, Banger held up his hands, motioning for everyone to sit down and relax. “Remember, these are just rumblings through the grapevine. Once I find out what the fuck is going on for sure, we’ll take action.”

“Kill all the fuckin’ bastards!” several of the older members bellowed.

They were pumped, ready to act as soon as they heard the word. They missed the action and violence of the bygone years. They knew what it meant to be in the midst of a rival war, but many of the younger members weren’t around then and didn’t really understand the toll it would take on their club.

“You know if it happens, it’s lockdown for all old ladies and children. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. I got a call in to Reaper, but if it does, then we’ll fuckin’ crush their balls and kill every last one of them so they can’t start their shit up again in the future. Church over.” Banger tapped the gavel one last time.

“I’m fuckin’ pissed we didn’t kill Shack and Dustin. Now, they’re starting shit. What a pair of pussies,” Chas seethed to Axe and Jax as they exited the meeting room.

“Shack took his woman and ran outta there like the shriveled-ball pussy he is. I was aiming for him, but he ran out too fast. What a yellow-belly asshole,” Axe sneered.

Chas motioned the prospect at the bar for three shots. “I was looking for him, too. I think the only reason we let the old man live was ’cause he and Banger go way back.”

“Yeah, that was our mistake. We should’ve shot his fuckin’ brains out. Now he’s causing all kinds of shit,” Jax said as he brought his shot glass to his lips.

“Even though those bastards were disloyal, it’s different killing a brother. It sucks,” Jerry added as he sidled up to the bar.

“What sucks is when a brother betrays the club. To me, that’s the worst shit, and I have no fuckin’ problem putting a bullet through the traitor,” Axe replied.

Chas threw back his second shot. He didn’t want Addie becoming involved in whatever maelstrom was coming their way. She didn’t deserve to be pulled into the dark world of outlaw bikers. Even though he knew he should walk away, he couldn’t, and
that
was a first for Chas.

*     *     *

“So, what’d you
do all day?” Chas asked as he ran his finger up the neck of his Coors bottle.

“Cleaned the damn reference room. It took me several hours to make it look and smell clean.” Addie popped a cube of cheddar cheese in her mouth.

“You shoulda made the fucker’s bitch clean it up.” Chas took a long pull on his beer.

“I didn’t want to chance
him
coming.”

“The fucker wouldn’t have been able to walk today. I gave him a good ass-kickin’. I didn’t think, or I woulda sent a couple of prospects to clean up the place.”

“I wouldn’t have wanted that. It was okay, really. It gave me a chance to catch up on some things I’ve been putting off.”

The woodsy scent of packed leaves on the ground, burning wood from fireplaces, and tangy, sweet apple trees swirled around them as they sat on Addie’s balcony, watching the lights in the neighborhood turn on. She wrapped her sweater tighter around her as the crisp, fall evening approached.

“Where’s Jack today?” she asked.

“At my parents’. I gotta go in a bit to pick him up. You wanna come with me? The three of us can go out to eat afterward.”

“I’d love that. Do you feel better?” Her smile warmed his chest.

“Yeah. Drugs are great.” Chas bit into a wheat cracker. “Jack wants to go to the Museum of Nature and Science during Christmas break. They’re having an exhibit about dinosaurs, and he loves all that. You wanna come with us?”

“That sounds great. I always went to museums when I was a child. I didn’t know Pinewood had a natural history museum. Where is it? Downtown?”

Chas stared at Addie. “It’s not in Pinewood Springs, it’s in Denver.”

Addie dropped her cheese cube on the ground. As she bent over to pick it up, she said, “Oh, yeah, that’s right. I just thought you were talking about Pinewood Springs.”

“You’ve been to the one in Denver, right?”

“Of course.” She clasped and unclasped her hands.

“Where’s it located? I forget.”

“Uh… downtown. You know, near the capital building and the library.” Addie stood up and picked up the cheese plate then turned to go inside. “Just let me know when, and I’ll see if I can make it.”

“Is there anything you want to tell me?” he asked nonchalantly.

A questioning look spread over her face. “Like what?”

“Like
anything
.” Black eyes stared hard at her.

For a moment, Chas thought he saw panic in her eyes, but she lowered her head, wringing her hands. “No. I mean, I don’t know what you’re asking me. Do you know something I don’t?” She kept watching the balcony’s floor, licking her lips over and over.

“I know the museum in Denver is not by the capital. It’s in City Park. Since you’re from Denver, how do you not know that? Do you have any secrets you wanna share?”

“I guess that’s one of the museums I didn’t go to as a kid. What are you accusing me of? Secrets? We all have those. If we shared them, they wouldn’t be
secrets
.” Not for one second did she glance at him.

Chas nodded. “That’s fair. Just thought you might have something you wanted to tell me.”

“When are we going to pick Jack up?” she asked, looking everywhere but at Chas.

Addie was being evasive, and from the way she fidgeted and fussed with her hands, he could tell she was nervous. His questions unnerved her, but he didn’t know why. Not knowing where the biggest museum in Denver was confirmed his suspicions that she’d made it up. But why? Why not tell him where she’d lived? A heaviness spread over his body, and Chas wished Addie trusted him enough to tell him what the fuck she was hiding.

“Do you want another beer?” she questioned as she took the empty dish and glasses into the living room.

“Nah. We gotta get going.” With his finger, he hooked her belt loop and drew her on his lap. After tangling his fingers in her hair, he pulled her face next to his. “Gotta get a taste of your luscious lips before we go.”

His mouth claimed hers, sucking and nipping her bottom lip before he plundered her mouth with his tongue, holding her closer and tighter, all the while plunging deeper. Addie gasped softly inside his mouth. Calloused fingers molded over her breasts as he kneaded them, his palms pressing over her stiffening nipples.

Fuck me. I’m harder than a rock.

With her hands on his chest, she lightly pulled back. “Don’t you think we better get going? Jack’s waiting for you.”

I just wanna fuck you.

“Yeah, right. We better go, precious.”

Addie rose to her feet and Chas followed suit. After locking up the apartment, they jumped into his SUV.

“I took the cage ’cause we couldn’t all fit on my bike.”

“Cage?”

“Car. We call ’em cages.”

“Interesting.”

After pulling away from the curb, Chas drove to his parents’ house.

Before he switched off the ignition, Jack ran down the long sidewalk toward the car. “Dad!”

Behind him, Chas’s parents tried to keep up with their grandson.

Chas came to the front of the vehicle and scooped Jack up in his arms. “Hey, little buddy. Did you have a good time with Gramma and Grandpa?”

“I sure did, but I’m glad you’re here.” Jack hugged his dad around his neck.

“Did you say hi to Ms. O’Leary?”

Jack looked over his dad’s shoulder and grinned. “Sorry, I didn’t see you, Ms. O’Leary. What’re you doing with my dad?”

A patch of red sprang over her cheeks.

I never get tired of seeing her blush when she’s embarrassed. Too cute.

“I… uh… I met up with your dad, and he asked me to join you both for dinner. You don’t mind, do you?”

On his feet again, Jack tugged his navy blue hoodie down. “No, I don’t mind. I’m glad. You’re my most favoritest teacher.”

Addie smiled.

Chas said, “
Most favorite
, bud, not favoritest.” He ruffled Jack’s hair.

“Okay, Dad, if you say so.”

Chas’s parents came over, and he gave his mom a hug. They all talked briefly then Jack asked, “When are we gonna eat?”

Chas laughed. “You hungry?”

Nodding, his eyes wide, he replied, “Uh-huh.”

“We’d better go then.”

Chas’s mother said to Addie, “You’ll have to come by for dinner some night so we can become better acquainted.”

“I’d like that,” Addie responded.

Chas’s mom threw a sly glance at him. “I’ll let Chas know when. Now, I want a goodbye hug from my two boys.”

After they settled in the SUV, Jack waved at his grandparents. Addie smiled and Chas steered the car toward the restaurant.

A couple of hours later, Jack was in the backseat of the car yapping about the different characters of his favorite video games. Surprising Chas, Addie knew a helluva lot about children’s video games, and she was caught up in her conversation with Jack.

Chas held Addie’s hand, stroking it with his thumb while he glanced at her. From under her lashes, she looked up at him, a shy smile whispering on her lips. His heart raced.

Jesus fuckin’ Christ, I’m getting a hard-on just from being with her.