Nomad Kind of Love Read online

  How the hell did I forget? This was Rachel, the girl who'd been caught in the crossfire during the war with the Skulls. Her fuckhead father was the town's Mayor the club now had under heavy guard, dangling his puppet strings for our benefit.

  Fucker deserved it too. He tried to rip Rach away from Throttle and sell her into slavery.

  “Good to meet you. The grub smells delicious, ladies,” I said.

  No lie. I was seriously enthusiastic. I smashed the burger in my fingers and lifted it to my lips. I was about to sink my teeth into that juicy thing when there was an explosive crash.

  Two guys went down on the other side of the bar. They were yelling, throwing punches, screaming at the top of their lungs.

  “Fucking shit! Better not be one of my guys.” I threw my burger down on the plate, annoyed as all hell.

  Throttle jumped out of Rachel's embrace. We shared a second of mutual frustration and went running toward the commotion.

  My boys and the Cassandra guys were all gathered in a circle, laughing and throwing insults like a bunch of school boys watching their first fight. Relief steamed out my lungs when I saw the two fighters weren't part of my crew.

  There was a huge guy on top of a skinny, wiry man covered in tattoos. The big guy looked like a giant stuffed into clothes one size too small.

  Some petty shit had probably started the fight, but his fists were gonna do serious damage to the scrawny guy if they landed on his head.

  I jumped in right behind Throttle, tugging on the giant's fists with both hands. Goliath roared in frustration as the skinny dude rolled out of harm's way. He swung his fists, hurling me backward.

  Fuck, I rolled hard, out of control, bowling over several Cassandra brothers and almost plowing into Throttle's old lady too. I stood up fast, shooting Rach an apologetic smile.

  “What the fuck?” I turned around to face the scene.

  The skinny guy was flattened against the wall smiling. Throttle stood over the big guy, who was on his knees. Muscles bulged in his huge neck like a cartoon.

  “Freak here started, it, boss! Told me he was gonna do the nasty with my girl. You can't expect me to lay down and let him shit all over me!” He slapped his huge fists on his knees.

  “Your girl? That's not what Julie told me last night, brother,” the thin guy called Freak said. “Said she was just getting to know everybody here while she was riding my cock. You're not her old man and you're a fucking idiot to throw punches over a club whore.”

  The big guy stood, snorting and ready to charge. He literally looked like a fucking bull. I moved in, just in case Throttle needed backup. I watched our fearless leader shake his head.

  Then Throttle's hands shot out like shields and hit the big guy in the chest. He grabbed his jacket, stretching it up around his head.

  “Tank, you stupid, stupid motherfucker. Did all the time overseas knock something loose in your skull? Well?” Throttle's voice exploded, and he shook the giant's collar.

  “Sorry, boss. I was just – “

  “Picking fights over a new whore who isn't yours! You realize you almost knocked another President right into my pregnant old lady?” Throttle pointed, screaming in his face.

  “I...I'm sorry, boss. Really. I got carried away.”

  Without another word, Throttle kneed him in the stomach. The giant winced, and then rocked back as his President's fist connected with his jaw.

  “That's for fucking endangering people on my watch over a bunch of bullshit. If you didn't help us out so much with the Skulls, I'd be taking out my knife and cutting off your patches right now.”

  A few guys snickered next to me. Throttle spun, shooting them with an icy gaze that froze the laughs.

  “Shit's not funny, brothers. These are the times when being MC Prez really sucks bull cock.”

  Alarm showed in Tank's eyes. I'd never seen a man so big and muscular so fucking afraid. The whole weird scene almost made me forget my nagging hunger for my lonely burger.

  “I'm gonna give you one more chance, asshole. Maverick!” Throttle called my name. “Take this sorry son of a bitch with you tomorrow and see if you can make a man out of him. I'm counting on you to do what the US Army couldn't with this impulsive fuck.”

  Tank looked at me like a lost dog and I pinched my teeth together.

  Fucking-A. Setting up shop in Grizzlies territory just got fucking harder.

  “Godspeed, boys. I'm not the only one counting on you to pull this shit off. You're carrying the whole MC's reputation on your backs now.” Throttle extended his hand.

  I shook it, sucking in the cool morning air. My boys and I were on our bikes, ready to blow Cassandra for the fifteen hour drive to Python, Montana.

  “Won't let you down,” I said sincerely.

  “I know. And if Tank or anybody else gives you trouble out there, you know my number. I'll come over myself and kick their asses into line.”

  I narrowed my eyes. What the fuck? Throttle knew damned well I was capable of handling my own men.

  He turned and stepped away. In my mirror, I saw him heading toward the small pregnant girl on the steps leading into the club.

  When he got to her, he picked her up and gave her the biggest bear hug I'd ever seen. They twisted together in the new dawn light, lovely-dovey to the extreme.

  My irritation softened. Claiming an old lady had changed him. Mostly for the better.

  He wasn't giving me needless assurances just to wave his dick. The man was really confident, on top of the fucking world.

  Throttle the family man was alien to everything I knew, but it made me smile.

  “Come on, boys,” I said, switching on my radio and revving my engine. “Let's get this long fucking ride over with. New guy, you stick close behind Shatter and Hypno. We're not gonna treat you like a prospect again, but you better learn fast how shit works in the Nomads.”

  “You're the boss,” Tank said over the line.

  We took off, with Blaze several feet back and the rest of my boys behind me. It had been awhile since I rode fifteen hours over the open prairie, into the rugged terrain out West.

  The MC rarely took the chance to cut through enemy territory. The Grizzlies presence in big sky country had been like a fucking iron curtain for at least the past decades, keeping us landlocked in the Midwest.

  At the third fill-up stop in Bozeman, the new guy hopped off his bike and stretched. I took a good look at what a big gorilla he really was.

  Tank, huh? Good name for him. If only I could make his fists work for me in this well oiled machine I called my charter.

  We rode on.

  It was dark and my bones were chattering something fierce when we finally got into Python. Good thing the little mountain valleys didn't have the same wicked winds as the open plains we'd left behind.

  “Jes-ussss,” Blaze whistled when we rolled up to the old building. “You telling me this is the place? I heard it was an old topless bar – but fuck! Looks more like a saloon that hasn't seen any good days since Jesse James.”

  “Welcome home, brother.” I gave him a good crack on the back. “This is our clubhouse to set up and tweak to our liking until Throttle doesn't need us here anymore.”

  Behind us, the other guys tried to stifle their laughter. I turned, a wry grin on my face.

  “Don't laugh your guts up too hard, boys. This rat's nest is where we're all staying until the bear gives us some room.” I reached into my pocket and fished out the key to the front door. “Let's go. We've got a lot of work to do.”

  A lot of work? Yeah, one hell of an understatement.

  It took more than a week to make the place habitable. We didn't even get a fully stocked bar until our third night there, when Tank helped unload some kind donations from locals who were curious about our MC.

  “Supporters already? Shit, brother. That's a new record,” Blaze said, puffing on a cigarette.

  We were taking a break after directing the movers to bring in our new furniture. Finally, th
e end was in sight. A coat of paint for the walls, a few neon lights, Prairie Devils MC flags, and we'd be in business.

  “We're gonna need 'em. This is deadly close to enemy territory. I'm not gonna turn down having some folks on our side in this little town.”

  One of the movers carrying in snacks and drinks stopped. He looked at me nervously, blinking his eyes. The new President patch I wore with PRAIRIE DEVILS MC, PYTHON stitched under it had caught his eye.

  “What's the matter? Don't tell me you've never seen an MC's colors before?”

  “No, it's not that,” he held his hands out. “Some of us are just damned glad to see you guys.”

  What the hell? That's the first I've heard any ordinary folks being happy to see a pack of strange one-percenters rolling into town.

  “Why's that?” I had to ask. The stranger piqued my curiosity.

  “Anybody's better than the Grizzlies.” He made a sour face. “Those fucks have been dragging their dirt through Python since I was a old enough to pop wood at a pretty girl. Sheriff won't do shit because they snagged the local cops in a brutality case a few years back. Killed a few more to seal the deal.”

  I nodded. The Grizzlies were conniving bastards.

  They used their big numbers to intimidate, and ambushes were their favorite. It took the Devils plus several allied groups to chase them off Sturgis.

  “Look, I know you guys aren't saints,” the man said. “But I think you're better for this town than they are.”

  Smiling, I fingered the 1% patch beneath President, and then turned around and showed him my top rocker. “You're right about that. The details are in the name.”

  “Devils. I get it. You're outlaws,” he said. “Frankly, I don't give a shit. If you run off the Grizzlies without terrorizing folks who're just trying to go about their business, we'll look the other way when you guys make your money. I volunteered to lend some support because I want them gone for good, and so does everybody else in this town.”

  The man went back to work. Blaze turned to me, stroking his short beard.

  “That's one hell of an offer. Maybe getting ourselves a fort out here won't be so bad after all.”

  “Think again, brother. It's gonna be a knock down, drag out fucking fight. The Grizzlies won't give up easy, even if all four hundred people in this town are standing behind us. We're gonna have to fight for what we want, and hold onto everything we take.”

  The clubhouse was finished, or close enough to it. My guys were getting restless, tired of painting walls and moving furniture.

  It was time to take a trial run and see what the hell we were dealing with in the great unknown.

  That night, we rolled north of Python, into Grizzlies territory proper. The man I'd talked to in the new clubhouse pointed me to the rival MC's nearest operation.

  It was a little strip club just outside Missoula called the Dirty Diamond. The five of us parked our bikes along the main drag and stretched. I watched a couple guys pat their pockets, checking on the weapons we'd readied before we hit the road.

  I hoped to hell we wouldn't have to shake anything bigger and deadlier than our fists. But the Grizzlies' response, if any, was gonna determine what happened tonight.

  We were here to deliver a message, and nothing was gonna stop us.

  I was the first one in. The place was low lit, smoky, and crowded. No different than any other strip joint I'd been to.

  The locals must've thought we were Grizzlies. We were the only ones wearing leather, and a path to a table near the stage automatically opened for us.

  I wasn't used to being treated like royalty for wearing the patch. But it was weird to see the sheer terror in guy's faces as they jerked back and kept their distance.

  Terror, not unease.

  My brothers pulled up chairs. We sat, ordered a couple beers, and scoped the place out.

  Damn it. Where the fuck are our new friends? Not even one guy to watch over their property?

  I stiffened. I'd been ready for a fight the minute we stepped through the doors. Not having one made me way more anxious than staring down ten mean looking Grizzlies.

  A waitress came around with our beers and I looked toward the stage for the first time.

  The girl up there swinging around the pole was bathed in the same burgundy light as the rest of us. She danced well, thrusting up and down the metal stake with her full length, shaking her tits and hair in perfect sync.

  And fuck, those were some amazing tits. The girl was full bodied in a way that surprised me.

  Most joints like this only trotted out the skinny girls, especially the ones with softball sized implants. I'd always liked a little meat on a woman's bones, and this girl had plenty in all the right places.

  All natural too. Fucking perfect hourglass.

  “I don't see anybody here, Prez,” Shatter leaned over and whispered to me. “You think the dude was wrong about this being a Grizzlies hole?”

  “No.” I pointed toward their emblem on the side door.

  The guys looked around nervously. I should've been on alert too, pretending to sip my beer and waiting to kick some ass.

  But instead, this fucking beauty stole my attention, anchoring my eyes to her flesh like I hadn't seen a woman for a solid year.

  My cock twitched in my jeans. I shifted, opening my legs, anything to relieve the pressure.

  There was something about her. She wasn't flashing her pearly whites and blowing kisses like most girls. The odd hoots and hollers from the locals went straight over her head. She didn't acknowledge a single one of them, as if she didn't give a rat's ass about tips at all.

  She just danced, wearing the same cold pout the entire time. A few minutes in, her eyes met mine across the dingy lounge. I sat up a little taller, and felt something downright electric shoot through my veins.

  Fuck. Was a little more energy brightening her eyes too?

  What's going on here? She's a nice strong cocktail on two sexy legs and one fine ass. Spilling emotion out those sad pretty eyes like nothing I've ever seen.

  Keep looking this way, baby. See the need in these eyes?

  It's not limp desire. It's a fucking promise that I'm gonna see a whole lot more of you soon.

  Up close, personal, and wetter than you've been in your life.

  “Boss...” I didn't even look over as Tank tried to get my attention. “There's a couple mean looking SOBs with cuts walking down the left side.”

  “Over there!” Blaze hissed in my ear.

  Shit. I didn't want to take my eyes off her, but duty called.

  They weren't bullshitting. The Grizzlies had arrived, two big bastards with mean looking jackets. They hadn't seen us.

  My hands automatically curled into fists as I watched them from the side. They were looking at the lady up there like she was a piece of fucking meat they'd had before. Jealousy churned in my stomach, and then a nasty need to take her away from them.

  Takes a special kinda girl to make me jealous. Special didn't begin to describe the wild, hot, and very jealous need to hammer those fucks into the ground as they ogled her.

  She wasn't giving them a single glance, and the girl had to know they were there, right under her. If they'd had her, the feelings weren't mutual.

  Just thinking about it made my fists fucking hungry. I stood, shoving my chair against another table.

  “Prez? You okay?” Hypno got to his feet before the words were out of his mouth, and so did the other three.

  “Just follow my lead,” I said.

  Instinct took over. The biggest guy filled my killer eyes, the man I meant to take down first. For once, we'd gotten the jump on the Grizzlies with raw numbers.

  Not that it would've held me back. The way this fuck practically drooled through his shitty grin made me want to send his teeth flying through the Dirty Diamond like rice at a wedding.

  “Hey, asshole.”

  I tapped him on the shoulder once. He turned, eyes glazed in a stupor.

  He ha
dn't even processed the insult before my knuckles slammed into his jaw. He bleated like a big animal going down, and I swung again, kicking him to the floor while his buddy went at me.

  I just love a good bear hunt, I thought with giddy rage ripping through my body.

  I ignore the three blows he landed on my back. Too busy pounding the other guy to pieces.

  My guys were right in the nick of time to pull his sidekick away. I kicked the jackass on the floor three more times than I usually did when I wasn't trying to seriously fuck a man up, and twice as hard.

  Customers rushed around us, hollering and stampeding to the door. Even through the noise, I heard a rib crack.

  Music to my fucking ears.

  Much as I wanted to, I couldn't pull this fucker's shades. I needed him conscious to deliver a message, especially if my guys had knocked out the other asshole.

  I reached down and grabbed his jacket around his unkempt beard. “Get on your fucking feet!”

  He didn't move. I shook him, readying my knee for his gut if he didn't comply.

  “You don't want me to ask a second time!” I screamed. “Last chance, asshole. I'll burn this place to the fucking ground if you want to keep this fight going.”

  He obeyed. Told me what I wanted to hear, cradling his bloody nose.

  Shatter and Blaze were at my side again, welcome reinforcements as I let him call up his boss like he said he would.

  We weren't really gonna raze this place to ashes like I said, but he didn't know that. I gambled and won. The Grizzlies blinked.

  Surprise and triumph kissed in my veins when he said the words. “VP says we've got an understanding...”

  I was too fucking happy to waste time listening to his little threat. Now, I was gonna take my collateral and get the fuck out of here.

  Didn't take me one second to think about what I wanted. I already knew. I was climbing onto the stage while the asshole who'd taken the truce bawled about it.

  The girl was half-naked on one side of the stage. She covered her breasts with one arm and shot me a bitter, frightened look when I approached.