Honey Whiskey (A Bastards MC Novel) (19 page)

“Let me give you a little bit of
advice. You may have gone to prison, but your girlfriend, wife, old
lady, or whatever the hell you call her, was also punished. Being
without the man you love fuckin’ sucks. You have a free afternoon
‘cause she’s not coming until tonight? Awesome. Spend that time
doing something nice for her instead of doing a club whore. Maybe
think about a nice gift you could give her instead of giving her,
oh, I don’t know, chlamydia!”

A look I couldn’t read passed between them and
they both burst out laughing. “Little Kangaroo with boxing gloves,”
Ian mumbled, laughing more.

Groaning in frustration, I slid
out of my chair, grabbed my water off the bar, and walked to the
couches. I wanted to leave and get the hell away from all things
Bastard. But there was no way I was going outside alone. Ian had
said he’d heard about Tank and I, which meant the men from earlier
were out there. I had no desire to see them, and until Cris and
Rocker were done, I had nowhere else to go. Sinking onto the couch,
I leaned my head on the armrest and closed my eyes.

“She got your
cards. Thanks.” I heard the sound of someone sitting on leather as
the hushed voice spoke to me. After Matty had left me, I’d been a
mess, but the attack was always at the front of my mind. It had
given me months of nightmares. I’d sent cards to Cris, asking her
to deliver them for me, because I wanted Ellie to know people were
praying for her. I desperately wanted to know how she was.

As if reading my thoughts he
continued, “She’s fine, Joey.” He sighed. “Physically it was a
quick recovery. Mentally took her a little longer. But, she’s
fine.”

I sat up, turning towards his
voice. Leaning back in the chair across from me, he looked
defeated. His dark jeans were stained with what looked like grease,
and I could see the steel on the toe of his boot where the material
had worn away. “Will I ever get to meet her?”

He swallowed and looked away, “We’re not
together anymoah. I still see her sometimes. Ya know, just to check
in, but we’re just friends.” He shrugged as if it wasn’t a big
deal, but I could see the pain etched on his face. “You’ah a lot
more naked than the last time I saw you.”

Confused, I looked at my outfit
before following his eyes to my empty hand and the finger that used
to hold my wedding ring. Last summer I’d still had it on when I
came down with Matty. His friends had taken offense to the fact
that he was sleeping with me while I was still hitched. They hadn’t
known the rest of the story. I looked at the bare hand and smiled.
“Yeah. Sometimes, Ian, friends become more.” A thought struck me.
“Bear, huh?” He nodded, smirking. “What should I call
you?”

“Whatevah you want. Most of the
club calls me Bear, but my closest friends can call me either one.”
He stood up. “Have you gotten the tour yet?” I shook my head as he
held out a hand. “Come on, we’ll show ya.”

Chapter 18

Jo

The clubhouse was huge. The door
behind the bar led to a commercial grade kitchen that any chef
would be proud of. Next to the kitchen was a communal eating area
that was obviously once the school cafeteria. Ian explained that at
least quarterly they had giant ‘family’ gatherings where every club
member brought his family and friends. It was also the room where
the club gathered before charity events.

The hallway to the left of the
main room was long and made several turns. No way in hell would I
find my around without getting lost. Not only did they have the
main common room, there was a ‘TV’ room, a game room, a quiet room,
a giant playroom for the kids, offices, and an entire wing
dedicated to the ‘dorms.’ It felt like a compound where you could
wait out any natural disaster.

Some of the dorms made me laugh.
Once classrooms, they had been divided in half and now housed two
sets of bunk beds. They looked just like college dorm rooms, each
with two bureaus and a desk. There was one bathroom for every four
rooms and a communal shower. I had a hard time picturing any biker
staying in them, let alone four sharing the tiny space.

Most of the sleeping quarters,
though, were private. No bigger than the shared rooms, these at
least had a single queen sized bed. Some had bureaus, some had
closets, and all the ones Ian showed me were decorated uniquely by
their ‘owner.’ Another perk to having a private room, Tank told me,
was that each of them had originally been classrooms for lower
grades or teacher’s offices, so each room had its own
bathroom.

“Why do people
live here?” I asked as we were leaving Tank’s room.

“They don’t.” At
my arched eyebrow, Ian rushed on. “Sometimes it’s easier to crash
here than go home after a party or a late night run. Othah times,
it’s a place to catch a few hours of shuteye while you’re on duty.
And sometimes, you need a few minutes of privacy.” I tried to
ignore the last comment, knowing he meant a place to take
women.

“
Does Matty have a room?” I asked
curiously.

Tank nodded. “All the officah’s have
rooms.”

Officer? One more question to add
to the pile. “Can I see it?” They both hesitated at once. “Oh.” My
voice was soft but my heart had started pounding. The apartment was
literally twenty minutes away. There was only one reason Matty
would have for keeping a room here. “Oh.” I repeated. “Can you take
me to Rocker’s office? He and Cris are probably done
now.”

Tank nodded and put his hand on
the small of my back, steering me down the hall, back towards the
main room. As soon as we turned a corner, we heard voices. Angry
voices obviously having one hell of a disagreement. Tank grabbed my
arm right above my elbow, preventing me from going any further.
“Mommy and Daddy are fighting again,” he muttered to Ian. He turned
to go but I didn’t budge.

“
It’s two nights away Princess!
You’ve known about it for how long? Why in the fuck would you wait
to tell me until now?”

“I called Jessie
as soon as I knew!” Cris screeched back. “Caleb just surprised me
with the trip, you ass. You’re the one that asked me to date him,
to do whatever it took to get close to him. That’s what I did! I
can’t help it if I’m a good lay and he wants me all to himself this
weekend!”

“Cancel the
trip. You’re not going!” I couldn’t hear her reply, but knew she
must have said something because Rocker started screaming again.
“Because it defeats the fuckin’ purpose, doesn’t it?”

“No!” Cris bellowed back. “I’ve
spent weeks working on him, and I’m not losing it now. Go to the
fuckin’ benefit yourself. I’m sure Barbie would be more than happy
to play dress up for you.”

“Is that what this is about?
Jessie? I moved on to somethin’ better. Get over it! Petty jealousy
doesn’t suit you, Crissia!”

“
Fuck you!”

“Already did that, Sweetheart.
You're not that good. No desire to do it again!”

Silence surrounded the three of us
for a moment and then all hell broke loose. Something shattered,
Cris started screaming, Rob was yelling back, and there was loud
banging. I yanked my arm away from Tank, running for the door and
bursting through, concerned for my friends. My entrance went
unnoticed.

A giant wooden desk took up the
majority of the room. On one side, Cris danced around, grabbing and
chucking whatever she could get her hands on, while she yelled
incoherently. On the other, Rocker was trying to dodge or catch
whatever object flew his way. The window was broken, and the floor
behind him was littered with debris. I slammed the door, hoping to
get her attention.

Instead, it was Rocker’s head that
turned toward me, distracting him just long enough so that he
didn’t see the stapler Cris had aimed at his head. It hit his cheek
with a meaty wet ‘thunk,’ and his head snapped to the side with the
impact. Ian and Tank rushed in behind me. Tank grabbed Cris around
her waist and carried her out of the room, still screaming
obscenities, Ian right behind them.

I hesitated for a minute, not sure
if I should follow them or stay here. One look at the blood gushing
from his cheek and I rushed towards Rob, but he raised a hand,
stopping me. “No! There’s a shit ton of glass ovah heah, and I
don’t wantchya to get cut!”

“Oh, my God! What was that all
about?” Rocker stepped gingerly around the wreckage, sighing. When
he got close enough, I got a good look at his cheek. “Do you have a
first aid kit?”

He nodded and left the room. I
followed him down the hallway into the dorms and then into a
private room. This one was painted a deep red. I waited by the bed,
looking at the pictures he had scattered around the room while he
disappeared into the bathroom, coming out a few minutes later
carrying a white box. He dropped onto the bed and handed it to me.
I cleaned the already swollen flesh as easily as I could, and then
sat next to him.

“She may be a little angry with
me.” He chuckled. “It’s possible I said the wrong fuckin'
thing.”

I fought a chuckle and laid back
onto the bed. “I’d say that’s a good assessment, Smart Ass.” The
bed was extremely comfortable, and I wanted to do nothing more than
close my eyes and forget about this awful and strange day. Then I
thought of Tank’s casual mention of Rocker ‘auditioning’ the new
girls and sat up, jumping off the bed. “Eww!”

“
What’s wrong?”

“
How many women have been naked in
here?”

Rob looked at me like I’d lost my
mind. “I swear to God every single woman in my life is fuckin’
spastic!”

“We’re crazy?” I narrowed my eyes.
“I’ve only been here a few hours and I’ve been hit on, mistaken for
a club whore, kissed, punched someone, slapped someone, watched my
friend go nuts, tended a wound that was caused by a fuckin’
stapler, and discovered that you personally audition all the women
that hang out here. It’s not the women in your life that are crazy,
Rob, it’s your club!”

As I rattled off my list, Rob’s
face grew angrier and angrier. “WHAT?” I shrugged. He closed his
eyes briefly, moving his hands up to rub his face on the uninjured
side. “L.K., I have a bitch of a headache. I need you to slow down
and explain that all to me.”

“Fine. When you tell me how many
naked women have been in here and, when you washed your sheets
last.”

He tipped his head from side to
side, snapping his neck. “That’s none of your fuckin’ business, and
I’m not tellin’ you shit. But, I will tell you my sheets were
washed last week and the blanket is new. I haven’t had anyone here
since then.”

I wrinkled my nose. “You’re sure I won’t catch
anything?”

He rolled his eyes, exasperated.
"Sit.” I hesitated a second too long. "Now!"

I joined him on the bed again,
pulling my feet up and sitting cross-legged, leaning my elbows onto
my thighs. “Do you really audition all the club whores?” He raised
an eyebrow. “Yeah. Club business, right? So you won’t tell me.” He
didn’t argue. “That’s disgusting, just so you know. I’m relatively
sure I’ve lost all respect for you.”

“Christ, you’re a pain in the ass.
You know that, right?” I nodded. “Between you and Cris, I’m gonna
lose my shit.” He sighed. “Ok. Who did you hit?”

“
Tank.”

“Fahk,” he
growled. “Why?”

“
He kissed me.” Rob clenched his
teeth so tightly his jaw started to tick. “Before you ask why, it’s
because he thought I was here to audition for you. Because he
thought I was a club whore.” I glared at him. “Awesome, huh?” I
ignored his string of curses and mutterings about kicking Tank’s
ass.

“
You’re not gonna do a friggin’
thing about it. I handled it!”

His eyes narrowed at me. “’Scuse
me?”

I heard the warning tone and decided to ignore
it. “It’s done. Over. No harm, no foul.”

“Joey,” he
gritted between closed teeth, “I’m tryin’ to cut you some slack,
but you don’t make it easy. The only one that handles shit in this
clubhouse is me.” I pffted, waving my hand at his absurdity, but he
continued in a controlled voice, accent gone. “There is a clear set
of rules that we all follow, and no one breaks them without
punishment. It’s how we keep order in the club.

“I should have
explained it to you earlier and not waited for Matty to do it. As
far as the Bastards are concerned, you belong to Mateo. It is his
job to protect you and take care of you. Because you are his, you
have our respect and our protection. We will take care of you when
he isn’t around to do it. We don’t touch our Brother’s woman
sexually. Ever. And if one of us is stupid enough to break the
rule, even if she wanted it or initiated it, punishment for the
member is severe.

“And, it’s Matty's job to keep you
in check. When you do anything with the club, here or out in the
community, your behavior is a direct reflection on Matty. You
misbehave, whether it’s by mouthing off to a member or being
disrespectful, he gets punished. You’re feisty and sassy as fuck,
which is great ‘cause you keep him on his toes. But, if you don’t
pay attention, Matty’s going to be screwed.”

I felt the blood drain from my face. “That is
the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard! It’s not 1912 anymore. Women
have just as many rights as men.”