Lucifer’s Fury (A Motorcycle Club Romance) (5 page)

“We’ll scout out the Twisted Bastards and keep an eye on their comings and goings,” I told the men. “When the time comes, if Lola is amiable to the idea of working with us, we’ll be one step ahead and be able to move forward from there.”

Chapter 6: Pandora

A little over a week had passed since Juju’s funeral and Trixie had barely uttered a single word to anyone. She stayed hidden away in the room she had shared with Juju, crying for hours on end. Most of the girls agreed that she just needed time to grieve the loss and soon enough she’d slowly find her way back to us.

But I was worried that wasn’t quite the case. I felt responsible and wondered if she blamed me for Juju’s death. I was the one who fucked up royally and gave up our identity to the Twisted Bastards. And Juju and Trixie payed the price.

“There’s a big guy wearing a leather cut waiting out front,” Siren said. “He also says that he’s an old friend from Lucifer’s Fury.” A smirk appeared on her lips. “He’s gorgeous, honey. If you don’t want him, I’ll happily take him.”

“Did he give a name?”

“Suicide.”

My head snapped up, meeting her curious gaze. I nodded. “Check on Trixie. I’ll deal with our visitor. Have everyone stay inside.”

“Sure thing. Remember now. Send him my way when you’re done.” She wiggled her brows. “I’d love to take a ride on that hunk of man.”

Outside, an enormous man sat astride his Harley, his bald head tilted down, glistening with sweat, making the three skulls tattooed along the left side of his head stand out even more. Each skull had a red bandana – one covering the eyes, the next the mouth, the last one had the bandana atop its head covering its ears. It was wicked cool and disturbing, but I loved it.

Clearing my throat, I strode up to the man, his head raising as I approached. I couldn’t see his eyes for the dark sunglasses, but he smiled as I came to a stop a few feet away. The Lucifer’s Fury patches couldn’t be missed. My eyes roamed over his name patch – Suicide. And then to his title – Warlord.

“I guess I should have expected a visit from one of you guys. Thought it would have been sooner honestly. But I can’t say as I know you.” I choked out a nervous laugh.

Suicide took off his glasses, folding them up and sliding them into the neck of his snug fitting shirt. “It’s been a while, Lola… or should I call you Pandora?”

“Pandora is fine. I don’t go by Lola anymore, and haven’t for years. What do you want?”

“Straight to the good stuff, I see. That’s fine, Pandora. The President of Lucifer’s Fury would like to offer our club’s assistance in dealing with the Twisted Bastards should you need a hand.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Lucifer’s Fury wants to offer
me
help. Now that’s a fucking joke if ever I heard one,” I growled. “My father would never do that. You can tell him to kiss my ass and go straight to hell.” I turned to walk away.

“Lucifer hasn’t ran the club for damn near eight years. Blaze is in charge now,” Suicide said, his words even and sure. “He’s the one making the offer. I’m only here to extend the offer. Think about it, and if it’s something you’re interested in, come by the clubhouse for a meet and we’ll go from there.” He slid his sunglasses back on. “It’s good to see you again, Lola. You’ve been missed more than you know.”

I turned around, gave him a nod. “My father... is he still part of the club?”

“No,” Suicide responded coldly. “He got cut down making shady deals with shady people years ago.”

“I see. Serves the cocksucker right. I hope he’s burning in hell. I’ll talk to the girls and get back to you if the need arises. Fair enough?”

“Fair enough. I’ll let Blaze know.”

My heart was pounding against my ribs, doing its level best to break free of my chest. Figures my father was into some shady shit… but who the fuck was Blaze? And why would anyone in that club care enough to help me after all these years? It didn’t make sense at all. I waited until the rumble of Suicide’s bike faded in the distance before opening the door and stepping back inside.

Siren sat at the bar near the front door, sipping on a beer, her brow arched high as she glared at me. Great. When she was curious about something, she never let up until she got the goods.

“Didn’t invite your guest inside I see,” she quipped. “You going to tell me what that was all about or do I have to guess?”

With a sigh, I took a seat next to Siren and before I knew it, Cherry Pie filled the empty seat on my other side. Grabbing a bottle of tequila and a shot glass from the counter of the bar, I filled it up and tossed it back. Then I filled it again. Now that Suicide had shown up wearing his colors, I had no choice but to explain. Everything.

“Lucifer’s Fury was founded by my father,” I said. “Their territory is about an hour from here, and they’re offering up their assistance in dealing with our little Twisted Bastard problem. That is, if we choose to take them up on it.”

“Oh! Are you going to put it to a vote? Or is there too much history there?” Siren asked, looking back and forth between me and Cherry. “Because I sense there is more to this story than you happen to be sharing.”

“We’ll vote on it,” I said. “History or not we’ll vote on it. Is everyone still here and sober enough to vote?” I asked before tossing back yet another shot.

“We’re all here. Sober enough is another thing entirely but we’ll make do,” Cherry responded, her voice light as she squeezed my shoulder.

“To the war room we go then.” Pushing the shot glass and bottle of booze across the bar I headed for the war room alone.

A few minutes later, eleven women decked out in leather filled the seats around the table. Seeing that one empty chair felt like a knife to the heart. Guilt was eating away at my soul. I averted my gaze away from it, took a deep breath, and pushed the gavel away. This wouldn’t be an ordinary meeting anyway. Might as well get it over with fast, like pulling off a Band-Aid and shit.

“I had a visitor tonight,” I said. “I won’t go into details of my past, but Lucifer’s Fury has offered their help. If we take them up on their offer, I’ll need to ride out to meet with them. From there, we’ll decide what should be done, assuming there isn’t a catch lurking in there somewhere.”

A small broken voice, barely audible, filled the silence of the room.

Trixie.

“We should take them up on their offer. For Juju,” Trixie said, damn near choking on every word, especially the last two.

I nodded. “Everyone else agree with Trixie?”

Each of the girls agreed to accept the deal, which really only meant one thing. I was going home, and I really didn’t know what the hell to expect. Suicide’s words – ‘you’ve been missed more than you know’ – sent a shudder through me.

“That’s that then. I’ll head out tonight and have a little meet with them.”

It was decided that Siren and Cherry Pie would accompany me to the meet. It was already after eight in the evening on a Friday night by the time we hit the road, heading for Shooter’s Hollow, home of Lucifer’s Fury. And the past I had tried to escape. Obviously that was wishful thinking on my part.

The hour-long drive helped to relax me a great deal, but that uneasy feeling was returning as we got closer to the other club’s territory. Before I knew it, we were entering Shooter’s Hollow, and parking in front of a clubhouse I had vowed never to return to.

It was now or never. I glanced over at my girls and swallowed the lump in my throat. Easing off my bike, I shook out my legs and adjusted my cut. All three of us were decked out in black leather, bandanas wrapped around our heads, bright red lipstick coating our lips.

“This is a pretty big clubhouse,” Siren mused, her eyes darting everywhere.

“Yep. Always dreamed of it being mine one day. Wasn’t born with a cock between my legs though.”

“You seem nervous,” Cherry Pie whispered, gazing at the dozens of bikes filling the parking lot.

“A little nervous, yeah. Not sure what to expect. Being here is just...never mind. When we walk in, you two stay close to me. Don’t speak to anyone… and don’t start any shit. I haven’t been around these people in ten years so I have no clue what to expect. Our club is ran different than this one so be on your toes. Got me?”

“We got ya,” Siren said. Cherry Pie nodded.

“All right. Let’s get this shit over with and head home.”

I walked through the door, stopping just inside, letting my eyes adjust to the dim lighting and the haze of smoke, my girls at my back. Scanning the room, I noticed immediately that nothing had really changed in all the time I was away. It was cleaner though. Figures. Same old shit. Different fucking day.

I waltzed up to the bar, waiting patiently for the bartender to head my way. As soon as he started to speak, a hand clamped over my shoulder and squeezed me tight. I stiffened. And here we go. I knew walking in with my club’s cut on wasn’t a good idea, but since we were invited I didn’t think it would cause a stir. Maybe I was wrong. Or maybe this was just some asshole marking his territory or something.

“Looks like someone got lost,” a deep male voice growled over my shoulder. “Your kind don’t belong here.”

Just great.

I knew this shit would happen, or at least something close. No biggie. Just show your strength. Yeah. That’s it.

Twisting around, I flung his meaty paw off my shoulder and came eye to eye with a beastly-looking young man. He smelled of liquor and stupidity.

“Keep your damn hands off me, asshole.”

He laughed. Of course he did. To him I was just a pussy. Beneath him in every way.

“Look around, honey. This bar –”

Before I could stop myself, I grabbed him by the throat, digging my blood red nails into his flesh, as I simultaneously curled my leg behind his, setting him off balance. He hit the floor with a loud thump, cursing for all he was worth, a snarl on his mouth as he growled and spewed his hatred. I stepped astride him and planted a high-heeled booted foot across his throat, enjoying the shocked expression on his bright red face. Not so badass now are you I thought as his wide eyes landed on mine.

“Well, aren’t you just the most clueless asshat I’ve ever seen beneath my feet? Now listen here,
honey
. I was walking the floors of this clubhouse before you ever knew they fucking existed… but I won’t fault you for not knowing who I am. So let’s just agree here and now that you keep your damn hands to yourself or I’ll have to remove them. And honey, I promise you won’t like how I do that. Understand?”

Before the man on the ground could respond, I noticed two men approaching from the back of the bar. Suicide I recognized immediately but the other was... oh hell. Jasper fucking Stone. No fucking way.

The two men stopped before me, smiles on their faces as they glanced down at the man beneath me, shaking their heads at the man before looking back at me. Jasper opened his mouth to speak and I felt the fury rise inside me, years of boiling anger and hurt vibrating over my flesh.

“You piece of fucking shit,” I screamed in Jasper’s face. Suicide chuckled. Before I could think, I pulled my gun from my thigh holster and pressed it against Jasper’s forehead like he was nothing. His smile faltered but the excitement in his eyes never wavered as his gaze stayed fixed on mine.

My eyes dropped to his vest taking in the President patch. Blaze. Shit. Shit. Shit. So he was the one offering the help. I should have guessed. Should have known. But why would he care after leaving me the way he did? Why?

The sounds of chairs sliding angrily across the floor and guns cocking, ready to take me out for threatening their President, sounded across the room like a battle cry. As much as I hated it, my hand began to shake.

“Pandora honey put the gun away. Okay?” Cherry Pie begged.

“Yeah. You need to calm down and take a breath before shit goes bad. I don’t think we’re prepared to take on all of these men. I’d try but yeah just put the damn gun away.” Siren finished.

  Jasper raised a hand, calling off his men, his eyes piercing into me just as they always had. I knew he was reading me like a damn book. Seeing into my soul with those damn eyes of his. I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole.

“Put down the gun, Lola. You have no enemies here.”

His deep voice sent chills down my spine, making me ache as it always had.

I shook my head slowly, backing away, my gun still held high, trained on his beautiful face. Why did he have to be so fucking beautiful. So handsome. So damned perfect. Removing my foot from the man at my feet, I continued to ease backwards to the door, ready to bolt.

“I’m leaving.” My eyes shot to Suicide, who smiled. The bastard actually smiled. Of course Jasper – or Blaze – would have told him about us. Our history. “This was a fucking mistake. We’re done here. If a member of this club shows up in Gun Barrel, they won’t breathe long.” I had prayed that my voice would be firm and commanding, but I heard the crack in every damn word that left my mouth.

Cherry Pie and Siren looked panicked, their eyes wide with shock. I reeked of weakness. And I just wanted to cry. I just wasn’t prepared to see him. Hadn’t expected to see him. Didn’t want to see him. My God! What a fool I had been not to ask Suicide if he was still around. Idiot.

I was almost to the door when he spoke again.

“Wait! Please!” Jasper said as he slowly and cautiously headed towards me, his hands raised. “Your father forced me to leave you that day. I had no choice. I’d do it different if I could. We was going to trade you off to another club had you stayed. I just wanted you to know that.”

I closed my eyes, wanting so much to hate him, but the honesty and hurt in his voice was real. He spoke the truth. I couldn’t even deny it. It was a move my father would make without a moment’s hesitation. He would have passed me off to strengthen the club and improve his status. The bastard was cold and heartless.

“What the fuck do you want from me, Jasper?” I asked.

When I opened my eyes, he was right there, his warm breath whispering across my cheek. So close. After all this time, he was right here in front of me.

“I just want to talk. Offer our help if you need it. I won’t ask for more, no matter how much I want it. Deal?”