Rusty Cage (Rawlins Heretics MC Book 1) Page 14

  “True or not, you’re still babysitting when we have Froggy,” Bay states.

  “Of course. I love being an auntie. Oh, and what the hell is a froggy?”

  “That’s what we’re naming the baby.”

  I give Clove a horrified look, and she laughs. “Well, I think we need to cut off your tequila intake for the night.”

  “Your name is Ginger,” Bay says, clearly serious about naming the baby. “Who decided that was a name? Why are Danny and Billy real names besides someone a long time ago deciding they were? So we’re naming the baby Frog and calling him Froggy.”

  “How do you know it’ll be a boy?” Clove asks.

  “Oh, it will,” I say, exhaling cigar smoke. “They’ve tempted the universe too much with their male hatred. I doubt they’ll ever have a need for pink booties, no matter how many babies they make between the two of them.”

  “Froggy, it is,” Cayenne says and toasts to the not yet created baby. “So how will you decide between the donors?”

  “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe ought to do it,” Bay explains. “One guy or another, we’ll have a baby.”

  “And you’ll use the same guy for when Pepper wants a baby?”

  We laugh at the idea of Pepper pregnant. Bay giggles long after the rest of us. I think she’s mostly just psyched to have a home and baby to go along with her love. I imagine her in a year, cuddled with Pepper and a baby in their townhouse. The dream feels so real that my mind flashes to a picture of Oz and me in my home with his kids playing nearby. The thought terrifies me, and I blink away such ideas.

  Then as if beckoned by my fantasy about him, Oz appears at the double doors of the backroom, and my night gets a helluva lot sexier.

  ➸ Oz ★

  Glitch is dying to crash the girls’ card game. I keep him busy by making stops at all the locales where prostitutes do their business. The last place is a dump called the Lily Fountain Trailer Park. The prostitutes we provide protection to control one side of the park while the elderly religious zealots run the other end. In the middle are people who apparently don’t believe in taking their trash to the dumpster.

  “I hate this place,” Glitch grumbles as we step over torn bags of trash on our way out of the place. “Let’s go to the Rusty Cage.”

  Smirking at his enthusiasm, I shake my head. “What do you hope will happen if we crash their card game?”

  “I can check out the foxy babes.”

  “Any particular babe you’re interested in seeing most?”

  “Clove is an exotic fox, and I can tell she’s fucking blazing hot for me. I oughta give her a chance to see me up close and personal.”

  “You might be reading the situation wrong, man.”

  “Nope. The first time she saw me, Clove was dumb-fucking-struck. Just stood there, unable to speak. I don’t blame her. Our connection was some powerful shit.”

  I struggle not to laugh at Glitch. The fucker clearly believes his bullshit, but it is bullshit. Clove has never shown even the least bit of interest in him. I even suspect she’s into chicks and wouldn’t be surprised if her heart belongs to Ginger. I don’t share this suspicion with Glitch since kicking the guy in the love-swollen balls isn’t my thing. Reality will hit him in the crotch eventually, probably in the form of Clove’s foot.

  We arrive at Rusty Cage to find Blackjack at the bar with his head on the counter. The doors to the backroom remain closed, but I can feel Ginger nearby. I haven’t seen her since I spent a few hours thrusting into her body in her bedroom at the not-yet-ready townhome. We parted ways around midnight after I drove her home.

  Now she’s feet away, probably looking smoking hot and aching for me to return to her pussy.

  “Crying in front of civilians is bad for our image,” I tell Blackjack after ordering a beer.

  Blackjack lifts his head long enough to shoot me a fearsome dirty look. “Fuck off.”

  “Why are you crying?” Glitch asks with bullshit sincerity.

  “Killing women is off the menu.”

  “Did the Everything Nice foxes bully you?” I ask, already laughing at the thought.

  “Jessica let loose a bunch of raccoons at my place. How the bitch got hold of them is beyond me, but they tore my fucking place up.”

  Glitch bursts out laughing, but I have an idea on how to deal with Blackjack’s long-standing “Jessica” problem.

  “First, bud, her name is Annie, and I don’t know why you can’t remember that. Second, while we do have a policy against fucking up women, we’re tight with a few chicks who do not have a problem fucking up anyone.”

  “I doubt they’d fuck up kids,” Glitch says. “Probably wouldn’t want to fuck up old people. Disabled people too.”

  “Yeah, thanks,” I tell Glitch who winks at my irritated expression. “If you asked nicely, I bet one of them will handle your Annie problem.”

  Blackjack shakes his head. “I don’t want to owe those women anything.”

  “Then have fun with Annie and your raccoon roommates.”

  I walk away from a cussing Blackjack. Right behind me, Glitch keeps pace. The fucker is nearly salivating over seeing Clove. I hope she’s the one watching Duffy tonight, so I can avoid suffering grief over his insane horniness.

  I give the backroom doors a knock before opening them. The girls still pull their guns at us and keep them pointed long after Ginger nods hello.

  “Is this your sexual fantasy?” I ask when the others keep their guns leveled at me. “I’m your captive slave, and they watch you ravage my hot bod.”

  Ginger sets down her gun, picks up a cigar, and walks to me. “I knew you’d break up the party. Boys are so predictable,” she murmurs and puffs smoke in my face.

  “I’m only here long enough to get you horny enough to call me later.”

  I tug her to me, take the cigar from her fingers before planting a kiss on her smiling lips.

  “I can’t tell if I should heckle or not?” Cayenne says to Bay.

  “The answer is yes,” Bay replies when Ginger deepens the kiss. “Very much so, yes.”

  Once our lips part, I take a puff of the cigar and blow the smoke above her head. “This is the polite way to do that,” I murmur, “rather than in the face.”

  “Thanks for the lesson, Daddy.”

  “Don’t.”

  “Will you punish me later, Daddy?” she asks, taking the cigar. “Do I deserve a spanking for being a bad girl?”

  Adjusting the crotch of my jeans, I give her pretty face an ugly frown. “You know that shit grosses me out.”

  “I know, but your discomfort is adorable, and I’ve gotten addicted to the payoff.”

  “Leave the man alone, you pervert,” Cayenne says with a Cuban between her lips.

  Ginger smiles at her friend and shrugs. “The crowd has spoken.”

  “No,” Clove announces from nearby, and I realize Glitch is bugging her. “Not even if you let me cut it off and fry it afterward.”

  I look at Ginger and roll my eyes. She shows no reaction to my gesture or Clove sticking a gun in Glitch’s face.

  “Don’t make me blow off your pretty face,” Clove says, and Glitch grins at me.

  “Told you that she wanted a piece.”

  Satisfied with her compliment about his pretty face, my club brother struts out of the backroom. The women all look to me as if I own his brain.

  “Glitch can be difficult to understand. Maybe you misheard what he said,” I offer.

  Clove shrugs and removes the cigar from her lips. “I thought he asked if I wanted to replace my cigar with his dick, but I guess he might have been asking something totally unrelated to blowjobs.”

  “No, that was probably what he said, but he meant it as a compliment. Glitch is real particular about whose mouth gets near his dick.”

  “Tell him to stop complimenting me,” she says and returns the cigar to her lips. “My ego is big enough.”

  “True dat,” Bay says and starts shuffling the cards. “Now get out.
”

  Ignoring Bay’s last comment, I focus on Ginger who checks my pockets for candy and smiles when she finds a Starburst. She even sticks her hand back into the pocket to give my dick a quick stroke.

  “Thank you,” she whispers while unwrapping the candy. “You should leave, so we can enjoy our game.”

  “What do you play for?”

  “Bullets.”

  Smirking, I lean down and kiss the tip of her nose. “Of course, you do. Enjoy your game and thanks for the cock grab.”

  Ginger laughs at her friends’ horrified reactions and returns to her seat. “Thanks for dropping by, Oz.”

  “Have fun, ladies.”

  I shut the doors behind me, hearing them immediately start laughing and giving Ginger shit for the dick thing. Their trash talk sounds like when my boys and I throw a few back and start razzing each other.

  As glad as I am that Ginger has her friends, I wish she were available for a quickie. Once she’s moved in, we’ll have somewhere to rut like animals whenever the urge strikes. Until then, I’m stuck with late night hookups or a raging hard-on with only my hand for relief. Though thinking of her calling me ‘Daddy,’ I’m able to kill much of my arousal. The chick is an ace at making me harder than a rock or softer than a limp noodle.

  ➸ Ginger ☆

  Yarrow grinds her teeth the entire time Oz and Glitch remain in the room with us. Once they leave, her jaw unclenches, and she takes a swig of tequila. I can tell by her glazed eyes that she’s more than done with the booze for the night. No doubt she’ll crawl in my bed later when her toxic dreams mix with the tequila.

  “I was thinking about Oz’s mom,” Clove announces once we’re back to playing cards. “When we have our housewarming party, you ought to cook something Hawaiian for her. Show you respect her heritage and will raise her grandchildren to eat whatever crap she would feed them.”

  I frown at her. “That beautiful advice petered out into something super pissy at the end. Are you okay?”

  “Glitch breathed all over me,” she says, and we all nod.

  Nodding, I sip my tequila. “Men are dumb.”

  “You should hear the conversations they have when working on the townhouses,” Bay mutters. “I eavesdrop sometimes when the crews are working. The Heretics discuss dick sizes, recipes, and Burt Reynolds movies. Oh, and a fight broke out one day over who had taken the biggest dump. I can’t tell you which one was the winner since I couldn’t see them, but those guys are prouder of their crap sizes than their dicks’.”

  “Men are dumb,” I say again.

  We nod in unison about the “stronger” sex until Bay suddenly laughs.

  “We’re all going to have sons,” she announces. “We’ve sealed the deal tonight.”

  “I don’t want more kids,” Cayenne announces. “Duffy completely fills my heart.”

  “I don’t want kids ever,” Yarrow mutters. “Duffy fills my heart more than enough. I’ll also probably like the kids the rest of you have too.”

  Clove throws in a few bullets and sighs. “I want one before Pepper has hers. No way will I get through her pregnancy and delivery without making a shit-ton of rude comments, therefore sealing my fate at having a horrible pregnancy and delivery. I better get my kid out before I jinx myself.”

  “So it’s settled,” Cayenne says. “Bay goes first, Clove is next, and Pepper brings up the rear.”

  “Oz has claimed Ginger,” Clove points out, “so that means his bastard kids are now her bastard responsibilities.”

  “No,” I say instantly and finish my shot.

  “That’s how it works when you date parents,” Cayenne says and gives me a wink. “Just think of the holidays coming up. We’re talking costumes, Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas tree, and stockings.”

  “That’s fine. I’ll set up their bedrooms and get them toys and say supportive things in the same way I do with you sluts.”

  When we laugh at my insult as if it’s comedic gold, I realize we’re veering perilously close to the point where the tequila gets switched out with sodas. Any drunker and we’ll crash on our way home in an hour.

  After the waitress delivers fresh, non-alcoholic drinks, we finish up our evening. As usual, Clove wins most games, Yarrow throws a fit when she can’t win any, and Cayenne starts talking about herself in the third person. Only Bay spices things up by putting Pepper on her phone’s speaker, so she can rap horribly to Kanye West.

  This has been my family for my entire adult life. Maybe it’s the booze thinking, but I feel the time has come to pull on my big girl panties and embrace Oz, his kids, and Tutu Tana.

  Chapter Eleven

  kāmau kī`aha

  ➸ Ginger ☆

  Yarrow and Clove join me on my visit to meet Rawlins’s mayor, Tommy Smith, who treats the town as an extension of him. He’s a spoiled brat who got the job because his daddy had the job and no doubt his granddaddy too. So far, he played ball with my crew because of the money we’re investing in the town. Today, he’ll learn what else we bring to the table.

  I sit across from Tommy while he’s out for lunch at Mac’s Bistro—the closest to decadence Rawlins gets. The two people at the table do their best gasping, “I’ve never” impressions.

  “They can stay, or they can leave, but we have business to discuss,” I say and wave off the approaching waiter.

  The woman at the table immediately says, “You should make an appointment to meet him at the office.”

  “Do I need to set my gun on the table as a subtle threat?” I ask Tommy.

  He flashes me the same smile plastered on his car dealership billboards all over Rawlins. “Can we have a moment alone?” he asks his friends.

  The man and woman grudgingly stand and take forever to shuffle away. I watch them go before turning my attention back to the still smiling man. Clove and Yarrow stand behind me. No doubt Yarrow is stinking up the bistro with her dirty looks while Clove’s exotic appearance likely freaks out the norms in this white-bred wonderland.

  “I have somewhere to be, so I’ll keep this quick,” I say. “First, you need to keep your sheriff on a tighter leash. If he shows up at my place again, sniffing around my business, I’ll need to see about new management. Second, I want Tana Savo and Hildy Perkins on the planning committee.”

  “I will speak to the sheriff, but he is a man of the law.”

  I wink at him and smile. “I get your drift. He’s a problem you can’t handle. What about the planning committee?”

  “I don’t think that’s what I meant, but...”

  “I’m on the clock,” I say, tapping my imaginary watch. “What about Tana and Hildy?”

  “We don’t currently have any openings on the planning committee.”

  “Then make openings. Get rid of someone or add two spots. I don’t care what happens to get them on the committee, just get it done or I will.”

  “I really don’t appreciate these threats.”

  “But you do appreciate our investment in Rawlins. I’m certain you appreciate your job as mayor. It’s not like you’re the only person who can do that job, but we’re the only ones willing to invest so much money in this town. Seems like you’re replaceable while we’re not. Get it, Tommy?”

  I stand up and glance at where his friends impatiently wait. “I want Tana and Hildy to receive calls by tomorrow. If that doesn’t happen, I imagine I’ll be visiting you again.”

  Tommy wants to say something salesman smooth, but I know his type. He’ll back down because he doesn’t know what else to do when faced with violence. He knows my crew is linked to the Heretics club. What he doesn’t know is I wouldn’t mind replacing him and the cops in this town with people more inclined to behave. One day very soon, Tommy Smith is bound to learn this fact the hard way.

  ➸ Oz ★

  Killing doesn’t come as easily to me as it does to Ginger, but I’m willing to take a life if necessary. Despite what I told Ginger, I know removing the eyelids and fingers of Jay—the thieving cou
rier—won’t do anything besides draw attention to the club. Sheriff Green would love to finish off the Heretics, and now he has his eye on the Everything Nice Crew. The last thing I plan to do is give the asshole ammunition against us.

  So the guys and I hunt down the courier. We drag him out to the woods behind the Lily Fountain Trailer Park where the residents stack the trash they can’t fit in their yards. This is where we dump Jay’s body.

  “Brutal, man,” I mutter after Blackjack takes forever to crush Jay’s skull with a rock. “You could have killed him quicker.”

  “I always wondered if love made a man soft,” he says. “Now I know it does.”

  “That’s the raccoon adventure talking,” I taunt, and I notice him wanting to smile. He doesn’t, though. “Let’s cover up the body.”

  Camo and Vile grab bags of trash and drop them over Jay. Glitch keeps watch nearby while Devo remains MIA, so he can pick up his troublemaking kid from school.

  “I don’t like Trevor,” I admit as we walk from the woods. “I don’t want him around my kids.”

  “He’s a sociopath,” Blackjack says, and I wonder if he’s talking about the guy he sees in the mirror. “Kid’s a bad seed.”

  Vile nods. “Devo loves the little fucker, but Trevor’s the reason I told my old lady I never want kids. It’s not worth the chance.”

  “And she’s okay with that?”

  “She has her parakeets. I swear anything more would stress her the fuck out.”

  Vile’s woman is a former meth addict. I’d be surprised if Brittany can handle more than feeding herself and walking to the road to get the mail. Vile handles everything else, so remaining childless makes sense.

  “I’m planning to knock up Ginger as soon as she lets her guard down. If my kid shows signs of becoming Trevor, I’ll figure out a way to make him stop. Devo babies the brat and laughs when he bullies other kids. That’s bad parenting.”

  “Harsh,” Glitch says as we arrive at our Harleys.

  “He’s my club brother, and I’ll always have his back, but there’s no denying he’s a shit father, and his kid will grow up to be the kind of asshole that’ll get shoved under bags of trash.” When the guys give me horrified looks, I ask, “Am I wrong?”