Bull, page 5
"Are the police really coming?"
She shook her head. "No. I just said that to scare him away. Do you want me to call them?"
I slipped my key into the lock. "God, no. It's over now, and hopefully Nick's bark is worse than his bite." I flipped on the light switch and the room was bathed in a soft, welcoming light that did nothing to downplay the bright colors of my decor. "I'm so glad that you came when you did. Nick was really worked up." I turned back to Millie and closed the door behind her.
"Oh, God, honey! Your eye!"
My laugh held little humor. "He got in a good hit. Does it look that bad?"
"Well, it's not good. You’re probably going to have a shiner for a while. You better put some ice on it," she advised, walking straight to my refrigerator and opening the freezer door. "Good, you have a bag of peas in here." When she turned to me, she stopped and burst out with a laugh. "I just remembered that you're a nurse."
I reached for the bag of peas. "Even nurses like to be fussed over when the need arises." I brought the bag up to my eye. "Thank goodness you showed up when you did."
"You know, maybe you should call the police and register a complaint that he assaulted you. I remember what you said about him being intimidated by them. It might be the incentive he needs to leave you alone."
It wasn't a bad idea. "Yeah, he definitely overreacted that night," I said, recalling the last time Nick had gone off the rails.
One night, over pizza and beer, I had shared with Millie the minor but memorable incident that had occurred that evening. Nick and I had parked in a no parking zone and gone into a nearby restaurant for dinner. On the way back to his car, a policeman had pulled up next to Nick’s BMW and was just about to get out. I figured the officer would probably just write out a warning and leave it on the windshield, but judging from Nick's expression, you would have thought he was about to go to jail and get strip-searched.
Some people did not know how to react around police. They became nervous and only made things worse by acting guilty. Nick was definitely one of those people.
"I'll give it some thought," I finally said.
"Give me your phone," Millie surprised me by demanding.
I didn't hesitate, digging it out of my bag. "Why?" I handed it to her.
"I'm going to take a picture of your face. Keep the picture in case you need it for evidence."
I gave her a curious look. "You sound like you've had some experience in this."
Her lips twisted. "I have. Don't smile, silly, and remove the peas."
Her request almost caused me to smile wider, but I understood what she was going for. I wiped the smile from my face and stared somberly at the phone as she snapped a few pictures. "I feel like I should have a prison uniform on. One of those old-fashioned black and white striped ones."
When she was done she lowered the phone, a smirk on her face. "I don't know how convincing it will be. The background looks like a freakin' set out of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."
We both laughed at that. She set my phone down on the counter. "Did he hit you anywhere else?"
I shook my head. "He didn't have time."
"Thank God. I had an ex who liked to put his hands on me, and not in a good way."
"What happened?"
"I killed him."
I stared at her, blinking, unsure if she was being serious. Millie was a pretty girl who was about my age. We had become friends almost from the day she had moved in, but she liked to keep to herself. She preferred animals to people. As the minutes ticked by and she didn't smile and tell me that she was joking, I realized that she was being sincere.
"You're serious."
She nodded. "Yup. It's a long story, and someday I will share it with you over dinner or something. Right now I'm tired and I have to be up in four hours to take care of Mrs. Lapino's demon cat." She finally laughed. "I'm not dangerous, honey. I promise you."
I believed her. Still, knowing someone who had killed someone was unnerving. I decided to focus on her comment about Mrs. Lapino's cat. "Demon cat? That bad, huh?"
Millie giggled. "The poor thing is as sweet as sugar, but looks like a little, yellow demon. Before Mrs. Lapino turned him into an indoor cat he'd been hit by a car twice, and his injuries never healed correctly so he limps. The feral cats running the neighborhood picked on him, so his little face is all scarred up. He's missing an ear, his tail is half gone, and he has a skin condition that keeps his hair from growing in, so he has bare patches."
"Oh. I bet he's your favorite."
"You guessed right. It took months before he'd let me get anywhere near him, but now he comes out to greet me when I come through the door. I told Mrs. Lapino if she ever wanted to get rid of him that I would give him a good home. She's too old to take care of him, so I go over every other day."
I followed her as she walked toward the door. "Hey, Lissa is coming over around noon tomorrow to hang out at the pool. Why don't you join us?"
She made a face, and I could tell that there was something holding her back. "Um, I don't know. I don't like wearing a swimsuit in public, have too much junk in my trunk." She tried to laugh it off, but I could hear the regret in her voice.
I wasn't going to let Millie's insecurities drag her down by feeding into it. The truth was that, yeah, she had a few extra pounds on her body, but she was a beautiful woman. Fiery red hair, vibrant green eyes, and a lusciousness to her five-foot five-inch frame that would draw the eye of appreciation from the right man.
I snorted and brushed aside her comment. "So wear shorts, who cares?" I opened my door, suddenly tired. I had about ten hours before Lissa was due to show up. "See you around noon," I said firmly.
Her smile didn't reveal if she would be there or not. I watched her walk to her apartment door and go inside before I closed my door. As I made sure all three locks were engaged, I wondered vaguely if I should consider a security alarm. Then I wouldn't have to worry about someone coming in through the windows. I went to the bathroom and flipped the light on to look at my eye.
"Ouch," I whispered to my reflection, leaning in to examine it. I gently prodded the eye socket. Of course, it hurt, but not enough to convince me that it was fractured or anything. The skin surrounding my eye was a pretty color of blue, black, and purple, and the white of my eye was red, which indicated a subconjunctival hemorrhage.
"Nurse Hussy is not going to be happy," I mumbled to myself, stepping away from the mirror. It could take up to two weeks before my eye was back to normal.
I groaned as I left the bathroom.
Chapter 8
BULL
I grabbed a cup of coffee and headed straight to church. If I hadn't spent so much time with the club's little Asian flower I would have had time to grab breakfast, too. But it was fucking hard leaving a woman who had her pretty little mouth wrapped around your dick. Jade wasn't like the other club girls who liked it rough and screamed out their pleasures. She was quiet and subservient, and for her it was all about providing pleasure to the brother she was with.
She didn’t overload you with fake promises of sweet nothings, either.
She sucked my dick and left the room with barely a word.
I walked into the room to see that I was the last one to arrive. Cappy, Blade, Yogie, and TJ were in their usual seats.
"'Bout fucking time you made it," LD groused from his seat at the head of the table.
I snorted nonchalantly as I headed to the chair next to him. "Still have two minutes, Prez." I knew that he knew this, too, from the slight curving of his mouth. These days he seemed a little less moody and on edge than usual. "How's Jolene?"
The mention of her name softened his expression. "Good, now that she's not throwing up every fucking day. Thought that shit was going to last all nine months."
Jolene was seven months pregnant with their first child, a boy, and LD couldn't have been happier. Having a family was something he'd never thought he'd have again, and after losing his first wife and son to the kind of violence that forever changed someone, he hadn't wanted one. But Jolene had come along and won the big man over, convincing him that he deserved to be happy again.
"Glad to hear it," I said, right before taking a sip of my coffee.
LD took a deep breath and addressed the room. "Let's get started." He looked at Blade. "We wrap up construction at Clear Water Springs the end of this week. Make sure bonuses go out. Let everyone know they get a week off before joining the crew over at the new site."
Blade was a ginger with green eyes who was covered in freckles, tall and lean, and smart as hell when it came to numbers. Plus, he was a whiz on the computer when it came to finding shit out. Almost as good as Oz. Sometimes it was necessary for them to collaborate, and when they did there was nothing they couldn’t do.
"Same ten percent?"
LD nodded. He then switched his attention over to TJ, another carrot-top with green eyes, both different shades than Blade’s. Not a freckle in sight. TJ was army tough and disciplined. He kept his hair buzzed; his face clean shaven. A couple of inches under six feet, he was stocky and solid, and you didn't want to be at the receiving end of his fist. He was our security expert, set up and monitored any surveillance cameras we had.
There was a smirk on LD's face. "We finally got paid for the Jenson place."
TJ snorted and shook his head with disgust. "Didn't think I was ever going to satisfy that bitch," he grumbled. "That's why I hate doing jobs for civilians."
He'd had to go back to her mansion six times before she was satisfied with the way the system ran.
LD shrugged. "The money was too good to turn down, and it should have been an easy job for you."
"It was!" TJ snapped in a pissed-off voice. "I know what the fuck I'm doing, but someone in her past must have taken that bitch for a ride, because she questioned every fucking thing I did. Followed me around like a fucking creeper, too, until I finally had enough."
"What did you do?" I grinned.
He grinned proudly. "I fucked the bitch. Didn't complain about all the orgasms I gave her."
Yogie's face twisted with disgust. "You fucked her? She was like a hundred years old, Brother!"
"Not her, her daughter," TJ corrected with a laugh. "The old woman sicced her daughter on me about a week in when she couldn’t keep up with me." He took a breath. "If I'd known all it would take was a few orgasms, I'd have fucked her in the beginning."
"The old woman?" Yogie smirked.
TJ didn't answer, but the glare he pinned on Yogie spoke volumes.
"It's done," LD said in his raspy voice that also indicated that that particular conversation was done, too. "We've decided to upgrade the systems at our brothels."
That meant that he and Demon had already discussed it. We already had security guards at both Crystals Palace and Naughty Secret for the girl's safety, so it surprised me that LD felt we needed more.
"How's training coming along for Morton?"
"Great. But he's not ready to go solo."
LD nodded with satisfaction. "Take him and one of the prospects with you. Want this done ASAP."
I hadn't heard of any trouble at either brothel, but still asked, "Any reason why we’re upgrading security at the brothels?" As enforcer, LD would expect me to question him. He shook his head but didn't offer an explanation.
"What about that bastard, Radar?" Until then Cappy had remained silent.
Our VP was in good shape for a man in his early sixties. I knew that he worked out almost every day. He kept his long grey hair pulled back in a ponytail, and his beard was long enough to braid. Old school, it bothered him that we hadn't killed off every one of the Knights when we'd gone after them, but we'd taken out enough of them to send a message, and the rest had scattered. It bothered him more that there was still one key player out there. I couldn't blame him for wanting to get his hands-on Radar. None of us liked leaving loose ends that could come back to haunt us.
I was close enough to hear the low growl LD let out as he sat back in his chair. Demon had done good choosing LD for president for our Las Vegas chapter. The six-foot-seven-inch giant wasn't a man you wanted to mess with. A cut to the throat the day he'd lost his wife and son had rendered his voice with a permanent rasp that made it sound like LD was always angry about something. His craggy features and the piercing look in his eyes added to the persona that he was a mean son-of-a-bitch.
"We all want Radar as much as you do, Brother. Be content to know his brothers are dead and their club is gone."
"And that we shut down their operation and rescued some of those women," Blade added.
Women—hell, some of them had been young girls. The Knights, which had been run by the five Dunlap brothers, had been heavily involved in the sex trade. Before they sold the women that they'd kidnapped off the streets, they would force them to star in porn that had been live-streamed to potential buyers.
"Can't believe that fucker is still walking this earth," Cappy snarled. He crossed his arms, his expression set in a stubborn frown.
"He's been a lucky son-of-a-bitch."
Cappy's eyes snapped to Yogie as if he wanted to bite his head off. Yogie shrugged. "Just sayin'."
"We got plenty of feelers out. We'll get him." LD's tone indicated that that was all he was going to say on the subject. "Annabelle and Danny's wedding—it's been decided that it will be held here."
"When is it again?" I asked.
"The last Saturday of August."
"Old ladies are taking care of the decorations the morning of. Food will be catered in. No club girls. Doc will be officiating. Our job is to make sure the place is clean and presentable. My old lady provided a list—"
I exhaled loudly. "I bet the pool table is first on her list of shit to go." We all knew that it had been used for a lot more than just playing pool. Hell, I'd fucked both Peaches and Cassie up against it myself.
LD cracked a rare smile. "If it were up to her, it'd be burned, Brother," he admitted.
"I can't believe this is what church has come to," Cappy snarled with disgust. "We're a one-percent MC, and we're talkin' about cleaning and shit."
"Church isn't just about dealing with trouble and killing, Brother." TJ ran his hand over the rusty stubble on his head. "It's about family and what we need to do to run the club fairly and smoothly. I, for one, am glad shit has been quiet around here."
"I second that, Brother," I muttered.
Cappy waved us off with a frown but remained silent.
"As I started to say, I got a list from Jolene of things she thought we might overlook." LD slid it over to Blade. "Get the prospects and club girls to take care of it."
No one could blame Jolene for wanting the clubhouse to look its best for her brother and Annabelle's wedding.
"Will do, Prez."
Before LD could get anything else out, he frowned and reached for his phone. "Shit," he muttered, looking down at it. "Gotta go." He got to his feet while shooting of a text in response. "Jolene's got a flat."
"I'll come with you," TJ said as we all got to our feet.
"I'm heading out to see my uncle if anyone needs me."
First, I would grab some breakfast.
Chapter 9
VIOLA
"Ohmygod, girl, what happened to you?" was the first thing out of Lissa's mouth when she saw me.
I had decided not to tell her about my little run in with Nick when she'd called me that morning. She had been too hyped up about her night with Frenchie, and I hadn't wanted to ruin the mood. Lissa fell in love easily. After she'd rambled on for ten minutes about how good he was in the sack, we had agreed to meet at the pool at noon. That had been an hour ago.
"You're late," I squinted up at her.
"Don't change the subject, V. What happened?" She sat down on the lounger next to me, concern etched on her unmade-up face.
I exhaled a breath of resignation. "Nick happened."
Her expression dropped. "You've got to be kidding me! He hit you? Did you call the police? When did this happen?" She was talking so fast that I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. When I didn't make an attempt to respond, she took a deep breath and calmed down. "Are you okay?"
"Yes. Except for the black eye. Do you think it will be gone by Monday?" I smiled.
"No, and Hussy is going to flip when she sees it. So, tell me, what happened?"
"Nick all but confessed that he'd been following me around last night. He flipped when he saw me with Bull and confronted me when I was walking to my door. He accused me of cheating on him all along. He hit me, I kneed him in the balls—"
"You didn't!" Lissa burst out with laughter. "I'm so proud of you! But you need to call the police. He sounds unstable."
I pressed my mouth, thinking about how scared I'd been. There was no telling what Nick would have done after I kneed him in the balls if Millie hadn't come along. Filing a police report would keep him in my life, and after last night I just hoped he went away.
"You know your black eye is going to cause problems with Hussy when she sees it, right?" Lissa said when it became obvious that I wasn't going to respond to her comment. "It may be too new for makeup to cover."
"Thanks for pointing that out," I smiled. "And I really don't want to talk about Nick, it ruins the mood I'm striving for."
She laughed and removed her wrap, exposing her killer body. "And what mood is that?" She reached into her bag and pulled out her sunscreen. "You're always in a good mood."
"Can I help it if I choose to embrace all that is good in life? I am a free spirit, after all," I joked.
"You're a wild mess is what you are," Lissa responded, slathering sunscreen up and down her arms. "So, how did your night go with Bull?"
"We weren't on a date," I reminded her. "We ate, returned to Grinders, and then went our separate ways."
"What do you think about him?" she asked, working on her legs.
I took a breath. "He's not my type."
She snorted. "That's not what I asked you, V."
I laughed and looked toward the pool.
"So are you saying that there's nothing about him that you'd like to, um, explore further?"
