Ultimate MC (Romance Collection), page 132
It was as though the two of us had fallen out of each other’s worlds, and I was okay with that. I wasn’t happy with it by any means, but I knew I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life crying about it when I knew there were plenty of other men out there on the plate who would love to have me.
Sure, he might be the hottest, and made me feel things that no other man had, but that didn’t mean he was the only man out there for me, and I wasn’t going to pretend that he was.
Now, Thursday. I had all but given up on him coming back to the club. He had made it clear more than once that he was working at another bar, so for all I cared, he could be over there flirting with some new chick. And good for him if he was.
I was pissed, and I would flirt my way through the evening, too. There was no need for me to hold back because of Julian, and I wasn’t going to.
Then he walked in.
My jaw could have hit the floor. He looked just as good as always. He was wearing his vest with his beard short and looking almost like it needed to be trimmed, but not quite. Still the tall, muscular man who had made my legs go weak just weeks ago when the two of us had first met.
And I refused to become putty in his hands. I had a feeling he would try to say something to me, but I was far too busy at the bar to chat with him. There was a dance floor with plenty of naked women for him to go stare at and throw money at all night; he could leave me the fuck alone for all I cared.
I had customers to serve.
But sometimes I wished my face would listen to my brain, and I couldn’t help but shoot him a grin. It wasn’t nearly as flirtatious or seductive as some that I’d flashed, but he didn’t even give me so much as a smile. My heart sank, and I wanted to walk out of the bar.
I didn’t want to cry, but I needed a cigarette. Something that would take the edge off the frustration I was feeling toward this man. Part of me wanted to get him kicked out, but there was another part of me that didn’t.
Despite it all, however, it was the rational side of me that stood out. The professional side who knew how to ignore a client I didn’t want to deal with. Sometimes I made the other bartenders do it, but then sometimes, I had to.
And tonight, there was a part of me that almost wanted to. I wanted this guy to know I didn’t play games. I didn’t play his games. I might not be in an MC or have much in the way of family, but I had my mom, and she was the only one I needed.
I wasn’t sure if I would tell her about Julian or not as time went on. There were men in my life I never bothered mentioning to her. They were irrelevant. They didn’t matter to me or what I was doing anymore. Why make her worry over something she didn’t have to worry about?
“You okay?”
Mickey, one of the other bartenders, was standing behind me, “You’re not really, well, doing your job to put it honestly.”
I laughed, “Everyone is allowed a break. You know we’re supposed to take them, remember?”
“You’re supposed to take them out back if you don’t recall,” he said with the same teasing grin, though I knew he was only half joking. I liked Mickey. I liked everyone I worked with, but I didn’t like how big of a stifler he was with the rules.
I hadn’t even been on break technically, I was just distracted because of the man who was lingering at the end of the bar; standing there, but ignoring me. I knew exactly what he was doing, and I knew he knew what he was doing.
The two of us were having a standoff, each one wondering if the other would say anything. The only problem was, I knew he figured I would be the one who told him what I thought about the barbecue, and it wasn’t going to happen.
He was the one who had been distant, and he had been the one to ignore me. I wasn’t going to put up with any of that shit from anyone, and that included him. He could walk over to the side of the bar where I was serving and tell me how he felt about the situation.
I had always been the one to walk over to him so far, and it was his turn as far as I was concerned. I didn’t mind doing it before, but it bothered me that he expected it now. He felt I was the one who was supposed to go over to him and make sure things were great. Or to flirt. Or to find a way to hook up.
I might act innocent in bed, but I had been with enough men in my life to know what he was doing, and I was sick of it. I wasn’t going to do it any more. The night wore on, and I proudly ignored him.
Oh, out of the corner of my eye I could see that he was watching me, but he never got the satisfaction of seeing me look directly at him. He never got the chance to make full eye contact after the moment he stepped in. I left him to Mickey, and I wasn’t going to take any complaints from either one of them.
If he wanted to talk to me, then he was more than welcome to walk around and talk, but I wasn’t going to break the flirting or the conversations I was having with the other customers just to make that happen.
He wasn’t my boyfriend, and I didn’t get the impression he ever thought it would end up there. I wasn’t anything more to him than a one-night stand, and I was okay with that. Well, it hurt a bit, but I wasn’t going to let it get me down for days.
Hell, I wasn’t even going to let Sloan figure out how I felt about any of this. She could see what was going on at the bar even though she was doing her dance routine, and she could ask me about it later if she wanted to care.
But that was one of the many things I liked about strippers. They might like to gossip, but they certainly gave space when it was needed. And thanks to their jobs, they let you know when it was needed or even wanted.
Finally, the last break of the night came, and I headed outside for a cigarette before my coworker could get on me for not being outside. I leaned against the side of the building, the cigarette in my hand, the smoke puffing into the air. I knew I should quit. My mom had been on me since high school for not wanting me to end up like her.
Then, out of the blue, something familiar happened. Two arms came around me, pinning me between the wall and the body in front of me. I could shove the arms out of the way and walk, but I didn’t want to move. My feet were clued to the ground, and I wanted to talk.
But without speaking, this stranger pressed his lips to mine. At once, I knew who it was. There was only one person on the planet who kissed me like that, and it was impossible for me to not kiss him back. I had to. There was a primal need inside me that was so strong, there wasn’t any way in hell I could resist.
We shared a passionate kiss for a moment, but then I shoved him to the side, having the surge of resolution run back through me.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I asked.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he shot back with that familiar smirk on his face. “Do you really think you can just run so hot and cold with me and think I’ll fall into bed whenever you feel like getting laid? Come on!”
He looked at me with utter shock on his face, and I had a feeling that was the first time he had ever been told off. And it felt good. I didn’t care what he had to say about this. I wanted the truth, and nothing but the truth.
“You need to get your shit together. Until then, let me be,” I said. I pushed his other arm out of the way and stormed back inside. It hurt to say the words, and I hoped that I hadn’t hurt him too bad, but there was something inside me that was glad I had finally told him the truth. I wasn’t ever going to put up with that sort of shit, and I didn’t care who it was who was trying to get in my pants. I deserved better, and I know a lot better than to put up with it.
God knows I sure as hell won’t.
Chapter 13
Julian
It was a Friday, and I knew I should be at the club. But I was pissed at the way Abby had spoken to me the night before. It made little sense to me, and it was only pissing me off all the more. How the hell did she have the audacity to show up at the barbecue, ignore me, and then proceed to tell me off at the bar?
Putting a girl against the wall had been one of my signature moves. It had been something that had worked for me over and over in my life, and it never mattered how pissed off the woman was. All I had to do was pull the whole dark alley move, and they were putty in my hands.
Sure, there was a part of me that felt like I was an asshole for doing it; but I was an asshole, and I wasn’t ashamed of it. I liked pussy, and I liked sex. And it seemed like the only way to get any good pussy in my life was to convince a woman to let me take them home.
And that had been my goal with Abby.
But she was so different from any other woman I’d ever met. She was even different from Natalie, Sloan and Callie. Though they were all incredible, independent women, they were a little more predictable than most of whom I preferred to deal with in my life; but I would have been happy with any of them as my own.
But then there was Abby. Abby did something to me no one else had done. She confused me. She excited me. She made me feel on top of the world while wanting to do everything in my power to impress her.
This was the woman I didn’t understand, and she was pissing me off enough for me to just walk away. Normally, I would get bored with a girl shortly after sleeping with her and tell her that it wouldn’t work and we both had to move on.
But with Abby, that wasn’t the case.
And it bothered me to think she was so close to me. She had no idea about the people I dealt with on an everyday basis, or how much trouble she could get in if she was involved. It was for her own safety–and my sanity, that she had to stay at an arm’s length.
But damn, that was a hard decision to make.
So as much as I wanted to see her and talk to her, I knew it was for her own safety that she had to stay away. I knew what Gus had done to Natalie, and I knew he wasn’t anyone any of us wanted to fool around with. We had no idea what he was capable of, and since he was out of jail now, it was likely that he was armed and dangerous.
Hopper had made it very clear none of us would open fire first, but what did that mean if he were to try to hurt one of us or the girls? Kain didn’t have an answer for me; he told me he would do what he had to do to protect anyone, even if that meant he got thrown out of the MC.
But the problem was, if he got thrown out, then he would have to face trial, anyway. Hell, if he were to get caught up in a murder or an assault, then he would face jail time no matter what he was doing.
And I didn’t know how well the MC could function without the guy at this point. Our MC was strong, but we needed our leadership. And Kain was that leadership; Hopper was that leadership. No one wanted the responsibility to fall to Tesla, though we all knew she would do a great job.
No, it would all fall apart, and we had to get this motherfucker back into prison as soon as possible.
“You need a refill?” Callie asked gently. I was staring at the bottom of my mug with a sigh. I wanted more, but with the shit that was going down with my girl, I wasn’t so sure it was a good idea. I didn’t want to say or do anything that I regretted.
“Do you think we have any regrets?” she tossed her curls toward Raf, and I grinned.
“But you’re on the verge of losing each other,” I argued. “You’ve practically been the only thing on his mind since the day he saw you telling off that handsy prick.”
“You just sit tight. I’ll go get you some wine and be right back.” Callie said with another smile. “It’s slow enough in here, I think I can sit and have a drink or two with you.”
“Drinking on the job, huh?” I teased her.
“Randy doesn’t mind if I’m doing it, because I’m not the one who has to take care of getting rid of the assholes when they come in here to harass me,” she said.
It wasn’t long before Callie returned with two glasses of wine. It wasn’t my drink of choice, but I was okay with it for now. It was better than beer, but it wasn’t going to fuck me up like whiskey or anything like that. I didn’t know what the rest of my day would hold, and I didn’t want to end up like Ryne had, crying into his mug and annoying the shit out of us all because he couldn’t get past a girl.
“So why aren’t you at the other club?” she asked when we’d settled in.
I shrugged, “I’m not here much anymore, and I thought it might be a nice break from all the drama that was going on.”
“Aren’t you worried about her?” she pressed.
Callie, though very sweet, wasn’t ever one to beat around the bush with anyone. It was one of the many things I liked about her. And I had a feeling Raf did, too. She differed from other girls in her own set of ways, and it was nice.
“I didn’t want to see a certain someone,” I told her.
“Sloan didn’t piss you off, did she?” Callie teased again. I knew she was more aware of the story than what she was letting on, but I was going to play along with her little game if she wanted me to.
“Yeah, she really pissed me off without giving me a lap dance,” I joked. Then I shook my head, “On a more serious note, I’m not sure what to do with that bartender.”
“You mean the one you brought to the barbecue?” she asked.
“That’s just the problem,” I retorted. “I’m not the one who brought her to that barbecue. That was all Sloan.”
“She’s Sloan’s friend, and Hopper and Tess both seemed to really like her. Why don’t you give her a chance?” Callie asked.
“I’m not the guy to settle down. We all know this, and I will not pretend like I am,” I said. “I don’t think I can be the kind of man she needs in her life, and I’m not going to try to be only to have it blow up in our faces.”
“You know love of any kind is a risk,” she commented.
“Who said anything about love?”
Before she had the chance to respond, Raf came over, “So what’s this, grabbing drinks when I’m off bouncing?”
“I’m at work and he’s not,” Callie said with one of her flashy grins. “And I think you know what this is.”
“I think Julian needs to pull his head out of his ass, get over his fear of women, and just get to know the girl,” Raf said. He had always been one of the blunter men in the group, and he certainly didn’t sugar coat anything now.
“At any rate, she seemed pretty pissed at me the last time I spoke with her. I don’t think I need to worry about us being a thing,” I said with a sigh. Callie and Raf both laughed and started to once again tell me the story of how the two of them had come together against the odds. It was something I had heard a thousand times, but I was going to be polite and listen to it again, anyway. I didn’t want to seem rude, though it was impossible for my mind not to drive back to how things were going at the club. Ryne and Kain were the ones were in charge over there tonight, and more often than not, I would want to be there just to make sure things were going well.
But tonight, I didn’t want to see Abby. I just wanted to watch the bottom of my mug getting closer and not have to worry about what was going on elsewhere.
Not that it was easy watching Callie and Raf flirt with each other. We all expected the ring to happen soon, though Callie herself would deny one would ever happen. We all knew it was just a matter of time before the two of them were the next Hopper and Tesla.
With Kain, of course, being the vice president of the MC.
We were so engrossed in our conversation, I almost missed it. I might have been off duty, but there was no changing the fact that I could sense danger when it was nearby. And damn, did something feel off. I scanned the room as Raf and Callie continued to talk, but even then it was almost too late.
A man walked through the door with a gun in his hand, drawn and ready to fire. I didn’t have time to think or even react. I merely shouted, “Look out!”
Raf reacted even faster than I had. He tackled Callie, taking her to the ground behind the bar while Bryan and I rushed towards the man with the gun. He could have easily taken aim at either of us and fired again, but instead, he turned and ran out the door, shooting more bullets in through the window.
We stayed as low as we could to miss the fire, but I was still worried someone would get hit. I knew that if a bullet went through me, I wouldn’t feel it at first, and I kept checking to make sure I hadn’t taken a shot anywhere. The bouncers were out the door in a flash, trying to reach the man before he got on a bike.
But he had planned his escape. He was on the back of a chopper and speeding out of the parking lot before we had even reached our own bikes, leaving a trail of dust behind him.
My heart raced and my hands were shaking as I pulled my phone out of my pocket.
“You got 9-1-1?” Raf asked.
“I will in a second, but right now there’s someone a little more important to me I need to make sure is okay,” I replied. He gave me a look, but I ignored it. I didn’t care how mad Abby was at me. If Natalie was down at the club for any reason, or if Sloan had been the target, for all we knew, Abby might well be in the crossfire.
Not to mention the fact that she had been at Hopper’s barbecue on Sunday, and for all I knew that put an X on her back as well. I had to find out if she was okay. My heart sank when she didn’t answer, but I wasn’t going to give up that easy.
Raf was on the phone with the cops already, so I called Kain and see if I could get any information on what was going on. When Kain also didn’t answer, I knew I had to go see for myself what was going on.
But at that moment, the cops were pulling into the club and asking all kinds of questions, not letting any of us leave until they understood what had happened. As with anything, it felt like it was taking them forever to get through the questions and the paperwork, and by the time we were done, Ryne himself had texted me.
All the girls are safe here–nothing happened. Glad you’re all okay. Do you need help with the windows or anything?
I sighed. The last thing I wanted was to deal with the windows. But I wasn’t going to go speeding off into the night to find Abby and save her again. At least not now. I had my duties here. And if she was okay, there wasn’t any need for me to be there, anyway.
