Ultimate MC (Romance Collection), page 189
“If Vance gets voted in. You know how Marcus is. They haven’t had the best relationship,” Nathan shot back.
“It’s not going to be his choice. Whether he’s killed or steps down, Vance is going to be put up to a vote. And since he’s who he is, I’m guessing it’s going to happen,” Zach replied.
“Let’s not get off topic,” Adam cut in. “The point is Carl talked to Marcus, the president of The Enemies, and he’s got his men patrolling the towns under his control. So, if Kline is looking for you and isn’t sure where you are, we can still keep an eye on him in other towns.”
“That still doesn’t answer my question,” I said. It made more sense to me now, but it didn’t answer what I was supposed to do with myself. “What are we going to do to get him to come here? We need him to come for me so we can get him arrested.”
Zach laughed into his coffee, and Nathan and Adam exchanged a look.
“We aren’t trying to get him arrested,” Adam said.
“You aren’t going to kill him, are you?” I asked, letting the horror show in my voice. I knew the man was trying to kill me, but the thought of them killing him made me sick to my stomach. I knew there were things that went on with the MCs that I didn’t agree with, but killing a man because of me was too much.
“Do you know how this works?” Nathan asked. He was looking at me like I was the biggest idiot on the planet, and I shot him a look back.
“You all might have been in the military, but you aren’t in the military now!” I snapped. “If you kill him, you are no better than he is – and that pisses me off!”
“You came to us for help, sweetheart,” Zach said. “What did you think we were going to do? Ask him to please stop following you?”
“He’s got a point,” Adam said. “You did want us to take care of this for you, and that’s what we’re doing.”
“No! You aren’t going to kill him! You’re going to go about this the right way!” I demanded. “I came here because I thought you would help me in a way that kept us all safe!”
“This isn’t the kind of man who is kept safe,” Nathan tried.
“He’s going to get arrested!” I shouted. “I’m not going to be the reason a man is murdered! You are all better than that, and I’m not going to condone any of this!”
I looked around the table. I didn’t care about the amused look on Zach’s face or the look of confusion on Nathan’s. But Adam stared directly at me, challenging me to back down from what I was saying. However, I wasn’t going to. I felt strongly about this, and I wasn’t going to give in and let them murder anyone. Even if it was someone who wanted me dead.
I knew I’d won when Adam threw his arms in the air and stormed off, doing his best to stomp with his metal leg. Zach and Nathan shook their heads and headed out into the living room. I wasn’t sure if they were leaving, or what they were going to do, but I poured myself a cup of coffee and relished in my victory.
Today, I was only going to think about how we were going to get Kline arrested, not murdered. I wasn’t going to be responsible for that, I didn’t care what the MC thought.
I might have caused this shit, and they were doing their best to help me in any way they knew how, but that didn’t change my opinion. I knew Adam would give me my way.
He always did.
Chapter 17
Adam
“I want both of you to work from the back today,” I informed Jonas and Tanner when they arrived that morning. Though neither of them were members of the MC, they had long since learned not to question me when I told them I needed the front of the shop.
So, they both nodded and grabbed their laptops and headphones, ready to head to the back of the shop and do their own thing until someone walked in. I was glad I didn’t have to argue with them on top of the stress I was already under – it was bad enough having to deal with Erika’s attitude.
Shit, didn’t she get that we didn’t play nice in the MC? We were one of the cleanest groups around, but we still knew how to get down and dirty when the time came. Whenever a war broke out, there weren’t any coins flipped or chess games played to settled the dispute, things got dangerous.
And men died.
But, Erika was determined nothing was going to happen to Kline. And I didn’t have it in me to intentionally go against her. I wanted her to understand, at least, that I might not have control over the outcome. Hell, I was only human, and if this guy came in with guns blazing, I wasn’t going to promise that my PTSD wouldn’t take over.
As she sat in the corner of the room with her sketchpad and art supplies, I fought the urge to strangle her, then I fought the urge to take her to the back room and repeat what we’d done the previous morning. It was like that most of the day.
I was glad Jonas had scheduled himself a light day, and Tanner only ever took walk-ins. That meant it was likely to be a slow day all around. I myself was careful only to take on the bare minimum clients until we got through this, and I was really careful to only bring in people who were associated with the MC in some way.
I didn’t want some innocent person trying to get his first tattoo to get caught up in a fight between us and some random mob member. That would be terrible for my shop and everyone involved. So, if I brought in others who were part of the MC, or at least were friends or family of members, they knew what was going on.
Even though my clients throughout the day knew I was on edge because of shit I had going on in my personal life, I still felt bad that I wasn’t very talkative to any of them. I just didn’t have it in me. Hell, I wasn’t even talkative enough to joke around with Erika. It helped that she, too, was on edge and probably pissed off at me for the spat we’d gotten in to that morning.
Either way, she was quiet for most of the day. I jumped every time there was a text on my phone. I was expecting Aaron or Nathan to tell me that they had Kline in their sights, but each time I got a message, it was from a client with a question.
The morning dragged by. I didn’t know what I wanted. Part of me hoped that Kline would come in and we could get the whole damn thing over with. Another part of me worried about what was going to happen when he did. It wasn’t going to be great, that was for sure, and now that I knew Erika would be pissed if the guy was killed, I felt more pressure.
She didn’t seem to think that she would get in trouble with the police for what she had done. She was working with the mob, she was doing things that she shouldn’t have been doing, and though she was sorry about it now, she still could get in trouble for it.
At the same time, many of the other members of the MC had gotten in trouble with the law at one time or another. I hadn’t, but I knew others who had. Hell, we had people who were ex-cons left and right, and I didn’t know how she expected me to control any of them.
But, I didn’t have the time to worry about that. All I could do was work through the day, focusing as best as I could on the tattoos in front of me and the guys who came through the doors.
I didn’t hear from Carl, at all. I knew he was keeping an eye on all that was going on, and with Marcus on board, too, they were sure to be in contact with each other. How much, I didn’t know. But enough to keep each other in the loop.
Zach didn’t tell me whether he had told his father what Erika had said that morning. For all I knew, Carl might still want the man dead. Or Marcus. None of us wanted him alive and roaming the streets, and I felt I was really the only one who cared what Erika thought about it.
Hell, I knew Zach didn’t give a damn. He would do what he wanted in the heat of the moment, no matter what Erika thought, that was the damn truth. I hoped he’d have the grace to listen to what she said, and if he could help the situation, he would, but there was no telling with him.
As long as I had known Zach – years, in fact – the only woman he had ever listened to was Vanessa. And, she was removed from all this. I had a feeling he had done that on purpose. She didn’t want to be part of the MC, and though she kept her allegiance to The Enemies, he never pushed her into doing anything with either group she didn’t or wouldn’t want to do.
“Sorry, man, I didn’t get that,” I said when I realized the man in front of me was talking. I was working on another back piece, ready to have it finished later that afternoon.
Spencer and Zach had camped out on the couch all day, and I was doing my best to half listen to what they were talking about along with what my client said. It was hard to do both, but I wanted to know if either of them had gotten any new developments before I had.
“It’s alright, you seem like you’ve got something on your mind,” he said.
“Shit’s about to go down in a way I don’t want,” I admitted. “It’s hard to concentrate, but I’m not going to close up shop until something really does happen.”
“Sucks, man,” he said. “I get it, though.”
“Let’s take a break from this and go smoke,” I told him. “I’m sure you could use a minute.”
“You know it,” he said with a laugh. I walked out the back with him, Jonas, and Zach, while Spencer went to get food for everyone. I was glad for the moment to just breathe, but I knew it was going to be an even longer afternoon. The more time dragged by, the more we knew something was going to go down, but we didn’t know what or when.
With each passing minute, the guy had to be getting closer. It only made sense if he was looking for Erika. But, he clearly wasn’t moving very quickly. We still weren’t sure if he was working alone, but none of the sentries had seen him with anyone he seemed to know.
At the same time, it still didn’t make any sense that he had been able to find her so fast on his own. He had to know what he was doing, but not that well. This was clearly a force to be reckoned with, and I wasn’t sure how.
“Alright, let’s get this bad boy done and get you out of here,” I told my client. We headed back inside, where I found Erika sporting a new nose ring. I snickered and shook my head, but she just threw her hair back.
“He was bored, and he said he’d do it for free,” she said with her lower lip poked out.
“I didn’t say anything about it!” I said defensively.
“That’s the problem,” she replied as she put her hands on her hips.
“Alright, alright, it looks good,” I said. She grinned and went back to her sketches, but I was still having a difficult time concentrating. I finished with my client and gave him aftercare instructions, then sent him out the door. Then, I just leaned on the counter and stared out the window. Spencer was bound to be back soon, but it was hard to even think about that. I was glad he was out doing something, but I also didn’t want him gone long in case something was to happen.
Zach didn’t seem at all concerned about it. Rather, he was more irritated over how long Spencer was taking with the food than the fact that we might be caught a man down.
“Bastard better get back here soon or I’m going to fucking go get something myself,” he said.
“He will be,” I replied, still staring out the window.
“Relax, man, you know you can’t do anything about this until Kline comes to us. Staring out the window like you’re going to beckon him here isn’t going to make this go any faster,” he said with a laugh.
“I know, but I want something to happen,” I said. I was glad Erika was back looking at the different jewelry Tanner had to offer. I didn’t want her to hear this conversation. “I want something to go down so we can move past it.”
“What do you think about what Erika said this morning?” he asked quietly. “You know none of us can promise what’s going to happen when that prick shows up.”
“I’m hoping she understands that, too. If the man dies, he dies – but I’m not going to go out of my way to kill him,” I replied. I glanced over my shoulder to see how he’d take my response, and he just nodded. That was one thing I respected about Zach: he respected our opinions, even if he didn’t plan to follow them himself.
But, I was still curious.
“What about you?” I asked.
He didn’t say anything for a moment, then shrugged. “I guess I’m just going to see what happens in the moment. I can’t say that I’m not going to, but I can’t say that I am going to, either. And, you never know what would happen if he runs into my dad or Marcus.”
I nodded. “I thought of that. Did you talk to them?”
“Fuck, no.” He looked at me like I was an idiot, but his expression softened a bit when he could see the anxiety in my face. “Dad is president, and Marcus follows his own code of conduct. I’m not going to tell them what they should do because of what someone who isn’t even in the MC thinks.”
I nodded again. I couldn’t argue with him. Hell, I thought the same thing myself.
I just hoped things would work out in Erika’s favor.
Chapter 18
Erika
Two more days passed and nothing happened. I was about ready to scream. I wasn’t sure what I wanted, but I knew the suspense was really starting to wear on me. There had to be some way we could get Kline to come to us. But then, I was afraid if he did, he would get gunned down.
None of the MC seemed too want to listen to what I said about not killing him, and it pissed me off. But then, I knew I couldn’t tell them what to do. Adam had tried to explain it to me the night before, but I didn’t want to listen.
I knew he was right. He didn’t have any control over what any of the other men did, and he wasn’t going to stand by and hope the guy got arrested if he were to come for me. The only problem was, I felt like Kline coming for me was the only way to get him arrested.
By Sunday morning, I was ready to climb the walls. I was so tired of staying in the apartment or the tattoo parlor. There was nothing new there. Hell, I had grown up in that house when I was a kid and spent most of my time at the parlor then, too.
But then, it had been exciting. Then, I had been doing my best to get Adam’s attention. Now, I had it, almost exclusively, and I wanted to do more than just sit around in the apartment all day. I still was doing subtle things to try to get him to have sex with me, but he wasn’t taking the bait.
Part of me was inclined to try to push him to it again, but I didn’t have the energy. I was worried about what was going to happen with Kline, and I didn’t know how to be the aggressor if he wasn’t even coming for me when I slept naked in bed beside him.
So, I decided the only thing we could do to make me happy was to go out. “Come on! I’m going nuts in here! I don’t want to go far, please!” I begged.
“You wait until he gets here, then you want to go out on the town?” Adam replied, giving me an incredulous look.
“You don’t go out on the town on a Sunday morning. I just want to go to breakfast!” I insisted. “Please! Come on, please!”
I knew I had to beg to get him to do what I wanted sometimes, and right now, that was fine with me. If it was the only way to get things to go my way, then I’d do it. I wasn’t above manipulation.
“Fine, we’ll go out, but we are going to the diner,” he said after I relentlessly hounded him for over an hour.
“That’s fine with me!” I replied gleefully, running to the back to get dressed. I didn’t really want to go to the diner, but it would suit my purpose. It would get me out of the house, and I’d be able to order pie. As far as I was concerned, that was the best I could do at the moment, and I’d take it.
We headed down to the diner, walking slowly side by side. Adam had offered to take me on his bike, but I didn’t want to ride. We’d be there and back again so fast, it wouldn’t even feel like we’d gone out.
Though Adam was reluctant to let me walk down the street, he went along with the plan to get me to stop badgering him. I was starting to see a pattern for getting my way.
We got to the diner, and Adam scanned the place. There were several of the other members there, which seemed to make him relax. So, we headed to the back booth. A pretty girl with red hair came to take our order. She was different from the waitress we had had before, but she was pretty just the same.
I liked her, and she laughed when I ordered the pie for breakfast. Adam ordered bacon and eggs, and we both settled in. It wasn’t long before Aaron came through the door, looking like he’d been hit by a bus. Since it had been a few days since Adam had last seen him, he waved him over and offered to let him sit with us.
“Damn, you look like shit,” he said. When Aaron sat down, he gave him another look. “And, you smell like shit.”
“You don’t smell like a bed of roses yourself,” Aaron replied tartly. “So fuck off.”
“Geez, man, are you drunk?” Adam asked.
“A little,” he admitted.
“Things that bad? You can’t tell me that you were out all night. I know for a fact Zach wasn’t out because he’s been staying with me so much, Vanessa’s been wanting him at home.”
“Yeah, and it’s getting annoying,” he replied. “I get that she misses him, but geez.”
“You can’t blame her for that,” he said. I felt bad. This girl sounded like she put up with a lot from the MC, and I knew I was part of that problem. If I hadn’t been having the trouble I was, then I wouldn’t need Zach to stay with us. But then, if she wanted to date a member of the Folded Flags, she had to realize what she was getting herself in to.
“What if I wanted to have some beer when I woke up?” Aaron asked. “Since when is that such a crime?”
“You smell like vodka.”
“I don’t care what I smell like! It’s none of your business!” Aaron snapped. Adam held his hand up.
“Okay, okay, you’re right, I’m sorry. I’m just worried about you. I know you’ve been through some shit, and I don’t want to see you wind up like so many of our other brothers, if you know what I mean.”
Aaron nodded, and though I wasn’t thrilled that he was drunk and sitting with us, I did feel sorry for him. I didn’t know much about him, but since Adam had told me so many of the men here were ex-military, I was sure the poor man was struggling with something from his past.
