Page 19 of Ink

I give him a look that could sear his skin off. I grit my teeth and try to remember that Hammer owns one of the club’s businesses—Rattle and Roll Construction. He would have a lot to lose if shit goes sideways with the club. His dad was a long-standing member in the days when the club was into more illegal than legal activities and spent most of Hammer’s childhood behind bars. I get why he only wants to be involved to an extent.

“I’m going to stop you right there brother. You may not be willing to go the distance on this one and I understand your reasons but know that I am and I will.” I will go down the dark path of committing crimes if that’s what it takes. I know that if I get into a dark place that I risk everything I’ve worked for but I’m willing to risk all of that for her. My words to him leave no room for discussion, and we stand in silence together until Prez’s gavel hits the podium at the front of the room.

“Brothers we find ourselves under attack from the nearby Oregon club known as the Nordic Fire MC. This is also the club that we had dealings with a few months ago when Rider’s ol’ lady was mistreated. It seems the club is now seeking vengeance for what they feel was disrespect towards them and their MC.”

He takes a minute to look around the room and takes a deep breath. “But what they’ve done is far worse than us leaving a bleeding man on their doorstep for his crimes against a woman and child. They’ve invaded our town, broken into our homes, come into our sacred spaces, and most importantly assaulted and disrespected our ol’ ladies, and that brothers is not acceptable and will not be overlooked.”

The room explodes in a frenzy of brothers talking and yelling over top of each other. Everyone’s cries of outrage are directed towards this now rival MC. Prez hits the gavel against the podium in an attempt to calm down the now unruly room. It takes a few minutes for Prez to get everyone settled down before he can speak again without yelling over top of anyone.

“We had four of our women shaken up last night and one brother took a bullet. Now is the time for us to respond in a calculated way that will leave no misinterpretation of our meaning, show our strength and end any further violence for the future.” He pauses for a second and looks around the room. I take the time to look around at my brothers who’ve calmed down enough to soak up his words and his meaning like a sponge.

“Griz.” Prez barks out his name and Griz, who’s been standing a few feet from me walks past and makes his way up the middle of the aisle, and stops beside Prez at the podium. “As the club enforcer, Griz will lead the response. Griz, take it away.”

Griz clears his throat. He still looks mad enough to chew nails. He also looks like he hasn’t slept in two days and knowing him, he hasn’t. “The Vice President of the Nordic Fire MC physically put his hands on Ink’s girl. Threatened her young daughter if she didn’t give up information on us. She didn’t tell them a Goddamn thing. He stood there and hit her, not once but twice to the face. The club can’t deny it this time. They were heavily involved in the shit that went down last night. Their VP for fuck’s sake dolled out the violence.”

He takes a deep breath and because I know Griz so well I know by the look on his face I’m not going to like what he has to say next. “They want an immediate reaction out of us. But we aren’t going to give it to them. We’re going to research, we’re going to do surveillance, and then when we’ve learned everything there is to know about them that’s when we’re gonna hit them. They're heavy into the drug trade and we’re gonna hit them not only where it hurts personally but with their club business.”

Low murmurs spread throughout the room but Griz keeps going undeterred by the noise. “It’s gonna get messy. I understand a lot of us have families. We wanna keep living legal, but brothers… this isn’t gonna toe the line. If you ain’t willing to go to county then you’re going to have to talk to Prez and work something out because we’re gonna fuck those mother fuckers up.”

I clench my fist by my side because while I’m ready to break the shithead who hit Carmen, I understand we need to be smart about our approach. I watch Griz walk slowly back down the aisle and come to stand beside me. He reaches out and grips my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “We gotta be smart brother and I don’t want your ass going back to jail so we have to be really smart in this one.”

Rider, who’s been quiet the whole time, leans forward down the line. “Yeah, and I don’t want both of my best friends missing out on my wedding because they're busy picking up trash in orange jumpsuits.”

I huff out a laugh because picking up trash was the least of my worries while I did time. Before I can respond, Prez hits the podium again, says a few more words, and then adjourns the meeting. I don’t stick around for several reasons but my main one is I want to get home to my two girls.

Carmen

One week later.

Lucia and I have been living at Ink’s house for a week now. We’ve developed a new routine and so far it’s working. Ink has driven us everywhere we need to go in the truck and apart from my evening classes and work he’s constantly with us. When he isn’t with us one of his other brothers isn’t far. At first, when I went back to the salon after what is now being referred to as Slap Fest, I noticed the chrome motorcycle and the six-foot-something man wearing a black motorcycle cut over a jean jacket. He stood across the street all day in the cold and never left. When I asked Ink about it that night, he said get used to it and that was the end of it.

Each day I would split my time between the salon, school, and spending time with Lucia. My free time would be reserved for Ink who also had a busy schedule. Each night we’d do an activity together. Surprisingly he enjoyed playing board games with Lucia and me each evening, watching movies, and even one night playing Barbies and coloring. Lucia slept in her pink bed each night and I on the other hand slept in Ink’s bed. Each night he would pull me close to him, give me a smoldering kiss, and then proceed to hold me all night long. He didn’t push to do more and honestly, I was confused.

The night of the slap, we had started to get intimate together. We were taking those next, natural steps when you’re dating someone. Now we’re at a standstill. At first, I thought he was giving me time to settle in and get over the shock of the events that happened at my parent's house. Now I feel like I spend my days anxiously wondering if he’s changed his mind about us and feeling trapped because we’re staying at his house. I haven’t voiced my opinions and I’ve tried to stifle my inner panic-laced monologue but tonight I’ve decided we have to talk about it.

I am too focused on Ink and our…situationship. I should be paying attention to the professor, taking notes, but I can’t force myself to think about anything else. I like being a stylist just fine, but I have dreams of being a teacher, and I cannot achieve any of these goals if I’m allowing a guy to take up so much real estate in my mind. I shift in my seat and stare at the professor, forcing the words to seep into my brain. Just as I start to feel like I’m actually going to benefit from the lecture, my phone buzzes. Everyone else has iPads and computers, but I still use pen and paper. I pull my phone out and set it on the desk, trying to be discreet so as not to appear rude.

I open my phone and find a text from Ink.

I smile to myself and send him a quick response.

I leave my phone out on the desk where I can see the screen in case he messages again but the next twenty minutes go by in a flash and when I’m shoving my things back into my bag, I realize he never sent another message. I quickly get out of the building, into the truck, and head back to Ink’s house. My phone buzzes along the way and when I stop at a light I take a peek at my phone. Expecting to see another text from Ink, I’m surprised to see a message from my mama.

I clamp my jaw tight and grind my teeth in frustration. I take a deep breath and drop the phone back into the center console cup holder. I try not to let what my mother said affect me but it does. I wish they would see Ink the way I see him, how good he is to me and Luicia. They don’t know him—they don’t want to know him, and maybe that is what hurts the most. A small part of me didn’t respond to her because I’m still nervous about where Ink and I stand right now. I’m living in his house, I sleep in his bed and we act like a couple that is in a serious relationship but apart from a few kisses and that first night of us doing some heavy petting we haven’t had sex. That’s what I keep on my mind for the rest of the drive. Tonight is the night I get some clarification.

When I pull into the driveway the front door opens before I’m out of the cab and Ink is by my side at the truck’s door helping me out. He takes my bag and carries it and I look up at the front steps for Lucia but Ink shakes his head.

“I couldn’t keep her up. She was worn out and against my best efforts, she passed out about five minutes ago. Out like a light.”

I chuckle because that sounds about right. She’s always played hard during the day and been a heavy sleeper once she’s out. We head up the steps and into the house. Ink shuts and deadbolts the front door behind us and sets the alarm. When I turn around he’s setting my book bag by the door and hanging up my coat. I walk into the kitchen and see that he’s made spaghetti.

As I stir the spaghetti to put it into a bowl he comes up behind me and wraps his arm around my waist. He leans down and nuzzles his chin into the crook of my neck and begins to give me slow, open mouth kisses. I close my eyes and let the pleasure take over, erasing the tension from a long day. He sucks and licks at my neck, moving to the sensitive space behind my ear. I groan out in pleasure because his hot mouth on me feels so good.

The bastard chuckles low in my ear because he knows what he’s doing and he’s good at it. His thumbs have now found their way under my shirt and are rubbing small circles on my bare skin. It makes my pussy ache because it’s been a while since I was with someone other than the night of our heavy petting. Guessing that now is as good a time as any, I broach the subject I’ve been thinking about all day long.

In a low voice, trying not to break the moment I ask him, “Ink, why haven’t you tried anything each night in bed?”

His movements stop and he straightens up. He keeps his thumbs moving slowly over my skin. “Sweetheart, is that what’s got you so wound up?”

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