Page 18 of Nomad
Drying my face with the hand towel, I then tossed it onto the vanity when I finished. Although a cold shower would get rid of some of the cloudiness in my head, it would have to wait.
“I can’t, Sandy.” I stepped out the bathroom, into the bedroom, grabbed her clothes from the floor, and then tossed them to her. “I’ve got Church in ten.”
Crestfallen, her smile faded. “It’s Trish.”
“What?” I picked up my clothes from the floor and quickly dressed, not paying attention to the woman lying naked on the queen-sized bed.
“You called me Sandy,” she huffed. “My name isn’t Sandy, it’s Trish.”
“Okay.”
I couldn’t care less what her name was. She’d given me the temporary release I’d needed even though the memory of Jade lingered.
Like always.
Knowing her name served no purpose, and it was the last thing on my mind. Church was starting in a few minutes. No matter the chapter, no member was ever late for Church. It was not only disrespectful to the Prez but the brothers, too. If that happened, there’d be hell to pay.
“Maybe when Church is over then?” she asked with a little more desperation in her voice. She lay naked in the bed, spreading her legs wide to give me a view of her bare pussy slick with her juices while she rubbed her clit. “I’m always here. We can pick up where we left off.”
I gathered my keys and wallet from the nightstand where I must have tossed them the night before. After I checked my wallet to make sure I could account for all my money and credit cards, I stuffed it into the back pocket of my blue jeans then pulled my leather cut over my white t-shirt and grabbed my backpack from the floor beside the door.
“I’m a Nomad, sweetheart.” I tried not to be a complete ass, but that time had passed since I couldn’t remember her name after fucking her all night and well into the early morning hours. “I won’t be around for another round. Maybe ask another brother if you want to have more fun.”
I shut the door, not waiting around to finish the meaningless conversation with the redhead as I made my way down the hall. Brothers stumbled their way around the clubhouse. Others were still partying, drinking, getting blowjobs, and outright fucking on whatever surface they could find. I could say I really didn’t miss this part of the club life.
I needed to start work despite the party being scheduled to continue for another day. I headed towards the room J.D. had pointed out yesterday when I arrived, ready to get started. When doing hits for the club, I wanted to get in and out. And after seeing Jade, I wanted to make it a priority to get out of dodge sooner rather than later.
I entered the room. Only a few members of the North Carolina chapter were already waiting. Bloodshot eyes, disheveled hair, and slumped over in their seats, everyone looked like death warmed over. I’d only gotten a couple of hours of sleep here and there as I’d partied with the redhead until the sun came up.
I stood at the back of the room waiting for the meeting to start. The brothers who wandered, or stumbled would be a better description, into the room after my arrival were wary of me being present at a chapter meeting. But I was a brother despite not being in their chapter.
I proudly wore my patches, like everyone in our club. Stitched at the top of my leather cut was my Demons United rocker and the Nomad rocker at the bottom. I’d be skeptical about anyone who came in off the street too, especially into Church, which was usually reserved for patched members of that chapter. However, I’d paid my dues to this club, most likely longer than some in this room. I deserved to be here as much as anyone else, and it was at the insistence of their president.
I leaned against the wall with my arms folded across my chest a few feet from the door. The brothers continued to file into the room one after the other, every one of them eyeing me as they took their seats at the table but not speaking. It had been years since I’d been in Church. The last time was in Georgia a few months after I patched in. That had been my first time sitting at the table as a brother. It was like I was on top of the world. You couldn’t tell me shit because I knew I’d earned my place like every other brother that called Demons United home. I hadn’t felt that type of brotherhood since the military.
When the door slammed shut, J.D. and his VP, Caesar, who I met at the charity ride, followed him to the front of the room. The brothers’ boisterous chatter quieted down, and everyone immediately went on high alert when they noticed the pissed-off look on their Prez’s face.
J.D. impressed me with how he commanded the room. I learned little about the young man since I arrived at the clubhouse. When I asked for details about who and where he was from, trying to get insight on the man heading the chapter, most of the brothers were tight-lipped about his life; other than him being from out west, and that he was a completely different man than who he used to be because he’d gone through a ton of shit during the last two years. Anything concerning J.D. wasn’t up for discussion. Strange, but I didn’t push because it wasn’t my business.
But whatever happened devastated him. His haunted stare reminded me a lot of Aaron’s. He was fighting a hell of a lot of demons, and if he wasn’t careful, they would win. I’d seen it plenty of times before when I was in the military. But beyond what little the brothers divulged, I knew nothing of the man who stood at the head of the table.
His six-foot-plus frame was as menacing as any biker’s, but many of the brothers I spoke with said he hadn’t always appeared the way he did now. I wasn’t sure what they meant by that, but he was young and in charge despite what he looked like. It was obvious J.D.’s members respected him as their leader, and it wasn’t my place to question his position, anyway.
“We have important business to discuss, brothers,” J.D. said.
He motioned for me to come to the front of the room. I dropped my black backpack to the floor and walked forward, my black motorcycle boots echoing off the polished concrete floor. Every stare from each man bore into my skull. And, other than my footfalls, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I shook J.D. and Caesar’s hands when I reached the front of the room as they each thanked me again for coming. Then, I stood to J.D.’s left while Caesar stood at his right.
“I know everyone’s questioning why I’ve called this meeting since so many brothers are at the clubhouse for the get-together, and why we have someone who’s in Church that isn’t a chapter member.” J.D. broke the intense stare-off between me and the other men. “Before I hear fucking complaints about it, it couldn’t be helped. He’s here because I called him. Now, once we get shit squared away, I don’t give a fuck what you do. You’re welcome to party like there’s no tomorrow, but business first.”
Everyone looked at each other, trying to find some clue what was going on, who I was if they hadn’t met me last night, why I was here, and who pissed off their president. They were out of the loop and all I knew was J.D. called me to do a high-profile hit.
“What’s going on, Prez?” one brother shouted from the back of the room. He was tall, at least six foot four, pushing somewhere close to three hundred pounds, if not more, of nothing but pure muscle with long dirty blond hair and a long, braided beard that stopped at his chest. He reminded me of a big fucking Viking. “And who’s the new face?”
He lifted his chin towards me as his eyes drifted from me with suspicion then to his Prez. J.D. ran his hand through his hair. Whatever it was couldn’t be good, especially since he’d called me.
“Tank, we’re getting ready to get into all that in a minute.” J.D. rubbed his temples. “Sandman, have a seat.”
He motioned to the chair beside the one he stood behind. The murmurs went around the room at the mention of my name. It didn’t shock me some brothers knew me by name and not by face. To most in the club, I was a ghost. Because of my job inside Demons United, many didn’t know if I existed. It was a good thing I was a Nomad and not tied to a particular chapter because after jobs, I left town as quickly as I arrived.
