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I step forward and watch her walk down the street until she turns the corner. Shaking my head in disbelief, I close the door and head back into the bedroom. I grab my phone and start to read more of the messages in the group chat, but then I see the time.Shit. I’m going to be late for work.I throw my phone back on the bed and jump into the shower, hustling to get ready for another long and unfulfilling day.
Twenty minutes. I snuck into work twenty minutes late and as far as I can tell no one seemed to notice except my asshole friends. Everyone is in full panic mode, preparing for some big meeting that was called last minute. I check my e-mail and scan through all of my current client list. When I went to school and envisioned my life after college, this wasn’t it, but I ended up following in my father’s footsteps—much to my mother’s delight—and wound up in the world of accounting.
I knew it meant a lot to my mother, and since we lost my father to a heart attack the year before I started college, I was desperate to put a smile on her face. At the time, I was willing to do almost anything to make her happy, so I punched down all of my dreams and stepped up to fill my father’s shoes. I had dreams of riding motorcycles and opening my own Harley store one day, but once we lost him, I knew that I needed to be the man of the house and support my mom. I parked my motorcycle in the garage and haven’t been back on it since.
Now four years later, I’m working as a certified public accountant in an accounting firm that is filled with ladder climbers and wannabe social climbers. Two things I don’t give a shit about. All I care about is sending a large chunk of my paycheck to my mother each month to help keep her living comfortably. I have a few guys that I loosely hang out with that also somehow got sucked into the world of finance, and just like me aren’t thrilled with how their life has turned out, so most nights after work we find ourselves at a dive bar called TheRusty Wrench, conveniently located a few blocks from my townhouse.
I slowly make my way into the conference room and take my usual seat near the end of the table closest to the door. These meetings are typically snoozers. My boss loves the sound of his own voice so any meeting he calls usually just consists of us nodding our heads and counting down the minutes till we can get out of here. Today he stands at the head of the conference table, ready to wow us with his next motivational speech. This guy couldn’t motivate even an overachiever let alone get this team of straight-laced but lazy accountants to hustle if their lives depended on it.
Just as the meeting starts, the conference door swings open, and in walks the face and a whole lot more I saw in my bedroom just this very morning. I sit up in my chair and stare on as Red struts in and stands along the wall, wearing a black pencil skirt and a white blouse that makes her hair seem like dark flames framing her face. She is a stunner. This day just got a whole lot more interesting.
I can’t take my eyes off of her and from what I can tell out of my peripheral, neither can half the other men in the room. I don’t know what she’s doing here—because I for one have never seen this woman in my office building. I’m staring a hole right through her at how hard I’m looking at her, but she hasn’t looked at me once. I try to tear my gaze away as my boss’s voice starts to penetrate my ears again.
“Let’s welcome our newest team leader and my favorite daughter, Vivian McCormick”
I snap my head to look at him and then look back to Red who’s now moved off of the wall and makes her way to the head of the table. When she gets within a foot of my boss and apparently herfatherhe leans in and gives her a kiss on the cheek. Her hair moves just enough that I can see a giant hickey thatIgave her last night. The sight of it makes me have to shift in my seat trying to adjust myself in a not-so-obvious manner.
When she turns around and faces the entire table our eyes meet and the smile she was wearing slightly slips. Her speech is stalled, and I can tell she’s nervous. Whether it be from my presence or the public speaking I’m not sure, but gone is the confident beauty who handed me my ass this morning as she walked out on me.
She clears her throat and starts her speech again, “As my father mentioned, I am your new team leader and I have high standards and expect even higher results. If you want to stay on this team and at this firm, it’s time to step it up because I’m here to make sure the best succeeds.” She takes a moment to look around the room and then pointedly her eyes land on mine. “As for the ones who don’t show initiative and results—you will have to find a new place of employment.”
I might have dipped my wick in more than I bargained for last night, but I’m never one to back down from a challenge.
Detroit
Present Day
In the courtyard of the clubhouse, men and women mill around drinking and partying. I make my way through the crowd, and when I step inside the clubhouse it’s packed. I haven’t seen it this full since Rider’s impromptu bachelor party a few weeks ago. No date has been set for their wedding, but some of the guys couldn’t wait, nor could they miss the opportunity to party. But tonight, this place is even more packed than I saw then. Brother’s everywhere—some with their old ladies wearing their men’s matching cuts, some wearing their bandanas. Club hunnies stacked two deep on some of the guys.
The nearest charter of our brotherhood rode into town just for tonight. Now that I’ve got my cut, I feel vindicated in my feelings that this place is my home and they want me here just as much as I want to be here. I’m a fully patched brother of the Mystic Venom MC and it’s about damn time too, because these last twelve months have been a wild ride. For a second my mind wants to wander to the past, but I don’t let it. I look around the room and take in this moment. Nothing good can come from looking back.
By the time I get to the bar, I’ve got one hand on a smoking hot babe and the other hand on a cold beer. Tonight is going to go down as a great night, and it’s just the start of my brotherhood. Nothing could kill my buzz tonight. Not even thoughts of my past or my time before I came to Washington. That’s like a whole other life n to me now and I’ve willingly let it go. I’m not holding onto the past any longer. Getting my cut and being voted into the MC is like a final nail in my old life’s coffin.
Griz makes his way through the thick crowd and joins me at the bar. He stands beside me with a drink already in hand and pins me with a look. I know this look from the night I helped him take a man who was shot to another MC clubhouse, so I’m immediately on alert. I give an apologetic look to the club girl that I’ve got my hand halfway up her skirt. I can’t remember her name, probably because I never took the time to ask it. I tell her to make herself scarce but whisper to her not to go too far. I plan on getting laid tonight—and the more the better. Griz catches the look that I throw at him as she scampers off to wherever she’s going.
He lets out a deep laugh and it catches me off guard. In the whole time I’ve known Griz, he doesn’t laugh too often or crack a smile. In the past twelve months, I could probably count on one hand the times I’ve seen him smile, and it’s usually at something he’s done that pleases him but scares the shit out of someone else. “Don’t make that face. I promise I’m not here to piss in your Cheerios.”
“Tonight’s a good night. I know that face. What’s going on?”
Griz leans into me so only I can hear him over the noise. “There was a note taped to the gate earlier today before everything started getting set up for the party.”
He pauses a beat too long, and I search his face looking for some kind of sign he’s going to continue. When he doesn’t I prompt him. “Ok…. so?”
“The note was addressed to you.”
I arch an eyebrow. “Ok. So what. Was it my forwarding mail since I’m living in the clubhouse now?”
He purses his lips and gives me a look like I’m a complete smart-ass. “No dipshit. It had your first name on it. It wasn’t addressed to Detroit. It said Ellis and it was marked private.”
He reaches into the back pocket of his jeans and pulls out a small white envelope. I take it and look it over from the outside. It’s slightly crumpled and has a black streak of something marring the white envelope. If I had to guess, it’s probably motor oil or grease from his day job atVenom Bite Auto Shopowned by Rider and part of the MC’s large portfolio of businesses. On the front, just like he said, is my first name written in blue, neat cursive letters. I flip the letter over to see if there’s anything else but all that’s there is the closed seal. I tuck it into the back pocket of my jeans and go back to nursing my drink.
Griz gives me a long look but doesn’t say anything. He finishes his drink and puts the empty bottle on the bar top. Just as he’s about to walk away he pauses and meets my eye. “Read the letter,Ellis.”
I swallow down my drink and suddenly the letter in my back pocket feels like a lead weight on my ass. Before I can think too much about his ominous tone and the mystery letter, the sweet club hunnie slides back up against me and now all I can think about as I feel the liquor coursing through my veins is if she will be willing to blow me in the bathroom, or if I’m going to have to take her all the way up to my room. Dickish? Maybe. But right now, tonight—I don’t care one bit, because tonight is about me and the new patches that I’ve got on my vest.Fuck everyone else.
A few hours later, I feelrealdamn good. Amanda, at least I think that’s her name, has sucked me off and I didn’t even have to take her up to my room. Instead, she got down on her knees in front of half the club. Clearly, she’s down with voyeurism. Not that they probably saw much because half the club is wasted while the other half could have cared less at such a sight. Patch parties are the craziest and this one was no different. Now I’ve had way too much to drink and I’m one, maybe two drinks from being completely and utterly shitfaced. It’s almost four a.m. as I stumble up the steps to my room, pausing to pull out my keys. It takes me a couple of tries, but I get the key inserted into the lock and tumble inside, falling onto the bed.
I lay face down for a minute, reveling in that feeling of letting everything bad go. I am blissed out right now and it’s a good feeling after the year I’ve had of working so hard to achieve this dream of becoming a brother of Mystic Venom. I flip over and lay on my back, staring up at the dark ceiling. Something feels uncomfortable under me and I reach into my back pocket, feeling the letter that Griz gave me earlier in the night. I squint my eyes trying to see the paper in my hand. I chuck it on the nightstand with my wallet. I’ll read whatever love note some bird probably left for me tomorrow. There are always admiring girls who want a way into a clubhouse to party but need an invitation.
