Asher: Heartless Devils MC (23 page)

“Do what you have to,” he said firmly.

“Asher Lowe,” John began. “Do you know why you have been called to stand in chapel before the Deacons of the Heartless Devils?”

“Yes.”

“You have been accused of violating your oath, of going rogue and working against the best interests of the club. You understand that going rogue is a very serious charge?”

“I do,” Asher replied.

“Do you have anything to say in your defense?” John continued.

“I do not.”

John picked up a sheet of paper he had place on the table earlier. On it were his arguments for why Asher had to be dispatched if found guilty of being rogue. After he looked over the list, he returned the paper face down on the table. It was true that Asher had been working against his direct orders, but he hadn’t been working against the club. Asher’s steadfast belief in what he was doing, and Kenny’s quiet support for him, had opened his eyes. He still didn’t like that Asher was sleeping with his daughter, and he
damn
sure didn’t like her being involved in club activities, and he
double damn
sure didn’t like she had been involved in a hit. But through all of that, Asher had done nothing that the club shouldn’t have been doing itself.

John cleared his throat. “Asher Lowe… on the charges of violating your oath, engaging in activities not in the best interests of the club and being declared rogue, will you accept the results of this chapel?”

“I will.”

John licked his lips and looked around the table. “You’ve all heard the evidence. Since Asher has nothing to say in his defense, let’s vote it. All those in favor of finding Asher in violation of his oath to serve his club to the best of his abilities, and in doing so being declared rogue, say
yea
.” As was his right and by tradition, the president voted first. “Nay.”

Every head in the room snapped around to look at John, but then after a moment of silent surprise, the tension in the room dropped by a factor of ten.

“Nay!” Kenny said, unable to hold his smile.

“Mother-fucking
nay
!” Keebs said next.

Gator smiled as he cast his vote. “Nay.”

“Nay,” Chains said a moment later, his voice slightly slurred by the swelling in his mouth.

“No. Nay.” Panhead added.

“Nay,” Dozer said as he rocked back in his chair.

“Nay,” Tank, Dozer’s brother, added, leaning forward to put his elbows on the table, looking at the table as his lips twisted into a smile.

The room went quiet. Normally he would vote next, the ninth member of Deacons, but Asher held his tongue. He had expected to be found guilty of going rogue and losing his position or his colors, if not his life. He stood in stunned silence by the vote, but he still wouldn’t vote in his own trial.

“The motion has been defeated, but it would be nice to have a unanimous vote on this, Asher,” John said softly.

Asher smiled and his posture became not quite so rigid. “Nay,” he replied softly.

John banged the gavel down hard. “Motion is defeated.” All the Deacons rose and began to congratulate Asher with the exception of Kenny and John.

“You did good, John,” Kenny said softly.

John picked up the piece of paper from the table and began to tear it into strips. “I still don’t like him sleeping with Jenny.”

Kenny chuckled. “Who would you rather her sleep with?” John looked at Kenny and grimaced. “That’s what I thought,” Kenny said with a chuckle. “Asher’s a good man. He won’t let anything happen to her.”

“I know. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“You need to stuff that shit down deep, John. You nearly pulled this club apart. Now we need to heal.”

“I know. But I don’t know if I can swallow this. It’s not what I wanted. It’s not what Melissa wanted.”

“But it’s what Jenny wants. That has to be worth something.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Kenny put his hand on John’s arm. “John, listen to me. Melissa liked Asher. She liked him a lot. I think she would approve.”

John looked his friend. “I don’t know. She never wanted her in the club.”

“Melissa was your old lady. Was she in the club?”

John stared at him a moment. “No.”

Kenny grinned and made a “there you go” motion with his hands before he stood and moved to the end of the table to offer his own congratulations. John watched him shake Asher’s hand then pull him into a back pounding embrace. John took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was going to take him some time to adjust to the new reality of his daughter being the old lady to a member. But for the first time since his wife’s death, he felt a clarity of purpose that had been missing. He rose to his feet and stepped around the end of the table. He had let his own pain cloud his judgment and it had almost cost him everything he held dear. It had almost cost him his daughter, the next president of the Heartless Devils, and the club itself.

He still didn’t like Asher fucking Jenny, but he had to put the club before his own demons. How would the brothers react if they thought he believed they were not good enough for his daughter? He stepped up to Asher and the rest of the Deacons parted to give him space. The past and the future of the club stared into each other’s eyes a moment before John extended his hand. Asher glanced down at it before he bought his eyes back to John’s. A small smile touched his lips as he took John’s hand into a firm shake.

“We have a lot of work to do.” John said, holding firm to Asher’s hand.

“Yes, we do.”

“Then let’s get to it.”

“Right behind you, brother.”

Chapter 19

Jenny stepped through the door to her apartment and went straight into the kitchen without a pause. There she pulled a partially consumed bottle of wine from the rack in the fridge and a glass from the cabinet.

“You want one?” she asked as she worked the cork from the bottle.

“No. I’ll get a beer,” Asher replied as he tossed her bag onto the couch.

Today was Jenny’s first day back in class since the Heartless Devils began looking for them, and she was overwhelmed with the amount of work she had to make up. It was going to be a long night and she had to fortify herself with a glass of liquid courage.

Asher stepped up behind her and held her loosely as he kissed her neck softly. “It’ll be okay. You got this. You know you do.” He was well aware of what was stressing her out as she had bitched about it the entire way home from school.

“This is all Dad’s fault,” she said before taking another hit from the glass. “Chasing us around, threatening to kill you. If he had just left us alone, I wouldn’t be so damn far behind.”

“That’s the past. Don’t worry about it. Worry about how you’re going to catch up. You still have almost a month before school ends.”

“Yeah, great. Seven weeks of work and four weeks to do it in. Sure…no problem.”

He kissed her again then let her go, reaching into the refrigerator for a beer. “How do you eat an elephant?” he asked as he turned and twisted off the cap of his beverage.

“One bite at a time. I know,” she sighed.

He took her glass from her hand and sat it on the cabinet. “Why don’t you go get started? I will fix dinner tonight. You can work as late as you need to and I won’t bother you.”

“Oh, hell no! I’ll hit the books, but you’re going to have to help me relax later.”

Asher snickered as he gave her a quick smooch on the lips. “Anything I can do to help. Now go,” he added as he gave her a gentle shove to start her moving.

She spread her books and papers out on the table and started her computer. As she hammered away at the keyboard, referencing her books and notes, Asher pottered in the kitchen. He could cook, but he typically made simple meat and potatoes fare. He thought about trying to make something light and healthy, the way Jenny cooked, but decided to go with what he knew.

“I’ll be back,” he said as he moved toward the door.

“Where’re you going?”

“Shopping. Everything is frozen. I won’t be but a minute.”

When he let himself back in, Jenny barely looked up from her task. He carried the plastic bag of ground chuck and potatoes in the kitchen, and as quietly as possible, began preparing the meal.

“You ready to eat?” Asher asked ninety minutes later.

“What? Oh! Yeah.” Jenny looked at the clock on the wall. “Is it really almost six?”

“It is,” he confirmed shoving a book out of the way with a plate before setting it at his place, holding the other plate until Jenny moved her computer.

“Is this meatloaf?”

“What? Don’t you like meatloaf?”

She tried to hide her disappointment. She appreciated Asher preparing the meal so she could study, but meatloaf? “It’s fine.”

Asher bit down on his annoyance. He was looking forward to some
real
food, meatloaf with creamed potatoes, instead of the highbrow, froufrou food Jenny normally ate. “Before you decide you don’t like it, you should try it first.”

“I’m sure it’s fine,” she said as she cut a chunk from the piece on her plate. She had to admit it smelled good and was covered in a thick red sauce with bits of onion and green pepper showing, but the only time she had tried meatloaf was in the school cafeteria and she had found it less than appetizing.

Asher plunked one of two beer bottles in front of her as he sat down. “No wine with meatloaf. I looked it up. It’s against the law.”

She sniggered and, after blowing the steaming piece of meat cool, popped it into her mouth. She was determined to show no reaction, not wanting to hurt his feelings, but her eyes opened wide at the tangy sauce and the rich, complex, meaty flavor. “Oh, wow! That’s surprisingly good!”

“See.”

“I didn’t think I liked meatloaf, but I like this!”

As she ate, she could feel her spirits rising, the hearty meal warming her and boosting her energy level. When Asher had set the plate in front of her she didn’t think there was any way she could eat the entire portion, but she cleaned her plate, and even cut herself another thin slice.

“Oof! I’m stuffed,” she said as she pushed the plate away from her. They had taken their time with the meal, talking about everything and nothing, and the break had cleared her mind and buoyed her determination.

“I’ll clean up while you get back to work,” Asher said as he rose, picking up the two plates.

She picked up Asher’s empty bottle and her own, nearly empty bottle, as she came to her feet. “I’ll help. I need to move around some anyway.”

With quick, efficient motion, they set about the task of cleaning up the kitchen. “Are you and Dad getting along better?” Jenny asked as Asher rinsed and passed the dishes to her to place in the dishwasher. She was better at dishwasher Tetris so he normally rinsed and she loaded.

“Well enough.”

“That wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement.”

“No. I guess not. He’s still not exactly thrilled that we’re sleeping together.”

“I don’t think it’s the sleeping that bothers him,” she said with a giggle.

He snorted as his lips twisted into a sideways smile. “No. You’re probably right.”

“I don’t know what his problem is.”

“He doesn’t want you involved in the club. I agree. You have a lot going for you and you don’t need the stigma of being attached to the Devils following you around.”

Jenny paused in the loading of the dishes. “What does that mean?”

“What?”

“That I don’t want the ‘stigma of the Devils following me around.’”

“Nothing. Just that, well, you know how some people think about motorcycle clubs – that we’re nothing but a bunch of thugs. Do you really want that hanging over you while you’re trying to find your first job?”

“I’ve worked!”

“Sorry. First position with a firm, then. How do you think a big firm would react to the fact that you are a biker’s old lady? Or worse, that you are knowingly involved in illegal activities.”

“The Devils are going straight!”

“I know that. But it wasn’t always that way and people probably won’t believe it anyway. And don’t forget what we did. If something like that were to get out, even if the cops couldn’t prove it, that could make your life more difficult than it has to be.”

“What are you saying? That you’re dumping me?”

“Of course not! I’m just saying that I understand where John is coming from. The farther we can distance you from the club, the better.”

She could feel her blood running cold. “Does that include you?”

“No. I hope not, anyway. I love you, Jenny. But we have to be careful. That’s all I’m saying. Better safe than sorry and all of that stuff.”

She paused as she thought about what Asher said. “I’m not sure I like how this conversation is going.”

“What do you mean?”

“It sounds like you are planning on leaving. Remember, way back, when you said it wouldn’t work and someone was going to get hurt? Remember how you said it probably wouldn’t be you?”

“I remember. But that was before.”

“Before?”

He pulled her in close. “Before I fell in love with you.”

She relaxed slightly. “Okay, but this talk of keeping me away from the club makes me nervous. I am never sure if keeping me away includes keeping me away from you.”

“Not in this lifetime,” he said as he gave her a kiss. “You need to hit the books again. I’ll finish here and then I need to go out for a while. Can I trust you to stay in the apartment and not do something stupid?”

Her brow crinkled in curiosity. “Where’re you going?”

“I need to meet with the Bucs and the Trifectas to bring them up to speed on what is happening with the HDs. I figured I would go to them this time since they have always been coming to me.”

Jenny looked at the pile homework on the table. “Yeah. I doubt I will be going anywhere. Ever.”

He smiled as he tipped her chin up. “I have confidence in you. You’re the best law student I’ve ever fucked.”

“I better be the last law student you ever fuck,” she replied just as she tasted his lips. She was still stuffed from dinner, and she had a ton of homework to do, but she could feel that now familiar dampness forming between her legs. She used to go for weeks, sometimes months, without taking a lover, but with Asher, she wanted him all the time. If she didn’t have so damn much homework, she would be dragging him to the bedroom right now. “Go…before I get any more distracted,” she murmured as she pulled back from the kiss.

“Okay. But hold that thought until I get back.”

Asher eased to a stop beside the crotch rocket and the ricer, a small grin forming as he switched off his bike and leaned it over onto the stand. Give him a Harley over the other two any day.

“Thank you for meeting with me,” Asher said as he parked his helmet on the mirror then shook each man’s hand.

“What’s the news?” Thomas asked, cutting right to the chase. He was still wary of Asher after finding out the HDs weren’t backing their play.

“I have come clean with the Devils.”

“And?” Will asked.

“John doesn’t like that I’m sleeping with his daughter, but the club is onboard.”

“Are you sure this time?” Thomas asked.

“Yes.” Asher pulled his phone and dialed a number. “Ask John yourself,” he said as he handed the phone to Thomas.

Thomas put the phone on speaker so Will could hear, as well. “Asher?” a voice said from the phone.

“John, this is Thomas Nakagawa and Will Hampton. I’m here with Asher. He tells us that the Heartless Devils are good with our plan, but I need to hear that from you.”

“We’re backing Asher,” John said through the phone.

“No more rogue?” Will asked.

“No. We’ve settled our differences. He is speaking for the club.”

“And you know the plan?”

“Asher told me. We’ll be there to back the play once the wheels start turning. We’ve had the Trifectas’ and Buccaneers’ backs for more than five years, just like you’ve had ours. We’re not going to turn on you now.”

Thomas and Will looked at each other and Will bobbed his head. “Good enough. It’s been a pleasure doing business with you,” Thomas said then ended the call and handed the phone back to Asher.

“Satisfied?” Asher asked.

Will nodded again. “Yeah. You are either the luckiest son-of-a-bitch I have ever met, or the best bullshit artist I have ever met. I’m just not sure which.”

“Maybe both,” Thomas added. “I wouldn’t have given a nickel for your life. If someone were to do that to my daughter, I would slit his fucking throat.”