Authors: Camilla Isles
A woman walked towards him from her car in the parking lot. She wore the hood from her long grey coat on her head to keep out the chilly wind. As she got closer, Justin began to recognize her.
“Katy Morgan?” he asked. “I haven’t seen you since high school. You used to come by the house with Amy all the time.”
“Katy Anselmo now,” she said with a smile. “Do you have a minute?”
Justin nodded and ushered her into the clubhouse out of the wind. Ginger and Lily were there talking, Lily still in tears, and Aaron was still playing in the next room. They made their introductions and sat around a small table. Katy explained that she had been a lifelong friend of Amy’s, and they had recently become close again after a chance meeting at a Happy Hour. They had begun to confide in each other. She extended her condolences, but there was something she needed to tell Justin.
“After Amy and I reconnected a few months ago, and we talked everyday and met for drinks every week. And, well…she explained to me why she didn’t want to be your maid of honor, Lily.”
Everyone became perfectly still and waited for the information that had been vexing them.
Lily stopped crying and sniffling and waited with wide eyes to find out the answer she had been looking for. “What is it, Katy? Why didn’t she want me to marry Connor?”
Katy took a breath. “We went to my place after a few drinks…this was just a few weeks ago…and she started to cry, which was strange for Amy. She had been holding something in for a long time, since high school actually, and finally she was ready to let it out. I came to tell you because I thought it might be important in finding out who…killed her.” Katy looked at her hands folded on the table and held back a tear. She looked at Lily and then at Justin.
“Just tell us, Katy,” Justin encouraged her. “It’s all right.”
“Okay. When she was still 15 years old, the boy who lived in the house with her like a brother…”
“Connor,” Justin said.
“Yes. He…he raped her. He did it like three or four times, and that’s how she got pregnant with Aaron.”
Justin banged his powerful fist on the table and stood up. Ginger took his arm and pulled him back into his seat.
Lily burst into tears again. “I knew it! I mean, I knew it had to be something horrible for her not to want to be in my wedding…but I never thought it would be this horrible.”
Justin put his arm around Lily’s shoulder, and Katy continued.
“Well, eventually she started carrying a pocket knife, and she stabbed him in the leg the next time he tried it and told him she would tell Big Red. And then he stopped. More recently he’s been pestering her to sleep with him again. He’s tried to get her friends to go out with him too, all the while he was engaged to Lily. She told him to lay off or she was going to tell you, Justin. That’s when he threatened to shut her up once and for all. Those were the words he used. She was scared – really scared.”
Lily was balling uncontrollably.
Katy stood up. “I’m sorry, Lily, but I just thought it was important to tell somebody after what happened to her. I know Amy would rather have me tell you than the police. I’m sorry.”
She gave her condolences once again, then turned and left the building, the three stunned people still sitting there.
Ginger finally broke the silence. “Drinks are on me,” she said. “Let’s get Aaron and get out of this place.”
Justin could see some of Connor’s features in Aaron now, and he began to have mixed feelings about killing the boy’s father. But he shook off any doubts, knowing that his nephew would be better off without Connor’s influence.
They found a bar with a nice arcade for Aaron, had a round of stiff drinks, and picked at a plate of greasy French fires.
“Let me take Aaron tonight,” Lily said to her friends. “You two have each other, and I…”
“Sure, Lily. I’ll pick him up early on my way to the body shop in the morning.” Justin gave Aaron a hug and headed out the door with his girl on his arm.
Justin and Ginger didn’t speak about what happened to Connor, but Justin knew that it must be a difficult thing for Ginger to accept.
That night Justin had a dream. Amy and Big Red were walking in a field of daisies, Amy’s favorite flower. They were dancing and laughing. The sky was a brilliant blue, yet stars shone like diamonds in the heavens. Suddenly, Justin awoke with a smile on his face. He knew in his heart Red and Amy were at peace. He had done the right thing.
He looked over at the naked woman lying in his arms, and he kissed her gently.
“Mmmm,” Ginger moaned as she stroked his chest and opened her eyes. “Sure, babe, we can do it again.” She slid her hand down Justin’s rock hard abs, but he grabbed her wrist before she reached her goal. He sat up, taking her with him. They leaned against the headboard, and Ginger pulled the sheet up to their waists.
“Are you okay, Ginger? I mean…”
She put her finger to his lips. “I know what you mean, babe. Hopefully, that was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I know the code had to be honored. You’ve proven to me over and over again that you’re a good and honorable man.” She put her hand behind his neck and kissed him.
His eyes welled up and he tilted his head back. “I can’t lose you, baby…I can’t lose you…not now.”
She straddled him, sitting on his hips, and took his face in her hands. “You’re not going to lose me, Justin. Not now and not ever.”
He pulled her close and rubbed his chest against her breasts.
“After all,” she said with an energetic smile, “I’m a biker chick now!”
It wasn’t long before the sound of her own words made her break into playful laughter. A biker chick is the last thing she ever thought she would be.
“Actually, you’re not.” Justin looked into her surprised eyes. He pulled a skull ring from his little finger with tiny diamonds in the eye sockets and held it between him and the girl he couldn’t live without. “Ginger…baby…will you be my old lady?”
Ginger’s jaw dropped, and her heart almost leapt out of her chest. “Yes!”
She held her hand out, but Justin pulled the ring back playfully. “Do you know what it means to be a biker’s old lady?”
“Well…” Ginger thought about it. “…I’d say it means that we sleep together naked every night, spend all of our spare time together, are loyal and supportive to each other, and if we ever get married it’ll be to each other.”
Justin looked impressed and nodded his head. “That pretty much sums it up…but there might be some cooking and cleaning duties for you in there too.”
“And trash duty and fix-it services for you, Mr. President.”
She held her hand out again, and Justin slid the ring onto her right ring finger.
“There,” he said. “Now you’re a biker chick.”
“Ooh,” she said, noticing Justin’s aroused body part popping up in front of her. She stroked it gently and bit her lower lip. “If I’m not mistaken, I’d say that you like me!”
Justin lifted her hips, and she slid down his joy stick.
“No,” he said. “I love you.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and put her forehead against his. “I love you too, Justin…forever.”
*****
Bad Blood
A Wicked Warriors Motorcycle Club
Mystery Romance Short Bonus Book
by
Camilla Isles
Copyright 2016 Barker/DeBellis
All rights reserved.
All characters engaging in sexual activities are 18 years of age or older.
Similarities to real people, places or events are purely coincidental.
This book is for mature audiences only.
The smoldering burn of Amy’s murder and the sting of Big Red’s death had left a lingering, open wound in the soul of the Wicked Warriors Motorcycle Club. But two years had passed now, and life was getting back to normal. Sort of.
Ginger and Justin tied the knot one year to the day after they met, when Ginger came to Big Red’s Auto Body Shop to do a health inspection. It was the last day of life as they had known it up to that day for both of them. Everything changed, for better and for worse – love, murder, death, betrayal, retribution. Things would never be the same.
Aaron, Justin’s nephew from his deceased sister, Amy, was almost 15 years old now. He lived with Ginger and Justin in their newly purchased home. The WWMC still ran the body shop adjacent to the Wicked Warrior’s clubhouse, but business was dwindling. Justin should have let a few of the guys go but just couldn’t do it. Still, less money coming in to the shop meant harder times for everyone. It wasn’t easy for leather-clad bikers with scraggly beards and tattoos to find gainful employment elsewhere, especially with the decades-old reputation of the Warriors still following them from it’s days of drug dealing and gunplay.
Members were looking for more lucrative moneymakers. The illegal world of stolen goods and the cash it brought in was enticing. Even Justin gave it more thought, although it was his own father who had led the Wicked Warriors away from illegal forays that cost the club numerous lives. Yet Justin wondered if maybe he could cash in without putting his members in jeopardy. He figured he was smart enough to be careful now. It was something he’d been considering for a while, but this day would take a different roadmap leading the club into both familiar and unknown territory.
The middle of October in Trinity brings with it the crispness of a fall day. However, the members of the Wicked Warriors weren’t about to ditch their rides for a vehicle anytime soon. That morning, as the thermometer read a chilly 45 degrees, the boys rode into Big Red’s Auto Body Shop decked out in leather. Not only does leather protect the skin during a tumble off the bike, but it also keeps the body warm. However, Trigger, one of the oldest members of the WWMC, complained.
“Damn I hate cold weather!” Trig said as he swung his leg over his Harley. “We need to move the club somewhere warm.”
“Then you’d just complain about the heat,” Trick retorted as he held the clubhouse door open for Trig.
“Got to have something to bitch about,” Trig said as he walked inside the warm bar area of the clubhouse.
“Yes, Grandpa,” Trick kidded.
“Shut up, limp dick,” Trig replied as he poured himself a cup of coffee from the freshly made pot.
Lily walked into the clubhouse from the kitchen area.
“Good morning, you two,” she said with a smile. “Mighty nippy out there this morning. Did you get cold riding in?”
“Yes, I did,” Trig answered. “I’ve got to get me some of them hand warmers and should put a few under my ass as well.”
“Or you could just drive your car in,” Lily suggested knowing full well the answer.
“You jest, little girl,” Trick said as he sipped from his mug.
“Yes, I do,” Lily said. “You guys want some breakfast?”
“No thanks, darlin’; we ate at Louie’s,” Trig answered.
“Oh, you’re tired of my cooking, eh?” Lily teased.
“Not in the least, hon,” Trig said as he sat down at one of the tables with his steaming cup of coffee. “We just don’t want to wear you out with all the cooking.”
“I really don’t mind, and you know Ginger loves to cook.”
At that moment, Justin and Ginger walked into the clubhouse.
“Please don’t tell me you rode in on his bike,” Lily said to Ginger.
“No, we drove the SUV,” Ginger said as she pulled off her gloves.
Trick looked at Justin. “Wuss.”
“Hey, I love my Harley as much as you guys, but I also like to keep from freezing my balls off,” Justin replied. ‘Besides, I’ve got a lady to think about.”
“Don’t hide behind Ginger’s skirt. You’re just a punk ass.” Trig swallowed down half a mug of cold beer to chase his coffee. And lit a Camel.
Justin just smiled. He was a behemoth of a man with washboard abs and bulging biceps – and he knew how to use them. He could rip the toughest Warrior to shreds without breaking a sweat, but the guys always enjoyed a good round of insults in the morning.
Trig and Trick clinked their mugs together. “Here’s to the little girly man and his SUV.”
Justin walked over, poured himself a cup of coffee, and then sat down with the guys as the ladies walked back into the kitchen.
“So how’s things with Aaron?” Trig asked. “You said something before about his grades sliding and him wanting to be alone all the time. Things getting any better?”
“Actually, no,” Justin answered as he leaned back in his chair. “Friday after school he came home with a black eye. I tried to talk to him, asked him what’s going on, who hit him, but he said he fell. I said, ‘bullshit, you fell into someone’s fist’ and he just stormed off into his room. The only person he wants to be around is Lily, so Ginger and I dropped him off on Saturday night. But I can’t expect Lily to parent him; it’s not her problem.”
“Yeah, but she loves the kid,” Trig responded.
“Sure she does, but still, I took on the responsibility to parent him after Amy’s death. But who am I kidding? Hell, I don’t know the first thing about raising a kid.”
“Even the best parents don’t always have the answers.” Trig said as he got up to freshen his cup. “You were thrust into the parenting role by circumstances out of your control. No one expects you to be perfect. You and Ginger will find your way. The kid is going through growing pains. We all did at his age.”
“All the same, I’d like to see what’s going on after he gets out of school. The black eye likely didn’t occur on school property. I figure it happened on his way home, otherwise the school would call if it happened there or if he showed up with it,” Justin said as he stood up from the table.
“Well, we can take a ride this afternoon…keep an eye on the kid,” Trick said.
“Good, but for now let’s get to work,” Justin said as drained his mug.
In the kitchen, Lily and Ginger sat sipping from their own mugs.
“How was Aaron the other night, Lily? Were you able to find out anything about the black eye?” Ginger asked with concern.
Ginger was just as new to the parenting world as Justin, and taking on a teenager was no small feat. But Ginger was the loving type, and Aaron knew she was trying her best with him. He did love her, but he’d known Lily since he was a small child.
“Nope, not a word.” Lily answered as she pushed her long blond hair behind her shoulder. “I tried to force him, but he completely shut down. I didn’t want to prod him too much in case he eventually felt like talking. So we had pizza, watched a movie, and then he played video games on my computer.”
“I wish he’d let us in, but there is only so much we can do with the information we have,” Ginger replied, as concern filled her voice.
Lily reached over and put her hand on Ginger’s arm. “Teenagers go through phases, and it’s probably much worse for Aaron after losing his mother…” her voice trailed off.
Lily still struggled with the fact her fiancé, Connor, had killed Justin’s Sister, Amy, two years ago. In those two years, Lily worked through the horror of that revelation and his subsequent execution at the hands of the WWMC. She didn’t date, preferring to stay close to the club. They were her family and vowed to take care of her. She worked the books and phone for the auto body shop along with cooking large meals for the club with Ginger and a few of the other old ladies. She wasn’t about to leave herself wide open for love to torture her again. Yet, fate might have other plans.
Ginger, who fell in love with Justin during those dark days, now worked part time with the health inspector’s office. While Justin wanted her to quit, she loved her job. She knew eventually, however, she’d want to become a full time mother when the time came. In fact, she and Justin tried to get pregnant the last six months without success. Of course, they both loved the time they put into effort. Their lovemaking was just as passionate as when they first met. However, the emerging problems with Aaron were taking a toll on everyone. Something had to be done.
*****
Ginger left the club to work the afternoon shift at the Health Inspector’s office. That afternoon, Justin, Trigger, and Trick left Merlin in charge of the auto shop while they took off to do some investigating. If a bully roughed up Aaron, Justin wanted to get ahead of the situation. The guys parked their bikes across the street from the city park that Aaron walked through on his way home from school. Justin figured if anything hinky was going on, that would be the place. He wasn’t wrong.
Trig spotted Aaron first as he cut through the park. His head was down and he was carrying his jacket as the afternoon temperature had risen significantly from that morning. His books were inside a backpack that he slung over his shoulder. Everything seemed fine until three older teens came running up behind him. One of them grabbed his backpack and slung Aaron around. In the process, the boy ripped the backpack open, spilling Aaron’s books onto the ground. Aaron stooped down to pick up his books. But before he could, a boy a foot taller than the other two kicked the books, scattering them over the sidewalk.
Justin, Trig, and Trick walked across the street as they watched the action take place. Justin’s red-hot temper, which had been buried for almost two years, was resurfacing with a vengeance. As the guys reached the side of the road, they witnessed the giant kid pull Aaron up by the front of his shirt, yell in his face, and then punch him square in the nose. That’s when Justin ran at them at full speed with Trig and Trick right behind him.
Justin slammed into the kid holding Aaron, and all three tumbled to the ground. Trick and Trig grabbed Aaron and pulled him up. They looked at the other two bullies as if to say ‘don‘t even try.’
“I’d vacate if you know what’s good for you,” Trick announced menacingly to the two teens. They weren’t as dumb as they looked and took off leaving their friend behind.
Justin pulled the giant kid up off the ground, got in his face, and yelled, “What the fuck are you doing?”
The kid brushed off his clothes and replied, “Hey, man, I’m a minor. I could bust you for attacking me.”
“And I could bust your head open, wise ass!” Justin was in no mood to trade barbs and the kid could see it. Several mothers’ who were in the park with their children stopped what they were doing and watched.
“Okay, man, chill. We were just messing around with Aaron.”
“You call a bloody nose messing around?” It was taking everything Justin had not to pop the kid. “What’s your name? And don’t bullshit me either.”
“Jacob Reynolds,” the boy said as he tried to back away from Justin.
“Well, Jacob Reynolds, I’m keeping my eye on you,” Justin said poking his powerful finger in his chest like a dagger.
“Fine…whatever,” Jacob said as he walked backward, then turned and ran from the group.
Justin turned to Aaron who was dabbing blood from his nose with Trig’s handkerchief. Justin walked over to look at Aaron’s nose and said, “How bad is it?”
“It’s alright,” Aaron muttered.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were being bullied?”
“It’s nothing, okay? I can handle myself,” Aaron said giving the bloody hanky back to Trig. Trig made a face and took the hanky.
“Okay? Really? It sure didn’t look like it. If you told me I could help, talk to the school or his parents,” Justin replied.
“Just forget it, okay!” Aaron yelled at Justin. “You’re going to make it worse.”
Aaron grabbed his backpack from Trick who collected his books, and took off.
“Hey, wait!” Justin yelled, but it was too late. Aaron wasn’t listening.
“Hey, man,” Trig said as he walked over to Justin. “Let’s give the kid some space.”
“I’ve been trying to,Trig, and look where it’s got him. A black eye and a bloody nose in one week.”
“I say we pay Mr. Jacob Reynolds Senior a visit,” Trick said as they walked back to their bikes.
“Okay, I’ll call Lily and get an address,” Justin said. He wasn’t about to let these kids get their hands on his nephew again. He hoped Mr. Reynolds would help him in this regard, but Justin was in for a rude awakening.
*****
Lily texted Justin the address of a Jacob Reynolds Senior. She told him there were three other Reynolds listed, but they were all located out of town. This address was closest to the park, and with the same first name, Justin figured this was the right place.
“Can’t believe you were right about his name Trick,” Justin said.
“Yeah, I’ve got special powers,” Trick announced. The boys grunted and mounted their bikes for the ride to the Reynolds home.
As the guys jumped off their bikes after reaching the residence, Trig said to Justin, “How you going to play this?”
“Hell, I don’t know. I’ve never talked to another parent before. Maybe his parents don’t know what he’s doing. He could be a perfect angel at home, though I doubt it. I’ll just play it by ear.”