Chapter 25
The banging in my head forces me to wake up.
Why the fuck did I drink so much last night?
Fucking, never again! My eyes are blurry and the light peeking in through the window curtain is making my head hurt worse.
I take inventory of my surroundings and notice that this doesn’t look anything like I’ve seen before.
The bed has a leather headboard and the mattress feels as though I’m lying on a cloud. On the nightstand, the clock reads nine twenty-three. There must be some mistake.
A groan next to me puts my senses into overdrive as I whip my head to the noise.
Next to me snuggled up in the covers is a naked woman.
Her hair is splayed out everywhere, making it hard to see her face.
She rolls over on her side with her back to me, and I see the distinct markings of ink across her lower back. My eyes widen, and my mouth goes slack.
Fucking hell!
I try hard to think back at how I got here and a flood of memories come rushing back.
~Fourteen Hours Earlier~
We’ve arrived in Las Vegas a few hours ago as Gunner, from the Fallon Chapter, and Bullet, from the Tucson Chapter, met us here for the next few days.
The club is having a problem with some assholes who want to try to make a buck off our name, and we’re here to help set the record straight along with some other business.
We’re also meeting up with mob boss, Ox Bishop, to work out better ways to launder our money.
There are four families that run the drug and arms business here in Nevada, and we’re supposed to have a meeting to see if we can be beneficial to each other in expanding everyone’s territory.
“Everything all set for tonight?” Havoc asks while drinking his beer at the bar.
“Yeah, it shouldn’t be too much longer,” I say and sit next to him.
“You nervous?” he asks.
“Should I be?”
“Dude, every man should be! When you have the eye of Ox Bishop, you’re under his judgement.” He chuckles and finishes off his beer then slides it down to the end of the bar. “Let’s get this done, shall we?”
We both stand and fix our clothes and cut before striding out of the gigantic bar area at the hotel Bishop put us all up in. Our brothers from all the chapters are on their bikes waiting for us to mount and go to the back lot of the hotel.
Tonight and tomorrow are going to be huge. One that will hold a lot of meaning for my club and any future members into our MC. The actions of tonight and tomorrow will follow me around for the rest of my life and those close to me.
Side by side, we ride down the main strip of Las Vegas and park our bikes behind a tall, bulky building. Tourists watch us like we’re a show about to start. Knowing there are a lot of witnesses makes me uneasy.
A man in a suit walks straight over to where we are and from this distance, I can see the worry in his features. His forehead has a layer of sweat forming and he fidgets with the bottom of his suit jacket.
“Mr. Gunner?” the nervous bald man asks with a shortness of breath.
Gunner nods and from just the short walk over to us the man is sweating and acting as though he sprinted over here.
“Right this way, sir.” He stares out at our large group.
“I’ll make sure everyone is validated for parking.
” With that, he turns and leads us through the lobby and down several large hallways before opening a set of white double doors.
“Mr. Bishop will be with you shortly, if you’ll just have a seat over there. ”
We all file into the room with white sterile walls with a stained-glass circular window at the front.
I can’t help but think of my little wildcat and what she must be doing right at this very moment.
I’ve been a little distant lately, but I know if I stayed too long next to her, I’d tell her all about what was about to happen and I just couldn’t do it.
I hear the doors creak open, and I can’t help think that this is the right move for the future of Dead Road MC.
Three men and a woman walk out approaching us. Gunner takes the lead pushing his hand out in greeting.
“Mr. Bishop?”
“Call me, Ox. This is Luca, Wyatt, and this beauty is Kendall.” We hear a growl from Wyatt and I raise an eyebrow. Ox shrugs then gestures for us to come in. “Let’s get down to business, shall we?”
* * *
“Ready to go?” Sutton calls out from the front room as I’m gathering up the last of my toiletry bag from the bathroom.
Ever since she showed up, Sutton has been nothing but cheery and bouncing on the balls of her feet. I get that she is excited and I am too, but I can’t help but feel a little depressed and neglected by Kane lately. I feel him putting up a wall between us, and I don’t know to fix this with us.
Is he mad at me for the accident? Does he really blame me for Trick’s death? Why won’t he touch or have sex with me anymore?
He is mind fucking me, and it’s like when he’s here with me, he’s somewhere else. He claims to have a lot going on at the club, but that isn’t anything new. Maybe he regrets bringing me into his life and doesn’t know how to tell me it’s over.
Ugh!
Sutton chooses this moment to burst through the door, but she falters when she sees my face.
“What’s wrong, Raegan?” she asks coming to my side. “Are you still hurting?” She’s looking me over for any damage, and I have to use all my will power not to roll my eyes.
“I’m fine.” I try to discreetly sniff, but she knows me too well at this point.
“You’re not fine; tell me what’s going on.”
I’m about to be on a trip with the most curious person, but I know her concern and heart are in the right place.
“Let’s get on the road and then we can talk,” I suggest and gather up the last of my things.
“Oh, umm, there’s something I need to tell you,” she says wringing her hands. This can’t be good.
“Ohhh-kay?” I drawl out.
“We aren’t driving anywhere…”
“Then where are we going?”
“Well, to the airport at least,” she quickly adds.
My eyes narrow for her to continue. “We’re flying!
” she exclaims then bounces on her toes.
“And Ivy is meeting us there!” she squeals and hearing her say Ivy’s name makes me squeal just as loud.
We haven’t gotten to see each other since she was last here and talking on the phone isn’t the same.
Once we’ve calmed down and loaded our things into the cab taking us to the airport, I pour my soul out to her while we board our first plane from the Abilene airport. She only squeezes my hand over the console and lets me get it all out.
“Honey, I really think you might be overreacting on this one. I’m sure it’s a lot of pressure being the boss and the weight he must carry on his shoulders. Maybe you can sit him down when we get back from our little trip and talk it out. I’m sure that there is a reason for him being so distant.”
I know she’s right I just hate that we aren’t on the same page as we were before the accident. Leaning back in the comfy seat, I close my eyes and let sleep overtake me.
Right before drifting off, my thoughts start to wonder.
Where has Sutton decided to take us on our trip?
She refuses to let me see our boarding passes, and I didn’t pay attention to the screen at the gate when she scanned them in.
All I know is that we are catching a connecting flight in Dallas where Ivy will be waiting.
* * *
~Present Time~
The pounding in my head increases and that’s when I realize that it’s also someone beating the fuck out of the door. My bedmate stirs slightly, but doesn’t wake up.
Shit, she must have drank an entire fish tank to not wake from the noise coming from the other side of the door.
My eyes gaze around the room and take inventory, trying to spot my boxers or something that I could use to cover myself with.
Swinging my legs over to the side of the bed, I see the offending clothing half under the coffee table over in the sitting area of the room.
While I’m pulling them up, another round of pounding has commenced again at the door.
“Christ! I’m coming!” I yell.
I swing the door open and am met with a very put out Havoc.
“Dude, how the hell did you end up in one of upper suites?” He tries to move to come in, but I block his attempt. He gets the gesture and moves back into the hallway. “Well, we don’t want to keep the girls waiting too long at the buffet, so put some clothes on quick, and let’s go.”
His phone buzzes and the screen flashes Sutton’s name and picture. He’s about to answer it when a voice behind me gets both our attention.
“Are you coming back to bed?” a soft but sleepily voice asks.
Both Havoc and I whip our heads over, and I try my hardest to block the door to keep him from seeing her.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now, Stone? Who the fuck was that?” he spews, but I let it go for now and try to ignore it. My head feels like it’s going to crack open at any minute. I’m in need of some pain relief.
“Buffet, one hour and I’ll explain everything.” I try to close the door but he puts his foot to where it won’t close.
“There better be one fucking hell of an explanation for this!” He shoves a finger in my face.
“One hour,” I say again then slam the door closed.
I furiously rub my temples as I rest my head on the closed door. A soft hand comes up and starts circling my shoulders massaging me, easing the tension in my body. Turning around, I find her naked and grab both her wrists in my large hands.
“You need to get dressed,” I say looking at her face and not letting my eyes wander any lower.
“Can I at least get a shower after everything we did last night?” she asks.
Christ, I’ve got a lot of explaining to do when I get to the buffet downstairs.