Chapter 4
FOOL
She was off-limits.
Still, I can’t help but follow her every move. I watch her closely, taking everything in about her. She puts on a good show of hiding it from her friends, but I don’t miss it. I didn’t miss the shadows in her eyes when she’d muttered those words just a bit ago.
I don’t think Twister missed it earlier, when she walked away to help the woman who called the girls. There’s no way she’s related by blood to the President of this club, but he claimed her just the same. There’s no missing the affection he holds for her. He treats her the same as Mercy.
Tracking her through the crowd, I can’t help but wonder what has those shadows haunting her.
April.
Her name suits her. It’s a beauty in itself, representing the time of year when new life emerges from the frozen depths of the soil.
After we all finished eating, they brought out a huge cake, one that has April smiling, but there’s no missing the anguish in her eyes.
She hates her birthday, yet doesn’t want others to know.
She doesn’t want to celebrate. Or if they do, they don’t want her to think she’s not important to them.
I can understand. It would kinda suck to have to celebrate on a day meant for a bunch of pranks and shit. A vision of her in my arms pops into my head, and I shut it down instantly. I can’t go there, and if I did, my brothers would have a field day with it, considering my name and hers.
Good thing I won’t be going there with her. Not with her off-limits. Even if she wasn’t, I don’t think I’d be able to. She’s pure and innocent, while I have a darkness inside me eating away at the remnants of my soul.
I wouldn’t put that on a woman like her, no matter how sweet April’s body looks.
Perfect set of tits. Just the right amount to fill a man’s hands.
Her ass is like a dream in the jeans she’s wearing, but it’s those legs, encased in denim, that I wouldn’t mind feeling wrapped around my waist while I . . .
Fuck.
I don’t need these thoughts.
She’s off-limits to me. I won’t disrespect the DRMC in a way that’ll cause trouble for us, and I’m not going for one of those three girls or any of the daughters who are here today, not that the others were actually old enough for such things. It’d cause a war.
I just need to find one of the free pussies around here and forget about the dark-haired beauty.
I can’t stop hearing those soft, pained words. They ring in my ears on repeat. Sure, she probably didn’t think either Twister, or I heard her, but that doesn’t negate the fact that we did. It doesn’t sit right with me that she’d hate a day meant to be celebrated.
“You good over here, brother?” Hazard asks, joining me and handing me a fresh beer. “You’ve been sitting here alone for a while, like when you have a lot on your mind. You shouldn’t be sulking, but instead, enjoying yourself with some attractive girl.”
“I’m good, Haz, just been enjoying the view.” It ain’t a lie. Hazard isn’t a man you lie to. He can sniff that shit out faster than you can blink. He’s always been that way, even when we were kids.
“I see that. Same as that view is off-limits.” Hazard chuckles and looks at me. “Which one you watchin’ more than the other?”
“Birthday girl,” I tell him, lifting my beer for a hefty swallow.
“Gotta admit, she’s a beauty.”
She’s more than just a beauty, but I’m not about to tell him that.
“Shame those three are off-limits, or that one of them is Twister’s daughter while the other is Horse’s girl. Otherwise, I’d definitely be going for that one,” he says, nodding toward Twister’s daughter.
“You looking to get killed?” I chuckle.
“Yeah, that’s why I’m smart and not even trying. I ain’t trying to get dead.”
I snort and shake my head, grinning. This is good. Hazard is the last one who needs to get wrapped up with a woman who’ll get him killed. There’s no doubt Twister would fuck him up over his daughter, and he’s the only blood I’ve got left.
“Come on,” Hazard says, slapping my back. “Let’s find a couple of fresh beers and join the others.”
I nod, finishing the beer he just handed me, and follow my brother to do what he says, but throughout the evening I find myself looking for April.
Several of the younger members of the club get into some sort of game with the three girls. Until JC wraps an arm around April’s shoulders, holding her back from running away while they sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her.
A part of me wants to go over there, rip her out of JC’s arms, and take her into mine. To ask her why she tries to run away from them singing to her. Why does she has those shadows in her eyes?
None of which I have any right to ask. Nor is it my business.
The evening light shifts to complete darkness, and with it, the party changes. Those who are younger leave, and the real party starts. I thought the three girls would’ve left too, but they didn’t. Instead, I saw Kayla grab a beer for the three of them and go back outside the clubhouse.
With April nowhere to catch my attention, I take a look at the other women around the room. It’s obvious which ones are ol’ ladies and which aren’t. Hazard has two curled up to him, giving him the attention my brother enjoys.
Cannon and Hornet stand by Twister and Horse, all four men laughing. The rest of my brothers seem to be enjoying themselves. They definitely seem able to make this alliance between the two clubs work out.
Not feeling it all that much, I make my way back toward my room, deciding to go ahead and crash. None of the women willing to give freebies appeal to me. Not after April caught my eye. She’s a no-go for me.
At my door, I hold my breath, bracing for another prank. The door opens with ease, and there’s nothing out of the ordinary.
I step into the room, remove my boots, and cut before falling onto the bed. I barely lay my head on the pillow when I realize they got me again.
“Fuckin’ hell,” I curse, jerking out of bed and wiping the back of my head, pulling it back to see what’s there. Nothing but wet. Picking up my pillow, I jerk it up, look inside, and see the shaving cream. How the fuck did they manage to do that?
Outside my window, I hear the women’s giggles and decide to let it go. I wouldn’t have, but visions of April laughing pop into my mind, and I like the idea of her laughter. I don’t get why, but it is what it is. It’s her birthday, after all.
Though I’m not about to let her find more amusement in fucking with me, I’ll let them play their pranks on someone else.
Maybe Hazard. He’d enjoy a few good pranks.
I walk over to the window, lift the bottom half, and glance at the three girls before focusing on April. “Y’all gonna keep messin’ with me all night?”
“I don’t know,” Mercy answers, a huge smile on her lips, one brow raised, arms crossed.
“How about you do the room next to mine instead?” I suggest. “My brother gets a kick out of pranks. See if you can get a reaction out of him.”
“Your brother? Aren’t they all your brothers?”
“Yeah, but Hazard’s my blood brother and could enjoy a bit of fun.” I smirk at them, but mostly I watch April to see her reaction.
Kayla and Mercy both jump off the table they’d been sitting on and laugh, hopping around.
“We absolutely have to do one more,” Mercy squeals.
“Let’s do it,” Kayla says, pumping her fist in the air. “I’ll go get the—”
“Don’t go get the hair removal stuff,” April blurts out.
Hair removal? Oh, fuck, that would be hilarious. Hazard would lose his shit over that.
“I was going to say the rest of the shaving cream,” Kayla remarks with an eye roll, biting her bottom lip. “Okay, so maybe that too, but we can use the honey instead.”
“What are you going to do with honey?” Now I’m intrigued.
“Do you know how hard it is to get honey off of anything?” Mercy asks, her eyes on me, shaking her head. “Not easy.”
“I’ll take your word for it. I say you have about an hour or two before he decides to head to his room,” I tell them, then step back and shut the window. I don’t know what they’ll do, but it’ll be funny to find out after they do it.
Until then, I’m gonna try to crash. At least for a little while before the nightmares catch up with me.