CHAPTER TWO
Two hours later, Addy parked her car at the clubhouse and took several deep breaths. She wore jeans, high heeled boots, a camisole and her club vest that announced her property of Abe. Her husband’s club name. She entered and saw that Greaser, her husband’s best friend and business partner was behind the bar. She walked up and smiled, relieved that at least he accepted her for who she was and always welcomed her when she was at the clubhouse. “Hey, Greaser, can I have a beer?”
“Addy!” He actually yelled her name, loudly. “What are you doing here?”
Addy felt instantly like she didn’t belong, or wasn’t wanted. For the first time since meeting him years ago, she felt unwanted, and didn’t realize how hurt it made her feel. But she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I told Link I’d meet him here around eight. I’m a little late.” She saw it was almost eight thirty by the clock behind the bar. “But I made it.”
“Ah, um good,” he said and handed her a beer. Not sure he should say anything, he said, “Abe’s out back.” And nodded to the back door that led to a patio.
“Thanks, I’ll go tell him I’m here.” She picked up her beer, turned and waved to several people. “I’ll be right back.” She called to the room at large. “I want to tell Link I’m here.” She didn’t understand the shocked expressions on almost everyone’s faces, but she wanted to see her husband. She went out to look for him and heard his voice over in the corner. The sight before her shocked her so much the beer bottle fell out of her hands. He was lying on a lounge chair and his pants were open and a woman’s head was moving up and down on him. They didn’t hear her because the woman was moaning loudly.
Shocked, Addy stood there and could only stare, Greaser and Burt, the club president tried to drag her away, but she shrugged their hands off. She only saw red, she walked up to the couple grabbed the woman by the hair on the back of her head and ripped her away from him. She didn’t care that her husband’s cock was flaccid. “Don’t bother coming home,” she said, and turned on her heel to turn away from the sight of her husband having sex with another woman.
“Let go of me, you bitch! Who are you?”
Addy glared at the woman she still held, and in her anger, she pulled her arm back and hauled off and hit the woman in the mouth. She didn’t hold back, and didn’t care that the other woman actually had a bloody nose. She tossed the woman away from her like she was trash, and said, “His wife, soon to be ex-wife.”
“Addy! Wait!” Link yelled, and tried to go after her, but he tripped over his lowered jeans. As he struggled to pull them up he stared at the shock and hurt on her face and swore. “It’s not what you think! I was passed out, she attacked me!”
“How could you? And with a skank like her? I thought we were happy! You’re going to throw our marriage away for her?”
Suddenly angry, he yelled at her, “I only did what you do every day!”
“I’ve never cheated on you! Never!” she screamed, and was close enough to push him away from her when he reached for her. “Don’t touch me!”
“That’s your problem isn’t it?” he yelled back. “You won’t let me touch you lately! You’re too tired! It’s because of all those men you’ve been meeting at that hotel! Don’t deny it, I’ve staked it out and watched you!”
“They’re business clients!” Addy couldn’t believe what he was accusing her of.
“Bullshit! What kind of services do you provide when they give you checks for twenty thousand dollars! As a fucking bonus! I’m tired of being ignored by my wife, she was available and I wanted some!”
Addy was so angry, her entire body shook and she reacted on instinct. She reached out, slapped him hard across the face and glared at him with cold eyes. “Oh really, well fine! Go fuck all the skanks that hang out here! I’m done, I’ll be out of the house by tomorrow and you’ll be hearing from my lawyer next week!” She turned on her heel and left. She kept her tears at bay as she saw looks of pity on the other women’s faces as she ran through the clubhouse and out the front door. But not before removing her vest and tossing it on the ground and she paused long enough to take off her wedding rings and throw them at him. He had started to follow her and they hit him square in the chest and fell to his feet.
Link stared after his wife and looked at his brothers and glared. “What?” He glared at the woman who came up and stood next to him. “What the fuck did you do to me? You took advantage of me, get the fuck away.” He actually pushed her and didn’t bother helping her to her feet when she fell flat on her ass.
“What the fuck?” Burt looked at Greaser.
“No clue, he’s been moody and surly all week. Took time off, and some of the guys saw him downtown staking out a hotel.”
“Is there any merit to what Abe accused his wife of?”
“I’d say no.” Mary, Burt’s wife said. “It was Steph that put that bug in his ear, night before the pig roast. She’s been trying to get in his pants for years. Looks like she got her wish. I was out here earlier and Abe was asleep in the lounger. Steph probably did take advantage of him.”
Jackson, a striker came over and held something out to Burt. “What do you want me to do with this?”
“What is it?” He frowned when Jackson held up Addy’s vest, then opened his hand and swore when he saw her wedding rings in his hand. “I’ll take them,” Burt said, and did just that. He looked at Greaser, and said, “Call a patch holder’s meeting now. If they’re not here, have them here by ten. We’ve got to try to nip this in the bud. Now,” he said, and turned on his heel.
Mary followed her husband into the bar. After she watched him down a shot, she asked gently, “What about Addy?”
“What about her?” Burt was so pissed that she’d thrown the vest on the ground that he didn’t want anything to do with someone who was so disrespectful. Regardless of the circumstance, you never disrespected the cut.
“If they break up over this, is she going to be treated like all the other women in the past who broke up with patch holders? Will she be shunned? It’s not like she knew what was going on. I’m telling you my two cents before you make a final decision. In my humble opinion, Stephanie needs to be banned from the clubhouse, not Addy.”
“Christ, woman, we’re a fucking biker club, not the fucking Amish!” Burt yelled at his wife, then was immediately contrite as soon as he saw her cock her head back, turn it to the side, and glare at him. He knew then he had fucked up, and had to apologize immediately, or he might find himself locked out of his own home that night. “Christ, I’m sorry. But I can understand why you asked that. Was she close to anyone here?”
“I hate to admit it, but not really. In the last year she was hardly ever here.”
“Do you know what type a business she has that she’d meet strange men in a hotel? I can’t believe she’d meet them for sex.”
“Excuse me.” They looked up at the interruption and saw Greaser standing there. “Everyone will be here by ten for the meeting. And I overheard your question. Addy’s a party planner.”
“What the hell is that?”
“She plans parties.” Greaser actually laughed. “I saw her a few days ago, she was planning a wedding for the rich couple that’s in all the papers. She also said she just got done with some high-profile judge’s anniversary party.”
“Oh, so they really could be her clients.”
“Yes, the only fancy place in town to throw a big shindig is the hotel. I went to one of her parties for a family member a couple months ago. She does a good job.”
“Thank you,” Burt said, and downed another shot. He liked that he got a little inkling of what she did for a living. “You’re the VP, I’m going to put this to you now, and I’ll bring it up at the meeting. That skank Abe fucked does not, I repeat, not get a property patch, ever. Understood, no matter what Abe says, the answer is no, and I’ll need you to back me up on this. If Abe’s really not into her, and she goes after another member, she will never, ever wear a property patch associated with this club.”
“Understood,” Greaser said. “If you didn’t suggest it, I was going to, but I’ll back you. And just so you know, for me, this is separate from my job.”
“Shit, you’re business partners with Abe, aren’t you?” Burt asked. The club members had called Lincoln, Abe, because of his name. He was tall and had a small beard, but he wasn’t as lean as Abe Lincoln had been. He had broad shoulders and was at least six foot four. Burt would hate to have to have a fight with him, but he would if he had to. But, my god, to do that to your own wife, knowing she was going to show up and find him in the act. Of the two people he thought had a strong and reliable marriage and could last any storm, it was Lincoln and Addison Murphy. What a mess.
*****
Link walked to the other side of the patio and glared at the woman who had just fucked up his life. He noted she had a bloody nose and gave a silent nod to his wife for what she had done to the other woman. Too bad he was still too drunk to actually remember seeing Addy hit her, it would have been epic. “Why did that woman pull me off you? I wasn’t finished. If I continued to work you, you would have been ready.” Steph looked at him with doe eyes, and Link could only think of one word when he saw her tears. Fake. Her tears, her hair, her tits, everything about her was fake.
“You better get the fuck out of my space before I call the cops and have you arrested for sexual harassment or rape. I was fucking asleep and you opened my jeans and tried to suck me off.” He grabbed his phone to make a call and saw her pale and she turned and started toward the clubhouse, but was stopped by Mary. He turned away and punched a wall beside him.
“Feel better?” He whipped around and saw his best friend and business partner standing there.
“No.”
“Patch meeting in an hour.” Greaser looked at his friend, and when he saw him about to decline, he said, “Mandatory.”
“I’ll be there,” he said and watched as Steph was dragged by her arm toward him.
“Why the hell did I have to pay for the beers, I’m your old lady now, I shouldn’t have to pay.”
“Excuse me?” Link stared at the woman in shock. “What makes you think you’re my old lady? I have one of those already. Don’t want or need another one. You will never, ever be my ole lady, and as a patch holder, and the Sargeant at Arms of this club, I will make damn sure you never become one. As far as I’m concerned, you’re banned from this place for life. You’re only the skank who just raped me to try to take me away from my wife. I’ll even bet you made up those lies about her to try to get me to leave her! Now I have to go to a patch meeting, then get my sorry ass home to try to fix what you just fucked up.” He looked at Greaser and shook his head. His expression portrayed he smelled something foul in the air. “Get her the fuck out of my sight before I do what I vowed I would never do. I want to bitch slap her into next year.” Link shook his head, turned on his heel, and walked away.
“You can’t talk to me like that!” Steph called after him as he walked away from her.
“He can, and did.” Greaser stared down at her with a look of disgust on his face. “Just because you tried to suck him off, it doesn’t mean you have any right to him. You just messed up a fantastic five-year marriage to the woman he’s loved for the last eight years. He’s going to need his space. I suggest you make yourself scarce for a long, long while.”
“You can’t talk to me like that. You’re not my old man.”
“He can and he did,” Mary said from behind Greaser. “I warned you weeks ago not to stir up trouble with Link, you did, and as the president’s old lady, I’m telling you, you’re not wanted here. Leave and don’t come back.” Mary crossed her arms under her breasts and glared at the younger woman. “You’ve been hanging out here for years fucking anything that crooked a finger at you, and you’ve been after Lincoln just as long. Somehow you spread lies about his wife and you caught him at just the right time to fuck him. Now his marriage is on the rocks, all because of you. I’m in charge of the women of this clubhouse, as of right now, you are banned.” Mary pointed to the entrance of the clubhouse, and when Steph didn’t leave, she said, “Move it, bitch. I want you out of here now.”
“Fine, but you haven’t seen or heard the last from me. I will have Link to myself.”
“Whatever, but you’re not doing it on club property. And if Addy’s smart, she’ll take the house in the divorce.”
“Who’s Addy?”
“Lincoln’s wife.” Mary spat at her, and said, “Now get the hell off club property, or I’ll call the cops.”
“I’m going,” Steph said, and stormed off the patio and into the clubhouse. She was surprised when everyone looked up, then turned their backs on her. Even her friends that hung out at the club. Suddenly feeling like she might have done something wrong, she grabbed her purse and hurried to the front door. She looked back and saw Link, and when she lifted her hand to him, he also turned his back on her. “Fuck,” she whispered and hurried out to her car. “I’ll get you, Lincoln Murphy, mark my words, you will be mine. No one will ever love you the way I do,” she whispered to herself as she left the property.
Link was still drunk when he stumbled into the patch room and fell into a chair. He looked around and realized that none of his brothers would look him in the eye.
“I called this meeting because of what happened earlier tonight,” Burt began. “Without getting into details, I’m issuing a new bylaw, effective immediately.” He paused and waited until he had everyone’s undivided attention. He stared at Abe until he looked him directly in his bloodshot, drunken eyes. “From this minute forward, no hangers on. That means no woman that isn’t attached to a patch holder, a striker or a prospect is allowed on club grounds. If they are married or seriously dating someone, that woman is allowed. No one else. We can’t control who other clubs bring in when we have our parties, but I will damn well control who comes to my house. We clear?” Everyone nodded or agreed except one. “Abe? You hear me?”
It took several minutes before he focused his bleary eyes. “Yeah, I hear you, but I think cheating wives should be banned too.”
“Fuck you, Abe,” one of the club member who’d witnessed what happened barked out. “If you were any man, you would have confronted Addy before fucking that skank, knowing your wife would find you. Sounds like you just fucked up your own life. I don’t know her well, but from what I do, Addy would never cheat on you. Right now, you’re a sorry piece of shit for a human being. I hope she takes you to the fucking cleaners.”
“Fuck you.” He slurred his speech. He looked at Burt. “I want Addy’s vest.”
“No. You don’t get it, and it’ll be a cold day in hell before I turn it over to you. Remember it has to be a club vote if an old lady gets to wear their old man’s patch. I don’t care if you’re taken to the cleaners, or if your marriage comes out smelling like roses, you won’t get a woman’s patch for a long, long time. What you did was inexcusable.”
“Whatever, man,” Link said, and picked up the bottle of bourbon he’d taken from the bar and chugged it.
Burt looked around at his brothers and saw the disgust on their faces. He looked at each of them and when they shrugged, he said, "Meeting dismissed. If there are any hangers on down there, get rid of them. Pass on the word to your women and the strikers. I want the gate monitored for a few weeks until this shit blows over.” He watched his patch holders rise from the table and then looked at Link.
“Give me your keys, you aren’t going anywhere tonight.” He held out his hand, and when he didn’t move to give them to his president, Burt said, “Don’t fight me on this, Abe. You’re drunker than a skunk and have been since you came in. You are not driving anywhere. If you don’t give me your keys, then hand over your cut. Either way, right now, I’m so pissed I don’t give a fuck about you, but I do care whether you kill someone else or not. Your choice, keys or cut.”
“Fine,” Link said, and pulled his keys and threw them across the table at his president.
Burt pocketed the keys and when he stood, he said, “You can sleep it off here or downstairs, I don’t care.” Then, he left the man alone.
*****
Addy pulled into her driveway and that was when the tears started. It took her almost fifteen minutes to get herself under control. She finally made her way into her house, and with tears still streaming down her face, she looked around and knew her perfect marriage was over. She got herself under control, and the first thing she did was go to her office and fire up her computer. She had a joint account with Link and her separate business account. Over the last couple months she’d deposited several checks into their joint account so they could pay down the mortgage faster, and breathe easier if an unexpected bill came in, but she transferred those amounts into her business account. She wasn’t about to let Link get her business money. As she waited for the transfer to go through, she went out to the garage and grabbed several boxes that hadn’t been taken to the road to recycle yet. She packed up her office and took those boxes out to her car. Thank god she drove a SUV so that she’d have room.
Once her office was done, she went upstairs, pulled out a set of suitcases and began filling them. Then she moved into the bathroom. She so wanted to take the shampoo and dump it all over Link’s clothes, but she decided to be a better person. She only took her stuff, and after her car was loaded she walked back through the house and took the coffee pot. She remembered that she was the one that bought it, and she actually had the receipt to prove it. It might be petty, because she knew that Link couldn’t function in the morning without his coffee, but at this point she didn’t give a fuck about his wants and needs any more. If he had the audacity to cheat on her, then he could find his own way to get his caffeine fix in the mornings. The coffee pot was going with her. Back in the office, she unplugged her computer and went through the household files in the desk. She took what she thought her lawyer would want, and then some, but she made sure that anything with Link’s business or his credit or debit purchases was left. Thank goodness she was so anal about the paperwork and keeping all their accounts separate. Her business, his business, and the house. After she decided that she had everything she’d need, she looked at the clock and saw it was going on two in the morning. At the last minute, she ran upstairs and took her pillows off the bed, then went down and locked the door behind her.
Knowing she’d never return here ever again, she removed her house keys from their ring and dropped them in the mail box. When she and Link had married five years ago, the house was already his, so she couldn’t kick him out of his own home. No, she’d find someplace to go. For now, she was going to her office. Thank goodness she had a couch in her office. By the time she settled on the couch it was going on six in the morning, and she stared into space until seven, when she got up, and after making coffee, she washed up in the small bathroom and dressed. She had an appointment with a new client at ten. Even though it was Sunday, she called her lawyer and left a message so that maybe he’d call her first thing Monday morning. As much as this all hurt her, she knew she could never be with Link ever again after seeing that woman going down on him. She mopped up the last of her tears as a revulsive shudder overtook her body as she remembered seeing what she had.