2
GRIZZLY
I tracked Storm’s heavy steps as he moved from one end of the meeting room to the other side. The wooden floors creaked under the weight of his muscular body. The pictures on the walls shook as if an earthquake was rolling through.
Steeling myself behind my desk, I prepared for anything as I watched Storm’s frustration transition from simmering into violent boiling.
He wasn’t as hefty as Boxer and Ire, but he was thicker in the middle and thighs.
Being happily married and a father, he had packed on extra pounds from eating all the baked treats Angel made.
They say happiness made you gain weight, but I wouldn’t necessarily say he was happy.
Storm was a beast. Someone I would never betray if I wanted to live to see my next birthday.
Was it possible for a beast to be happy?
I eyed him while pondering the thought…
It’d been a rare day when his brows weren’t pinched together and his jaw wasn’t tight.
For years, he had carried the weight of the world on his shoulders after the OG prez, his uncle Matt, had passed away.
All Storm had ever wanted was to make his uncle proud and to protect his club brothers.
But there were many more people he had to worry about now; innocent wives and kids.
His wife.
His children.
Angel and the kids were Storm’s everything. They were his lifeline and the only link to his humanity.
The responsibility a president shouldered was often too great for one man. That was why he had a VP and a counsel, but Storm rarely asked for help.
“Christ! I feel it in my bones. This dude is right under my fuckin’ nose!” Storm hissed through his teeth, not speaking to anyone directly. So knowing Prez as I did, I kept my mouth shut. He didn’t want a reply from me. He was just unpacking his thoughts and processing them.
The “dude” was RJ, who’d been mentioned in a letter Storm had received last year. For all we knew, it could’ve been a prank from one of our enemies. Or a scorned woman…
Carla came to mind. The fake blonde Storm had used for his own pleasure had been in love with him, even knowing he’d never claim her. From what I’d heard from Libby, Storm wouldn’t even kiss Carla. He just fucked her and demanded blowjobs.
But hey, Carla was a Kitten. And being a club girl was a job. The chicks knew the drill before they signed on the dotted line to be a KLMC Kitten.
No promises had been made.
The terms were clear and specific.
So when Madeline entered, or rather re-entered Storm’s life, Carla had lost her shit at how hard and fast Storm had fallen for his “Angel.” Of all the men to claim a woman, no one ever thought Storm would.
He’d been hard as nails and a grumpy bastard for as long as I’d known him. But he softened for his Angel and kids.
I recalled how much Carla had hated Maddy.
She’d even fabricated a scene to manipulate Maddy into believing Storm had cheated on her.
It had been a huge mess and Prez could have lost Angel forever.
Luckily he hadn’t, but Storm had taken swift measures and kicked Carla out of Minnesota.
Lynx and some prospects had left her on the streets to fend for herself, per Storm’s orders.
Messing with the prez’s woman came with a stiff punishment.
But a scorned woman would do anything to get back at the man she loved, like sending a threatening note. Wouldn’t she?
“I know my old man is connected to this. The fucker screwed around on my mom all the goddamn time when I was young. He must’ve left his dick unwrapped one too many times.
Fuck! I gotta keep Angel and the babies safe.
” He snapped his mouth shut and a few stress-filled seconds passed before he said, “I mean, keep everybody safe.”
Okay, so maybe Carla wasn’t behind the note.
But I knew what he meant about keeping everybody safe. He’d get no judgment from me or any of our brothers for first thinking of his wife and children. We would feel the same about our old ladies and kids.
When we were all single, nobody had mattered more than each other. The brotherhood in the club had been solid and unbreakable. It still was to a degree. Though things had changed the past several years, with the addition of wives and babies, the club would always come first for the Knights.
For me, I’d always protect Libby above anyone else. As the sentiment registered in my mind, Toby’s face flashed behind my eyes… I’d protect him too.
“When Toby arrives, I want the two of you working on this. I won’t accept anything less than you finding this motherfucker!”
“What?” I choked out. Shock must have appeared on my face. Why else would Storm shoot me a confused glance? “Nevermind.”
I was more confused than ever. Prez knew Toby was coming? His knowledge made me feel worse.
He cocked his head. “Something happened between you and Toby?”
I focused on my monitor. Nothing was between me and Toby. “Did you ask him to come out?”
“Nope. He let Angel know last night he was coming. Said he might be staying awhile.”
My throat constricted. Toby had told Angel and Libby about his visit before me.
This situation was insane. Had I been reduced to shit on the sole of his expensive loafers?
Had I been an after-thought? At the very least, I thought we were friends.
Friends didn’t treat each other this way. Think you know a person…
“Grizz!” Storm’s annoyed voice jerked me out of my thoughts. He stalked toward me. “What’s going on with you? Need your dick sucked so you can focus?”
“I have shit on my mind.” And I’d gotten my dick sucked not long ago, thank you very much.
“What shit?” He crossed his arms over his chest as he towered above me.
“I want to claim Libby.” The words shot out of my mouth on their own accord. Not that it wasn’t true. I did want to claim her, but I hadn’t meant to blurt it out the way I did.
“Really?” He slowly lowered his arms. “But I thought you were into Toby.”
“What? No! Who told you that?” I flew out of my chair as if the seat had burst into flames. He knew? Who told him? Who else knew?
My blood pressure shot through the roof. Hopefully, a massive heart attack would kill me on the spot to spare me the humiliation in front of Storm.
“Angel and Libby.” He twisted his lips. “It’s cool, y’know. You do you, bro.”
“Son of a bitch! Does everyone think I’m gay?” My heart raced with vengeance, then my stomach churned. If I puked on Prez, I’d surely be a dead man.
This couldn’t be happening. I thought I’d hidden my desires well enough.
Libby will pay for talking about me behind my back.
“If they do, I didn’t tell them.”
“Libby!” I hurried out of the room to find her. She’d promised to keep my secret. How could I ever trust her again? I’d spank her long and hard for this betrayal.
“Go easy on her!” Storm hollered from church. “You know how women are. They tell each other everything!”
White hot fury nearly blinded me. I never lost my cool like this, but Libby knew better. I stopped hard in the doorway of the kitchen, made eye contact with my woman. “I trusted you.” The words shot from my mouth, not caring who else was in the kitchen to witness my explosion.
Her green eyes went wide and fear flashed on her gorgeous face. “I. I. I’m not sure what’s going on.” She stepped toward me. “Let’s go talk, babe.” Libby reached for my arm as if trying to protect me from completely losing it in front of the other women.
“No.” I jerked away, feeling like a pussy for letting my emotions get the better of me.
Making a spectacle of myself wasn’t my way.
Libby did this to me. She made me unhinged, which wasn’t okay.
“I’ve opened up too much to you. Lesson learned.
” I turned on my heel and headed for the exit to get away from her and the clubhouse.
“Grizz, please. I’m totally in the dark here. What happened?” She followed me out of the building. Her award-winning performance pushed me closer to the edge of insanity. In the dark? Confused at what could’ve set me off like this? Utter bullshit. “Where are you going?”
I straddled my Harley and glared at her. “I don’t answer to you.”
“Wow. That’s harsh.” She blinked her pretty eyes as if completely bewildered. “We always tell each other what we’re doing.”
“You promised to never breathe a word about my secrets, but Storm and Angel know! How Libby? How do they know?”
She turned as white as a sheet. Of course she would. The truth about her betrayal was out. “I swear, nobody else knows.”
I shook my head. “That’s funny. Hilarious.
Nobody else, aye? Don’t be in my room when I get back.
” I started my hog and revved the motor to drown out her voice.
Her lips were moving rapidly and tears were streaming down her cheeks.
Nothing she said would make what she did okay.
To tell my deepest, most personal secrets to anyone, even God, was unforgivable.
I pulled away from her and drove off. As much as I wanted to speed out of the parking lot, I had to wait for the damn gate to open before I could get on the open road.
The seconds ticking by were long enough for me to give into my curiosity and catch a glimpse of Libby in my rearview mirror, covering her face as she cried.
Normally, it would’ve destroyed me to see her so broken. But talking about my secrets was a dealbreaker. I’d warned her what would happen if she ever told a soul, and she betrayed me anyway.
How could she do this to me? She knew I didn’t trust most people—only her and Storm.
I flew down the dirt road, squeezing my handlebars until my nails dug into my palms. My messy hair whipped in the wind and the sting of tears burned my eyes.
The humiliation flooding my veins made me sick to my stomach.
I could end it all right the fuck now if I released my grip and let fate take over.
I could hit a boulder, skid out of control and crash into a ditch.
Maybe I should.
Then I’d never hurt again.
Wheat fields were on my right and wooded land owned by the club was on my left. Deep ditches were etched into the ground between the dirt road like massive graves. I should let go…
Or not and just get the fuck out of Bastion Township.
Leave Minnesota for good and never look back.
I could go south where nobody knew me. A fresh start would be good. I could live my life free of judgment.
Be me.
Be gay me.
A call interrupted my irrational plans. Storm . Of course she went to him, knowing I wouldn’t answer for her. But my president? I couldn’t ignore him after everything he’d done for me. Storm had given me protection and a home…
“What?” I answered, uncharacteristically rude, for me.
“You need to come back.”
“Can’t.”
He exhaled into the phone. “Brother, I’m sorry for opening my fuckin’ mouth. You know how I get when I’m worried. I spurt shit without thinking. All. The. Time. Angel is going to be furious with me. I’ll be on the couch!”
I shook my head. Storm would never sleep anywhere other than in his bed, no matter how angry Angel was with him. He’d beg for forgiveness before sleeping without her.
“She betrayed me.” I slowed and rolled through the intersection, turning right. A couple of nights in The Cities would do me some good. Give me time to process what Libby had done and figure out if I could forgive her.
At this second, I didn’t even know if I could look at her, much less have a future with her, that was how deeply she’d hurt me.
“She only told Angel because Toby is her brother.”
“She broke a promise. I can’t trust her again.”
Storm sighed. I imagined him scratching the back of his head and gritting his teeth.
He was the one person I never wanted mad at me.
His fits of anger had been legendary. Everyone in the club had witnessed Storm losing his shit.
As epic as those scenes had been, not once had his rage been directed at me, and I wanted to keep it that way.
But I couldn’t go home yet…
Silence passed between us, and then I heard Libby sniffle. I could tell I wasn’t on speaker. At least prez had some good sense when he called me.
“When will you be back?” Storm sounded calm and resolved. Like he wasn’t about to order me, a grown man, to get my ass home. He knew I wouldn’t disobey. I respected him. Feared him. Would do anything for him. Giving me this time meant everything to me.
“I need to process.”
“I get it. Where you headed?”
“Probably, The Cities.”
“You know where not to go.”
“Yep.” I’d never go into the TC Vipers territory alone. We weren’t friends of theirs, but also not enemies. We had an understanding. They didn’t mess with us and we wouldn’t mess with them.
“I didn’t mean to fuck things up with you and Libby.” He genuinely sounded remorseful. This was a new side to Storm, a softer side brought out by Angel and his children.
It was a good thing Maddox would take over the club soon. The young Knight was a force to be reckoned with and had all kinds of razor sharp edges. And more determined than the rest of us not to let a woman change him.
I had been present when Storm told him not to fall in love. He’d warned that love made a man weak. To only be with Kittens and not to open up to any of them. I’d thought he was spewing bullshit but now I saw the truth in his words.
Why hadn’t I listened to his wisdom? I’d poured my heart out to Libby and fell in love with her, and what had I gotten in return? Betrayal.
“You didn’t mess things up. She did.”
“Shit,” he hissed. “Because of me.”
I shook my head, scanning my surroundings. In the country, drivers were often distracted by their phones and didn’t notice bikers. I’d really like to get off my device because talking to Storm was cooling the fire in my belly.
“I’ll keep you posted on where I end up.” Somehow, I needed to get Storm off the phone before he talked sense into me.
“Sure. She wants you to know she loves you and is sorry.”
Instantly, the fire in my belly exploded and I saw red. If I opened my mouth, nothing nice would come out of it, so I ended the call.
She loves me? Funny way of showing it.
She was sorry? Sorry she got caught.
This day had started out shitty with Toby’s email, then it spiraled from there.
It was like my whole world was crashing down, all because of a woman.
A woman I loved deeply and wanted to be with for the rest of my life.
I’d given up on being with a man, and accepted Libby into my heart and soul. And how did that work out for me?
Libby had betrayed me in the most painful way. If she’d dumped me for Toby like I’d first thought, that would have been kinder.