Cheyenne Chapter 13
I crouched beside Alisse and wondered if we were going to get out of this alive or would it end with us being prisoners of the Soldiers? No way I’d let the last one happen. I’d find a way to escape or die. I wasn’t going to let Serpent or any other man touch me. The thought made me want to puke.
As the bikes got closer, I looked around. The four men protecting us looked grim and ready for battle. They had on what I would call their war faces. The guns in their hands were rock steady. It made me wish I had mine right now. I looked at Alisse only to be stunned when I saw she had a gun in her hand!
“Where did you get that?”
I hissed at her. Ink and Reaper looked at us. I saw them both blink when they saw her gun. Alisse shrugged.
“I got it out of my purse. Girlfriend, when this is over, I’m kicking your ass for not having yours on you. You had it that night you pulled it on Reaper. Geez,”
she said calmly. Her hand was steady too and her eyes gleamed with something I couldn’t quite figure out. I kicked myself for forgetting my gun at the house when I packed. I didn’t get a chance to ask, because four bikes came roaring into the parking lot. I immediately saw Serpent. Goddamn, would he ever be out of my life and just a distant unwanted memory?
“Stay behind the engine block of the car. If we tell you to run, to leave, whatever, you do it. Do you understand?”
Reaper growled. We both told him yes. The bikes came to a halt, and they sat there idling. Reaper stood but kept his gun low and looked over the car at Serpent, who had a smirk on his face.
“Well, well, look who we have here. Thanks for bringing my property to me, Reaper. I’ve been trying to think how I could claim her, and then you go and almost gift wrap her. I’ll take her now,”
Serpent said with that oily, creepy tone of his.
“She’s not yours, Serpent. She’s mine. I won’t be giving her up. Whatever shit deal you made with her dad is over. Cheyenne belongs to me. Now, if you’re smart, you’ll move on. Your attempt to take over our club failed,”
Reaper sneered.
“We’re just getting started. Your club will be ours, just like others have been. You’re not the first and you won’t be the last. Cheyenne, get over here!”
he shouted as if I’d obey.
I stayed behind cover but I answered him. “I’m not going anywhere with you. You can tell my dad and yours that this crazy deal is void.”
He laughed. “Ogre and Slither won’t be taking that lightly. Things have changed since you left. Slither is now president. I’m his VP and your dad is our enforcer. We run the club and we’ve taken it to new levels the old guard never imagined.”
The idea they were worse was unfathomable. What else could they be doing? I couldn’t see much, but it looked like they had their guns out as well. We were in a standoff with five guns to four. I didn’t like the odds.
“A contract is a contract, Cheyenne. It’s time to do what your dad wanted. You know you’re meant to be mine.”
“Like hell I am! You’re nothing but a pervert, Serpent. You’ve been after me since I was a damn kid, the looking, lurking, and touching. And I haven’t forgotten the woods. I’ll never go with you,”
I shouted. I was quickly getting over being scared and headed straight for pissed off. Reaper’s eyes darted sideways to look at me when I mentioned the woods. I hadn’t told him about that. His face hardened even more and his fist clenched at his side.
As I waited for this fight to begin, there was the growing sound of more motorcycles coming in the distance. I wanted to cry. They had backup. We were screwed. Serpent and his guys fidgeted on their bikes, which didn’t make sense. Suddenly, they shifted gears and took off. They were heading for the road!
I looked at Alisse and she shrugged. A minute or so later, we found out why they left. Coming from the opposite direction were six bikes. On them were men I didn’t recognize. They came roaring into the parking lot and over to us. Reaper and his guys stood up and relaxed. As they circled their bikes, I saw on the back of their colors the name Ruthless Marauders, Knoxville, TN. Who were they?
One guy pulled closer before shutting off his bike. He got off and came over to Reaper with his hand out. Reaper grabbed it and shook his hand as he gave him one of those half man hugs. “Am I glad to see you, Jinx. How in the hell did you know we were here? And why are you?”
Jinx laughed. “I got a call from Smoke. He said you all were coming down here to find your lady, and that you might have trouble. We were closer by a hair and he asked if we’d head this way.”
“How did Smoke know we were coming here to get Cheyenne and Alisse?”
Reaper asked, looking puzzled. Spawn cleared his throat.
“I might have sent him a message as soon as we located her. I was trying to back us up in case we did run into Serpent. I know I should have asked first, but things were tense and you had other worries on your mind.”
“Well, hell, Spawn, I’m not mad you did it, just surprised. Thank God you did. We wouldn’t have gotten out of here without a scratch. They heard you coming and ran. At first, we thought you were backup for them.”
“I bet. So, are you going to introduce me to these two beautiful women or not?”
He winked at us as he said it. Reaper curled his arm around my back and pulled me close.
“Jinx, this is Cheyenne, my old lady. Keep your flirting to yourself, you bastard. I heard how you like to cause trouble. Last I heard, Demon wanted to kill you for a walk in the dark with Zara,”
I reminded him. Jinx grinned. “And this is her best friend, Alisse.”
Jinx smiled wider and took a step toward Alisse.
“Well, Alisse, it looks like it’s you and me, darlin’.”
She laughed. Suddenly, Ink was standing next to her. He glared at Jinx. Jinx looked from him to Alisse and then smirked. “Is that how it is?”
Ink nodded. Alisse gasped. “No, it’s not. He’s delusional.”
“Keep thinking that, babe, but you’re fighting a losing battle,”
Ink told her. She glared at him. Interesting.
In order to stop what might be a fight, Reaper introduced us to the other guys with Jinx. They were Styx, Mad Dog, Sarge, Animal, and Thrasher. Like the Punishers, I wouldn’t want to piss any of them off. They gave off the same dangerous vibe. Once introductions were over, we settled down to get out of there. Reaper insisted I ride back in the car with Alisse. Jinx and his guys volunteered to escort us back. When we pulled out, we were surrounded by ten bikers. Too bad it was nighttime. It would have been fun to see people’s faces as we drove by.
It was a quick drive back. We pulled into the compound before four. I was exhausted and just wanted to go to bed and sleep for a month. We stopped at the clubhouse. I knew Reaper would want to get the Marauders settled. They’d come to help and deserved to get a place to relax and sleep.
As I stumbled out of the car, Reaper took my arm. “Baby, why don’t you and Alisse go to the house and go to bed? You’re dead tired. I’ll be there in a few as soon as I settle these guys.”
“Okay, I think I will.”
He gave me a tender kiss. Alisse took my arm, and we walked to the house. It wasn’t far. No need to take the car. Once we got inside, we said goodnight, hugged each other, and went to our rooms. In Reaper’s bedroom, I stripped and went to the bathroom. A nice soak in his massive tub was in order. By the time I got out, I was super relaxed and could barely keep my eyes open. I slipped under the covers and was out within seconds.
***
Reaper:
I watched Cheyenne walk off for a moment before I went inside. I was so damn relieved she’d come back. I could breathe now. Inside, the guys were all greeting those I left behind and updating them on what happened. Carter was busy filling drink orders. I saw Paula, JoJo, and Dora hanging out. They must be waiting to see who wants to have a good time. I took a seat at the bar beside Jinx. “Thanks again, man. They came out of nowhere. We have no idea how they figured out where we were.”
“No problem. Smoke didn’t say much other than you might run into trouble. Tell me what the hell is going on here.”
I quickly filled him in on Serpent and the Soldiers of Corruption and Cheyenne’s link to them. When I was done, he looked like a storm cloud.
“How in the hell hasn’t someone figured this out before they did this to several clubs? We need to find them and root that shit out. If they came this far, they’ll be going further. I’ll have my guys be on the lookout. Of course, we’ll help any way we can. You just let us know. But enough of that for tonight. I can’t think right now. Let’s talk about something nice. How long have you had an old lady? Last time I saw you, you were a free man.”
I laughed. “As of today, I’ve had one for a week and known her for three weeks. We’re going to get married and start a family.”
He reared back in shock. “Son of a bitch! Are you competing with the Warriors for the fastest claiming or something? Damn! I don’t know what the fuck you guys drink or eat, but I might need to watch it,” he joked.
“Ah, so the sweet Alisse did nothing for you then?”
“I didn’t say that. She’s a beautiful woman, but Ink gave me the impression that if I made a move in her direction, I’d find myself in the ground.
“You better fucking believe it like it’s gospel. She’s mine and I don’t share,”
Ink growled as he joined us.
“Brother, I didn’t know the wind blew that way until tonight. What gives?”
“What gives is, she was running with your old lady, meaning I would have lost her. I’m not taking a chance that might happen again. She thinks we won’t work, but I know we will. It’ll take me a little time to convince her, but in the end, she’ll be mine. Damn glad I built that house when I did. It’s gonna need to be filled.”
Our other brothers were all standing there staring at Ink in shock. We’d never heard him talk like this.
“More power to you. We’ll help any way we can. Now, I hate to cut this short, but I have a woman waiting for me at home. Jinx, Maniac will show you guys where you can bunk. If you’re staying, we can see about having a little party tomorrow unless you have other plans.”
“No plans, just rolling with it.”
“Good. Why not see if your other guys want to come up? We’d love to have all of you.”
“Thanks, Reaper, I’ll do that. Go home. We’ll be fine.”
He grinned as Paula slithered up beside him. Yeah, he wouldn’t be lonely. I waved at the others and told them goodnight as I left. I wanted to be at home with my woman.
When I got to the house, it was dark and quiet. I took off my boots and then crept upstairs to our room. Cheyenne was curled up fast asleep in bed. I went to the bathroom and took a quick shower. I was tired and needed to get some sleep. As I slid naked into bed, she rolled over and half on top of me. She was naked and her skin felt so damn good against mine. My cock started to get hard, but I willed it to stop. She was more in need of sleep than sex. It could wait, even if I felt like it might kill me. I kissed her softly. “Goodnight, Banshee. Love you.”
“Love you too,”
she mumbled. I closed my eyes and smiled.
***
It was almost noon before I woke up. Cheyenne was still sleeping. I eased out of bed and got dressed. I needed to get things organized if we were going to party with Jinx and his guys. There had to be food ordered, and we needed to make sure we had enough to drink. I left her sleeping. I didn’t see Alisse so I assumed she was still asleep too. As I walked toward the clubhouse, I saw guys up and about. They were outside messing with the grills. Others were arranging the picnic tables and outdoor furniture we had. I saw Maniac and went over to him.
“Morning, sorry I slept so late. Tell me what we still need to do. I can call Annie’s and see if she can throw some food together for us. Nothing too fancy since we got those burgers and steaks in the freezer and I think chicken too.”
“I already talked to her first thing this morning. She told me to tell you that it’s gonna cost you. She wants to come to the compound to see how the animals live,”
he told me as he laughed. I couldn’t help but laugh too.
Annie was a pistol. She was probably in her early to mid-forties and she owned a restaurant in town. She cooked and served mainly homestyle food. Everyone from miles around came to eat her food. She loved to give me a hard time. I’d known her since I was a kid. She was the younger sister to my mom’s best friend, Lonnie. We’d lost Lonnie five years after Mom, from breast cancer. I still missed her. She had been like a second mom to me and Harper.
“I’ll pay up. She’s been wanting to come see what all we’ve done. I told her she could come anytime, but she likes to tease that I’m hiding it from her. In fact, let me call her. Maybe if she’s bringing food, she can stay, that way she can see everything and meet Cheyenne.”
Maniac grinned and nodded. The guys loved her as much as I did. She mothered them whenever they went to the restaurant. I took out my phone and dialed her number. She answered on the second ring.
“Well, if it isn’t the high lord himself, calling little ole me. I assume Maniac told you the price for the last-minute shit you want,”
she said dryly. I knew she was trying not to laugh.
“Yeah, he did. But I have a treat for you that will make up for it and have you back to loving me and being your favorite again,”
I told her.
She snorted. “Oh, this should be good. What in the world could you give me that would do that?”
“You bring the food yourself and stay. Not only will I give you the grand tour, you’ll get to eyeball some hot bikers that you haven’t seen and you’ll get to meet the woman I’m gonna marry and have babies with.”
There was stunned silence on the other end of the phone for a couple of seconds then she squealed, almost bursting my eardrum.
“Oh my God! Are you kidding me? You had better not be lying to me, or so help me Jesus, I’ll whoop your ass, Holden,”
she said excitedly. Annie was the only other person to call me by my real name other than Cheyenne and my sister. She only did it when she was super excited or super pissed.
“No ass whooping necessary today. Her name is Cheyenne and you’re gonna love her. What time are you bringing the food? I hope Maniac told you we just need sides and maybe some dessert if you have enough. The rest we’ve got as far as meat.”
“He did and yes, I’ve got you covered. I’ll be there by four. Is that alright? I need to get this finished and then go home to change. I can’t meet your lady without cleaning up.”
“You’re beautiful no matter what you wear, woman. Love ya and see you later.”
“Love you too, you pain in the ass,”
she said right before she hung up. I laughed. When I turned around there stood Cheyenne. She was eyeing me like she was about to smack me. I hurried to explain.
“That was the sister of my mom’s best friend. She’s known me my whole life. She’s bringing us food for the party we’re having. She’s looking forward to meeting you. She was saying she had to go home and get beautified before she met you. Damn, I’ll never understand why women think they have to do that.”
She sashayed into my arms and wrapped hers around my neck. She tugged me down so we were eye to eye. “It’s because we have to be at our best to scare off the other women and stake our claim on our man. If the other bitches think they’re better looking, we’ll have a harder time keeping them away.”
She kissed me and I forgot everything but her. The taste of her had me instantly hard. I wanted to take her back to the house and get her naked, then do all kinds of dirty things to her.
I was about to pick her up and do just that when she broke our kiss. “I want you so much, Holden, but it’s gonna have to wait until tonight. Right now, tell me what I need to do.”
I groaned but knew she was right. It was now after twelve. I gave her an idea of what she could do and check on. She smiled and went to get Alisse to help. I went to see what else we needed to do for the setup and booze.