Chapter Seventeen
For some reason it bothered me. Whether it was my fucking President referring to his dick in front of her, or her considering his dick size, I had no idea.
I had no right to feel territorial, but then she didn’t know Micro’s fucking past, and I did.
Most of them here had no idea what he’d done at the old club.
He was just this ‘great guy’ that they all deferred to, but for me, I couldn’t fucking forget.
I couldn’t just move past it. She didn’t realise he’d terrorised old ladies in the name of some age old beef that had nothing to do with them.
So he’s a married man now with a little girl?
So fucking what?! He’d always be a monster, in my memories, if nowhere else.
I stepped between Micro and the woman I kept thinking of as my responsibility, and pushed a hand against his chest.
“Don’t fucking talk like that in front of her.”
The room fell silent, and all eyes landed on me.
“Wait… talk like what? She was the one referring to my dick, or you were. I’m just… Jesus!”
That last part was his reaction as my fist came at him, and two guys caught hold of me. I know one was Grease, and that just pissed me off even more.
“Get your cunty fucking hands off me, prick!”
I shook off Stag, and turned to throw my weight at Grease, knocking him down and landing on him.
“Fuck you. This is it now, asshole. Your fucking demise!” As we both started throwing punches, and trying to best each other, many hands started pulling at us, and then?
A fucking sharp slap across my face as I was dragged up onto my feet.
More than anything, that took the wind right out of my sails.
I was still held back by two fuckers, but my eyes were on a furious V, as she glowered at me like a sultry fucking goddess.
“The fuck?”
“How dare you?! How dare you try to stick up for me! I don’t care if some guy mentions his dick! I don’t care if there’s some banter going on. I’m not my cousin, and I don’t struggle with any of this. What I do struggle with is men thinking they have to speak for me!”
“You’re in the shit now,” Grease mocked as he shook off the hold on him, and wiped at the blood on his mouth, “If you’ve messed up my teeth, I’ll kill you.”
“And you!” V spun on her heel and stepped up to him, jabbing a finger at his face, without touching, thank fuck, because I couldn’t handle that right now. I strained against the two fuckers holding me, wanting her away from him, because he’s a fucking asshole.
“How dare you hit him? How’s he going to go down on me, and make me scream, if you mess up his face? Huh?”
Grease gasped, and started to laugh, and others started to join in.
My temper was already starting to slide away, because how the fuck could I still be pissed right now?
Whether she realised it or not, she’d just fucking claimed me in front of the whole room.
She’d just told them we’d be fucking, like it was just a fact, and it was. It fucking would be.
I glanced at Stag and Micro, and they both reluctantly released my arms, seeing that my temper had disappeared on me again. They stayed close though, just in case.
“Sorry,” I murmured, aiming that at Micro first, because when I was calm, like right now, I actually fucking liked him.
I remembered the guy I’d hung out with, even though he was a feisty fucker.
I remembered the laughs and the nights out.
I remembered all the good times. When I was wound up, all I could remember was the bad stuff.
Him hurting people. Me being blamed for it.
Me getting suspected because I was in my own hell at the time.
Why the fuck did I keep starting shit with him?
The poor fucker was celebrating the birth of his first child, having been sent back to us for a few hours by his own wife.
“What about me?” I glanced at Grease, who was mock pouting at me, his lips still a little bloody. It looked oddly like he’d put lipstick on at this point.
“You’re still a cunt.”
V spun and slapped my chest. “One more fucking word out of you, and I’ll go home and get myself off!”
Fuck no. I ignored the chorus of ‘oooh’ that came from several of those fuckers, grabbed her hand, and tugged her closer to me, flipping Grease off behind her.
“Get Nixie, babe. We’re going to my room to fuck.”
I pointed at the little pup corner I’d rigged up, behind the pool table, where I could still see my baby while I played. Nixie was hopping about on her little back legs, trying to climb over the low barrier.
As soon as she’d scooped up the creature I was beginning to think of as our fucking pet, rather than just mine, I was dragging her to the door.
Grease hadn’t hurt me, and he certainly hadn’t done any damage that’d keep me from making her scream, or from getting hard enough to fuck her brains out. I couldn’t wait. I was so fucking desperate to sink inside her.
The whole walk to my room, I was thinking about the things I wanted to do to V, whether or not it led to more.
Whether this stayed as a friends with benefits kinda situation, or grew to become more.
All I knew was I wanted her, more than I’d wanted any fucking woman, and despite her aggressive nature, I found her easier to be around than anyone else.
So I might lose a testicle if I piss her off. So what? Actually, scratch that. I’d willingly lose a finger or toe, but not one of my nads. We’d both need those.
“I’m still pissed at you,” V hissed as we reached the small grassy patch where Nixie liked to do her business.
“Yeah. You’re still gonna ride me though, right?”
That fierce fucking glare. I could get off just to the sight of that, I really could.
“Obviously, but I plan to stay angry the whole time.”
“Fuck yeah,” I breathed, leaning closer to her, and sniffing her hair.
“Creep.”
She didn’t shove me away though.
“You smell good enough to eat, babe. Betting you smell even sexier when you spread those legs though.”
I grunted as her elbow jabbed into my chest, and we both lifted our heads to see Micro approaching. What a cock blocking fucker.
“Hey. I’m just heading off, but… we’re okay, right? I mean, I know we have our issues, but I don’t want any bad blood here.”
Fuck me. He wants to talk about this now?
“We’re good, Pres. I was being a dick.”
“Obviously,” V muttered, reaching down to pick Nixie up and kiss her furry head, “I’ll be waiting inside.”
She disappeared, and with her went my fucking focus.
“Rocket.”
I groaned, turning to face Micro again. I still kept seesawing between liking him as the man he’d become, and the reminder of the friend I’d loved, and hating him as the monster who nearly took me down with him.
“I’m trying. Can you just fucking give me that?
I have issues with how things went down back at the OG chapter, and I’m sure you can understand that.
These guys here,” I gestured around us vaguely, “they didn’t see what you did.
They didn’t fucking witness the fallout of your actions, but me?
I was right there. I was seeing it, I was living in fucking lockdown, while I had relationship drama going on.
And you know what? It was me getting suspected and accused of your shit! ”
Micro froze, dragging a hand down his face as he groaned.
“Fuck me. They did that? I had no idea.”
I jabbed a finger at his chest. “No. You. Fucking. Did. That.”
He sighed, backing up a step.
“I’m sorry, man. I had no idea. I was in my head about all the shit I was fucking imagining and feeling, and I know now it was all bullshit.
It was all about me fixating on revenge for a fucker who never deserved it.
It was me being out of my fucking face on stuff, and acting like a monster.
I knew that. I took responsibility for that, but I had no idea you were getting tainted by all of it. ”
“EVERYONE was tainted by what you did! Everyone had to fucking live in fear. Everyone had to stay locked in and unable to ride. Everyone was living in the hell you created! You took your revenge too fucking far, and we all paid the price! And those poor old ladies? They were the real victims, because you went for them. You went for fucking WOMEN!”
Micro glanced around us, dragging his fingers through his hair and huffing out an anxious breath. My words were getting to him, but wasn’t it about fucking time someone said them?
He nodded slowly, lowering his arms to his sides. Everything seemed to have left him in that moment, everything except sorrow and defeat.
“You’re right. Jesus. I thought I was done with all my atonement and shit, but I was just kidding myself.
Taking the easy way out. Brother, I’m so fucking sorry that I did those things.
That it affected you and your life. We were friends, and you must have felt like I took a shit on you.
” He nodded again, clearly making some kind of decision.
Something big, something I suddenly fucking feared.
“I’ll call Church tomorrow, and tell everyone everything.
It’s time to put all the facts out there, and if anyone doesn’t want to put their faith in me as their President, I’ll understand.
I’ll step down. Harley would be a better President than me anyway.
He’s all heart. He’d never do any of that sick shit I did. ”
The fuck? I opened my mouth to argue, but he was already turning to walk away.
“Wait.”
“No. You’re right. It’s the right thing to do. It’s time to stop hiding from my past. I wouldn’t have had that luxury back there, but here I was able to pretend, and I don’t deserve that. I never did.”
What the fuck did I just do?
V
Imean, there’s hitting on a woman and edging her, and there’s getting her hot and bothered and fucking ignoring her.
I tucked Nixie into the little corner Rocket had clearly cordoned off, and slipped back out to check on him.
I found him sitting on the bottom step of the stairs, which were just outside his room, and he looked dejected as hell.
“Rocket?”
He sighed heavily, shaking his head.
“Sorry, babe. I fucked up.”
Huh. I sat beside him on the grubby looking step, and rested a hand on his shoulder. He looked defeated, and what the hell could have happened in the last few minutes to cause that?
“Did you have a little schoolboy mishap?”
He tensed, turning to frown at me.
“What the fuck? Of course I fucking haven’t!”
I’d hoped it’d make him smile, but something was clearly hurting him and the only person I’d seen him with since I was beside him was Micro.
“What did he do?”
Rocket’s eyes squeezed closed as he turned away from me again.
“Not him. Me.”
I dug my nails into his shoulder, getting frustrated with this drip-feeding of fucking information. This was supposed to be the night I’d get to ride that big biker dick of his.
“Rocket, just fucking tell me.”
He groaned, clenching one fist around the other, a sharp cracking sound highlighting his agitation. Ugh, it was an awful sound, but clearly there was more going on here than what happened in the lounge.
“I think I just fucked up his life, and I didn’t mean to. I don’t know how to stop it now. I’m… I need to call Reacher.”
Who the hell… oh wait. He was the other President, right?
“Do it, I’ll sit here with you. I mean, if that’s okay?”
He nodded, digging his phone out and staring at it fearfully, taking a few deep breaths. I grabbed his hand and rested it on my thigh, his fingers immediately digging in as he dialled, and lifted the phone to his ear. He rethought it, and lowered it again. Was he chickening out?
He tapped the screen and a gruff voice sounded out loud. Oh.
“Brother, you calling me is never a good thing.” Ouch. How was that a nice thing to say to him?
“Yeah,” Rocket said hoarsely, clearing his throat, “last time was bad, but Has got his revenge. This time… this time I’ve fucked up, big time. I don’t know how to fix it.” Oh, it was about Has-Been last time. That’s what he meant, but did that make it any better?
“Tell me.”
Rocket fisted his hair with the hand I’d been hanging onto, lunging up from the step to pace as he spoke.
“I didn’t mean to. I was pissed at him, and I lashed out.”
“Stop beating around the bush, son. Who? Who needs rescuing from whatever the fuck happened?” Oh god.
Rocket groaned, his gaze flicking in my direction, and guilt all over his fucking face.
“Micro. Look… it’s been eating at me, ever since what happened back home. Ever since… you know how you all kept thinking it was me. It… it came out.”
Reacher cursed under his breath, waiting a moment to see if Rocket would elaborate.
“Tell. Me. Dammit.”
“I threw it all at him, and… I thought he’d get pissed. I mean, I’d deserve that. I shoulda taken a punch or two, but it kinda broke him instead.”
“Fuck.” What the hell were they talking about?
“Where is he?”
“Going to the hospital, I guess. Soph and the baby are there, but Pres, that’s not the point.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face, as I heard more low cursing from Reacher.
“Rocket, spit it out!”
He practically gulped. “He’s planning to admit to it all in Church tomorrow, and if they want him to step down, he said he’ll go.” Oh my god.
“FUCK! Boy, this isn’t over, but right now I have to get onto damage control. Where’s Harley?”
“Dunno. Not here.”
The call ended suddenly, and Rocket sagged against the wall, dropping his phone on the ground before he landed beside it.
“I’m such a cunt. What did I just do?!” He grabbed his hair in both hands and fisted it.