5. Towles
5
Towles
I don’t think anyone believes in love at first sight. Although, that’s what I thought before she started trying to figure me out. Then it turned to flat-out lust. Older woman and me? Why not? Older women had a ton more experience than younger women. I didn’t doubt that April knew her way around the bedroom and had probably been fucked a hundred different ways to Sunday. Nothing wrong with making that two hundred ways to Sunday.
She had that look. Like she already had a man who knew what he was doing. The guy probably worked in Fayetteville as some top-dog lawyer. Gave her diamonds and a nice car. Dressed her in expensive clothes and hot lingerie. Women like her, especially the older ones who had everything, weren’t interested in a man like me. I was an acquired taste.
I imagined the closest she’d been to a dead man was at a funeral, not in a back alley after I beat the shit out of him for disrespecting the club in some way. I felt bad for walking out on her—she was just doing her job. But women like her—people like her—didn’t understand the chaotic world I lived in. That’s why we were called the Brothers of Chaos. We stayed in a constant state of disarray. That wasn’t for her.
I pulled into the bank’s parking lot and climbed off my bike. I was sure she hated chrome monsters, opting for the spoiling comfort of leather in a Mercedes. She wouldn’t understand the thrill of freedom. She needed a nice neat box to live in where she ate salads and drank vegetable smoothies while sitting on a back patio looking out over a pool.
I walked into the bank. The men moved aside, and the women gawked and whispered to one another. A security camera behind the counter turned. I flipped the bird to the security guard sitting at the computer in the back. Brothers of Chaos didn’t rob banks or poor folks. We fucked up people who did.
“How can I help you?” the young woman behind the counter asked. I knew her from somewhere. I knew a lot of the single women in Pine Bluff from somewhere.
“Two hundred dollars from my checking account,” I told the cute blonde behind the glass. Her blue eyes twinkled beneath the lights overhead. Then I remembered her. I thought about the rose she had on her left hip, the one I kissed no less than two weeks ago. She liked the kinky shit. She liked to have her ass smacked, and nipples squeezed until they were juicy.
“I need your number,” she said, not referring to my account number.
“We talked about that, baby. I don’t give out my number.” Never. Give up your number, and the damn phone never stops ringing. If I wanted a booty call, I’d make the call from a burner .
“I had to try,” she said shyly, eyes almost making me change my mind. Who wasn’t a sucker for a soft voice and beautiful, fuck me eyes?
She smiled and typed my name into the computer. The club’s address was listed as my primary. That’s another thing I never gave out—my home address. Fucking pussy would be waiting on the porch when I got home.
“I need to make a deposit,” I heard a familiar voice say. I glanced to my left and leaned against the counter. She looked fucking gorgeous. She wore a short skirt and a sleeveless blouse. No ink. “Twenties will be fine.”
She seemed smaller than she had in her office. Maybe the degrees on the wall and the awards on the shelves made her seem more important—bigger than life. She pushed her hair back over her ear. Fucking gorgeous.
I checked out her ass, and when I looked back at her face, she had her eyes trained on me. She glanced down at her own ass and smiled. Busted.
“Ethan,” the cutie behind the counter said, and I turned. She counted out two hundred in twenties, and I scooped it up.
“Thanks, Cindy,” I said.
“I’m free this weekend. Sure you don’t want to give me your number?” Cindy batted her eyes, knowing they were weapons.
“Write your number down for me,” I said. She did and slid it over. I stuffed the number in my pocket and winked at the girl.
I walked toward April and noticed the color drain from her face—not the reaction I’d hoped for.
“I should apologize for the way I left your office earlier,” I said. “I have a lot of shit going on. ”
“Mr. Towles,” she said, keeping our relationship professional. She scooped up a handful of money and stuffed it into her purse as if she were expecting me to rob her.
“You’ve got the wrong idea about me, Mrs. Summers. Not every man who does something out of anger has anger issues or needs to be fixed.” I leveled my eyes on hers. She tried to turn away but couldn’t. “And I would be more likely to save you from a thief than steal your money.”
“Not every woman needs to be rescued.” She smiled weakly, her lie falling flat on the floor.
“And few men are capable of rescuing a woman,” I said confidently. “Those of us who are we do our best.”
“Thank you, Ethan.”
She thanked the teller and approached the exit as two masked men entered. The first man brandished a shotgun, the second a .45 Glock.
I moved April behind me.
“Don’t,” she whispered. “I told you, I don't need rescuing.”
The second man locked the bank doors, but it didn’t matter. I’d already heard Cindy fumbling for the red button beneath the counter. The police were already en route.
Man number one opened a black trash bag and pointed the shotgun at everyone in the lobby, including us. “Put your shit in the bag and hurry the fuck up.”
Man number two went to the counter, his .45 in Cindy's face. He shoved a black bag across the counter. “Fill that fucker.” He turned and looked up.
“Sup,” I said. He stuck the Glock’s barrel against my chest. I glanced at the safety, still in the lock position. Idiots shouldn’t rob banks.
“Shut the fuck up and put that cash in your hand in the black fucking bag.” He pressed the gun harder. Sweat rolled down his temples. His shirt sleeve rose up his wrist as he stretched his arm toward me. A Punisher tattoo stared back at me. It's funny how the universe has a way of working things out.
“Please don’t,” April said. Her office bullshit wasn’t going to work on this guy.
“Shut the fuck up, bitch,” the man chided.
I glanced at April and shrugged. I needed to make a move before the police arrived. The security camera zoomed in, the asshole in the back too scared to come out. It was probably Arvin Adams. He worked at the Steak and Shake in the evenings, flipping burgers.
I stuffed the twenties into my vest pocket, and the man finally recognized my cut.
“Fuck,” he said.
I grabbed his wrist with my right hand, pushed his arm away, and easily removed the gun with my left hand.
Shotgun yelled some macho bullshit, and I pushed April away, clicking off the safety, firing one shot at Shotgun. The man went down crying like a little bitch. I hit the other man with an elbow as the cops busted in the glass doors, guns pointed at me since I was the only one inside armed.
“Drop it, Towles,” Manning said, eyes excited. He wanted to pull the trigger as much as I wanted to fuck the woman next to me. Neither happened that day.
“He stopped the robbery,” April said, trying to rescue me after I’d rescued her.
“Ma’am, step away.” Manning nodded at me. “Drop the fucking gun, Towles.”
I looked down at the gun in my hand and back at Manning.
“Ethan,” April said .
“Towles,” I replied.
“H-he tried to rob the bank,” the guy I hit said and scrambled away. “He took my shit.”
“If you don’t drop the gun, Ethan, I will shoot you.” Manning took two steps closer, but not close enough for me to grab him. He understood violence and chaos were my best friends. Hell, it’s why he sent me to April in the first place.
“This is what you missed, Mrs. Summers. I’m not the angry one. My surroundings are. I react to the angry world around me.”
“Please drop the gun,” April pleaded.
“This is what it’s like to be me,” I said. “Are you sure you want to help?”
“Last chance, Ethan.” Manning wanted to make sure when he killed a Brothers of Chaos member, that he got it on camera to show he did everything he could not to fire his weapon.
“Ethan,” April whispered. “Please.”
April didn’t believe in gray areas. Her world was black-and-white. Mine was all gray.
“Okay. You win, Manning.” I tossed the gun, and two of his men rushed forward. I put my hands behind my back to help them out.
“You’re making a mistake, officer,” April said. “He was doing the right thing.”
“See what I mean, April.” I stopped before we got to the exit. The two deputies nearly stumbled forward. “The world operates in a gray area. These assholes operate in a gray area.”
The deputies put me in a squad car and returned to the bank. Moments later, they returned with the two real thieves in handcuffs. April stood inside, wagging her finger at Manning. She pointed outside, but I doubted she could see me.
April appeared through the exit. Her long, curly blonde hair hung past her shoulder and bounced as she walked. She brushed a few stray strands back over her head, and her blue, caring eyes caught mine. I wasn’t used to people giving a damn about me.
I hadn’t really noticed the light tan or slim legs in her office. She walked directly to the car I sat in.
“How’s it going?” I asked. “The bank treat you well? How was the customer service?”
“It isn’t funny, Ethan. We both could have died.”
“The gun’s safety was on, and the other guy wasn’t paying attention. We were both safe.”
“I can get you an attorney,” she said, resting her hand on the open window. The large diamond on her engagement ring sparkled. The wedding ring looked dull. She noticed that I noticed and jerked her hand away.
“Trust me, the club has an attorney on retainer. We have to,” I said and smiled warmly. “I appreciate what you tried to do in there, but Manning has it out for the club. He wants to make a statement and show the town it belongs to him, not us.”
“Why’re you doing this?” April asked Manning when he came outside.
“He’s a felon and fired a gun out in public.” Manning climbed into the front seat and pulled away. I looked back at April, who waved faintly. “So much for your anger management sessions.”
“Those assholes could have killed someone, Manning.” His eyes shifted to the rearview mirror. “Seems like you should be thanking me for doing your job.”
“Fuck you, Towles.”
Ten minutes after leaving the bank, we pulled into county’s parking lot, and Manning ushered me inside and straight to a cell. Beast and Diesel were gone. He wouldn’t have made the mistake of having all three of us detained at once in the same place. He closed the cell door, and I lay on the cot in the corner. The cots were made for lesser men, and my feet hung over the end.
My mind returned to April Summers, and my dick grew hard. I wanted her. Not just to fuck her but also to listen to her words. To hear her voice.
There was one problem. Me. I fucked pretty much anything that wanted to fuck me. She obviously didn’t. She couldn’t. The ring on her finger said as much. No woman in her right mind would give up her comfort for a wild ass like me. What did I have to offer?
“Towles,” Jeremy Waters said from the other side of the cell door. “How’s it hanging?”
“Twelve inches to the right.” I stood and leaned against the bars. “Manning’s playing a dangerous game with his bullshit. One minute, he’s on our side. The next minute, I’m standing in a cell.”
Waters, the mayor's younger brother, a brother the mayor hated, was the club’s attorney—the man, also a Stanford grad, knew the law frontwards and backward. “Manning knew he had nothing. That’s why he didn’t book you when he brought you in.”
“What the fuck is his deal?”
“He’s new, Towles. You gotta let him have a little win now and again.” He motioned over his shoulder. “Who was this woman in the lobby demanding they let you go? I thought she was going to punch Manning in the mouth.”
I chuckled. “April Summers.”
“Shit. That’s Paul Summers’ wife. Fucker owns half the new construction around Pine Bluff.” Waters stepped aside when a deputy joined us and unlocked the cell door. He didn’t bother pushing it open. Instead, he hurried back to his buddies .
I opened the cell door and walked out behind Waters. Unfortunately, April was gone. Manning watched us leave the building and followed us to Waters’ car.
“You’re still going before a judge,” Manning said. “Maybe not now, but eventually.”
I stepped away from Waters and approached Manning. “There’s two sides of the fence you can be on, Manning. Make sure you choose the correct side. You won’t be happy with the wrong side.”
I climbed into Waters’ car, and he drove me back to the bank to get my Harley. April wasn’t there.
I looked her up on my phone and found the address. She lived in the wealthiest part of the city. There was no way she was walking away from that life. Besides, I never knowingly slept with another man’s woman.
Rumbling bikes distracted me from the address—probably for the better. I couldn’t say visiting her office and the shit show today were useless. I chuckled as Beast and Big Kentucky rolled up.
“What the fuck is so funny?” Beast asked. “Manning seems to have a thing for you. Tell me you didn’t suck his dick while you were locked up.”
“It’s all good, Beast.”
“Ahh, fuck,” Kentucky muttered. “This asshole is in love. Who the fuck is she.”
I started my bike and revved the engine, flipping off Beast and Kentucky before returning to the club. They would ride my ass harder than a Harley until they found out who she was.
I entered the club and found Cinder, Watcher, and Diesel sitting at the bar .
“You got the funeral covered, brother?” Watcher asked. He had Trixie sitting on his lap. The only thing between his hand and pussy was her blue jeans.
I nodded. “My sister and brother are coming in tomorrow. They’re fucking pissed at me. Say it’s my fault. Brother probably won’t show.” I shook my head. “It is my fault.” I moved behind the bar and took a beer from the fridge. “They’ll be cremated here. I’ll say goodbye, and they’ll take the ashes home.”
“What about a service?” Beast asked.
“Are you kidding? People back home don’t want me rolling into town.” I took a long drink and decided I needed to get drunk by the time midnight reared its ugly head.
Wendy walked in with Skittles and Gigi. She walked right up and hugged me. That was it. The three women went on about their business.
Wendy and I decided to part ways on the way back from New York. I didn’t think the biker life would work out for her, and I didn’t see the need to put any time or energy into something that wouldn’t work. Would it be the same with April?
I finished the beer and grabbed another while the others talked. I couldn’t get my mind off April and the fact she was so fucking eager to help the things bouncing around in my head. Who does that for another person?
“You should talk to someone about losing your parents,” Beast said. We walked away from the others and went outside. “That shit will eat you up if you don’t get rid of it.” He’d lost his parents, so he knew his shit. He smiled, being a fatherly asshole.
“How would it have gone for you? ”
Beast chuckled and put his beer on the picnic table. He grabbed a football sitting near his beer, and I got up. “I’d never have shown up for the first session.”
I moved out into the parking lot, and Beast threw the football—a perfect spiral that hit me right in the hands. “You should have played,” I said
“Alabama stood on my doorstep my senior year in high school,” Beast said. I tossed the ball back. “They wanted me, but they also wanted me to follow the rules. I couldn’t do that, so I said no.” He waved for me to move back, and I did. Again, he threw a perfect spiral. “They said football was the perfect outlet for some of the issues I had in high school. Anger issues. Violent issues. Told me football was controlled violence and chaos. I could let it all out on the field.”
April would need an entire year to figure out our club’s issues. “I didn't tell anyone but Manning insisted I see this anger management chick. It didn't go so well the first time. I’m gonna go back to see her,” I threw the ball back. Had I actually said that?
“Do whatever you gotta do to work your shit out, Towles.” He laughed and cock the ball back, throwing it as hard as he could. I caught the damn thing and slammed it on the ground as if I’d scored a touchdown. “Just don’t make any of us go to a haunted house in Baltimore.” I think he’d had enough of Diesel’s weirdness.
We both laughed. Diesel was getting so much shit for dragging us to Baltimore that he was ready to drop the last name, Usher. He dealt with his shit one way, and I was going to try a different way.
I grabbed the ball and joined Beast. “I don’t know what I would do without this club,” I said. “Probably would have torn up the city.”
“Speaking of which, we have business to attend to.” We went inside and went right to church. Beast closed the door, and the other people at the table stopped talking. It was time for retribution .
“You fucking that cougar pussy?” Watcher asked when I sat. Everyone laughed and pounded on the table. Beast didn’t stop them.
Cinder cleared his cigarette-smoke-laddened throat. “Got word from a friend at Hogzz that the Punishers were having a birthday celebration at the bar tonight. Most of their club will be there.”
“This is my shit,” I said.
Beast shut me up real quick. “This is club shit, and the club will handle it.”
“Not many locals visit the bar after dark, so we’ll pay a little visit tonight at ten.” Cinder lit a cigarette and coughed with the first drag. He wasn’t a healthy man. “We’ll meet here at nine-thirty. Nobody here gets shot or dies.”
“We also need to vote on expanding Chaos Mods. We need to bring on some new mechanics.” Beast passed around a list of Prospects he wanted to patch. “We’ll vote on these assholes tomorrow.”
“Towles didn’t answer the question,” Big Kentucky said.
“Not yet,” I said, and everyone groaned.
Beast slammed the gavel against the table, and church ended. He held back Cinder, Big Kentucky, and myself. The three men stared at me.
“What?” I said and shrugged.
“Kentucky said you were going to take on the Punishers alone,” Beast said. “Tonight, when we go in there, we do this as a club. I need to know you’re on board.”
I nodded. This was a time when there was no gray area. I didn’t go against club orders.
Beast nodded at Cinder.
“I’m stepping down as VP,” Cinder said .
“That means someone else is moving up. Two, actually. Someone will have to replace whichever of you move to the VP.” Beast pointed at Kentucky and me. “Be prepared. Don’t get killed tonight.”