Reveal: A Blood Riders MC Novel (Book 2) Read online

  “No, you’re not. You’re doing it because my aunt got you all riled up, and out of some misplaced sense of duty to my father.”

  “Don’t tell me about my sense of duty,” he warned. “You don’t know how I feel.”

  “Okay, fair enough. You don’t know how I feel, either. I love Drake. We’re going to build a life together—hell, we’re already building one. And that’s not going to stop.”

  “I know you don’t think I know you, kid, but I do. And I know you’re too smart to keep swallowing this bullshit. You’re gonna wake up and realize you’re making a mistake. I only hope you do before it’s too late.”

  “Yes, well, I appreciate that. Goodbye, Tommy.” I waited until I hung up the phone to scream. I clenched my fists, threw back my head and screamed until my voice echoed off the wood-beamed ceiling. I screamed out all my frustration, all my fear, all my pain. All of the uncertainty Aunt Karen and Tommy and even Drake had planted inside me. I couldn’t stand it—it felt like I was being torn apart.

  Not an hour later, my phone rang again. I knew who it was before I ever looked at the screen. They had to be calling each other to compare notes.

  “Hello, Aunt Karen.” My voice was dull, flat.

  “Well, excuse me. I thought I would call to ask how you are.”

  “Great. How was the chocolate cake I left at your house?”

  She cleared her throat like she didn’t want to go into that messy business. “Delicious. You’re really quite the baker. I’m sorry you didn’t stay behind to enjoy any of it.”

  “Yes, well, I was mortified at the time. That tends to kill the appetite.”

  She sighed. “I’m sorry. It was very clumsy of me.”

  “It was very rude of you,” I said. “And very mean to Peter. He was on the spot. I felt awful for him.”

  “I’ve already apologized to him and his mother,” she insisted. “It’s all water under the bridge.”

  “I hope it is, because I’m moving forward with the wedding plans whether you like it or not.” She didn’t need to know I had no idea where I stood with Drake—the next thing I knew, she’d be planning another “family” dinner with a best friend’s third cousin who happens to be a med school student.

  “Speaking of which, how’s that going? I was hoping to help with the planning, you remember.”

  “Yes, I remember. We haven’t gotten very far yet. There’s been a lot going on lately.” Why wouldn’t she give up and get off the phone? And why pretend to be happy to plan a wedding she had no intention of supporting?

  “Oh. That’s a shame. I hope everything’s okay.”

  I sighed. No, she didn’t.

  15

  Drake

  I sat at my desk with another note sitting in front of me. Just like the one from before.

  “YOUR FIANCEE IS PRETTY. WOULD BE A SHAME IF SHE GOT HURT.”

  “Fuck!” I slammed the side of my fist against the top of the desk, only succeeding in hurting my fist. I wanted to hurt the person who had been sending the notes, but didn’t have a clue who was doing it. The same envelope, the same writing, the same everything. They were all mailed from New York, so it wasn’t like the nutcase was on the other side of the country. It was somebody very close.

  I was still pissed when I stood up. Did Jack ever have to deal with shit like this when he was president? No, but then Jack never had an old lady that I knew of. He was safe, free, alone.

  Did I really think of being alone as being safe? What the hell was the matter with me?

  I walked out into the lounge. It was getting harder to pretend there was nothing wrong. Still, nobody paid much attention to my short temper or shitty attitude, and it didn’t take a genius to understand why. I was already acting like a shithead because Nicole had me so pissed off and turned upside down. Five days and she hadn’t even called me. Five fucking days. The clothes I still had at the clubhouse, that I kept around in case I had a late night, were my saving grace. That and the washing machine.

  Five days. What was she trying to do? Wait me out? See who was stronger? She’d find out pretty fast that I was the stronger one, right? Wouldn’t she?

  Creed looked up at me from his spot on the couch. Since when did he spend the day just lying around? What the hell was wrong with everybody around there? Was there a gas leak I didn’t know about? “You on your way somewhere, Prez?” That was another thing. Prez. Did anybody ever call Jack Prez? No, because he probably would have shoved his fist down their throat. I didn’t have it in me to tell them not to call me that.

  “Yeah. I’m going to the new Viper location. And no, I don’t need anybody to go with me.”

  I thought Creed’s face couldn’t fall any farther. “Always trying to ruin my fun.”

  “Yeah, well, maybe you shouldn’t be sitting around here having fun. Ever think of that? Maybe you need to get your ass up and do something besides screwing around.”

  “Okay, okay, man. I get it. Sorry.” He stood up, walking off to the kitchen. Eating wasn’t my idea of doing something, but at least he wasn’t lying around like a fucking charity case who made money for doing nothing.

  “Hey, Creed!”

  “What?” He turned around.

  “Check on Nicole for me, will you?”

  “Everything alright, Drake?”

  “Yeah. Just do that for me.”

  “You got it, Prez.”

  The ride into the city was a good one. It was a clear, crisp day. Officially fall. The leaves on the few trees out of Queens were turning orange and yellow. I let the wind clear my head the way it always did when I was in a bad mood. Some people ran or did other kinds of exercise. I rode.

  The building looked almost the same as it had in the pictures Bobby had shown us, but it was obvious there had been improvements made. It didn’t have that “haunted house” look it had in the pictures from when it was empty. It was cleaner after a good sandblast. The windows were darkened—tinted, I guessed. No sense showing people what was going on inside. There wasn’t a sign or anything to give the idea that the building was even in use. Again with the secret club feeling. Again with the branding and the flying under the radar. I had to give Bobby credit. He knew his business.

  I rang the bell—a button so small I had to search for it on the wall beside the door.

  “Can I help you?” I looked around for the speaker. I couldn’t see it. Then, just as I was about to give up, I noticed it at the top of the door—just below a tiny camera. I grinned up into it.

  “Yeah, I’m Drake. I’m here to see Bobby. He invited me over to take a look around.”

  “Of course. Please, come in.” A buzzer sounded, very faint but audible. I opened the door.

  It was like a different world inside. My eyes had to adjust to the dim lighting in the entryway, but once I made it through a red velvet curtain, I found a well-lit, inviting welcome area. A leggy blonde stood behind a desk, a smile on her gorgeous face.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” she said, holding out a hand to shake. “I’ve heard so much.”

  “Yeah, and it’s nice to be here.” I looked around. There was so much to see. Hardwood floors. Exposed brick on the walls. Soft lighting. Cream-colored sofas with purple and red decorative pillows. And that was just where I stood.

  She smiled. “I’m Yvette. I can show you around if you’d like.”

  I wondered if she would show me any of the upstairs rooms. “Yes, please. I would love to look around.” She took me on a tour that included the game room—pool and card tables, a bar, leather club chairs, a big-screen TV on the wall. The walls were covered in what looked like gold fabric, and when I spoke, I heard my words muffled. No echo.

  “That’s sound-absorbing panels, all around the walls,” Yvette explained. “It’s a large space, so it was important to take measures aimed at keeping noise to a minimum. Our members don’t want to go home with a headache.”

  “Wow, you really do think of everything.”

  She smiled. “Can
I fix you a drink?”

  “Oh, no, thanks.” It was a little early in the day even for me, only eleven o’clock. We went to a library, fully stocked with three walls full of books. There was a massive marble fireplace in that room, and I would’ve bet my arm it was original to the building. Nicole would have spent days in that room.

  Like she would ever step foot inside.

  “Just a little recreation room,” Yvette told me. “And the girls are encouraged to relax here during their off time, too. It shows the members how smart and well-read our girls are.”

  “Do you read these books?” I asked with a smirk.

  “One a week, sometimes more than that,” she replied with a smile. “I was just reading when you came to the door.”

  “Yeah? Which book?”

  “Anna Karenina.” She smirked.

  “Oh, no shit.” I let it drop. She led me to a dining room, the kitchen—where she told me just about anything the members wanted to eat was available at all times of the day and night—and back out to the welcome area.

  “You’re open for business?” I asked, looking around. It was deathly quiet in there, and not just from the panels on the walls.

  “We have two members currently in-house if that’s what you mean. Daytime isn’t typically our busy time, though you’ll find it gets a little busier at lunch time. It usually starts filling up around three and after that, until between midnight to two in the morning.”

  I had to ask. “How many members will a girl entertain in one day? Seriously.”

  She smiled, perfect teeth showing in the soft lighting. She was fucking insanely gorgeous. “Three, maybe four.”

  “Only that many?”

  “There are roughly two dozen girls living here, Drake.” I heard Bobby’s voice as he came down the hall. “That’s a pretty good turnaround. And not every member comes in to get laid every time, you know. You’d be surprised. Sometimes they just come in to shoot some pool or talk with their buddies about being masters of the universe.” He grinned, shaking my hand. I tried not to flinch from the smooth feeling of his skin.

  “Good to see you, Bobby,” I said. “This place is incredible.”

  “Thanks, Drake. We think so, too. And we owe a lot of it to your club.”

  “I know the boys would be impressed. I can’t wait to tell them all about it.”

  He pulled me over to the side. “Hey, as a professional courtesy, you’re more than welcome to try out one of the girls. I know they’d all like to get to know you.” My eyes cut over his shoulder, where Yvette was sitting at her desk with her copy of Anna Karenina. She glanced over at me with a smile. I had seen that smile before. It was almost too hard to resist.

  “I don’t think so, brother, but thanks.” I clapped him on the shoulder. “Got the old lady at home. You know how it is.”

  He laughed knowingly. “Oh, yeah. I know how that goes. You’re a stronger man than me, my friend.”

  I was about to suggest we get together for another party soon when the sounds of what could only be a girl fight reached our ears. Bobby’s face wore the look of a mad man who had been so close to showing me the door while I still thought things were perfect.

  He shot a look at Yvette, who scurried off in the direction of the noise. Things had just changed, and really fast. Like a switch had flipped.

  “Will you excuse me, Drake?”

  “Yeah. Sure.”

  Bobby stalked off down the hall, the same direction Yvette had hurried. I told myself to stay put or to leave. It wasn’t my place to be there when Bobby was taking care of business. Then again, it was my business, too.

  I followed him to one of the lounge areas to check out the ruckus. It looked like two of the girls had claimed the same customer. He was grinning from ear to ear like he had died and gone to heaven. More than likely the fight wasn’t about anything personal but moreso over the money they would make off of him.

  Yvette stepped between the girls as they pushed and shoved. When they saw Bobby enter the room, they froze as if somebody had poured cold water over them. He approached, then stopped, staring at one of the girls in particular. She looked vaguely familiar. I thought I might recognize her from the party at the clubhouse.

  “Come here,” he commanded, waving her toward him. She was terrified, and I didn’t blame her. His tone was carefully measured. Menacing. Murderous. Like a snake ready to spring.

  Even though she glanced around like she hoped somebody would help her, the girl took three steps closer to Bobby. He leaned in just a little closer, as he was examining her. Then he straightened up once he saw what he was looking for. I thought maybe the other girl had hit her, and he was examining her face for marks.

  “Let’s go outside and have a little chat,” he said, taking her hand and leading her from the room. The other girls looked shaken, but went back to business. Yvette brushed past me to get back to the reception area.

  “What was that all about?” I asked as I followed her down the hall.

  “Don’t worry about it,” she said, shaking her head.

  “I will worry about it. What happened back there? What did I miss?”

  She turned to me, eyes wide. “I saw it, too, but I wasn’t going to say anything because I knew Bobby would freak out.” She touched the tip of one finger to her nose. “Powder. She had it on her nostril.”

  “Coke?”

  She nodded. “And that’s the one big no-no. Absolutely no drugs. Some of the girls do it and get away with it, but if you’re caught …” She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.

  I got a sick feeling in my stomach. “Where did Bobby take her?” Yvette shrugged, so I decided to find out for myself. She was too scared to tell me anymore information, so it was pointless to ask. I went down the hall, peering into every open door along the way. I almost didn’t want to know what he would do to her, but it was my investment on the line, too. At least that was what I told myself as I searched the place.

  By the time I reached the back door, I thought he might have taken her upstairs. Then I heard a muffled cry from outside. I opened the door onto the back alley, and under a single bare bulb, I saw Bobby corner the girl against a brick wall.

  “How many fucking times do I gotta tell you? Huh?”

  “I’m sorry, Bobby. You know I’m trying to get off it.”

  “Trying? Trying?” He punched the brick wall just to the right of her head, making her flinch away. She let out a strangled sob. Tears rolled down her cheeks, taking mascara with them. She didn’t look so hot anymore. I bet she wished she hadn’t started a fight back there.

  “You know what I’m trying to do right now?” he asked in that cold, menacing tone. “I’m trying to keep myself from beating the shit outta you for not listening to me. I’m trying to keep myself from busting your fucking face open for acting like what I say doesn’t matter.” He stroked her cheek with one finger. She froze, closing her eyes, whimpering.

  “I’m sorry. I swear!”

  “You would never sell pussy again if I beat your fucking face—“

  “Bobby!”

  “Nobody! I mean nobody would ever wanna touch you again. Got it?”

  She nodded, and I saw the way she shook. He took a step back, then another one, before turning away. I thought she might collapse to the ground out of relief.

  “Thank you, Bobby. I won’t do it again.”

  “Damn straight, you won’t.” He spun, his fist making contact with the girl’s face. Her head snapped to the side, and she slid to the ground with one hand over her cheek. He hauled her to her feet, then backhanded her. She hit the wall, her head bouncing off the brick.

  “You think you can make a fucking fool outta me?” He punched her in the stomach, and she curled into a ball. He took a fistful of her hair, pulling her head back until she cried out, clawing at his wrist. His free hand curled around her throat. He bent until their faces were only inches apart.

  “Do you think I’m a fool? Huh? Is that what you think
about me?”

  “N—no!” She was sobbing, and I saw purple bruises already forming on her face. “Please, please, stop hurting me!”

  “Are you gonna do what I want from now on?”

  “Yes! I swear!”

  “I don’t know if I believe you.” He yanked her hair again. She whimpered loudly, holding his wrist. She started blubbering, desperate to get him to stop. I wished he would, too. I debated going out there to make him stop, but it was up to him to keep the girls in line. I’d told him he was free to run things the way he wanted to.

  “Please, Bobby. I’ll be good. Please, I swear.”

  “Make sure everybody else knows what just happened here. I’ll line you up and beat the shit outta every one of you if you start fights and do blow in my fucking business. You got it? I can replace you all tomorrow.”

  He threw her to the ground, spitting on her. She scurried backward until the wall stopped her, curling into a protective ball. I made my exit, slipping back into the hall and hurrying to the reception area. I threw a look at Yvette, who grimaced.

  Bobby rejoined me, drying hands he’d just washed. I did what I could to be cool. I even suggested we throw another party soon. He clapped me on the back. “Sounds great, Drake. That party was legendary. You all know how to throw down.”

  I thought about how he just beat and threw that girl down but smiled anyway.

  “And hey,” he said. “Sorry, you had to see all that. Don’t worry. I know how to keep my girls in line.”

  “I see that.”

  “Business is business.” He shrugged.

  “Business is business.” I repeated.

  I left as fast as I could. I didn’t want to get Yvette in trouble if he knew she was talking to me about what went on there. I was still shaking my head as I got on my bike, and it took a second for me to register the words being spoken almost right in front of me. I looked up when I realized the man was talking to me. Like I needed this bullshit.

  “Son of a bitch,” I muttered. Tommy Preston, sitting there in his car. Right in front of my bike.