Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Havoc

T he feel of Nevaeh wrapped around me is the only thing keeping me grounded. I didn’t think coming back here would hit me this hard, but betrayal’s a hell of a lot easier to deal with when you’re not forced to face it every day.

As we head through town, I signal the others I pull into the empty lot, and they do. Once I turn the engine off, I lift the visor on my helmet and turn to Nevaeh, lifting hers, too.

She looks at me, her soulful eyes searching mine, and even though I know my expression gives nothing away, she can sense the tension inside me. She lifts her hand and kisses her two fingers before pressing them against my lips. “Whatever happens, you’ll still leave the winner.”

I grip the bottom of her helmet and pull her closer, leaning my head against hers.

“I’ve been the winner since you agreed to be mine.”

“Stockholm Syndrome at its finest.”

“A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do,” I say, grinning without an ounce of guilt.

She rolls her eyes at me but doesn’t resist when I pull her onto my lap. She wraps her arms around me, letting me soak up her strength. The irony isn’t lost on me––the big badass MC president leaning on his old lady. What other brothers haven’t figured out yet—we tend to be a bunch of misogynist assholes—is that we might be the fists of the club, but our women are the spine. They’re the strength behind our brute force, and the quiet calm in a world of chaos. Anyone mistaking women as a weakness has never loved one. Nothing makes a man feel more like a king than being chosen by the woman he loves. It’s knowing they could have anyone they wanted, but she picked you. And when she does, you treat her like the fucking queen she is.

I look at the guys who are silently watching us. “Everyone ready?”

“We’ve got this, Pres,” Toot confirms.

I look to Crane, my orders in my eyes. Don’t let anything happen to my woman .

“I’ll guard her with my life, Havoc,” he tells me, dead serious..

I nod, ready to roll. When Nevaeh shifts to move back behind me, I grip her hip to stop her.

“Stay like this. I won’t let you fall.”

She stares at me for a moment, then rests her head against my shoulder. She wraps her legs tightly around my waist, her arms slipping around my neck.

I grin. Fuck, I love this woman.

My dick stirs between us, but ignore it for now. Asking her to ride my dick while I ride my bike might be taking it a step too far for her anyway.

I start up my bike and tap Nevaeh’s thigh so she knows I’m about to pull out, and take off. The clubhouse is only ten miles away, but with Nevaeh wrapped around me, it feels both longer and shorter.

She squirms against me, and I feel my cock throb in response. We’re both so fucking turned on, I’m tempted to bend her over the bike once we stop and fuck her like I want to. But as soon as we pull into the lot, I see Driller and Khan standing on the clubhouse steps, waiting for us. A few of the brothers are there, too, trying and failing to act natural.

Reluctantly, I tap Nevaeh again, and as soon as we stop, she loosens her grip on me. I steady her as I lift her off the bike, then climb off after her. Ignoring everyone else, I unclip her helmet and pull it free, watching her shake her hair out. I swallow down a groan as I hang it on the handlebars, then take my helmet and sit it on the seat.

She slips her hand into mine as I look down at her. She gives me a wink, making me chuckle. Crane moves to her other side, and Kruger flanks me. Toot and Mac take the lead, walking over to Khan and Driller.

“Nice to have you back, Havoc. You look good,” Khan says, holding out his hand like if I’ve been on a fucking vacation, not in prison.

“Khan.” I reach over and shake his hand briefly before introducing my girl. “This is Nevaeh, my old lady.”

Khan frowns for a second before his eyes move over her face to her cut. I clench my hand, so I don’t poke his fucking eyeballs out.

“Not your usual type, Havoc.”

“What, loyal?” I snark back. Driller puffs up his chest, but I refuse to acknowledge him.

“You wanted to meet, Khan. So here I am. Are we doing this in the parking lot, or are you going to let me in?”

He looks from me to Driller. I wait for him to say something, but wisely, he keeps his mouth shut. He steps aside and motions for us to go in.

Again, Mac and Toot lead the way, prepared for us to walk into an ambush. But that’s not Khan’s style. The guy who used to face things head-on is now the kind of prick who would now sneak up behind you and stab you in the back.

Nevaeh doesn’t say anything. She sure as fuck doesn’t acknowledge Khan. And why would she after his dismissive treatment? Her grip on my hand tightens as I lead her inside. Nostalgia hits me for a moment, but that’s all I get. This place isn’t home anymore. The woman standing beside me is.

I look around, and the room goes quiet as all eyes turn our way. Ignoring them, I walk over to the bar and nod to the bunny serving. She doesn’t look familiar, but her coy smile says she knows exactly who I am.

“I’ll take a beer. Nevaeh?”

“Bottled water, please.”

The woman rolls her eyes but says nothing as she grabs the drinks before turning to my men to take their orders.

I look down at Nevaeh, who looks at me with a raised eyebrow. “As if I’d drink anything without a sealed lid here,” she says, quiet enough for only me to hear.

“Smart girl,” I say, pulling her to me and slamming my mouth down on hers. She grips my cut and holds on tight.

I know everyone is watching, I don’t give a fuck. Let them see how much better my life is now that I’m out of this place.

I pull back and kiss the tip of her nose. “Let’s get this shit over with,” I murmur before I feel a slap on my shoulder.

“Let’s go talk. You can leave the woman with the others.” He nods to the corner, and I see Lola. She’s looking straight at me, the pain etched on her face, making me pause for a moment. In another life, I’d have rushed over to her. But the man who once loved her is gone, and she was the one to put the final nail in the coffin. I don’t know what fucking game she’s playing, but I’m not interested, and I won’t let her drag Nevaeh into it.

“You really want to play it this way, Khan? ’Cause I’m not exactly feeling the respect afforded to me as president of the mother chapter.”

“Woman’s issues don’t touch us. You know that.”

“Women’s issues? That’s what you’re calling it? You want me to send my old lady over to spend time with the whore who swapped me out for my brother while I was serving his sentence?”

“Hey, watch your fucking mouth!” Driller snarls.

“Just speaking the truth, brother. You don’t like it, that’s not my fucking problem.” I turn to Crane and nod.

He steps up beside Nevaeh and wraps his arm around her shoulders. “Come on, Tinkerbell. Let’s play pool.”

Driller snorts. “You sharing now?”

I turn to look at him, but before I can answer, Nevaeh does. “I was a virgin until Havoc. He was the first man I slept with, and he’ll be the last. I’m sure, given who your old lady is, it’s a hard concept to follow. But don’t tar me with the same brush.”

“Shut your––

My hand is around his throat before he can finish that sentence.

“Havoc. Let him go. Your woman was disrespectful. You know they don’t mouth off at a patched brother,” Khan states firmly.

I squeeze Driller’s throat harder before tossing him away and facing Khan. “Nevaeh is my old lady. You disrespected her first, then Driller, more than once. It’s her right as my old lady to defend herself. It’s just unfortunate that she should have to, and yet, I’m not surprised in the slightest. I’m done playing nice here, Khan. You want to talk, talk. I have better fucking things to do than sit around pandering to you.”

“Now you listen to me—” he starts, but I step forward and loom over him, not giving him a fucking inch.

“The next time you point that finger at me, I’ll rip it off and shove it up your ass. My days of taking orders from you are over. I outrank you, Khan, in case you’ve forgotten. I can have you replaced just like that.” I snap my fingers as I lean forward and snarl in his face. “Push me. I fucking dare you.”

The clubhouse is deadly quiet as if everyone is collectively holding their breath.

An array of emotions play across his face, but he locks it down and pulls himself free from my grip. “It’s been a tough time here for us,” he states in an attempt to justify his actions. I smell the bullshit all over his breath.

“Then, by all means, let’s go to church and hash this out. Kruger, Mac, Toot, let’s go.” I call out their names and wait for Khan to tell me they can’t come. It’s on the tip of his tongue. He wants to get me alone. He hasn’t realized that bringing them with me is for his safety, not mine. I’m ready to destroy this man. Any respect I had for him died the moment he ordered me to serve Driller’s prison sentence.

Khan nods to Driller, who stomps toward church. My men walk beside me as I follow. I turn and give Nevaeh one last look before I head inside.

Once the door closes, I sit at the table, Mac and Toot flanking me. Kruger sits at the other end to plant a bug, while Khan takes a seat at the head of the table, and Driller sits beside him.

“Aren’t any of the other brothers joining us?” Kruger asks, and I wait to hear Khan’s answer.

“We want to keep the details as quiet as possible until we know what we’re dealing with.”

“And what are you dealing with? Why did you call this meeting, Khan?”

“It's Acid and Knuckles…”

“What about them?”

“They're missing.”

“If they’re missing, it’s not like their brothers don’t know,” Kruger points out.

“They know that Acid and Knuckles went to welcome a brother home and haven’t been seen since. I’m trying to make sure we don’t stir up any bad blood between our clubs. There’ll be some who find it real convenient that two of our brothers disappeared right around the time you got released from prison—especially when you’re the only one we can think of with a grudge against us.”

I lean back and grin. Amity said this might be a setup to make me look bad, hoping I’d be passed over for the presidency. But it’s too fucking late for that.

“And why would I have an issue with the club, Khan?”

Khan sighs and crosses his arms.

“I wish I’d done things differently, but I was out of options. Driller was the only one the Death Serpents would work with, and we needed that deal. We might have the pipeline in our territory, but it means nothing if we can’t transport it through Death Serpents’ territory.”

I wait for him to say something else, but that’s it.

“So you think, after spending five years in prison thanks to Driller and you, that I’d finally taste freedom and want to… what? Risk losing it all by taking out Acid and Knuckles? That’s what you’re getting at, right?”

“Sounds like a stretch to me, Prez. You have Nevaeh. You’re the president of the mother chapter, and your men back you one hundred percent. Your life looks pretty fucking golden from where I’m sitting. I can’t imagine this club even being on your radar.” Toot chimes in

“I fucked a baby into your old lady’s cunt. Don’t tell me you’re not pissed about that,” Driller snaps.

Mac tenses beside me, but I keep myself relaxed and adopt a bored expression. “Ex-old lady. But you want my sloppy seconds, go for it. Hell, I should be thanking you. If I’d stuck with Lola, I wouldn’t have Nevaeh.”

Driller’s bitter hatred bubbles up, ready to spill over, but Khan shoots him a look and shakes his head.

“We don’t need this. Mistakes were made, but they’re in the past now,” Khan says, holding his hands up in a show of peace.

I shake my head. “You expect me to trust you, Khan? Do you trust me after all the shit you did to fuck me over?”

Khan narrows his eyes and stands up, planting his hands on the table as he leans forward. “A good leader leads by example. Come back in ten years and tell me if you still have stars in your fucking eyes. I don’t know what Blade was thinking when he picked you, but you’d do well to remember that not everyone agrees with his decision. If things had gone differently, Bear would be sitting here, not you.”

Kruger jumps up, knocking his chair over, and pulls his gun, pointing it at Khan as Driller draws his own gun. Before he can so much as twitch, both Mac and Toot have their weapons aimed at his forehead.

“Bear was a traitor and rapist. Are you tellin’ me you’re siding with that man? Oh, how the mighty have fallen,” Kruger snarls.

I stand, and Khan watches me warily. “Tell me, Khan, what were you hoping to achieve with this friendly little chat?”

“I just want to find my men. Your men, too, now that you’re president.”

“I’m already looking into it. Unfortunately, they didn’t leave a trace. And all I’ve got to go on is your story about how they were coming to welcome me home. The thing is, they never did. Not that I expected it. After all, nobody came to visit me inside either, except Gunther. Even if my brothers had decided I was worth a visit, it sure as shit wouldn’t’ve been Acid and Knuckles. They were never my biggest fans.”

“They respected you. You did something good for the club, and they respected that. Respected your sacrifice.”

I shake my head, my lips twitching at the man’s nerve. “Acid and Knuckles wouldn’t give a shit if I was on fire. But if they hated me that much—me, their own club brother—it’s safe to assume I’ve got more enemies. Have you looked into them? Them telling you they were coming to see me was probably a cover.”

“No. They went to see you.”

“Sorry, Khan, but that’s bullshit. But like I said, I’ve got men on it. We’ll figure it out. Now, onto other matters. Since I’m president now, I’ll be going around to all the chapters and doing audits. I want to see where we’re making money and where we’re losing it, and what I can do to help. Also, I’m putting my house on the market. If you want to buy it, let me know by the end of the month.”

“That house is on private property,” Khan snaps.

Driller growls, “You’d really kick out Lola, knowing she’s carrying your niece or nephew?”

“Absofuckinglutely. Move her in with you.”

“I don’t have a house,” he hisses.

“Not my problem. Go steal someone else’s. That’s what you do, right?”

I turn and head to the door, waiting as Kruger lowers his gun. Once Driller puts his away, Mac and Toot lower theirs.

“I’ll be taking Nevaeh to my house, so I suggest you get your old lady out of there before I throw her out myself,” I warn Driller before turning to Khan. “I want those files. The sooner I’m done, the sooner I’ll be gone.”

He shakes his head like he’s disappointed in me. “You’ve changed.”

“Thank fuck for that.” I laugh and yank the door open. Walking out, I look around for Nevaeh. I find her over at the pool table with Crane standing guard while she hands the guy she’s playing his ass.

“You’re a fucking shark,” he snaps as I walk up behind him.

“And you’re a sore loser. Pay up or face the consequences,” she tells him.

He lets out a nasally laugh. “Oh yeah? And what might they be?”

“Me,” I answer, smirking as he spins around, his face draining white.

“H…Havoc.”

“Meet the consequences, jackass,” Nevaeh mutters before throwing herself into my arms.

“Hey, baby.”

“Cupcake, have you been making the boys cry?”