Hell on Wheels (Four Horsemen MC Book 6) (21 page)

Charlie hiccupped. “Before we play, I need to know something. Am I being hazed? I’ve never set foot on a college campus, but this feels like something sorority girls do. You’re hazing me.”

“Think of it as an initiation,” Dani said. “Enough stalling. Let’s play.” Dani pointed out Horsemen in the crowd. “Here are your options: Steele, Justice, Cowboy, or…” Dani paused and eyed Lexi before she spoke, “Axel.”

Charlie glanced at Axel again and a fantasy popped into her head.  
Shagging Axel…against the wall, when he was slick with sweat and motor oil.

Lexi snapped her fingers in front of Charlie’s face and she shook herself. “Crap. Sorry, zoned out for a minute.”

“Did you? And what were you thinking about?” Dani prodded.

“Nothing,” Charlie lied. “Not a damn thing. Give me a second.” She mentally slapped herself and tried to come out of the drunken haze. She swept the room again and focused on one of her former jailors. “Justice. I’d kill him.” She dragged a finger across her own throat. “He’s scary.”

Dani shook her head. “Nah, he’s sad.”

“Sad about what? Not killing people?” Charlie asked. Justice had a hardcore vibe. She was glad she hadn’t pissed him off.

Dani shrugged. “Not sure. He doesn’t say much. Go on, pick the next one.”

Charlie sought out the unfamiliar Horsemen Dani had named, Cowboy. He sat beside what Charlie assumed was his pregnant wife. Cowboy rubbed the woman’s belly and then kissed her. He grinned, like he’d won the lottery or something, and Charlie had to look away, the moment seemed too intimate to observe.

“Him,” Charlie said, nodding at Cowboy. “In a purely hypothetical situation, of course. I’d marry Cowboy. Any man who stares at his pregnant wife that way is husband material in my book.”

“Good call,” Dani said.

Lexi nodded. “But for real, Daisy would shoot your ass.”

Charlie held her hands up. “Like I said, I’m not getting any ideas. Hmm, moving on then.” She spotted the young, cocky biker behind the bar, flipping bottles like he was in that
Cocktail
movie. “What if I pick my own?” she asked. Charlie would rather avoid the Axel topic. “I’d kiss Pretty Boy.”

“I bet he’s a good kisser,” Lexi said with a little sigh. “Never found out, though. I copped a feel, but he’s so taken it isn’t even funny.”

Dani chuckled. “Yeah, we both know which biker you wanna make out with, and it ain’t Pretty Boy.”

“Mind your own business,” Lexi grouched.

Charlie went back to the original subject. “Taken by who?”

“The blond one,” Lexi said. “Sitting at the bar, staring at Pretty Boy’s ass every time he bends over. His name’s Shep.”

 A heated look exchanged between the two men and Charlie gulped. “Wow. They’re practically eye-fucking.”

As if on cue, Pretty Boy leaned forward and kissed Shep. In return, the blond biker stood up and pulled Pretty Boy closer and the kiss deepened. Pretty Boy vaulted over the bar and the two scrambled out the door together.

Charlie shook her head. “You don’t see that every day. Gay bikers? Cool.”

“I know. Right here in Texas,” Dani said, raising her beer in salute. Charlie and Lexi clinked their beverages.

“What will they think of next?” Lexi asked. They laughed.

“And the brothers don’t care?” Charlie asked. While she had a ‘live and let live’ philosophy, there seemed to be a macho-man vibe there, and Charlie wondered how well it’d gone over.

Dani nodded. “It took some convincing….”

“But it all worked out,” Lexi said. Then she pointed to Charlie. “Come on. Back to the game, and you can’t choose your own contestants. This isn’t Burger King, nothing is done your way.”

Charlie met Axel’s eyes across the room and their gazes locked. For a moment, she couldn’t breathe and that motor oil fantasy drifted through her thoughts.

“Talk about an eye-fuck,” Lexi breathed, shaking one of her hands as if it’d gotten burned. “And you aren’t even wearing that stupid maid uniform anymore.” Lexi glanced at Charlie. “You’d soooo shag him.”

Dani whistled. “Yup, there’s a
bow chicka wow wow
vibe goin’ on here.”

“A what?” Charlie asked.

Dani rolled her eyes. “That’s the soundtrack to every porno ever made.” She glanced at Lexi and they both made the
bow chicka wow wow
noise.

 “I don’t know what you’re babbling about,” Charlie gritted out. “Right now, I’d like to smack him upside the head.” And she meant it. She felt like throttling him. She searched the crowd once more. “But I’d consider shagging Steele.” She pointed to the handsome dark-haired biker at the next table over. Steele winked at her.

With a grin, he strolled right over, grabbed a seat and flipped it around before straddling it. “You need somethin’, darlin’?”

“Maybe,” Charlie hedged.

“Just ask and your wish is my command,” Steele said with another wink.

“Tonight, anyway,” Dani muttered.

Charlie glanced over Steele’s broad shoulders to see Axel. His hands had curled into fists. The muscles in his arms bunched and his lips thinned. He wasn’t immune to her. And he needed to get over his issues and do something about it. She wouldn’t be in Hell for long, and it’d be a damn shame if they never got to explore whatever it was between them.

The alcohol made her a bit reckless. With a sigh, she leaned in close and whispered to Steele. “Kiss me.”

With a grin, the biker bent over to do just that, but before he could place his lips on hers, he was hauled out of his chair. Charlie looked up to see Axel shoving Steele’s chest. “Hands off, brother,” Axel growled.

Steele pushed back, propelling Axel back on his heels.

“Holy shit!” Dani said. “Fight!” Lexi watched with wide eyes. And Charlie groaned. She’d wanted a reaction, but she didn’t intend to start a bar brawl.

A hush fell over the room. The Crows stopped playing and the brothers stopped talking and shooting pool. Everyone watched.

What a stupid plan…bad moonshine! Bad! Note to self, don’t pick on bikers. They’re sensitive.

 “Uh, Axel…” Charlie said hesitantly.

“The lady wants a kiss,” Steele stated, straightening his shirt. “This ain’t none of your business, brother.”

“She doesn’t know what she wants.” Axel turned to glare daggers at her, and she scowled right back at him.

“But you do?” Steele asked. “Cuz I don’t see your name on her, Axel. She ain’t your old lady.”

 “Oh, yeah?” Axel said, and then Charlie stood in horrified silence as he pulled her panties out of his pocket. They dangled from his big hand like a lacy trophy. “We’ll see about that.”

Steele stared at the panties then held up his hands. “I’m sorry, brother. Didn’t know she was taken.”

Charlie’s jaw dropped. “Taken?”

Axel stared at Charlie as though daring her to contradict the statement.

And she couldn’t process all of this with her alcohol-addled brain. There were several things that needed her undivided, sober attention. Axel walked around with her panties tucked in his pocket? And he’d “claimed” her in front of the club. And then, with dawning horror, she gawked at the long panty line.

Suddenly getting it.

With masculine swagger, Axel sauntered across the room and hopped up on the bar. With a clothespin from a cup on the bar, he pinned her unmentionables on the line of shame for the world to see.  Then, he addressed the room. “Charlie is off-limits. She’s mine. Got it?”

No one argued with him. Instead, they went back to playing pool but the place was buzzing with whispered gossip. And several brothers and hellions gawked at both Charlie and Axel.

She buried her head in her hands.

Axel stalked to a corner and hurled darts at an innocent board. The Crows started playing once more. A twangy version of “Hey Jealousy” by the Gin Blossoms. Evidently, they had a sick sense of humor.
No tip for you.

 “Let me guess,” Lexi nearly shouted over of the nose. “I’m betting there’s some internal screaming going on in your head right now?”

Charlie nodded.

“He just pinned those up on the panty line, like a man mounts a deer on his wall.” Dani waggled her brows.

Charlie doubted her use of the word ‘mount’ had been accidental.

“And later, we can talk about how he got your drawers in the first place,” Lexi said. “Because I think you’ve been holding out on us.”

Charlie wouldn’t be fessing up anytime soon, but she’d apparently be planning another heist:
Operation Panties.

Chapter Fourteen

A couple days later, Axel dropped by Hell’s Kitchen Cupboard and loaded up on supplies before he took off for Abilene in one of Hades’ pickup trucks. He was driving to Goat’s hunting cabin near the state park to deliver groceries to Jonathan Royal, the president of Kentucky’s Four Horsemen chapter.

 Calling the shithole a
‘cabin’ was being generous, but it served as a great hideout for a wanted felon. It had Coleman lanterns, candles, and a fireplace for heat. Axel supposed it had to be better than the jail cell Royal had lived in for last ten years. At this time of year, the nearby park was nearly empty and hunting season had come to an end.

Not all of the Horsemen chapters had a strictly ‘straight and narrow’ approach to earning money, and Royal had been sent away for a slew of charges including murder. He’d busted out of prison in January and had been on the run ever since, nearly a year now. A couple weeks ago, he’d shown up in Texas and Axel had been forced to take him in because Horsemen always helped another brother out. The club really didn’t need this kind of liability, but Axel couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

Royal was the subject of a nationwide manhunt and the Bureau had offered a $100,000 reward for information that led to his capture, which would bring bounty hunters out of the woodwork. Hell, if he wasn’t a brother, Axel would turn Royal’s ass in for the money. His crew might need bail money after the Laredo job.

When he pulled up, he found Royal sitting in a lawn chair in front of a small fire he’d built in the pit. Axel glanced around but didn’t see anyone in the vicinity. If he didn’t know any better he’d say Royal wanted to get caught. At least he wasn’t recognizable.

Royal had dark brown eyes and a squared jaw. Axel figured they were roughly the same but he seemed older somehow. Maybe prison had aged him?  In his flannel shirt and faded jeans, with a thick beard and mustache, Royal resembled a lumberjack. His black hair brushed his shirt collar and he’d pulled the brim of his trucker hat down low. It was an effective disguise. He looked nothing like his own clean-shaven, short-haired fugitive photos on television.  

Axel vaulted from the truck and grabbed a couple of cardboard boxes from the backend.

“Thanks, brother,” Royal said as he also loaded his arms with boxes.

“Yeah, don’t mention it.” And Axel meant it. They hadn’t even told any of the old ladies Royal was squatting in the cabin.

They walked inside across the roughhewn wooden floors and stopped at rusty steel table Goat must’ve found at the dump and hauled in the cab.  There was a Coleman stove situated on one end of it, along with a cardboard box full of pots and pants.  A lantern glowed in center of the table. And that was essentially it.

Royal had a sleeping bag near the fireplace, but there was no other furniture, other than the lawn chairs out front. Goat only used the cabin during hunting season, so it hadn’t been set up as a residence. It didn’t have running water, so there was an outhouse in the backyard and a water pump in the front corner of the property.

Axel had brought staples–macaroni and cheese, canned soup and vegetables, beef jerky, evaporated milk, pasta. Things that would last a long time.

 Royal frowned at all of it. “Are you feeding an army? It’s just me, brother.”

 “I gotta make a run over the border soon. Things might get dicey, and I thought I’d make sure you were taken care of for a few weeks.” He’d also brought several containers of gas and new clothing from Steele’s shop.

Royal had to stay off the radar or he’d be picked up, which meant he couldn’t go to gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores, or anywhere else until the heat died down. Axel figured it might take months, if not years. It’d become national news and everyone had followed the jailbreak for weeks. Two of his club brothers had been arrested for staging the breakout, but they’d refused to give any information to law enforcement.

Royal had kidnapped the female marshal transporting him during a prison transfer, which made the story especially juicy. He’d successfully evaded capture for months, and that had kept the case alive in the news media.

 “Thanks, I appreciate it. Hope your run goes real smooth.” After they’d set the boxes down, Royal frowned at him. “You look a little worse for wear, if you don’t mind me sayin’.”

Axel laughed. Shit. A fugitive from the law thought
he
looked haggard. “Ain’t that the truth? Most days, my ass is draggin’.” Except for the days he saw Charlie. Those always energized him, their recent encounter notwithstanding. He still owed her an apology for the bar scene and his asinine behavior at the garage.

 “Yeah, that sounds like being president, all right,” Royal said with a nod. Nothing like bein’ the man in charge. Everything falls on your shoulders.”

Together, they put all the groceries away. The cabin had a small fridge powered by a generator, so Axel had only included a couple of refrigerated items–some cold cuts, beer, and veggies.

“Why don’t you sit a while and have a beer with me before you head on back?” Royal offered after they’d finished. He handed Axel a can of beer.

Axel took it with a nod. He wanted to hightail it out of there. But, the man was a brother and that relationship demanded a bit of his time and respect. Axel figured the forced solitude was probably getting to Royal.

 They sat on opposite sides of the fire outside and Axel took a long pull from the beer. He liked watching the dancing flames. They were mesmerizing. “You were president of your chapter, right?”

Royal took a sip of his beer. “Yeah, for three years before I went in.” His face twisted into a grimace, and then he chuckled. “That’s one job I don’t miss.”