Twisted Asphalt (Asphalt Outlaw Series Book 1) (9 page)

CHAPTER 13

Amy loved the very first cup of coffee in the morning. There
was nothing like it. Piping hot to soothe and wake her up. Delicious. She was
snuggled in her favorite hoodie and sweatpants, cradling the cup, watching the
local morning news. The weather looked hot as usual, great riding weather.
Ahhhh, the California life was grand. Hearing the kitchen door open, then
close, she strained to look over her shoulder to see who wandered in. Mace and
Romeo, and holy shit, they looked rough. Mace looked like he hadn’t slept all
night, his eyes bloodshot. It looked like he had forgotten what a razor was.

Pushing off the couch, she grabbed her coffee and headed to
where the two obvious hung over males were. She knew they had partied all night
just by looking at them, that and Romeo looked a touch green about the gills.
Time to have some fun. Pouring them both a cup of coffee, she set the stout
black liquid in front of them, resting her hands on hips as she looked between
the two of them. “Tequila?”

Romeo groaned and waved a hand at her, “Lower your voice.”

Smirking, she glanced to a snickering Mace then back to
Romeo. Clearing her throat, she tilted her head slightly. “Would you two like
breakfast?”

Romeo let out a low moan and grabbed his coffee, wincing
when he took a sip.

Taking that as a yes, she moved to the fridge and grabbed
the eggs. Finding the right glass bowl, she cracked the eggs as loud as she
could against the rim, causing the bowl to sing. “I’m going to make your
favorite, Zen. Chorizo, eggs and grits.”

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Romeo looking greener by
the minute. Moving to the ice box, she found the chorizo and plopped a healthy
batch of the greasy pork into the fry pan so the greasy scent would fill up the
house quicker than usual.

Mace snickered behind his coffee cup, which urged Amy on.
She knew just the thing. Going back to the fridge, she picked up a bowl and
unsnapped the cover, exposing the chicken gizzards that had been sitting in
there for a week. The smell was nice and ripe.

That’s all it took. Romeo knocked over the chair when he
jumped up and raced to the nearest bathroom.

“You are an evil, evil woman.” Mace laughed as he rose up to
refill his cup of coffee, refreshing hers while he was at it.

“I learned from the best.” Amy placed the gizzards back in
the refrigerator, then went back to cooking the eggs and chorizo for the two of
them, knowing Romeo would shower and hit the sack. They had been through this
same routine time and time again. “I take it you two had a good time?”

“He had a good time.” Mace’s voice indicated that he was
rather displeased with the fact he didn’t get to drink. “He got wasted and I
babysat him to make sure he didn’t get alcohol poisoning or kill himself going
to the john.”

Amy frowned, keeping her back to Mace. What the hell was
going on with her brother? He was on a downhill slide to nowhere at the rate he
was going. And he was unable to have children, voluntarily or not, that wasn’t
something she saw her brother doing. He had always wanted kids.

She was about to ask Mace a question, when a news story
caught her attention. A Santa Maria police officer was shot in front of the
Spearmint Rhino and was pronounced dead at the scene, late last night. There
were no witnesses and the onboard dash cam was unable to retrieve video to show
what exactly happened during the horrific event.

“That poor man’s family must be devastated.” Amy frowned,
shaking her head. “What the hell is the world coming to?”

“I don’t know.”

Amy set the egg mixture in front of him, slapped some
tortillas on the table, along with cheese, hot sauce and sour cream. “Whoever
did that needs to have his balls ripped off and stuffed down his throat.”

“Damn, harsh.” Mace looked absolutely horrified at what Amy
said.

“Look, I understand that we live in a different world, Mace;
but to just up and kill an officer, probably because he was doing his job?
That’s complete and utter bullshit. I hope they find whoever did this and give
him the fucking chair.” Amy didn’t usually drop the f-bomb, but things like
this really pissed her off. The club didn’t randomly murder a cop because one
of them got pulled over for doing something wrong.

“I agree, just a bit surprised you feel so strongly about
it.” Mace muttered, fixing himself a plate of food.

“Why wouldn’t I? Because I’m the daughter of a guy who deals
in guns?” Amy snorted, grabbed a tortilla and fixed herself a burrito alongside
Mace. “I’m still human and I have feelings.”

“Yes, you do.” Mace smiled lopsided at her.

“And just what is that supposed to mean?” Amy grinned at
him, her belly turning into butterflies at the way he looked at her.

Before Mace could answer, Romeo stalked in, looking pissed
off. “Get your shit. Stone wants everyone at the clubhouse as of ten minutes
ago.”

* * * *

Romeo drove them to the clubhouse, giving Mace ample time to
think, which was a bad thing. After the shit Amy said, Mace could barely think
straight. He felt bad about shooting his cousin, and would probably have killed
himself if he had harmed a single hair on his head.

He called Tony to set up the stop after Romeo called and he
was alone. Their first call had been interrupted by Amy, but the cards fell
into perfect place when Romeo wanted to go out. He was supposed to stop them on
the bikes, not in front of the damn club. Mace wasn’t sure if it was Tony or
not, since the lights had been blinding him. He was left little choice with how
the officer was reacting to the situation; the only option was shoot or be
shot.

To his relief, it was Tony, but that still did not get rid
of the knot that had grown in his gut. He had harmed a family member. Tony
called and let him know he broke three ribs and was out of work for two weeks,
but it was better than being dead, like the news reported.

The two made their way in, Mace figuring they were going to
end up in the Chapel Room, but Stone had everyone in the main den area, seated
on the couches. After everyone greeted each other, drinks were poured and they
all sat.

Stone called the meeting to order. “I have everyone here,
including the prospect, because of the incident last night. The news is
reporting there were no witnesses, when in fact, there were two.”

Mace’s stomach sank. If there were witnesses that could
place them at the scene, they might know Tony was alive. He was going to be
royally fucked. Shifting in his seat, he took a sip of his coffee to hide his
worry. These guys would kill him if they found out.

“The two said that they saw two bikers, one shot the cop,
and then took off. The two witnesses ran after that. Luckily, they happened to
be supporters of ours and took the time to call me and let me know.” Stone
looked around the room.

Okay, he could breathe again. No one knew. If the PD did it
right, they would have had the meat wagon scoop Tony up and take him to the
hospital, roll him into the body bag, and release him in a government blacked
out vehicle. He was glad the news wasn’t allowed to release the name of the
officer, though it was unlikely the club would make a connection to him.

“If any of you know anything about what happened, start
running your mouths, because if it wasn’t any of us, then it had to be Temer
Gallo.”

Romeo cleared his throat, motioning for Mace to keep quiet.
“It was me and Mace.” He held up his hand to stop Stone from going off on them.
The rest of the group burst out in hysterics. 

“What the hell happened?”

“Who shot the cop?”

“Why?”

Stone let out a shrill whistle, shutting everyone up. “Let
him speak.” He glared at Romeo, warning clear as day in his voice. “You better
have a damn good explanation.”

Romeo nodded while letting out a breath. “Mace was trying to
protect me. I had two girls on my arm, and enough pot to put me in prison for a
couple years. I panicked. Mace saw it and reacted as a true brother would. He
kept my ass out of lock up.”

Stone’s face grew hard while Romeo spoke. Mace knew murder
wasn’t exactly the way he could have done it. He could have allowed Tony to
arrest him instead of Romeo, or he could have just brawled with his cousin, but
he figured this way was better and more consistent with his past.

“We do not start shooting cops!” Stone roared at the two of
them. He pointed at Romeo, shaking his finger at him. “You need to fucking
learn to keep your dick in your fucking pants. No more drugs. You two have put
this club in jeopardy or do you not realize that?”

Romeo hung his head, right alongside Mace. Damn, that was a
great way to make someone feel bad. Mace knew not to utter a word or he’d lose
the cut and be kicked out the door.

“He was doing what he thought was best, Stone. A fucking
prospect saved my ass. This cop was going to shoot us. He had a gun on us. He
had to have been a rookie or scared shitless because of the cuts.” Romeo
pleaded in their defense.

“Is this true?” Stone looked at Mace.

“Yes, sir. We were standing there when the cop arrived, he
got out with his gun drawn. He ordered us to freeze, we did. I moved to shield
Romeo from him, when he threatened to shoot. If either of us would have
twitched the wrong way, we would have had a clip emptied into us. I had no
choice.” Mace told the truth, to an extent.

Stone drew in a deep breath, looking between the two of
them. The rest of the crew remained silent as Stone sat in thought. “No one is
to ever talk about this outside this room. We can make it look like those
vato
fucks did it. We don’t need attention on us right now, not with this run in a
little over a week.”

Mace relaxed some. This was going a bit better than he
thought. Now, he just needed to make sure Amy never found out.

Stone got up and looked directly at Mace. “Thank you for
placing yourself in front of your brother and my son. You may bleed these
colors after all.”

CHAPTER 14

All morning, Amy had been at the clubhouse getting ready for
the party. Everyone was excited and ready for the action to happen. The band
was setting up, Romeo had a pig in the pit out back, the girls had decorated
the inside with club colors; it was turning out much better than expected.

Amy was surprised at the attentiveness Demon showed Maggie
as they decorated, though she had caught him staring harshly at her a few
times. Amy brushed it off, not allowing him to ruin it with his jealousy or
whatever had crawled up his ass and died.

She checked the bar to make sure it was fully stocked as she
liked it, plenty of chilled Patron Silver tequila, the club’s favorite shot.
God forbid if anyone brought Jose. That would start a fight. The only time she
ever saw anyone drink another brand was when they were getting patched in. For
some reason afterward, they handed a bottle of mezcal off to the new brother,
who enthusiastically drank it down, worm and all.

When the clubhouse was properly decorated and finished, the
girls left to get ready. Amy dropped Maggie off at her place and raced home.
She didn’t have much time, but it wasn’t like she had a lot to do. She just had
to figure out
what
to do. She wanted to look good for Mace, to turn his
head, but she didn’t own anything to put her in that category.

Tearing through her closet and drawers, her room ended up
looking like World War III took place and Amy lost. She finally decided on a
pair of frayed pale blue Daisy Duke’s, a black leather bikini top with a black
mesh style long sleeved shirt to go over it, and a pair of black harness boots
she liked for riding.

Hair left down, make up a tad darker than she normally wore
it, Amy was ready to surprise everyone. She hoped her dad didn’t have a heart
attack in the meantime. Hearing Maggie’s arrival, she raced down stairs to meet
her in the living room.

“Holy amazeballs!” Maggie gasped as Amy entered the room.

Amy froze. “Oh no. It’s not good enough? I can go put on
jeans.”

“No!” Maggie cried out, waving her hands at Amy. “You look
amazing. I’d go lesbian for you.”

Amy erupted into a fit of giggles at her friend’s antics to
make her feel better. “Thank you, I think?”

Maggie was all dolled up herself. Short red leather
miniskirt, thigh high stiletto boots and a backless halter top showed off her
figure to its full beauty. Demon was going to like it, that was for sure.

Taking her friend’s hand, they rushed to the Jeep, giggling
like schoolgirls the whole way. Once they got in, which was difficult for
Maggie with the tight skirt, Amy headed toward the clubhouse, praying they
weren’t too fashionably late.

The party was in full swing when they arrived. The cage
girls were already in position, dancing their hearts out. A new girl Amy hadn’t
met danced on the bike near the band. A few of the pass arounds had found men
for the night, Tasha and Shae hung on Demon.

Amy looked at Maggie to see how she was handling it, and the
look of disappointment was all it took to flare Amy’s temper. Clenching her
jaw, Amy had to remind herself of her promise to Maggie. “Fucking gross. You
know that you could have any man in this club, if you wanted them, Maggie.
Don’t let those two get in your head.” She gave Maggie a little push toward
Demon, loathing herself for doing so. Amy would rather kick his ass and find
Maggie someone better.

Maggie looked back at Amy with a grateful nod. She took a
deep breath, threw back her shoulders and marched over to the trio.

Amy ventured to the kitchen area to find Mace. She knew he’d
be by the pit. Several times, brothers had stopped her, along with other
chapter brothers’ wives to say hello. She thanked each one individually for
their help with rebuilding her shop as quick as they had.

Escaping the chaos, Amy found Mace and Romeo pulling the pig
off the pit. Smiling, she walked over to the two.

Mace happened to look up when she neared, almost dropping the
pig. Recovering from the fumble, he wiped his hands on a towel, then set the
pig on the large wooden cutting board.

Romeo tried not to laugh at Mace’s reaction to Amy. “You’re
acting like a teen on his first date, bro.” He clapped a hand on Mace’s shoulder,
giving it a squeeze. “Try not to bust a nut in your pants.” Patting his back,
he stepped past Mace, “Be easy on him Amy. Don’t hurt the boy.”

Amy bit her lip to keep from laughing when Romeo left.
Stepping closer to Mace, she cleared her throat before she spoke. “So … I take
it the outfit works?”

Mace picked up a carving knife to start in on the pig. “No,
I nearly got my ass beat by twenty hungry men because I almost dropped the
pig.”

Smirking, Amy would have sucker punched Mace, but since he
was using a knife, she thought better of it. “Thank you.”

“Welcome.”

Leaning her hip against the table, she glanced around,
looking out to the party through the windows. “I’m surprised at the turn out.”

Mace looked up with a brow raised. “Why? This is you we’re talking
about here, Ames. People will drop whatever they’re doing for you.”

She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Yeah, yeah, because I am
the National president’s daughter. Big whoop.”

Mace stopped carving to look directly at her. “Are you
serious? You honestly think that is why people flock to you?”

Amy crinkled her nose at being chastised. “Yes, I do.”

Mace laid down the knife to stare at her. “You really are
blind. Amy,” he stepped toward her, taking her hand in his. “People adore you
because you’re real. You don’t play games with them. You mean exactly what you
say when you say it, and you’re never are afraid to give it straight. You’re
one of the very few people left alive that will actually put others before
herself.”

Amy felt her cheeks heat up. She couldn’t meet his gaze when
he spoke like she was some angelic female. Feeling the curve of his finger
under her chin, he lifted her head, forcing her to look at him.

“Don’t doubt yourself, Amy. Never.”

She smiled, pushing away from the table. “Okay, enough of the
mushy stuff.” She wasn’t one to have someone praise her like he just did. It
made her feel funny, almost shy.

“Oh yeah, I forgot you’re not a girly girl.” Mace flipped
his hair with exaggerated expression.

“That’s right, Antonia.” That got Amy a quick swat to the
ass, making her yelp and jump in surprise. Turning to return the favor, she saw
Mace focused on something through the window. Frowning, she stepped next to him
to see what he was looking at.

Stone, Romeo and Demon were off to the side talking to one
another, occasionally looking over at Mace through the window.

The way they were talking and looking at Mace worried her.
What the hell did he do? Looking up, she had to ask. “What is going on, Mace?”

“I’m not sure.”

Amy looked back to the window, but the three were gone.
Something wasn’t right. Saber came through the back door, followed by Axe. Amy
stiffened and stepped closer to Mace, not quite sure of why the boys were
coming in like they were. Talon and Hawkeye came up from behind them, and the moment
Mace tensed next to her, her stomach sank.

“The pig isn’t done yet guys.” Amy pushed herself between
Mace and the table. She knew she was breaking all sorts of rules, but that the
moment, she didn’t care.

Demon came through the door, his black eyes cold and flat,
an emotionless void. “Move out of the way, Amy.” His voice was laced with venom
as he stared down Mace.

She looked back at Mace, who gave the barest hint of a nod.
What the hell? Taking in a deep breath through her nose, she obeyed. There was
no other word for what she did. This was a man’s world and this was obviously
club business. Women took a back seat to that, so she stepped out of the way.