Page 4 of Bourbon & Blood

The rest of the bikers spectating all had another good laugh.

The couch went into the back of the van and the big man turned back to me to stare some more.

“You good?” a voice called from the three bikers off to the side.

“What? Me? Yeah,” I said finally, tearing my eyes from the big man staring me down. There was something wrong with his eyes. I mean, there was no white. They were just black as midnight, black as pitch, the inkiest darkness I had ever seen – which is when it dawned on me. Itwasink. He’d tattooed the whites of his eyes – which made me shudder. I couldn’t evenimaginewhat that’d felt like, andno! Just no. Mm-mm.No, no, no, and nope. Didn’t want to think about it too hard. I was good.

Jesus!

“Anything else, darlin’?” the same biker from the pack of them off to the side asked. I shook my head no.

“No, that was the last thing,” I murmured. Still wide-eyed and transfixed by the giant – or at least giant tome– bald man who was absolutelyjacked,who hadn’t budged from his spot in front of me. A coldness radiated off of him despite the muggy heat socking us all in.

“Thank you,” I said and he gave me a slow, single nod before turning and walking back up the sidewalk and joining the rest of his friends. They all turned and walked across the street and through the gate of the Voodoo Bastards’ compound.

“Alina?” Dorian called and I turned and looked from him to Maya who mouthed,What was that?at me. I shrugged and mouthed backI don’t know!Then I looked back to Dorian who looked just as mystified as both me and my bestie.

I’d lived right outside their compound for three years, now. Had a view from both my living room and bedroom window right down into it even. But I’d really never paid them any mind except for the roar of their bikes when they’d drunkenly drag raced up the block on wild party nights and the times the music had been almost too loud to think – but I wasn’t dumb. I never called it in or complained or anything. The Voodoo Bastards weren’t something you messed with out here. Not if you didn’t want to become gator food or whatever.

Still, in the last three years, this was the first time I had ever had an up-close encounter with any of them… and I was suddenly glad itwasmoving day. I wasn’t sure I ever wanted another encounter ever again. They were scary!

CHAPTERTWO

La Croix…

“What was that all about, boss?” I ignored Axeman and walked right past him, Hex, and Saint.

I could almost feel Axe and Saint exchange a look and shrug behind me, Hex falling into step beside me. He probably already knew what I was thinkin’. Hex was the real brains of this fuckin’ outfit, not me. I was president, sure, but in name only. A ploy. I was the biggest and baddest motherfucker in the yard and if I got taken out, it would suck to be me, but the club? The club would do just fine because it wasHexwho was the real brains of the entire outfit. I mean, this was all his design. I wasn’t stupid, just not as smart as he was. It was a good leadership model as far as they went. What president didn’t have his trusted cabinet?

Ruth had thought he was smart but he’d let the drugs fuck him over. A few too many bad decisions later and he had the rest of the club questioning his loyalty. As in was it to the club and the rest of us, or just himself? A few more bad decisions later and it was clear. Ruth had to fuckin’ go.

The coup had been easy, almost too easy. It had me and Hex watching each other’s backs for a minute. We’d quashed some shit a few months later and that’d tightened things right up.

We’d been thirteen under Ruthless, but that’d dropped to eight. We didn’t like the even number, but it couldn’t be helped. We had a prospect, and he wasn’t far from earning his colors. In fact, we were sure it’d be any day now.

I went for our office once we were inside. Yeah, I know it was supposed to be mine – but it was Hex’sandmine’s and truthfully, I preferred to think of it that way. It’d been a year and some change and I still couldn’t quite get my head around the whole thing – me bein’ the president and all. Still didn’t feel real.

“Looks like your little redheaded obsession’s movin’ on out,” Hex said once the door’d been shut. He gave me a bit of a sly look and a wink. I scowled darkly and he chuckled, opened the door back up, and yelled for our prospect, Louie.

“Yeah, boss?” Louie called from somewhere out there. I didn’t pay it no never mind.

“Might wanna get our fearless leader a bourbon, boy,” Hex called out, reading my mind.

“You got it. Anything else?”

Hex looked back over his shoulder at me as I dropped heavily into the seat behind the big ol’ battered desk.

“Yeah,” he muttered. “Better make it a double.”

“You got it, boss,” Louie declared and hustled his ass back down the hall unseen.

Hex leaned his back against the wall by the slightly open door, waiting for my bourbon to show up.

“You wanna talk about it, man?” he asked.

I shook my head. Talking never got me anywhere. Just a bunch of bullshit and excuses as my daddy always liked to say, usually before he cracked me in the mouth as a kid. Silence was always better ‘n bullshit in my book.

“Learn anything new, getting’ a look up close?” he asked.

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