The Way I Like It (The Soldiers of Wrath MC, #5) (15 page)

“Thanks brother.”

“Happy fucking,” Nerd said grinning, hanging up as Striker started to curse his name.

“Where am I going?” Joker asked, coming to take a seat at the bar.

“Do you want to go and catch some people determined to marry Elena off to her Uncle?” Nerd asked, passing the file over to Joker.

Joker cursed. “Striker has finally declared her as his?”

“Yep. Our club is turning into a bunch of pussy whipped men. Our enemies are not going to think we’re that much of a threat at this rate.”

Joker burst out laughing. “You sound a little jealous.”

“Jealous? Fuck off. You’ve got one pussy to satisfy when I can have a variety.” He spun around in his chair so that he was facing the room. “Look what I’ve got. I’ve got a red head, fake blonde, brunette, I mean there’s even a purple haired bitch over there. Each one with a great, unique gift.”

“And each one of those sluts will move onto another brother and forget all about you. They’ll move on, and you’ll be remembered as a fuck, nothing more.”

“A great fuck,” Nerd said.

Joker shook his head. “You know, there was a time I’d have believed you. I thought screwing any number of pussies would make me feel better. It doesn’t. There’s more to life than a random fuck.”

“What about Amy? She’s not exactly been easy to work with.” Nerd knew there was a great deal of history between Joker and Amy, to the point they’d even been step-siblings. Her own father had sexually abused Amy, and if it hadn’t been for Joker taking the man down in a brutal killing, the bastard would still be walking around.

Joker smiled, and in that moment, Nerd felt like he truly was missing out on something. When all the brothers got together for a barbeque or a family party, he sat back and watched the men with their women. He’d even seen Shakes with Daniella; that was fucked up. Nerd never thought a guy would risk death to be with a woman, would give up everything for a piece of ass. For the past ten years, he’d been fucking random women, never giving a shit if they got off, and simply enjoying the feel of sinking his cock inside a sweet tight cunt.

Demon, Joker, Steel, Shakes, and even Zeke who really had nothing much to do with the club had all found love. That word had been damn ugly to him for so long, but how could it be when he’d witnessed love between his brothers and their old ladies.

“Amy wasn’t an easy woman to fall in love with, but I wouldn’t change who she is. Yes, I wish she hadn’t gone through the hell that she has been through. Her nightmares will always torment me. I can’t stand the thought of any harm coming to her. I love her with all my heart. You look at those women and see an easy lay; I see nothing. They’re a warm hole that will keep you warm for ten minutes before they’re jumping in another man’s bed. Amy, she’s going to keep me warm for a lifetime. Her dreams are finally at peace, and we’re going to be having a baby soon.”

“She’s pregnant?”

“We’re pregnant, and I’m going to be a father. I get that you don’t want the hassle of one woman, but there’s something to be said about intertwining your life with another person.” Joker slapped him on the back. “We’ll head out tonight. I’ll just brief Demon on what we’re doing.”

Climbing off his stool, he made his way outside, and moved toward his bike. Joker’s words consumed his thoughts. What would it be like if he had someone to come home to? His brothers who had found old ladies didn’t spend all that much time at the club partying. If they were at the club, their old ladies were at their sides.

Joker came out of the club, and after they had both straddled their bikes, they made their way out of the parking lot. He didn’t know what they were heading toward and that always unnerved him.

He’d memorized the location where Elena lived, and he had to say the girl hadn’t run as far from home as she’d thought. After two hours of riding without hitting any traffic, they pulled into the local diner near Elena’s parents. It was already after ten at night, and there were several couples in the twenty-four seven diner.

“Check that out,” Joker said, pointing toward the door.

There was a picture of Elena with the word missing above it.

“I guess they didn’t think she’d make it,” Joker said.

They walked into the diner and took a seat toward the back. “Striker told me he found Elena working at a diner. Do you think she worked here?”

“From what file you have, no. Her parents taught her at home; they were afraid of the outside evil. They wouldn’t let her work.” Joker smiled up at the waitress who approached.

She was heavily pregnant, and looked like she’d seen better days. There were grease stains all over her uniform, along with ketchup, and her hair was slick from sweat.

“What can I get you guys?”

“Coffee for me,” Nerd said.

“Same here. I was wondering about the girl on the door,” Joker said, nodding toward the door.

“What do you mean?” the waitress asked. Her uniform did not have a nametag.

“The missing girl photo on your window, I was wondering about it. She looks familiar,” Joker said, clearly playing it up. “Don’t you recognize her?” Joker looked straight at him.

“Yep, was wondering about it myself. She didn’t seem all that missing to me though.”

The waitress lowered her notepad, looking around the diner behind her. “Elena has been gone for a couple of months now. Her father, and her supposed fiancé came by, but not at the same time. I overheard the dad talking on a phone, saying shit about Elena. It’s sick. They were going to marry that poor girl off to a man the same age as her father. I even heard talk that they deal in corporal punishment. I’ve seen her mother at the bank, handing out fliers, and the bruises on her couldn’t be hid with makeup.”

Striker was not going to like this. They were going to have to handle Elena’s family before they brought the cops down upon the Soldiers clubhouse.

Joker
tsked
. “Awful. It couldn’t be the same girl.”

“I hope no one finds her. The last thing Elena needs is to be forced back here.” The waitress left them alone. “To say I was surprised by the shit I heard them saying is an understatement.”

“Sounds fucked up to me.”

“I’m not going to argue with you, brother.”

The club was going to have to handle this problem.

S
triker pulled his Harley into the parking lot of the clubhouse, cut the engine, and looked behind him at Elena. She wore a helmet, her eyes wide, and her mouth clamped shut. He couldn’t help but grin despite the shit he’d have to deal with soon enough.

His woman looked scared shitless.

He helped her off the bike, took the helmet off her, and because he couldn’t help himself, Striker leaned in and kissed her. She made a soft sound against his lips, and his dick went hard instantly. When he pulled back, he could see she was more relaxed, and he fucking loved that just a kiss from him could cause that within her.

“Are you sure it’s okay to be here?” she asked, now looking over his shoulder at the clubhouse.

“You’re my old lady. Mine, Elena. You need protection, and I’m not abut to leave you at the apartment alone, not when shit is probably going to get pretty fucking ugly before this ends.” He saw the way her throat worked when she swallowed, and he knew what he was saying scared her, but she needed to know the truth. He hadn’t told her yet that he was going after her family, who had, in fact, been searching for her close to where she’d escaped. She’d need to know that shit sooner or later, but right now he just wanted her in the clubhouse and safe.

He cupped her cheek. “You’re in this now, part of my life. That means I, as well as my club, protect you at all costs.”

She nodded and looked at the club again. “This is just all so fast...”

“Maybe, but it’s right.”

She nodded, smiling softly.

“Besides, there are the other old ladies inside since we brought them all here for protection until shit gets sorted.”

“They’re here too for protection?”

He kissed her once more before answering. “When shit goes down, or we know we’re going to have to act on something dangerous, we go on lockdown. We bring all the club’s family inside the protection of the club, and make sure they are in one place for safety.”

She nodded. “Makes sense.” She was still looking at the clubhouse, and he could see she was still nervous.

“Hey, baby,” he waited until she looked at him. “Everything will be all good, okay? I’ll make sure of it.”

She nodded again. “I believe and trust you, but from what I overheard them talking about on occasion my family is crazy. The things they do are wrong, but they feel it’s their right, and that what they do is for the better of everyone, even if that means killing or torturing.”

He smirked, knowing it probably looked scary as hell, but he wanted her to know exactly who and what he was, the type of people that made up the Soldiers of Wrath. “Baby, they’ll have met their match then. We don’t fuck around, especially not when one of our own is threatened.” He cupped her cheek. “And you’re one of us. You’re mine, Elena, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you’re safe, even if that means killing and torturing. You know that.”

E
lena followed Striker into the massive compound-like clubhouse. She was worried what they would say about the fact she’d hardly knew Striker, yet here she was, his old lady, having them protect her. But the truth was this felt right. Being with Striker felt right in every way. She shouldn’t care what others thought, but she did, and she doubted that would ever change.

Her life before escaping had been sheltered, and despite the dark desires she’d entertained while laying in bed at night, wishing that things could be different, that she didn’t have to live that life, there’d always been this sliver of hope that she’d find a way out. She’d also never allowed herself to be sucked down into the lemming type mentality that had surrounded her family and their cult. And that’s exactly what living behind those walls, with those people, had been like.

Striker opened the door, but he walked in first, and she knew it was because he was overprotective of her, even in his own MC. He’d said as much before. Elena couldn’t help but feel that warmth of that fill her.

Right away, first thing she noticed was the women all congregated on one side. One of the women was visibly pregnant, and a few of the other women were smiling and touching her belly. A second later, a massively large man came out from a room in the corner, headed straight for the women, and pulled the pregnant one into an embrace. The women moved away, a few of them moving toward other bikers. She could instantly see the love and protection in their faces as they held the women.

“That’s the prez, Demon, and his old lady Deanna,” Striker said and gestured toward the Hulk of a man and the pregnant woman. “She’s due in a few months.”

She nodded, and wiped her now sweaty palms on her thighs. She was so damn nervous.

“Over there is Joker and his old lady, Amy. They just recently found out she’s pregnant. And there is Steel and his woman, Eloise.”

Just then the door opened and a tattooed beast came in with a dark haired, glasses wearing woman following behind. She was visibly pregnant, too, and the women in the club immediately went toward her.

“That’s Shakes and Daniella. As you can see there’s a lot of baby making going on here,” Striker said in his deep voice.

“He’s a club member, too?” When he didn’t answer, she glanced at Striker. His jaw was set hard, and he shook his head.

“No, he’s no longer a Patch. But that’s a story for another day. Right now, we need to worry about taking care of those fuckers coming after you.”

“Hi,” a soft female voice said behind Elena.

She turned around and saw Deanna standing there, a smile on her face, and her reddish hair up in a messy bun. She had on a formfitting top, her hands on her rounded belly.

“Hi,” Elena managed to say, not used to such friendliness. She’d never had friends where she was from, and although she spoke to the girls at the diner where she worked, they hadn’t been that friendly at first.

“I’m Deanna,” the woman said and held out her hand.