Nothing Lasts Forever (Battle Born MC Book 2) Read online

  “No shit, I’m happy to hear that she’s doing better and coming out on top of it all. God, it’s been what, about four years since he passed?”

  “I think so. No one has asked her, but she did say they’d been together their whole lives. Real love stuff, she didn’t want to be here without him. But I think we changed the bar so much that it gave her hope to start over, and still remembering the past isn’t as hard for her anymore either.”

  Jenn finishes her coke, sliding the empty glass bottle over to me, then she turns to leave, throwing over her shoulder, “Good, us wounded girls should stick together.”

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  An hour goes by and drinks are passed along with laughs, and smiles are traded across the room. I can see now why Vegas needed this bar to start over. She needed to be the chameleon in the crowd. Stealing smiles and happiness from strangers to initiate the healing. Surviving. Aren’t we all looking for our paths? Our own road to happiness and healing?

  Looking over across the bar, I see Kat laughing with Tank, only to keep him at arm’s length later.

  Spider is sitting alone, as usual, evaluating the crowd, or is he appearing busy to keep others at bay?

  Solo and Pawn are sitting together in a comfortable silence at another table, watching Tami clean tables and glaring back at the other boys as they watch her sway with the movement. That show has my heart melting a little bit more every day. When will either one of them go for her? Go for the woman they want?

  “After Jenn had her bathroom break, her songs and mood picked up. Thank God, she was putting me to sleep,” Kat says, getting me out of my thoughts.

  “Something snapped her out of her funk,” I agree.

  James flags me over to the side of the bar. “What’s up, dude?”

  “Kat is right about Jenn snapping quickly out of her funk.”

  “What do you mean?” What are they seeing that I’m missing? Jenn’s always had highs and lows.

  “I don’t know for sure what is going on. It’s more than her normal hot and cold that she usually has. Her emotions are getting more extreme and unpredictable,” James tries to keep his voice low as he’s telling me all this.

  “You keepin’ tabs on her?” Snake asks out of nowhere.

  James and I jump at the sound of his voice and turn around to look at him behind us. I laugh at his abrupt appearance, holding a hand over my chest and willing my heart rate to slow down. Snake smiles back at me, looking a little too interested in my hand. He’s got a smirk on his face, and I tilt my head in reaction, trying to gauge were his sudden interest is coming from.

  “Fuck, Snake, why do you always do that creepy shadow shit around people?” James asks, clearly annoyed with Snake.

  “Not my fucking problem you were too busy girl chatting with Dana to hear me walk up behind you,” Snake says with a dumb ass tone back to James. “What’s going on with Jenn?”

  “I was just telling Dana that Jenn is more out of her norm than usual. Not her normal attitude toward everything. And yeah, I’ve been watching her for a long time. Since she got back from California from her visit a year ago, she’s been getting gradually worse.”

  “So, what are you doing about it? You want me to get Cu- Fuego on it?” Snake stutters a bit, concerned and annoyed that we haven’t mentioned it sooner.

  “Snake, you want me to call up every time these girls act up? That would be weekly, sometimes daily updates, asshole. Call Fuego if you want, but I got it handled,” James states and moves back out to his spot on the floor.

  “Snake, why are you so hard on James for?” I say while passing him a cold beer from the tap.

  “It’s not James I have a hard on for, Dana,” Snakes says, lowering his voice and stepping in closer to me. He takes his glass and brings it to his lips to take a long drink. I can’t help staring at his throat as it moves while he chugs half the glass in one go. The man is fine, and, once upon a time, in my own personal fairytale, he was the knight in shiny armor. But not anymore.

  “I’m not playing around with you, Snake.”

  “That may be true for now, but there was a time when you liked playing around.” He leans in over my heated body to my ear. “Remember who your first kiss was,” he whispers, and I see his eyes going to my lips. Then, they go back up to my own, giving me a determined look. “And I know that you haven’t ridden on the back of his bike or worn his patch.”

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  Axl

  “Is Tank ready for this?” I question Blade.

  “You better never ask that anywhere close to Tank, brother,” Blade warns me.

  The crowd grows louder and louder as Tank jumps up over the top rope of the ring.

  “Tony has this place packed. That fucker is making some serious cash running this joint,” I say while looking around to check it all out again.

  Girls scream for Tank as he makes a show of taking his shirt off, whipping it out into the crowd of eager women. “Fucking show off, he better have his head in the game. The guy he’s going against has a legit good record.”

  “Wouldn’t worry about his record, shit doesn’t matter. Tank’s been undefeated since we’ve known him,” Spider says as he’s looking over the crowd and spotting Tony. “Looks like Tony is here to keep tabs on us. What is this fight paying out?”

  “Twenty thousand if he wins, thirty-five thousand if he knocks him out,” Blade answers, then nods over to the cashier cage where Snake hands over a fistful of cash. He’s not wearing his cut as he’s placing a bet on us to earn the club some side cash. Tony won’t see us taking from him.

  “Tony never said we couldn’t bet on ourselves, but we’ll keep it our secret for as long as we can,” Blade continues and we watch Snake take his ticket, then moving to the back of the room alone as if he doesn’t know us.

  As the other boxer takes the ring, one of the ring girls begins to signal the beginning of round one. She’s a pretty blond girl with fake, hard looking, large tits that are not moving when she walks around topless in her string bikini bottom and stripper heels. None of us look over at Barbie like she’s intended us to. Fake huge tits are not my kink, neither is the plastic Barbie lookalike.

  The house MC declares over the speakers, “As you know, these matches are not scored. It’s last man standing or knocked out. The longer the match goes, the less the fighters are paid,” he chuckles as the crowd roars in approval. “At the sound of the bell, round one will start. Each round lasts three minutes.”

  Tank and the other man are in a standoff, sizing each other up. They’re almost equally built, but Tank’s muscle mass is outweighing the other guy, and he’s also few inches taller. As they start circling each other, the bell rings and Tank’s opponent bounces forward on his feet, already throwing out a few jabs. He’s testing Tank’s agility and speed. Tank plays his reaction slower than it actually is, allowing his opponent to land a few indirect hits. He then steps back and bounces on his feet, still assessing the other guy.

  The boxer grows impatient, circling Tank, then moves in to throw a few body shots to his ribs, nailing him in his lower back, straight in his kidney.

  “Fucker felt that, his body clenched up with that hit,” I mutter to myself.

  Blade just stares ahead, ignoring my comment, waiting for Tank to get to business. Tank sharply turns, facing the throws, then directs a jab with his left fist, and the guy’s head snaps back. He keeps his hands up as Tank steps forward leading with his right fist.

  They tap gloves couple of times after which Tank jabs his left then right fist, followed by a quick upper cut. The boxer stumbles back and bounces off the ropes. Finding his balance again, he comes back at Tank, jabbing left and right until he finally lands a good hit on Tank’s chin.

  “Fuck!” Blade roars with the crowd. “Time to get to work, Tank!”

  Tank licks the blood from his lip and smiles toward the other man. Rolling his shoulders up and forward, he makes himself look bigger. He holds them higher in anticipation as the
guy struts around the ring a little cocky.

  The fighter then comes at Tank, with a left, then a right. Tank bobs with each hit. When the fighter steps into him with his left foot, Tank takes advantage of his body opening and delivers a blow to his gut. The boxer heaves forward. Tank slams his fist on top of his head and he falls to the ground with Tank on top of him.

  The fighter tries to recover as Tank delivers blow after blow to his back and head. He rolls over onto his back to cover his face. Tank knees him in the ribs as the fighter’s hands come down at his sides. Tank punishes the man’s face with another punch.

  The boxer tries to recover and get Tank in an arm lock by wrapping Tank’s arms in his and using his legs to strengthen his hold, but Tank’s massive frame picks the whole man up and off the floor, body slamming him back onto the ground.

  The fighter’s hands fall to his sides going limp. Tank grabs the man by the hair and busts his face open with blow after blow. Blood splatters Tank’s face and pours from the man’s nose and mouth before the bell is rung and Tank is declared the winner.

  The MC steps in and holds Tank’s arm up. “And the winner by knockout and defeating the previously un-defeated champion… Tank!”

  Solo jumps up into the ring to hand Tank a towel as the crowd whistles in agreement. Tank cleans up before throwing his cut back on and jumping down from the ring with Solo in tow. Following our Prez, we make our way to Tank through the crowd.

  As soon as we meet Tank on the floor, a few of Tony’s guards signal us over to Tony, then lead us down a long hallway. The guards stop in front of a door where he knocks one time. The door opens, and we walk in to meet up with Tony in a smaller room off to the side of the fighters’ locker rooms, in this old warehouse where the underground matches are being held.

  The lights are dim, and we spot only a small desk and chairs. Tony pulls out a marker book which he lays out on the table. He opens it to a page that’s marked with our club name, deal details and amounts.

  Blade, Spider, Tank, Solo and I stand at our Prez’s back as he reads over the page. “And you want me to do what? Sign off on today’s fight?”

  Tony appraises Blade before answering. “Yes, I want a confirmation on the amount we agreed upon for each fight before you leave each match.”

  “I’m not signing my name for shit. You can take my word for it or not. Spider will keep track of our balance. We paid up our thirty-five thousand for today. Send Spider only a list of dates and times and when we need to be there. That will get this debt paid off and we never have to talk.”

  Blade rips the page from the book and hands it to me. He then forcefully pushes the book back across the desk.

  “Never the businessman, Blade. Ever heard of making friends? We could make money working together, but you continue to make that part difficult.” Tony’s face has gone dark, in complete contradiction with his taunting statement.

  “Fuck your ‘let’s get along bullshit.’ I’ve got shit to do, just send Spider the information,” Blade barks back.

  Glaring at each other over the desk, we back out of the room mindful of Tony and his guards. We carefully keep tabs on everyone as we make our way out. Most people are focused on the current match as two other guys go blow for blow.

  As soon as we make it to the bikes, I ask, “Why the hell is Tony writing this shit down for, Blade? If he gets raided, he takes us all down with him, or he’ll try to use that information against us later.”

  “I agree, Axl, he has an alternative motive, other than just the club paying him back. That dirty cocksucker is up to something. Even though we cleaned up Johnny’s mess, our asses still have to pay for what the old Prez did before.”

  “Aye, Prez,” I pat him on the back. “How about we put the prospects on him, and we get you to Tahoe and to your Ol’ Lady?”

  Chapter 7

  Dana

  I see Vegas in the mirror getting ready for her wedding night. She’s ratting her dark hair to create a high bump on the back of her head. The girls, Kat, Jen and Tami and I, we all couldn’t wait for this day. Blade gave us a fistful of cash a week back to buy what we all needed to surprise her tonight. We are a wedding party made of wet dreams, not necessarily the picture of happily ever after. Every one of us is in a pair of black leather pants, boots and black silk blouses, except for Vegas who is killing it in a miniskirt.

  My phone vibrates on the bed and I pick it up to see missed calls and texts that came in from Axl. Jenn hums low in appreciation, “This is definitely Vegas. Blade does you good, girl.”

  Roger Rabbit: Answer your damn phone, woman!

  Then another two…

  Roger Rabbit: Get your asses down here, Blade is being an asshole.

  Roger Rabbit: I’m giving you five more minutes, then I’m dragging Vegas down here. I don’t give a fuck!

  Smiling at my phone, I text back to Axl, Easy, tiger, we are headed down now.

  It’s a total lie. I know it’s bad, but it will buy me fifteen more minutes before he sends another text. Chuckling to myself, I walk over to Vegas as she steps into her tall black boots. Jenn walks in front of me, knocking me a bit off balance in the process. Damn, what the hell was that? My phone buzzes again with a notice.

  Roger Rabbit: Right the fuck now, not in 15

  Roger Rabbit: I’m serious, woman. RIGHT. FUCKIN. NOW.

  Shoving my phone in my back pocket, I clap my hands together to grab these girls’ attention. “Let’s get moving, Axl already texted me five times in the last twenty minutes. Blade wants you in the chapel. Now!“ I smile at my best friend and let her lead the way out the door and through the casino.

  Getting to the entrance of the chapel doors, I see Axl standing at the end of the aisle next to Blade. Looking left, he finds me staring. He looks so hot in his cut, with black jeans and boots. We follow Vegas and her dad, Fuego, down the aisle as we stand off to her right side and the officiator starts talking. I catch a few words along the way as Axl won’t let my eyes go. My heart flutters in my chest from his intense stare.

  “Will you take William Johnson to be your lawfully wedded husband in all things, until death do you part?” The officiator asks Vegas and she responds, “I do,” barely containing her happiness.

  A tear threatens to leave the corner of my eyes. The emotions from Vegas, her happiness, and the intensity from Axl are all overwhelming me. Blinking back the traitorous bastards, I look back over to Blade and Vegas.

  “Will you take Alessia DeRosa to be your lawfully wedded wife in all things, until death do you part?” The officiator asks Blade.

  “I do, for this life and the next,” Blade says.

  The pull coming from Axl has me looking back toward him again. It seems all too soon to feel this connection between us, but it’s also right at the same time.

  “You may now kiss the bride.”

  And it’s done. Blade takes Vegas’ face in a forceful, passionate kiss, then he quickly leads them out of the little casino wedding chapel, whistles and hollering erupting as they disappear behind the doors.

  A strong hand grabs mine, the gentle feel of calloused skin so familiar as I turn into Axl. Wrapping his strong arms around me, he pulls my body close and whispers in my ear, “You look beautiful in black. Leather is hot as fuck on you.”

  Taking a deep breath, I wrap my own hands around him and run them over his back. “Yeah? I think you’re pretty damn sexy in black too.”

  Axl leans forward nipping at my lips a few times. “Come on, princess, party is moving into the bar.”

  For most of the night, Axl and I spend time laughing and talking with everyone as an Ed Sheeran song comes on. Every brother runs off the floor like the plague hit it.

  Axl grabs my hand while laughing at the mass exiting scene we just witnessed. Bodies rush past us as he leads me down toward the dance floor. He spins me around when Perfect Duet starts playing. Grabbing me as I twirl for about the fifth time, his solid chest hits mine. His hands grip my hips and we sway side t
o side.

  He nips at my neck, then starts kissing his way up to my ear. He pulls my body tight against his. We sway together, and I rest my head and hands against his chest. He sings along while holding me close. “I don’t deserve this, you heard it, darlin’, you look perfect tonight,” Axl’s warm, soft lips whisper to me. It’s my turn to laugh as he grabs a handful of my ass giving it a tight squeeze.

  I say to him, “I was just about to say how sweet you are.”

  A rumble of laughter vibrates from his chest and I feel it under my hands. Dancing like in another world, we hold on to each other and a little more hope blooms inside of me. That Axl will stick around, stick around with me even when the world crashes around us.

  I close my eyes tightly and feel the tears pricking at my eyes as I think of all I’ve lost. My mom to drugs, men who left when life got real, my dad when I was little.

  Gripping Axl’s shirt in my fists, a tear finally falls. Axl’s hands lightly grip mine to loosen their hold on him. He holds them together with one hand as his other one touches my chin, seeing a tear streak down my cheek. He kisses my pain away. He pulls me closer, holding me to his chest as another one falls. When the song ends, he pulls my face toward his and his soft lips take mine in a sensual, slow kiss. Giving me promises with his heart through his kisses.

  For the second time tonight, another round of whistles and catcalls come from our crowd of onlookers. They drag us out of the magical world we put ourselves in. Jenn catches my eye as we walk back to the table we were sitting at. She and Solo have a quiet disagreement in a corner. Jenn’s hands go up in the air exasperated. Solo shakes his head, turning and walking away from her. Jenn’s eyes follow Solo as he walks away and find mine watching her. She rolls her eyes as if it was nothing.