Bash (Diablo Disciples MC #6)

SEVEN

Bash

The place Bash enjoyed the most was sitting at the church table, while each chair filled up with the club council.

Bora Bora would be a close second, but the way the Utah summer sun was baking everyone alive, he didn’t need to go anyplace but outside to feel like he was somewhere tropical. He’d long since ditched his leather jacket as soon as he stepped off the Harley this morning. Thank fuck for the air con blasting over him from above and cooling his bare arms.

Hearing wolf whistles, he raised his head and caught sight of hairy knees coming through the door. Bash joined the laughter, seeing Splice wearing an armless muscle tee, basketball shorts and a bandana around his forehead. He flopped on a chair next to Reno.

“Are you entering an ugly knees contest?” Asked Reno. “I think you’ve got a good chance at the trophy.”

“Fuck off, I’m too hot for clothes. If I were at home, I’d be naked.”

“Thank fuck, you’ve got some sense.” Added Denver. “No one wants to see those swinging balls.”

Then Chains walked through the door and stopped next to Splice. He eyed the SAA critically, and Bash knew some shit was about to be said. He waited with his silver-ringed fingers crossed on the table.

“Did this room turn into a beauty parlor, and no fucker told me?”

“VP.” Groaned Splice, like he was in pain or about to be.

“This is church, Splice, where Axel’s council meet. You come into this room without wearing your cut, which shows disrespect. It means I’ll break those fucking knees. You get me?”

Amused, everyone started tapping on the table.

“It’s too hot to wear leather. I’m sweatier than under a witch’s tit, Chains.”

“No cut, no knees. Your choice.”

Splice pushed to his feet and scowled. “You’re a cruel asshole, Chains. I hope Monroe’s sisters come to stay for a month, and you don’t get laid.” He nearly collided with Ruin on his way out.

“Did he lose another girlfriend?” asked their enforcer. Ruin spoke more these days than he ever did, but it still wasn’t the regular amount, and when he used his voice, it usually caught everyone’s attention.

As Axel entered the room and closed the door, Splice returned to his chair, wearing gym gear and his cut.

In their line of work, regrets came in waves.

The club was in a feud with the Mexicans a few years back. A deal gone wrong when Axel discovered the cartel kingpin, Julio Ruiz, was into human trafficking, selling women and girls as young as twelve years old. He’d pushed for Axel to get in on it, too. The Diablos may be despicable, but they wouldn’t go as far as using women. If Axel and Chains had agreed to that deal, Bash would have thrown his cut back and had his tattoo removed. Ruiz retaliated by fire-bombing Axel’s house. It was a crappy time, but they got rid of all his generals and underlings, so the Renegade Souls enforcer could take him out, for a different reason. But the end games lined up for the two MCs.

There were no regrets in Bash’s mind about what they’d done back then to secure their club and the safety of their families. Murder was no joke. Bash had blood on his hands. But if not, he and his club brothers would have been slain, eventually.

It wasn’t an everyday thing. But enemies happened.

And that’s what they’d gathered early to discuss.

For months now, even longer because this enemy went back years, but they’d resurfaced in recent months when Denver had been stabbed. That was personal. They knew it was his prick of a brother-in-law, who Casey had run away from years ago. Albie was unhinged. The organization known as the Riot Brothers had expanded. When they formed, they were just a stupid little gang selling weed and pills, trying to be big boys. But over the years, they’d grown under the leadership of Harvey and his brother, Kurtis. They’d even secured foreign investment until the Diablos intervened.

Bash wasn’t the strategic part of the MC. That came down to Axel and Chains, though he piped up if he had input. As secretary, his role was to remember shit and all the details attached to that shit. Names, places, numbers, what was said, when, and by who. Each church gathering was special, and he felt a rush of anticipation each time as he took his seat and listened to the discussions.

Usually, it was about building their corporation, making profits, and developing throughout Utah.

The presence of the Riot Brothers gang made today’s church meeting unusual, and Axel was determined to intervene before things escalated.

“Whatever happens next, that little cunt Albie is mine to finish.” Grated Denver. He was recovered fine from his stab wound, but the anger went deeper than any laceration. That guy had an unhinged attachment to his step-sister, Denver’s old lady. Even a decade later, the threat of him loomed. It was only recently that Denver moved his family back home after having them on lockdown for months.

“You can handle that?” A shrewd Axel threw along the table. Handle killing a man in cold blood, he meant. Bash could tell what Denver was going to say before he nodded. Denver would do anything to protect his family. Albie made the mistake of coming back and freaking out Casey and their twin girls.

“Ruin, be on 24-7 call for Denver if he needs you,” Axel advised.

The enforcer could kill a man and then be tucked up in bed with his popstar old lady an hour later like nothing ever happened.

Not much touched Ruin.

Everyone thought he was made of steel and pure spite. But he’d changed in recent months. Still a fucking lunatic weapon, but Rory brought out an unseen side to Ruin. Down the table, the enforcer smirked like he relished being tagged in for a bit of execution.

“They’re gutter rats, Axel.” Chimed in Diamond, head of their security section.

Officially, Diamond was Axel’s bodyguard. After his house was blown to pieces, the brotherhood took a vote and decided Axel needed someone with him. He’d fought against it, as was Axel’s way, but he couldn’t argue with an official vote. Gotta fucking love democracy. But for his job, Diamond was protection for hire. It brought a sizeable chunk of change to the club.

“What’s stopping us from sitting down with Harvey and his rats and taking them all out?”

“Our police informant has told me they have eyes on the Riot Brothers, or I would consider it. I have fucking considered it many times. But no matter how we look at it, we get caught, and we’ll all join Primo in his cell.”

The laughter wasn’t as strong this time, and Bash knew why. This shit had been plaguing the MC for months. First, it had been an inconvenience, an unknown buyer snapping up properties the Diablos wanted, or undercutting deals. The night Denver was stabbed triggered a series of unfortunate events that weren’t just mere bad luck, but a deliberate act of sabotage.

One of their car washes was torched.

Bricks were put through each of their High Street stores, setting off the alarms in the middle of the night.

One of their bookies was robbed; fucking twice.

Citations were sent to the city about several permits to hold them up with their contractors.

The club had zero tolerance for anyone interfering with them or their businesses, even if it was trivial. The action of a single rat could cause an infestation of them.

Proposals were tabled and voted on to neutralize Harvey and Co.

Someone softly knocked on the door, and Axel told them to come in. Bash saw the president’s face go from fierce to a softer expression when he realized it was his old lady. She bumped the door open with a hip and entered carrying a tray.

“I didn’t think you’d want coffee right now. This heat is too much. I made icy lemonade.” She strolled in wearing white shorts and a red t-shirt to match her hair. The club queen was so optimistic and happy all the time. It was hard not to get caught up in her sunshine attitude, even as they’d been discussing killing a lot of men only moments ago.

“Thank fuck for you, Scar.” Hailed Splice. Grabbing a glass, he downed it in one and licked his lips. “Ruin, you don’t want yours, right? I’m dehydrated, my brother.” The enforcer only arched his eyebrow but took a glass and went to drink from it as Splice groaned, watching, but then Ruin slid it across the table for Splice to grab.

“Wait up, wildcat. You forgetting something?” Axel called out when Scarlett was near the door. She turned with a sly smile playing on her lips.

“Umm… I don’t think so. I just brought these in like Alice asked me to.”

“Get over here and kiss me.”

She blushed. Even though every man there had heard those two going at it many times behind Axel’s office door. “You’re working.”

“Don’t care, move it, woman.”

It felt like an intrusion to watch them lock lips, so Bash looked away, but not before he caught Axel grabbing a handful of his old lady’s ass.

It was nothing new to them now. Before Axel got together with Scarlett, he’d taken the homeless woman hostage right here in the clubhouse and spoiled her rotten. While they bickered with enough verbal foreplay, the surrounding air was constantly saturated with lust. Thank fuck they gave in and screwed each other, or they would have had to put Axel down because that woman drove him crazy.

She also grounded him. If there was proof that a woman made a man into a better person, then Scarlett was it. She’d put extra energy throughout the clubhouse by involving herself in organizing the place better. Some of her ideas had sprouted businesses. She then hired the sweet bottoms. Some of those chicks came to the MC now and didn’t fuck anyone, which didn’t please some members. Not Bash. He’d long since got bored with random hook-ups. Not that he advertised his love life or lack thereof.

“Don’t be late home, Mark.” They heard Scarlett whisper, and Axel swatted her ass before she squealed and rushed to the door.

“You’re asking for it,” growled the Prez, eyeing his woman like a slab of cake.

“Now I need another glass of lemonade after that porn show.” Complained Splice, wiping his brow.

Axel raised his eyebrow before asking. “Okay, where were we?”

“I think you were squeezing Scar’s ass, Prez.” offered a helpful Splice. The guy was asking to be shot between the eyes today.

When the meeting was winding down, and men were leaving their seats to get back to their regular duties, Axel called his name. “I need to see the contract for the construction over on Blythe. Did you get it? And what about the permits?”

Their most recent project, conceived by Scarlett, focused on renovating an apartment block to provide sweet bottoms with rooms to rent off the headquarters land, reducing their overnight stays at the clubhouse. Bash thought those old ladies were at it again, trying to keep their men from temptation. The sweet bottoms had no filters and offered their goodies to everyone, even the married members.

“I’ll grab it now.”

“How are you getting on with finding us a new lawyer?”

Their retained lawyer recently retired to Florida. Bad timing all around while they were in the depths of this new shitshow. It was convenient to have a guy on speed dial who could bail them out or grease a judge’s palm to get charges dropped.

“Working on it, Prez. Who’d have thought it was so difficult to find a crooked lawyer? Time was, you could spit and hit the bullseye ten times out of ten.”

Axel cracked a smirk. “Make it happen, yeah? We get Primo back by the end of the year and he can lighten the load.”

“Speaking of. I ordered all the updated computer shit he’ll need. It’ll be here in a few days, but don’t ask me to set it up. Tech isn’t my specialty. He’s gonna cream his panties when he sees the office Scar has ready for him. It’s some advanced-tech geeky shit.”

Now Axel’s grin was one of pride. Bash knew he loved how integrated his wife was with the club. Thinking of an old lady put Charlotte at the forefront of his mind. He’d missed having lunch with her yesterday and probably couldn’t make it today, not with his workload.

In his mind, he saw his hand wrapping around her long ponytail and using it like a leash, so her head tipped back to kiss him.

She’d be sweet and eager, standing on her tiptoes to reach his mouth, needing it more than her next breath. If she begged… fuck .

A restlessness worked its way through his system. Something he wasn’t used to feeling. This thing inside pushed him to be wherever Charlotte was, even just for a minute, for that little fix of seeing her face. Even if she scowled and scolded, it was enough.

That’s how he knew it wasn’t a fast fuck he was looking for. He could get that anywhere.

He wanted the slow and the begging. The out of control and the nasty.

And no one else would do but the sweet, darling nurse.

Bash had to banish those thoughts; there were a lot of steps to go through before he even got a kiss. If he got a kiss, it was still pending.

Lots of time afterward for sweet, addictive begging.

If it were up to Bash, he’d have her naked already sitting on his kitchen counter and his head buried between her thighs, while she ripped his hair out.

Blowing out a hot puff of air, Bash strode through the church doorway and got to work.