Journey (Soulless Kings MC: Marble Falls, TX #2)

1. Journey

CHAPTER 1

JOURNEY

Dibs.

Present day…

“Fuck, I thought this day would never end.”

I slowly turn to face Jackyl, our club doc, who’s locking the front door of the club-owned free clinic after the last patient leaves. I’ve been waiting on him for two hours because he doesn’t know how to say ‘no’ to anyone who walks through the door needing his help.

“You’re kidding right?” I counter. “We coulda been five beers in by now if you would’ve told Mrs. Kuntz that she’s a hypochondriac instead of listening to her go on and on about how she’s convinced she’s got testicular cancer.”

Jackyl chuckles. “If we had a good head-shrinker in town, I’d refer her.” He shrugs. “But for now, I’m all the people of Marble Falls have.”

“Jesus, I don’t envy you.”

“Which is why the first round’s on you.”

Twenty minutes later, I hand the bartender at Ballinger’s Bar a fifty to start a tab before carrying two beers and two shots to the corner of the bar where Jackyl is standing. He’s scanning the crowd, no doubt looking for a pussy to lose himself in tonight.

“Any possibilities?” I ask.

“It’s still early.”

“If you wanna get your dick wet, you could’ve done that at the clubhouse,” I remind him.

“Club whores are a dime a dozen.” He downs the shot of Jack before smirking. “Besides, I had Molly last night. I’m in the mood for a change.”

I follow suit and set my empty glass on the closest table. Jackyl’s not wrong, but hitting up the bars in town isn’t exactly a sure thing. Especially on a weeknight when the pickin’s are slim.

“Well, whatever happens tonight, we need to be ready to ride tomorrow morning,” I tell him. “Crow wants us on the road by nine.”

“Pres really thinks all of us need to go?”

“You know how he is when it comes to his old lady. Addison’s presenting at that law enforcement conference, and he’s not letting her out of his sight for that long.”

“Fuckin’ hell,” he bites out, shoving a hand through his hair. “Surrounded by bacon isn’t exactly how I want to spend the rest of my week.”

“Me either, but what Pres wants, Pres gets.”

As the Soulless Kings MC vice president, I tried to reason with Crow. I reminded him that Addi is a cop, and she’ll be surrounded by cops so there’s no need for him to go all out for protection. And he threw back at me that it was a dirty cop who fucked up her life to begin with. Hard to argue with that.

Before the conversation can go any further, Jackyl’s attention diverts to the entrance, and he whistles.

“Well, well, well… Looks like our night just got infinitely better.”

I follow his gaze and practically swallow my tongue at the sight of the two women standing just inside the door. The taller one is a beautiful blonde, but it’s the shorter one who catches my eye.

She’s average height with dark brown hair and dressed in tight jeans, black leather boots, and a tank that shows off the tattoos on her arms and shoulders.

“Dibs on the brunette,” Jackyl says as he takes a step in their direction.

I grab his arm to stop him, and he glances over his shoulder. “Dibs.”

“Aw, c’mon, brother,” he whines.

“I outrank you.” I shrug. “So… dibs.”

“Seriously?” Jackyl scowls. “You’re gonna pull that card on me?”

I grin. “Yep.”

Dropping his arm, I push past him and move toward the women. Before I can reach them, a man in jeans and a hoodie blocks my path and strikes up a conversation with the ladies. I watch as the women laugh at something he says, but then the brunette’s expression shifts, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

“Not interested,” she says, loud enough to be heard over the music.

“C’mon, baby,” he cajoles. “You know you want me.”

“She said no,” the blonde snaps.

“Wasn’t talking to you, bitch.”

“Excuse me?” Blondie demands, hands on her hips.

“You’re fuckable,” he says matter-of-factly. “But it’s her pants I wanna get in.”

Rage burns my veins, and I grab the guy by the shoulder and yank him back. “The lady said she wasn’t interested,” I snarl.

Blondie smirks, but it’s not her reaction I’m interested in. I level my gaze on the sexy brunette, and she blushes.

The guy looks from them to me and back again. “Sorry,” he mutters before yanking out of my hold and stomping away.

“We had it handled,” Blondie says, her smirk disappearing.

I lift my hands in surrender. “Okay.”

“Yo, J!” I glance over my shoulder at Jackyl and see him walking toward us. “Ya gonna introduce me or what?”

Rolling my eyes, I return my gaze to the women. “Ladies, this is Jackyl, and I’m Journey,” I say. “And Jackyl, this is…” I pointedly stare at them, hoping they’ll fill in the blanks for me.

“I’m Leah,” Blondie says. “And she’s Wren,” she continues with a nod at her friend.

“Wren,” I repeat, savoring the way her name rolls off my tongue.

“Why don’t you ladies let us buy you a drink?” Jackyl suggests.

Leah and Wren exchange a look before Wren shrugs and returns her focus to me. “Sounds good.”

Grinning, I turn toward the bar. “Follow me.”