Cards of Love: Knight of Swords

Motherfuckin’ Dex.

Was this a good sign? Or were he and his MC brothers here to silence me for good? To make sure I never told anyone what actually went down.

Dex tossed his cigarette and stomped on it as soon as he saw me. His face split into a smile and he held out his arms. “Vapor!”

Forty-Seven

Roman

Dex pulled me in for a hearty hug and slapped me on the back a few times.

“Come on. Truck’s over there.”

I said hello to the only other Lost King I recognized, Murphy. Dex introduced the other two as Bricks and Teller.

Teller and Murphy took off on their bikes ahead of us, while Bricks got into the backseat of Dex’s truck. They insisted I take the front seat.

Christ, they were probably taking me somewhere to blow my brains out and dump me in a shallow grave.

I sat sideways to keep an eye on Bricks.

Dex noticed. “Relax, kid. You did good. Fuckin’ proud of you for not breaking once.”

“I still got picked up.”

“Happens to the best of us,” Bricks assured me.

“Point is,” Dex added. “You’re not a snitch. And Ulfric was really pleased you helped him get back most of their stash.”

“The cops seized some of it.”

“Cost of doin’ business,” Bricks said.

“You seen Juliet lately? She okay?” I asked Dex.

“You have one hell of a one-track mind, kid.”

“Have you seen her or not?”

“She’s good. Madder than a wet kitten because I made her move into my apartment.” Dex looked over. “Her graduation’s tomorrow.”

Thank fuck. I got out in time. I was so damn proud of her. I may not have had the chance to walk the stage and have a diploma handed to me, but I wanted to see her do it more than anything.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

I glanced at the clock. Juliet didn’t get out of school for another three hours. I’d tag along with Dex. For now.

He pulled in behind Crystal Ball, the strip club he worked at or managed or whatever.

“I told you I’m not interested in this shit,” I said, jerking my chin toward the club.

“Calm down, Saint Roman.” Dex chuckled. “I promise not to taint your virgin eyes.”

“Ain’t nothing virgin about these eyes,” I muttered.

He smacked me on the back of the head. “Don’t you talk about my niece like that.”

Bricks reached over and punched Dex’s shoulder. “He didn’t say anything about her, dipshit.”

Apparently this brotherhood thing meant you enjoyed both verbally and physically harassing each other constantly.

Dex parked in front of a small white garage and motioned for me to get out.

“This where you interrogate rival clubs?” I asked.

“Shut up.” He laughed and shook his head.

Bricks opened the door.

An all-black Harley Electra Glide sat in the middle of the concrete floor.

“What’s this?”

Dex shrugged, but couldn’t stop grinning. “Graduation present.”

“I earned my GED in the fall. Try again.”

Dex scratched his head. “You always so difficult?”

“What? Is it a ‘thanks for not snitching’ gift?”

Bricks chuckled. “Yeah, that’s exactly what it is.”

I looked over the bike again. It was a couple years old. In good shape. Still out of my price range.

Dex ran his hand over the seat. “Juliet mentioned you two wanted to take a cross-country trip after graduation.”

“We talked about it.”

“Probably be good for her to get out of town for a little bit. You too.”

“I can’t afford this, Dex.”

“What part of gift confuses you?”

Bricks slapped his hand on handlebars. “This one’s the carbureted model. Got almost the same power delivery and throttle response as the fuel-injection ones. Plenty of horsepower and torque to haul you, your girl, and some shit wherever you want to go.”

“Yeah, thanks for the specs, Bricks. But I can’t—”

“Shut up, Vapor,” Dex said.

“Why you keep calling me that?”

“Everyone needs a road name.”

Bricks spread his hands wide. “Ulfric said you moved in that house all silent and deadly sneaking their shit out the back door. Vipers never even knew you were in there.”

The smile slid off Dex’s face. “I have the impression you’re not interested in patching-in to any one particular club.”

I shook my head. I’d gotten a taste of how three different clubs worked. I liked and disliked different things about each of them. Pledging my life and loyalty to one? Nope. There was only one person in this entire world who would get that sort of commitment from me.

“Nothing personal, Dex. I’ll help you out whenever you need me. But I’m not interested right now.”

He nodded. “Long as you take care of my girl, you’re a friend to this club. You’ve earned Ulfric’s loyalty as well.”

I swallowed hard, fighting off showing any emotion.

“Vapor can exist in two states simultaneously.” He poked me in the chest. “That’s you.”

“Plus, the silent and deadly thing,” Bricks added.

Dex slipped a leather cut off of a hook on the wall. “You earned this.” He turned it around, showing me the blank back and the rocker on the bottom that simply said “Nomad.”

“You can’t wear our colors if you haven’t been voted into the club.” He tapped a small, rectangular patch on the front. “But you earned one of these.”

It was the same patch I’d noticed on Dex’s cut the day I met him.

Respect Few, Fear None.

* * *

“For doing time without snitching,” he explained.

I could only take so much of this emotional torture before I’d break.

He pulled me in and hugged me, slapping my back a few times.

“Thanks, Dex.”

“You got it.” He glanced at the bike. “Come over Sunday. I’ll help you map out a route. Murphy has some numbers and names for clubs that you can safely stop at wherever you go.”

“Thank you. Appreciate that.”

“You wanna paint this up nice, you come see me,” Bricks said.

“I will.”

“Go on. Go see Juliet. I wasn’t sure how it would go down today, so I didn’t tell her.”

Bricks held out his hand and we shook one last time.

Then I threw my leg over the bike, twisted the throttle a few times and roared out of that parking lot to go get my girl.

Forty-Eight

Juliet

Dull wasn’t a strong enough word to describe life without Roman. They were all the same. Lifeless. Joyless.

He’d gone silent. Not accepting my calls. My letters didn’t get returned, so I assumed he read them.

Dex told me Roman was okay, but that was the only information I could pry out of him about the case.

Without Roman around, Dex insisted I stay at his apartment. I gave him grief over it, but secretly I was happy not to be alone.

Vienna bounced up and down next to me as we walked out the front doors. Dex should be by to pick me up any minute. Vienna couldn’t stop talking about which dress she wanted to wear to graduation tomorrow. I couldn’t muster up any excitement for the subject.

“I don’t even want to go.”

“You have to go. You’ve had a shit year and you’ve worked too hard not to be there. Besides,” she added in a lower voice. “Wouldn’t Roman want you to go?”

How would I know? I couldn’t ask him.

She gasped and grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks. “Juliet.” The awe in her voice made my head snap up.

Roman.

Somehow he seemed taller and broader than ever. More menacing too, as if he’d kil

l every motherfucker in this place to get to me.

He leaned on a black motorcycle I didn’t recognize and a stab of hurt poked at me. How long has he been out without contacting me?

His arms were crossed over his chest and the short sleeves of his T-shirt showcased powerful forearms. Beard scruff darkened his jaw adding an extra dose of menace to his sexy scowl.

He was a man I didn’t know anymore. No longer the boy I’d fallen in love with.