Rust: A Bad Boy Romance (Courage MC) (2 page)

S
hort and sweet
, just how I like them. Some call me a scumbag. Others call me a criminal. I s’ppose I’m both. Hell, what do I care? My life’s enjoyable enough. Whisky, beer, women, and all the cigarettes a man can inhale. Shit, life is good when you’re livin’ like a king…

The sun peaked through my window. I squinted to see against the burning rays. “Fuck.” I moaned. I smashed my alarm on what had to have been at least the tenth time that it had gone off. A burning headache shot against my temple.
What the fuck am I doing with my life?

A hand reached out and snaked its way to my pelvis, examining the curvatures of my muscles. I turned around to see her looking straight at me.
God dammit
. “Mornin’ darling.” she said, lighting up a cigarette. She gave me a knowing smile and popped her head underneath the covers, wrapping her thick lips around my hard shaft.

“Come on. Don’t.” I moaned. She was holding her cigarette outside of the covers, ashing all over the god damn place. “What the fuck?” I cried out. Was she really doing this? I couldn’t even remember taking her home.

I grabbed her hair and pulled her up. “What the hell?” she yelled, slapping my face. I simply laughed.

“Hit me baby. I dare you.” I said with a cocky grin.

“What, are you some kind of faggot or something? You don’t like getting head from
beautiful
women?” she taunted me. Bad move.

“Alright, time to go, Marsha.” I said, dragging her out of my bed. I picked her writhing body up and walked toward the front door.

“My name isn’t fucking Marsha! Let me go, God dammit! You’re a fucking
prick
, Rust!”

She put up a struggle but it wasn’t long before she was out the front door. “I don’t care what your fucking name is. Fact is, I don’t even remember who the hell you are. Now I’ve got some business to attend to, honey. I’ll call you later.” I shut the door on her face.

Truth was, I needed a change. I couldn’t live like this forever. Fucking women every night and partying until my face was swollen was fun for a while, but now it was starting to feel like a chore. I needed a
real
woman. Someone who could make me feel like a man. Someone who understood how I operated. I was a bastard, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t do better. The perfect woman was out there. That much I knew. I just didn’t expect her to fuck up my whole world.

“
H
er
? You’re really thinking about
fucking
her?” I asked him. I was shaking my damn head. She wasn’t exactly a ten on the hotness scale, though I guess he wasn’t either. “Look, I can see you going for it just ‘cause you’re bored, but shit man. Have some standards. You’re a captain for Christ’s sake!”

“I ain’t doin’ it for her looks.” he said, smiling like he was up to something big.

“Then why are you doing it? What’s the point? She’s just some bitch. Why do you even care?” I looked around the club as the pounding bass resonated through the speakers. I owned this place. Yeah, the whole place. I was worth something to these people. Funny enough, Johnny could have been my partner. Instead, he was a pro at making bad decisions.

“Shit, you don’t know? She’s Lane Matthews daughter.” he cackled, lighting up a cigar. He was practically flexing under his leather vest. It was pathetic watching a man try to prove himself like this.

“I’m going to ask you again. So what?” Lane Matthews was the head of a local motorcycle faction called “Hell’s Wheels.” It’s not like I didn’t deal with them. I did. But they were slim pickings compared to the crew I rolled with. We called ourselves Courage, and we practically ran this town.

“Rust, don’t you get it? It would mean I’ve been with a head’s daughter.” he laughed.

“You might be the biggest asshole I know. Not to mention, you’re out of your god damn mind. But have your fun.” I said. I eyed the broad across the way. I mean, she did have an ass. I’ll give her that. But fucking a girl like her was like fraternizing with the enemy. It just wasn’t a smart move.

“I’m going to go talk to her.” he said, licking his lips and fixing his hair. He straightened his leather vest and made sure his Courage tattoo was showing. He had to look
just right
.

“Go ahead. But don’t expect me to back you up when Lane finds out about you. I wouldn’t be surprised if he put your head on a stick.” Johnny looked at me with horror in his eyes.

“You really think he’d do that?” he asked me. I shrugged. “Well, you only live once, right? Come on, brother. Be my wingman on this.”

“Sure. Whatever. I love to watch a good train wreck.” I laughed, shaking my head. I couldn’t wait to see her reaction when he showed her his biceps. As if a woman wanted a guy like him. He really was an idiot.

We both walked up to the lady and I watched as he gave his best flex. “Havin’ fun?” he asked her. She was surrounded by men in leather jackets, presumably from the Hell’s Wheels faction. Protection–every girl’s gotta’ have it in these parts. I nodded at them and they gave me the nod back. It was pretty obvious who we were and most people knew of my work. They understood what territory they were in.

I was kind of the “odd jobs guy” of the crew, but that didn’t mean I didn’t run things. If the boss, Bruce, needed some information fast, I was the guy to call. Need to clean up some bodies? Call me. I could do it all, but I wasn’t no street guy. I had brains
and
brawn. Of course, that made me a liability to most. Which was why I liked to stay hidden. My father used to always say, “If you stay invisible, you’ll avoid the coffin.” Truer words have never been spoken.

“This guy bothering you?” one of the men said, arms folded. They were clearly stronger than Johnny, so I stepped in front of him. It was a warning–don’t mess with my guys. Frankly, I don’t know what the hell they were thinking. Trying to cause a scene in
my
club was like walking into a police station with a bag of weapons and drugs. You just don’t fuckin’ do it.

So when the guys realized their flaw, they backed off. “It’s okay,” she said to them, “I can handle them.” She looked at me and smiled. Yeah, I could take her out back right now and bang her against the dumpster. But that wouldn’t be too gentlemanly of me, now would it? No, I’d let Johnny have his fun. This time.

“So, doll, I ain’t never seen you around these parts before. You from here?” he asked her, playing dumb. I couldn’t believe
that
was the routine he chose to stick with. There wasn’t really anything I could do to save him from himself at this point. He had already sealed his fate. She was the daughter of a well-liked and respected officer. Did he really think she was naïve enough to fall for his tricks? Hell no. She thought he was a total loser.

“I came to check the place out.” she simply said, still making eye contact with me. Her lip-gloss shined against the pumping strobe lights of the club and I couldn’t help but become fixated on my own brief reflection.

“Oh yeah? Well, it just so happens I know the owner.” he said, looking pretty damn smug.

“Where can I meet him?” she asked. “I’d love to spend some time with him. He’s done well for himself.”

I couldn’t help but feel the flattery burn right through me. I coughed and looked away, making sure everything was going okay at the bar. At this point, Johnny had zero idea what to do. He was
never
good with women. Even when we were younger, he would always say the wrong things at the wrong time.

He became flustered. Part of him wanted to introduce me, using me as leverage to take her back home. That would never work, of course. She wasn’t here for sex. She was here for something else. Something big. I could see it glimmer against the black of her eyes.

Of course, another part of him wanted to get me the hell out of there, fast. But that wasn’t gonna work either. I was glued here. Nevertheless, I decided to make a compromise. “I’ll be at the bar. Nice meeting you gentleman.” The two men nodded as I walked away. Johnny’s mouth hung open with anxiety. A woman–what could they possibly relate to? I couldn’t wait to find out.

Truth was, I hated clubs like these. A bunch of drunken fraternity types, cowboys, and creepy douchebags who just came for the tail. Not that I blamed them or anything. I enjoyed a good piece of ass just like any guy, but I didn’t appreciate my beautiful women getting taken advantage of. Of course, this space gave me and Courage a pretty penny to split. In fact, in a lot of ways, it was a game changer for me. It made me one of the most powerful men in the city.

I sat at the bar staring at Johnny. I wasn’t even paying attention. I couldn’t help but think of her two guards and how they wouldn’t address me. Someone was going to get a talking to. There was no respect these days. No fear. That was a huge problem in my book. Huge.

Fuck.
I had to take a deep breath before I smashed their faces in. I had a temper that was hard to control. Who could blame me? I lived a hard life. I owned a lucrative business in a dense and growing city. It seemed like crews were popping up all over lately. One crew fell, two came to take its place. That’s just how it was these days. Whatever “golden days” we saw had come and gone. Now we were stuck, nailed by our success.

You see, it doesn’t pay to be the ones on top. It just means more enemies knocking at your door. It means arming yourself and preparing for sudden warfare. Betrayal. Paranoia. It was all around us. I practically fed off of the shit now. I had gotten so used to the feeling.

“Buy you a drink?” I suddenly heard a voice ask me. I came out of the trance I was in and turned my head. It was Lane’s daughter. I turned to look for Johnny. He was sitting in a corner, lookin’ at me through jealous eyes.

I ignored her, turning to the bartender and signaling for two whiskeys. “What? You didn’t like my friend?” I asked her, avoiding all eye contact. Out of the corner of my eye I could see her lick her lips. I knew I had her. It was beyond me at this point.

“He’s…” she reached for the word.

“Stupid?” I asked, smiling a little.

“I wouldn’t say that. He’s…
nervous
. I don’t like nervous. I don’t know too many women who do.” The bartender served us our drinks and gave me his thanks. I nodded.

“So you own this place?” she asked.

“What makes you say that?” I muttered, swallowing back my drink.

“You just give off that vibe. That, and you didn’t pay for our drinks.” she said. “Cheers, by the way.”

“Cheers.” I finished my drink. The bartender filled me another. “Look, let’s cut to the chase. I know who your father is.” I said.

“What’s your point?” she asked me. “Lots of people know my father. It’s irrelevant.”

I laughed. She was playing dumb with me. I didn’t appreciate when people did that. “So you didn’t come here because of him? What’s on your mind, ma’am? You obviously came here for a reason.”

She fixed her hair and blushed.
Yep.
I had her good. “I came here to have a good time.” she whispered.

“Bullshit.” I laughed loudly. “You came here to
get
something. A girl like you, with a father like Lane Matthews, doesn’t just walk into
my
club to have a good time. Now tell me why you’re here or I’ll have my men escort you out. And trust me, honey. My men are a little bit bigger than yours.”

That did the trick. “Okay, big boy. You win. I came here for a reason.”

“Spill it.” I said, chewing on an ice cube, looking satisfied.

“My father is in some financial trouble.” she said.

“Great. What does that have to do with me?” I said, spitting out the ice cube.

“He’d like to make an investment.” she said, looking around her. “Is there anywhere we can talk? You know, without anyone around us?”

I glanced at a door in the back, inappropriately marked “Exit.” “Sure. Follow me.” I said.

Johnny watched our every step, as we made our way to the back office area. It was breaking his heart to see me win the girl. Truth be told, this was
just
business. But he didn’t know that.

I shut the door behind us and locked it, motioning for her to sit down on the couch along the back wall. “So. What kind of an investment is he looking to make? I’m going to be honest with you, I don’t accept donors who can’t give me anything. If you’re father is broke, I’d advise him to get a loan. Or better yet, tell him to go rob a bank.”

“He’d like to use your club.” she said, straight faced. Apparently she didn’t like my jokes. Fair enough.

“
Use
my club?” I asked her. “Sorry, honey, but no one uses my club. Courage only. See the tattoo?” I showed her my arm.

“Our family has a lot of respect for you. After all, we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for your laying of the groundwork.” she said.

“You’re god damn right you wouldn’t.” I muttered through clenched teeth. There was that temper again. I couldn’t handle people that felt like they could just barge into any crew’s territory and negotiate. It was a bad look.

“No disrespect, sir. Your name’s Rust, right? Rust Clayton?” I nodded. “Thought so. Look, Rust. I have a deal I want to make you.”

“Go on. I’m listening.”

“You carry our product. Three months. If you don’t like the goods, you keep whatever we gave you. All up front. But if you like it, you make an oath with us to carry it for three years. Courage and Hell’s Wheels. Together. What do you say?”

“Courage only rolls alone. We don’t associate with any other crew. But we
do
make deals.” And if we could drain Lane’s money, why not? It would only strengthen our crew. And then when the Hell’s Wheels failed, we’d take them over. Easy as that.

“That’s fine. You use our product. Rename it for all I care. You’ve heard my say. Now, think it over. Here’s some samples, upfront. I think you’ll enjoy it.” She gave me a large bag of pills. Presumably MDMA. I looked down at the bag and smiled.

“I don’t touch the shit. But I like money. So if this stuff can bring in that paper, I say why not? I’ll pass this off to one of my guys. We’ll see what he says.” I said, lighting up a fresh cigar.
There’s nothing like a fresh cigar for a fresh deal.

Now that I was a little liquored up, I eyed the woman. She was sitting, her chest leaning over her legs. Her tits were practically spilling out of her goddamn shirt. How could I resist looking? “I look forward to working with you…” she said, running her tongue across her pearly white teeth. Or did I just imagine that. No, she wanted me. I could sense it.

I stood up in front of her and said, real slow, “Me too.” Her hair was falling in front of her face. I went to fix it. I ran my finger across her neck and swiped her long, thick and silky hair from her eyes.

“Thanks.” she whispered.

I decided to take my chance, inching forward even more. The sound of my leather and her breathing was all that could be heard inside this room. She leaned back and uncrossed her legs. Her feet came up on the couch and I trailed my hands across her legs, up to her thighs. “Yes…” she moaned.

I bent my face forward as I caressed the back of her head. This was it. I leaned forward and …
Bang!

That’s when I heard it. A gunshot. And then all the damn fire sprinklers went off. The sound of alarms was blaring in our ears. “Shit!” I screamed.

“You better get to that.” she whispered, looking flush and embarrassed.

“Yeah, uh, I better. You should head back. Lane’s going to want to know the deal. I’ll come by in a day or two.” She simply nodded, walking out in a hurry.
Well, that was fucked up timing…
I thought to myself.

I slammed the door behind me and ran out of the club. Who do I see?
Fuckin’ Johnny.
And he’s getting pounded. I mean, fucking pounded. Some fake biker type, wearing all leather and the wrong brand of boots, punching the life out of him. Johnny’s gun was next to him. “Not again.” I muttered through clenched teeth. This was a weekly thing around here.

I tapped the guy on the shoulder and he quickly turned around. That’s when I hit him in the nose with the butt of my pistol. “Come on, punk.” I said. “You wanna’ fight a real man?”

I slammed my fist into his mouth, shattering his teeth. “Fuck you.” He spat at me, smiling. “Faggot.”
That
got my blood boiling. No one’s allowed to call me that, let alone some moron who walked into the wrong club.

I let him hit me. You know, to give him
something
he could feel good about. Of course, that gave me my excuse to pulverize him. I grabbed him by his shirt and pressed him against the asphalt, punching downward. Three more punches and the guy was unconscious.