Rust: A Bad Boy Romance (Courage MC) (7 page)

“
W
ait
, a damn second now. You’re what?” Bruce said, practically spinning with confusion. He was tugging at his beard, thinking hard about all of this.

“We’re gettin’ married, boss.” Rust announced to Bruce. “I know it sounds kind of crazy, but things have really changed in the past few days.” Bruce shook his head and pulled him aside, as if I couldn’t hear them speaking. It was so embarrassing.

“I’m not too sure that’s a good idea, boy. Now I know you. You do some impulsive shit. But marriage? That ain’t something you can get out of easy. Take it from me. My ex-wife still comes after my money. Maybe you should think this through.”

Rust shook his head. “I know what I’m doing, Bruce. I promise you.”

“I know you
think
you know, but you don’t. Look, I don’t want to cause any alarm or fuss, so keep this between you and me.” He nodded, glancing over at me. “Things are a bit shaky right now with the two families. I think we all just need to lay low for a bit. Until things smooth over. I’m afraid if you two get hitched, both sides will think something weird is goin’ on.”

“I know. I saw it in the boys at the hospital the other night. Bruce, I’m gonna put all my cards on the table. If we lay low, things are just going to escalate. We saw some shit the other night that made my stomach turn…”

“What kind of shit are you talking about, boy?” Bruce asked with a worried expression on his face.

I stepped in, saying, “A member of the Hell’s Wheels, Don. He’s gone completely insane ever since my father passed. He’s taken over the crew, leaving me with no other options.”

“So what’s your plan?” he asked. “You get married? How the hell will that help?”

“We have an idea of what could happen. We expand Hell’s Wheels territory and smooth things out within my ranks first.”

“And then what? My men sure as hell won’t be happy with your men on their streets. You’re treading into some dark water, you two. I don’t think you know what you’re doing. Beware. That’s all I have to say.”

“Well it’s better than sitting around and hoping for the best. And it sure as hell is better than launching a full out war.” Rust said. “I know you’re the boss of this gang. And I have all the respect for you in the world. I would never want to take your place or decide what’s right for this crew. But I think this is the best shot we have. I really do.”

Bruce turned to me, finally, and asked, “And what about you, little lady? You think the same thing?”

“I think it’s the only chance we really have. It’s that or total war. The best we can do is team up together, push our men into their territory launch a full offensive strike against the Darkhorse gang. If we get our men together on this, we can take them down and expand both our businesses. After all, that’s what this is all about, right? Both sides can see results.”

It was our best chance. It had to work. I looked over at Rust and he looked back at me. I could tell he thought Bruce was going to approve of our plan. If he didn’t, it was back to square one.

Bruce sat down and mulled it over. He was getting older. Things weren’t as set in stone as they used to be. Territories were changing and new lines were being drawn. This was the punishment of history’s gains. “I ain’t never taken ‘military’ advice from a woman before. I just don’t know…” He scratched at his long, unkempt beard.

“It’s a new world.” I said. “Better get used to it or pay the price.” This wasn’t some feminist stance. I couldn’t give two shits about any of that. This was reality. And if he wasn’t going to embrace it, he was going to be left in the dust. “Leaders come and go. The only thing that remains is the future. Let’s push Courage and the Hell’s Wheels into the future, Bruce. Together.”

“Ah,
shit
,
shit
,
shit
! Why is it that there’s always a member of my gang comin’ up with insane plans?” He sighed loudly and slammed his fist into the wall in front of him. “Alright. Fuck it. You have my blessing. Go forth and multiply, or however the saying goes. I don’t give a shit no more. If you need me, I’ll be in my office with a bullet proof vest and two loaded rifles in my hands.”

I laughed.
A bit over-dramatic, right?
“Thanks, Bruce. We won’t let you down.” I said, patting his back.

“You’re still the enemy in my book.” he said. “But I’ll do business with the enemy if need be.”

“Don’t worry. We got this taken care of.” Rust assured him.

“Boy. If there’s anything I know about these kinds of situations, it’s that you don’t have any clue what might happen. I’ll expect you to report back to me, but I don’t expect any results.”

When all was said and done, we both took a deep breath and headed into the open air. “Ready to get married, dear?” he asked me, extending his hand.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I placed my hand into his strong palm and he squeezed, sending goose bumps throughout my body. I had to keep telling myself that this was just fantasy. This was just a means to an end. This wasn’t love. Of course it wasn’t. But then, why did I feel so
different
?

I jumped onto his Harley Davidson and held onto his warm body, placing my head against his strong shoulders. “Let’s ride.” he said, revving the engine. He put the bike into gear and took off, riding against the sun.

Even though I grew up tough, as a young girl I still fantasized about getting married to the man of my dreams. Now, here I was getting married to an opposing family. Business. Just business, of course. What we were doing was actually a noble cause, unlike most marriages. A lot of marriages ended up in heartbreak, divorce, and disaster. Not mine. No, this marriage was special. It was made to mend our little kingdoms. And though our men couldn’t see it yet, we were avoiding imminent disaster.

“Where we headed to?” I called out to Rust, who’s hair was whipping back against the wind. His hands, veiled by his black leather gloves, held on tightly to the handlebars of his motorcycle.

“I thought you would’ve guessed by now.” he laughed, speeding through a red light. “We’re going to the infamous drive-thru wedding!” He cut through a corner and zipped past two other bikers, unaffiliated with any gang. They flipped us off.

“A drive-thru wedding? Are you serious?” It wasn’t exactly my dream wedding situation. Then again, none of this was. My father was dead and my crew had turned against me. I had to adapt and be strong. Plus, it made for one good story.

We turned into an empty parking lot where a lone brick building stood. I doubted anyone really went to this anymore, but a neon “We’re Open!” sign flashed in front. Bible verses were posted on a board to the side and a woman slid open the window. “Look at you two lovebirds!” she exclaimed. “Well aren’t you cute, ridin’ up on your little bike like that. Come on through! You guys fixin’ to get married, or what?”

Rust frowned, a little hurt that the lady called us “cute.” Nevertheless, he rolled on through and stopped at the window. “Uh, one marriage, please.” he mumbled.

“Aww.” she cooed. “I just
love
it when two people can come together and—” But Rust almost immediately interrupted her.

“Let’s just get on with it, alright? We got a lot to do today.” he grunted.

“Oh, of course. I apologize. You have a honeymoon to go on!” She smiled extremely wide for us. Rust was squeezing the handlebars, making sure he didn’t lose his cool. All this “cute” stuff was really getting to him.

“Darlin’.” she said to me. “Why don’t you get a little closer to him. Go on, don’t be shy. Sit on his lap!”

I got off the bike and walked in front of him, shaking my hips from side to side. You know, teasing him. I know how much this was killing the man and it gave me a lot of pleasure to draw it out as much as possible. I pushed my butt out and placed it directly on his lap. “Come on, honey. Put your hands around me. Aren’t you excited?” I winked.

“Happiest day of my god damn life.” he mumbled, looking uneasy. “Alright, let’s do this. Read the words, lady. Marry us.”

I hit his arm. “Honey, don’t rush this. This is going to be the day we look back on the most!” He shook his head, unable to even look me in the eyes.

The woman read a few bible verses and then began the actual ceremony. She turned on an old boom box and pressed play on a cassette tape. Old, sappy and romantic music played as I held Rust close to me, knowing full well I was ruining his day.

“Now, what are your names?” she asked us.

“This here’s Rust! And I’m Jackie!” I smiled and kissed his cheek.

“Do you Rust take beautiful Jackie to be your lawfully wedded wife, promising to love and cherish, through joy and sorrow, sickness and health, and whatever challenges you may face, for as long as you both shall live?” she asked, tears forming in her eyes. She was obviously a sucker for true love.

“I do.” Rust sighed, grabbing at a cigarette.

“And do you Jackie take handsome Rust to be your partner in life; sharing your path, equal in love, a mirror for your true self, promising to honor and cherish, through good times and bad, until death do you part?” she asked, wiping the tears away. Oh, it was such a beautiful moment.

“I do.” I said.

“Oh, shoot!” she cried. “You guys are just too darn cute! Do you have the rings?”

The rings!
I had completely forgotten about that part. Of course we didn’t have any rings.

But Rust reached into his pocket and pulled out an old ring. “I got mine, right here.” Rust said. It was beautiful, with a large diamond in the center.

“What…” I said. “Rust…”

“Take it. It was my grandmothers. You’re part of the family now. It’s yours.”

“Yes! True love!” The woman exclaimed, clapping her hands. “But where is your ring, sir?” she asked.

“I don’t need no ring. I told her not to get me one.” he muttered under his breath.

“Well isn’t he sweet. He doesn’t need anything physical to show the world that he loves you. You just know, don’t you?” I nodded awkwardly.

And now, by the power vested in me by the State of Idaho, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”

“And then something
different
happened. Rust leaned forward and kissed me, but it wasn’t like a normal kiss. No. It was passionate, loving, and confident. It was as if he had loved me all of his life. A
real
kiss. An actual kiss, born out of love. Was I crazy to think that? I wrapped my arms around him and smiled, listening to the woman declare us together, for life.

“Family and Friends, I present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs…” She stopped short and whispered, “What’s y’alls last name?”

Rust cleared his throat and whispered, “Blackwood.” He looked proud.

“Your last name is Blackwood?” I asked.

“Drop it.” I shrugged. It wasn’t weird or anything, but clearly he didn’t want people knowing he had a last name at all.

The woman at the window perked up and excitedly yelled, “Mr. and Mrs. Blackwood! You two are married!” She shot a confetti gun at us, causing Rust to nearly fall off his bike out of sheer surprise.

And that was it. We were married.
Together. Forever.

I
couldn’t believe
it myself. Marriage?
Shit
. How the hell did I end up here? Me and my big mouth. All my crazy ideas. My rash decision-making. It wasn’t as if this was
real
though. It’s for the families. More importantly, it’s for Courage. I had to remember that. It was a time of violence and the only thing that might bring us together was
love.
Disgusting, but true.

Bruce made the announcement to the two crews, letting the news be heard far and wide. It wasn’t long before everyone that was connected with either Courage or Hell’s Wheels knew about the wedding. An official “wedding celebration” was set for that night and both crews were invited.

I’d be lyin’ if I said I wasn’t nervous, but it wasn’t because I was legally bound to Jackie. That I could take care of with a lawyer and some force. No, it was because I had to face the two gangs and bring them together as best as I could. For the first time in my life, I had to act like a boss and try to unite the two. This was the best plan we had and it seemed a bit sketchy. Still, we had to try in order to know if we had failed.

Holding hands, my
wife,
Jackie, and I walked into my club, to a large applause. The bass was pounding, the whisky was flowing, and the boys were a shit show, already unable to stand up from all the drugs and alcohol they had put into their ageing bodies. I thought to myself,
God bless ‘em
.
They have no idea what is going on between the two gangs.

Jackie pointed to a group of maybe 50 men or so in the corner. “There’s some of my guys.” she said. They nodded in our direction and I nodded back, walking towards them, hand on my holster. Just in case.

“Evenin’” I muttered.

They men uncrossed their arms and gave their best smile. “Congrats, Jackie.” The more Alpha one said to her.

“Thank you, Randy. It means a lot that you came here tonight.”

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” he said. “I, uh, am sorry about Lane. He was everything to us. But we know you’ll be as good a leader as any.” he said.

“You have my back?” she asked. “I wasn’t sure any of my crew did. Seems as if most of you would rather run things into the ground.” From afar, I could see Bruce eying us, making sure things were going smoothly.

“Don’s doing his best to cause an upset. But we don’t think that’s such a hot idea. We came in solidarity. We don’t need any more war in this land. There’s been too much of it over the years.” he said, shaking his head.

“You’re young.” she said. “But you’re already a hundred times smarter than the captains of our gang. It’s a new era, as you can see. And I’ll make sure that you’re taken care of once this is all sorted out.” Well, she was an honorable leader. I’ll give her that much.

The young man held his shot glass up high in the air and shouted, “So tonight, let’s celebrate!”

“Cheers.” I said, downing the shot and throwing the glass behind me. One of the great things about owning a bar was doing whatever the hell you wanted to do, without any fuss. A man behind me cleaned up the glass as quick as he could.

We walked over to Bruce, to talk more business. So far, everything had been going according to plan. But we had to make sure things were smooth with our crew as well.

“Well if it ain’t the two lovers! Congratulations, you crazy sons of bitches!” He slammed back his drink and sighed as the liquor made its way down his esophagus. “God damn, they got some strong drinks tonight!”

“Everything seems to be in order, boss.” I said.

“Yeah. So far so good, I s’ppose. We’ll see how the night plays out though. Gotta make sure everyone’s on the same page.”

“How’s Johnny doin’?” I asked him, feeling that sudden weight pile up inside me, that lingering guilt that felt like a knife stabbing into my abdomen.

“Well, I'm gonna be straight with you, boy. He's not doin’ too hot. But I told them doctors that he was a fighter. And if the good Lord sees it fit, he’ll pull through. All we can do now is sit and wait for more news.” He sighed. “I can smoke in here, right?” He held out a cigarette as if it were a magic wand.

“You can do whatever the hell you want. It's practically your club, Bruce.” I laughed, grabbing one myself. I had forgot that this was one of the only times he had stepped foot in my club. At least the first time when people had filled it to capacity.

“Well you've made a fine business investment. I'm proud of you, Rust. Now, let's see how well you handle this situation. Maybe a promotion is in order.”

And with those words, I jumped on a table and announced, “I’ve got a toast!” The room suddenly got very quiet. The music shut off and all that could be heard was the whispering words of the bikers around me. “I'd like to introduce my wife.” I triumphantly declared. “Honey, get on up here!”

Cheers erupted all around us as Jackie got onto the table with me. “Now, I know times have been tough for all of us. For Courage, we could be losing a good friend and brother. Johnny. You all know him. You all love him. Let's keep him in our thoughts, alright? He
will
live another day!” I bent my head forward in a moment of silence, closing my eyes and praying to whoever was out there, that Johnny would live through this.

Suddenly, to my surprise, Jackie started talking. “And all the Hell’s Wheels out there. We lost a leader yesterday. A damn good leader at that. And I lost a father. He was the best father I could've asked for. Listen, I don’t want your sympathy. I don't need your condolences. What I do want is for you to respect my father, Lane’s, legacy.
Together
, we can mend these wounds.
Together,
we can bring back the glory days of both our crews! Because I don't want to see the Darkhorse gang rise up and take away all that is good. Let's restore our past glory!”

The crowd went fucking wild. And I mean
wild
. I looked over at Jackie in confusion and she just smiled and shrugged. Who was this woman? I hated even admitting this to myself, but she was a real leader.

We got swept away together in the drink-fueled crowd. The boys sang songs and told stories of Johnny and others who didn’t have as much luck. At one point in the night, a hand slapped my back and I heard the familiar voice of the rogue dealer, Jorge. He was a bastard of a man and yet, he was a good ally to those invested in Courage, mostly because he knew we were the path to the money. He said, “Hey, I just want you to know. Word on the street is people really like you two. You’re bringing people together and shit. It’s good for business. If you need anything, just let me know. But I gotta warn you, homes. Watch your back. There are rogue groups plannin’ on taking you down when you least expect it.”

“Don…” I muttered, clenching my fist.

“Yeah, maybe. I just wanted to let you know. There’s darkness lurking out there.” He nodded his head at me and shook my hand.

“Thanks, Jorge. You’ve always been there for Bruce, and made sure the streets were good for business. It’s respectable.”

“Word.” he simply said, turning around and walking away.

“What was that about?” Jackie asked me.

“Just another ally.” I said. “Looks like we got a lot of them now.” I said, nearly falling over from how many shots I had taken.

I made my way into the corner of the club and sat down. It had been a long fuckin’ night and I was exhausted. Jackie walked to my left and bent over the table, ass out and back arched. “So.” she said.

“So.” I laughed.

“We did it. I can’t believe we pulled it off. You have some insane ideas, Rust. But I have to admit, this was one of the better ones.

“I knew it’d come through. People eat this love shit up. As for me, I’m out to collect Don’s head. That bastard has gotta go.”

“You have a lot of determination.” she said, running her tongue against her teeth. And in an instant, I could tell what she wanted. Man, was she was a crazy broad.

“You like that?” I asked, leaning back in my chair. “Come here.”

“It’s sexy.” she said, placing her ass on my lap. “It turns me on to think I’m married to a big, strong alpha like you.”

I could feel my cock inching against her thick, round ass. I ran my hand up her waist, stopping at her firm tits. With my other hand, I wrapped it around her neck. I placed my mouth against her ear and whispered, “You like it when a man is determined to win, don’t you?”

She nodded, eyes closed and trembling against me.

“It gets you wet to think I’ll bring justice to your family’s name. Doesn’t it, baby?”

“Oh, fuck.” she moaned, practically begging me to fuck her right then and there.

“You feel how hard I am right now?”

“Yes, I need it inside me, Rust. I want you to pound me harder than you’ve ever pounded me before.”

“I’m going to slam you into the wall, pull your fucking hair, and teach you what it is to be a boss.” I said, smiling. Truth was, I needed it just as bad as her.

“More. I want you to be as rough as you can with me. I need to learn. I need you to teach me. Show me what it’s like to be a boss.”

I could feel her wetness come through the back of her panties, as I reached my hand inside her jeans. I rubbed, moving my hand side to side, as I inserted two fingers. She gently placed her hand on my cock, lightly rubbing. I slid a third finger inside.

“Damn, baby. You’re gonna make me cum just by doing this!” I exclaimed. It was true. I was so worked up and excited that I felt like I was going to explode at any moment.

“Me too.” she purred, leaning her head back. I kissed and ran my tongue against her neck, devouring her. I wanted to fucking consume her, to make her mine. I don’t know what it was, but I needed her now. Like a primal desire, I was attached.
Shit.
I was attached.

But right as we both were about to cum, gunshots rang out. Then more, an explosion. My ears rang and my vision slowed down. The fire sprinklers went off as an alarm rang throughout the building. “What the fuck?” I said, nearly throwing Jackie off of me, in an attempt to shield her from harm. “Stay down!” I yelled out, grabbing my gun.

Smoke was everywhere. Bodies. There were bodies in the front of the room. People from my crew. People from her’s. I tried to cover her eyes, but it was too late. “Oh, God.” She cried. “Rust, what’re we going to do?”

“Come on. We gotta move.” I said, picking her up and running to the downstairs emergency safe room.

Whoever did this, whoever was responsible, would fucking pay. That much I knew.