Sketch: The Devil's Highwaymen Nomads #2 Read online

  We all sat there in shocked silence for a moment as he looked over us all.

  “Is my cock hanging out? Because I can’t help but wonder why no one is listening to me and not getting the fuck out of my church!” Vin bellowed, drawing the attention of Mason and Jase.

  Crank stood up first. Think he was just about done with the drama for the day; couldn’t really blame him. He was as clean as you could get in this world and had so far refused pain meds for his gunshot wound, but it couldn’t have been easy to do so. And by the way he winced when Vin raised his voice, I was willing to bet his head was hurting just as much as his shoulder. Lucky for him the doc had said it was a clean through-and-through and would heal in no time. No muscle or bone damage. Brother had been lucky. It didn’t always work out that way.

  We all began to stand up and file out of the room and back into the clubhouse.

  Vin caught my eye as I was leaving, and I stopped and waited for Crank and the others to leave.

  “’Sup?” I asked.

  “This bitch you’ve been hankering after,” he started.

  I felt myself tense at the way Vin called her bitch. I might have called her that myself, but I did not want anyone else saying it. In fact, the though of any man even looking at her the way I did made me see red.

  “Reel it the fuck in, Sketch,” Vin snapped with a shake of his head. “I’m just seeing what you know about her. I put out the feelers on her too, and I hear she ain’t after cock.” He frowned, and now it was my turn to shake my head. “You wanna chase ass that you can’t have, be my guest, but keep your priorities straight. Heard she’s trouble and I don’t need that shit right now, especially when all it seems like you’ll be getting out of it is a black eye and a bloody nose.” He barked out a laugh and I cracked a grin, realizing that, despite the shit that was going down around us at the moment, Vin was yanking my chain.

  “Trust me, she’s worth the trouble,” I replied.

  I surprised myself as I let the words out, and my smile fell.

  Damn, what the hell was happening to me?

  No woman was worth the trouble; that was exactly why I didn’t keep ’em once I’d gotten what I needed. Life was too short to be dealing with a woman’s drama, and there was far too much pussy in the world for just one to ever satisfy a man.

  “You sure about that?” he asked as we left church. “I heard she used to get about a fair bit, though she had just been a scrawny trailer bitch, and then one day she just up and left. Turned back up six months ago with a woman on her arm and looking smokin’ hot, but no man has gotten close enough to even smell her pheromones.”

  It was pretty much the same thing I’d heard from Skull earlier. Still didn’t like the idea that she’d fucked around so much when she was younger, but I guess that was just a dick thing for me to say since I couldn’t even remember all the pussy I’d had in my life. I got to thinking on why she would just up and leave like that though. I suddenly stopped walking and turned back to Vin.

  “Pheromones?” I laughed. “What the fuck do you know about pheromones?”

  Vin slapped me on the back. “That’s just rude, brother. I’m all educated and shit, I’ll have you know.”

  We reached the bar where Crank was tapping away furiously on a laptop, a tall glass of ice next to him.

  “No shit?” I said in surprise. Never would have pegged Vin for having an education. Not that he wasn’t smart, because he was. He was one of the smartest men I’d probably ever come across. But a good education never seemed to be important when you were in this kind of life. I guess I was just a judgmental asshole all round today.

  Lex came over and Vin pulled her onto his lap, one hand reaching around her waist and pulling her tighter against him. He pushed her hair to one side and planted kisses along her neck while she closed her eyes and hummed.

  When she opened her eyes, she caught me in her stare. Lex was a damn fine woman. Beautiful to a fault. Vin was one lucky motherfucker to have her as his old lady.

  “Yeah, my man here is college educated. It’s where we met,” she said, turning her face to the side so Vin could capture it with his hands.

  He kissed her long and hard, one hand moving up from her waist to cup her breast and squeeze it until she groaned. I looked away from the scene in front of me and lit a cigarette. Eventually they came up for air, and he pushed her off his lap and slapped her ass.

  “Bed. Now!” he ordered.

  We both watched her walk away, her tight ass twitching as she moved.

  He looked back at me, “That’s my old lady, Sketch, roll your tongue up.”

  I laughed. “Sorry, Prez.”

  He slapped me on the shoulder. “Hard not to stare, I get it. But as far as this Nancy bitch goes, all I’m saying is, if she’s worth the trouble to you, then she’s worth the trouble to all of us. If not, fuck her and cut her loose. She seems like trouble wrapped up in a sweet body, so I don’t blame you for trying, but there’s plenty of women around to keep you busy if all you’re looking for is ass.”

  He walked away, following in Lex’s footsteps, and I sat down on the stool next to Crank as I let my thoughts wander to Nancy.

  Was she worth the trouble?

  She was hot, that went without saying. Smokin’ hot, even.

  But that still didn’t answer my original question: was she worth the trouble?

  I’d never been so fascinated with a woman before. She was untamed and wild, with a wicked tongue and a beautiful smile. She’d had her fair share of men, and none of them had managed to keep her and now she was with this Tammy bitch. What the fuck was that all about? And why did I care so damn much?

  I knew she was something special that first time I saw her in the Motor Lounge, all tight black leather, blond curls, and ruby red lips. She’d awakened something in me that night, and whatever it was hadn’t gone to sleep since. She consumed my every thought and every action. She was the flames in my fire and I had no doubt that together we could fucking burn the world down if we wanted.

  “Fuck,” I muttered.

  I wanted to be inside of her so bad, no doubt. I wanted to feel her sweet body wrapped around mine as I buried my cock deep inside her and she screamed out my name like I was her god. But it was also more than that. I wanted to know more about her. And not just so I could get in her pants. I wanted to hear her talk. See her blush. Feel her chest rising and falling as she slept next to me, her body curled into my side. I wanted to hear about her childhood and all those other dickwads who’d tried to keep her and failed. I wanted to know her favorite food, her favorite song, and I wanted to look in her eyes as she came undone beneath me. I was fascinated and transfixed by her, for reasons I didn’t understand.

  I swallowed at the realization of what all this meant.

  “Double fuck,” I muttered to myself, dragging a hand down my face.

  Crank laughed next to me. “Took you long enough, brother.”

  I snapped my gaze to him and glared, but he only laughed like I was a fucking comedian and he was there to watch the show. I slid off my stool and made for the door before I knocked his teeth out. His laughter echoed out louder behind me.

  “Keep on laughing, fuckface!” I shouted back angrily.

  Outside I climbed on my bike and shoved my helmet on as I realized what had to be done and what it would do to me. Night was falling. The day had been wasted chasing our asses and coming up with nothing but dead ends. And yet all I cared about right then was seeing her.

  I had fallen for untamed pussy, and it was too late to stop it now.

  ~ 11 ~

  I pulled to a stop outside INKslingers for the second time that day, but despite it only being early evening, I found the place closed. I pulled off my helmet, my eyes narrowing as I watched the ATF car that had been tailing me all day pass by and park further down the street.

  I shook my head, annoyed that they were still on me, and looked up at the two-story building, noticing the lights were on upstairs, and I f
rowned. Skull rarely shut up shop before ten each evening. His friends constantly came to get tatted, drink, and talk shit. Some even came to work if he had too many clients already booked in. There was never a need to shut the doors, because there were only three things Skull loved in this life: his business, his friends, and women. And all three came when those doors were open.

  I’d gone there to find Nancy, but I feared that something might have happened to her or Skull, because the fact that INKslingers was closed had already set off alarm bells. I pulled out my cell and called Vin, and he picked up before the second ring. I quickly filled him in on the situation and could tell he wasn’t happy either.

  “Mason, go get JP and Buddy here right the fuck now!” he barked, and I heard Lex in the background moving around shortly before a door opened and closed. “What are you thinking?” he asked me.

  I was glad that he was taking it seriously and not thinking that I was reading too much into the situation.

  I looked back up at the light in the top window. “I’m not sure, Prez. But Skull doesn’t close—not this early. Something don’t feel right to me.” I looked over at the ATF agents sitting in their car down the street. “I can’t go in there though. Not without ATF getting involved in our shit if things have gone bad in there. Fuckers followed me from the clubhouse again.”

  “And whoever I send will be followed too,” Vin bit out. “Fucking Agent Lear!”

  I looked up, relief and shock hitting me in one go. “Guess who just turned up?” I said.

  “Santa Claus?” Vin snapped. “I don’t fucking know, Sketch, who?”

  “Nancy.” I looked her up and down, checking for any injuries, but she seemed fine.

  At least until she passed the ATF car. One of the agents said something to her and she changed, her shoulders slouching and her gaze falling to her feet. The whole scene set my hackles on edge and I lifted my chin and practically snarled. She looked away from the agents and started to walk again, her gaze on the ground as she walked.

  I shook my head, hating seeing her like that. Woman like Nancy shouldn’t ever look at the ground when she walked. Her shoulders should always be back, her head held high like the world owed her a fucking favor. And from everything I’d seen of her, that was just how she was normally. Her confidence was what I liked about her, but the way she was walking right then made something click inside me. I was going to put a whole world of pain on whoever had hurt her.

  “Something’s wrong, let me call you right back,” I said to Vin, already hanging up without waiting for him to reply, which probably wasn’t a good idea, but at the moment all I cared about was making sure she was okay. I stepped off my bike and walked toward her.

  She didn’t see me until I was right in front of her, and she startled as I reached out to touch her. She flinched and stepped away from me, giving a little yelp.

  “Nancy, it’s just me,” I said as she sucked in a breath. The day was growing late, and the sun had started to set. Dark shadows were falling as streetlights clicked on all around us. “Easy, babe, you okay?”

  She was visibly shaking, but she shook that shit off and lifted her chin, her eyes narrowing in on me. “I’m fine. You just startled me is all.”

  I didn’t believe what she was saying for one minute. She looked fucking spooked, despite her assurances that she was okay.

  Her gaze skipped to INKslingers. “Why’s he closed?”

  I looked over to the dark store window. “Was wondering that myself.”

  “Skull asked me to help out tonight. I only left half an hour ago to go home and eat and change clothes,” she said, sounding annoyed, like she’d just wasted her entire evening for nothing. “I hate this town,” she mumbled.

  I was about to ask her what she meant when my cell began to vibrate in my pocket and I pulled it out and answered it, knowing it would be Vin and he’d likely be pissed at me for hanging up.

  “Did you just fucking hang up on me, motherfucker?” he barked down the line.

  I looked at Nancy and rolled my eyes, and despite herself she smirked. The smirk fell as she looked behind her at the ATF car again.

  “Nancy is here,” I said to Vin. “She says she left half an hour ago and everything was fine then,” I replied, ignoring his question because it was fucking pointless to answer it. I looked over at her, and despite the urgency of the situation it was hard to ignore how beautiful she looked: hair loose around her shoulders, still a little damp from her shower, her full lips parted slightly. She must have sensed me looking at her because she looked back and blushed. Fucking loved that look on her; wanted to see it on her when she was under me and clawing at my back.

  “Why did Skull ask you to work?” I asked her, and she shrugged.

  “You know what he’s like when it comes to this place—he’s always working. Said he had some business upstairs tonight so I’d need to man the front.” She shrugged. “But I might as well go since he’s closed.” She turned away from me and then hesitated as she looked back down the street the way she had just come.

  I reached out and grabbed her arm and she looked back at me, her gaze hesitant. Can’t say I blamed her after what a dick I was earlier. I relayed the information to Vin.

  “Crank says he’s got news on the dark web that something might have been going down tonight. I need ATF away from there—think you can take care of that? I’ve got Jase and Mason leading the two parked outside away from the clubhouse as we speak, but we need to act quickly on this. I haven’t got eyes on Agent Lear, though, so watch your back. That motherfucker is slippery,” Vin said as I stared down at Nancy, my rough hand still gently gripping her bicep.

  “Yeah, I’ll take care of it,” I said, and hung up. “Get on,” I said to her, gesturing toward my bike. “I’ll take you home.”

  She scowled but I could see she wanted to. Whether it was because of something she felt for me or because of the thrill of the ride didn’t matter. Right then I had to get her, and ATF, away from there, and I couldn’t think of any better way to do that than with her on the back of my bike and her arms wrapped around my waist. Fuck yeah.

  She shrugged free of my grip, her tongue darting out to wet her lips. “I’m good, thanks. I’ll walk.” She turned and started to walk away, and I grabbed her again. “Sketch, get off me!”

  I tightened my grip and pulled her toward me, and that time she didn’t fight. Her body was tight against mine, and by the way she sucked in a sharp breath she had just felt the raging hard-on I clearly had for her. I let a slow smile creep up my face.

  “Get on my bike, Nance,” I said again. “Let me take you home.”

  She swallowed, her body tense against mine. “Straight home?” she asked, and I nodded, giving her a small salute.

  “Scout’s honor.”

  She cracked a small smile. “I bet you weren’t even in the Scouts.”

  I pulled her gently toward my bike and sat down, handing her my helmet. “Get on.”

  She looked to the seat I was offering and then to my hand offering her the helmet, her gaze slowly traveling up my body toward my face. Felt like she was undressing me with that one look, and I almost groaned as my cock hardened even more.

  Finally, she took the helmet and pulled it on before climbing on behind me. “What do I do?” she asked, and my chest flared in triumph that I was going to give her her first ride.

  “Wrap your arms around me and hold on tight, babe,” I replied.

  “Like this?” she asked, holding onto me.

  Her grip wasn’t nearly as tight as I wanted it to be, so I reached down and pulled her arms tighter around me, feeling her body press against my back. “More like this,” I rumbled out, starting the bike. “No abrupt movements, lean with me, and hold on.”

  “Okay, don’t let me fall,” she said.

  I looked back at her, her beautiful eyes staring up at me from behind my helmet. “I’ve got you, babe,” I replied thickly, my voice coming out rough and full of need.

&nbs
p; Because I did have her, and I wasn’t letting her go now.

  I started the bike and we pulled slowly away from the sidewalk. I passed the ATF agents in their car, giving them the middle finger again and feeling Nancy squeeze me tighter, and then I picked up speed, heading as far away from the shitstorm of what was about to go down there as I could get her.

  ATF followed us for a few miles, but I lost them once I hit the freeway. They’d still be looking for me and they’d catch up eventually, no doubt, but that didn’t matter. I wasn’t trying to hide from them anyway. I only needed to give Vin and my brothers some space to deal with whatever was going down, but the fact that the faster I went, the more Nancy clung onto me… well, that was just a bonus.

  I followed the dark lines of the road, waiting for the moment she’d ask me why I hadn’t taken her home yet, but it never came. In fact, the longer we rode, the more she settled into it, until I could feel her head resting against my back and her breasts rising and falling as she breathed.

  Considering she’d never ridden on the back of a bike before, she was a natural, her body gripping mine and leaning with me into the corners. All it was doing was proving to me everything I didn’t want to admit, but now had no choice but to.

  Nancy was most definitely worth the trouble.

  And I wanted more than just one night with her.

  She gripped me tightly, but her fingers traced the muscles of my stomach. I don’t even think she knew she was doing it until I pulled the bike to the side of the dark stretch of highway and slowed to a stop. The engine rumbled beneath us, vibrating through both of our bodies, and I turned my head to the side to look at her.

  I couldn’t really see her with the helmet on, but she hadn’t stopped her movements. In fact, as we sat there her hands slid down my stomach and onto my thighs, and then I did groan.

  “Fuck, Nance,” I groaned as she cupped my hard cock in my jeans, squeezing. Her chest was rising and falling faster and faster and I felt almost dizzy with the need to see her. To feel her. To fucking taste her. I shut off the engine, the sudden silence piercing the night air, and I grabbed her hands. “Babe?”