Tyrant: Chapter 11

  Rage was a living, breathing entity inside of me. I hadn’t felt it this badly since that night all those years ago. I thought I’d conquered it, or at least I controlled it. I was wrong. In fact, this was worse than when I was a teenager. The thought of the Jacquots being the cause of Lakelyn and River being homeless and their dad’s death, even though he did bring that on himself, infuriated me. However, it was the thought that Jean-Baptiste thought he could take her and force her to be with him that was the greatest cause of my rage.

  I’d heard things about how Jean-Baptiste liked to change his women often. He never stayed with one for long. And he wasn’t above sharing them with his brother or cousins. Hell, maybe even Hugo. I didn’t care what he did because I hadn’t heard that any of the women were unwilling. But it was clear Lakelyn was, and Jean-Baptiste didn’t care. He would force her to be with him in whatever capacity he wished. It would be rape, and I didn’t abide by rape. Neither did my club brothers.

  As my wrath bubbled over, I had to do something to defuse it. I barely recalled standing and placing Lakelyn in the chair before driving my fist into the tabletop. It hurt, but not enough to make me stop. Then, she was there, hugging me close and telling me to stop hurting myself.

  I made my vow to the whole room. “Those cocksuckers are dead. I don’t care how we do it or how many we have to bring in from the other chapters. Crypto, I’m asking for extra help on the research you’re already doing on them. We need a solid case if we have to take it to Big Daddy for help.”

  Lakelyn was staring at me, speechless. The shock was evident on her face. I lifted my hand and ran my thumb from her temple down her face to her mouth—the mouth that I had such fantasies about, and I wanted to kiss desperately.

  “I swear on everything I hold sacred, he’ll never get his hands on either of you. The Jacquots were already on shaky ground with us. Your situation seals it. Even if they’re not guilty of the other thing, this is more than enough to go on,” I told her.

  “Tyrant, I don’t understand. What shaky ground? Why would you go against your friend and ally for two people you don’t know?” Lakelyn asked.

  “Let me be clear. The Jacquots aren’t our friends and never have been. Yes, we’ve done limited business with them in one area. However, that’s not enough to look the other way if they’re kidnapping and forcing someone to be with them, like you say Jean-Baptiste intends with you. That’s rape, Lakelyn. Rape isn’t ever fucking alright in our book. This entire club has killed for that.”

  She nibbled on her bottom lip before saying more. “Can I ask what the other thing is that you’re investigating them for? What Crypto is researching?”

  I looked around the room at my brothers. It was a club decision. If it were only up to me, I’d tell her, which wasn’t like me. One by one, they each gave me a nod or chin lift. By the time I was through, she was moving away. I latched onto her arm. I guided her back to the chair. River was standing anxiously nearby, watching us.

  “River, take a seat. We have to tell our side of the story and clear up your misunderstanding about thinking we knew who you were and were giving you to the Jacquot family. That wouldn’t ever happen. Not for the reason you stated. If you were a family like theirs, maybe. Since you’ve been here, you know we’re not a clean-handed club. We’re one-percenters, and I know that was explained to you. However, there are things we don’t do. We never force people into prostitution or sell them. We don’t rape. Our particular chapter doesn’t sell hard drugs, though some in our charter do. It was a personal choice I made, and as long as we can produce enough revenue to meet our needs and the amount we pay to the mother chapter in SoCal, then I can run it however I wish.”

  I paused. “What I’m about to tell you, if said to the wrong people, would get all of us in trouble. I’m trusting you with this, which isn’t something I do much. These guys can attest to that. However, here goes. We have a strip club, provide security for hire in the form of bodyguards, and run a garage. Those are all legal businesses. Those that aren’t are the chop shop we have, where we use stolen parts, though we don’t steal them, to soup up cars or fix others. We make moonshine, sell guns, sell weed, and have prostitution, but only for those who want to do it. No one is forced. Lastly, there’s illegal gambling, which is a touchy subject due to your dad, I bet.”

  I was wondering why the hell I was telling them all this. They could find a way to bail on us again and run straight to the cops. If they did, we’d have a lot of heat on us, especially if they figured out how we did the last few.

  “What business do you have with the Jacquots?” River asked gruffly.

  I sighed. “When I established this chapter of the Kings, which was about two years ago, I was given their name as someone who could help us get our hands on guns that our customers needed. And before you ask, no, we don’t knowingly sell shit to kids, nut jobs, or terrorists. Fuck no. Some of us served and fought against that last one. I had a contact here from my time in the Navy. It was a place to start, and I got Hugo Jacquot’s name through him. It went from there. Soon, we were in a partnership, for lack of a better word.”

  “So what made you start researching them?” Lakelyn asked.

  I went back to the chair we’d been in. She didn’t sit on my lap, which made me feel bereft, but she sat next to me and held my hand. I liked that.

  “We had a run a week before I found River in the dumpster at the garage. The Jacquots usually sell us their guns, and then we resell them. In this case, they called asking if we’d help them. They claimed they’d run into supply issues. They knew we had reserves. There was a new customer who needed guns. We were asked to supply them with our surplus, and then the Jacquots would resupply us as soon as their short-term shortage was resolved. I agreed. We met with the leader of that bunch and arranged the exchange.

  “Everything was fine until it came time to give them the guns and us the money. They tried to kill us and take both. However, I’m a paranoid fucker, and I had more men than they knew we had with us. They were the ones who died, not our club. Right before the leader died, he indicated that the Jacquots had set us up. They wanted us dead. To either validate the claim or prove it false, Crypto has been working his magic on the internet to discover evidence of the truth. We don’t just go in to kill someone.”

  “But you’re willing to do it based on what we told you. What if we’re lying?” she asked.

  “You’re not.”

  “How can you know?” she pushed.

  “Because I can hear lies, and I know what you told us about your dad and the Jacquots is true. We had them here the other night to talk about that shitshow of a shipment. They want us to take the next order soon. I noted that they phrased their answers in a way that makes it difficult to tell whether they’re lying. They’re ambiguous. We set up another one in a month to give us time to prepare and to determine the truth. Now, we’ll be able to do it sooner.”

  “No, you won’t. Don’t change your routine due to us. Check it all out, and then make your move. Whether you trust our word or not, you do things the way you do for a reason. Don’t deviate,” Lakelyn argued.

  “I can help Crypto,” River said.

  “Help him how?” Cobra asked.

  “I have particular abilities with computers. It’s what I planned to take in college. I’ve been writing code and other stuff since I was eight. I’m positive I can help him find what you need on the Jacquots.”

  “What other stuff?” Crypto asked.

  “The kind that can land my ass in jail for a long time, depending on where I hack into.”

  “Is he serious?” Crypto asked Lakelyn.

  “I wish he weren’t, but yes. River is a very gifted computer hacker. I told him he’d better watch it, or one day, he’d be sentenced to years in prison. It seems the desire to walk on the gray or even black side doesn’t just affect your club.” She said it ruefully.

  “Should we ask what you do? Oh, and what’s your last name?” Crypto asked.

  “It’s Barbeau, and before you ask, yes, Lakelyn and River are our real names. I guess we should’ve used assumed ones. As for what I do, it’s very dull compared to all of you. I don’t do anything illegal. I’m a substance abuse counselor, and I work mainly with the homeless. That’s how I knew how to disappear on the streets. Most people don’t even see them as human. You can become faceless. Many of my clients talked about it, telling me how it was done and what they did to survive out there. It’s all about food, shelter, and survival. You have other homeless people to worry about, as well as the cops, predators, and more. I debated if it was worth the risk, and I determined it was. I’d heard the stories about Jean-Baptiste and his women. He was terrible to them. Fidelity wasn’t in his vocabulary. And my ongoing refusal to accept his date offers or anything else set him off. I knew he wasn’t happy about it,” Lakelyn added.

  The fear, anger, and determination were layered in her tone. The threat of being given to Jean-Baptiste was enough to make them desperate enough to kill themselves rather than let the Jacquots get their hands on them. Thinking of the Jacquots and what River said, I glanced at him.

  “You said you ran with her so they wouldn’t use you against her. And earlier, you said you knew your fate. What did you mean? I don’t believe it was just to be held over her head.”

  I watched them exchange pained looks. I was about to demand he tell me when River answered.

  “When Dad came to us and told us what happened, he wanted us to run and hide. He was scared of what would be done to us as an example. He swore that the Jacquots don’t just sell guns or deal in counterfeit money. He said that they recently added a new moneymaking business. It is far more lucrative than their other businesses. They force women mostly to be whores in their whorehouses and sell both sexes into servitude, whether as a sex slave or a domestic. He didn’t want that to happen to us. Dad thought it would likely be one or the other for me and sexual for Lakelyn. Undoubtedly, he justified in his head that by exchanging us, if Lake were with Jean-Baptiste, she’d be treated better than the others and would have some sway over what happened to me. Our dad could be rather innocent of the dangers of the world. Again, our mom was the one, then Lakelyn, who helped him navigate it.”

  “It’s all my fault. He wouldn’t have done this if I’d stayed at home with him and overseen him. I would’ve steered him away from working for them or at least from stealing and gambling to make more money,” she muttered.

  “Like hell, it’s your fault! Regardless of age, children aren’t responsible for what their parents do or don’t do. He was an adult. He had the responsibility to be a man and to guide his life. Even if he was brought up in a crap home, you have to have the guts to change so you don’t end up the same. Look at the two of you. I see no indication you’re anything like him. Your dad could’ve done the same, but was used to taking the easy way. It began for him and your mom. He let her take on the work while he slid by.”

  I knew it might sound harsh, especially since he was their dad and dead, but it was the truth. This was a trigger of mine. I detested it and couldn’t stay quiet. I waited for them to blow up at me. Their mouths tightened, and when Lakelyn opened hers, I braced for it.

  “You’re right, Tyrant. Dad could’ve changed and been responsible. I guess, since Mom did it, I thought I should, but looking at it through your eyes, we only enabled him.” Her tone was sad.

  “Lakelyn, I don’t mean to make you feel bad or guilty. You were a kid and had seen nothing else. You thought that was normal. But I can’t feel sorry for him. He threw his kids to the wolves to save himself. You’re supposed to protect your kids with your life.”

  The talk brought up things I fought never to remember. My tension was climbing, and there was more to discuss tonight before we could rest.

  “Have we reassured you that we’re not out to harm you, turn you over to anyone, let alone the Jacquots, and that you’re safest here? I don’t know what else I can do to prove it yet. Only time will show we mean what we say. If what your dad said is true about them forcing people and selling them, that fucking doesn’t fly with our club, no matter which chapter. We’re not angels, but we’re not total monsters. We have a few morals.”

  Their looks of astonishment made my guys nod. “What Tyrant says is true. Doing those things is evil. Sure, we have prostitution, but no one is forced to do it. If they want to stop, they do. And we provide a safe place for it, with on-site protection. Anyone fucks with our people, they get a hard lesson. I oversee that part of our business,” Cobra informed them.

  “And I make sure they’re healthy and meet our rules. If they need medical help, I give it or refer them to someone who can,” Cardiac added.

  “Our dad was always out to make a quick buck and to do it the easiest way he could. That means he was involved in shady dealings more than just this last time. I never knew that it was anything this deep. We’re hardly ones to be hypocritical of you guys. We might not choose to make our living that way, but that’s our choice,” Lakelyn said.

  I wanted to explore that statement, but it needed to be in private. The urge to be alone with her and to get the rest out in the open was burning in me. I’d suppressed it too long.

  “It’s been a long day. We’re all tired. I suggest we go our separate ways. River, Cobra still has the rest of your things. I have Lakelyn’s. I suggest we return to the prior arrangement, at least for tonight,” I suggested.

  “I grabbed your bags, so you have your other things as well,” Knife said suddenly.

  Glancing over, he held two bags up. I hadn’t seen him get them at the encampment. He was pushing hard for his patch and doing a great job. The siblings looked at each other, and something nonverbal passed between them. If they demanded to stay together, we’d have to allow it.

  “I’m good to go back to the old way. Sis?”

  “I can do that.”

  “Alright, enough of your ugly mugs for the night. We’re off,” I grumbled to the others.

  They laughed, making River and his sister smile. I took Lakelyn’s bag from Knife and gave him a chin lift while River snagged his. There were several calls of good night from my brothers as the four of us headed out of the clubhouse. It was a quiet walk, but I was alright with that. I was gathering my thoughts for what was to come next. Should I wait until she’s rested? Probably, but it wasn’t possible. I at least needed to get the ball rolling tonight, or I’d go crazy.

  Outside my house, Lakelyn hugged and kissed River on the cheek. She told him and Cobra goodnight, and they said the same to us. When they moved further down the row of townhomes, I took her hand and led her inside.

  As I shut the door, I dropped her bag on the floor and shrugged out of my colors. She seemed a little unsure, but she took off her tennis shoes while I took off my boots. They laced up but had a zipper, allowing me to put them on and take them off quickly. When I was done, I didn’t say a word. I was more of an action man, and I would start there and then fill in the gaps with words. This was long overdue.

  She stood there with an uncertain expression. I crowded her and gently pressed on her shoulders until her back was to the wall next to the front door. As her eyes widened and her mouth opened, I leaned over and sealed my lips to hers. I’d been dreaming of kissing her for weeks. I pressed harder and sipped at them. I nipped both lips with my teeth. I didn’t draw blood. Her response followed her gasp. I wanted to howl when she kissed me back.

  I was starved to know what her mouth tasted like, as well as her skin and, for sure, her cunt. As we kissed, my lust grew. I pressed my body against hers and let her feel my erection digging into her belly. She whimpered. I ground harder. Then I grasped her ass cheeks in both hands and lifted. She reacted by wrapping her legs around my waist and hooking her arms around my neck, not that she needed to. I could hold her. But it opened her legs, which provided a perfect cradle for my cock. I rubbed myself against her pussy. I swore I felt heat coming through our clothing. She moaned, and her tongue became more frantic in its movement against mine.

  I swung around and walked to the living room and the couch without breaking contact. I sat down with her so she was straddling my thighs. Being in this position allowed me to move my hands. I had to feel her tits, even if it was through a bra and her top. They were full, and I wondered if they were real. As I kneaded them, I would bet money they were. My cock twitched. I knew I was leaking precum in my pants, but I didn’t give a damn.

  I didn’t know how long we kissed, and she tortured me with the sounds she made and the way she moved her body on mine. I was about to explode, so I broke our connection even though it was the last thing I wanted to do. I needed to explain a few things to her about why I did this. I kissed her tenderly. I didn’t know I was capable of being anything close to tender. When I gently pushed her away, she made a protesting sound.

  Her eyes were closed, and her lips were pouty like she was protesting the end of our kissing. Slowly, her lashes lifted. She appeared dazed when our gazes met. I watched as it began to fade. I knew what would happen next. She’d panic and run. I refused to allow it. I gripped her hips to hold her there.

  “I-I don’t—” she muttered. I interrupted her.

  “Don’t say you’re sorry or that you didn’t mean for it to happen. That would be a lie. You enjoyed it and wanted it as much as I did.”

  She frowned. “Okay, say that I did. It doesn’t change the fact that it shouldn’t have happened, Tyrant. I don’t understand why you chose to do it now. I was prepared to hear your big lecture about us leaving.”

  “I can do that, but this is more important. I know you’re tired, but this can’t wait until tomorrow. We need to talk about that kiss.”

  “No, we don’t. Didn’t you hear me? It was a mistake. I lost my head for a minute. You’re a very desirable guy. I don’t need to tell you that. I’m like countless others who undoubtedly have succumbed to your kisses, but there’s a difference. I refuse to become one of them. As much as you turn me on, I’m not becoming one of the multitudes. You have enough women acting as sluts around here. You don’t need to add another. I don’t sleep with every man who wants me or with multiples.”