Queen of Clubs Read online

  “Moises, this is my boss, Victor.” Mattie shifted closer to his brother’s side murmuring. “He met Mina for the first time today and the poor guy completely froze. His face was all Oh my god, the love of my life and she was all Back up, I’ll cut a bitch.” He sighed dreamily, slinging an arm around his twin’s broader shoulders. “He’s my new boss, I didn’t want him to go in blind and get shanked when he goes after her. That would hurt my paycheck. I figured Mama could set him straight.”

  Moises laughed and shrugged Mattie off of him. “Oh I’m pretty disappointed I missed that, any time she brings those knives out to intimidate people she’s more likely to seduce than scare. I don’t think she realizes how hot that is.”

  Victor was about to interject, his blood heating at Moises objectifying his woman. Sure the knives were hot but he didn’t want anyone else seeing it, talking about it or even thinking it.

  “Was Isabel there?” Moises tried to look nonchalantly at Mattie when he asked the question but it was obvious he was invested in the answer. Mattie’s eyes softened a bit before he answered. “Yeah, she was there. She looked damn good, too.”

  “Are you boys ever gonna wrap it up and settle in or are we just going to let dinner get cold? I swear you boys love nothing more than to stand around and gossip about girls. I thought you outgrew that in middle school.” Her eyes sparkled a little bit as she teased them, her affection for them clear in her eyes.

  “Just one girl, Mama,” Moises muttered under his breath.

  He rolled up to the table, Mattie taking a seat across from him and Rita settling in across from Victor ready to say grace. The small table was laden with an impressive spread of food, and after living on emergency ramen the last few days, Victor ate ravenously, much to Rita’s delight. As their appetites waned and the men pushed back from their plates, Rita eyed Victor thoughtfully. “So, mijo, you want to know about our Mina?”

  “Rita I want to be clear that I don’t want to know anything she has told you or Mattie or Moises in confidence. I want to know everything about her, but she should always be able to trust in her family’s protection of her secrets. I’m new here so even just common knowledge information would help me avoid making a fool of myself when I go over for dinner.”

  Rita nodded seriously, a soft smile of her lips. “Okay, mijo, that is a noble request. What do you know about our girl so far?”

  What did he know? He knew her hair shone in the afternoon sunlight, her skin was soft and supple beneath his fingers, her eyes glittered with an inner strength he’d never before witnessed. He knew she would be his, no matter how long it took, how hard he had to fight or what obstacles they would overcome, she was his one. Forever. But that seemed like a lot to throw at a woman’s mother figure in the first hour of their acquaintance, so he decided to pare it back a bit.

  “Just that she rides a motorcycle, lives next door and is a little scary with a knife.”

  Mattie snickered at that, quietly chatting with Moises about Mina’s various knife escapades, apparently those were a recurring theme around her.

  “Mina is the president and founder of the Hellacious Honeys motorcycle club. Shelli and Isabel, who you met today, are also members. They all live in a compound over on Mina’s land that butts up against yours. I think about 25 of them in total, although new girls show up all the time.”

  “They all have a piercing in their left ear and a double H tattoo, that’s how you know who’s who. Mina’s is on the side of her throat, Isabel’s is on her thigh and Shelli’s is on the back of her neck,” Mattie interjected.

  Rita nodded before she continued “All of the girls have businesses here in town. Isabel runs the tattoo parlor, Shelli has a catering business that mainly serves the resort and Mina is a silversmith. She takes her jewelry and some of my embroidery and leatherwork up to a boutique in Taos during the tourist season.”

  His woman was a talented artist. He smiled at that, the gritty beauty of torching metal and bringing something masterful out of raw materials absolutely suited her.

  “The Honeys have brought a lot of new life and businesses to this area and we’re fortunate to have them here. They’ve kept a lot of rival clubs out, not to mention shutting down drug and human trafficking through this corridor. I’m sure that’s why they came to check you out today, Mina is protective of her girls.”

  “Obviously an all-girl club isn’t the norm around here, but that’s not the only thing that’s different about the Honeys,” Mattie added. “How much do you know about real-deal one-percenter MCs?”

  Victor had done a training stint in Albuquerque, with several of his squadmates being former or future MC members, so he had a decent grasp on the lifestyle, even though he had never lived it himself.

  “I was stationed out of Kirtland for a year or two, so I came into contact with some of the bigger clubs.”

  “Ever heard of the Cheap Tricks?”

  Victor had heard of them, in passing. They had more than one chapter in Albuquerque and a less than stellar reputation. He nodded once at Mattie, unsure where the man was going with this story.

  “The Tricks were Mina’s first club, she was with them for five years as one of their club girls. You know what that means?”

  Victor felt his gut clench. He knew about club girls, and frankly, it was one of his least favorite parts of MC culture. When his buddies talked about it, they made it sound like pussy nirvana, having women at their beck and call all hours of the day and night. But the premise always made Victor feel a little queasy, it sounded like an alright solution for the MC members, but what about the women? Did they even enjoy being with that many men day in and day out without any real affection or commitment? And five years? His woman was subjected to that for five whole years?

  Victor felt his shoulders steadily tensing, and he was overwhelmed with the urge to hit someone. Mina ever treated as less than a queen? It was hard for him to handle.

  “This is exactly why we told you this now,” Mattie said, eying him with a mixture of understanding and concern. “I know you probably don’t think less of Mina because of her past, but the anger that’s on your face right now isn’t something you can show out at the compound.”

  “Mina chose to be with the Cheap Tricks, and I’m sure she had good reasons that she’ll share with you in time,” Rita said. “One of them cared for her enough that once the club members started getting older and settling down into their own families, he wanted to make sure she was taken care of and they set her up with the land out here. But the other girls with Mina, most of them didn’t have a choice. They were kidnapped or sold by their families into the club life. Mina almost never allows men out to the compound with them because they’re all a little skittish.”

  Victor was taking all of this in. His Mina, rescuing women and creating a safe haven for them only endeared her to him more. He was glad Rita and Mattie had taken the time to talk to him about what to expect. He would be more aware of how he handled himself around the Honeys at dinner and he had a better idea of just how difficult it was going to be to get his woman the let him into her life and more importantly, her heart. Judging by her reaction earlier in the day, he knew he had an uphill battle to earn his way to her trust, her affection, but he recognized the end results would be the sweetest satisfaction of his life and that was worth fighting for.

  7

  Mina

  Mina’s heart hurt as she wrapped her arms around Tara and struggled to hold her still as they stood under a lukewarm outdoor shower spray in the courtyard outside Isabel’s building. How had no one noticed that the girl was this far gone? When Mina, Isabel and Shelli returned home, Isabel found Tara twitching on the floor of the common room between their apartments. Mina had quickly come to her frantic calls and Shelli was making the other woman a cup of coffee inside in the kitchen.

  Slowly she stroked Tara’s hair and murmured comforting words to her, the way her mother had done when she was sick as a little girl. Steadily Tara began to s
till in her arms and she pushed her hair back from her face to look into her eyes.

  “Why, Tara? Why would you put us through this? Much less yourself.”

  Tara’s eyes were still dilated and unfocussed as she began to shake. Mina quickly grabbed a towel and briskly dried her off, before going inside to grab her a dry change of clothes. Once she was dry and wrapped in a blanket on the couch in her living room, Shelli brought in a cup of coffee, handing it off without making eye contact. Despite the temperature nearing 90 degrees, she was shaking and shivering under Mina’s direct gaze.

  “You know this is serious Tara. We have a zero tolerance policy for drugs here, one you agreed to when you pledged your loyalty to our club. Have we missed something? Are you not happy here?”

  Tara stared emptily and silently at a bare spot on the wall behind Mina’s head, not acknowledging the questions.

  “Tara, look at me.” She crouched low in front of the girl, placing her hands softly on her knees. “I need to know where you got the drugs. Who is giving them to you?” When her eyes remained unfocused Mina sighed, she had hoped to do this as painlessly and with as much care as possible, but sometimes there was no reasoning with people. She nodded to Isabel and Shelli to leave the room and when she heard the door shut, she advanced on Tara, grabbing her chin with an iron grip and forcing her to meet her gaze.

  “Look at me. Now, we both know this little infraction is enough to eliminate you from my club entirely, but I can offer you more and better exit options if you are willing to communicate with me. I want to know where you got the drugs, who gave them to you and if you passed them on to anyone else in this compound.”

  Tara’s gaze filled with tears, the salty liquid spilling over onto Mina’s fingertips. Her heart wrenched for the girl, but she couldn’t allow anyone to endanger the women under her care, even one of their own.

  She steeled herself against what was to come, shutting all of her regrets up into a box inside her mind and firming her spine.

  “Tara, you have two options. You tell me where you got the drugs, and I’ll take you up to the rehab center in Taos, even keep your cut here for you when you get out. You lie to me or stay silent and you’re out on your own tonight. You know I can’t let you stay here if you’re using.”

  She released her grip on Tara’s chin, giving her some space to think over her answer. After a few minutes, she roused herself, looked up at Mina with regret, and started packing her bag.

  Mina watched her until she left to say her goodbyes with a single backpack on her back. Several other women came out into the courtyard to watch her go, their eyes misty or wet with tears as they watched her prepare to leave the safety and security of the compound. Her heart ached in her chest as she watched the younger woman say her goodbyes but the girl knew the score before she made her choice and Mina would stand firm in her decision to cast her out, despite how much she hated having to make a choice in her heart of hearts.

  As Tara left, the front gates closing with finality behind her, Mina walked next door to the mechanic’s shop that Reina managed, relieved to find her awake and working on a custom built bike in the shop.

  “Hey girl, you got a minute?” she called over the whirring hum of the tools Reina was operating. The club’s mechanic set down her grinder and moved to meet her.

  “You would have heard about it soon enough, but I had to let Tara go tonight. She was tweaking when we got back from our trip to the new airstrip and she wouldn’t tell me where she got the drugs.”

  Reina sucked in a deep breath in shock. No Honey had ever been released from the club. It was the first time in their history that Mina had to make such a drastic decision.

  “I want you to follow her and see where she goes once she leaves here. I want to know where she ends up, I’m sure it will be with or in near proximity to her new dealer.”

  Reina nodded her head, her eyes serious. “I’ll absolutely do that for you Mina. I’m worried about her finding a safe place to stay, especially if she wasn’t thinking clearly enough to avoid using on club property. That’s a bad sign.”

  Mina had the same troubling thought. How long had this been escaping her notice? Had Tara been using here among them without them seeing or had she just had a short relapse? Mina was certain she’d eliminated anyone and everyone dealing hard drugs within a fifty-mile radius of her club, it was one of her proudest accomplishments as president. But if Tara had access to heroin, it was only a matter of time. It seemed drugs always served as a gateway to more sinister pursuits.

  She thanked Reina and headed up to the main building, knowing Shelli was probably waiting on her in the kitchen. Propping open the door, Mina nearly laughed out loud at the familiar scene, despite how hurt she felt over Tara leaving. Shelli was standing close to the oven, a batch of chocolate chip cookies spinning in her stand mixer, her hands on top of her head with her fingers laced, breathing deeply and evenly as she waited for the mixing to finish.

  “Hey,” Mina said quietly with a sad smile once the mixer shut off. Shelli spun around, quickly enveloping her in a hug. She felt moisture build in the corners of her eyes as she whispered “I had to let her go,” into the thick auburn hair above Shelli’s left ear, the one with the special double H stud through her tragus. As she slowly pulled away, the piercing just reminded her of what she’d lost, of what she’d taken from Tara. Shelli quickly dried her own eyes and started giving commands in the motherly way of hers that always came out in times of trouble.

  “You go upstairs and put on your swimsuit. These cookies will be done in 10 minutes. I’ll grab Isabel and we’ll meet you at the hot tub with these bad boys and two bottles of wine. You can tell us all about the flirty eyes you were throwing and that hunk of man we met today.”

  Mina looked incredulously at Shelli, “I was absolutely not…”

  “Nope, stop right there and save your lies for later when Isabel can hear them too. We’ll get a good kick out of your denial. Now scoot before I have to call Victor down here to help you into that swimsuit himself. I bet Mattie has his number,” she said. With a wink, Shelli popped her with a towel on her way upstairs to change. She heard her humming a tune as she slid the cookies into the oven.

  Mina, sat down on her bed heavily once she reached her room. She didn’t know what good she’d done in her life to deserve the loyalty and affection of all of the incredible women who called her land home. Her life with the Cheap Tricks had been a series a hook-ups ranging from okay but unsatisfying to downright painful, but as she peeled out of the wet leather cut suctioning itself to her skin, she had to admit that to be here today, with the friendships she developed, she would do it all over again.

  8

  Victor

  Victor was 20 miles out of Espanola, mid flight in his first charter for the resort, shuttling in a pair of hunters from the small Santa Fe airport when he saw it — a rundown roadhouse with 20 or more motorcycles lining the front. He looked back over his shoulder to make sure his passengers were situated before he swung a little lower for a quick look. Something didn’t feel right about the location of the roadhouse or the number of bikes outside, not this near to the Honeys. The bikes looked wrong too, the Honeys he’d seen all rode restored classic bikes in a broad spectrum of colors, while these were an ugly array of too-low choppers and twenty-year old cruisers. He watched as an ant-like person directed a closed-sided 18-wheeler with a reefer on to butt up against the side doors. With no food service or alcohol logos on the side, it was a bad sign, especially so close to Mina’s home base.

  He pulled up and continued on his course for the airstrip.

  Thankfully he had a dinner date with Mina and the rest of the Honeys tonight. He could let her know about the growing threat and offer his help.

  Once he got his passengers squared away and picked up by the resort transport, he went through his post-flight checklist and spent some time playing fetch with Andy. He didn’t want the poor guy to feel abandoned spending the evening alone agai
n. He poured a little extra food in his bowl once they finished up and picked out a rawhide to keep him busy while he was gone.

  Victor couldn’t shake the visual he’d seen from the sky earlier that day. Nothing good was transported in unmarked trailers through the desert, it was most likely drugs or people and neither of those things should be moving through so close to his woman and her friends.

  He stripped off his khaki pilot’s uniform and laid it carefully over his bed as he made his way through the patio doors on the side of the main bedroom to the outdoor shower at the back of the house. His bedroom faced Mina’s place and if it weren’t for the distance and a copse of trees in between, she would be able to see him now as he prepared for their dinner tonight.

  Cool water fell over his head as he considered his way forward. Mina should to be treated like a queen and he planned to show her exactly what she deserved. He grew hot and hard as he pictured her, just like the first day, dismounting her motorcycle, prowling toward him and giving him head instead of hell. Would she like what she saw? He’d always been so much larger than the other PJs, showing up to jumper training 8 inches taller and 60 pounds heavier than most of the other airmen was part of what had earned him his nickname. But her own height, at around 5’8, made her the perfect match for his oversized frame, he wouldn’t even have to bend his neck too much to reach her plump, delicious looking lips.

  Mina already witnessed everything he had above the belt, his broad build and height seemingly appealed to her. He smiled as he remembered her eyes eating up the tan expanse of his torso. That heated look made keeping up his regular workouts after his retirement a little more worth it. As long as everything he had below the belt was enough to keep her satisfied, they were off to a great start.