Bent, Not Broken(23)

All good humor and arousal left him as he closed his burner cell phone. He was pissed off; what he’d done to Amy’s father was sick, yet he hadn’t cared. Not a second had gone by when he actually cared about the pain he was creating. Was this the kind of man he was? He wouldn’t dream of inflicting pain on anyone else unless they hurt the ones he cared about.

Bruce had been a scumbag, and he didn’t doubt there were plenty more to fill the gap. Entering the kitchen, he smiled at Amy so she wouldn’t know anything was wrong. There were kids, women, men who were all suffering because of assholes like Bruce. He’d set Amy free by killing that bastard. Would he do it again? He killed for the club but never for sport. Could he look in the mirror and call himself a decent man?

“Are you okay, Joker?” Amy asked.

She cupped his cheek at the same time she put a plate full of breakfast in front of him. He went to protest when he saw her plate wasn’t full as his.

“Tell me you’re happy, Amy.”

“I’m happy. I’m with you and everything is great in the world. How can I not be happy?”

She smiled at him and any fight in Joker disappeared. He didn’t want to work for Zeke or be part of that bastard’s life, any more than he had to be. He was a member of the Soldiers of Wrath, but if he could help others by doing what came naturally to him, then he’d do it. He’d do it for the club, for Zeke, for the people he’d help, but he’d also do it for Amy. One less scumbag on the street made it easier for him to let her walk out there alone.

“Joker,” Amy said, grabbing his attention.

“What is it, baby?”

He took a large pancake, pushing it into his mouth. Amy scrunched up her nose. “What? It tastes delicious.”

“I love you.”

Joker stared at the love of his life. Reaching over the counter, he touched her cheek, caressing her soft skin. Leaving her had been the hardest thing he’d ever done, staying away, even harder. This, being with her, was his reward for keeping the distance.

“You own my heart, Amy, you always have. I love you, and I promise I’m not going to let anything happen to you ever again.” It was a promise he intended to keep.





They rode toward the large college town of Portsmouth to pick up Zeke’s daughter Daniella. It was three hours from Auberdanne, the city where The Soldiers of Wrath held camp. Three of the members were riding on their bikes in front of the SUV Joker was driving. Demon and Shakes were in the vehicle with him. They were silent, nearly at their destination, and had to deal with the trip back with the pampered daughter of the man that Joker still considered their enemy because of how it went down with Deanna. The fact that they were helping Zeke, the man that had crossed them, pissed Joker off, too. But Zeke could still do damage, he was deadly, had an army behind him, and part of their agreement was helping him when he asked.

“I bet she is one uptight bitch,” Shakes said from the backset. They had all been thinking that. Her father was a coldhearted sonofabitch, and because of that, they could only imagine what she was like.

“And why couldn’t he do this himself, or get one of his fucking henchmen to pick her up like a damn taxi service?” Shakes asked again, his annoyance clear.

“Man, I don’t know, but bitching about it isn’t going to make this trip any better,” Demon said. All of them were annoyed that they had to drop what they were doing just to go pick up the underground Princess.

Joker didn’t want to leave Amy, not after they had finally found a good place in their relationship, but she was safe at home, and that thought was getting him through this. He hated having to be at the beck and call of some psycho that had the club by the balls.

“So, Amy is yours now, yeah?” Demon asked. Joker glanced at the President of club and saw the other man staring straight ahead. Joker had known this was where the conversation would go once they were trapped inside this metal box on wheels.

“I want her as my old lady, have claimed her, and ain’t nothing stopping me from making Amy fully mine.”

“I hear that and understand,” Demon said.

“I don’t understand any of that woman and old lady shit. Man, I’ll stay single and fuck all the sweet-ass pussy I can get my dick into.” Shakes said from the backseat, his voice growing a little more animated. Shakes had never made it a secret that he didn’t want an old lady. Hell, the man got more cunt in the clubhouse than most of the members put together. He was a man-whore to the nth degree.

“A lot of shit has happened in her past, shit that I won’t even go into, but I am not about to turn my back on her or let her go. She’s mine.”