Warlords MC: Book 1 – Ace (Truman) : Chapter 9

Charli felt her heart break… her bubble of happiness had popped. She’d been so euphoric, almost on a high with feelings she’d never felt before, then he had to go and ruin it. She slowly turned her head to glare at him.

He was looking back at her, not so much in concern but with a bit of apprehension. He then sat up to lean against the headboard.

Charli was feeling so let down so… her feelings were now turning to rage. She had just given him a gift she could only give to one man in her lifetime and he was throwing it back in her face. She wanted to burst into tears but she wouldn’t give him the pleasure of seeing her cry. Instead, she reached over and gave him a good hard slap.

SMACK.

Ace’s head snapped back as her hand landed on his cheek.

While he sat there stunned by the slap, she then raised both legs and with all her might and anger, she literally kicked him out of her bed.

He hit the floor with a heavy thud and groaned.

Charli peeked over the side of the bed and smirked down at him, “I was a virgin, but you took care of that didn’t you, big man? Now get the hell out of my room. You are no longer welcome here!” She gathered her clothing and stomped to her bathroom. Slamming the door behind her.

Truman looked over at the door and shook his head. He sat up and groaned as his sore ass protested that unexpected landing. He lifted his hand and touched the spot on his cheek where her tiny hand had landed before she kicked him off the bed. To say he’d been surprised by her actions went unsaid. He never expected to sample her at all but then he never once expected what happened after that either. He was unsure where they were going from here. But one thing he did know…within himself… she was now his woman, but how was she going to take this fact? The shocker to him was that Charli was truly a virgin in the first dammed place, a rare find. Truman smiled to himself and then remembered how she’d misinterpreted his words. He hadn’t expected he would be her first lover. He didn’t even think about her being a virgin until he’d seen her blood on his cock. In his world, there were definitely no virgins around, offering themselves up to be taken. He also didn’t mean that comment in the way that she took it.

Truman got up off the floor and got dressed. Then he sat down and waited for her to come out of the bathroom. He would tell her that she was now his and that would be that. He waited there for thirty damn minutes before he got up and walked over to the door that separated them. When he tried the handle, the door swung open much to his shock. It hadn’t been locked? When he stepped inside, he found he was the only one there.

Charli was gone and he hadn’t even heard her leave. He growled and turned to head out. Halting, he noticed in the mirror that there was an opening in the ceiling. He peered up.

Clever, little girl. He smirked.

Checking it out, he saw a hole large enough for her to slip out of the bathroom.

She wanted to play games? Then fine, he’d play games with her. She might not know it yet, but she now belonged to him and he wasn’t about to let her go. He chuckled when he thought about ending up on the floor. No woman had ever booted him out of their bed before. This was another first. Damn, he loved that fire. But at the same time, he wasn’t going to let her get away with it.

He stomped over to the bedroom door and then down stairs to the lower level. He looked around as if he expected her to be there. When he didn’t see her, he frowned then searched the rest of the cabin. When he didn’t find her anywhere, he went back to his brothers. “Has anyone seen Charli?”

Everyone shook their head.

“I thought she was with you,” King raised a brow at him.

“She was, then I pissed her off and she disappeared,” Truman explained.

King raised his brows then smirked. “You? Piss somebody off? What a surprise!”

His brothers all laughed,

“Ha-fucking-ha!” Truman grumbled.

“That girl will continue to give you hell, you know?” Joker added his 2 cents. “She isn’t like any of the women you have…” His words faded away and he glanced over at Ben, realizing what he’d just implied.

Ben seemed to have missed the implication as he looked over at Truman. “Don’t worry she’ll be back.”

“Do you know where she went?” Truman asked.

Ben shrugged. “She could be just about anywhere on this farm. When she gets upset, she goes off on her own for a while.” Shaking his head he said, “But I don’t think she should be out there alone tonight, do you? Andy could be out there looking over his crops and he really doesn’t like her.”

“Fucking hell,” Ace swore and strode to the door.

Several of his brothers joined him as he stepped outside. The growing darkness would soon leave the woods completely in shadows.

Ben walked up behind them and said, “You won’t find her if she doesn’t want to be found.”

Truman snapped his head around to glare at him. “First, you tell us she can’t be out there alone, then you tell us we won’t find her if she doesn’t want to be found. Make up your fucking mind old man.”

Ben glared back at him. “Listen you Big Boot Stomper, you brought us here not me. You jacked this situation up to where it got dangerous, not me. You came here looking for trouble and you found it. This is not my fault or her fault. She’s done nothing but help you and then you treat her like shit. Well, isn’t that great for you? You don’t have to live here when all is said and done. But in the end, she’s still my granddaughter and I care about her a hell of a lot more than I care for any of you. I’d rather take my chances with Andy and his bunch than cater to you and yours.” Ben turned around and walked back inside the cabin, slamming the door behind him.

Ace and his brothers were left standing there looking stupid.

“See?” King muttered. “Just keep pissing people off, don’t ya?”

Truman narrowed his eyes at him. He didn’t like any of this either. “Spread out and find her.”

“What? You aren’t used to Ace blowing things up just for shits and giggles, King?” Jack asked his amused brother.

King grinned at Jack.

Truman tossed his large hands up in the air. “Can we quit with the bullshit? She has to be close by. She wouldn’t leave the old man for long.

King stared at Truman. “Well… since Ben says she will return, why don’t we just wait for her to come back?”

“Because the old man is right,” Truman replied angrily. “She shouldn’t be out on her own tonight.”

“Well, we don’t want to take a bullet in the back, so we’d better be careful,” Deuce warned.

Joker kept glaring at his big brother as if he knew this was all Aces’ fault.

Truman stared back and he didn’t even blink. He could give a rat’s ass about opinions. This was between him and Charli. “Well? Come on!”

Each of them grumbled as they separated and began searching the woods for her. They didn’t call out to her. They could attract the wrong person by doing that. On instinct, they split the grid and searched quietly for her. They didn’t know if there were any other people in the woods tonight and they didn’t want to find out the hard way.

So, they did what they did best, they used their special training.

Unfortunately, for them, the old man had been right…. they didn’t find her.

It was an hour later when they all returned to the cabin without Charli.

Ben was waiting for them when they got back. He didn’t say a word. Instead, he shuffled off to his own bedroom.

One by one, so did the brothers. Finally, the only one left awake was Truman. He kept getting up and checking the front door. He would open the door, walk out onto the porch, and look around the woods but he never saw what he wanted to see and that was Charli.

It was almost dawn before he gave up on her. Climbing the stairs slowly, he went back to the bedroom they had shared a few hours ago. The bedroom was still empty and he sighed hard.

Walking over to the bed, he flopped down on the mattress. He breathed deeply and caught the faint scent that belonged only to her.

Truman smiled as he closed his eyes. She would come back. Within moments, he was sound asleep surrounded by her scent.

Charli sat on the platform high in the trees and watched the sun come up in the eastern sky. She’d been out in the woods all night long but she was finally worn out enough that she could put her pain behind her. The hell with Ace and the bike he rode in on. She did not need him to accept her or keep her. She would be fine when he left.

No one knew it but this place was another one of her special spots in these woods. Besides the barn and where she’d taken Joker’s body to be buried, she had a few places hidden around the farm to go when she needed to be alone.

From where she was, she could look out over the meadow where Andy’s building was located. It was on land that once belonged to her grandfather’s neighbor and best friend until he died three years ago. She knew his son owned the land now but she would be willing to bet, he probably didn’t know what Andy was doing with the land

The place had been quiet and empty the whole time she’d been up in the tree. She’d heard someone walking around the woods during the night but she knew they couldn’t see her so she didn’t bother them either. She figured it might have been Ace or his brothers and she certainly didn’t want them to know where she was.

Now as she looked over at the new day dawning, she wondered what today would bring. Would Andy try his hand another time at killing her or would he just go on with his life? That was the question wasn’t it? This was more important than thinking about that big biker and what had happened between them. She rolled her eyes for being so dammed stupid. But she refused to give it anymore of her time.

What happened, happened and there was no changing it. She knew he would leave sooner or later, for whatever mission they were on. They were bikers, they always had someplace else to be.

Joker had told her a little bit about his family while he recovered from his stab wounds. He told her they were from Kaycee, Wyoming. They were all retired from the Military, Special Forces, due to injuries. They had been caught in an ambush that took almost their whole squad.

Charli had listened but not asked any questions as Joker had told her he wouldn’t be able to really answer much. She asked about how they all grew up but nothing more than that. She really didn’t know much about the family as a whole but as he recovered, she heard a lot about how it had been growing up with older brothers.

She laughed at some of the antics and jokes they had played on him and then she told him she was now glad she was an only child. She in turn, told him about growing up on her grandfather’s farm. About her special places and why she had them.

She looked around the platform she was on. She’d even told him about this place. Of how she chose this place for a reason and what that reason was. As a kid, she often liked to climb the trees in these woods. She thought the higher she went the closer she could get to heaven and that someday… she could just reach out her hand and her mom or dad would be able to touch it.

It was a child’s dream but it was all she had left— a dream after her parents died. She’d brought up each and every board and plank to build her platform and she often came here to watch the sun rise.

Charli stood up to get the entire view of the sun coming up.

Charli was so occupied with her thoughts that she didn’t hear someone climbing up her tree. She didn’t seem to hear the rustle of the leaves or his grunts as he navigated the climb.

When he peeked over the edge of the platform, Joker called out softly, “Charli.”

Charli jumped and almost lost her footing as she whirled her body around to face him. Raising her hand to cover her chest, she closed her eyes against the fright he’d given her. “Damn you Joker. You scared ten years off my life! Not to mention, I almost fell off the platform. I hate to tell you this but it’s a long way down from up here. How the hell did you find me?”

Joker climbed the rest of the way up and swung his legs over the platform. Then he sat there for a moment breathing hard. “Damn girl, that’s a hell of a climb.”

“It’s not so bad if you’re used to it.” She smiled. “I’ve been climbing these trees all my life.”

Joker looked around and noticed the sunrise. He stared in awe at the scene around him. “Damn, this is beautiful.”

Charli moved over some to allow him more room. “Yeah, it’s pretty nice. Mother Nature in all her glory.” She lowered her head and asked, “Why did you come here?”

“I had to find you. After you left, your grandpa told Ace you might not be safe out here all alone if Andy was still in the woods.”

Charli nodded. “I know, I figured it was you all I heard last night.”

“You heard us but didn’t bother to let us know you were ok?” Joker asked with a glare. “Why would you do that?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I never really thought about it. I was safe enough.” She nodded at the tree where it split into two main branches.

Joker looked over at it then noted a shotgun sitting in the split. He shook his head and chuckled. “Ok. I can see that.” He paused and stared at her for a moment before he spoke, “My oldest brother can be an ass sometimes, but he means well. He’d never hurt you on purpose, you know that right?”

Charli shook her head. “I don’t know that actually. To him, I’m just another chick. He’ll drive away and forget me the moment he turns the corner and hits the open road.”

Joker shook his head. “I don’t think that’s gonna happen any time soon.”

“I do,” she said quietly. “You guys have a mission you have to finish and me? I’m nobody.”

“Did he tell you what our mission was all about?”

Charli sighed. “No, he wouldn’t. I do know he’s awfully interested in what Andy is doing. Why, I have no clue.”

Joker nodded and looked out at the sunrise. It was almost up completely now. “We’re trying to find out where those Blue Diamond pills came from. We know they came from around here three years ago but what very few people realize is that they were left at a crime scene four years ago in Denver. We need to connect the dots and see if Andy is somehow involved.”

Charli shook her head. “Andy would have been in college four years ago. He did go to Denver in fact. He was working on his B.A. in business. Then before he could actually finish, he suddenly came home again. It was a two year program and he didn’t even make it to graduation.” She rolled her eyes like that was no surprise to her. “He was only like a month shy of getting his diploma when he suddenly showed up back home.”

Joker frowned as he realized what she’d just told him. Andy had been in Denver four years ago. And he was now dealing the same drug left at that crime scene. Ace was right, Charli could be a link to prove Andy was somehow involved in the mission they were presently on, not to mention he was sure Andy stabbed Alex and left him alone in that alley to die. He certainly showed no regret about stabbing him in the diner. “Did he ever talk about who he knew in the city, back then?”

She shook her head. “Not to me, he only bullies me. Not tell me stories, Joker. But six months after he got back, a couple of his Denver friends showed up here in Braaken. He showed them all over town. They didn’t stay that long but Andy acted very different when they were here. Nervous, almost like he had something to hide, not only from them but from the rest of the world.”

“Do you think he would have told his friends anything?”

“Like what?” Charli frowned. “Like a big, deep dark secret?”

Joker nodded. “Yeah, something like that.”

“He might tell his buddy Token.”

“Token?” Joker asked. “That’s the guy we’re holding in the shed.” He grinned. “This just might work.”

Charli nodded. “Token also went to Denver with Andy. If anything happened there, Token would know about it.” She paused then had to ask, “How mad is Ace at me for disappearing on everyone?”

“Well, none of them are happy with you but I think Ace is the maddest. He just got to sleep about an hour ago, I think.”

“Crapola,” she swore under her breath. Suddenly, she swung around gazing to her left. “Damn it.” She got to her feet. Grabbing the binoculars she kept up here, she placed them to her eyes and focused on the building.

“What are you looking at?” Joker asked.

“Andy is back and he doesn’t look happy,” she muttered. “He is soo not a morning person. I mean it could be just because he feels like being up at the buttcrack of dawn but I don’t think that’s the reason.”

Joker got to his feet and tried to see what was going on but he couldn’t see as well as she could with the binoculars. Taking them from Charli, he focused on Andy.

He saw Andy pulling out an ATV, then he saw him check under the seat and ready a weapon. He dropped the binoculars. “Come on we gotta to get back to the cabin. Andy looks like he’s gonna make a surprise raid on someone or something. And it doesn’t look like its going to be a pleasant surprise.”

Charli nodded then grabbed a hidden rope. “Meet you on the ground.” She shimmied her way down the rope faster than Joker could react.

He then grabbed the rope and swung himself down from the platform.

She moved quickly through the woods as he followed. He hoped she knew the way better than he did. He had wandered a bit on his way over here.

They stopped when they heard the whine of the ATV motor getting closer. They ducked behind a tree when Andy whizzed past them.

With a gasp, Charli began moving even faster toward the cabin.

Joker paused long enough to send a text to his brothers. He then rushed forward to catch up to Charli again.

Then they both heard the sounds of gunfire in the distance.

Charli stumbled and would have fallen but Joker caught her before she hit the ground. He righted her but didn’t let her go right away. She could get another bullet and this time, she wouldn’t be so lucky.

They heard shots being returned and then they heard the sounds of the ATV engine roaring off.

Charli struggled desperately against his hold. ‘Let me go!”

Joker finally did let her go.

Charli rushed off again, as Joker followed.

By the time they came to the cabin, everyone but Ben was standing outside with a weapons in their hands.

Charli brushed past them, looking for her grandfather. Her lungs were on fire, but she couldn’t care. When she came into the cabin, she saw the damage done by the bullets. That wasn’t what concerned her though. She couldn’t find him and she called out his name as she rushed through the cabin. She made her way down the hall and entered his bedroom where she gasped loudly at what greeted her.

Ben was there lying on the floor in an ever growing pool of blood.

She slid to her knees and crawled over to his body. She was almost hyperventilating as she struggled to gather him into her arms. “Oh grandpa, what did he do to you?” she sobbed as she rocked him back and forth.

She was oblivious to everything going on around her. All she could think about was her grandfather.

Ace grasped her arm.

This startled her as she could barely see through her tears. She knew it was Ace though.

He then knelt beside her and whispered in a low tone, “Dammit.”