Flicker/Spider Duet (Print)

Flicker/Spider (Duet)
Harley Wylde
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2020 Harley Wylde
Excerpt from Flicker

“What’s your real name?” I asked. “Or do I just call you Sarge?”

“Lance Reid.” He rubbed a hand down his beard. “But I was kind of hoping you might want to call me Dad. Shit. Your grandparents are going to freak the hell out. I’m freaking out for that matter. Never thought I’d have kids and now I have one fully grown daughter I never knew about. I don’t know the first damn thing about being a parent.”

“First, I don’t need a parent in the sense you’re thinking. I already did my growing up, but I do want to get to know you. And it’s awesome that I finally have a dad. Second, I have grandparents?” I asked, ignoring his comment about him freaking out. He was allowed. If our roles were reversed, I’d probably feel the same. What my mother had done hadn’t been fair to either of us. But… grandparents! I’d always envied the kids who had some. It had just been me and Mom, and she was no prize.

“Yeah. Margie and Robert Reid. My dad is from Scotland, but his accent isn’t that thick these days. Mom is from Georgia. They’re in their eighties. Had me late in life. Mom always called me her miracle baby.”

“Do they live here?” I asked, suddenly wanting to meet them more than anything. Finding out who my dad was had been amazing, if a bit scary considering the circumstances, but discovering I had grandparents? Holy shit! That was like striking gold for a kid who had never had anyone but a junkie whore mother.

“A few towns over. Once we get some stuff figured out, I’ll take you over there. For now, we need to focus on more immediate things, like do you have a place to stay?” he asked.

“Um, no, but I’m assuming even a small place like this has a motel or two.”

“You can stay with me, if you’re comfortable doing that. I have a house at the compound. It’s not exactly big, but there’s a spare room. We can decorate it however you want, if you decide to stick around for a while.” He shrugged. “If you want to move on once all this mess with your mom is sorted, then that’s fine too, but I’m hoping you’ll keep in touch.”

Our food arrived and he went quiet again. It was nice of him to offer me a place to stay, and I had to wonder if he was just being polite or if he really wanted me there. A guy who’d never thought to have kids, and hadn’t known about me, might prefer to have his space. I didn’t want to stay there if he was just being polite but didn’t really want me under foot. I ate about a fourth of my food, glancing up at him every few bites. I could feel him watching me when I wasn’t looking.

“Do you want me to? Stick around, I mean,” I said.

“Yeah, I do. Might take me a few days to adjust to being a dad, or longer, but now that I know about you, I want to get to know you.”

“I’d like that,” I admitted.

We finished our food and he leaned back in the booth. He didn’t seem in a rush to get back to the compound, so I pushed my plate away and leaned my arms on the table. I’d been right about the food. Greasy but good. It was the most I’d eaten in days and my stomach was content for the moment.

“Tell me about this trouble your mom was mixed up in, the trouble that she said would come looking for you,” he said.

“Mom has -- had -- a bad drug habit. Heroin, cocaine, meth. She loved it all, and she wasn’t above helping herself if she saw anything lying around. Except this time, she stole an entire brick.”

“What the fuck did she do with a brick of coke?” he asked, his voice going dark and deep. The look in his eyes said he’d clearly kill my mom himself if she weren’t already dead.

“Probably threw a party or several, and I’m sure a good bit of it went up her nose,” I said. “She’d been babbling the other day about someone trying to get something from her, and that if she didn’t return it, they wanted twenty grand in cash. Like my mom has that kind of money. I have no idea how long ago she took the cocaine, but it was long enough for her to go through it.”

“And you didn’t get more details from her?”

I sighed and looked down at my hands a moment. “You have to understand something. My mother has -- had -- been strung out on drugs and booze pretty much since her pimp got his hooks into her. It made it easier for her to be a whore, I guess, if she was flying high. Her abuse got worse over the years, and I’m honestly surprised she hadn’t OD’d long before now. In the last five years alone, she came to me for money, claiming someone would hurt her if she didn’t get her hands on some cash. Never as much as twenty grand, but it still added up. I gave it to her the first two times. The third time I got suspicious and I followed her. She used it to buy drugs and throw a party for her friends.”

“So when she came crying about owing money, you figured she was lying like before,” he said. “Understandable. People hooked on drugs, especially the hard stuff, will do anything for their next hit.”

“I don’t know who she owed the money to, so I have no idea who is coming for me. I’m hoping they can’t find me here, but when she gave me your address, I knew I had to come see you. Even if you refused to have anything to do with me, I just wanted to see my dad at least once,” I said.

“I’m glad you’re here, Pepper.” He frowned. “Why did she name you that?”

My lips curved in a smile. “She said that you liked comics and had talked about a few of the superheroes and you’d mentioned a few women. The name Pepper stuck out in her mind I guess.”

He rubbed the back of his neck and his cheeks flushed pink. “Uh, yeah. I have a bit of a collection.”

He didn’t seem like the comic geek type, but who was I to judge? After he paid the check, and I noticed he left a ten-dollar tip on a bill that was less than fifteen dollars, we drove back to the compound. No doubt in my mind he was sweet on Lily. Maybe while I was hanging out I could give him a nudge in her direction. She’d seemed nice enough. The Prospect at the gate let us through and I followed my dad to a small bungalow that was gray with black shutters. It was very sedate compared to some of the other houses we passed, including the sprawling house next door, but I could see Sarge living here.

My dad pulled up into the small carport and I left my bike in the driveway. As I swung my leg over the seat and removed my helmet, I became aware of a figure leaning against the house just to the right of the door. My dad didn’t have a light on outside, and the guy had blended with the shadows. He came closer, his gaze locked on me, and I felt my thighs clench when I got a better look. His dark blond hair was clipped short, and he had a neatly trimmed beard. I recognized him just from his hair and overall build. It was the man I’d seen earlier. The one who had made my belly clench, and not in an unpleasant way.

Looking into his eyes made my legs feel like jelly. Bedroom eyes, that’s what my mother had always called them. If anyone could tempt me to give up my V-card, it was this guy. Just from the way I felt under his gaze, if the man snapped his fingers and told me to bend over, I’d offer myself to him in an instant. It was such an intense feeling that it both excited and frightened me.

“Flicker, why the hell are you lurking outside of my house?” my dad asked him.

My gaze dropped to his vest and I saw his name along with a title stitched there. Treasurer. Since my dad didn’t have a title under his name, I figured that meant this guy was someone important. For once, I was wishing I’d paid attention to those biker gang -- or whatever a group of bikers was called -- shows and movies people were always talking about. I was more of a cartoon watcher, though. The classics like Scooby-Doo, the Jetsons, and Droopy Dog. None of the new stuff, unless it was from the Mouse.

“Fenton said there might be trouble with your unexpected guest,” Flicker said. He practically undressed me with his eyes, not that it would be all that difficult since I was in head to toe leather that was skintight. As my nipples tightened, I was glad for the extra protection. Didn’t stop my cheeks from heating.

“Did he tell you who my guest was?” my dad asked.

“No. You’ve never been the type to go for the younger ones, Sarge. But I’m more than willing to take her off your hands for the night. Maybe for several nights.” He licked his lips. “Possibly even longer. Damn.”

I gasped and took a step back as my dad punched Flicker right across the jaw. The Treasurer of the club shook it off and glared at him.

“What the fuck was that shit?” Flicker demanded.

“That’s my daughter you’re eye fucking, asshole,” my dad said, his voice nearly a growl he sounded so pissed.

Flicker jerked to look at me again, then glanced back at Sarge. He looked back and forth between us about a dozen times before he held up his hands and backed up a few steps. The sight of his cock pressing against the front of his jeans had me squeezing my thighs together. I’d never, not even once, desired a man. Why did it have to be this one? What was so special about him?

“I didn’t mean any disrespect. I wasn’t aware you had a daughter, much less that she was visiting,” Flicker said.

“I didn’t know either,” Sarge said. “Her bitch of a mother kept her from me all these years. She may be in some trouble, Flicker, but I’ll discuss it with you tomorrow. Stop by for breakfast?”

The Treasurer, who I was starting to think of as Mr. Drool-worthy Biker God, gave a quick nod and stalked off to the house next door. The Indian Chief Dark Horse parked in his double carport was enough to make me sigh. I’d checked out the new line-up a month ago and knew it had to be brand-new. So, gorgeous and the man had taste when it came to his ride. What more could a girl ask for? I had a feeling that being next door to him would prove challenging. My dad didn’t seem to like the idea of his friend being with me, which meant I’d probably need to keep my distance.

Figured the one man who actually made me ache was off-limits. I only hoped he got that memo, because I had no doubt that one touch and I’d go up in flames. The man had player written all over him, but it didn’t seem to matter to all the parts of my body that were currently humming in appreciation. As I watched him walk off, I had to admit the man had a fine ass.