“You could have been kicked out of the club, had your ass handed to you, tattoo stripped from your skin, and you fucking still did it so my girl could be free to go to college?”
“Uh, yeah.” I didn’t know what else to say, that was about the gist of it. Although I cringed a little at the thought of having my tat cut out. That shit was going to hurt. I could take a beating. Skin being peeled away was a different kind of hurt though. It was an ugly kind of hurt. It didn’t matter. As long as she was happy I would take it. “Do what you gotta do, man,” I offered allowing my hands to drop freely at my sides.
“Holy fuck! This kid is either the dumbest fucker ever to breathe or he’s stupid in love,” Tuck huffed out as he came closer anticipating needing to hold me for this shit, no matter how cooperative I looked. Pain always made the body work either to run or defend. At some point it would become an involuntary reaction.
Ghost came at me then, quicker than even I thought possible. Only, instead of hitting me, he wrapped his fucking giant arms around my shoulders and whispered, “I knew I chose good,” in my ear. “Let’s not say a word, and see how she handles this. If she fights for college, she can go, and you can either wait or join her when you’re able until she’s done. If she decides to stay, that’s her choice.”
“I don’t have to make it easy on her do I?”
Ghost backed up and gave me a hard look then. “Don’t hurt my baby girl. That shit you pulled in there already was bad enough, even if nothing happened. She doesn’t know that. Hell, I doubt she’d believe any of us if we told her the truth.”
“Yeah, probably not. That’s a good thing though. Then she can concentrate on school, and making her own decisions.”
Bonus Chapter Three
I had never delivered a report to my Prez before while laughing, but apparently there really was a first time for everything. “You heard me right, Prez, a female MC.” I chuckled as I listened to his exasperated sigh.
“I’m still not seeing the problem here. You honestly see a bunch of bitches on bikes getting in the way of the new chapter down there?”
“Nah, I don’t. I’m meeting with Peety and Spike in about five minutes to discuss their concerns. Apparently, they think it’s big enough that I need to be made aware so we can decide if we need to move or stick it out here.” Again, I was having trouble containing both my disbelief with the situation and my laugher.
“Sure, sure. Just tell the boys to change their tampons first, and bring a welcome to the neighborhood box of chocolates.” Ghost huffed out amidst his own unchecked laughter. “That should have you covered.”
“I’ll do that,” I managed to bite out.
“Keep me updated, Sweet. Remember the placement of this chapter is crucial. If you guys have to deal with wanna-be biker bitches do whatever it takes to make sure that chapter is up and running within the month.”
“Sure thing.” Spike, the up-and-coming new vice president for the newly forming Sierra High, Georgia Chapter walked by tipping his chin towards the office of the recently procured warehouse facility. “I’ll send updates in a bit.”
I hung up with Ghost and followed Spike into the office where Peety, the soon-to-be president of the Sierra High Chapter sat. “Boys,” I began on a chuckle. “I’m not sure what the big deal is here.”
“No, you wouldn’t understand. We’ve been operating about two hours west of here for months, and scoping this place out a lot longer. We’ve witnessed things you need to be made aware of before moving forward.”
“Okay, hit me.” I managed to suppress an eye roll as I thought about big, burly Peety having any concerns at all about a bunch of lesbian bikers. They had to all be carpet-munchers, probably the big mountain-woman masculine type too. I shivered at the image I’d just painted for myself. It would definitely be better if they were all sexy lipstick lesbians. Then maybe we’d at least get to enjoy the show.
Peety cleared his throat. “You remember hearing about Winter’s Renegades having their asses handed to them last year?”
I nodded. “One-two punch from the feds and another club, if memory serves.” I thought a moment. “Trying to expand from Tennessee down into Georgia, right?” Then it hit me. “Damn, they were gunning for territory here?”
“They were running women through here, and shitting where they ate. Taking a local girl set off a shit-storm of action.” Distaste colored my features and I didn’t care who saw it. I had no tolerance for the clubs that trafficked human beings. Didn’t matter to me if it was men, women, or children. It was all fucked up.
“Those girls in S.H.E.,” Peety spat the name out like it was a pronoun instead of an acronym. “They had the WRs run out of here, tails between their legs, and then they cut their legs off just for fun in the end. Ruined those boys financially too. Can’t even function in their own territory anymore. Not that there’s a lot left of them anyway. There is only a skeleton crew left without federal charges at this point.”
Now I was shocked too. “She?” I had to ask first.
“Sierra High Evermore. S-H-E.” Peety spelled out for me.
“So, lemme guess, the girls went in Trojan Horse style posing as club whores or some such and took out the key players?”
“Nah, son,” Peety started in his slow southern draw. “Those bitches are sharp as tacks. Never had to get their hands dirty. They’ve got some bitch-ass computer guru up there or something. Emptied all the WR’s coffers with exception of cash they had on hand. Also found out where they were housing the girls and called in some tips posing as a girl who had escaped from where they were keeping them in between shipments. Feds rescued 50 girls. We’ve heard a couple ended up joining S.H.E.”
Now, I got the acronym even though he still said it like it was a pronoun.
“Those girls might sound like a joke, son, but I assure you they’re nothing to ignore. We need to do this right. Charm ‘em or something,” Peety was spouting off, obviously trying to think out loud.
“We have a meeting set with their top two later today,” Spike added. “Maybe they’ll be hospitable afterward if we’re real nice. I wouldn’t mind sinking my teeth into that Tash.”
“Hell no!” Peety’s face screwed up in disgust as he shouted at his new VP. “We will not be mixing with those girls. You go sticking your dick in that and next thing you know we’re washed up with no assets left to our names, because you pissed one of ‘em off.”
“Whatever,” Spike shrugged. “I heard they’re all lesbians anyway.” Damn, that’s exactly what I’d been wondering earlier. Apparently, Spike had already confirmed there was at least one hot box over there too. What a waste.
They actually had a security team waiting on us at the gate. There were two women and a couple heavily armed men, one of whom looked like he was heading to a body building competition soon. “Thought this was an all-girl club?” I asked as we rolled up to the gate.
“It is. They also have a security company that employs men.” Spike assured me. “Guess they belong to that part of the business.”
“Uh huh.” Suddenly, I had a tight feeling in my gut that we had no clue what we were walking into here. Usually, I didn’t make the mistake of underestimating people. I’d been a dumbass for laughing off a club full of women out of hand. Now that I got a look at their compound, I realized just how big a dumbass I had been. They were obviously doing real well for themselves.
“I’ll need you to leave any weapons in the lock box here. You can get them on the way back out.” The beefy bouncer-looking guy spoke in a no-nonsense, militaristic fashion.
“No offense,” I scoffed. “But I don’t go anywhere without my piece.”
“Then you don’t go in there.” The man hitched a thumb over his shoulder toward a large building I assumed was the clubhouse for S.H.E. The funny thing was, it wasn’t my club’s style at all. Our chapters tended to repurpose old factories and warehouses to suit our needs. This place looked like a damn ski lodge at a winter resort. It was all woo
d beams, logs, and stone construction. I’d never admit it to anyone, but I wanted really badly to see the guts of the place. It looked like something a woman I once knew had described to me as her dream home, only this was on a much larger scale.
“Would you go visit another MC unarmed?” Spike asked the behemoth who stood in our way, keeping us outside the gates until we relented. The man simply shrugged then gestured again to the open lock box.
“Your choice.” He held up a keypad of some sort. “You may set your own access code to the box while you’re here. No one else will have it. That is the only concession they’ve allowed. Take it, or leave it.”
I glanced at Spike who shrugged in the same aloof manner the security detail had. Peety blew out an exasperated breath before taking the piece he carried at his lower back out, popped the clip, and placed them inside the box. “Don’t forget the one at your ankle too,” the security man demanded. My respect for the overly large guy grew.
“How did you end up working for a female biker club?” I asked him. He stared at me momentarily, remaining quiet for so long I didn’t think he’d answer.
“I work for Redemption, Inc. It just happens to be a holding of S.H.E.” His words were curt and concise. “There’s nowhere on Earth I’d rather be.” Well, that was something. Once we all stowed our weapons in the lock box, Peety entered a code in and then tested it out. I was absolutely under no illusions that this guy didn’t have an override code for the box, but it was the best deal we were getting and Peety and Spike were serious about this meeting. After arriving, I had to admit, I was curious too.
The gate opened with an electronic hiss and pop of chains I had expected and we were able to drive up closer to the ski-resort style clubhouse. There, a tiny little bit of a woman in grease-stained coveralls pointed out where we could park our bikes. I couldn’t tell if she had a decent figure under the bulky mechanic’s garb, but I did see a name sewed into the chest of it. “JoJo.”
“Tash is waiting for you just inside,” she offered with the tip of head toward the front door.
“Wonder if they’re all gonna be so damn tiny?” Peety muttered as we moved to the door.
“Nah, I’ve seen the ones they call Tash and Keys. Both are fine looking women, but definitely bigger than the pint-size one out there.” Spike told him. I just kept my mouth shut as we made our way inside. As soon as my eyes adjusted from the bright outdoor sunshine to the muted indoor lighting I was taken aback again by what I saw. We were in a large open plan room. To my left were couches, tables, and chairs. Bookshelves lined the walls on either side of the sitting area that was dominated by a giant stone hearth. To the right were high top tables with stools, a pool table, foosball table, and an electronic scoring dartboard set up that I wished we had back home. Running the length of the back wall was a gorgeous hand carved bar, and more liquor than a bunch of girls could possibly know what to do with. The ceiling over the bar was far lower than the cathedral ceilings in the rest of the room. It seemed that the bar was built in just underneath an upstairs loft area. The place was stunning. I found myself hoping for a tour of the rest of the facility.
“Gentlemen?
I turned to see a woman with ombre curls bouncing about her head. Her natural brown hair bled down evenly towards light blond tips. I wasn’t sure how it would look if her hair had been straightened, but with her bouncy curls it worked. “I’m Tash, VP of Sierra High Evermore. If you’ll follow me, Keys and I will wait with you in the office until our president arrives.”
“Why exactly are we waiting for your Prez to arrive? You ladies don’t believe in punctuality?” I harassed the woman who just sneered in my direction momentarily. Yeah, my bet was definitely on them being lesbians.
“Your appointment was only made a few hours ago. She had things to handle first.” As Tash led us down a back hall I noticed a red-haired woman fall in step at our six.
“You gonna introduce your friend that’s following us?” I asked none to politely.
“I just told you Keys would be joining us. She is one of our security specialists.”
I couldn’t help the snicker that escaped as I glanced over my shoulder again at the redhead who seemed as if she’d rather be getting a manicure than worrying about whether or not she could take anyone of us, let alone all three of us, out before we could do damage. I was positive their security specialist was a joke.
When we entered the office after Tash she pointed to the three seats sitting in front of a desk immediately to our right. I snatched up the one by the wall, and turned it so I’d be able to see everyone in the room and know when someone entered the door that was situated behind us. I pulled my ball cap low over my eyes and waited, not wanting to give anything away when their fearless leader finally strolled in. Whoever she was.
“Your Prez have a name?” I asked.
Tash smirked. “Angel Girl,” she offered. “Don’t let the name fool you. She won’t take any shit off of any of you.”
I took the warning with a grain of salt, because I couldn’t see any of the women I’d met so far as a threat, let alone the least bit intimidating. I couldn’t have been more wrong though.
Fifteen minutes later I heard voices beyond the door. “Some motorcycle club or other came to make nice so they can move into our territory. They don’t run girls. We did prelims on them this morning, but we’re still waiting on more info. Call came in a few hours ago about the requested meet and greet.” A woman’s voice was saying.
“All right, I guess I better go save Tash then,” a very familiar voice called out as it grew closer to the door. I was trying to place where I might have heard that voice before when the door opened. It took every ounce of self-control I possessed not to jump right up and demand a million and one answers to questions that had plagued my chapter of the Aces High MC for the past seven year. Standing before me, moving around the desk, and greeting her girls was the woman who had run away from me all those years ago. Jamie Fucking Murdock.
No matter how badly I wanted to jump up and start interrogating her about why she left and where she’d been all this time, I decided to see how this would all play out first. So, I sat back and listened while an ever-impatient Peety finally spoke up.
“You must be this Angel Girl we’ve been hearing about.” His tone was all authority, trying to let these girls know who was boss. I couldn’t help thinking Peety was using his best daddy voice on them. “If you were trying to make us sweat, sweetheart…” he started to say, but was cut off abruptly.
“Apologies for the wait. I was out of cell range, and not aware of this meeting until a few minutes ago. This is generally why meetings of this nature should be scheduled well in advance.” The sweet smile she aimed Peety’s way wasn’t fooling anyone, least of all Peety who had turned three different shades of red with her initial interruption.
“Contrary to popular belief we aren’t mind readers. So, we can’t be here for something we know nothing about.” She had maneuvered fully to the other side of the desk by now. “Cell reception sucks here in the mountains. It’s why MCs don’t last long when they try to move in. It’s also why last minute notice of meetings means you wait.”
An awkward silence descended on the room while everyone tried to work out how to approach the other side. Finally, Peety got his shit together enough to speak again. “I’m Peety, this here is my VP – Spike.” He pointed to me then, but I didn’t bother looking up and giving myself away yet. I had the feeling Peety was about to accidently out my anyway. “He’s the main chapter’s VP.” He didn’t give my name. I let out the breath I had been holding. I’d never been a chicken, but seeing as to how this woman had run from me seven years ago with no word and no indication of why, I wasn’t sure I was ready for her to know I was here. To be honest, I also wasn’t sure if it would help or hinder the cause.
“Well, you seem to know who we are already,” Jamie charged on. “So what is it you think we can do for you today?”
Angel Girl (S.H.E. Book 1) Page 33