Reva looked around with wide eyes trying to take in everything at once. “This room is huge,” she whispered.
It really was big, but it needed to be. I’m sure at one point it was bigger than what was needed, but once all of the original members started having kids, the room shrunk. Now with eighteen women wandering around, it was tiny.
More girls trickled down the hallway from the bedrooms and descended on the pizza.
Zig followed behind adjusting his pants.
Zag and Easy weren’t liking the new living arrangements, but it seemed that Zig was making the most of it.
Reva looked from Zig and then to Zag. “Uh? There’s two of them?” she asked.
“Twins, Sunshine.”
Zig leaned against the wall by the pool table and watched the girls grab their food.
“They look exactly the same,” Reva whispered. “I can only imagine the trouble they get into.”
She had no idea. I couldn’t tell you how many times they had tricked people by pretending to be the other. “The stories are endless with those two.”
“You two better grab some pizza now if you want some before it’s gone,” Easy called.
“I gotta give King a call and grab some clothes.” I squeezed her hand. “You good with hanging out here for a couple of minutes?”
Reva looked unsure but nodded her head. “Sure.”
I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. “I’ll be quick, Sunshine. If Zig or Zag give you shit, just tell them they’re on bike washing duty.”
“Because they’re going to listen to me,” she laughed.
They would probably listen to her more than they did to me. “Just behave. These guys are good at talking people into getting in trouble. Ask Frost about his pink Barbie Jeep.”
“Uh, okay.” Reva wandered over to the pizza and smiled at Frost. I watched her lips move and smirked when the words “Barbie Jeep” came out of her lips.
Frost pointed his finger at me and boomed, “You son of a bitch!”
I gave him a two finger salute. “Story time,” I called. I headed down the hallway to my room and pulled my phone out of my pocket. I connected the call and opened the door to my room.
“I think you’re actually starting to grow up, Hero. This is the third day in a row you’re actually checking in with me.”
I rolled my eyes and reached for a duffel bag under my bed. “Well, there isn’t a lot to report.”
“No more dead waitresses?” King drawled.
“Not yet, and if whoever killed Tanya and Bunny wants to kill again, they’re going to have to get through the Devil’s Knights first.” I dropped the duffel bag on the bed. “You hopping on that plane yet?” King hadn’t told me when he was coming back, just that he was.
King groaned. “We finally pulled into Gravel’s last night at about eleven thirty. Meg and the girls are all pissed we’re leaving. I won’t even go into the assripping Mom gave me when she heard.”
I was always amused at the idea that King got yelled at by Meg and Ethel. He was such a hardass, but when it came to those two, his guard came down. “Yeah, I’ve been on the receiving end of your mom yelling at me. Sweet woman, but you better make sure to return her pie plates to her.”
King chuckled. “Yeah. Don’t mess with her pie plates.”
“So, what’s gonna happen, then?” I grabbed a few shirts and tossed them in the duffel bag. I could run to the clubhouse whenever I wanted but having a few things at Reva’s was a good idea.
“Rigid, Demon, and I plan to fly out on Friday. I wanted to leave tomorrow but…” he trailed off.
“Meg told you Friday?” I laughed. Damn if I didn’t love Meg.
“Yeah. Besides, it sounds like you have things under control there. For now, just lay low. Keep the girls at the clubhouse and help Ransom if he needs it.”
“You call him?” Yesterday when I had talked to King, I had mentioned Ransom and how he didn’t seem to be a fan of the club. I was surprised as hell when King had told me before Ransom became a cop, he had been a hang around at the club. He wanted to prospect, but King told him no because the club life wasn’t meant for him. Ransom got pissed, stopped hanging around, and then joined the police academy. It now seemed Ransom was always on alert to bust the club. In the end, King had been right about the club not being right for Ransom, but it now meant he hated the club.
“Yeah. Basically told me to fuck off and if we didn’t get out of his way, he was going to arrest each and every one of us like he had Luna.”
I chuckled. “Well, let’s hope we can control ourselves a little bit more than Luna. She stomped the hell out of his foot. I’m sure he’ll have a good limp for a little bit.”
“Good,” King grunted. “So, just keep doing what you’re doing, Hero. You’re actually doing a good job for all of the shit that’s being thrown your way.”
“That means you’re passing the torch to me?” Even through all of this, I still wanted that gavel. I wanted to be the president of the Devil’s Knights.
King chuckled low. “Maybe someday. How about you just keep everyone alive until I get there and we’ll discuss it some more. We get through this and maybe I’ll start taking more vacations if I can leave the club in your capable hands.”
Those were the most encouraging words King had ever said to me about being the next president of the Knights. “Guess I should bump up my campaign to get everyone's vote, huh?”
“Always a cocky son of a bitch.” King’s voice was laced with humor. “You’ve got the vote of mostly everyone. Just a few you need to keep impressing.”
That was also news to me. When King did finally decide to step down as prez, it wasn’t just going to be handed to me. I was going to need the rest of the members to actually vote me in. “You maybe wanna let me know which ones need convincing?”
He let out a bark of laughter. “Hell no. Watching you trying to figure it out is going to be my fun. Keep everyone alive, Hero, and I’ll see you Friday.” He ended the call, and I tossed the phone on the bed.
I knew he wasn’t going to tell me which members were on the fence about me taking over the club, but I assumed it was some of the older guys. I just had to keep doing what I was doing and remember I didn’t need to be everyone's hero like Dad always told me.
Keep doing the right thing and eventually, things would come back to me.
One day soon, that gavel was going to be mine.
*
Chapter Twenty
Reva
“I don’t know where you learned it, but that thing you do with your tongue is going to kill me.” I pressed a kiss to his lips and slid off to his side.
“I can say the same thing about you sucking on my lip. Sends a fucking current straight to my dick and I come within seconds.”
A smug smile spread across my lips. Reading Cosmopolitan as a teenager had really paid off even if I didn’t get to use my knowledge ‘til I was in my late twenties. “You’re welcome.”
Hero and I had hung out at the clubhouse for a couple of hours and then took the long way back to my place. I was falling in love with being on the back of his bike. I was okay with him driving me back and forth to work every day for the rest of my life.
At the clubhouse, I had been able to get to know the men he referred to as his brothers, and I had to say, they were all like Hero, but they were also so different. They had the same love for the club and riding, but just talking to them for a few minutes, I saw the craziness in Zag and Zig, the fierce loyalty in Frost, and the laidback Zen of Easy. Pie and Snapper kept more to themselves, staying at the fringe of the club. Those two I liked, but I couldn’t get a handle on what it was that made them unique.
“What are you thinking about, Sunshine?” Hero rumbled.
I sighed and rested my hand on his chest. “Pie and Snapper.”
“You better be talking about the actual pie and snapper while lying in bed naked with me,” Hero laughed.
I rolled my eyes. “What a horrible combin
ation,” I choked. Fish and pie. “If I was thinking about that, I would be gagging.”
“Probably,” Hero agreed.
“I was just thinking about the people you call your brothers. They’re all different but the same.”
Hero hummed. “But Pie and Snapper?”
I shrugged. “I just didn’t get a vibe from them.”
“Probably because those too are the most guarded. Pie is just quiet in general, but Snapper has been through some shit, Sunshine.”
“I heard about his parents. Greta gave me the quick rundown the other night.”
“More than that. A lot more than that.”
I tipped my head back to look at him. “What does that mean?”
Hero pressed a kiss to my lips. “That’s not my thing to tell.”
“You’re not going to tell me?” I whined. “Really? You can’t tell me his parents dying when he was three is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Hero chuckled. “I can, and I am. Some secrets aren’t meant for sharing unless the person it happened to chooses to share them.”
“Not fair,” I pouted. Now it was going to bug me ‘til I found out what Hero was talking about.
“Just ask him, Sunshine. He might tell you.”
“You’re making me roll my eyes a lot for it being right after we had sex. I’ll just walk up to Snapper and tell him you told me he’s had a hard life and if he could tell me what exactly happened, it would be great. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.”
“Well,” Hero drawled, “you do tend to just blurt out whatever you want, so you could just blame it on that.”
“I only do that around you,” I insisted. “Something about you just turns me into a babbling idiot that can’t seem to hold a single thought in my head.”
“It’s cute.”
“Me being an idiot is cute,” I scoffed. Hero was blowing smoke up my butt.
“No, Sunshine, you being you is cute.” He rolled into me, pinned my arms above my head, and straddled my hips. “I’m gonna have to keep telling you that until you get it through your head.”
“That I’m idiotically cute.”
“Reva,” he laughed. “You make it hard to be serious right now.”
“What are we being serious about?”
He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. “The fact that I like you the way you are and if you change, I’m not gonna be happy.”
“Well, I mean, that’s nice of you.” And incredibly sweet.
“That’s nice of me?” he drawled.
I nodded.
“You got anything else to say?”
A ton more. I just couldn’t seem to get it out of my mouth. “I like you, too.” I wiggled my fingers at him. “All of this, I am a fan of.”
“Reva.”
“You know when you call me Reva I know you’re about to lay something on me that is probably going to terrify me.” I closed my eyes. “Hit me with it.”
“Open your eyes, woman.”
I cracked open one eye.
“Now the other one.”
I sighed and opened my eyes.
“You listening?”
“My eyes are open, aren’t they?”
He closed his eyes and dropped his chin to his chest.
Yeah. I said that. “I’m listening, Hero.” I wasn’t trying to piss him off.
“I’m not good with words either, Reva. I’m just gonna tell you what I want to, and I hope it comes out right.”
Whoa. “Uh, okay?” When in doubt, answer with an uncertain okay.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he started.
We were both naked. That was probably a good decision.
“Things are pretty crazy right now with the club, and I’m trying to get that prez seat, but through all of that, nothing is going to change me being here.”
“You were my hero when I needed it with Barbara. No pun intended.”
He chuckled. “And I will forever be grateful to Barbara for deciding to hide behind the clubhouse. Best day of my life so far.”
“So, this is us?” I asked. “It’s you and me?”
This felt right. It was quick, and we barely knew each other, but saying out loud that it was me and Hero was good.
“Looks to be where it’s going. Might be a few bumps in the road because shit never seems to go easy for me.” He let go of my wrists and trailed a finger down my arm. “We’ve already been through two murders, Luna’s arrest, and a rouge dog. We’ve made it through all of that.”
“And you met my parents. Shirtless.” That was a moment I wasn’t going to forget anytime soon.
He leaned down, and his eyes connected with mine. “So, you and me?” he asked.
I smiled and pressed a kiss to his lips. “You and me.”
*
Chapter Twenty-One
Hero
The leather was soft and smooth between my fingers. “Hey, Sunshine,” I called. “What’s this?” How many times had I been in Reva’s house and I had never noticed the dog collar hanging by the back door?
“Oh, uh, that was Mabel’s.” Reva moved next to me and held out a cup of coffee.
“You wanna explain a little bit more?” I grabbed the cup and nodded to the collar.
Reva reached out and touched the light pink tag. “She was my dog. She passed away almost nine months ago.”
Well, hell. “I’m sorry, Sunshine.”
“She was a good girl. Went to work with me every day and loved to play ball until she couldn’t stand.” Her voice cracked, and she smiled sadly.
“Was she old?”
“Not at all. She was five. One minute, she was fine, and then suddenly, she was throwing up blood and couldn’t stand.” She dropped the tag. “She had cancer. There wasn’t anything the vet could do for her.”
“Jesus Christ, Sunshine.” I should have kept my damn mouth shut.
She wiped a tear from her cheek and smiled. “It’s okay.” She sniffed and smiled wide. “It sucks that she’s gone, but she was the best dog. I was lucky to have her for as long as I did.”
I draped my arm over her shoulder, and she leaned into me. “I think she was lucky to have you too, Sunshine.”
“Yeah, we both needed each other.” She sighed and took a sip of her coffee.
“Have you ever thought about getting another dog?” I asked. She had the ideal job. She worked with dogs, and she used to take Mabel to work with her.
She shrugged. “Once or twice I have. I just don’t know if another puppy will be able to replace Mabel.”
“Maybe you need to not replace Mabel because there was only one of her, but try to find a Betty, Spot, or Dino?”
Reva sputtered with laughter.
I thought my speech was pretty good. I had dogs growing up my whole life, and I never tried to replace the past with the new.
“I think you’re right, but if I do get another dog, you are not going to name it. Those names were horrible.” She leaned up and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Though if we get a Betty, she’ll have to be best friends with Barbara, right?”
“We?” I asked.
“It’s you and me, right?” she asked. “I guess that would make a we.” She bumped her shoulder into me and pulled out from under my arm. “I need to get to work. As much as I love being on the back of your bike, I’ll drive myself today.”
“What, why?” I followed her to the front door.
She grabbed her purse and hitched it over her shoulder. “Because I called the landlord to come look at the hatch to the crawl space in my bedroom. It was open again this morning.”
“It was?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know what is going on with it. He said he’ll call me when he’s on the way over. I don’t want to have to bother you to come bring me home and then back to the shop.”
“You know I wouldn’t mind taking you back and forth.” Having Reva at my back when I was on my bike was my favorite way to ride.
“How about I drive myself back a
nd forth, and then when I get off work, you and I go for a ride tonight?”
Now that sounded like a damn good idea. “But, I could also drive you to work and go for a long ride tonight.”
She looked down at my bare feet. “You gonna ride your bike like that?” she laughed.
“Five minutes and I’ll be ready to go.”
She patted me on the chest. “And in those five minutes it takes for you to get your boots, I’ll already be more than halfway to work. I’m fine driving myself, Hero.” She pressed a kiss to my lips. “I’ll see you after work.”
“Maybe I’ll walk over later.”
She beamed up at me. “Now that sounds like a good idea. I have a little lull this afternoon that you could fit perfectly in.”
I wrapped my arms around her. “You know I fit perfectly with you, Sunshine.”
“Mmm,” she hummed. “You sure do.”
I delved my fingers into her hair and tipped her head back. My lips connected with hers and just like every time we kissed, it was better than the last.
“I’ll see you later, Sunshine.”
“Promise,” she whispered.
*
Chapter Twenty-Two
Reva
“Hair of the Dog. You got Reva.” I wedged the phone between my ear and shoulder and continued brushing Buck the gorgeous German Shepherd who unfortunately did not like baths. My shirt and pants were soaked, and my shoes were mushy.
“Reva. It’s Mickey. I’m on the way over to your place right now.”
Not the best timing for my landlord to call, but I could make it work. “Uh, okay. I just have to finish up here and I’ll be over.”
“Sounds good. I’ll wait for you out front.”
I managed to finish brushing Buck, put him in one of the spacious kennels I had in back, and locked the front door behind me.
Ten minutes later, I parked in front of my duplex, and Mickey’s van wasn’t there yet. I had time to run inside and change into dry clothes before he came in. After today, I was going to keep a dry change of clothes at the shop. I was sick of having to be uncomfortable in wet clothes all day when one of the dogs got a little rowdy in the bath.
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