by Joanna Wylde
That startled me—Horse was pretty darn pale to be this woman’s brother, but he’d said his sister was married to Bam Bam.
“You’re Horse’s sister?” I asked. Then I blushed, realizing how rude I must sound. She laughed.
“Half-sister,” she said. “I’m Coeur d’Alene, he’s not, but it works. Bam and I have been together forever, got three beautiful little babies to prove it. I’m really happy to meet you, honey.”
I smiled a little uncertainly.
“I don’t know how much you know,” I started to say, thinking I should probably clear things up pretty quick here before they got the wrong impression.
“We know it all,” said Maggs. She was petite with shaggy blonde hair, bright eyes and a great big smile. She reminded me of Goldie Hawn. “I hope you don’t mind, but Darcy told us. I mean, some of it’s club business and we don’t have those details, but she told us everything you told her.”
I frowned. I guess I hadn’t exactly sworn Darcy to secrecy, but I hadn’t expected her to make all the details public either. Maggs reached forward and took my hand, rubbing it between hers with a look of concern.
“Oh honey, don’t worry,” she said quickly. “We’re all family here. If you’re with Horse, you’re with us and trust me, these boys cause enough trouble that they need all of us to keep them straight. It’s a group effort.”
The others murmured agreement.
“Old ladies have to stick together,” Darcy said. “Things can get rough, but no matter what we have each other. This is your family now, and we’re here to welcome you.”
I shook my head.
“I’m not Horse’s old lady,” I said. “I don’t know what I am, but we’ve only been together for a couple of days.”
“Bam says Horse is crazy for you,” Dancer said. That caught my attention in a big way. “Never seen him this way. You may not get this, but my brother doesn’t exactly have trouble finding women. He doesn’t need to drive across the state to get laid, Marie. And this collateral bullshit? The club doesn’t work that way, this is a special situation. He’s never brought anyone home before. Never.”
“Really?” I asked, still uncertain.
“Never,” she replied. “It’s a rule of his, actually. ‘No bitches in the house.’ Drives me crazy, he’s such a dumbass, sexist pig about it. Been that way since high school.”
“Wow.”
“Wow is right,” chimed in Em, a tall, slender girl with a shy smile. “I never thought Horse would hook up with someone. We’re excited to have you here. I’m Picnic’s daughter.”
“I saw your pictures!” I said, placing her now. I could see Picnic’s features in her face, although softened and feminine. “He showed them to me once when they came to visit. He’s really proud of you.”
“Thanks,” she replied, blushing. “It’s good to have you here. Dancer’s right, the club is like a family and sometimes it feels like we’ve got a lot more brothers than sisters. We’re excited to get to know you.”
“No kidding!” chimed in Cookie, a bouncy, petite girl who had bright red curls, green eyes and lots of freckles. “I’m Bagger’s old lady. You haven’t met him, he’s over in Afghanistan right now. We girls have to stick together, for sure. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have Maggs and Dancer and the others to keep me sane.”
“I guess that means it’s my turn,” Maggs said. “I’m with Bolt, you haven’t met him yet either. He’s down in Kuna, at the prison.”
That caught my attention. Why was her man in prison? I felt for her, thinking about visiting Mom in jail. Prison had to be so much worse, and for longer too. I knew for myself that good people could do stupid, stupid things.
“My mom’s in jail right now,” I told her, taking her hand. “She’s going to get out in a few months though. Have you been on your own for long?”
“About two years now,” she replied, looking momentarily tired. “But we’re working on an appeal. I know everyone says this, but Bolt honestly didn’t do what he went down for, and we can prove it. It’s actually been kind of a big case. Every time there’s a hearing we have reporters come around like a bunch of fucking scavengers—there’s a big scandal about prosecutorial misconduct and mishandling DNA evidence. At least I don’t have to deal with it alone though.”
“Exactly,” said Darcy. “None of us are alone. And this isn’t all the girls either. This is just the posse I managed to round up on short notice. Between the Reapers and the Silver Bastards there are about fifteen old ladies, and we stick together.”
“What about those girls at the party last night?”
Em made a gagging sound.
“They’re definitely not family,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Bunch of sluts and losers.”
“Some of them are nice girls,” Cookie protested. “I met Bagger at a club party.”
“That was a real party,” said Em. “Not one of those drunken fuckfests my dad likes to pretend I don’t know about.”
“Whoever they are, they aren’t old ladies,” said Dancer firmly. “They aren’t like us, and you aren’t like them,” she added, catching my eye.
“And that’s why we’re here,” said Cookie. “We decided you probably need a break, so it’s ladies’ night. We’re going to take you out and show you just how much fun your new sisters can be.”
I sat up straight, shaking my head and leaning forward to set down my untouched beer. They might not understand my situation, but I certainly did. Going out to party was not on the agenda. Horse left me with orders and I intended to follow them.
“I don’t think Horse would like that,” I said. “He told me to make dinner, I think he was planning something…”
I trailed off as Dancer walked over to my purse, pulled out my phone and scrolled through the numbers, hitting one and putting it on speaker. It rang and then I heard Horse’s voice.
“Babe, what’s up?”
“This is your sister,” Dancer announced, flashing an evil grin. “We’re kidnapping Marie and taking her out tonight. You’ll just have to jack off if you get horny. She’ll be busy.”
There was a pause from the phone.
“Give the phone to Marie,” he said. “I need to talk to her.”
I lunged for it, but Dancer tossed it to Cookie, who jumped up on the couch to hold it out of my reach. “Too bad! I’ve got a cooler full of jello shots and a flask, so we’re gonna have fun fun fun! You might as well camp out at the armory tonight, stud.”
The girls all laughed, but I felt a little sick. I couldn’t afford to piss Horse off. They might think I was part of the “family” now, but I knew better.
“Put Marie on the fucking phone,” Horse said again, and the tone of his voice was not amused one little bit.
“This is Dancer again,” said his sister, grabbing the phone from Cookie and taking it off speaker. “You might as well give up, Horse. We’re going to take her, she needs a break and you’re a dick if you won’t let her have one. I heard what you did last night. Poor girl probably needs therapy after that. I promise I’ll take good care of her and drive sober. Find something to do that doesn’t involve shooting anyone, okay?”
Then she hung up the phone.
I stared at her, stunned.
“You can do that?” I asked.
“What?”
“Hang up on Horse.”
Dancer burst out laughing.
“Oh, he’ll be pissed. He and Bam’ll probably bitch to each other all night. But we’re just going out for a little fun and he’ll look like a pussy-whipped baby if he makes too big a deal out of it. And our boys may be pussy-whipped, but they sure as fuck don’t want to look like they are. It’s all good.”
I wasn’t too sure about that.
“Time for shots,” said Cookie, hopping off the couch and walking toward the kitchen. The others pulled me to my feet and dragged me down the hallway, my phone left behind. Then the music started and things got a little crazy.
Chapter
Sixteen
“Seriously, you would not believe how big it is,” I slurred, leaning forward and holding out my hands for scale.
“That’s disgusting,” yelled Dancer, slapping at me, and I burst into giggles, almost falling out of my chair. “That’s my brother you’re talking about. Stop it before I puke!”
I held my hands farther apart, opening my mouth wide and flicking my tongue at her like a snake. We all exploded into fresh gales and I nearly peed my pants. Potty break time.
“I’m gonna pee. Anyone?”
Em stood up and we stumbled toward the bathroom together. Seriously, I loved each and every one of those girls. I couldn’t imagine why I’d been worried about Horse. Horse kicked ass. In fact, when I saw Horse tonight I was going to rip off all his clothes and give him the best blowjob he’d ever had in his life. And Jeff was going to be fine too, because despite what everyone thought, he really wasn’t totally stupid. I knew that for a fact, just like I knew that I really, really needed just one more shot to make the evening perfect.
Old ladies kicked ass.
A couple of guys met us on the way to the bathroom, one of them holding out a hand to steady me as I lurched into him.
“Can we buy you girls a drink?” he asked, smiling at me. I smiled back. He was kind of cute in a college-freshman way. Horse would eat him for breakfast, I mused.
“Not gonna happen,” came a low voice behind us. I turned to see Painter, one of the Reapers’ prospects, standing behind us looking mean. With his honed muscles, sneer and white-blond hair all spiked up, he was pretty hot. Yum. Oops, too much booze… I couldn’t check out Painter, that was just weird. “You need to step the fuck away from them right now.”
Painter might not have had his top rocker but he was still a scary biker guy. He’d showed up at Horse’s house about twenty minutes after Dancer hung up on Horse and had been following us around ever since. The guys backed away instantly, mumbling apologies. Em turned and smacked Painter’s chest. He grunted and narrowed his eyes at her, but he didn’t say anything. I watched the exchange with wide eyes. Em grabbed my arm and pulled me away toward the bathroom. She slammed the door open, banging it against the wall as she dragged me in.
“I cannot believe him,” she muttered, walking over to the stall, which was just an open toilet separated from the rest of the room with a wooden partition. “How am I supposed to meet anyone like this? I am never going to find a real boyfriend. Never.”
I swayed, trying to follow her words.
“I don’t get it.”
“Imagine being the oldest daughter of the president of the Reapers MC,” she said. “How many guys do you think asked me out in high school? I had to go to my prom with a prospect. A prospect who wasn’t allowed to dance with me.”
Oh. Now I got it.
“That sucks,” I said, feeling very sage. “But it’s probably better than having some guy take advantage of you.”
My own prom was an excellent example—Gary had been like an octopus on Viagra and I’d been stupid enough to find it flattering.
“I want a guy to take advantage of me!” Em snapped, pulling up her jeans. “You have no idea how many guys’ve ditched me once they learned about my dad. I tried to get away. I even went to college in Seattle. Picnic had his friends over there checking on me. For about three months it was great, and then the rumors started that they’d kill anyone who touched me. You’d think I have two heads or something. I’m a virgin, despite my very best efforts to give it away, and at this rate I’ll be dead before I find a penis to put in my vagina.”
I took her place, pulling down my own jeans and peeing. She made a good point. I decided to tell her that.
“You make a good point,” I said, standing back up. I swayed again, and she laughed, catching me.
“Wow, I think you ate too much jello.”
She helped me over to the sink. I washed my hands and we both took a few minutes to check out our hair and makeup. I thought we looked pretty good—no wonder those guys wanted to buy us drinks. I’d buy us drinks if I was a guy.
“So who would your dad let you date?”
“I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not sure anyone is good enough. He’d like me to be with someone in the club though. That way I’ll never move away from him.”
“Aw, that’s kind of sweet,” I said. “I mean, at least your dad cares about you. I hardly even remember mine.”
She shrugged.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she said. “I guess I wouldn’t trade him. Mom was pretty great too. I miss her.”
“What happened to her?” I asked, and then bit my lip. The booze had apparently dissolved the filter between my brain and my mouth.
“Breast cancer,” she said, clearly not wanting to talk about it. “Long time ago. Let’s get shots.”
“Sounds good,” I replied, following her out the door. Painter stood outside, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, looking bored. I grabbed Em’s arm and pulled her into me.
“Why does he have to be here?” I stage-whispered. “Are they afraid I’ll run away or something?”
“Oh it’s not personal. They send someone with us every time we go out,” she said, shrugging. “Usually a prospect, but every once in a while Ruger tags along. He’s fun. They don’t want anyone bothering us. That way we can party and they know we’re safe. It’s no big deal, at least not for you because you already have a man. For me, it sucks.”
“So all old ladies get watched all the time?” I asked. “Isn’t that creepy?”
She laughed and shrugged.
“Mostly just when we go out at night,” she said. “It’s a security thing. There are a lot of clubs and not all of them are friends to the Reapers. This is their way of making sure nobody hassles us. Knowing we have a sober ride home. It’s great, unless you’re looking to lose your virginity.”
I giggled and she glared at me, which made me giggle more as we headed back out onto the main floor. Then I stopped, because a tall man wearing Reaper leathers suddenly blocked my path. I looked up, trying to focus. Max.
“Hey, Max,” said Em. “What are you doing here?”
“Just felt like getting a drink,” he said, looking us over with a gleam of approval in his expression. We looked good and Max noticed. Nice. “Talked to Painter, heard you ladies were here. Thought I’d offer to buy a round. You look great tonight.”
“You’re too sweet,” she replied, smiling up at him flirtatiously. He smiled back, and I wondered if there might be a little more going on with Max and Em than I realized. Painter came up next to us, standing tall as he and Max shared a look. Then Painter shook his head and stepped back, and he didn’t look happy about it.
That was interesting.
Max followed us back to the table, where Maggs put him in his place, telling him to buy us drinks and stay out of our way, “because it’s laaadddieess niiighhttt!” Everyone howled with approval as he grinned and took orders, bringing back a round of shots. Despite my earlier conviction that I needed more booze, looking at the little cup of vodka made me feel sick so I pulled out my phone to see what time it was. Almost two. Horse had texted about four hours ago.
Going to the Line with the guys. Don’t wait up.
The Line. Why did that sound familiar? My brain was all fogged up.
“What’s the Line?” I asked Cookie, who sat next to me. She’d put on a leather vest before coming into the bar, and her patches said “Property of Bagger, Reapers MC”. The whole property thing still made me uncomfortable but she seemed happy enough wearing it. And Cookie wasn’t exactly oppressed. I’d figured that out by chatting between the jello shots she poured down my throat. She was way too busy running her coffee shop and taking care of her and Bagger’s three-year-old daughter to be oppressed.
“Oh that’s the club’s titty bar,” she said. “Makes a fortune, although those strippers can be such sluts. But some of them are okay. I always tell Bagger I’m gonna sta
rt working there while he’s deployed and it pisses him off. I love doing that,” she laughed.
“What are you talking about?” yelled Darcy from across the table.
“The Line!” Cookie yelled back. Darcy got a huge grin on her face.
“We should go there!”
“What?” I asked, startled. Cookie clapped her hands.
“Oh that’s a great idea!” she said. “We can play on one of the poles. I need pictures for Bagger!”
“Are you serious? Why would we go there?” I demanded, mystified.
“Well, for one thing, if the guys are at the Line, it’s fun to show up without warning,” said Darcy, winking at me. “Scare ’em straight, you know? Plus it’s kind of interesting to watch the dancers. Some of them are really good, I’ve learned some excellent tricks from them. Boonie can testify to that.”
She leaned over and gave Maggs a high five for emphasis.
“Not to mention that if your man is gonna spend the night around naked bitches that aren’t you, it’s not a bad thing to make sure he brings his hard-on back home, you know?” added Maggs. That was a good point. I didn’t like the idea of Horse with another woman, I didn’t like it at all. I scowled down at the phone and the offending text.
“And the shop has support merchandise,” she added. “I need to pick up a new tank top. Gonna go see Bolt this week, want to give him something to look forward to.”
“Oh I hate that place,” whined Em. “And if Dad’s there I’ll have to watch some stripper rub all over him and it’s gross. No girl should have to watch her dad screw so many different women, especially when he won’t let me date anyone at all! I’d rather go home.”
“Have Painter give you a ride,” said Max, coming up behind me and leaning against the back of my chair. He was kind of in my space, but nobody else seemed to notice so I just scooted forward, frowning. “It’s almost last call anyway. I’ll take everyone else to the Line, give him a break.”