Realistically, I doubt this is much of a problem. Like I said, they didn’t have to check in with us. It would have been nice since Fletcher Park bumps right up against our territory. It’s probably nothing, or it could be a big fucking deal. The president before me would have gone to war over another club stepping foot near our territory without clearing it ahead of time. I prefer a more diplomatic approach that did not end with my brothers injured, dead, or in prison. Call me crazy.
With my VP working his magic, spending the day with Hope doing something normal seems like a good idea. Wrath and Trinity took off for who knows where. Hope and I go to the movies for the first time together. By the time the movie is over, Z has sent me a text that everything is fine. Demons were in the area attending the wedding of a non-patched family member. Z also managed to set up a meeting to discuss a new distribution line through Demon territory while he was at it.
Diplomacy in action, folks.
CHAPTER FIVE
Because there can never be a peaceful moment, as soon as Hope and I return to the clubhouse that evening, I know something is off. Wrath and Trinity are sitting outside talking. He jumps up and strides over as soon as he sees us, Trinity following close behind.
“Inga’s back,” he announces as soon as I shut my bike down.
“What? Who the fuck brought her back here?”
“Uh, I think Dex has it bad for her.” He scratches his head and rolls his eyes skyward. ”Or he did.”
Shouts can be heard from inside, and Trinny scrunches up her face. Now I’m wishing I had stuck around to talk to Dex this morning.
“What’s going on?”
Wrath slides his gaze to Hope and back to me. “She wanted to play choo-choo.”
“What are you, five?” I snap.
He’s chosen the stupidest time to finally watch his mouth around Hope. She’s not going to have any idea what we’re talking about anyway. Nor do I want her to.
I point at the house. “Who’s in there?”
“Everyone except you, me, Bricks, and maybe Z.”
Z chooses that exact moment to step outside. Flushed and sweaty, he shakes his head. “Dude, your girl, Ing, is playing a serious game of Chinese Fingercuffs.”
“She’s not my girl,” I grind out.
“I think she’s trying to get you jealous,” Trinity offers.
“Yeah, that’s not the way to win a guy back,” Wrath says with a chuckle.
Hope pulls on my sleeve. “So, your ex-slampiece is in there taking it in every hole from your ‘brothers’? Is that what I’m getting out of this conversation?”
I choke at her description. I’ve never heard that term before, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. It’s an odd thing to come out of Hope’s mouth, and I’m reminded how she can come with some interesting phrases when she’s feeling territorial.
Wrath and Z double over laughing. Hope is not amused. She looks disgusted.
I lift a shoulder. “No one made her.”
Now she’s really steamed. “What, is she hoping you’ll go get in line?”
Wrath is practically pissing his pants with laughter. “Probably,” he gasps.
Dick.
“She must have run home and watched one too many Law and Order episodes. They don’t make girls pull a train to hang here,” Trinity explains to Hope.
“What a relief,” Hope snaps.
Z and Wrath straighten up at her tone. Time to diffuse this mess. Settling a hand on Hope’s shoulder, I address the guys.
“We’re going upstairs.”
Wrath snakes an arm around Trinny’s waist. Z glances at them and raises an eyebrow.
“Trin and I were going for a walk.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Z says.
“I don’t care who does what. Make sure things don’t get too out of hand, and make sure she gets home in one piece. Make it clear she’s not welcome back. Wipe her GPS if you have to. That bitch can’t find her own ass without it.”
Next to me, Hope lets out a disgusted snort, probably because I referred to Inga as a bitch, and I find her annoyance unreasonably ironic.
“Oh, some of the guys are filming it,” Z adds as an afterthought.
Fucking hell. “End that now. She’ll lose her contract if that shit gets out. What the fuck is she thinking?”
Z looks at Hope, then back to me. “Uh, you might want to be the one to take care of that.”
“Are you fucking serious? What the fuck are you wearing this for then?” I jab a finger at his VP patch.
“I’m just saying it will be better coming from you.”
Motherfucker.
As we go inside, I see at least not all of my officers are degenerate fucktards. Murphy and Teller are relaxing on the couch, chatting with Swan who looks completely freaked out. I turn and put my hands on Hope’s shoulders. “Please stay out here.”
“Trust me, I don’t need to see that.”
I smile, and she shoos me away. “Go do your President thing. I’ll be right there.” She points to the couch.
Love. This. Woman. Thank fuck I finally told her.
I take Wrath to the side. “Stay here with Hope and Trinny. Do not under any circumstances let the girls take a step in that hallway.”
“Yeah, sure.” He lowers his voice. “Why, you gonna slip in a quick one?”
My hand connects hard with the back of his head before he finishes the last word. “No, fuckface. Just do what I ask,” I snap.
“Come on, chickenshit,” I yell to Z, and he follows.
“Not cool.”
“Fuck you.”
He shuts up after that, finally absorbing the fact that I am not finding this situation as funny as he is.
In the last twenty-two years, I’ve seen just about everything. But the scene in the champagne room even disgusts me. Two more club girls whose names I’ve not bothered to learn are entertaining the guys not filling Inga. Fuck, even Sparky pried himself away from his plants to partake in the activities.
Someone brought a table from the dining room in. Guess we’ll be having a bonfire later, cause I sure as fuck am never eating off it again. A stab of guilt and a prick of pity hit me. If Inga is doing this for my attention, I just don’t get it. Since I deliberately avoided the weekends she worked at Crystal Ball, I hadn’t seen her for over a year. Did she see some sort of future for us and then lose her mind when she realized I was with Hope?
I shake it off, focusing on what needs to be done. Looking around the room, I spot three cell phone cameras out and operating. A flip of the light switch halts the party. “Listen up, assholes, stop any filming right this fucking second, and everyone in the room hand your cell phones to Z. I count six fuckers in this room and three fuckees. In the next five seconds, Z better be holding nine phones. You can pick them up later.”
Groans, mumbling, bitching, and cursing follow the little math problem I just tossed out, but people are zipping up flies and handing over phones. Z gives me a disgusted look as he pockets all the hardware. Wait ‘til I tell him he has to go through each one and make sure any videos from tonight are deleted. I spot Dex in a corner looking pretty miserable as I approach.
“I hear this is your doing?”
“Not this situation, prez.”
“You know what’s going on with her?”
“No idea. Thought she was into me, but then things got out of hand.”
“Rocky!” Inga runs over to me without a stitch of clothing or an ounce of shame. She is, however, covered in sweat, cum, and smeared makeup. I shake off the hand she places on my shoulder.
“Did you finally dump that prude and come to join the fun?”
“Inga, this in no way looks like fun to me.”
Her face falls. She does that pouty thing I used to find cute even though I knew it was fake as fuck. Now, it just looks cheap and sad.
Keeping my distance and my eyes focused on her face, I ask her, “What the fuck are you trying to prove?”
&nbs
p; She shrugs her bony shoulders.
Searching her face, I notice her eyes are glassy, her pupils tiny pinpoints. “Are you high?”
“What do you care?”
“We don’t allow drugs up here.” I don’t consider weed a “drug,” so this isn’t a lie as far as I’m concerned.
She snorts.
“We don’t allow hard drugs,” I clarify.
She ignores me and leans over to see Dex. “Hey, where did you go, baby?”
“Just sittin’ here, Ing.”
“Did you know some of the guys were filming this shit show, Inga? What about your contract?” I don’t know why I give a fuck, but I don’t want her to lose her income over something that happened in my club.
“Huh?”
Yeah, I’m done with this shit.
“Dex. She’s your responsibility. Get her dressed. Get her out of my clubhouse. Take her to your house, wherever she’s staying, or a motel, but she is not allowed back here. Got it?”
Inga lets a fist fly at my face. “Fuck you, Rochlan North! You’re not fucking God,” she screams at me.
I catch her wild fist and hold it tight enough to make an impression on her drug-addled brain. “I am here.”
Although entertaining, the Inga incident depressed the hell out of me. Dex and Z carried her kicking and screaming outside, where she was tossed into the club’s van and driven home by a prospect.
Lovely.
Rock hasn’t returned yet.
Trinity seems embarrassed or uneasy, and it bothers me because I think that’s my doing. Disapproval must be rolling off me in waves, but I can’t stop it. She keeps telling me this sort of stuff “almost never” happens here.
It’s that “almost” part that bugs me.
Trinity, Teller, and Murphy are laughing and joking around when Rock comes storming down the hall. He throws himself on the couch next to me and scrubs his hands over his face.
“Jesus Christ, that was disgusting.”
“Now you know why we were outside, prez,” Wrath says, giving Trinity a pointed look. She straightens up and away from Teller.
The front door slams open, and a girl who can’t be more than sixteen storms in. Good grief, if this is another “club girl,” I’m heading home.
“Marcel!” she howls.
Everyone around me breaks into laughter. Well, except Teller. He’s livid. He rockets off the couch and grabs the girl by her shoulders. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Oh, hell, no. There’s no way this girl is legal.
“Grams is driving me nuts! It’s barely nine o’clock, and she expects me to be in bed on a Saturday night. What. The. Fuck,” she yells dramatically.
Ah, this must be the little sister, Heidi.
Teller leads her over with an arm around her shoulder. She brightens when she sees Rock.
“Hi, Uncle Rock,” she says.
“Hey, Heidi-girl. How’d you find your way up here?”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m sixteen, not stupid.”
Rock tilts his head, waiting for her to continue. She lets out a dramatic sigh. “My boyfriend, Axel, brought me. He wants to prospect for you guys. He’s eighteen. I thought you could talk to him,” she adds with a hopeful lilt to her voice.
At the word “boyfriend,” Murphy’s head snaps up. He shoots an angry glare at Teller, who shrugs his shoulders.
“Hey, Heidi-bug,” Murphy calls.
“Don’t call me bug, Blake,” she snaps back.
Trying to regain control over the situation, Rock snaps his fingers in front of Heidi. “Heidi, we don’t allow prospects up here for the first year.”
“Oh.”
She finally takes in her surroundings. Noticing Rock’s hand on my knee, she locks her gaze on me. “Who are you?”
“Heidi, this is my girlfriend, Hope.”
“Oh, wow. That’s so cool. Uncle Rock’s never had a girlfriend before.”
I’m kind of charmed by this little hellraiser. “Hi, Heidi. Teller told me all about you last night.”
Her angry gaze bores into her brother. Whoops.
“No, honey, all nice things. He was bragging about how smart you are and that you’re full of moxie, which I see is totally true.”
“What the fuck is that?”
Teller elbows her in the ribs. “Uh, sorry,” she apologizes.
I smile. “It’s someone spunky. You know, full of energy and courage.”
“Oh, I like that. That’s a way better road name than bug,” she spits at Murphy.
“Love you too, bugaboo,” he responds with a grin.
Z comes out of the office looking a little green. He brightens when he spots, Heidi. “Hey, Bug.”
“Goddammit,” she grumbles under her breath.
Rock motions his VP over. “Hey, do me a favor.”
“Gee, prez. I barely finished the last disgusting favor you asked me to do,” he says with a healthy dose of irritation.
Rock levels a questioning stare at him, and Z drops the attitude. “What do you need?”
“Heidi brought her boyfriend up. He’s interested in becoming a prospect.”
“What’s his name?”
“Axel,” Heidi says while bouncing up and down on her toes.
“At least he won’t need a road name,” Z jokes.
One corner of Rock’s mouth lifts in a wry smile. “Will you go have a chat with him? Make sure he’s not a little punk?”
“He’s not, Uncle Rock, I swear,” Heidi pleads.
She turns and follows Z out. Teller trots behind her, looking up at the ceiling and muttering.
“She’s fun,” I joke.
“Well, at least in two more years she’ll be Murphy’s problem,” Wrath says with a snort.
“Fuck that, man. I’m just like another big brother to her,” Murphy protests.
Rock leans back with a lazy grin. “Please—she’s been trying to take that ride since she was twelve.”
“Nah. She’s like the kid sister I never wanted.”
Frankly, I’m a little disgusted at the way they’re discussing this girl. “She’s a kid,” I say.
“Yeah, which is why when she’s eighteen, Murphy will sack up and put them both out of each other’s misery,” Wrath challenges.
I sit up. “Are you serious? Murphy has to be what, ten years older than her?”
“Eight,” Murphy says quietly.
“Sorry.”
He flashes a grin at me and strokes his chin. “It’s the beard.”
“Hope, I think you’re misunderstanding,” Trinity offers.
“What am I missing?”
Trinity looks at the guys. “They’re not saying she has to be with Murphy. Or like she’s promised to him or anything like that. Is that what you’re thinking?”
“Well, yeah.” I flick my gaze at Wrath, and he rolls his eyes at me.
“She’s had a crush on him forever. You must have had a crush on an older guy when you were a kid, right?” she asks.
I nod even though Rock is watching me with narrowed eyes.
She pats Murphy’s knee, which makes Wrath narrow his eyes. “Although Murph will deny it, he’s sweet on her too. But he won’t do anything about it while she’s underage.”
“The age of consent is actually seventeen in New York,” I say absently.
Wrath snorts in disgust. Trinity shakes her head like I’m dense.
“What if she’s still with Axel?” I ask.
Murphy shrugs. “They’re more worked up about this than I am. You met her, right? She’s a pain in the ass. Not interested.”
Wrath reaches over and smacks Murphy on the back of the head. “Keep telling yourself that, buddy.”
Shaking my head from this bizarre conversation, I excuse myself to run to the bathroom. With Inga’s exit, things seem to have calmed down. There’s music coming out of the champagne room, but I don’t have to go past it to get to where I want, so I ignore it.
When I return, tense, angry
voices hit me as I’m about to turn the corner. I pause to listen, praying no one will come up behind me.
“You can’t have your ol’ lady questioning the club like that, brother.” It’s Wrath. What the fuck is his problem with me now?
“Simmer down, asshole.” That’s Rock, and I smile at his no-bullshit tone.
“It’s your fucking fault. Why you always gotta hassle me about Heidi?” Murphy grumbles loud enough for me to catch.
“Wyatt, look at it this way. Heidi is club family. After meeting her for five seconds, Hope was ready to stand up to your scary ass in defense of her. Sounds like perfect ol’ lady material to me.”
Why, thank you, Trinity.
“Thanks, Trin,” Rock says, echoing my thoughts.
Wrath must be considering their words. I wait, holding my breath. I know how close he and Rock are. I shouldn’t give a shit about his “seal of approval” but I do.
“I guess. She kept her cool when Cookie got up in her face last night too. And with Inga this morning. I almost pissed myself.”
“You should probably talk—”
I choose that moment to walk back into the room, and everyone falls silent for a second.
Rock stands up.
“I’ve had enough drama for one night. Wrath, tell Z I’ll talk to him about Axel in the morning. Someone make sure Heidi gets home. She can’t stay here.”
Murphy stands and squeezes my shoulder on his way out. “Night, Hope.”
Surprised, I turn my head, watching him walk out the door.
At least someone here likes me.
CHAPTER SIX
Even though she’s pissed about it, Hope agreed to take Teller’s case. She’s been spending more time at Adam’s office, which annoys me less than it used to. I offered to set her up in an office near Crystal Ball, but I don’t think she took me seriously, because she laughed in my face.
All this means is that I end up riding downtown more often to take her out to lunch or bring her dinner when she’s working late. Lately, I sense she has a bit of the guilts for getting involved in Teller’s family drama. With that in mind, I drop by to take her to a late lunch, because I doubt she’s bothered to eat yet.
The only person I find in the office is Adam.
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