Taking a Dare

by J. A. Hornbuckle

  Wait…what?

  It was supposed to be a simple thing even though it had been a motherfuckin' hard decision to make.

  He'd chosen his girl, his future, which wouldn't be accepted by Gus and would have the other man demanding he give up the Hellions. So he'd decided to preempt that move by turning in his cut first. Because to him, Ryley was his future even if he had to let go of the club, the fuckin' brotherhood that had taught him, raised him and shown him the kind of man he wanted to be.

  "Besides," Trey stated, using his Hellion president voice. "Wasn't it just yesterday you were swearing no one could make you hand over your patch?"

  Dare had no fuckin' answer to that one because it was the truth.

  "Don't give up, Dare," Trey said and Dare could see the steel in the other man's face. "I get that you want her and know that whatever the two of you fucking have has been brewing for fucking years. But giving me your fucking cut ain't the way to go, amigo."

  Dare felt his eyes lose their focus as he tried to think.

  "You are a Hellion, real and true," Trey growled into the growing silence between them. "And you've found a woman that completes you. I know the feeling but also know that you'll have the father-in-law from hell unless we find a way to correct that shit."

  "It'll be a goddamn battle, brother," Dare admitted, his lips barely moving. He couldn't stand that getting with his girl was gonna cause problems with the club and the two chapters. "He fuckin' hates me."

  "Acknowledged. But he doesn't rule our turf, even though it's clear he wants to," Trey said with a crooked smile before turning his face to the brother that he'd known for years. "What does Ryley say about this shit and how far you are willing to take it in order to have her?"

  "We haven't had that particular convo yet," Dare said realizing that he and his girl had never talked about their future in a way that wasn't without hope. "And as for us moving the fuck forward? Don't know. Don’t fuckin' care as long as she's mine in the end."

  "Are we fucking talking the rest of your lives kind of 'mine' or just until one of you pisses the other off and fucking leaves?" Dare knew that was Trey's way of getting to the bedrock of Dare's commitment to Ryley.

  "It ain't temporary!" Dare yelled before realizing he'd reacted more strongly than maybe the question had warranted but Christ! He was so fucking tired of being accused of having just a run crush!

  Trey dropped his chin at Dare's reaction and the younger man wondered why it seemed Trey was hiding a smile.

  "Then there ain't much to fucking worry about, is there, Dare?"

  Dare's inhale was loud in the quiet room knowing exactly what his pres meant. He needed to get straight with Ryley and then attempt something with Leif and her dad in order for the two of them to step forward. He'd fuckin' tried to work the situation from the wrong end, and Trey was showing how to go about getting a damn handle on it the right way.

  He turned away from the big man at the desk almost afraid to believe Trey's words. That there wasn't fuckin' much to worry about when all was said and done.

  "And just for the motherfucking record, I'll kick your fuckin' ass you try that weak-kneed shit again," the other man instructed, keeping his eyes on the screen before him. "Don't you have some kind of goddamn crap to do? If so, I'd get to it, brother. We're doing a Hellion brotherhood run at noon."

  A brotherhood run was something typically done to build the bonds within the ranks of the Hellion brothers. And was something Dare knew was needed between the Missoula and Spokane chapters, especially after that morning's meeting.

  "You think it'll help?" Dare's tone clearly showed his skepticism.

  "Gotta fucking do something to ensure we're a team before we meet with the fucking Czar's." Trey mumbled, running a hand over his face before shooting his eyes to his brother. "Now getcha ass outta here so I can get my shit done."

  Without another word, Dare left the office, his heart lighter than he could ever remember it feeling as he shrugged back into his treasured vest. He made a stop in Silo's space, plopping his ass in a visitor chair and crossed his ankles on the edge of his council brother's messy desk.

  Silo completed his phone call before he took a swipe at Dare's boots as he rumbled, "Ain't you got shit to do? You know we're supposed to do a run later…"

  Dare grinned at the other man's exasperated tone. It was fuckin' hilarious how big Si could use the same position in either Dare or Bishop's office but hated anyone to have their feet on his fuckin' desk. "You know that thing you offered Trey? About getting fucking rings at a discount?"

  Si didn't move a muscle or reply in any way to Dare's question.

  "I need one," Dare finished.

  "One what?"

  "What do you think? Fuck! Keep up, dude," Dare chuckled and watched Silo's eyebrows lift sharply. "A fuckin' ring. I need a ring for Ryley."

  Silo shot to his feet, fists clenched, bellowing at the top of his lungs and in a steady stream. "Goddamn, motherfuckin', son of a bitch!" A roar that was followed by the hard thuds of many boots that entered Si's office quickly.

  "What the fuck, man?"

  "Where's the fuckin' fire?"

  Trey pushed to the forefront of the small crowd. "What the fuck is the problem now?"

  Silo pointed to where Dare sat in studied casualness wearing a shit-eating grin. "He just fucking asked me to help him get a ring! A motherfuckin' ring!"

  All eyes shifted to Dare who nodded happily as he raised a hand to inspect his nails.

  "And?" Bishop seemed to ask for the rest of the group.

  "Do you know what the fuck that means, for god's sake?" Silo was almost sputtering. "He's fuckin' serious about her!"

  "Might even marry her if she'll have me," Dare added just to ensure Silo and his brothers knew his intentions. The group's eyes shifted between the two men at the desk.

  "You ain't been serious about no shit the entire fuckin' time I've known you! And especially not fuckin' pussy!" Silo accused.

  Dare shrugged but didn't drop his smile.

  "That's what all the fuckin' yelling was about? Dare and Ryley?" Bishop crossed his arms on his chest and shook his head. "Where the fuck have you been, Si?"

  Brand started laughing, which caused the other brothers to start their own chuckles. "It is a natural progression between a man and a woman, brother, although one that may have been slow in coming for Dare and his woman."

  "Brand's right. If Dare and Ryley want to fuckin' be together and he wants to slip her a ring, it's all good," Huff added.

  "And something you're just gonna have to fuckin' accept, dig?" Bishop added with a firm nod.

  Dare's eyes, still twinkling with mirth, turned back to Silo. "So you gonna fuckin' hook me up or what?"

  Silo's gaze roamed over the other men before he dropped his ass back into his chair almost in defeat. He stared at Dare as he pulled on his soul patch before admitting, "yeah, brother. I'll help. Under fuckin' duress but I'll see what I can do."

  Outside of his original question, Trey hadn't contributed to the conversation. "How about all you pussies fucking forget the drama and get back to work, yeah?"

  Silo's eyes caught on Dare's and he glared. "Now see, she's already fuckin' disrupting shit."

  Dare stood and straightened his jeans as the other men filed out. "She can disrupt my fuckin' shit any ol' time. Any fuckin' time at all, big guy."

  Which only got him the reply of Silo's middle finger.

  Chapter Twenty Six

  After getting Rinse's assurances that he'd help Vegas and March, I was finally able to make my way back to Lulu's to get cleaned up and ready to meet the day. But as soon as I had those few quiet moments to myself, my mind went into overdrive with all that the night before with Dare had uncovered.

  That the man, my man, not only wanted to be with me but loved me. Loved me as much as I loved him and had even shown me with his body, his wonderful words. Declarations I'd never thought I'd hear again.

  But.

  Even
though he'd finally (finally!) told me what my heart needed to hear, we still hadn't settled the mechanics of our situation. First and foremost in my mind was the question of him being content with just having one girl in his bed.

  From what the Honeys had confided, Dare liked the sheer variety of the Honeys on tap. That he could pick and choose who he wanted to be with. So what happened when our newness wore off? Would he feel the need to be with other women while he was in Missoula and I was in Spokane?

  How would that work anyway—the whole long distance love connection thingie? Would we be able to continue what we had without being in the same city?

  And what would happen to each of our support systems, our clubs and family, if my dad had his way?

  So many questions and too few concrete answers to give me any kind of peace about Dare and our future together.

  And as my mind kept spinning out all the things we hadn't yet settled between us, I felt a hole begin to open up inside me, not knowing how we were going to resolve any of it.

  Standing in front of Lulu's huge mirror over her dresser, I saw that I was about as ready as I was ever going to be but was without remembrance of how I'd gotten that way. Obviously, I'd done my morning routine by rote as my mind and heart worked to formulate all the things still undecided and work through possible solutions.

  I grabbed my purse and keys, determined to shelve my concerns until I had a chance to talk them through with Dare.

  Making a point of parking my borrowed car behind the equipment shed at the compound, I saw that the forecourt was empty of bikes and, in being so, became an object of interest. I couldn't remember a time when any Hellion area didn't have at least one motorcycle parked inside it. But I could hear the music and the loud girl giggles pouring out as soon as I opened the clubhouse door.

  "What's doin', Honeys?" I shouted as I pushed through the double doors of the kitchen and received a wall of sound in response, welcoming me back into the hive of activity. I went to the sink, pulling up my sleeves and began to wash my hands in order to join in all the slicing and dicing the others seem to be performing. "So what's on the menu?"

  "The same old burgers, steaks and chicken," Dallas called out. "We're getting creative with the sides and desserts, though."

  "Vegas told us about your potato salad with the bacon, onion and eggs, so you're up pretty girl," Dee added. I glanced around and found Vegas across the kitchen but she never raised her face to look at me. Seemed I needed to have another talk with her to convince her she wasn't in any sort of trouble over March.

  I dried my hands and went to the center island. "Where do you want me?"

  "I could use some help with the desserts while your spuds are cooking," Lock announced from her place by the stove.

  As soon as I was by her side, I had to ask about the lack of rides in the forecourt. "Yeah. Seems there was some kind of brouhaha in the council meeting this morning. Lulu said she could even hear the yelling all the way in reception. About noontime, it was decided that a combined road-trip was in order and they all took off."

  I glanced at her and saw her face was set on serious. "Do we know what the shouting was about?"

  "Nuh-uh. Either Lulu didn't know or she wouldn't say but that's a girl that knows how to keep her mouth shut," Lock replied. She shoved a bowl of what looked to be cookie dough into my hands and nodded towards an already greased jelly roll pan. "Just spread it out in a layer and we'll cut it into bars."

  Reese who was standing on the other side of Lock and adding a long slow stream of mustard into a pan of what appeared to be baked beans leaned over. "I asked Lulu and when she wouldn't say, I even texted Brand. But he just said it was something to do with the club, which for my man, means to butt out."

  Yeah, that's the way it went. When the brothers had something going on that was club business, we were supposed to keep our noses out of it and only get involved when things with south. Bloody bastards!

  "No, he did NOT!" I heard a quavering voice yell from the sink. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Wanton standing next to a young, dark blonde haired Honey who had a wet hand on her hip as she yelled. "We were both working last night so he wasn't even here!"

  "Shoulder length blonde hair with a matching goatee who goes by the name of Snake? Yeah, he was, honey," Wanton replied and from her voice I could tell she was stirring up a shit-storm as per usual. "That is one fine man and I had a hard time turning his ass down when he asked for my mouth."

  "You are so full of shit! He wouldn't go near someone like you!"

  "Yeah? He was sitting at the table next to where Livvy was sitting in Dare's lap. Ask her! She saw the whole thing!" I caught Wanton's hand wave towards a redhead that didn't look old enough to be a Honey. The same girl that I'd seen perched on Dare's leg, his arm around her narrow waist. But since she was wearing a jean vest with the 'Bee' patch I knew she had to be at least eighteen.

  I shot my eyes back to the angry girl who's name I thought was Jilly before turning to look at the strawberry-blonde Livvy again. I had to admit, she was pretty in a fresh-scrubbed schoolgirl kind of way in spite of the ruddy blush she was now wearing.

  It didn't take a rocket scientist to determine that Wanton had been trying to spread her brand of charm to the other girl's man, someone called Snake if I'd gotten it right. And the pretty, blonde Honey was emphatically denying it.

  Lock bumped my shoulder to gain my attention. "You gonna shut this shit down between Jilly and your girl or what?"

  I don't know what made me hesitate. Maybe I was hoping that Jilly would take one of the large pans she'd been washing and bean Wanton over the head with it thereby saving me the trouble. Or that little sweet-faced Livvy would just go up in a puff of smoke or something. But for some reason I just watched with my heart racing and mouth as dry as crackers.

  "I had to talk with you last night, Miss Wanton," Dee thundered, hand on canted hip. "Don't make me come at you again."

  "Listen, you old hag…" Wanton started and with that I became unstuck.

  "Wan-TON!" I yelled, slamming the bowl I'd been holding down and stomping to where she stood. Jilly turned off the water and I heard a couple of 'shh' noises coming from the different corners of the room. Someone else must have turned down the stereo in order for everyone to be able to hear what was gonna happen because the room became even quieter.

  "You are this close to being sent home," I hollered, leaning towards her with my thumb and forefinger very close together and very close to her nose. "You have a choice. Either shut the fuck up and get things done or keep that yap of yours going and go home. What's it going to be?"

  The black haired Honey glared at me and then blinked before I saw something moving in her eyes.

  Aw, shit.

  She was gonna make her play right here in the middle of the hive with everyone avidly watching and listening. I held my breath waiting for whatever it was she was gonna spew.

  "Really, little miss high and mighty? You think you can send me home? Ha!" I didn't know what she thought she had on me, but she obviously thought it was good enough to get me to back my shapely ass down. "You think your shit don't stink but I heard you were seen making out with Dare on Saturday night right out in the open. Tsk! Tsk! And you being an engaged woman and all."

  Fuck!

  "I'm not engaged," I ground out.

  "Sorry? I didn't quite hear you," the stupid fucking cow said, cupping a hand behind her ear.

  "I broke off the engagement with March," I said louder. "And my life doesn't concern you or have any bearing on whatever shit you're trying to start with Jilly."

  She made a duck-face as if to show her superiority. "Your daddy thinks it does. He asked me to keep an eye on you while we're here and oh yeah, I've gotten quite an eyeful."

  "She ain't your business, Wanton," Dee yelled, wiping her hands off before rounding the island where she'd been working.

  "Oh, but it does if she thinks to send me home." The woman's face was lit up in triumph and I was
confused about what exactly she knew or had simply guessed. Her eyes never left mine as she waded in. "What if your dad hears about your little bit of play with Dare, hmm? Think he'll send away the person that has been keeping tabs on his precious girl?"

  The slut was actually smiling and I longed to slap it off her face.

  "What a bitch!" I heard someone, I think it was the tall Carly, mutter.

  "Okay," I said and managed to relax both my body and my voice. "Then what'll you think will happen? That I'll be excommunicated? Turned out into the street?"

  She eyed me as if I'd lost my mind. And maybe I had. But, I don't think she'd ever seen me in the full-on, princess-challenged position—something she didn't seem to like much.

  "I don't think so," I laughed. God, yeah, I knew my place in Hellion society! There was no one except for Dallas that could even offer a motherfucking suggestion my way that I had to obey. "You tell my pops and he'll tell me to take care of it. Because you, of all people, should know he won't put up with Honeys causing shit in the club."

  I got another blink only this one was of a different kind, helping her to remember the last girl who'd tried something in Spokane. From what I'd heard, sweet little Wax was now working her shit on the south portion of our town.

  "I can see you're getting it, Wanton. I might get my ass chewed by my pops, but you'll be out of the Honeys and probably out of a job too, since you're just the stock-puller at HC. But, me?" I leaned into her, hoping to make her understand. "Darlin', I'm the Hellion princess and as such, I can either be your best friend or your worst fucking nightmare!" I ended on a shout.

  Much to my surprise, the entire kitchen exploded with clapping and girlie squeals of appreciation of my little speech. Wanton's head was down as if the kitchen floor held the secrets of the universe.

  I held a hand up to quiet the room. "As I said, it's your choice whether you want to stir shit up and go home or keep your mouth shut and do some work. Those are your only two options. So...what's it gonna be?"

  I saw her dark brown eyes blink as they regarded me. I only hoped she saw the sincerity in my face.