Max, the newcomer’s dog is introduced. He’s a big Labrador retriever who I fall in love with on sight, though he seems to be injured. Within a few moments there’s an altercation between Bitch—the huge cat who’s put in an appearance to put the canine interloper in his place—and Max. The dog gets a scratch on his nose, and cuddles from Jeannie.
When Beef is satisfied the dog is okay, he leaves Stevie with us, telling her he’s got to talk to the prez.
“So, Melissa. You wanted to know more about the club.” I notice that the blind woman cocks her head toward us as though to hear better. I take it she’s new to all this too.
For the next hour or so, the women let me in on the workings of the Satan’s Devils, and the dreaded term, club business. I come away with the view that yes, the club may very well get involved in some shady stuff, but only occasionally, and only when one of theirs is at risk. Old ladies are never involved, and actively kept away and, or, protected. Such as the protection they’re extending to Stevie right now. Far and away from worrying me, it makes me look more favourably on the club. Who wouldn’t want to align their stars with a group of men who’d do everything they can to keep you safe?
“Max is adorable,” I tell Skull, later that night.
“Did you find anything out?” he asks, tersely.
“That I think the club is amazing. The way they’re rallying around Stevie.” Of course, I don’t know what’s going on, but surmised from all the activity that something was. And that it revolved around her.
“Keep your ear to the ground.”
A strange request from my lover. But I agree.
Soon after I make the decision I’m all in with the club, Stevie goes missing. Beef is distraught, but it appears her handler has taken her somewhere safe, or that’s all us women can surmise. Max, the dog, has been left behind.
It’s a worrying time, but, life, as it does, goes on. I find myself involved more and more in the activities of the old ladies. I’m dragged into cooking when a barbeque is arranged to celebrate the rough ground out back having been transformed into a beautiful yard. I’m even persuaded to drag out a lounger and relax along with Violet and Jay on the newly laid lawn. I don a two piece, well, Vi was very persuasive and, compared to the sweet butts, I’m overdressed. The light in Skull’s eyes is worth it, as well as the reward he gives me that night.
Sheepishly Skull has admitted he had indeed officially claimed me. As I’d already felt like I was his, and he mine, it had made no difference to me.
Stevie, no, Steph now, returns permanently to the clubhouse, after she’s testified against the bad guys and is accepted into our old lady clan.
I happily cook for the celebration when Beef’s made VP.
It’s an enjoyable afternoon and evening. As I watch Theo stumble around, the men and women all keeping an eye on him, then watching everyone having fun and laughing, I find it hard to remember how I ever felt satisfied spending every weekend alone.
“Do you think Beef will make a good VP?” I ask Skull later that night when we return to our room.
“Of course. He’ll be good. Now come here and love on your man.”
Skull’s slightly tipsy, the bikers had partied hard to celebrate Beef’s permanent transfer to the club. He’s slightly clumsy when he rips off my dress, but I giggle, liking the feel of my man.
He might be drunk, but he still makes me come before taking his pleasure himself.
When he’s finished, he pulls out. And roars, “Motherfucker! Not a fuckin’ gain.”
No condom. Again.
“It’s okay, Skull. We got away with it before.” I sit up, putting my arms around him. “And you’ve claimed me now, it’s official. This shit flies? Well, it was going to happen sooner or later.”
“Not the fuckin’ point, Mel. Timing is fuckin’ off.” He looks at me out of the corner of his eye. “Will you take the fuckin’ pill this time?”
“Nothing’s changed, Skull, except our commitment is deeper. So, no.” I’m being stubborn. But to me, it may only have brought forward something that’s been increasingly on my mind.
“Fuck,” he roars again.
I hope it’s the drink driving him, but Skull abruptly stands and throws on some clothes. He walks to the dresser, fumbles in a drawer, then leaves the room carrying a phone which isn’t the one he normally uses. He doesn’t come back that night.
The next morning I’m awakened by the sound of the door banging open.
“Babe, I’m so fuckin’ sorry.”
It’s Skull.
Sitting up, I rub my raw red eyes.
“It was the drink talkin’, not me.” He looks so contrite, it makes me want to take him into my arms.
But then I remember the restless night he’d put me through. When he walked out without a word, I feared he wouldn’t come back. Thoughts had gone around and around my head. If I agree to take the morning-after pill, would he come back to me? That warred with did I really want a man who’d control me like that? Then it would circle to, decisions about kids should be made jointly, so maybe I should do what he wanted me to.
He approaches, sits on the bed, and takes my hand. “You’re right. We’re a couple. You do whatever you want to do. If it happens? I’ll love him or her. If not? We’ll revisit this discussion. Okay?”
I honestly don’t know what to think. “What’s on your mind, Skull? You said now wasn’t the right time.”
He reaches across and taps the tip of my nose. “Club business.”
I only wish I knew so I could help, but those two words are final. As an old lady, I’ll never know. It’s the one thing he can say that stops any further discussion.
“You going to do laundry at home? Got some shit I need to take with us.”
“Yeah, Skull.” We’ve been living together for weeks, half at the club, half at my house. I can’t remember the last time I’ve slept alone. And yes, I’ve gotten pretty used to throwing his dirty clothes in with my wash. I don’t mind. It’s what couples do.
Chapter Nine
Pyro
“Hey, boy. Come to see your Uncle Ro?”
“If you sneak him another cookie, Steph’s going to be mad,” Beef, our new VP, warns me.
“They’re not the chocolate ones,” I reassure him.
He shakes his head. “You’re trying to buy his affection.”
I’m unrepentant. “It’s working.”
Beef snorts. “Fuckin’ right. But he still prefers me. Max, down.”
Max turns away from me with one last tail wag, takes a step toward Beef, and dutifully collapses at his feet, letting out a sound that suspiciously sounds like a humph. His master must think so too, as he grunts, “Fuckin’ dog.”
I stare at the English lab for a moment, then pick up the pool cue again as Beef racks the balls. “Steph enjoying her job?”
Beef breaks, then, after he’s sunk far too many balls for my liking, answers the question when the cue ball topples down a hole.
“She loves it. She needs to feel useful, you know?”
His face is interesting to watch. One moment he’s smiling, next, concerned, now he’s cautiously optimistic again, then his brow creases when I successfully sink a ball. I hear a sigh of relief when I eventually miss my shot.
I’ve a sneaking suspicion that this time he’s going to clear the table. Damn. That will be a few dollars gone. Should have stayed at work rather than skip out to play pool.
“You know,” Beef says thoughtfully, as the last ball disappears down the hole, “I think I’ll teach Max to play. He’ll probably be better at it than you.”
On today’s showing, I don’t doubt it.
“Rematch?”
“Huh,” I splutter. “Not until I find my form.”
Beef grins, stacks his pool cue away, then slaps my back. “Beer?” After I nod, and we turn in that direction, he says, “I thought Cad might find it distracting being in the same room as Steph, but he seems to love it.”
I soon
learned once the VP has decided on something, he doesn’t wait for grass to grow under his feet. Cad, he had seen, needed an office as his computers were multiplying and spilling out, threatening to overtake the clubroom. What helped was that his wife, Steph, wanted one too. Though they are looking for a house together to put down roots in Pueblo, she enjoys being in the thick of things, and Beef saw a way to do that by having her work here too. Well, all it takes is a computer and she’s set.
The old storeroom was cleared out in a couple of days, wasn’t difficult, most of the shit was old junk that could just be trashed. We got Beaver and Karl on painting it, and Sparky and Cad put new wiring and outlets in. A week after the idea was first agreed at church, Cad and Steph had moved in.
“Cad’s used to the hustle and bustle of the clubroom around him. Steph’s talking computer is probably welcome background noise to him. And he doesn’t mind her being there, she can’t exactly look across to his screen and see what he’s up to.” Beef’s old lady is blind. But when she’s in a room she knows, you’d hardly be able to tell. Her eyes look just the same as anyone else’s, she can’t see out of them is all. I don’t feel sorry for her, though. Having been around her a while, I know pity is the last thing she wants or deserves.
She always has to use a stick or rely on Max in the clubroom though. Brothers try hard, but we’re always leaving some shit lying around.
Beef grabs two beers then points to a table.
“Steph’s it for you, isn’t she, man?”
“Fuckin’ right.” Beef picks up his bottle and drains half the contents in one go. “Never expected to find her, not how I did anyway.”
I spare a glance for Max, now stretched out on his side where we’d left him. Uncaring that people need to step around him if they want to play pool. He’ll be off duty until Steph needs him. “That was bad,” I tell Beef, remembering Max lying still and bleeding on the pavement. “I thought that dog was a goner for sure.”
“Me too, Ro. Me too.”
We’re quiet for a moment, thinking back. Then I’m driven to ask, “Did you know, Beef?”
“What?” His brow furrows.
“Did you feel something for Steph—Stevie as she was then—at that point?”
He chuckles. “Yeah, some part of me knew. But I didn’t want to get into another relationship, so I convinced myself I’d just be a friend. Had gotten out of the clutches of one needy bitch, didn’t want another to weigh me down.”
“Steph wouldn’t do that.”
“Didn’t know that then, did I? Tell you the truth, Brother. All I saw was a blind girl who’d always need a helping hand. Didn’t know how fuckin’ wrong I was.” His head tilts questioningly as he regards me. “Why the questions, Pyro? You getting fed up being a single man?”
“Whoa. What? No way. Why would I want to settle down, Beef? I’ve got everything I could want. Pussy in the clubhouse, and with this cut and this face?” Putting my elbow on the table, I cup my chin with my hand. “One look at me, and a glance at my cut, any bitch would drop her panties. I don’t need a bitch to be blind.” I only just manage to rear out of the way of his punch, but Beef is laughing as well.
Then he grows serious. “Used to be like you. Used to think I could get by on casual pussy. Then I saw my brothers settling down. There’s a lot to be said for a woman who’s yours and yours alone.”
“Used to laugh at you lot in Tucson, most brothers hooking up with their women. But now it seems it’s happening here too.” I grin at him. “Think Pal must have brought something with him.”
“Infected your water?” Beef laughs. “Well count me out, unless it’s in the air. I met Steph before I’d set foot in the clubhouse.” His head moves in a negative gesture. “From what I heard, Demon couldn’t resist when he found Violet again. Pal was always certain he’d end up with Jay. I reckon you’re safe if you’re getting worried about it. It’s only Skull’s relationship that happened out of the blue.”
“Yeah, and well, there’s a woman. I’m not surprised Skull couldn’t resist. You see the tits on her, man?”
Beef chuckles. “Can’t really miss them.”
“And she can cook too.”
Beef cocks his head. “That do it for you? Big tits and culinary skills?”
He’s joking, but I give an honest reply. “Don’t know what would catch my eye. Certainly not Mel, she’s Skull’s. Would never step on another man’s toes.”
He nods. None of us would. Apart from the normal rights and wrongs of it, the man would lose his patch and receive a beatdown too. Particularly in this club. Man doesn’t go near a woman who’s claimed. Hellfire’s father, Blackie, had put his hands on Hellfire’s woman and was dispatched to Satan for it.
“Hey, speak of the devil…” Beef nudges my arm.
I swing around to see which one he’s referring to, then offer a smile of welcome. “Hey, Mel. Don’t normally see you here during the week. You gonna cook for us? Skull with you?” It’s unusual, but not uncommon for her to be here on her own.
She walks toward us, and it’s then I notice the worried expression on her face. She nods toward the VP. “Beef, I was hoping to speak to you or to the prez.”
“Yeah? Well I’m here. What can I do for you, sweetheart?”
She flicks her eyes toward me, then back to the VP, then, adorably bites her lip.
“Want to speak in private?” Beef offers.
She shakes her head. “No, it’s okay. Look, I know about club business, alright? I know you won’t tell me what he’s doing, I just, I just want to know if Skull’s okay? He’s been gone since Sunday morning, and normally he’d contact me, but I haven’t heard anything from him. Can you just tell me if he’s alright, and when he’ll be back from whatever he’s doing?”
My brow creases as I look at Beef. I can almost see the wheels working in his head too. Fact is, I haven’t seen Skull around. Not that that’s unusual during the week, as nights he spends with Mel, and days he’s working with Cad and Pal. But then he does normally come into the clubhouse a time or two.
“You had an argument, Mel?”
Her eyes sharpen. “He’s here?”
“Answer the question, sweetheart.”
“No, Beef.” She looks suspicious. “Look, if he’s here, it looks like we’ve got some talking to do. I’ll go to his room.”
“Yeah,” Beef says, his gaze finding mine. “Go see if he’s there.”
We watch until she’s halfway up the stairs, then I say out of the side of my mouth. “She’s not going to find him, is she?”
“Nope.” Beef pulls out his phone. He taps on a number and holds the device up to his ear. After a moment he shakes his head. “No reply.” He then selects a different contact. “Pal, is Skull with you?” I watch his face. It darkens. “And you didn’t think that was odd? Yeah, okay. I got you.”
“Well?” I question when he ends the call.
“Hasn’t seen Skull all week. Apparently, that’s not unusual. If they hadn’t got a job on, he works at the shop, so Pal thought he was with you.”
“Nope,” I repeat the word Beef had used. “He’s not been at the shop. Think we might have problems?”
“If he doesn’t turn up at church tonight, yes.”
I press my lips together. “Not happy waiting to find out. Need to know what she knows. Might be nothing at all…”
“Or we might have a brother in the wind,” Beef finishes for me. “When I tried his number, I just got the message the call couldn’t be taken. No option to leave a voicemail.”
Melissa chooses that moment to walk back down the stairs, a dejected look on her face. “He’s not there,” she tells us, unnecessarily.
“Mel,” Beef says, patiently. “Tell us what happened, and where he said he was going.”
He’s said nothing at all, but far too much. Mel is not stupid. “You don’t know where he is, do you?” She looks completely aghast.
Beef’s calm, patient. “Not right now, no,” he admits. “T
ell us what he said, and when he left.”
“It was Sunday morning. He said he had some shit to do, club business. Not to worry if he didn’t come back that night. But it’s Wednesday now. Since he made me his old lady, he’s never stayed away for the night, except… But, anyway. Is this how it’s supposed to work?” Her face tightens. “If you know anything Beef, please, tell me.”
The VP stays in inquisition mode instead. “Did you have an argument, Mel? A falling out?”
“No, not since… Well, after your patching in party, Beef, the week before last, he’d stayed out all night, but we made up. Things have been going great since then. But now I need him, I need to speak to him. I can’t contact him; I don’t know what to do.”
“Hey, hon. It will be alright. Perhaps your argument’s been playing on his mind and he’s taken off to clear his head. He’ll be back. Probably walk in the door any minute.” Over the top of her head, my eyes meet Beef’s. We both know I’m giving her assurances I can’t make.
“But it was sorted,” she whispers. “We’ve been getting on well. He kissed me when he left, told me he’d see me again soon.”
Beef seems to come to a decision. “Look, Mel. Either stay here or go home. Skull may walk in the door any moment. It’s church tonight. In the meantime, I’ll check with Prez and see what I can find out. It’s possible he sent him somewhere without telling me.”
I hold back my snort. Yeah, like the Prez would go behind his VP’s back. But then, Beef is fairly new to the role, and maybe he hasn’t cottoned onto that yet. Or, more likely, Beef’s just giving Mel something to hang onto.
Mel looks from him to me, then back again. Then, for a second, finds the floor fascinating. Then she straightens her back. “Not much else I can do. I’ll hang about here while you speak to Demon, Beef. I’d like to hear as soon as possible if there is any news.”
“I may not be able to tell you, sweetheart, if it’s club business.”
Which means Beef’s buying us time.
“But at least you’ll be able to contact him, tell me he’s okay. He won’t answer when I try to call.”
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