by T. O. Smith
I snorted. “Grim, you’re overprotective of her.”
He shrugged. “Don’t give a fuck.” With that, he strode up the stairs. I rolled my eyes.
Grim and Trixie had a weird dynamic. She was probably the only person in this club that he would go out of his way to console, as just proven by how he had just handled her.
Lex frowned. “I really think she needs a doctor.” She whispered.
I brushed my lips to her forehead. “Sweetheart, trust Alex,” I told her. “He’ll know when enough is enough.”
She only sighed and rested her head back on my chest.
“Lex, sweetheart, wake up.” Thor’s voice slowly broke through my subconscious brain, waking me up.
I slowly opened my eyes, my green ones locking on his. He brushed his hand over my hair. “You fell asleep with Landon.” Thor quietly spoke as he reached forward and lifted our three-month-old son from my arms, cradling him to his massive chest.
Landon was born three months ago. Trixie had to be placed on a nausea medication at the beginning of her pregnancy, but after that, everything was smooth sailing, and she gave birth a few months later to our little boy.
“He’s been really fussy,” I grumbled tiredly, my eyes shutting again as Thor turned and walked down the hall.
I jerked awake again when Thor gently lifted me from the recliner. “Come on, sweetheart.” He cooed. “Let’s go to bed, yeah?”
I loosely wrapped my arm around his neck. “How did the run to bring Sabotage back home go?” I asked sleepily.
Thor pressed his lips to my forehead. “It went fine – no incidents.” He gently laid me on the bed. “Go back to sleep, sweetheart.”
When I walked into the clubhouse the next day, there was a massive man sitting at the bar. He was covered in tattoos, and he was wearing a Savage Crows cut. Thor pressed his lips to the top of my head. “Hey, Sabotage,” Thor called out in greeting.
The massive man at the bar turned to face us. He nodded his head at Thor and stood up from his barstool, striding over to us. “Is this the famous Alexia I’ve heard so much about?”
I clutched Landon to my chest as I stepped closer to Thor on instinct. Thor gently squeezed my hip in reassurance. “This is Alexia,” Thor confirmed, “and our son, Landon.”
“Fuck, the kid looks just like you.” Sabotage commented. He smiled at me. “I don’t bite.” He promised.
A curvy woman dressed in dark wash jeans and a leather jacket stepped up beside Sabotage. He wrapped an arm around her waist, leaning over to press a kiss to her temple. The woman held her hand out to me. “Izzy.” She introduced herself. “I’m Sabotage’s old lady.”
I adjusted Landon to one arm and shook her hand. “Lex,” I replied.
“Can’t a brother get some fucking rest?” Alex snapped as he stepped into the clubhouse.
“Feel the love,” Izzy called out to her blood brother.
Alex grunted. “I got dragged out of bed to come to see you two?” He whined childishly, but despite his words, he grinned and pulled his older sister into a hug. “Good to have you back home, Sis.”
“Uncle Alex!” A little girl yelled as she catapulted herself down the stairs and into Alex’s arms.
Landon suddenly let out a high-pitched wail. Thor reached out and gently took him from my arms. “I’ve got him,” Thor assured me. “Just get his diaper bag for me, will you?” He asked me as he gently bounced a screaming Landon in his arms.
“Fuck.” Scorpion groaned as he stumbled out of the back, still dressed in only his boxers. I rolled my eyes. These men would never care who might be around. They would come out naked if they felt like it.
“Put some fucking clothes on!” Thor and Sabotage barked at the same time, their voices booming through the clubhouse.
I walked out to my SUV and grabbed Landon’s diaper bag out of the backseat. When I stepped back inside of the clubhouse, Thor took the diaper bag from me and strode to a spare room, leaving me by myself with Sabotage since Izzy was standing with Alex, taking care of a baby girl.
“You’re good for Thor.” Sabotage commented. I silently looked over at him, waiting on him to elaborate. Sabotage shrugged. “Thor never wanted an old lady, but it’s clear to everyone who watches you two that he adores the ground you walk on. Even more shocking that he slipped up enough to get you pregnant.”
I laughed softly, shaking my head. “I can’t have kids,” I informed Sabotage. His eyebrows pulled together in confusion. “I received an injury that took that away from me.”
“What kind of injury?” Sabotage asked.
I shrugged. “Gunshot,” I said bluntly, not wanting to elaborate.
Thor stepped out of the back at that moment with Landon in his arm as he fed him. His jaw was clenched as he gazed at my stomach, obviously having heard the last bit of what was said. That day still bothered him, though I knew he tried to hide it. He strode over to me and pressed his lips to mine. I knew that time of our lives was a hard one for him still, but he had never given up on me. It was a long road of recovery, not to mention all of the arguments because I had been getting so fed up with not being able to do anything for myself for a long time.
“Sabotage!” Grave cheered as he stepped into the clubhouse. “Good to have you back, brother.”
Grim stepped in behind Grave and squeezed my shoulder as he walked past me. “Good to have you back home, brother,” Grim said as he nodded at Sabotage.
Grim had actually become my personal trainer when the one I originally had didn’t like working with someone who had an affiliation with the Savage Crows MC. Thor had offered, but Grim thought it would have been better for me if someone I wasn’t extremely comfortable with was training me.
And he was right.
Within a few months, Grim had transformed me into a completely different person. I was now a hundred and thirty-five pounds. I was toned and fit, and each evening before everyone went home from the clubhouse for the day, Grim and I worked out together.
“You ready to take that Chaplain patch?” Alex asked Sabotage.
Sabotage nodded. Thor gently handed me Landon. “That’s my cue, sweetheart. I need to head into the chapel. If you need me, though, don’t hesitate to come to get me. I need to be part of the repatch.”
“Church!” Grim’s voice boomed through the clubhouse as he strode towards the chapel doors.
I looked down at Landon only to find him already looking up at me. I brushed my fingers over his soft cheek. “You look so much like your daddy,” I whispered to him.
He smiled up at me as he made a happy sound. Thor shot me a wink before he shut the chapel doors behind him.
I stepped into the clubhouse with Scab. “You good, brother?” I asked him as I clapped him on his back.
He nodded. “Yeah. Thanks for the help.”
I shook my head. “Don’t mention it,” I told him as I headed for the bar, just wanting an ice-cold beer to end the day with. I’d been helping Scab do some work at Trixie’s bar. He’d been tasked with it, but it was more than just a one-person job.
“What’ll it be?” A girl that I hadn’t seen before asked me as she handed Sabotage a glass of dark liquor.
She turned to face me. I was blown the fuck away. She looked fresh out of high school. She had blue eyes and dyed blonde hair, her dark roots peeking through slightly. She was a bit tall and leggy. She really wasn’t what most of the guys around here wanted as eye candy, so I was honestly a bit surprised that she was serving drinks here.
“A beer,” I told her. “Cold from the back of the fridge.” I arched an eyebrow at her. “Haven’t seen you before. What’s your name?” I asked her.
“Honey.” She informed me as she grabbed a beer and popped the top off, handing it over to me.
“Fake name?”
She shook her head, not bothered by my question in the slightest. In fact, she seemed so nonchalant about shit that it raised alarms in my head. “Nah. Real name.” She informed me. There was also a
kind of slang to her voice and words that told me she definitely wasn’t from any kind of good girl crowd or neighborhood.
“Bullet!” Grim barked. “Church!”
I stood up from my barstool and walked away from the bar, heading for the chapel. I took my seat at the table after closing the door behind me. “Wanted you all in here to inform you of our newest hire.” Grim started as he lit a cigarette. “Her name is Honey. She’s eighteen and fresh out of juvie.” That explained a lot. “Part of her probation stipulations is holding a job, and I’m the only person willing to hire her. Everyone sitting at this table better make her feel welcome.” He snapped.
“Next order of business,” Alex spoke up as he leaned forward in his chair. “Patching Scab in. Does anyone sitting at this table have an issue with that?”
No one spoke up. Alex nodded. “Good. Bullet, go fetch Scab.” He ordered.
Wordlessly, I stood from my chair and went in search of Scab. I found him in the garage, working on one of the cars that had recently come in. “Hey, you’re needed in church,” I told him.
He looked up at me. “What for?”
I shrugged. “Don’t know.” I lied. “Alex sent me to come to get you.”
Honestly, I was glad that Scab was finally getting patched in. The man had gone through hell and high water for this club, and he hadn’t run. He deserved this – deserved to finally hold a true cut that didn’t just label him as a prospect, but now would label him as a patch – like me.
I turned on my heel and walked back towards the clubhouse. Honey looked up at my entrance, her blue eyes clashing with mine. Without a word or a change in my facial expression, I strode back towards the chapel.
Twice now, I had felt something for a club woman, and both times, nothing worked out in my fucking favor. I wouldn’t catch feelings for another woman that had any affiliation with the club. They tended to only fall for the men with actual titles instead of just a patched member.
So, I didn’t give a fuck how gorgeous I thought Honey was. As far as I was concerned, she was forever off-limits to me.
Scab stepped into the chapel. Grim stood up. “Scab, are you ready to take your oath and become an official patched member of this charter of the Savage Crows?” Grim asked Scab.
“Yes.” Scab immediately replied.
After he took the club oath, we were dismissed. I moved to leave the chapel, but Grim stopped me. “Bullet, you mind staying behind for a minute?” He asked.
I sat back down in my seat as I waited for the room to clear out, leaving me and Grim alone. He spoke up once the door shut behind the last member. “You been alright, brother?” Grim asked me.
I shrugged. “Just dealing with some shit,” I told him vaguely.
“Like?” Grim asked me as he arched an eyebrow at me.
“My older brother got out of prison a couple of weeks ago,” I informed Grim. “Just dealing with some shit at home, that’s all.”
“Your brother is staying with you?” Grim asked me, trying to understand what in the hell was going on, and I knew he wouldn’t give up until he had his answers. Grim was silent and kind of scary, but he liked knowing what was going on with his club members.
I shook my head. “With my ma,” I told him. “But he’s bringing around trouble – trouble my ma doesn’t need anymore. Her health isn’t as good as it should be, and stress makes it all worse.”
“You know if you need help, this entire club has your back, Bullet.” Grim reminded me.
I stood up. “Not the club’s problem,” I told him. “I can handle my brother.”
With that, I left the room, done with the conversation. Honey was standing outside, leaning against the wall as she smoked a cigarette when I stepped outside, heading towards my bike to go check on my ma. She stood up straight, her eyes locked on me. “Bullet your real name?” She asked me.
“No,” I replied, moving towards my bike, wanting to get away from her – away from the sweet temptation that she was.
“Then what is?”
I straddled my bike and began strapping my helmet to my head. “None of your concern,” I told her.
A smirk twisted her lips, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “I like mysterious men.” She flirted.
I started my bike. “Not interested.” I lied. Had to lie because otherwise, this woman was going to draw me into her, and I didn’t want that. Not now – not ever again.
I pulled out of the lot, leaving the blonde-haired, blue-eyed temptation behind on the gravel lot.
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