“I can only imagine what you two are conspiring about over here,” Charlotte says. “Is the chicken ready?” She gives the grill a hopeful look.
“Couple more minutes.” I lean in and elbow her. “Murphy tell you about his campus visit?”
“Yup, I one hundred percent approve.”
“Ginger power.” Murphy gives her a fist-bump and the two of them laugh.
“Poor Teller,” I mutter.
“This dude had one screwed-up sense of entitlement,” Charlotte continues. “After he asks her out a bunch of times, and it finally sinks in she’s not interested, he starts calling her names. Typical baby who isn’t used to the universe not revolving around his obnoxious ass.”
“Probably couldn’t handle a real woman,” I mutter.
“Right.” She turns her concerned eyes on Murphy. “She needs to be careful. I’ve heard of plenty of cases where the guy ends up going after the woman who rejected him.”
Murphy growls and searches the yard until his gaze lands on Heidi, sitting next to her brother. “How the fuck am I ever supposed to let Alexa go to school or anything, knowing what kind of creeps are out there?”
“Teach her young not to take any shit from anyone,” I suggest. “Let the club take her to school on her first day?”
Charlotte grins, then turns more serious. “Teach her not to smile and be nice if someone crosses her boundaries. Don’t tell her stupid shit like, ‘Jimmy only hits you because he likes you.’ No, Jimmy hits girls because he’s an asshole.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?” I shake my head. “If I liked a girl, I tried to kiss her, not hit her.”
“Also boundary crossing, Z,” Charlotte says. “But an improvement.”
I snort and laugh. “Baby steps.”
“Is there a Jimmy we need to hunt down and kill?” Murphy asks.
Charlotte laughs. “Oh my god, no. Well, probably. I did hear lots of ginger jokes when I was a kid. But seriously, I have a case where I just want to strangle the mother for filling her daughter’s head with that patriarchal nonsense.”
Murphy and I sort of stare at her.
“Yeah, yeah, my life is a study in contradictions.” She waves her hand in the air. “You know what I mean. There’s a difference between men who lead and men who squash.”
I know which one I want to be.
Lilly steps out of the pool with Chance. He seems a bit overwhelmed and not sure where to go first. Finally, he spies me and races over, landing with a wet thump against my leg. I reach down and rub my hand over his wet head. “Have fun?”
“Yeth!” He bounces up on his toes and I angle my leg to keep him away from the grill. “Careful.”
Lilly reaches for him, capturing his hand and picking him up. “Oh my god, you’re so heavy.”
I hand the spatula to Murphy. “Here, I’ll take him.”
“No, he’s fine,” she protests, but Chance is already reaching for me.
“Oh, yeah. You’re drenched.” I glance down at my T-shirt. “I wasn’t planning to go in the pool until much later.”
Murphy scratches his beard. “Is that what those noises are we keep hearing at night?”
Lilly sputters. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He leans over and casually flips a few burgers. “Heidi thought it was dolphins mating, but I don’t think we have those around here.”
“Dolphins.” Lilly snorts. “More like a bear—”
“That’s what I said,” Murphy interrupts. He waves the spatula in my direction. “Now bears make sense. They’re massive, violent, territorial, and,” he lowers his voice, “they eff a lot. Very noisy too.”
Lilly doubles over laughing, which makes Chance laugh even though I don’t think he followed a word of that.
“Thanks for the bizarre nature lesson, weirdo.” I shift Chance to one arm and snatch the spatula out of Murphy’s hand. “Get away from my grill.”
He walks off. “Heidi, I solved the mystery of the dolphins we’ve been hearing,” he yells across the yard.
“Asshole,” I mutter.
Lilly steps closer and slides her arms around us. “He has a point.” She bats her lashes.
I lean down and growl at her, which sets Chance off laughing again. So, I growl at him too before swooping in to kiss both his cheeks. He slaps at his face and wiggles to get down. I set him free and point him in Murphy’s direction.
“Are you having fun?” I shrug. “Not very exciting, but—”
She glances around at everyone and leans in to hug me again. “I don’t need exciting. This is a perfect day.”
I drop my hand to her hip. “You’re still okay going to the clubhouse tonight?”
“Sure. Is it a dress-up night, or something more casual?” She tugs at her hair. “Trying to decide if I should go wash it now or just wear it up or something.”
“Whatever you want. You always look good to me.”
Exasperated with my lack of information, she presses her palm against my chest and stares up at me. “Is anyone important coming?”
“Should just be members. Couple girls. Never know if a few nomads or brothers traveling nearby will stop in.”
She bites her lip.
I lean down and whisper against her ear, “Wear some tight jeans that show off your hot ass and a top that puts those gorgeous tits on display. Is that more helpful?”
She glances down. “I don’t know if I like everyone staring at my tits.”
“Let ‘em stare. Everyone in that clubhouse knows you belong to me and I’ll gut anyone who touches you.”
She pokes me in the side. “Murphy’s right. You are a bear.”
I twist and start plucking chicken legs off the grill, dropping them in a bowl of sauce. “More of a beast.” I give her ass a soft slap. “Who finally has his beauty.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lilly
Since Teller’s “accident,” things have been tense. Z’s spent a lot of time out of the house.
One of the old ladies summoned me to the clubhouse and while Z didn’t ask, I know it will mean a lot of I try to socialize with some of the other old ladies.
All problems can be solved with a good party. At least that’s how Angie explained this weekend’s event at the clubhouse.
“As Z’s ol’ lady, you really should supervise the girls,” Angie says.
Supervise what?
At least she offered to shop for the party. I wouldn’t even know where to start.
Heidi plans to stay home with Alexa so she can study and invites Chance to stay with them.
“It’s just you and me,” Charlotte says.
“You’re coming?”
“I think Teller needs to be there so I want to go with him.”
Once we’re at the clubhouse, she offers to restock the bar with boxes of liquor Angie left for me.
A number of club girls have stopped in. How they knew we needed help, I’m not sure. I’ve noticed word just seems to spread and girls will show up on party nights. Some seem to show up early and genuinely want to help out. Others only show their faces long enough to lay claim on a brother before any other girls get to him. Which is an effort in futility. Most of these bikers don’t seem to be the type to be claimed by any one woman.
The kitchen’s being taken care of by a group of girls who seem to have arrived together. Angie has them set up in an assembly line, chopping vegetables and marinating steaks to be thrown on the grill later.
Shadow and Jigsaw work their way through the kitchen under the pretense of checking on the food. Well, I think that might be what Jigsaw actually came for since he helps himself to a little of everything.
“You’re going to get E-coli,” one girl warns him, bumping him out of the way with her hip. He spends some time flirting with her before moving on to the next girl.
Angie moves in closer, “I’ve got this covered. Just tidy up the rest of the place.” She glances over at me. “Uh, I mean have the girls h
elp you.”
Unsure why she’s so nervous around me, I nod and head to the front room.
Shadow blocks my path out of the kitchen. His rat-like eyes turn even rattier as he scans my body. “You plannin’ to dress up tonight?”
It’s such an odd, creepy question coming from him, I don’t know how to answer.
I glance down at the LOKI T-shirt Z told me to wear to the clubhouse this afternoon and my jeans. “I don’t think what I’m wearing is any of your concern.”
“Sure, it is. You’re with our president.”
Fuck off, fucker.
Damn Z and his lecture on how important respect is to bikers. Although, I’d argue Shadow’s being pretty damn disrespectful to me, I wonder if the club would see it that way?
“Yo, Shadow,” Jigsaw calls. “We gotta go.”
“Be looking for you later, don’t disappoint.”
Fuck yourself right off a cliff.
I force a fake smile and almost jump ten feet in the air when he runs his hand down my back and over my ass.
That definitely can’t be acceptable behavior.
I turn to say something, but he’s already stalking toward the back door. No one’s looking my way so I’m not sure if anyone else saw what he did or not.
Still shaking, I continue into the living room. A group of girls waits for me. Oh, joy.
At least I recognize a few. Serena gives me a friendly smile as I approach. “Where do you want us to start?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“What do you need, Lilly?” Bonnie asks.
What does the rest of the clubhouse need? Besides a cleaning crew with a tub full of bleach. Or a blow torch.
“I’m not sure. General straightening up, I guess?”
“Condoms,” a girl they call Josey says. She seems to be the brashest one. The kind who came early to stake out a man, not marinate some steaks. “The guys prefer easy access to them if they don’t want to leave and go find a room. At the one outside Portland, they keep bowls in every room. Z should do that here.”
Oh no she didn’t mention Z’s name. “‘Easy access’, is that what the guys call you?” I ask sweetly.
“It should be.” Her friend, Sasha giggles and digs through her purse. She flings a handful of condoms in Josey’s face and they both laugh.
So, basically they’re making more of a mess for me to clean up.
I glare at them, then shift my gaze to the condoms scattered on the floor. Sasha kneels down to scoop them up while apologizing.
At least one of them knows I’m not fucking around.
Serena leans into me and says in a low voice, “Josey isn’t a regular here. She’s not usually helpful when she visits. She hangs out at different charters until someone’s old lady kicks her out and then she moves on to the next.”
“Fantastic,” I mutter. “Just what I need.”
Josey eyes me up and down, then shoots a glare at Charlotte over by the bar. “Are old ladies leaving after they set up this party?” She crosses her arms over her chest and lowers her voice to a soft purr. “I was hoping to get reacquainted with Z now that he’s here full-time.”
This bitch.
My anger spikes off the chart, but I somehow manage to hang onto my cool and not rip off Josey’s head. “Since I’m Z’s old lady, you better readjust your plans.”
She feigns surprise by slapping her palm to her mouth. “Sorry, Lilly,” she says, not sounding one bit sorry. “It’s just, you know, Z’s a real generous guy.”
Sasha’s gaze skitters between Josey and me. “You know how it is,” she says in a wobbly voice.
I cut her off before she continues. “No. Enlighten me.”
“Well,” Josey says, speaking to me as if I’m slow, “usually the old ladies go home where they belong so everyone else can have a good time.”
Sasha bobs her head up and down as if her friend just offered me some helpful information.
I’m way too old for this nonsense. “Is that right?”
Josey ignores the deadly calm in my voice. “Yeah, and Z’s always been fun to party with. I don’t think—”
I step forward, pleased I tower over this tart by quite a bit. “You’re not as clever as you think, bitch. I’m aware the ‘women who’ve fucked Z club’ isn’t an exclusive organization. If you need a commemorative patch to help you reminisce about the good ol’ days, I’ll order it up.”
“Huh?”
See, I knew that was too many words. “Z’s mine. That clear enough for you?”
Josey narrows her eyes as if she’s considering challenging me. When I don’t back down, she shrugs. “A brother comes to me, I ain’t turning him down. Not my problem if he’s saddled himself with some nag.”
I refuse to be drawn into a catfight with this twit. She’s not worth the effort.
Next to me, Serena shakes her head. “I told you.”
“Oh, shut up, Serena,” Josey snaps. “You’ve fucked almost every brother between here and upstate, but I don’t see your skanky ass wearing a patch.”
Serena’s cheeks turn red and, feeling protective of her, I wrap my arm around her shoulders. “If you’re not here to help, then you need to leave.” I pin Sasha and Josey with a hard stare so they understand I mean business.
Sasha takes a few steps away from her friend. “I want to help out, Lilly.”
“Fuck that. I ain’t a damn maid.” Josey flails her arms around, narrowly missing scratching Sasha’s cheek with her long, dagger-esque nails.
In case she forgot the way out, I point to the door. “Don’t let it hit your ass on the way out, sweetheart.”
She stomps off in her ridiculous lumberjack-meets-stripper boots and hits the door so hard one of her fake nails snaps and flies into the air, landing on the floor with a sad little clatter.
Shaking my head, I turn to the rest of the girls. “Anyone else have some smartass remarks for me?”
The girls blink and shake their heads. A few murmur “no.”
“Questions?” I search their blank faces. No one pipes up. I take Serena aside. “What usually needs to be done before a party?”
“The bar is the most important.” She scans the large entry room that’s basically set up like a living room. Couches, chairs, a few tables, two big screen televisions, and a ratty, almost threadbare carpet fills the space. This seems to be the central location for most of the parties.
Serena taps her finger against her bottom lip and shifts her gaze. “Josey was being a bitch, but they do usually set out bowls of condoms.”
Of course they do.
“No glove, no love, right?” I joke.
Serena stares at me for a second before laughing. “Maybe we can hang that over the door.”
I nod to one of the signs hanging above the couch that I never paid much attention to before. A garish black and gold one that reads, Before you bag her, sheath your dagger!
Good god, what have I gotten myself into?
I end up writing down a list of tasks for Serena to hand out to the girls. Yes, one of them is “go buy condoms”. There better be a petty cash fund around here because I sure as fuck am not paying for that out of my purse.
“Any questions?” I ask the girls.
No one answers.
“Good. Serena has the list of things we need done around here before the party. If you have questions, ask her. If you need an assignment, let her know. If you think of anything we haven’t covered, come find me.”
Serena stares at me with her big, pretty blue doll eyes. “Are you sure about this, Lilly?”
“I trust you. Unless, you don’t want—”
“No, no, it’s fine. I got it.”
“Thank you.” I leave her and make my way over to Charlotte at the bar.
She slow claps and grins at me as I approach. “Very nice. You’ll be a boss bitch biker’s ol’ lady in no time, Lilly.”
I give her a love-shove, almost knocking her off her barstool, and she laughs even harder.
“What the fuck?”
She’s still laughing and I contemplate shoving her again. She wags her finger at me and sputters out, “Don't be a fool, cover your tool.”
“Oh, shut up. Seriously, I don’t remember bowls of condoms all over upstate.”
“In the champagne room and probably some of the guest rooms upstairs…The bathrooms…Yup, upstate’s as dirty as downstate. We’re just a whole lot classier.”
I snort and tap her glass. “You get into the liquor while you were putting it away?”
“This is seltzer.” She lifts her chin. “That mouthy one coming back?”
“God, I hope not.” I pick at the napkin in front of me, shredding it into pieces. “How the hell does Hope stand this?”
Charlotte sips her drink and sets it down before answering. “I don’t think she does. From what I understand, Trinity’s always been in charge of the clubhouse.”
“No, I mean the girls that just have to let you know—”
“Oh, the former bunnies. Gotcha. I’m pretty sure Rock banished every single one who gave Hope lip.”
“Ugh, that doesn’t help. Those two are from out of town anyway.”
She glances down and taps her nails against her glass a few times. “Teller’s mentioned that Z was out on the road a lot more than most of the guys over the last few years.”
I open my mouth to respond, then think better of it. Z’s hinted he spent lots of time on the road after I left.
Because of me. Because I left.
Karma just loves finding new and creative ways to bite me in the ass, doesn’t it?
Chapter Twenty-Five
Lilly
After another day of grilling, swimming, and spending the whole day with the kids, we came to the clubhouse for this party.
It’s not busy yet. A few brothers mill around at the bar. A few girls I recognize buzzing around. The music is at a more comfortable level for conversation to flow.
Z pulls me over to the couch in the corner of the room. His usual spot where he can see everyone entering and leaving the entire area.
“You still feeling okay, Teller?” I ask in a low voice when he drops down next to me.
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