“No, Rooster. It’s not.” It’s how my momma sees you. And now her words are messin’ with my head.
He studies my face for a few seconds before leaning away to touch the tarot cards.
Embarrassment washes over me. “Don’t.”
“If you’re not talking to spirits, what are you doing? Fortune telling?”
I gather the cards up, stuffing them in their case so fast I probably wrinkle their pretty holographic edges. “None of that. It’s a way to connect to your inner wisdom.” I place my hand over my chest. “Or guide you to understand a situation and determine what path to take based on what you already know.”
He narrows his eyes, as if he’s trying to follow along with my explanation.
“Too woo-woo for you?” I ask.
“A little.” He shrugs and glances at the cards again. “What’d you learn?”
I follow his line of sight. In my hurry to pick up the cards, I’d forgotten that I’d set the Lovers card aside when I was on the phone. He reaches over and plucks it off the bed, a teasing smile playing over his lips. “This a good one?”
I snap it out of his hand. “Don’t make fun of me.”
His playful expression disappears. “I’m not.”
“Yes, it’s a good one.” I shift to the middle of the bed again to fold my cloth, pick up my crystal, and shove everything back into the little velvet pouch.
Rooster places his hand over mine. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make fun of something that’s important to you.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
Rooster’s phone buzzes. He pulls it out to check the text while I hurry to shove my pouch to the bottom of my backpack.
Between my mother’s lecture and Rooster catching me, I’ll need to track down some sage and a selenite crystal to wash the negative energy off my dang cards.
Lordy, I hope burnin’ a little sage is enough to erase these doubts.
Chapter Nineteen
Rooster
Regret clings to me as I scan the text from Z demanding I get my ass downstairs. Stuff like tarot cards seems about as reasonable to me as climbing up on the roof, flapping your arms, and claiming you can fly. Never expected Shelby to be into that.
But the hurt in her expression made me wish I’d kept my damn mouth shut.
I’m well aware of the reputation many bikers have, so her assumption I’d turn into some demanding caveman doesn’t bother me. The more time she spends around the ol’ ladies in my club, the more she’ll understand those stereotypes don’t always apply. Besides, all I need to do is keep showing her that I support her—what better way to do that than visiting her on the road?
“Do you need to go?” she asks.
“Yeah. Want me to walk you downstairs? I think the girls are hanging out in the dining room.”
“I need to grab my laundry and then I’ll meet up with them.” She glances toward the window. “If that’s okay.”
I hesitate before answering, “Yeah, that’s fine.” No one’s up here now except the brothers—who will all be in church—and the girls. “Anyone unfamiliar approaches you, just let ’em know you’re Rooster’s girl.”
She tilts her head. “Is that something I need to worry about?”
“Not really. Just in case.”
“Okay.”
Really wanting to apologize for teasing her but not sure how, I nod to her backpack. “So, that Lovers card, does it mean you’re gonna get lucky?”
Her laughter’s slow to come. “My mom didn’t think it was a good sign.”
Shit, her mom’s into it too? Now I feel even worse for teasing Shelby.
My phone buzzes again. Without checking the text—who else would it be besides Z?—I lean in and kiss Shelby’s cheek. “I can’t check my phone during church, but text Heidi if you need something, okay?”
“Will do.”
I jog downstairs and find half the brothers milling around. Z’s waiting by the war room with his bossy prez expression firmly in place.
“The fuck took you so long?” he grumbles.
“You’re gettin’ a little clingy, Prez. Calm down.”
Murphy chuckles and leans down to kiss Heidi’s forehead. “See you in a bit.”
I glance over at Z. “Give me a sec.”
Before she darts away, I call out to Heidi. She turns, lifting her eyebrows.
Not wanting to be overheard by everyone, I motion her toward the bar. “Think you can check on Shelby?” I ask. “For some reason, she seems shy about coming downstairs to hang with everyone.”
“Yeah. Sure. Of course.” She flicks her gaze toward the staircase. “Right now?”
“Maybe give her a few minutes.”
“You got it, Rooster.” She pats my shoulder. “I need to do a few things. Then I’ll go upstairs, okay?”
“Thanks.”
Murphy’s waiting for me by the war room doors. “Everything all right?”
“Yeah, I just asked her to check up on Shelby for me.” Do I feel like explaining that I poked fun at Shelby’s hobby? Not really.
I stop at Z next. “What are you so antsy about?”
“Nothing. Just don’t want to take all fuckin’ day to get our asses to the table.” He cocks his head. “Weren’t you the one bitching you had places to be this afternoon?”
I roll my eyes and he shoves me into the war room. He nudges me in Murphy’s direction on the other side of the table. We haven’t really come up with formal seating arrangements for when the two charters hold church together. Otherwise, we’ve adapted well.
“You mind if I take this one?” I ask Murphy, pointing to the chair closest to Rock. I’m not fond of sitting between Murphy and Teller. Feels too much like breaking up conjoined twins or something. They’ll spend half the meeting reaching over to smack or poke each other anyway.
“Nope.” He drops into the chair on my left.
Jigsaw swaggers into the room and as soon as his demonic eyes land on me, I brace myself for the choke hold that’s coming.
“Why you so far away from me, buddy?” he asks, wrapping his arm around my neck and kissing my cheek.
“Stop slobbering on me.” I reach up and dislodge him. “Whaddya wanna do? Sit in my damn lap?”
“Since you’re offering.” He attempts to squeeze his big ass in between me and the old, scarred table.
“Get the fuck outta here.” I shove him to the side, and he shakes with laughter.
Teller eyes Jigsaw warily and leans forward to catch my attention. “You wanna switch with me so you two can hold hands?”
“You’re one to talk.”
Murphy slaps him.
The rest of our brothers are just as obnoxious, but it’s all good-natured ribbing and shoving. Sparky ends up on one of the couches in the back of the room with some of the younger brothers, giving up his regular chair to one of downstate’s members. Stash razzes him a little but eventually joins him.
After Wrath drops his heavy frame into the chair on the other side of the table from me, Rock prowls in and surveys the room. He gives everyone a few seconds to shut their mouths before taking his seat and slamming his gavel against the table.
Z remains standing even though a chair has been added especially for him at the opposite end. Not sure if he’s got some extra energy to work off or if someone’s getting their ass kicked this morning.
“Welcome to our downstate brothers.” Rock nods at Z, then Steer and the rest of us. “Always good to have everyone here at the table, and we always appreciate you making the trip up.”
Murmurs of thanks go around the room.
“First order of business: the new clubhouse in Empire is almost finished. Z and I are riding down to take a look if anyone wants to join us later.”
A lot of hands go up. While it’s nice upstate will have a clubhouse that isn’t so far out in the middle of nowhere to entertain out-of-town guests, it’s not high on my list of concerns. The proximity to Crystal Ball probably has something to
do with my lack of interest. I grew out of my fascination with strippers years ago. Whatever interest remained has been thoroughly snuffed out by working on our porn production company.
“Slater—what have we heard from our Wolf Knight friends?” Rock turns toward Teller, so I guess he’s got the answer.
“Whisper’s still local. I’m working out the deal to buy the drive-in from him but I think he’s trying to milk all the summer profits out of the place before signing the paperwork.”
“Sounds about right,” Wrath says.
“Let’s continue to stay clear of Slater for now,” Z says. “Give them time to wrap things up and go before we move in.”
“Vermont?” Rock asks.
“No word from South of Satan,” Murphy answers.
“They been out hassling your boys?” Wrath asks with a hint of his usual dickish smirk.
“Remy and Griff are not my boys.” Murphy sneers. “And no, they haven’t seen anyone suspicious coming to the fights at the Castle. Eraser says no one out of place has been to Zips for weeks.”
“Good.” Rock nods. “Stay on top of it though. They make a move in our territory, we need to know about it. Loco’s got eyes in Ironworks so if I hear something, I’ll let you know so you can warn them.”
Murphy nods. “Thanks, Prez.”
I raise my hand. “I’m riding out that way tomorrow. I can stop and pay a visit on my way back.”
“How far west you going?” Z asks.
“The fairgrounds outside Kodack.”
“As a sign of respect, call Chaser before you head out.” While Z says it in a neutral tone, it’s an order not a suggestion.
“Yeah, no problem.” I cock my head. “You realize I didn’t slip this cut on for the first time yesterday, right?” I’m well aware of the etiquette requiring me to let another club know when I’ll be in their territory. Especially if I’m planning to wear my colors.
“Don’t get your boxers in a knot.” Z drills me with a more serious stare than usual. “Feel him out. Make sure he’s not pissed we turned down those jobs for his father-in-law. Smooth things over if he is.”
Is Z serious? “And how would you like me to accomplish that?”
“You’re smart. Use that winning personality of yours.” Z’s gaze bounces around the table. “You taking anyone with you?”
“Wasn’t planning to. I gotta get my hands on a cage or something anyway. Can’t strap Shelby’s guitar to—”
“You can take my old truck,” Murphy offers. “I haven’t sold it yet.” His gaze lands on Rock. “Thinkin’ I’ll just keep it. Grinder’s gonna need something if he’s gettin’ out in the winter.”
Rock nods at him. “Thank you.”
“Thanks, bro.” I slap Murphy’s shoulder. “Appreciate it.”
“You going with him?” Rock asks Murphy.
Murphy’s gaze shoots to me. “Uh, I didn’t think Rooster needed a chaperone…”
Jigsaw raises his hand so fast he practically falls out of his seat. “I’ll go.”
“Thought you said demonic forces invented country music to prepare people for an eternity in hell?” Z asks.
Jigsaw shrugs. “Yeah, but the girls at those shows are worth the suffering.”
“Did I do something to anger you, Prez?” I glare at Z. “Why you punishing me?”
Jiggy reaches behind Teller and Murphy’s chairs and flicks my shoulder. “You love me.”
“Fine.” I snort. “This time you’re gonna make yourself useful.”
“What’s wrong?” Z asks.
“Nothing. Shelby has to do these meet-and-greet things and some asshole got grabby with her. Be nice to have an extra set of hands to scare the shit out of these fuckers.”
“Fuck yeah.” Jigsaw pumps his fist in the air.
Rock’s steely glare settles on Jigsaw. “Take it easy. We don’t need attention drawn to the club. Don’t start trouble in Chaser’s territory.”
“I’ll be on my best behavior,” Jigsaw promises.
“Fantastic,” I mutter.
Rock smirks at me before settling his presidential stare farther down the table. “Dex, why don’t you go with them.” It’s an order, not a request.
“No problem, Prez.”
I nod in appreciation. “At least Dex is an adult and won’t embarrass me.”
“Feeling the love, brother,” Jigsaw says.
Dex rumbles with laughter. “This is gonna be a fun trip.”
Rock and Z share a look. “Two RCs and a VP. Respectful but not threatening,” Z says.
I point between the two of them. “Might as well bring a fourth. Make it an even number.” I fight the smirk threatening to form. “President is the ultimate show of respect.”
They both give me fuck no glares in return.
Laughing, I settle back into my chair.
As we’re winding down, Wrath reminds us there’s a bonfire tonight. Everyone’s invited to stay. As if anyone would say no.
Fuck knows, Shelby needs to have some fun.
Here I’ve just been handed a bunch of responsibilities for the club. But the thing that matters the most to me is making Shelby happy.
Chapter Twenty
Shelby
Even though Rooster reminded me several times that Heidi and some of the other girls would be downstairs, for some reason I find myself dragging my feet.
Maybe it’s the weirdness clinging to me from the reading, or my momma’s phone call, or talking to Rooster. I’m not sure.
I check my phone and read the email from the Dream Makers liaison.
After shooting her a response confirming the time, I set my phone down and sort through the small pile of clean clothes I brought with me.
I slip on a loose mint-green tank top with an image of a meditating flamingo on the front, a denim skirt and pair of sandals. While I’m finishing brushing out my hair, someone knocks.
Hesitant, I stare at the door for a minute before reaching over and opening it.
Heidi waves at me. “Morning! I hope you don’t mind. I wanted to see if you needed anything.”
“No, I was just on my way downstairs.” I toss my brush on the bed.
“Oh, cool. I can show you where the dining room is then. The layout is simple, but the clubhouse is pretty big.”
“Thanks.” I glance at the room once more before closing the door behind me.
“Some of the girls do yoga in the mornings if you’re into that.” She glances down at my skirt. “Well, maybe not today.”
“No, I would love that. Maybe later. Like, y’all have a class or something?”
“One of the girls is a teacher and she leads classes for Hope, Trinity, and whoever else wants to join them.”
“Dang, I’m impressed.”
“Yeah, Swan does a modified mommy-and-me version for Lilly and me and our little guys too sometimes. It’s fun.”
With Heidi’s longer legs, I have to hurry to keep up with her as we jog downstairs. The living room’s empty this morning. The large wooden double doors opposite the staircase are firmly closed.
Heidi notices me staring at the doors. “That’s the war room. Members only.”
“Okay.” I mean, I wasn’t plannin’ on barging in to hunt Rooster down, but it’s kinda cute how she’s so protective over the guys’ space.
We make a wide right turn and I’m faced with another long hallway. It’s probably a good thing she came and fetched me after all.
“Bathroom.” She snickers as we walk past another closed door. “That used to be the guys’ champagne room but Hope, Trinity, and Charlotte sort of took it over and turned it into their yoga studio.”
“Champagne…oh, I get it.”
“There’s a gym and another laundry room down that way.” Heidi waves at a hallway to our right.
She stops at a wide set of swinging doors and pushes inside. “Our dining room.”
Two long, rectangular tables are set up in the middle of the room with a bunch of circular
tables scattered to the side. Almost looks like the kind of cafeteria you’d expect in a fancy-pants private high school. Not that I’d know anything about such places.
“We eat family-style on Thursday nights and weekend mornings,” Heidi explains, gesturing to the tables.
To our right, there’s a larger bar than the one out in the living room. A huge Lost Kings MC mural covers the wall behind it. “Impressive.”
She shrugs as she navigates through the dining room. “Kitchen’s back here.”
Our whole house could fit inside the industrial kitchen. There’s lots of counter space, and double ovens, sinks, and a massive silver refrigerator. “Wow.”
“Bikers eat. A lot.” Heidi laughs.
“She’s not wrong,” Trinity says. “Morning, Shelby.”
Busy gawking at the dream-house kitchen, I didn’t even notice the other people in here. “Morning. Heidi just gave me the grand tour.”
“Good. Hope that means we’ll see you up here more often with Rooster.”
“I keep forgetting this isn’t his clubhouse, right? He seems so at home here.”
“Well.” Heidi and Trinity share a look before Trinity continues, “Every brother should feel at home at every charter. But upstate and downstate have gotten especially close recently.”
It’s a vague answer and I know better than to ask follow-up questions.
The girl who’d served me the Coke last night waves from the refrigerator.
“Shelby, this is Swan,” Trinity introduces. “I don’t know if you met last night?”
“We did, sort of.” I guess I’d been a little rude not saying hi to her last night. “Mornin’.”
“Welcome,” Swan says.
“You’re the yoga guru too? Heidi told me you teach classes?”
Pink spreads over her cheeks and she drops her gaze. “Yup. I help out around here too.”
Trinity wraps her arm around Swan’s shoulders. “Helps out is a massive understatement.”
A taller, slender dark-haired girl pushes open the kitchen door, nervously glancing at our little group before joining us. “What do you need me to do?”
“Lala,” Trinity says, “This is Rooster’s girl, Shelby. Shelby, Lala’s a friend of the club.”
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