Chapter Sixteen
Winter
I stood at the bar inside the Steel Demons MC clubhouse. I’d been here a few times since Hollywood walked back into our lives but the last time I was here alone, I had my laptop as a barrier. Now it was just me and the women who belonged to the MC, as well as the actual wives and girlfriends. It didn’t make a lot of sense to me, but I was a guest, so it didn’t really have to.
“Okay Winter, we’ve given you plenty of time to get used to us and come on over and you still haven’t, so we’re taking matters into our own hands.”
I froze at the sound of the voice. It was soft yet throaty and despite her words, non-threatening. I turned and found a trio of women forming a wall between me and the rest of the bar area. “I’ve been here for about ten minutes.”
The redhead rolled her big blue eyes. “Like I said, plenty of time. I’m Peyton, Rocky’s old lady, and these are Laura and Harper, Hawk and Gio’s old ladies.” Her smile seemed like it would be a better fit for a homecoming queen than a biker’s woman. “How are you doing with all of this? I know it’s a lot, but nobody understands better than us.”
I scoffed. “Not to be rude, but you know what it’s like to have a bunch of scammers coming after you and threatening you?”
“Not scammers,” Laura offered. “I helped a man being extorted by a bunch of thugs and they tried to kidnap me, so Hawk pretended that I was his woman and then it became real.”
Wow. “Seriously?”
“Yep.” Peyton wrapped an arm around me and guided me to one of the tables. “Someone murdered my roommate and stalked me. I went to Rocky for help because when I dated his son, he always talked about how badass his dad was.”
“Okay, wow.” I looked to Harper, eager to hear her tale.
“Overheard some bikers talking about things I shouldn’t have and then threatened my life. Gio, my brother’s best friend, kept me safe and then kept me for good.”
“So you do understand. I’m sorry, it’s just… how are you all so normal?”
“I’m a nurse,” Laura offered. “What you think of as normal is more changeable than you might think. So seriously, how are you?”
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “This is a lot. I’m not upset about spending time with Hollywood but this being scared all the time? It’s stressful as fuck and I have to do it without my best friend.”
“See that’s where you’re wrong,” Peyton offered. “Just because you can’t leave, doesn’t mean your bestie can’t come here. When you’re here, you’re safe and that’s what the guys care most about.”
“Totally,” Harper agreed and stood. “Now, call your friend and tell her to come over while I get us set up on the first round of drinks. Except for Emma since she’s baking baby number two.” She winked at me as the two tables erupted in squeals in laughter.
“Thanks,” I told her after I sent a quick text to Luisa asking if she wanted to hang out at a biker clubhouse.
“No problem. I was in your position most recently so I know how overwhelming it can be.”
I gathered shot glasses, wine glasses, and beer mugs as instructed and followed Harper back to the table, sitting quietly and listening to the way the women interacted with one another. They were a unit, that much was clear and coming from a family of two, I envied them.
***
We’d been sitting and chatting for an hour or so when a knock sounded on the door, and everyone froze, including me.
“I’ll get it.” The deep baritone voice belonged to one of the Steel Demons, with a bald head and big gray eyes that seemed to see everything.
“Thanks T-bone. It should be,” Peyton turned to me for an answer.
“Luisa,” I stammered out.
He wore a deep frown, but it shifted the moment he laid eyes on Lu. “Hey big guy, is this where the party is?”
His lips twitched but he managed to maintain a blank expression. “And you are?”
“Luisa. Best friend to Winter, who invited me.”
T-bone stepped back and let her inside. “Have fun. Don’t leave without telling me.”
“You betcha,” she answered in a sing-song voice.
I was on my feet as soon as I spotted her. “Lu!” Our bodies slammed together, and I hugged her tight. “It feels like I haven’t seen you in years.” The truth was we hadn’t spent more than a week apart since we became friends in the third grade, and that was only because of stupid family vacations over the summer, so the last few weeks had been hard.
“I missed you too girl. And I brought booze and salsa.”
I laughed and squeezed her again. “Damn, I really did miss you.” I pulled back and took the salsa from her hand. “Let me introduce you around.”
Luisa’s eyes were wide as she took in the women, all so different except that they had fallen in love with one of the Steel Demons. “So wait, all of you hotties are dating one of these bikers?”
“Dating or married to,” Peyton clarified.
“Damn. Are they all as gorgeous as Hollywood?” She laughed and sent a teasing expression my way.
“No,” the woman named Emma added with a small smile. “They’re all gorgeous, don’t get me wrong, but no one is that gorgeous. Thank goodness.”
“Agreed,” Laura added. “And Hawk is pretty damn hot.”
Words of agreement went around the two tables and Luisa groaned. “And none of you are, you know, concerned about the danger?”
“Of course we are,” Harper answered. “But it’s who they are. It was who each of them were when we fell for them so we deal with it the best way we can, which sometimes is alcohol.” She raised her glass and knocked it back before she reached for the bottle of tequila.
“So I shouldn’t worry about my bestie falling hard for Mr. Hollywood?” Luisa wrapped an arm around me and gave me a side hug.
Peyton sighed. “I’d be more worried about the MC that’s coming after her. Hollywood seems hooked already, so her heart is safe.”
Luisa gasped and pulled away before punching my arm. “You bitch! You made it seem like your dad was the one being threatened. What did they say? Why aren’t they dead? Have you called the cops?”
“Calm down, Lu. Look, it’s going to be all right. I think. I hope. I’m here because Dad is worried due to some threats made towards me. These guys are dangerous.”
“What do they want with you?”
“Some nasty shit,” I replied, shuddering as I thought of what the guy said to me on campus. “I’d rather not talk about the specifics.”
“She’s safe here,” Ellie assured my best friend. “We’re all still alive and kicking.”
“Okay,” she said as she reached for a shot glass and slid it in the direction of Harper and the bottle. “Please.” She knocked it back like a champ before she turned to me. “So you’re with him now?”
I shrugged, feeling the weight of all eyes on me. “We’re sleeping together, and I like him, but I’ve always liked him.”
“Hang on,” Emma smacked the table. “You knew him before he was in prison?”
“Yeah, I’ve known him for most of my life. He and my dad went to school together.”
“And she’s been crushing on him since puberty hit,” Luisa added and rolled her eyes. “I was worried about her, still kind of am if I’m being honest, but I know that look and I know it’s too late. You love him.”
I answered with a noncommittal shrug.
“Okay then I’m going to speak my piece and say no more after that. What about Winston? He’s not going to take this well, at all.”
“I know,” I admitted. “It’s the only downside to being with Hollywood but now that I have? Lu, I can’t just give him up without a fight. He’s even better than I built up in my head.”
“Impossible.”
“Totally possible, Miss Cynic,” I shot back. “He’s not just a hot body and incredible sex, Lu. Seriously, he’s sweet and protective and he’s funny as hell, sometimes without even trying. And if not for him, Dad would be dead and I’d be… wishing I was dead, probably.”
“Don’t say that.”
“I have to, Lu. This is serious and I have to take it seriously.” I told her about the guy on campus and she gasped before reaching for the tequila bottle again. “Yeah.”
“Okay. I can handle this. I swear.” She refilled her shot glass and drained it. “I will be able to handle it. Soon. Ish.”
“What do we do until we are able to handle it?” Peyton looked around the table at each woman, a sly smile lit her beautiful face.
“We drink!” The rest of the woman chimed in before they all fell into a fit of laughter.
“I’ll drink to that!” Lu raised her glass, words already slightly slurring and enjoyed another shot.
I felt good. In that moment I felt really good and for the first time since everything went down, I wasn’t thinking about the fact that my life was in danger.
It was just a few moments of bliss shared among friends, old and new.