Chapter Twenty-Four
“Are you enjoying the ride?” Ashes asked after the waitress brought their drinks.
“I am,” Miranda said, looking around the place.
There were TVs mounted high on nearly every wall, but there were more booths and tables at standard height than she’d expected when Ashes had mentioned a sports bar.
And the menu had typical sports bar foods, like wings, but there was more—steak, shrimp, barbeque.
It all sounded so good, she didn’t know what to order.
She took the time to settle on something then laid her menu down and took a sip of the beer Ashes had recommended.
“Don’t like it?” he asked, a small smile curving his lips as he watched from beside her.
“It’s okay. The first sip always gets me, though,” she replied.
He’d surprised her when he’d slid into the booth beside her instead of across the table. But as he’d wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and just let it rest there, she found she liked it. It felt like he was staking a claim for anyone to see. As if wearing his name on her back wasn’t enough.
Miranda picked up his hand at her shoulder and lifted it over her head before weaving her fingers with his and running the fingertips of her other hand over the image of a coiled snake.
“What’s this?”
He glanced down at her fingers, then back to her face.
“A rattlesnake.”
Miranda shot him a look that said she knew that much. “No shit. But what does it mean?”
“Who says it means anything? Maybe I got drunk one night and woke up with it.”
She studied him, then shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. At least not this one.”
“What do you mean?”
“You might have a drunken tattoo, or maybe more than one, but not this one. This one means something.”
Ashes frowned and something occurred to her.
Her eyes widened and she lowered her voice.
“Sorry. I’ll ask again later.” She turned and looked at one of the TVs.
Clearly, he didn’t want to talk about it.
At least not here, or that was the only thing she could think of for why he wouldn’t just answer her.
He’d never not answered when she asked things before.
She hadn’t been focused on the TV for a full minute when Ashes put a single finger under her chin and with gentle pressure, turned her back to face him.
“What was that about?” Ashes asked, a crease between his brows.
“Nothing. I just realized you probably don’t want to talk about it.” She lowered her voice to a whisper, “At least not here.”
“Are you ready to place your order?” the waitress said, startling Miranda.
Miranda looked at Ashes to see if he was ready, and he merely nodded at her to give her order. When she was done, he placed his and the waitress left them once more.
“Have you seen the Gadsden Flag?”
Miranda frowned. The name Gadsden was familiar but she didn’t think she knew it from a flag. And she had no clue what he meant.
“The yellow flag with the snake.” Ashes prompted.
“Oh! Yeah, I know that one. I just didn’t know it had a name.”
“Most don’t. But it’s basically the same concept. A warning that I don’t want a fight but if I’m cornered, I will strike.”
She went quiet as she thought about it. That wasn’t what she’d expected but maybe she should have. But she couldn’t help but feel vindicated that she’d been right. The tattoo did have meaning.
“Have you ever gotten anyone’s name, or would you?” She ran one finger over the coils of the snake, enjoying the way his skin felt, and the slight tickle of the fine hairs there.
“I’ve considered it. I almost did it a few years ago when we lost one of our brothers. Instead, I added a small skull with the date he was taken from us under the colors on my back. Have you ever considered getting inked?”
She watched him as she tried to figure out how to put this into words.
“I’ve considered it. I’m nervous about how bad it will hurt, and right now, I just don’t have the money, at least not until I can find a job and put some money away, but I’ve been thinking about it again. Thinking about what I might want.”
“Keep thinking about it. You know Kraken does all our ink, right?”
“No, I had no idea.” She thought about the tall Son with eyes like aquamarine. He was covered in tattoos, but then, so were a lot of the men.
“If you want something, go talk to him. He’ll ink you if you ask.”
She didn’t say anything but watched him, wondering if there was more to that than he was saying. Was it something he did for his cut from the club or was it something each man paid them for, and Ashes was planning to pay for whatever she got done?
“What if I did something here?” She pointed to the inside of her forearm.
“That’s a good spot. Any thoughts on what you might get?”
“Not yet. I’m thinking maybe a short bit of chain with a broken link in the middle. I feel like there needs to be more, but I’m not sure what.”
“Broken chain? I know you’re going somewhere with it, but I’m not seeing exactly what.
“Freedom. I broke, or rather you freed me, from the chain that kept me down in that pit. It can be a visual reminder of what I’ve been through, what I’ve survived, and that I was strong enough to survive them.”
“I like that. Strong enough to thrive, despite everything life has thrown at you. Keep thinking about it. Go talk to Kraken, have him draw it up, see if he comes up with anything to add,” Ashes suggested.
Miranda tilted her head as she watched him. “I think I will.”
The waitress appeared with their food. She offered to refill the soda Ashes was drinking and asked if they needed anything else before leaving them alone.
Miranda thought about the tattoo idea while she ate.
Would it be stupid to find a way to add Ashes’ name to it?
If only as a symbol of how she got out of that pit.
She thought about it all the way through dinner and during the ride back to the clubhouse.
While she enjoyed riding and being with Ashes, the ride from the restaurant to the Sons of Sin compound was her least favorite part of the trip, because they took the Interstate and there were way too many cars for her taste.
But she felt the same in a car. Traffic was one of many issues she had with living in the city, but she would get used to it again.