Chapter 9
The Girl
“Hey, Girl…you busy today?” Lennon asked, knowing full well I wasn’t doing anything. My routine and the club’s Netflix account sustained me right now, and my only trip into Sagebrush had been to check on Sheila. I had been a guest of Los Cuervos MC for weeks, and to my immense shock, I had started to settle in. As a rule, I didn’t settle. I stayed somewhere until the urge struck, and then I left. I wasn’t sure if the “urge” was instinct to keep me one step ahead of Uncle Roark or if I didn’t know what I was looking for, but I knew it wasn’t in the space I occupied. Every time I felt like it was time to move on, I did. The longest I probably stayed in one place since I ran from the Callahan family was in Chicago. Inevitably, the urge did strike, and I continued my nomadic journey westward. I reminded Duke at the weekly “family dinners” the MC hosted, and I nagged Bones daily that I had places to be, but if I was go ing to be honest, I didn’t feel an overwhelming need to leave anymore. I kind of liked it here. Weird.
“I’m free as a bird. Why?”
“I was hoping you’d help me with some homework?”
Quirking my eyebrow, I snarked, “What do you need me to do? I like you, but I don’t ‘help you with Algebra’ like you. We’d have to be married for me to do math for you.” I shuddered. I hated fucking math.
Lennon threw her head back and laughed. I shivered a bit. Lennon had one of the sexiest laughs I’d ever heard. Like we were strictly platonic girlfriends, but her laugh resonated in a way that caught the attention of everyone who heard it. It sounded rich, sultry, and smooth, like whiskey and honey. I loved it and tried to get her to laugh as much as possible. I also noticed that Bones frowned whenever he heard her laugh like that, which just made me want to make her laugh more.
“Well,” Lennon replied, “I need to do a fashion color dye job. So something other than natural hair colors. I was wondering if you’d like to dye your hair something fun, and I could trim and shape it up a bit for you. Maybe add some layers?” She looked at me hopefully, her hands clasped under her chin in supplication as she gave me puppy eyes.
“Dye my hair?” I’d never had my hair dyed, let alone cut professionally. The idea was exciting but also intimidating.
“Yeah, it’ll be fun! How about this, we’ll dye your hair, and I can do our makeup. Then we can go out for a girls’ night! There’s a club in Reno with an amazing DJ. We could have a few drinks and dance the night away. Sound good?”
Lennon had no way of knowing how excited and terrifyingly happy her words made me. I’d never had a girlfriend or a girls’ night out or… any of it, and I was dying to have a small piece of normal fun that most people took for granted. I never thought I’d get to have a friend, the freedom to go out dancing, or the choice to change something about my appearance as trivial but also as personal as my hair color. Women dyed their hair all the time, but transforming something about myself gave me a sense of agency that I hadn’t known I was missing before.
“Are you saying you want to be my fairy godmother and give me a makeover before we go dancing at a ball?”
“Uh, sure, except we won’t have a lame curfew, and the dye job definitely won’t disappear at midnight.”
I grinned at Lennon. “Let’s do it! Paint me like one of your French girls, Lennon!”
Priest
This girl was a damn ghost. Officer Perkins hadn’t found anything on her, and there were no hits on her DNA. I didn’t even have a name, so I couldn’t search for any social media profiles. How was it freaking possible in this day and age for someone to exist and leave no trace at all? It was beyond frustrating. Perkins asked for more time. He said he had a few other options to explore, but he’d probably come up with fuck all to show for it.
I just needed something concrete on her. I’d spent the past few weeks watching her prance around the compound, trying to learn about her and see if she let any details slip that could clue us in on where she came from. She was undeniably crazy, but she wasn’t stupid. She seemed completely naive one moment and jaded the next. The girl had obviously been physically abused—psychologically and emotionally too, judging by how she reacted to things sometimes.
Listening to her recount a sexual assault to Lennon had been jarring, but it was her behavior after, when she believed she was alone, that worried me. She had seemed to dissociate; her pupils dilated, but her gaze was unfocused like her mind was wandering. Her fist had struck out in a blur of speed, smashing into her reflection and distorting her image. The act seemed to bring her mind back from wherever it had gone, then she drew a damn smiley face with her own blood on the mirror. Fucking. Crazy. Not that I really blamed her. It sounded like she had a reason or two to be unhinged.
I ran my hand over my face, giving each cheek a quick slap to wake me up. I rose from the chair at my desk and walked to the bar cart I had in the corner. Duke was calling church, and I needed a drink if I was going to sit through the entire meeting with Bones glaring at me. He was still salty about my treatment of our resident vagabond. He and Cricket might like the little psycho, but being civil was the best I could do until I knew more about her and where she came from. I just couldn’t stand the thought of a potential threat under our roof, putting everything we have at risk.
Scotch in hand, I left my office and headed down the hallway to the room where we held church. As the last to arrive, I got a raised eyebrow and frown from Duke, where he was seated at the head of the table.
“Now that Priest has decided to grace us with his damn presence, we can begin,” Duke growled. “Close the door.” I closed the door and strolled to my seat at Duke’s right hand. As his son and VP, Duke was the only man in our chapter higher in rank than me. As sergeant at arms, Bones sat on his left, and the other brothers were seated on a first come, first served basis. Cricket, Bard, Pyro, Bear, Tank, Ratched, and Thor were all close to me and Bones in age. Sticks, Ace, Knuckles, and Blaze were old-timers like Duke. Prospect was the only missing face from the table, but he wasn't allowed in church until he was patched in and made an official member. Duke, Sticks, Ace, Knuckles, and Blaze were second-generation Los Cuervos, patched in by the OG Crows a long time ago. Bones, the younger guys, and I were third-generation Crows, and if we wanted there to be a fourth generation someday, we needed to run a tight ship.
Brothers had branched off and started chapters of Los Cuervos MC in other states across the Southwest. We weren’t huge like the Hell’s Angels or Iron Demons, but our MC was respectable in size and successful. We had legal businesses like Rusty’s Garage, Crow’s Landing, Harrison she could settle in Sagebrush or make enough money to get her settled wherever she decides to go. Either way, we could fill the spot and help her out at the same time. Anybody object?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but Duke cut me off. “Any good reason for us not to offer her a job? I ain’t interested in bullshit.” I clenched my jaw. I let him know of my concerns regarding the psycho living in our guest room, and he brushed me off. He let his grief over Ellis and his gratitude for her killing Slyzec blind him to the glaringly obvious threat a stranger at the heart of our compound posed.
“No? Good. Cricket, you can offer her the job after Sandy’s last shift. Meeting adjourned, get the fuck out. Except you, Priest. I need a word. And Bones? Check on Ace.” Bones nodded to Duke and lifted his chin to me as he exited church, leaving me alone with my old man. Duke was giving me the stink eye, staring me down as an intimidation tactic. As a kid, it had worked every time; he’d call me into his den and stare sternly in silence. I’d get so unnerved I’d eventually break the silence, inevitably ratting myself out. It took me longer than it should have to realize I needed to just shut up and plead the Fifth.
A headache sprang to life at the base of my skull, and I officially ran out of patience for my old man’s tactics. “You wanted a word, prez. Have it.”
Duke’s eyes narrowed at my attitude, but I couldn’t find a fuck to give. I’d felt frustrated… pent up since we found that girl. Wound tight like a top about to spin out of control. The only thing that kept me from spiraling now that my quest for retribution for Ellis had ended was Los Cuervos. My family.
Any threat to the Crows had to be dealt with immediately and permanently. My gut told me this girl wasn’t here randomly and was hiding something important that could affect us. I wouldn't trust her until I figured out who she was and what she was keeping from us.
“Yeah, I wanted to ask you what the hell you got against this poor girl. I’m offering her a job and a place to stay till she gets on her feet. What about that rubs you the wrong way?” Okay, Pope John Paul, you wanna act like this is a humanitarian project? Bet.
“Is that what we do now? Take in strays, let ’em mooch off us, and send them off when they’re ready to strike out on their own? Are we a damn halfway house for broke bitches now?”
Duke’s fist slammed down on the table.“Don’t fuckin’ test me, boy. She ain’t done nothin’ to earn your hate that I can see. I’ve been watchin’ you watch her, you know? I’ve been listenin’ too. I know she hasn’t started shit with you, and that you can’t say the damn same. I know that poor girl has lived through some tough shit, but she still finds a way to be happy in herself and her situation. If I ever saw the living embodiment of ‘ when life hands you lemons, make lemonade, ’ it’d be that girl. I can’t say the same about every man in this club. It speaks to an inner personal strength that’s rare. So tell me, why do you hate her so much?”
I ran my hands down my face, scrubbing at the scruff on my jaw. “ I don’t know ! I don’t… it’s just something, a feeling in my gut. There’s something about her. Something isn’t right with her. I just feel it.” I pushed away from the table and snatched my glass, heading to Duke’s bar cart near the back corner of the room. After pouring a finger of whiskey, I tossed the whole drink back. I poured a second and grabbed another glass, adding some for Duke.
When I sat back down at the table, the expression on Duke’s face had transformed. Before, he’d been Duke the prez, ripping his VP a new asshole for his shitty attitude. Now, he looked like Duke the dad, and to be honest… I think I preferred his righteous fury face over the bemused, indulgent dad face.
“What, what is that face for? I thought you were pissed?”
He took his glass and sipped, never losing his smirk. “Oh, I am. Your attitude toward this girl as VP of this club is unprofessional and shortsighted. The VP I know would take this girl, who’d inadvertently helped get justice for one of our own, and offer her aid when she so obviously needed it. The VP I know would want to protect this girl simply because it’s the right thing to do, not to mention that it could be mutually beneficial. She gets help; we get a potential new community member who could do good in a town like Sagebrush. As prez, I’m having difficulty recognizing the man I patched into the club in the man sitting before me.” I clenched my jaw, understanding that my old man basically told me he was disappointed in me. Not a nice feeling.
Duke took another sip. “But as your dad”—he chuckled—“it’s kind of cute.” My eyes flew to his, his sudden change in tone confusing the shit out of me. I choked a bit on my whiskey.
Coughing, I asked, “Cute? The hell, old man?”
Duke chuffed out a laugh over his glass. “Yeah, it’s cute how you think you hate her. You can’t take your eyes off her; now, when you enter a room, you scan it until you find her. Did you know that? Your gaze has weight , boy. Heft. Now you’re tellin’ me she gives you feelings in your fuckin’ tummy. I think you’re fallin’ for her, son. And it’s cute as hell.” He was full-on chuckling at me now while I gazed on at his obvious descent into the throes of dementia, completely unamused. Losing his mind was the only excuse I could come up with for the crazy shit he was spewing.
“You’ve lost it.” I stood, shaking my head. “Mom will be devastated when I put your crazy old ass in a home.”
“Nah, you love me. You’d never put me in a home. When I need a nurse, you better do your pops a solid and get a stacked one. I always was a tit man.”
“You keep giving me shit, and I’ll make sure your nurse is a big burly motherfucker.” I reached the door and was almost through the threshold when I heard Duke call out.
“Uh-huh, you play nice with Girl now. No pullin’ on her hair… unless she asks you to,” he added with a wink.
The smug bastard was so off base. I didn’t do love or relationships. I didn’t have the patience for clingy girlfriends. Casual partners who were around for a good time, not a long time, were more my speed. I didn’t want or need the complication of an ole lady, so keeping my sexual interactions anonymous or extremely casual was a necessity. I tried not to fuck club girls when I could help it because I saw them too often. Proximity seemed to breed familiarity, and I wasn’t interested in being any more familiar than a fuck buddy to anyone. When possible, I preferred to get my kicks out of town when I finished a job—no muss, no fuss.
I strode down the hallway and back to my office. The whiskey was finally doing its job, numbing me pleasantly when my buzz began. I sat down on the couch and mulled over Duke’s words. The idea that I not only wanted but was falling for the feral hobo currently freeloading in our guest bedroom was delusional. I watched her because I didn’t trust her, not because she was hot. I wouldn’t lie and say the chick was ugly. Objectively, I knew she was beautiful. She had stormy-green eyes that reminded me of a worn piece of sea glass I had found once when Duke took us on vacation to California. I remembered thinking that the softly worn and rounded hunk of green glass was a piece of the sea, crystalized and frozen in time. I kept it in my pocket all summer, taking it out and caressing my thumb over it like a worry stone. I probably still had it somewhere.
Her upper lip had a perfect cupid’s bow, giving her a pout that was kissable as fuck. Long ash blond hair waved past her shoulders, though she didn’t know what to do with it, so those waves often resembled a rat’s nest. She had perfect tits, which were more often than not on display. It was as if she wore her tops too small just to show off her chest. I bet she was trying to get some brother or another interested in her psychotic ass.
Which was thick, by the way. I wasn’t the only one watching her run her laps in those stretchy yoga pants Lennon gave her. I needed to talk with Lennon and see if she could get her some baggy sweatpants to run in. That girl didn’t need every man on the compound drooling after her while trying to exercise.
Shutting off that particular train of thought was harder than I wanted to admit when I noticed how tight my jeans were feeling at the moment. I shifted, adjusting myself, annoyed that she affected me at all. My dick thought she was hot, but the rest of me knew she was trouble, and thankfully, that part of me was in charge. I knew my dick wasn’t the only one who noticed how sexy the girl was, but my focus needed to be one hundred percent on the Crows so if one of my brothers was stupid enough to mess around with that crazy broad…well, it’d be his funeral.
Maybe I should warn them all off. Surely, the last thing we needed was a piece of ass in the club causing unrest between the brothers? We’d seen it before, two or more brothers fighting over the same club girl and causing all kinds of drama that we sure as shit didn’t need. I tossed back the last of my drink and slid the empty glass onto my desk. I needed to find something to eat to soak up the booze before Bones and I headed into Reno in a few hours to check on Savage Delights, our underground fighting ring, and get the weekly deposit from Bear, who oversaw the operation.
A buzzing in my pocket drew my attention away from thoughts of Savage Delights and the insufferable girl. I slid my phone out of my pocket to see a text from Bones.
Bones: Ace is at the bar. He’s got something you should hear.
Fuckin’ great, one more thing to add to my plate. Might as well slide a burger on it while we’re adding shit. I huffed out a sigh, wishing I could just go upstairs to my room, take a shower, and slide between the sheets for a much-needed eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Might as well ask for a damn unicorn. Instead, I texted Bones back.
Me: On my way, order me a burger. No tomatoes this time, dick.
Bones texted back a middle-finger emoji. He was my best friend in the world, but I wouldn’t eat tomatoes. Not even for him. I swiped my keys off the desk and left my office to head to the bar. Time to figure out what the hell was going on between Ace and Pyro and hopefully avoid seeing her again.