4. Chapter 3 #2
"What about her?” I made my tone clear the matter wasn't up for discussion. "It’s done. She’s my old lady and you better fuckin’ treat her as such. You protect her above everyone. Myself included."
“Understood, prez.” Ghost had asked the question intentionally.
He knew I’d want to leave this meeting with Honey’s place in this club being reiterated.
He picked his battles and made a point to never disagree with me in public.
Any questions regarding Honey, he asked now so I could control the narrative.
Didn’t mean I wouldn’t catch hell later, just not in front of the brothers.
"As for the Copperheads," I continued, my voice dropping to a dangerous growl, "we hit them before they hit us again. I want their clubhouse under surveillance twenty-four, seven. First sign they’re makin’ any kind of move."
"They're going to retaliate for tonight," one of the brothers pointed out.
“They attacked us,” I snapped. “At our home! They want to try to retaliate for gettin’ their pussy asses handed to ‘em during their own sneak attack, we’ll crush the motherfuckers completely.”
The meeting continued, plans were made, duties assigned. Ghost's precise assessments tempered my rage-fueled thoughts into a cohesive strategy. By the time we finished, the first hints of dawn were creeping through the high windows of the chapel.
"Bug, you find something I want to know about it immediately.”
Bug shook his head. “Twenty-four hours, prez. I don’t want to get someone hurt who’s innocent. Let me investigate thoroughly before I come to you.”
“No. I’m not going to do anything until you’ve completed your investigation, but I want to know if I need to keep an eye on someone.”
Bug said nothing for a long moment, thinking over my order. And we both knew this wasn’t a request. “OK. You give me your word you’ll let me finish before you take action, that’s enough for me, prez.”
“Good.” I looked over everyone. “I know me takin’ woman wasn’t on anyone’s radar.
” I snorted a laugh. “Even mine.” That got some chuckles.
“So, I’ll give you time to process. I will warn you, though.
Do not disrespect her. In any way. How you treat her is a direct reflection of what you think of me.
” Throwing down this gauntlet would be enough to ensure there were no problems. I’d hate to have to kill one of my brothers, but I had the feeling I just might.
Which made me want to claw my eyeballs out because the one thing I absolutely never got possessive over was a woman.
Ever. Even Vixen, my ex. I knew she fucked around.
I just made sure anyone who fucked her knew I knew.
“Bug, let me know when Hotwire has that shipment of guns in his possession. Lock ‘em up tight and make sure you’ve got eyes from every angle on this. And I want to know when Castellano’s men take possession and I want you to confirm this every step of the way.
If we want to be Castellano’s main arms trafficking source, we have to show him we can deliver shipments on time or ahead of schedule and that we can do it in an orderly schedule, no matter what is going on around us. ”
“On it, prez.” Bug gave me a crisp nod before heading out.
The brothers filed out, purpose in their stride, leaving me alone with Ghost. He remained seated, watching me with those penetrating gray eyes. "The girl," he said finally. "You sure about this?"
I met his gaze steadily. "No. But it's done now."
Ghost nodded slowly. "Just be careful, brother. Beautiful women have a way of making even the strongest men weak."
"I'm not weak," I growled.
"No," he agreed, rising from his seat. "But you've never claimed a woman before, not in all the years I've known you. Not like what you just threw down in there. There must be something special about this one."
I had no answer for that. Because the truth was, I didn't understand it myself. All I knew was that from the moment I'd seen Honey standing in my clubhouse, something primal had awakened in me. Something possessive. Something I wasn't sure I could control.
Ghost clapped me on the shoulder as he passed. "Get some rest. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."
I nodded, but rest was the furthest thing from my mind. I had a blonde waiting in my room, and a whole lot of explaining to do.
By the time I made it back to my room, a pale light crept through the compound's high windows with the coming dawn.
My body ached from the fight and the hours spent in that uncomfortable chair at church.
The distant thump of music still pulsed from somewhere in the building.
Some of my younger brothers were determined to salvage what was left of the party.
Idiots. We were at war, and they were still trying to drink and fuck like nothing had changed.
Later. I’d deal with that later. Fucking morons.
I turned the key in the lock, pushing the door open quietly in case Honey had managed to fall asleep.
But she was wide awake, curled up on my couch with her knees tucked against her chest. She looked small there, vulnerable in a way that tugged at something buried deep in my chest. Her leather top from the party was tossed on the floor next to where she sat on the couch.
The T-shirt I’d given her fell off one shoulder, her honey-blonde hair tousled.
Dark circles had formed under those amber eyes, which darted nervously to the door when I entered.
"You're still up." I closed the door behind me and engaged the deadbolt.
She nodded, her throat working as she swallowed. "Couldn't sleep."
I crossed to the mini fridge tucked in the corner, pulled out a beer, and popped the cap against the edge of the counter. "Want one?"
"No. Thanks." Her voice was soft, uncertain. Nothing like the women who usually found their way to my room.
I sank into sofa next her, groaning as my muscles protested after the long night. The silence stretched between us as I took a long pull from the bottle, letting the cold beer soothe my parched throat.
"So," she finally said, "am I a prisoner?"
I lowered the bottle, meeting her gaze directly. "No."
"But I can't leave."
"Not if you want to stay alive." I set the beer down on the side table with a dull thunk. "When I told Shank you were my old lady, two things happened.” I waited to see if she would ask or hurry me but the girl surprised me by holding my gaze with hers and waited for me to continue. “First, it made him let you go without me killing him and possibly hurting you. Second, it made him pull his men back from our compound until they could deal with the fact they’d just assaulted the president’s woman. While none of us are above hurting women if necessary, the only time families are attacked is if we don’t care if we go to war.
In fact, targeting families would mean we were taking out a rival completely.
The Copperheads aren’t ready to do that.
At least, not yet.” I paused. “I claimed you in front of Shank and I did it intentionally. In their eyes, in my club’s eyes, you're my property now.
That also puts a big target on your back for my enemies. "
She flinched at the word 'property,' but didn't look away. "And what am I in your eyes?"
Shit. How was I supposed to answer that? I didn’t know what she was to me yet. Only that she was mine. "You're under my protection," I said finally. "That's what matters right now."
"For how long?"
"Until this shit with the Copperheads blows over.
Then you can go." The words tasted bitter in my mouth, though I couldn't say why. I'd only just met this girl. Had no reason to want her to stay. I decided to push her a little. I’d put my reputation on the line by claiming her. If she was more than I suspected she was, if she was a plant or a spy, then I’d not only lose the presidency of my club, I’d forfeit my life.
"We've got a leak somewhere in the club," I said finally, gaging her reaction for anything to give me a clue she wasn’t on the up and up.
"Someone’s feeding information to the Copperheads.
That's why they hit us tonight. They knew we had business coming our way.
We believe this was an attempt to hijack that business.
" I was careful how I phrased the information both to be deliberately vague and to throw her off guard.
Her eyes widened slightly. "You think it's me? Because I swear, I don't know anything about—"
"No," I cut her off. "I don't think it's you. If it was, Shank wouldn't have been asking what you knew."
She nodded, relief washing over her face. The girl visibly sagged and one tear escaped her eye before she batted it away with a snappish movement. "So what happens now?"
"Now we find the leak. And we prepare for the Copperheads to hit us again." I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. "And you stay here, where I can keep you safe."
The small room suddenly felt charged with tension.
I noticed details about her I'd missed before.
Her pulse fluttering at the base of her throat and she gripped her knees tight enough to whiten her knuckles.
The faint scent of leather and something sweeter beneath it seemed to radiate from her. Vanilla, maybe? It suited her.
"Why did you claim me?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "You could have just beaten him up and let me go."
"No, I couldn't have." I ran a hand through my hair, frustrated at how hard it was to explain. "Once you were in that hallway with Shank, once he targeted you, there was no going back. If I'd just beaten him and let you go, they would have come for you later. Used you to get to us."
"But why say I'm yours? Why not just offer protection?"
I exhaled slowly. How could I explain something I didn't fully understand myself? How a single look from her had awakened something primal in me? How the thought of Shank's hands on her had filled me with a rage so pure it had nearly blinded me?
"In our world, protection isn't enough," I said instead.
"You have to belong to someone. Be claimed. Otherwise, you're fair game. Even the club whores have a cut with their designation. That way there are no mistakes. The women belong to the club so they’re under our protection. By claiming you myself, the rest of my brothers know you’re not to be touched, unlike the club whores. "
She processed this, her eyes never leaving mine. "And that's all it was? Protection?"
The question hung in the air between us, loaded with implications. I should have said yes. Should have kept it simple, professional. Just a decent man doing something kind for a woman too innocent for her own good. But those amber eyes pulled the truth from me like a magnet drawing iron filings.
"No," I admitted. "That's not all it was."
She shivered, closing her eyes tightly for a brief moment.
"Then what was it?" Poor thing had to be terrified, but I saw a faint blush stain her cheeks. Interesting. The space between us seemed to crackle with electricity. I could see every detail of her face now. The faint freckles across her nose, the tiny scar at the corner of her mouth, the way her pupils dilated, all of it had me captivated in a way I’d never experienced.
"I don't know," I said, my voice rough with honesty. "But from the moment you walked in, something in me wanted you. So when the opportunity came, I took it.”
Her breath caught, her lips parting slightly.
How had I moved so near her without realizing?
We were close enough now I could feel the warmth radiating from her skin.
Close enough that if I leaned forward just a few more inches, I could capture those lips with mine.
Not in the brutal, claiming kiss from earlier, but something real.
Something that had nothing to do with protection or territory and everything to do with the way my heart hammered against my ribs when she looked at me.
Or I caught her scent. And, God help me, I’d been in the woman’s presence for less than an hour and I knew I was so fucked as to not even be believed.
A sharp knock at the door shattered the moment. We both jerked back, the spell broken.
"Prez!" A prospect's voice called through the door. "Ghost says you need to come now. It's urgent."
I closed my eyes briefly, swallowing a curse.
"Be right there," I called back. When I looked at Honey again, she had retreated to her corner of the couch, arms wrapped around herself like armor.
The vulnerability still there even though she tried to lock it away behind careful walls.
"I have to go," I said, already rising to my feet.
She nodded, not meeting my eyes. "Yep."
I moved to the door, pausing with my hand on the knob. "Try to get some sleep. You're safe here."
As I stepped out into the hallway, I cursed under my breath. Whatever was waiting for me better be fucking important, because the only place I wanted to be right now was back in that room, finishing what we'd started.