17. Creed
CREED
I glance at my phone again, hating the unanswered text messages. I get she’s not always accessible at work, but it’s getting late into the night and there’s no reply. Something is up.
I sip on the beer, staring at the brothers partying around me. A few of the men from the northern chapter have stopped by, a helping hand from Tex, who knew we had something to take care of after Autumn’s attack.
Daisy pops up next to me, smiling as she waves Lacey down for another drink. She turns to face me. Her shirt is more like a fishnet, her nipples not even covered with pasties anymore. Her jean shorts are undone, which tells me one of the brothers has already gotten her off.
If I played favorites with any of the women, I think Daisy would be top two. Something about the woman is a bundle of sunshine, even if she dresses like a little emo girl going to a rave.
“You look grumpy. Want anything?” she asks, her fingers walking down my arm but keeping her distance. That’s another thing I like about Daisy. She’s never taken offense if a brother’s turned her down.
I shake my head. “Just waiting.”
Her teeth dig into her bottom lip, and she slides closer. My eyebrows dip and I turn to face her. Something about her stance doesn’t scream “fuck me.”
“Can I ask you something?”
I frown. “Yeah.”
“Do you think the club would help me start a shop now that I have my license?”
A laugh almost escapes me, thinking it’s one of those throwaway questions the girls ask before reaching for our belts. But the earnest expression on her face sobers me a bit, and I think the conversation is as serious as she is.
“A shop? Like what?”
She blows out a nervous breath. “Like a beauty shop. Cutting hair, doing nails, or maybe even waxing. Like a one-stop shop for anything of that type. I was going to ask Judge, but he keeps pushing appointments off in his office. I just—do you think it’s a bad idea?”
I smile, trying to ease the nerves in her body language.
I’ve never known Daisy to be shy, but I can tell she’s a little scared or maybe insecure asking this.
“No. We paid for your license. Gage assumed you’d do all the brother’s hair and what not.
Another business under the club name is a perfect idea, and I assume you’d hire some of the other girls to work with you. ”
The brothers might not be happy with some of the women being less available, but at the end of the day, they work for the club in any capacity, and if that means on their feet instead of spreading their legs, that’s their choice.
There’s no shortage of women in town; the brothers will just have to work on their charm to get in their pants.
Daisy grins wider. “Yeah. Bambi is so good at waxing. She’d just have to get the certificate, and Wendy is great at nails. Though I don’t know if she’ll want to do it for work.” Her eyebrows furrow while she thinks about it.
“You can always hire people in town too. Bridge the gap.” Not that the people in our town are in a hurry to work for us.
She nods. “Yeah, but it would be finding a spot and not running into problems getting it. I heard Nash complaining about liquor licenses for the restaurant.”
I sigh, slouching down onto the stool. “Let us worry about it. Why don’t you get a business plan together and then present it to the council? I’ll text Judge that your appointment is about club business and he shouldn’t blow you off.”
Daisy rises on her tiptoes, kissing my cheek. “Thank you, Creed!”
Steel raises his eyebrows, watching as Daisy takes off. “How’d you get her so happy without taking her clothes off?”
I choke on my beer, laughing. “Oh fuck, kid. That’s fucking funny, and I know you’re being serious.”
He scowls at me. “Fuck you, Creed.”
I smirk. “Come here. I’ll whisper the secret.”
Unable to help himself, Steel leans over the bar top, and I lift up to whisper into his ear.
“I respected her”—I push his face away—“dipshit.”
Steel rolls his eyes. “I respect her.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Like you breaking the rules and jeopardizing both of your spots?” He got caught getting a blowjob when prospects aren’t supposed to fuck around with any of the girls until they’re patched in.
His cheeks flames, and he scratches the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean…”
I snort. “We know. That’s why you’re both still here.”
Steel sighs. “Thanks. I really want to patch in with you guys.”
Sliding off the stool, I clap his shoulder. “In due time. You got a solid head on your shoulders. We need more men like you. Hard working, but can party just as hard.”
I wink at him, because I mean it. Most men know how to work hard, it’s bred into them, but it’s the other end that builds loyalty.
We need to enjoy the fruit of our wins, especially as a club.
Not that any of us would ever admit it, but watching Steel manipulate the prospect rules impressed us more than anything else.
A devious mind isn’t one to ignore, and one you want on your side rather than against.
With the party raging on, it’s easy to slip out of the club unnoticed, not that I have to answer to anyone. Fox is at the gate tonight, and he’ll let Gage know who’s coming and going without a second’s hesitation if he asks.
I drive to my spot, a parking space a block from her apartment, and then walk briskly to eat up the distance.
When I get to her door, I knock gently, not wanting to attract the neighbors’ attention.
After a few minutes go unanswered, I try again before taking out my lockpick.
It’s been a minute since I broke this out, but it’s like riding a bike, and I slip inside her apartment in no time.
It’s dark, and I know it’s empty immediately. With a heavy sigh, I slink deeper, perusing through her bedroom and debating if it would make me a sick bastard to sniff the panties on the bed. I leave them and head into her bathroom, frowning when I see the new prescription of birth control.
With narrowed eyes, I open it and breathe out in relief when I see she hasn’t taken it.
I stuff the bag under my arm to take it straight to the trash.
I should probably worry about how it must be a mindfuck for her to continue to lose her birth control, but I hope she’ll be pregnant by the time she figures out how they keep getting “lost.” It’s not like she’s minded us being so careless, as if she’s accepted she’s mine from the very beginning.
And I saw it. That night when I confronted her about the possibility.
I saw the disappointment in her eyes when she told me she wasn’t knocked up from our one time in Arizona.
The longer I get to know Morgan, the more I realize she wants things she doesn’t think she can have, and sometimes she needs to be nudged into it—like moving back to Bluport.
She probably wanted to be closer to her dad long before now, but his health scare pushed her into finally making the jump.
I roam through her closet and the pile of clothes scattered about in her room.
It’s blatantly obvious what’s missing: her uniform.
She’s working. The one place she can easily avoid me.
I laugh out loud, shaking my head, and then close her apartment back the way she had it.
If she thinks that will stop me, she’s about to realize why I’m the one my brothers call into their crazy shit.
I’m in a daze as I walk down the stretch of road and into the grocery store to grab my supplies. I’ve had to distract the cops before, knowing the lines of what will push them too far. I also know I have the privilege of provoking them in such a way and not having to fear for my life.
The cashier gives me a wary glance but doesn’t say anything as they ring me up, and I’m back to walking down the uneven sidewalk. I’ll have to remind a brother where to find my stashed bike. It doesn’t take long for me to wander around and find a patrol car loitering in a parking lot.
Fucking lazy pigs, and just my luck, it’s not the woman I’m looking for. My fingers curl around the bag of tomatoes when I get a look at his face through the windshield. His eyes flicker up just as I step into his headlights, his eyebrows furrowing.
I pull a tomato out and throw it, snickering as it splatters all over the windshield. His red and blue lights flip on, and then the windshield wipers.
“Ortega. This is your only warning, or I will arrest you for vandalism,” he calls out through his speaker.
His threat isn’t even over before I throw another, and then another.
He climbs out of his vehicle, gun drawn.
“Drop it! Hands up!” A little dramatic, but whatever works.
I do what he asks, trying to stifle my grin as he does everything I want by stuffing me in his backseat, driving me to the one place she can’t outrun me.
The fucking brat clearly switched to a few overnight shifts.
To avoid me? I don’t know, but no one ignores me, especially not my woman.
I hold back my grin and swallow my laugh as the officer shoves me into the cell, slamming it shut with a loud clank, and I start counting the minutes until she finds out.
* * *
Thudding footsteps and the turning of keys have me rising from the harsh cement bench. I grin as Judge is ushered in, followed by the exact woman I was looking for.
“Are you serious? You threw tomatoes at their cruiser until Hutchinson had to arrest you to stop?” Morgan hisses.
Judge stifles his smile behind her.
I curl my hands around the bar, moving closer to her. “You were ignoring me.”
She inhales sharply, blinking a few times before taking a step back. “You’re telling me you got arrested on purpose because I didn’t pick up the phone?”
“Because you were ignoring me. Don’t insult my intelligence, Morgan. I know you were avoiding me.”
She has the decency to look away, her throat bobbing with a thick swallow.
“I want to know why. What happened?”
Morgan sighs, shifting on her feet as she glances between Judge and me. Her jaw works back and forth, her irritation clear. “I saw you.”
My eyebrows crinkle in confusion. “Saw me?”