Chapter 11 #2
Yeah, it’s his men I’m worried about. Especially given the club whores are showing interest in my men, that is sure to get their backs up. Which is why I told them to drink in moderation and not ruffle any feathers. The men I brought along aren’t the kind to act out.
No matter how much I resent it, it’s necessary to keep the peace here. For every step forward I take with King, it’s a fucking mountain to climb with the other chapters.
Handlebar doesn’t seem to have any issues chatting, greeting some of them like they’re old friends.
I’m glad to see that some of my men are at least trying.
Talon gets up when he sees me sitting at the end of the bar alone and heads over.
He eyes a few of the men as he passes them but keeps his face impassive.
He asks for a beer and the prospect grabs one and slides it across the surface, more roughly than is necessary. If Talon’s reflexes weren’t what they are, it would have slid off the bar and smashed.
I shift in the seat and glare at him. We may not be overly welcome here but I’m still a President of one of the chapters and this is my VP a prospect is disrespecting.
“That better have been a slip of your hand,” I say in a low voice.
“You need to learn some respect Prospect, this is a President.” Talon leans forward over the bar, the prospect gulps and looks like he is about to shit his pants. “I’d remember that before you go listening to the gossip of members over an officer.”
The music is loud enough that we’re not drawing too much attention but as I lift the beer to my mouth, I notice a few people looking over. Including Ragnar, who nods at the kid when he turns to his President. It’s barely imperceptible but I see it.
To anyone else it looks like he is telling him to back off but not to me. There is something suspiciously like approval in his eyes. Fuck.
“It won’t happen again,” the kid says, then walks away.
“Jesus, fuck,” Talon groans, shifting so his back is to Ragnar. A form of disrespect back at the asshole. “So much for everyone accepting us.”
“No one ever guaranteed that,” I point out.
“King said we wouldn’t have any issues.”
“It’s never going to be easy, you should know that by now.”
“Nytro is gonna haunt us forever, isn’t he?”
“Only if we let him.”
Talon doesn’t answer that. “What is the deal with Handlebar? He tell you anything else?”
“That it was a coincidence he knows about this group, said he had nothing to do with today.”
“You believe him?”
Turning, I seek him out. He’s sitting with another guy from our chapter who was moved over when we joined. A club whore is hovering, trying to get his attention.
“Talk about it later.”
Talon gets the picture. Ragnar stays away but his VP comes over to tell us where we’ll be staying and that due to space we will have to double up.
He eyes me because this is disrespectful as shit too, making a President share a room, when any other would be offered his own, even if it meant a brother giving up their bed for the night.
Naturally over the course of the next hour, my men gravitate back towards me and Talon, we find a space in the corner and keep to ourselves.
Instinctively the guys take it easy. The only one drinking to excess is Hozier.
Talon is watching him, but no one is stopping him drinking.
He better be okay to ride tomorrow. We need to talk when we get back to Stroudsburg.
On the surface, we look like none of this is getting to us.
I’ll be damned if I let anyone see us rattled by this reception.
Handlebar eventually joins us, chatting with Quincy.
He eyes Hozier too and I recall how he was trying to deal with him back at the car, to talk him into not pointing his gun at him.
He’s been between the Devil’s Chaos men and us since we got here, but he’s finally showing he stands with us. That has to mean something but I can’t bring myself to let my guard down with him.
“Hey there handsome.”
I’m broken out of my thoughts by a woman leaning into me, resting one of her forearms on the bar in front of me. The way she is leaning is pushing her tits together and given they’re practically spilling out of her shirt, I can’t help but let my eyes drop to them.
Even the dusky pink of her nipples which aren’t contained, does anything for me. If I hadn’t fucked Cassie stupid the other night, I’d be worried there is something wrong with me.
“Buy a girl a drink?” She licks her lips as she makes eyes at me.
She’s attractive, if somewhat older than the other women around here. As I watch her, her eyes cut to the side and back. There is no need for me to see what she is looking at. She is trying to make someone jealous.
I’ve got no desire to get mixed up in that kind of shit. Over her shoulder I see Talon smirking at me. One look from me and he swoops in.
“Darlin, why don’t you grab us a few bottles of the good stuff and we can see where the night goes,” he winks at her.
She straightens up and looks between us all, her face sours a little but she covers it with a smile and heads further along the bar, another couple of women join her and I chance a glance behind me.
There is a table of three guys separate from the rest of their brothers.
All of them watching us with open hostility.
“Looks like we’re about to have a party,” Quincy grins and a few of the guys laugh.
“Looks like we’re about to have a problem,” Talon says quietly.
“No we’re not. We have a couple more drinks then call it,” I tell him. “Tell everyone.”
Talon nods.
“Yeah right, the Prez is really gonna go for a club whore,” Jefferson cackles. “Pretty sure he’s a eunuch.”
“Watch your mouth asshole,” I grunt at him, trying to keep my tone light. It makes him laugh more.
“Prez isn’t all that closed off,” Talon nudges me, trying to keep the moment light and not look as if we’re on edge.
Before I can tell him to shut his fucking mouth, he carries on.
“He definitely got some the other night. My sister’s house reeked of pussy. Can’t say I blame him, he needed cheering up after his bike got fucked up again.”
Handlebar’s reaction is instant. Our eyes meet and lock. Usually he’s calm and collected, keeps himself straight. Now, the storm in his eyes tells me a lot about what he thinks of Talon’s words.
Fucks sake I could beat his ass for opening his fucking mouth. But I won’t hide it. Why should I? Cassie doesn’t belong to Handlebar. That woman will never belong to anyone. In a split second it’s clear to me, Handlebar thinks there is more to whatever it was he had with her.
He was one of a few of the guys sitting on his stool so it’s obvious when he gets to his feet, his elbow knocking into a glass on the bar top. Luckily it doesn’t fall over. Everyone stops laughing and looks at him as his stare hardens on me. There is no hiding his anger and utter contempt.
This really isn’t the place for this. The brothers of the other chapter are looking over now.
“Sit down,” I tell him.
His top lip curls in a snarl. What the fuck? Does he have some kind of thing with her? No, I’ve seen them around one another, he pines after her, and she tries to avoid him. I never had him down as being pussy whipped by a woman who doesn’t want him. It’s not my concern if he’s jealous.
Handlebar’s fists clench and he remains standing. This cannot get out of hand, not here. If being here tonight has showed us anything, it’s that we’re not trusted. I doubt we ever will be.
“Whatever you think you want to say to me, don’t.”
He steps toward me, swiping his bottle of beer off the counter. My brow lifts and Talon shifts beside me. “What did you do?” Handlebar asks, quietly enough that only those standing right next to us can hear.
The music and chatter is loud and the three women beside us start laughing at something loud enough to drown out his next words.
“You fucked her?”
“We’re not doing this.”
“Did you?” he asks again.
I keep my mouth shut, but it’s all the answer he needs. I don’t miss how his fist clenches around his beer bottle. I’m caught in that split second of preparing to take him down, he can’t be that stupid.
“You’re a fucking asshole,” he growls.
“I didn’t see you making a claim on her,” I drawl. Not the right thing to do at this point but he’s irritating me. He doesn’t get to tell me who I fuck. “I didn’t force her to do anything she didn’t want.”
“You…” he cuts himself off and glares at me.
Is he going to call me some other name that is going to piss me off? I have no reason to explain myself. My back is up and I’m sick of people treating me like shit.
I’m the fucking President and I’m not being given the respect I deserve, either by this chapter, or the men supposedly working alongside my own.
“What are you going to do about it?” I step closer to him, which is probably the wrong move because the last thing we need is us getting into a fight. “No one has any control over Cassie Beillo.”
He draws up straight and faces off with me, the rage in his eyes is unmistakable. He wants to hit me. My men are circling around us, both to be on guard if Handlebar tries anything, and to keep the others from witnessing this. Too late for that.
With impressive control, he takes a step back, never losing eye contact, but he’s backing down. At least that is how it seems, until he barges past me, shoulder checking me hard enough to make me falter back a couple of steps.
“What the fuck?” Talon steps forward, but I put a hand to his chest, stopping him. “What the hell was that?” he snaps.
“Nothing. Don’t make this worse than he did.”
“Is this about before?” Talon asks watching as Handlebar leaves the room, the door slamming against the wall.