16. Dodge
SIXTEEN
DODGE
“Gonna end up being like Chuck E. Cheese in here real soon,” Razer grumbles, looking over at the security screens set on where Autumn and Mik are gathered around Winnie and Dillion.
Gage watches them proudly. “And I’ll put you in the damn rat suit if you don’t shut up.”
I snicker, rubbing the chalk on the pool stick while I wait. “Plus it’s only for today. You have the rest of the week to drink and fuck to your pleasure.”
“You should be keeping it in your pants,” Gage says, shaking his head, stepping to the side so Razer can take his shot .
The man grimaces. “I am, even if she kicked me out again.”
I exchange a look with Gage, then shrug. “I said the same thing to Creed. Maybe it’s time to let go.”
Razer snaps the stick forward, and then stands after the ball rolls into the pocket. “That’s the thing. I don’t want to let her go, but I don’t think she’ll ever be with me the same.”
Gage pats his shoulder. “Do you blame her? You fucked the nanny. At least Dodge was single.”
Razer rolls his eyes. “She wasn’t the nanny. Worse, her sister.”
We all wince, and Fox lets out a long whistle from the next pool table.
“You’re an idiot.”
Razer sighs, rubbing ?his jaw. “I didn’t know it was her at first.”
“Oh man, I hope you didn’t tell her that,” Creed says, taking a swig of his beer.
There’s a moment of silence, and then we all burst out laughing .
Razer groans, tossing his pool stick on the table. “What was I supposed to do? Lie?”
“Yes! You cheated, and now your old lady knows that you can’t tell the difference between her pussy and another,” Judge adds.
“Okay, you motherfuckers, let’s do a blind test of whose mouth is sucking your dick and see how you all do. I was half drunk, and a woman was sucking my cock in my bed with the lights out. Sorry I assumed it was my old lady,” Razer snaps.
A few of the men look around at each other. Oh, these fuckers are thinking about it. Anything to have competition with each other.
I hold up my hands in surrender. “I ain’t getting caught anywhere near this.”
Gage snorts. “Me either, but I’ll place twenty on Cowen figuring it out.”
Razer glares while Cowen laughs. “Why him?”
“Because the freak is meticulous,” I say.
We leave them there, arguing while Fox goes and rounds up some of the girls .
“So much for family day,” Gage mutters under his breath.
I nudge his shoulder. “As long as they keep it in that room. They all work hard. Let them have fun on their days off.”
He sighs. “Yeah, yeah. I know, but the thought of Mik being one of those girls pisses me off to this day.”
“Because you give a shit about her. It’s different.
Autumn, I would kill anyone who touched her.
Ember…look she wasn’t a bad person, but I didn’t care about her.
I cared about her safety and well-being because she belonged to the club.
I hate whoever gave her the drugs that killed her for Winnie’s sake, but it’s different with Autumn. ”
There were times during Ember’s pregnancy that I had to not think about the possibility that anyone else was fucking her.
Most of the brothers didn’t out of respect for me, but I didn’t have the heart to ask.
I never planned on making her my old lady, so I didn’t have a right to ask.
I love Winnie with all my heart, but I wish I had her under different circumstances.
At least I did until they brought me Autumn.
Now I’m feeling a little like this is meant to be .
Gage’s jaw works back and forth for a second. “You’re right. I was being a judgmental prick. I owe our girls an apology.”
I snort, clapping his shoulder. “Have the prospects take them shopping. No need to tell them why you were being a dick.”
He rolls his eyes and then lets out a sigh. “Some days, I think about all the trouble we caused for my dad, and it gives me a headache. I love this club with my life, but wrangling all you fuckers in is aging me.”
“Have you spoken to Storm lately? He still thinking about retiring?” I ask.
Our VP is a brother who’s a few years older than Gage and me.
As soon as he could, he enlisted in the military, and we’ve only seen him briefly over the years.
He tried to give his patch back, but most of the other council positions were needed to be here with us.
At least as VP, his absence wouldn’t be as heavily felt unless something happened to Gage.
If Judge wasn’t so busy being a lawyer, he’d probably take up the position, but balancing our books as our secretary works well for him now.
Gage shrugs. “Here and there. I told him he’s always welcome home when he’ s ready.”
“Well, you always lean on any of us when you need to. You don’t have to shoulder everything like Shaw did. To his credit, my dad and a few of the others could be dumbfucks.”
He laughs. “You saying we're any better?”
“The jury is still out on Steel.”
Our women look up at us as we saunter into the room with large grins, chuckling.
Mik raises an eyebrow. “Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound like a good laugh, it’s a we’re getting into shit we shouldn’t laugh.”
Gage plops down next to her, tugging her into his lap. “How would you know? You barely leave the house.”
I tug Autumn into my lap, and she smiles up at me. My fingers flex on her hip.
“Hey! I came for family club day. I’m trying to be more old ladylike,” Mik says with a pout.
My prez kisses her gently. “You’re right.”
“Where’s everyone else? I thought you guys were playing some pool while the grill heated up. ”
I exchange a glance with Gage and shrug. “It got derailed. We’ll go check on the grill in a bit.”
Mik squints at me. “Derailed? What does that mean?”
“Means we’re keeping our asses in this room until we’re ready to go out and cook,” Gage says roughly.
She rolls her eyes. “I can’t believe it. One day. They were supposed to be good for one day.”
Autumn tenses, having caught on to what’s happening. She glances at me, and I shake my head a little.
“At least the babies are still small,” she offers.
Mik considers it for a few seconds, then snuggles into Gage’s chest. “Whatever. They make me feel like a prude sometimes, scolding them.”
Gage’s fingers tickle her side. “Need me to take you on a bike ride soon?”
A blush heats her cheeks, but she nods.
Autumn clears her throat. “Plus, it’s good for the brother bond. I took a class about the psychology of friendship, and one aspect is being vulnerable leads to deeper connections. And I don’t care what anyone says, but there’s always a vulnerability and intimacy around sex. ”
I frown, and I can see Gage’s own confusion.
Mik smiles at her. “I love that.”
“I don’t?—”
“Say thank you, Autumn ,” Mik interrupts Gage, scowling at him.
His lips quirk. “Thanks, Autumn.”
My woman rests against my back, and I squeeze her tighter. It feels nice to sit here with them and even the knuckleheads down the hall. We have a sense of brotherhood that we missed growing up, and something deeper as we all grow older.
My hand slips to her stomach, a slight hope that our family will be growing there soon. I’m beyond excited for the future we’re building.
Autumn grumbles into my side when my phone goes off again. I tuck her head in closer as I reach over and tilt the screen toward me. I sit up, and she slumps off my chest as I see it’s nearly 3 a.m. and Gage is calling.
“What happened?” I answer.
“Nothing good. I’ve called church. See you in ten.”
He hangs up, and I slide out of bed as Autumn sits up, watching curiously.
“Are you leaving?”
I nod, sliding into my jeans and grabbing my cut flung over the bed’s footboard. “Club called.” I hesitate for a second and look up at her. “Have you shot a gun before?”
Her eyes widen, and she sits up straighter, more awake. “I went to a range on a date.”
I scowl before pushing the jealousy aside. “Come here.” I lead her to the closet, where a black box with a numeral keypad sits on the middle shelf. “It’s Win’s birthday. February fourteenth.”
“Valentine’s baby,” she whispers under her breath.
I smile down and open the box to a small, handheld gun. “It’s loaded. Just have to press the safety button here. I’ll leave it with you. If anyone tries to come through that door but me, shoot. I don’t care if he’s wearing a cut or not.”
Her lips part. “Dodge, you’re scaring me. ”
I kiss her forehead and then press another to her temple. “Just a precaution, baby. Prez calling church in the middle of the night is never good.”
She nods, but doesn’t move to touch the gun. “I don’t want to use it. I really don’t.”
I put it away and pull her into my arms. “Then don’t. I’ll have a brother nearby and my phone on me, okay?”
When she nods again, I kiss her and carry her back to bed before I finish pulling my clothes on and jogging to my bike. I make sure Steel is nearby before taking off down the street. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can get back to my girls.
I walk through the clubhouse and find myself at the table with my mind still on Autumn. Most of the men are struggling to stay awake. Lacey and Daisy walk around, setting down mugs and pouring coffee for us.
Gage’s jaw is tight as we wait for the last of the men to stagger in the door.
“What’s going on?” I ask when the door finally clicks shut.
Gage sits down and sighs. “The restaurant was broken into, the place trashed. One of the men on the squad gave me the tip that they’re going to let the kids go. Nash is there getting reports done.”
We all frown, and I clear my throat. “Wait, so they caught the assholes and they’re not going to charge them for destroying our property?”
He shakes his head. “Apparently someone is bankrolling the ringleader and some of the force. Only gave me the heads-up because he feels we’ve never caused trouble, but these guys are trouble. And they’re looking to drive us out of business.”
“So what’s the plan?” Razer asks. “Going to fuck them up?”
Gage looks at me, and a rock sinks in my stomach.
“You think it's got something to do with Jack?” My cousin was caught stealing from the club, skimming money from multiple businesses. Most of us pay directly into the club, easier to keep track of the books. The fool spewed some bullshit about being bankrolled by others, but we figured it was fluff because he was afraid to die. If he hadn’t been caught with more than just photos of Mikayla on his phone, he’d probably still be alive to answer questions, but that was something most of us weren’t looking to forgive .
My president shrugs. “It doesn’t hurt to look into it.”
I nod. “I still got some of his stuff in storage. I’ll glance through it.”
“We’re going to double up on security the next few weeks. Not sure what their plan is, but we’re not gonna sit around like ducks waiting for them to attack our livelihood.”
It takes us a few more hours to work out the logistics of which brothers are going where, and how many more cameras we can put up. Cowen mostly watches them throughout the day, but all of us know he’s only one man, and he’ll probably need a second sit-in soon.