Chapter 3 #2
“After Moss caught her cheating for the last time I helped him clear her crap out. They’re surprisingly fashionable. I wear them to dinner sometimes. Premium style and comfort.”
“You’re turning into mom.”
Lily gasps and narrows her eyes at me. “You’re just jealous you never came up with the idea.” Yeah, OK, I am a little jealous. Hoe-sa Parks did have fabulous dress sense. “So, maternity pants and a movie. Oh, and I’m sleeping over.”
“Davies sister sleepover, yeah boi!”
“You really need to stop trying to be cool for your students. It’s not working for you.”
Nitro
“Well, that was interesting,” Fox says, amusement lacing his tone.
I grunt in return, because, yeah, it was interesting. Don’t get me wrong, I have noticed Jasmine before tonight. Hard not to when she walks into the clubhouse, with all those curves, looking for her sister.
The air shifts in the cruiser as Fox turns to look at me.
I try to ignore his gaze, boring into the side of my face, as I keep my eyes on the road.
I know what he’s going to say and I know that I agree with him.
But, shit. She’s our boss’s sister. Twin sister to be exact.
She’s also the sister of one of the club’s Ol Ladies, and a teacher.
A good girl. Someone who has no business being fucked mercilessly by two rough bikers.
Especially one that comes with a shit ton of baggage like me.
But, deep down, there’s a part of me that thinks there could be something more there.
That Jasmine Davies could be the woman we’ve been waiting for.
“You already know what I’m going to say.” Fox says. “You know as well as I do that she’s perfect for us.”
My hands grip the steering wheel tighter, the leather creaking under my palms. “But are we perfect for her?” My gaze flicks to his, meeting his determined gaze.
His jaw clenches once, twice, before his shoulders pull back.
“I guess we’ll have to find out.” He smirks in that way that drives me fucking crazy.
The way that means no matter what I think he’ll do what the hell he wants anyway and I’ll be dragged along for the ride.
Not that a ride with Jasmine would be terrible.
I just worry that I won’t be what she needs. What they need.
“Zane, look at me.” I turn slightly, angling my face toward him, looking at the earnestness in his face. “Trust me.”
I nod once, eyes back on the road as we head back to the department to clock off for the night. Another night where yet again we’ve spent our time pissing around on jobs, no closer to getting rid of the rot seeping into the Rose Grove PD.
Walking into the changing rooms after handing over the keys to the cruiser along with our vests and other shit we have to have on us when we’re on the beat, I head straight for the changing rooms. I need to get out of this shitty uniform.
I don’t even bother showering here. Not tonight.
It’s been long as hell and I’m about done with this place and this lifestyle.
When I got out of the military I thought I was done taking orders.
Laughable really seeing as I went straight from there to an MC with a Pres who calls the shots.
But that’s different. Marx is different.
What he’s built is a family, a place where we can land and be brothers.
Fox pulls his clothing out of his locker in haphazard fashion, stuffing his uniform inside and shoving the door closed. I roll my eyes at his antics, hanging mine as I stand in my boxer briefs.
“Deputies,” Moss says, wandering into the locker room, eyes swinging wildly around the small area.
He walks into the next row of lockers, tapping something gently, then huffing.
Fox and I share a look and I slide my well worn jeans up my legs, doing the button and yanking the zipper as I take a seat on the wooden bench that sits in the middle of the locker aisle.
I pull on my scuffed up boots, before pulling on a tshirt and then shrugging my cut over my shoulders.
If shit is going down I want to be dressed for it.
Fox takes a seat next to me, although fully dressed, the heat of his thigh burning into mine. Moss steps out from the second locker row, hands on his hips.
“Good work tonight, anything unusual crop up?”
Fox and I share a look, and I have to look away when Fox’s lips tip up into a smirk. “Nope, nothing unusual at all.”
Moss narrows his eyes, looking from Fox to myself, and I keep my face as neutral as I can. We never promised we’d keep her secret, but I’m also not a snitch so I don’t say shit.
“Good. Good. I’m about to head out, clock off and I’ll see you both tomorrow.” He pulls out his phone, tapping away at something as two deputies walk in, heads bent together.
They’re two of the men who seem to always be orbiting around Hitchens. Fox and I have tagged both as problematic, but we don’t have shit on them. Yet.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out, reading the message on the screen.
Moss: My place, ten minutes.
I nod once, pocketing my phone as he walks out.
“What do you think that’s about?” Fox murmurs.
“Dunno, but it’ll have something to do with Hitchens.”
Fox nods once, then wet willy’s me. “Last one on their bike is the bottom!”
Joke’s on him. I’ll take him any way I can.
Jasmine
My brothers car lights blast through my front room window as Lil and I lie on the couch in the dark.
Shit. I should have really closed my blinds but I didn’t and now I’m in a food coma and can’t move.
Oh well, in a few seconds he’ll flick them off and move inside to relieve Mom of her babysitting duties.
Not that she minds. She loves those boys to distraction, spending most of her time feeding them and then crying over how cute their chubby little toes are while making sure they know that they don’t take after their lying, cheating mother in any way, shape or form.
The roar of motorcycles is deafening as they seem to hover outside for an eternity, drowning out the characters’ voices in whatever this lame rom com is that Lil and I are watching.
“What the hell is going on out there,” Lil grumbles, making no move to check it out.
“I dunno, and I don’t care. It’ll be some weird Moss thing” I say, leaning forward and grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl sitting between me and Lil.
I shove a handful into my mouth and then jump out of my skin when banging rattles my front door. Lil screeches in fright and I suck in a rogue popcorn, it lodging in my throat. I cough to dislodge it but all that does is spews popcorn over my front and onto the floor.
“Get the door, Jazz!” Lil whisper yells, ignoring my hacking like a cat with a furball.
The banging sounds out again, this time even more aggressive than a moment ago. Thoroughly pissed now, eyes watering and voice hoarse from the popcorn still lodged somewhere behind my tonsils, I storm to the front door and fling it open. Seeing who is on my doorstep I slam it shut again.
Low rumbly laughter rings out from the other side, and the knocking starts again.
“Who is it?” Lil whispers again.
“Fox and Nitro.” My voice comes out thready and wheezy and the last thing I need is to see those two bikers tonight.
“We’re not gonna leave until you let us in,” Fox’s voice says as he continues to knock.
I know it’s him because his voice is smoother. Less growly.
“You’re not in uniform, so I don’t have to let you in anywhere,” I call back through the wood.
“You’re right babe, you don’t. But your brother told us to come here.”
At that I fling the door open once again, not caring that I’m free of makeup, hair in a messy bun, contacts out and glasses on. I’m braless in an old tee of Moss’s with Whore-alina Jolie’s maternity pants gently cupping my popcorn belly.
“Why the hell did he tell you to come here?” I ask, eyes wild and ready to fight my brother.
“Said to meet him at his place. Are you pregnant?” Nitro grunts, eyes on my waist.
“What!?” I screech, my face flaming. I know I’m a bigger woman, but come on!
“Fuck, ignore him! It’s just, you’re wearing maternity pants,” Fox has the good grace to cringe after apologizing for his brother. Boyfriend. Bro-friend?
“Wait, how do you know what maternity pants look like?” I ask, brow raised at the same time Lil says, “Moss lives next door.”
“He lives next door?” Nitro grunts, stepping back off my stoop to look at the numbers above our doors, and then the cars in the drive. “You live next door to your brother? Isn’t that a little close?”
I turn my gaze on him. “First off, we shared a womb, there’s no such thing as living too close. And second, you live in a house with all your MC brothers.”
His lips twitch and something flickers in his gaze before he shuts it down.
“Right, well, looks like we’re at the wrong place. Sorry to frighten you ladies,” Fox says with an easy smile.
He steps back and turns to head to Moss’s house before spinning back to me, “Oh and yeah, we know what maternity pants look like. We’ve seen our brothers Ol Ladies wear them.” He sends me a wink, which I’m learning is his go to move, before following Nitro up the path to my dumb brother’s house.
I gently shut the door and then promptly slide down it into a puddle of embarrassment on the floor.
“Well, that didn’t go too badly. I think you still have a chance.” The ever positive Lil informs me.
“Lil?”
“Yeah?”
“If you don’t shut up I’m going to tell mom about how you let Polo McDickface buy you a drink and you know how mom feels about polo shirt wearers.”
“You wouldn’t!” she growls, jabbing a finger in my direction.
“I would. Now leave me to die in embarrassed peace.”
She doesn’t say a word, just flips the bird at me and turns the movie back on. God I love my sister.