Chapter Nine
M y mind has been a mess all day. Lee got in trouble at school yesterday and is suspended all week. I guess someone grabbed a hole in his shirt and ripped it. He swung on the kid. Lee took the brunt of it, but they were both suspended.
I can’t even yell at him for it, though. He was defending himself. It’s too bad the school doesn’t see it that way. Fighting is not tolerated at all. It doesn’t matter the reasoning. So instead, he is sitting at home doing his homework.
As if things weren’t bad enough, Mom picked up a third job to help cover the increased water bill from the leak in the bathroom. The landlord says he is going to fix it, but I’m not holding my breath.
It’s an affordable place, so we don’t want to complain, but it’s a dump. It needs so much work.
None of which we can afford to do on our own.
I’m so lost in my thoughts that I almost don’t hear when Smoke calls out to me.
“Sloane, can I see you in the office for a minute?” he yells from the side of the shop.
The guys all do the immature “oohs” as if I’m in trouble. I laugh at them and wave them off. They are ridiculous. I know that’s not the truth, though. I’ve been working my ass off.
Gunner eyes me as I walk toward the office, but I ignore him. I know he knows something is wrong with me, but he has done enough. I’m afraid if he finds out that something in my house is broken, he will come fix it. I don’t need him coming to my rescue. I’ve been living my life for nineteen years without him. I can handle this by myself too.
Stepping inside the office, I close the door, then make my way to the seat across the desk.
“You’re doing well. As promised, I’m giving you a dollar raise. Keep up the good work,” he says, smiling at me.
“Thank you, sir.”
My chest is full of happiness at his words. A dollar more an hour isn’t much, but it will add up. It could be the difference between dinner or starving.
“Great. Now, we are leaving tomorrow for a ride over to Hot Springs, Arkansas, for a rally. I am going to leave a couple guys back for security, but with us all gone, the shop will be closed.”
The happiness flees me in a moment. Missing a paycheck is detrimental for us. I’m running through the bills that I won’t get to pay when he speaks again.
“Take a breath, Sloane. You’ll be getting a week off, paid. This is a company-mandated shutdown, so that means all the employees get paid for the time off. Just like holidays and such.”
“I don’t expect special treatment,” I tell him.
“I know. It’s not. Everyone is getting paid. Now get back to work. You are killing it.” He winks at me.
Taking a deep breath, I do as he asks and head back to my station. The rest of the day, that knot in my stomach remains. He said he was going to pay me, but it feels wrong. I don’t like getting handouts. They are already doing so much with covering my car repairs.
I’m about to go tell him not to pay me and to put it toward the car when Gunner approaches me.
“You ready to go?”
I look at my station before turning back to him. “Yeah. I guess so.”
It feels weird to be leaving here knowing I won’t be back for a week. It’s in this moment that I realize this job has become a lifeline for me. It’s given me purpose more than just taking care of my family.
I’m going to miss it.
“I had something I wanted to ask you about,” Gunner says as he shuts the door behind us.
“What’s up?” I ask, slightly distracted by my thoughts as I walk toward his bike.
“How would you feel about coming to the rally with us?”
I stop so suddenly that he runs into the back of me. His arms wrap around me, keeping me from falling. Pulling away from him, I turn to look at him.
“Why would I do that?”
He shrugs. “You’re part of the team. It would be good to get to know us outside of work too.”
“You want me to come? Really?” I ask him.
“I mean, I don’t want you not to come.”
“Wow, way to make a girl feel wanted.” I turn and stalk toward the bike.
He grabs my arm, turning me toward him as he cages me in against his bike, “Is that what you want, Trouble? You want to be wanted?”
Swallowing hard, I know I fucked up. I shouldn’t have opened my mouth.
Needing to save face, I tell him, “I can’t go. I have my family to take care of. Lee will get into trouble if I’m not here to monitor him.”
He shakes his head. “We have a few people staying behind. I’ll assign one to your house. Come.”
“Why do you want me there so bad?”
“Do you ever do as you are told, or are you always such a brat?” he growls.
“I don’t like being told what to do. I’m an adult and can make my own decisions. I don’t want to go.”
He moves closer to me. I can feel his breath on my face.
“Sloane, you are going on this trip with me. I only asked to be considerate.”
“Gunner, you may be my boss, but you aren’t the boss of me outside of those four walls,” I say, pointing toward the shop.
“Stop being so difficult. I’ll pick you up at six in the morning.”
“I’ll be sleeping at six in the morning. Why would I want to go to this biker rally, anyway?”
He glares at me. “Six a.m., Sloane. Sharp. You’ll have fun. I promise.”
I shake my head. “Can you take me home now?”
He nods, backing away.
I feel like I can finally breathe again. He gets on his bike, and I take my spot behind him.
When he drops me at home, though, I know he is being serious when he tells me, “Be ready by six a.m. If you aren’t, I will take you as you are, even if you are naked as the day you were born. Do not test me.”
We have been on the road for hours, but my mind is back in Pensacola.
I guess I never considered why Sloane was so intent on working as hard as she does. In my head, it was because she was a woman and felt she needed to prove herself. I guess for a little bit, I also believed she needed to prove herself.
Watching her say goodbye to Lee this morning changed my perspective, though. She doesn’t work for herself. She works for him. Her mom too.
I was surprised as hell when Sloane was not only ready to go but waiting on me. She wasn’t alone, though. She thinks I missed her shoving some money into Lee’s hand or her hushed whisper telling him to be good, but I didn’t.
When I asked where her mother was, she told me she was already at work. I could see it in her eyes that she was worried about her brother.
At his age, I was doing minor tasks for the Saints already. Yet Sloane tells him to stay out of trouble. I can see it now. The mama bear in her pushing her to take care of her brother. Her mother too, if I’m being honest. I bet her entire paycheck goes to paying bills and food. It’s probably why she always says she doesn’t have the money to do stuff when the guys invite her out with us.
It’s like a whole new Sloane has been opened up to me. I see the woman willing to do whatever she has to do in order to take care of those she loves. She doesn’t realize it, but we have more in common than she thinks. I feel the same way about each and every brother of mine. I would lay down my life for them.
I haven’t forgotten my promise to Lee. I really need to get his number so I can start giving him small tasks to do so he can earn his own money. Maybe it will help ease Sloane’s burden too.
Sloane, who is currently cuddled up at my back, holding me tight. She feels good against me. Like that seat was made for her.
When we finally pull up to the rally, I am both grateful and upset that the ride is over. Grateful to have a reprieve from the feelings she is invoking in me, but also upset that her hands will no longer be on me.
It’s wrong, but I can’t help it. I need to admit it to myself at least.
I want Sloane.
I can’t do anything about it. She’s so young and has enough on her plate. Let’s not even get into the fact that I have trust issues with women. I would likely get my fill of her and break her heart. Then Smoke would kick my ass for ruining shit with his favorite new employee.
It would be a mess, but I almost want to say fuck it.
Almost.
As soon as she is off the bike, I pull her up the steps of the little house we rented close to the rally site. The others are still stretching out, but I need a moment, which means I need to get Sloane somewhere safe so I can step away from her.
“This is the house we rented. We are sharing it with all the brothers, so it will be noisy, and there will be more than a dozen bikers on the floor at some point sleeping. Or not sleeping, if you catch my drift. I suggest once we go to bed, you stay in the room. Smoke gave us the master to help make you feel more comfortable. It’s this way.” I start pulling her down the hall.
“We? You want me to share a room with you?” She sounds appalled.
She should be, but this is the only way to keep her safe. One of us will be with her at all times.
“Yes. It’s for your protection. Here we are.”
I open the door and let her walk inside. I know she is staring at the bed, wondering where we will both be sleeping. I should be a gentleman and offer to take the floor, but fuck that. We are both adults, and we can share the bed.
“There’s the en suite bathroom. Why don’t you clean up and stay in here? I’ll bring your things in and check in with Smoke.”
“I don’t want to share a space with you. Can’t I sleep elsewhere?” She turns toward me, indecision in her eyes.
“Sure thing, Trouble. You want to sleep on the couch? I mean, there may or may not be an orgy happening out there when you decide to go to bed, but we can ask the guys to move it to the floor so you can get your beauty sleep.”
She glares at me. “Fine, you sleep out there with them. Get your dick wet. Whatever.”
“You don’t get it. I am your protection for this entire weekend. That means I stay by your side and you stay by mine. If you are not with me, you will be with Kelly or Smoke. So I will be sleeping in this room with you so no one can sneak in and do anything to you. Before you ask, I will be sharing that bed with you, and you won’t be sleeping on the floor. Don’t be a brat about this. Suck it up, buttercup. You’re stuck with me.”
She shakes her head. “You are a menace. I don’t even know why you wanted me here. Why are you doing all of this?”
I could tell her the truth. Tell her to keep an eye out because trouble is coming her way, but I don’t. I keep that tidbit to myself and feed her the same lie I’ve been feeding Smoke and myself.
“We are friends. Sort of. You need to get out more. The guys like you. We want to get to know you better. Have you get to know us. It will help the shop run better.”
“Bullshit.”
I shrug. “Believe what you want. No matter why you came, you are here with me.”
“You threatened me.” She throws her hands up.
“Could have been an empty threat,” I tell her, knowing it wasn’t. “You didn’t even think to challenge me on it? I think you are protesting too much. I think deep down inside, you really wanted to come with us. That you like us too. So don’t get your panties in a twist. Go clean up, and by the time you are done, we will be ready to go down to the rally.”
She goes to open her mouth again, but I slap my hand over it.
“Jesus fuck, woman, can you shut up for once? Now go.”
Turning her, I push her toward the bathroom. I don’t miss the muttered, “asshole,” but she doesn’t come back at me. She does as she’s told.
That has my dick twitching. God, what it would be like to have her under me, obeying my every command.
Shaking the thoughts away, I turn on my heel and head outside.
I need a fucking drink. Maybe a lobotomy.
For now, I’ll settle for a break from the brat.