Chapter Twenty-Three
“ Y ou know, I was thinking…” Gunner rumbles.
“Did it hurt?” I ask, not moving my head from where I have it buried in his neck.
“Smart-ass.”
“Better than being a dumbass.”
“Anyway…what do you think about going on a little trip? Just you, me, my bike, and the open road.”
I pull back to look at him. “Are you serious?”
Gunner frowns. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know, honestly. Yes, I would love to, but…” I look over my shoulder at Lee and watch him hit a pool ball. “I can’t leave him, can I?”
“Trouble, if you want to go, we can make it happen. All you have to do is say the word. As for Lee, he will be fine. He can stay here, or the brothers can check in on him.”
Tank gives Lee some points on how to play billiards, and I watch my brother soak it all up like a sponge.
“I’ve never been out of town besides going to the rally,” I say absentmindedly.
Gunner turns my face toward him, his hand cupping my cheek. “I mean it, Sloane. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go. Even if we have to leave the bike here and get on a tin can in the sky. I just ask that you don’t make me go on a cruise.”
My lips twitch. “What do you have against cruises?”
“Nothing besides that I hate the idea of being stuck in the middle of water without land in sight for days on end.”
“Seems legit.”
Taking a deep breath, I think about it. The idea of getting out of here for a day or two with no interruptions sounds amazing.
You’ve never done anything for yourself. This is your time.
“Word,” I say quietly.
“Word?” Gunner frowns.
“You told me to say word, so word.”
He rolls his eyes and smiles. “You know that’s not what I meant, but message received. Do you have anything in mind, or do you want it to be a surprise?”
“Surprise me.”
“I can do that.” He leans down and kisses me until I’m breathless.
I pull away and rest my head on his chin, his beard brushing my nose. “I love you.”
“I love you more.”
A whistle cuts through the air, and I turn and see Smoke standing by what they call the chapel, looking more serious than I’ve ever seen him.
“Church,” he says.
“Shit,” Gunner mutters as he taps my thigh. “I gotta go. Sit tight.”
“I’ll be here,” I say as he stands.
I wait for all the guys to clear out and the door to the chapel to close before I get up and approach my brother.
“Hey you.”
He looks up and smiles. “Hey.”
“It’s been a minute since it’s been just us, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah, I guess it has. You’ve been busy, though.”
“I’m never too busy for you.”
Lee rolls his eyes as he hands me a pool stick. “I’m not a kid anymore, Sloane, and you have a boyfriend. You should be spending less time with me and more time with him. You’re not my mom.”
I cringe as he hits a ball and it bounces off of a pocket. “I know, but sometimes it’s hard to forget that I’m not.”
“I get that. You’ve been taking care of me for a long time. Shit, you probably don’t want kids after raising me,” he says, making me miss my shot.
Shit. Kids? Do I want them? Do I have feelings on them?
“You know, I’ve never thought about kids before, so I can’t say you’ve swayed my opinion, but if I had to guess, you would make me want them.”
Lee smirks. “Knowing your luck, you’d end up with the spawn of Satan after having to deal with my perfection.”
I scoff. “Please, perfect my ass.”
We stare at each other for a second and laugh.
“I’ve missed spending time with you,” I tell him.
“I’ve missed you too. Have you seen Mom lately?”
I shake my head. “No. We’re like passing ships. What about you?”
Lee stares at the table but makes no move to hit the ball. “Nah, I haven’t either. I’ve been thinking about telling her about the construction shit to see if she would maybe quit one of her jobs, you know? Maybe then she would be home for more than five minutes at a time.”
“Don’t.”
Lee looks over at me, confusion all over his face. “What?”
“Don’t tell her. If you do, it will only piss her off. We both know she doesn’t want you working, and it wouldn’t end well if she knew that I gave you permission to.”
“I’m sixteen and the man of the house, I can help out,” he insists.
“You and I know that, but she doesn’t. You’re her baby, Lee.”
Lee scoffs and drops the subject as he hits a ball, sending it into the pocket.
“Good job. How’s school?” I ask.
“Good. You’ll be happy to know my grades are up,” he says as I take another shot.
Dammit, why can’t I get the white ball to hit a striped one?
Lee chuckles. “You suck at this game.”
I stick my tongue out at him like a child, making him laugh harder.
“Anyone giving you trouble at school anymore?” I ask as I eye his new shirt.
Or new to him. I recognize it as a shirt that used to be in Gunner’s dresser. In fact, the last time I saw him he was wearing clothes that I know for a fact weren’t his.
“Nah, everyone’s backed off. Especially since they know I’m tied to this place.”
“Did you want them to know?” I ask, giving up on the game.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
I shrug. “Some people don’t like bikers.”
Lee rolls his eyes before leveling me with a look. “Fuck those people. Seriously, their opinions don’t matter. They don’t know these guys like we do. So no, I don’t care that they know about my ties to Gunner or the club. If they don’t like it then fuck ’em and feed ’em fish heads.”
“Watch your mouth,” I say half-heartedly. “You’re not wrong though.”
Lee rolls his lips like he wants to tell me something but doesn’t know how.
“Spit it out,” I say after a few minutes.
“When I graduate, I want to patch in and become a brother. Earlier if they let me,” he confesses.
My heart freezes. It’s one thing knowing that Gunner is part of the club. He was part of it when we met, and I would never ask him to leave or try to change him, but Lee…he’s my baby brother. I’ve been working my ass off to try and make sure he can leave this place someday and him staying…
“Why?” I rasp.
“Because I can see myself being a part of this place. The brotherhood…we’ve never had anything like this, and I want it. I know they do some questionable things, but they don’t hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve it. These guys took us in and gave us a family. They fucking give me clothes they don’t want anymore but still have the tags on them. I like the work they’ve given me. I’ve learned more in the last few months being around them than I have in any classroom. I don’t know how to explain it, So So, but this is where I’m meant to be. I can feel it.”
“Okay. Okay, if you’re sure,” I choke out.
His shoulders drop, and a relieved smile covers his face. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, I have one condition, well, two.”
“Name it,” he says immediately.
“I want you to graduate with honors.”
“Done.”
“And I don’t want you to join until after you graduate. I want you to really think about it and not rush into it.”
“I’m not going to change my mind.”
I study my brother’s face and realize that despite all my trying, he has grown up faster than he should have. He’s a man trapped in a boy’s body, begging to be heard.
Don’t worry, Lee, I hear you. I see you.
I shake my head and whisper, “No, I don’t think you will.”
Spending the day with Sloane is becoming my favorite thing. Working alongside her is even better.
When one of the old timers in the area brought his bike in, I knew it was a good opportunity for Sloane to learn bikes. After all, if she is going to work here, she should know how to fix one of our bikes should we need it.
I never imagined it would be as erotic as it was, though. She watched me intently as I explained every little thing. I found myself talking just to keep her eyes on me, which is unlike me. I couldn’t help it, though. Having Sloane’s undivided attention is a heady power. I could do so many things with it, but knowing she trusts me not to is meaningful.
She loves me, and I love her.
The way we fucked on my bike will always be one of my favorite memories.
I was hoping for a repeat tonight. Once Lee was headed home, I was hoping to convince her to sneak out and spend the night with me. I haven’t had her in my bed enough, but my plans were waylaid.
As the door closes behind the last member of the council, Smoke bangs his gavel.
“Order,” he says gruffly. He waits for everyone to quiet down before getting to it. “We have quite a conundrum here. The Crossbones have reached out again. They are proposing a new deal. It is lucrative, so I felt it necessary to inform you about it. They were offering one point two million to ferry forty kilos of coke up from Miami for them. Now they are offering two million for us to do it. He was quite pushy about it, saying he needs an answer today. That’s not all, though. They had a few other demands. They want two of the club girls.” He looks at me. “They also want Sloane.”
“No. Fuck no,” I interrupt him, not caring that I’m breaking the rules.
“This is why I brought it to the table. It’s not a decision you or I can make. Hell, I’m sure you know I’m with you on this, but it’s not just about us. This is club business and needs to be handled as such. It needs to be a group decision,” he says, pissing me off further.
Fuck him. If it was Kelly they were talking about, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.
“Fuck that. We aren’t in the skin market. These girls don’t have to go if they don’t want to. Sloane is off the table, and if any of you fuckers decide money is more important than our morals, then let’s meet in the ring so I can kick your ass,” I seethe as I stare down each brother.
“Your concerns are noted. I would like to reach out to the NOLA chapter and see if they have heard anything where the Crossbones are concerned.”
The brothers all hum their agreement, but I stay silent. The anger under my skin is building at the idea of those fuckers trying to take my girl from me. I’ve had someone on her for months now, but only recently has she become aware of it. She’s about to really hate me, though. I’m about to stick to her ass like Velcro.
Smoke goes and retrieves his phone from outside the door. Then he dials the number, placing it on speaker in the middle of the table.
“Smoke, fuckin’ good to hear from you, brother,” Scorpio, president of the NOLA chapter of the Saint’s Outlaws, says as a greeting.
“Scorpio, sorry to bother you. I know you got your own shit going on down there,” Smoke says diplomatically.
“We always got shit going on, don’t we? It’s the way of the life we lead,” Scorpio responds.
“Ain’t that the truth,” Smoke drawls. “It’s pertaining to our last conversation. Our mutual friends have reached out again, upping the ante. They are a persistent bunch.”
“That they are. I heard that there’s someone in your chapter that they’re interested in more than most. It was only a whisper from a fuckin’ junkie, but could hold some merit.”
“They didn’t happen to mention a name, did they?” Smoke asks.
“He did. He’s interested in a woman named Mary.”
We all look at one another. None of us know a Mary.
“They also mentioned a lady mechanic. He didn’t catch her fuckin’ name, though.”
Sloane. Why are they obsessed with her?
“Thank you, Scorpio. Please let us know if you hear anything else. Don’t hesitate to call if you need our backup.”
“Will do, Smoke. You boys take care. Got enough fuckin’ Outlaws windin’ up dead or shot these days.”
As the call ends, my fury is waging beneath my skin.
“Anyone have anything to add?” Smoke asks. When no one speaks up, he continues, “Let’s vote. All for taking this new deal.”
Not a single brother speaks up. My anger simmers, but it doesn’t grow. No one is going to be meeting me in the ring today.
“All against it.”
A round of “nays” sounds out around the table.
Smoke bangs the gavel.
“The nays have it. Now that we’ve decided that, what are we going to do about them?” he asks.
“They can’t have Sloane. She is mine. We will protect her and her family,” I spit out.
“She isn’t yours, though. You haven’t officially claimed her,” Tank unhelpfully points out.
“What the fuck do you think this is? She is mine. I will kill anyone who tries to take her from me. Even if it’s you.” I growl in his direction.
His eyes hold humor in them.
“All for allowing Sloane in as Gunner’s old lady?” Smoke calls out.
Everyone agrees immediately. I realize then what Tank did. He made me make a decision I had been sitting on.
That fucker.
I narrow my eyes at him, making him smile. He mouths, “You’re welcome.”
“As for the Crossbones, keep your eyes out. They don’t seem like the type to take no so easily. I want added security here at the clubhouse and on the girls at all times. Priority going to Kelly and Sloane as old ladies. Brief the prospects and all the members. Until this settles, I want three extra guys on runs. Gunner, reach out to your contact with the Lotus and advise them of the current situation. Tell him we are being cautious, but we urge him to do the same. We will endure these assholes. I don’t want to start a war if I don’t have to, but if they bring it to us, we will annihilate them,” Smoke says.
All the guys nod in agreement.
“Good. Meeting adjourned.”
As the gavel comes down once more, I let out a sigh of relief.
Sloane is mine in all ways that matter now.
I just need to tell her.