Chapter 2
Hawk
Thanks to the excitement, I was able to dodge the ridiculous suggestion at the wedding reception for a while. I’d been rushed by my brothers and had to practically beat off bunnies with a stick.
New dance music flooded the speakers, and the party picked up. The look that Ma gave me wasn’t what I’d expected, not that I expected to be smacked in the face with Lacy’s garter.
Ma was a family woman. She’d spoken to me a few years back and understood my stance to wait.
She explained that I should be careful not to lead anyone on, though, since sex brought emotions and attachment for many women.
But she also told me not to be a dick about it.
Ma was big on respect and dignity. Even though bunnies had their place, we still needed to respect that they’re human.
It was one thing to let a bunny think she had a shot at a life with you, but if you were clear about expectations, or lack thereof, anything they assumed was on them.
Plus, that kept the bullshit at the clubhouse to a minimum.
There still was bad blood amongst them sometimes, but it was short lived.
I hoped I was clear with the women I had. Bunnies often understood their roles, but that didn’t take away the fact that at the end of the day, they were all women with feelings. Add to it that everyone expected me to be president someday and that only complicated the matter.
Having an Old Man with the club carried a lot of weight on its own. An officer? Definitely more sought after. The president? Well, Ma made sure that everyone knew what would happen if they even looked twice at Pops, so anyone next in line was the next best choice to try to snag.
Had I ruled out ever getting hitched? I grew up knowing never to say never.
Shit happened fast and things changed. The quickest way to ensure something was going to take place was to say it would never happen.
And up until Pops was taken out, I’d had in the back of my mind that I’d someday find a match suitable for me and the life.
Even if it wasn’t for love, at least to carry on my legacy.
Now, I just didn’t think I could subject someone to what Ma went through.
What I surely never considered was being coerced into choosing a wife.
Coerced because that preppy fucker had another thing coming if he thought he was going to force me to take a wife.
Hell, wife practically meant nothing to us.
Claiming an Old Lady, property patch included, was what mattered to us.
As the party started to wind down and the crowd began to thin, my eyes landed on Penny.
She was part of the bridal party, again, probably against her will.
She was a pretty girl… girl being the operative word.
Sure, she was in her mid-twenties, but to me she’d always be my baby sister.
She and I favored each other, but while I was definitely more masculine, her features were delicate, unlike her attitude.
Her long black hair was pinned up in some fancy style and her icy blue eyes looked more green from the teal bridesmaid dress.
It was still strange to see her with a drink in her hand, and I wanted to rush over and snatch it away.
I had to constantly remind myself she wasn’t a child, but I’d been protective of her since she was born.
After Pops was killed, the weight of ensuring the safety of her and Ma became even heavier.
I was technically only interim president.
An official vote had to happen with all officers from each chapter to choose the national chapter president.
I tried many times but with everything going on, it wasn’t as urgent as other things.
Plus, at this point it was more of a formality than anything.
The other chapters hadn’t expressed any issues with me assuming the role thus far, but we still needed to make it official.
When we tried to have this wedding before, that was the plan. But Butch and those fuckers, the Hellbound Heathens, tried to overthrow us. They failed miserably, but with everything that happened and the change of plans surrounding it, the vote fell to the wayside again.
Everyone was gathered again, though, and the plan was to handle it before everyone left. Now I also had to worry about Petrov and his stupid idea.
Glancing over my glass as I sipped the smooth whiskey, I noticed Petrov walking towards Penny.
Oh fuck no.
Taking long, quick strides, I made my way to the bar where Penny watched Petrov like a female preying mantis, letting a mate make their move before devouring them.
The problem was while he wasn’t in charge of us, we still had to keep up the pretense of a happy business partnership and having a woman tear him to shreds in a public forum probably would take more smoothing over than I was prepared to do.
Also, that slick fucker probably enjoyed a little degradation.
As I approached, Penny broke her intense gaze from Petrov and when her eyes landed on me, they nearly rolled inside her skull. “What?” she snapped.
Petrov grinned, turning to look at me. “Oh, Hawk. I was just enjoying a riveting conversation with your intelligent sister.”
“She’s too smart for the likes of us,” I said, trying to keep my tone even.
“Beauty and brains,” Petrov said with a sly grin. “Deadly combination.”
“Yes. Anyone messing with Penny would be deadly,” I said with my own grin.
“To sisters,” Petrov said, raising his glass.
I raised mine with a nod, then knocked back the last swig of the smooth brown liquid.
Ma came over and interrupted. “The happy couple is ready for their send-off. Then we’ll take off, too. Penny, why don’t you go grab your purse.”
“Gladly,” she said dryly before leaving without a proper goodbye.
Ma shrugged. “Women,” she said. “See you back at the clubhouse. Mr. Petrov, thank you again for the generous gesture. Lacy loved it.”
He opened his arms wide. “Mr. Petrov? Please, Mama Hen. I am not my father. Call me Niko.”
Ma stepped into the embrace, then patted his chest as she pulled away. “Alright, Niko. But you can still call me Cindy.”
He chuckled as she turned. “Shall we join the party to send off the happy couple?” he asked me.
Setting my glass on the bar, I nodded. He did the same then we walked in step towards the front with all the commotion.
Once outside, the cool evening air hit my face.
It was a welcome shift to the stuffy warmth from inside.
The building a repurposed barn, or at least it was made to appear that way, but it had a lot of updates if it truly had been a barn before.
Either way, it was charming and a nice place for an event for our club.
Fancy hotels and ballrooms weren’t really our style.
Shiv came up, her dark curls bouncing as she moved and her brown skin popped against the teal bridesmaid dress. She shoved something into my hand. “Don’t be a party pooper.”
Looking down, it was a small container of bubbles with Lacy and Eagle’s initials stamped onto the side with a flourish of lace. “They have their own logo.”
Petrov was already opening his bottle. “Weddings are special and beautiful. Why not be a little over the top?”
“Okay everyone, here they come!” Daisy shouted from the entrance. Her rich brown hair was in an updo with a few loose tendrils framing her face and she donned the same teal dress the other bridesmaids wore. Katie, one of the bunnies, stood opposite Daisy in the matching bridesmaid dress.
Eagle and Lacy were hand in hand, walking down the aisle created by the two rows of bodies. Everyone started blowing their bubbles, including Petrov, so I pulled the wand out and blew a few bubbles.
Eagle gave me a wink as he passed, and Lacy smiled and waved at everyone as they headed toward the armored SUV. While things had quieted down, the one thing I’d learned from the last few months was never to get comfortable. I wouldn’t risk their safety now, especially on their big day.
Everyone cheered and applauded as the SUV pulled away, and the crowd began to thin out quickly. Shiv and Daisy walked around with baskets collecting the bottles. I dumped mine into Shiv’s basket then pulled out a smoke and lit it up.
Engines roared to life as men hollered for their women to hustle up. I had to laugh as I watched several ladies hike up dresses and mount their men’s bikes.
“The women allowed them to drive them on their motorcycles?” Petrov asked, stunned.
Cocking a brow, I blew my smoke away from him and said, “We ride, we don’t drive. And there’s no allowing involved.”
Petrov’s eyes crinkled as a half grin formed on his face. “As is the way in our family as well, the men wear the pants, as the saying goes.” He leaned in closely. “But the women choose which pair.”
Cocking my head, I asked, “Do you really believe that?” He was such a cocky little fucker, I’d never have guessed he thought that way.
He smiled as he looked down at his phone. “My parents had a beautiful relationship, my friend. My father was certainly not a perfect man to my mama, but there was love and respect there. Father runs the family, but mama ran the home. God rest her soul.”
Petrov’s car pulled around. The driver got out and walked around to open the door. Before Petrov got inside, he turned back. “We’ll talk tomorrow about what kind of woman is capable of running such families. Have a good night, my friend.”
He wanted Penny. There’s no fucking way that’s happening.
“The car’s ready,” Ma said from over my shoulder.
I’d insisted on special SUVs for the wedding party, but I meant for the ladies. Somehow all the officers were forced into one as well.
The only reason I agreed to that the last time we tried to have this wedding was we knew Butch and his men were planning an attack and it was part of the plan to throw them off. If we’d ridden our bikes, they may have realized we were onto them.
Glancing down the curb, I chuckled as I saw our SUV waiting and started heading over.
Pausing to put my cigarette out in the ashtray atop the trash bin at the corner of the walkway, I thought maybe Petrov wasn’t that wrong after all about women.
Still, that didn’t mean I was handing over my baby sister. Tomorrow should be interesting.