9. Dax #2
When we reached the club house he pulled open one of the double doors for me.
I raised a surprised brow as I passed him into the dark dwelling.
There were no windows and the large barn doors were not pulled open.
Once my eyes adjusted to the dimness I saw that it was everything I would have imagined.
A bar ran along one wall with a few guys scattered along it drinking.
A few pool tables were scattered about not being used along with some dart boards on the wall.
Mismatched couches were placed in clumps around the large space.
“Is this a clubhouse or a seedy dive bar?” I asked, wrinkeling my nose at the smell of sweat, sex, and stale beer.
“Can’t it be both?” Picasso asked, winking at me. “We let the members decide what the place looked like since it’s really for them to spend time in.”
“I’m guessing your brother has control over what happens in the house. It’s way too orderly for five bachelors to be living in.” I said wandering over to the bar.
Picasso chuckled leaning against the bar as I sat down on one of the stools. “Noticed that did you? Yes, Eagle likes order and control in all things and people. He allows this to be his one area he doesn’t rule over.”
The bartender saw us and headed in our direction. He had to be in his sixties, gray hair cut short with a long grey beard that was braided. His skin was tan and wrinkled, his tattoos had a bluish hue showing they were almost as old as he was.
“Surprised to see you here so early in the day Picasso, what can I do for ya?” He asked, ignoring that I was even sitting here.
I bristled at his slight. Yes, Picasso is vice president but it’s considered good manners to say hello to someone sitting at your bar. Fuck if you’ll be getting a tip from me.
“Pinkey, this is Dax. She is a guest of Eagle’s for the foreseeable future. I wanted to make sure that I introduced you so you can keep an eye on her if we’re not around.” Picasso said, gesturing to me.
The older man looked me over with his judgment filled eyes. This fucker better not think I’m Eagle’s flavor of the week. It happened once and never will again.
Reaching out a hand I gave him a bright smile, “Nice to meet you Pinky.” He just looked at my hand but didn’t take it.
Okay, playing nice wasn’t going to work with this crusty old prick.
“Pinky, I would really hate for us to get off on the wrong foot,” I said, dropping my hand and leaning across the counter. “You see I have this terrible impulse control problem when it comes to people I don’t like.”
“Why would I give two flying fucks, about a bitch like you, not liking me?” Pinky said.
“Dax…” Picasso tried to stop me, but I did warn him.
Darting my hand out I seized Pinky’s braid and yanked downward slamming the older man’s face into the bar. Pulling myself up on the bar I sat next to the dazed biker and looked down at my nails like I didn’t notice every eye in the club house watching.
“Now Pinky, I get that you're old and maybe that senial brain of yours isn’t working as quickly as it used to. So I’m going to go easy on you,” I said swinging around so I was facing him.
“Call me a bitch or any other name that is demeaning to women and you will be eating out of a straw for the rest of your miserable life.”
“Fuck your perfect for them,” Pinky said his words muffled from trying to stop the bleeding from his nose.
Turning to face the rest of the men in the clubhouse I raised my voice. “Hope y'all took good notes boys I hate repeating myself.”
Hopping off the counter I made my way out of the barn knowing that Picasso would be following after me.
“Dax, we really need to talk about your people skills,” Picasso said, catching up to me.
“Really? I thought that went well,” I chirped and headed off down the driveway wanting to get a feel for the layout of the compound.
I heard him groan behind me making me wonder how long his patience with me will last. Typically I wasn’t this volatile but I felt like it was the right part to play in this situation.
Better to have them wondering what I would do next then to be predictable.
That made you vulnerable to being tricked and that wasn’t in the plans for me.
“Where do you think you're heading?” Picasso asked as I kept walking.
Peeking over my shoulder I shrugged. “No idea, just felt like going for a walk. I’m feeling a little stifled at the moment. I’m not used to having someone follow me around all the time.”
“This is an old cattle ranch that we took over. So most of it is open pasture land that butts up to the mountains. We own the land right up into the foothills, around one hundred acres I think,” Picasso shared, seeming to enjoy being out in nature.
A hundred acres. That’s a shit ton of land to have. I know Wes looked into the stability of the Phantom Saints but I didn’t ever look over that information. From now on I’ll look over anything Wes sends me about groups we are keeping our eyes on.
We wandered the property in silence for a while just enjoying the sunshine.
“I hate to cut this short but I have to get you back to the house and drop you off,” Picasso said bringing me back to the present.
“Oh? Some secret squirrel meeting that you can’t let the enemy know about?”
“No, just church, and only members can attend.”
“Ah so it’s that I’m a woman,” I concluded. “Why is it that MC clubs just seem to have the inability to understand it's the twenty-first century and not the fifties? Housewives have been freed from the shackles of the kitchen and being a secret.”
“We are not like that at all, if we were I would have punished you for what you did in the clubhouse,” Picasso said defensively.
I stopped on the steps up the porch to the house so I was eye level to him. “If Eagle had been there he would have. Just because you treat women with respect doesn’t mean this club does. Everyone takes note from the president on how to act.”
“Don’t you fucking talk about the president like that!” Picasso snapped getting right up in my face. “He takes care of everyone in this club and I won’t stand for your slandering him.”
Here I was thinking he might be the nice one out of the group. Seeing the tinge of crazy going on in his eyes I decided for once to keep my mouth shut on the subject. I knew Picasso had been too perfect but now I knew what made him tick. Don’t fuck with his brother.
He took a deep breath and seemed to shake off his rage. “Stay here, relax, take a nap, whatever you want as long as it’s in this house. Remember we can tell exactly where you are and I am changing the geo fencing so you will get shocked if you leave the porch. I’ll be back after the meeting.”