Chapter Two #2
“Where are we going?” I ask loudly, over the roar of the pipes.
“Benefit in Gulfport for another MC,” he yells back.
Cass says Gulfport but what I heard was beach. I can’t recall the last time I’d been to the beach and now I’m even more excited. I’m also excited to experience being around another club, especially one that isn’t part of the problem at home.
I sigh in relief and rest my head on Cass’s shoulder for the remainder of the ride, soaking up the sun and Cass’s presence.
Cass and Scott lead us off the first Gulfport exit, and we ride through town until we turn left onto Beach Boulevard.
Once we make the turn, I know exactly where we are going.
There’s a huge park on the right-hand side of the road and the parking lot is packed with motorcycles.
It’s a sight to see, so many bikes and clubs in one place.
There must be a thousand bikes out here. Cass and Scott manage to find an open area big enough for everyone to park. I step off the bike, stretching my legs and hoping my ass wakes up from sitting for so damn long.
Thin, feminine arms wrap around my waist and a chin presses into my shoulder. I turn my head to find Mindy looking at me with a grin on her face.
“Things worked out okay between you two last night, I see.”
Mindy’s grin turns into a full-on smile. “I like him so far, so let’s see where this goes. Besides, how could I turn down a road trip on a motorcycle with my best friend?”
I turn around, embracing her in a hug. “You couldn’t, which is why you’re here.”
“Hey ladies, come on.” Cass beckons me to walk with the rest of everybody who was already walking in the direction of the large crowd of people and away from the beach that is so close to the other side of the parking lot.
There are people everywhere and the music blaring from the stage is loud but sounds phenomenal. It’s a cover-band, that I know for sure, because they’re singing a country song I recognize but their sound is impeccable. I walk faster to catch up with everyone else, Mindy right at my side.
“There are so many people.” Mindy looks around the park in amazement.
“I know. I wonder what the benefit is for.”
“Linc didn’t say, but it must be something special. Look at all this.”
Mindy motions to the vendors that are set up throughout the massive, open park.
There are booths of all different varieties.
From where I stand, I can see multiple food booths, a leather store booth, women setup selling t-shirts, and there’s a cage toward the middle of the park that has a few people locked inside and a dunking booth next to it.
Cass approaches with two daiquiris in hand.
"Here, I figured y’all could use a drink."
I smile and take them from him. "Thanks, baby."
"Thanks, boss." Mindy snatches hers from me and takes a sip.
"What's that cage for?" I ask.
Cass looks in the direction I pointed and shrugs. “No clue.”
He turns and walks away, in the direction of said cage. There’s a woman standing guard at the entry wearing cut-off shorts and a halter top. She’s got something on her hip and is holding something else in her hand. Beads, maybe? It’s hard to tell at this distance.
Cass approaches the woman guarding and they talk for a bit before Cass points in my direction. He reaches into his wallet, hands over cash, and walks away.
"What do you think he's doing?" Mindy asks, looking at the woman who was now walking in our direction.
"I have no fucking clue."
"Hi ladies!" The woman greets us with a beaming grin on her face. I can see now that she has handcuffs in her hand and a toy gun and badge on her hip.
"Hello." I smile, nervously, because I have no idea where this is going.
"I hate to do this, but it's kinda what I'm here for. You're under arrest." The woman grabs my wrists and pulls them behind my back.
"In order to get out of jail, someone has to pay double what that guy paid to put you in."
My cheeks turn a bright shade of red, and I glare at Cass who is laughing hysterically with Old School and Scott, as the woman pushes me toward the metal cage in the center of the park.
Mindy pops up as I’m being shut into the makeshift jail. “How much did he pay to put her in?”
“Two hundred dollars.”
I stare at her, astonished. “He paid two hundred fucking dollars to put me in here?” My voice raises a few octaves as I speak.
The woman laughs. "Yes ma'am."
Mindy looks at me with pity in her eyes. "Sorry, love. I can't get you out. I don't have any cash on me." She shrugs her shoulders before abandoning me to go stand by Linc, who just joined the trio of men laughing at me. Traitor.
I look around and take in the people inside of the jail.
Two men and a woman that I don’t recognize are all standing around.
The two men are wearing a cut with a patch on the back that I’ve never seen before.
According to their cut-offs, one is a Highway Sinner out of Gulfport, Mississippi and the other is a Tattered Saint out of Gulfport, Mississippi.
Highway Sinner’s center patch is a single, one-piece patch with a skull in the center of a black background with a circle of yellow chain surrounding it while the Tattered Saint’s center patch is a torn American flag in three separate pieces with a reaper peeking through it.
"How much is your bail?" The Highway Sinner asks. I look up into a pair of the brightest green eyes I’ve ever seen. His cut labels him Vice President.
"Four hundred."
"Goddamn, who put you in here?"
"That big fucker with the shit eating grin on his face," I huff, pointing at Cass. He’s looking over at us from the vendor booth he’s grabbing a beer from.
"Is that your ol' man?"
I debate on how I should answer that question. He is mine in every sense of the word.
“Yep,” I beam.
"You must be Lilly, then."
"I am." I give him a questioning look.
"I'm Micah. Cass and the Hounds are good friends of ours. We're the ones putting on this benefit. I've heard a lot about you."
"Nice to meet you."
Micah looks at Cass and shakes his head before turning back to me.
"I can't believe he put up two hundred dollars to put you in here. He must've wanted you in a cage pretty fucking bad."
If he only knew. I’ve been caged at the clubhouse already. "Apparently."
The other woman inside the cage wraps her arms around Micah from behind.
“Lilly, this is my girlfriend, Raven. Raven, this is Cass’s ol’ lady, Lilly.
” Micah takes a step to the side and Raven pops up beside him.
She has long black hair like mine, dark blue eyes, and an hourglass figure.
She’s my height, but the heels she has on put her a few inches taller.
She’s still much shorter than Micah, though.
He’s got to be at least six-four. Even though there’s a significant height difference, the two them fit together well.
"Hey, Raven."
"What do y’all say we get out of here?" Raven asks.
"Ya'll might be able to, but I don't have any cash on me. I'm stuck here," I say.
Raven reaches into Micah’s back pocket and retrieves his wallet. She opens it, taking a stack of hundreds out and counting them.
"No, babe. It looks like your bail just got posted." Raven grins up at Micah who has a smirk on his face as Raven turns on her heel, making a beeline for the gate. She hands the woman the wad of cash before she signals to us to follow her out.
"Come on!"
We walk out of the gate behind Raven as the jailer closes it behind us with a slam. Cass is still staring from across the park. His eyes haven’t left me since we got here.
"Thank you," I say to both Raven and Micah.
"It's for a good cause and if Cass put you in there then I had to get back at him by getting you out. Though, I'm not sure who the real winner is being as I'm out a couple hundred dollars, and his ol' lady is still going home with him." Micah laughs.
"She could come home with us." Raven's eyes sparkle as she looks at Micah in question.
"She's Cass's ol' lady, baby. You know the rules. No club ol' ladies." Micah's tone is soft, caring even. They seem perfect for one another.
"Fine," Raven says, poking her bottom lip out. She turns her attention back to me.
"But I would definitely take you home if you weren't an ol' lady already." I search for anything in Raven’s expression that would give away some insight to whether or not she was joking but by the way she’s staring at me, she is most definitely not joking.
"I..." I start but a pair of large, rough hands wrap around me, stopping me mid-sentence.
"Hey baby." Cass's voice in my ears immediately makes my shoulders relax.
"Hi, love." I can hear the smile in my own voice. This man makes me so happy, even if he hasn’t been around much lately, he is still the only person I want holding me at night. This one. The one with his arms around me. Cass kisses my head and rests his chin on my shoulder.
"I see you met Micah and Raven."
"I did. Thanks to you." I knock my head into his, softly.
"You're welcome. Micah's been a friend of mine for a long time and the Highway Sinners are a brother club to us. He's done a lot for not only me, but the club as well."
"Thanks, brother." Micah beams with pride at Cass's words. Even Raven has a sense of pride in her eyes.
I see more everyday of how much of a family the club is, not only inside the hounds, but with other clubs as well. This lifestyle is family. People just get the wrong impression.
"Come see, I've got some friends I want to introduce you to." Cass tugs at my waist.
Micah and Raven disappear to talk to some of the other people standing around while Cass directs me toward the group of people he was hanging around while I was in ‘jail’. When we reach the group, Mindy peers at me over Linc’s shoulder.
"Don't hate me. I'm broke. Tell my boss I need a raise," Mindy jokes.
"Babe, you heard her. She needs a raise." I look at Cass, waiting for his response.
"She can have a raise if you make a deal with me."
"What's that?"