Chapter 1
CHAPTER
ONE
CHASSIS
I shouldn’t be here.
Sitting outside the clubhouse, I know this isn’t my place. Sure, the guy at the gate let me in, but he’s a prospect and probably shit his pants a little at the sight of me. I’m the president’s wife, his old lady, even if I feel like anything but that.
I was full of false bravado when I rolled up to the gates, but now that I’m inside, I’m full of chicken shit. I chew on the corner of my bottom lip while gripping the steering wheel and wonder if I should just turn around and head home.
But then the door to the clubhouse opens, and a man steps out.
I don’t know who exactly he is. I don’t know any of the men, really.
They all kind of look alike, especially from a distance—tall, wide-shouldered, thick-thighed, wearing motorcycle boots, jeans, T-shirts, and cuts.
The only person I know who it’s not is Dare.
I know Dare from five feet away or from five hundred feet away.
I can just tell it’s him. I don’t know how.
Sure, he’s got muscle stacked on muscle.
His biceps are bigger than my thighs, and his clipped beard begs for my fingers to glide over it and see if it does that tickly thing against them.
But it’s not just that. It’s also the way he carries himself.
Dare knows he’s the man in charge. He’s got confidence in spades and a touch of cockiness, too. I like it. More than I should. Although I’ve always been attracted to assholes, which is what got me in this predicament to begin with.
Pregnant.
Married to someone who doesn’t even know me, let alone want to be married to me.
What a damn predicament it is, too.
Dare only did it because my dad forced him.
And now I’m going to have a baby that I have to hide from its actual asshole father, which, to be fair, I should be hiding from him.
My dad was right on that front. But I hate that Dare has been dragged into this.
He should be able to live his life without baggage like me screwing it up.
The man who walked out of the clubhouse points his mirrored aviator sunglasses toward me, and then he begins to walk in my direction. I suck in a breath, wondering if I should just shift the car into Reverse and get the hell out of here.
I don’t.
I stay frozen, gripping the steering wheel as I watch him approach me. He stands at my door, and I turn my head slowly, looking at the window. Well, to his chest at the window. Then, slowly, he bends just enough so I can see his face staring back at me.
He lifts his hand and, with his knuckle, raps on the window. I know he’s there. I watched him walk up, and I even watched him lift his hand to the window, but that doesn’t stop me from making a noise and jumping at the knock.
Reaching for the window button, I touch the down arrow and watch as the window goes down. My car is still running because it’s always hot as Satan's ass in the desert, so there is no way I’m turning the AC off… ever.
“You good, Chassis?” the man asks.
Pressing my lips together, I tip my head back and look up into my reflection in his glasses. He reaches up, tugging them down so he can look into my eyes. I have no idea who he is, but I didn’t expect to.
“I’m Two-Pump. You wanna come in? Get some water?”
I open my mouth then close it again. He chuckles, leaning down a little more. “Dare ain’t here. Come on inside and take a load off. He should be back soon, or I can call him if you need me to.”
Touching the engine button, I turn the car off and roll up the window after Two-Pump takes a step back. Then another when I swing the door open and throw my legs over the side.
I’m only a little over five months pregnant, but I feel as big as a house. I find out the sex of the baby tomorrow, the main reason I’m even here. I stupidly thought it might be a good idea to invite Dare along.
Now I’m thinking I should have texted him or something, because I am feeling very out of place here, and I haven’t even walked inside the building yet.
“I don’t want to be a bother,” I murmur. “I should just go home.”
I take one step backward but don’t get the chance to take another before Two-Pump’s arm is raised and his fingers are curled around my shoulder. He firmly holds on to me there, ever so gently, then shakes his head once.
“Come inside. Get some water. Might have a donut or something in the kitchen. I’ll call Dare. Whatever you need, it’s better you’re here than running around.”
I stare at him, blinking and unsure of what he’s even saying… running around? I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean. I open my mouth to ask that, but he doesn’t give me the chance.
Instead, he jerks his chin toward the door, his hand falling from my shoulder, and starts to walk away, leaving me no choice but to follow him. I mean, I could get in my car and drive away, but that would be rude since he’s so insistent.
Hesitantly, I walk through the clubhouse door and step into the bar. I’ve only been here a couple of times, but it’s just like my dad’s and any other clubhouse I’ve ever walked into: a bar, booze, music, pool tables, a dartboard, and half-naked girls.
I don’t see any of the women right now, but they’re here somewhere. Two-Pump walks me over to a table with a couple of chairs and directs me to sit. I do, watching as he moves around the bar and toward the kitchen. A few moments later, he produces a bottle of water.
“I’m gonna call Dare, see where he’s at, then I’ll see if I can find a snack.”
I start to tell him that I don’t need anything to eat, that I’m not hungry, but I don’t get the chance because he’s already gone.