Chapter 27
Rachel
Dante drove me to the Scottish clubhouse in complete silence. I tried to talk to him when we arrived, but he brushed off any attempts at conversation, and then before I knew it, we were surrounded by dozens of bikers, all keen to kiss the president’s ass.
I’d like to say I was surprised, but I wasn’t. This was typical Dante behaviour and came straight out of the standard playbook. He would avoid any emotion from me and only allow me to talk things through when he believed I was calmer.
Which was ridiculous, because I wasn’t angry. I was genuinely just curious what had happened between him and John, but he was keeping that secret close to his chest.
I remained seated on the bike a moment longer, watching him interacting with his brothers. They all approached him, giving him a slap on the shoulder and welcoming him back to the club.
Dante was treated like royalty here, far more than the actual president of this charter was. They were even nicer to me than my own club members, which was something I had murmured to Dante when I finally approached him, linking my arm through his.
He soon put me back in my place by telling me that the men here were on their best behaviour. They wanted to impress him and prove their loyalty, which meant sucking up to the old lady as well. It did not mean they liked me.
God forbid I went around thinking I might have a fan or two!
They showed me around the clubhouse, giving me the grand tour.
This charter didn’t live in a compound the way the Leeds charter did.
They had the clubhouse and the garage here, but they all had houses throughout Scotland—mainly Edinburgh.
They had dorm rooms at the clubhouse, which was where people crashed when they had one too many, but for the most part, they stayed in their own homes and led their own lives away from the club.
The president and vice president had their own room at the clubhouse, but the others were taken up by people, both patched members and prospects, whenever they felt like it.
The old ladies of the club made sure there were fresh sheets and cleaning done on a daily basis, and had a schedule to show whose turn it was.
I made a mental note to ask Dante who cleaned the dorm rooms at our club, because I’d be damned if I was picking up their dirty socks and underwear because they were too lazy to do it themselves.
“Well, that’s the grand tour,” the president, Eagle, said to me when we were back at the front of the clubhouse, pulling me out of my thoughts. Which I was grateful for, because you could only think about dirty laundry so much before you were feeling sick to your stomach.
“I’m glad you’re here, actually. You’ve chosen the perfect day to pay us a visit,” he winked at me, and something about his tone set me on edge.
I didn’t enjoy being winked at anyway, but there was definitely a hidden meaning behind that wink that almost made it feel as though he was leering at me.
Whatever it was, it immediately got my back up.
“Is there something in your eye?” I asked.
“Excuse me?” He said, raising his eyebrows at me.
Even Dante paused to look down at me. I knew I was at risk of breaching the contract, as I was supposed to show respect to club members at all times, but something about the way this man looked at me made my skin crawl.
I had seen that look in plenty of eyes over the years, and I never once liked the outcome of it.
The Dante I knew would understand once I got the opportunity to explain.
“Did I stutter? I’m sorry, let me make it clearer.” I cleared my throat and then raised my voice. “I asked if there was something in your eye, because I know there’s no way you just winked at me.”
Dante scowled at Eagle as he spluttered his response. “No, I—”
“What is it about our visit that is perfect timing, then? What would require a wink?”
“It’s, err…” he looked at Dante, directing his next words to him. “It’s the end of the rally,” he grinned at Dante as though he would immediately understand.
He thought wrong. Dante immediately stiffened and glared down at Eagle.
“The rally?” He snapped. “Really?”
“What’s that?” I asked, but as I expected, I was ignored completely.
“And you think I’d take my old lady to one of those things?”
“I didn’t say she had to join in,” Eagle shrugged. “I just thought it would be fun for her to experience.”
“Where is your old lady?” Dante demanded.
“At home,” he laughed. “She hates those things.”
“And one look at my old lady and you just assumed she’d love to be involved in a drug fuelled orgy?”
Oh, shit.
“Dante, it doesn’t matter,” I said, pulling on his arm. If I didn’t defuse this testosterone bomb, we’d be scraping teeth off the gravel.
What was the punishment for killing the president of another charter? Dante might be the founding president, but surely that didn’t excuse murdering another member.
“It does fucking matter,” he snapped, shrugging me off. “My kids are on their way here. Do you think I want them around this shit?”
“We always hold a rally after a long ride, you know this.”
“Fuck off, Eagle,” Dante growled, grabbing my arm and pulling me slightly behind him.
“You’ve never said no to joining one before. Mama never said no when Crash invited her.”
Jesus tap dancing Christ, was this man moronic?
I quickly jumped between the two men, placing myself in the middle before fists could go flying.
“Leave it,” I snapped. “He’s a fucking idiot,” I looked over my shoulder, throwing Eagle a dirty look. “Let’s just go to our room and wait for Vienna and the kids. If this is their tradition, then let them have it. I’m sure there are plenty of old ladies that join in with this shit.”
Dante looked down at me, my words seeming to register with him, and then he growled, pushed past me, and stormed past the president.
“That was a really fucking stupid move, you know that?” I hissed at Eagle as Dante ripped open the door to the clubhouse. “It was bad enough to even insinuate that I’d be there, but to bring up his mother ? Do you have some sort of death wish?”
The idiot actually had the audacity to chuckle at me. “At least now we all know where we stand. You’re off limits to the rallies, and his mother is the bigger whore out of the two of you. Message received loud and clear.”
“Yeah, funnily enough, I’m not threatened by that. Kitty is welcome to that title, I’m sure she’d love it,” I muttered, rolling my eyes at him.
I took a step forward, ready to follow Dante, but was stopped when Eagle gently took hold of my arm to stop me. “If I’m out of line here, just tell me. But we know how to keep secrets. I’m game if you are.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
He grinned and stepped closer to me. So close that he was able to lean down and talk directly in my ear, where no one else could hear him.
“If you want to come join us, you’ll be more than welcome.
You can tell Dante that you’re going for a breath of fresh air, and I’ll be waiting for you.
What happens in the clubhouse stays in the clubhouse. ”
“I—”
“Oh, come on, darlin’.”
Funny. When Dante called me that, it sent shivers down my spine. When Eagle called me it, I wanted to rip his dick off and make him choke on it.
“We’ve heard all about you. You used to attend these parties regularly, did you not? Quite the wild thing in your teenage years,” he breathed in deeply, his eyes raking down my body. “You’d be a more than welcome addition. I’d treat you like a fucking queen.”
I took a deep breath before I replied, determined to keep my cool. “Eagle?”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t give a fuck what you think you’ve heard, but I am not that person. In fact, if you dare speak to me like that again, or even so much as look at me like that once more, I’ll cut your fucking bollocks off and use them as balls on the snooker table. Do I make myself clear?”
“Do you know who you’re speaking to?” He snapped, seizing my arm once more, but this time he wasn’t slightly as gentle as he was earlier.
His fingers dug into my skin, and I knew if I didn’t get him off me soon, there would be five minor bruises that I’d have to explain to Dante.
I didn’t hesitate a moment longer. As he brought his face down to mine, and I reared my head back and spat in his eyes.
“Get your fucking hands off me,” I hissed.
His hand came up, and I braced myself. I would never fucking flinch, not for him, not for any man. But I braced myself for impact.
However, before his hand even got an inch towards me, he was thrown to the ground, his arm pinned behind his back.
I stumbled back as Dante climbed on top of him, pulling the arm so tight I heard an audible snap, followed by Eagle’s screams.
Dante was yelling at him, and Eagle was doing his best to fight him off, but it was no use.
Dante was a fucking giant, and he wasn’t willing to listen to reason.
He picked Eagle’s head up by his hair and slammed his face into the ground.
I heard his nose break and cringed, then turned my head away when Dante did it a second time.
I vaguely registered the sound of tyres screeching in the background, and then Vienna dragging Dante off a screaming Eagle.
“What the fuck is going on here? Have you lost your mind?” Vienna snapped as he pulled Dante to his feet.
Eagle rolled onto his back, his arm hanging limply next to him. Blood covered his face, and his nose was twisted at a weird angle. His lips were split, and his left cheek had a massive gash across his cheekbone. At least he had stopped screaming. Thank heavens for small mercies.
“You fucking psychotic fool,” Eagle snapped, spitting blood at him. “You’ve fucked up now. No Devil may unjustly attack another Devil. Or have you forgotten the rules your own grandad laid out?”
Dante made a move to dive back on him, but Vienna was prepared, pushing him away before he could complete his move.