Chapter 20 #2
We all turned to see a big, bald, badass motherfucker sauntering toward us with his arm slung over the shoulders of a black-haired woman wearing a minuscule gold top and cutoff shorts so tiny that she may as well not have bothered.
The bald badass was Pagan Sinclair, Prez of the Kings of Anarchy MC and tentative friend to the Speed Demons and the O’Sheas.
The woman on his arm was Saskia Bosko, ex-employee of the Lucky Shamrock and also ex-fuck buddy of Callum.
In a moment of madness, I’d also had a night with her, though I was extremely drunk at the time.
I’d regretted it ever since because Saskia turned out to be the kind of person who didn’t like being told no.
She’d pissed off a lot of people, including Callum, when she caused shit between him and Maeve back when they were first married.
Our uncle Patrick—who was boss of the family business, namely, the New York Irish Mob—had also been looking for her ever since she’d played her part, along with his daughter, to cause trouble for Maeve.
She’d moved to Rock Springs to join the Kings of Anarchy as a bartender at their clubhouse, but judging by how she was dressed and the way she hung off Pagan’s arm, her job description had changed.
Incidentally, Pagan had also been seeing my sister Aislynn for a few months leading up to Callum’s second wedding. We still hadn’t gotten to the bottom of why they ended things, but seeing him with Saskia was a big old red flag.
However, what really got me pissed was that Ash was supposed to be coming to the party tonight. She hated Saskia, so I knew we were likely to have some fireworks when she saw the family nemesis and her ex all over each other.
Callum and I shared a glance before my brother’s stare sliced back to the other man. “Pagan.” Cal’s tone was cool at best, and Pagan must have picked up on it because his eyes narrowed on my brother.
“Everythin’ okay?” he asked.
To my surprise, it was Maeve who replied, and she didn’t hold back.
“Everything’s fine, thanks. We’re just a little shocked at your choice of partner, especially when it was only months ago that she tried to break up my marriage.
” Maeve gazed up at Pagan, and fuck me if the pain behind her eyes didn’t hit me square in the chest. “I thought we were friends.”
The self-satisfied smirk plastered across Saskia’s face faltered slightly.
“Babe, listen to me—” Pagan began, but Maeve waved a casual hand to silence him.
“It’s okay. You can be with whoever you want.
It just hurts that you’d bring her here knowing what she did to Callum and me.
Obviously, our friendship meant more to us than it did to you, and that’s a shame because I tend not to vibe with many people.
They think I’m weird and geeky.” She leaned into my brother, who slid his arm across her shoulders, then she gave the asshole a smile, and a genuine one at that.
“See you around, Pagan, and you take care, yeah?” And with that, they turned and walked into the clubhouse.
Pagan’s eyes followed Maeve and Callum, his hand raising to rub at his heart. The instant they disappeared inside, he muttered, “Fuck.”
“It’s okay, baby—” Saskia began.
“Shut up,” Pagan hissed before his stare came to me. “How bad have I pissed Maeve off?”
“You haven’t,” I corrected. “You’ve hurt her feelings. When Maeve gives you her friendship, she also gives you her trust. Lucky for her, she’s got good people now who’d never throw that trust back in her face, so she’ll be fine. She’s got us to look after her.”
He jerked his chin down at Saskia. “Bringing her wasn’t about Maeve.”
“Obviously,” I drawled. “Because if you’d been thinking about Maeve, you’d know bringing Saskia here was an asshole move. Surely Aislynn filled you in on everything?”
The second I mentioned Aislynn, Pagan’s face blanked.
Rosie cleared her throat and tilted her chin toward Pagan. “Aislynn told me about you...” Her voice trailed off, then she said, “I don’t know if you remember me from the wedding. I’m Rosie Woods.”
His eyes scanned her, and he nodded. “Atlas’s sister.”
“Yeah. Ash will be here tonight, but you already knew that, and still, you brought her?” She nodded disdainfully at Saskia.
Pagan tilted his chin up and declared, “Ash and me were never official.”
I tipped my head back and sighed because it was suddenly becoming as clear why Ash ended things with Pagan, and I didn’t like it. Cheating was the biggest dick move you could make. Betrayals wrecked lives and also wrecked people’s ability to trust their own judgment.
My arm dropped from Rosie’s shoulders before I took a step forward. “What did you do to my sister?”
Pagan’s shoulders squared, and his head cocked as he sized me up. “Be very fuckin’ careful, O’Shea. You’re a friend to my club. It would be a shame to lose that over something that’s none of your goddamned business.”
Ignoring the warning in his tone, I pushed on. “Did you fuck around on my sister?”
“Can’t fuck around on a woman you only took out a handful of times,” he retorted.
My hands balled into fists. “Yeah, you can if she’s a decent girl who doesn’t date to fuck around. Aislynn only goes out with men she likes and who she sees a future with, and she’s clear about that from the get-go, so I’m gonna ask you again. Did you fuck around on my sister?”
“We weren’t a couple,” he insisted, his tone low.
My jaw clenched from the urge to punch his low-down face. I was a trained PT, so I could tell that Pagan’s body was conditioned. I was also well aware that no fucker got to be the president of a one-percenter MC by being weak. He was no doubt a good fighter, and a dangerous one at that.
But I was, too.
I boxed for my Army unit for twelve years and never lost a fight, and I’d been in the ring with some big, burly motherfuckers. I also did Martial Arts and kickboxing, plus some Krav Maga that Sophie had taught me back when she used to train at the gym with Callum and me.
Would I have won the battle? Probably. But I wasn’t sure I could win the war.
Pagan belonged to one of the biggest MCs in the world, whose chapters spanned the US, and I suspected they had ties to other countries too.
If he made our fight his club’s business, it wouldn’t be good. I’d probably have to join Paddy’s business in New York to get backup from them, which would result in me being royally fucked.
Pagan would get his payback, but it wouldn’t be tonight. Still, I didn’t have to be his buddy; I didn’t even have to give him the time of day.
Rosie’s hand slid across my back. “Let’s go inside, honey,” she murmured. “It’s getting chilly out here.”
I glanced down at her face and nodded. Then, as I turned toward the clubhouse doors, I craned my neck and called out, “It’s probably better that you and your boys stay away from our bar for a while. You feel me?”
Pagan’s eyes were devoid of emotion as he jerked his head in assent.
I pulled Rosie close and walked to the clubhouse doors with my woman held securely under my arm.
“What a dick,” she murmured under her breath.
I grabbed the door handle and pulled it hard, leading Rosie into the vast, warm room. The music was loud, the bodies were plentiful, and the laughter was raucous as I caught Callum’s eye at the bar.
Rosie rolled up on her toes and said in my ear, “The girls and Tristan are over there.”
I glanced across the room to see Maeve and Aislynn sitting with the Speed Demons’ ol’ ladies and Tristan. Ash was talking animatedly with her hands waving through the air, probably relaying the whole Pagan story.
I leaned down and dropped a kiss on her pretty red lips. “I’ve gotta tell Callum that I may or may not have just started a feud with the local one-percenter biker club. If I’ve pissed Pagan off, there may be repercussions.”
Her hand grasped mine and squeezed. “If Pagan fucked Saskia behind Aislynn’s back, then Ash will never forgive him.
I’ve heard rumblings that he’s been trying to get her to talk to him, but she won’t even throw him a bone.
Believe me, that ship’s well and truly sailed.
There are no repercussions to have. What’s done is done. ”
A thought flickered through my head, and my eyes narrowed slightly. “Did you know?”
“I kinda worked it out, but I wasn’t sure. It was only because Tristan suspected and confided in me that I even put two and two together. Aislynn hasn’t divulged what went down, though I think she’s over there now, filling everyone in.”
Taking her hand, I kissed her palm, inhaling her perfume. “Don’t wander too far, and don’t disappear anywhere on your own. There are some KOA boys here tonight, and you look fire.”
“You’re so sweet,” she murmured, her eyes sparkling in the low light of the clubhouse. “But before you go, tell me, honey. Why the hell did you fuck Saskia?”
I flinched.
Shit.
“It was a long time ago, and I’m not proud of it.”
“It’s okay.” Her finger swept across my jaw. “We all have pasts.”
“If it’s any consolation, I did get tested straight after. I wasn’t that stupid.”
“Well, I’ve seen your clean bill of health, so I know your dick’s clean.” She rolled her lips inward to stop herself from laughing at how uncomfortable I probably looked.
“You’re a minx,” I muttered.
My woman leaned up and kissed me softly. “You love it.”
She was right. I did.
My eyes locked with hers. “That’s not the only thing I love.”
Her voice was husky when she whispered, “Don’t make me cry.”
“You make my life better just by being in it,” I went on. “You’re the one I never saw coming, and when you did, you knocked me on my ass.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
My chest tightened. “Baby, don’t cry.”
“Ignore me.” She sniffed.
I couldn’t stop myself from chuckling.
She slapped my chest. “It’s not funny.”
“You’re fucking adorable.” I grabbed her hand and laced our fingers together. “I need to go tell Cal what just happened with Pagan.”