CHAPTER 3
JAZMIN “PROSPECT ONE” CONROY
I pivot, turning away from Dimples, hoping she didn’t see my lip quiver. I can’t help it. The woman makes me smile. The first time I walked into the Iron Thorns’ clubhouse and laid eyes on her, I was hooked.
It was more than her dimples. It wasn’t even her long, sexy legs, although I’d give anything to have them wrapped around me. No doubt she’s hot, but there’s something else. Something behind the sparkle in her eyes that tells a different story.
Growing up in the projects, I’m used to people frontin’. My mama always told me, Everybody got scars, just some know how to dress ’em up better. I suspect Dimples’ smile is how she dresses ’em up. Maybe one day she’ll let me see those scars.
Yeah, right. I’ve always been a dreamer, but that’s one dream gone too far.
With a sigh, I push through the rear entrance.
I’m glad to be away from the others. I worry they’ll catch my reaction to Dimples, but so far, they seem clueless.
Probably because nobody pays much attention to a prospect, except to bark orders.
“Hey, Slick,” Nadine says when I step outside onto the patio.
I glare. “Ya gotta stop calling me that. I don’t want it to stick.” When I get my patch, they’ll give me my club name, and I’d hate it to be Slick.
“Why not? I think it’s cute.”
She would. We get on okay, but we grew up in different worlds. I’ve been clawing since I could walk, knowing I was gonna have to fight my way out of the projects.
“Slick makes me sound shady,” I say.
Nadine laughs. “I could start calling you Shady.”
I raise my fist, but I have a smile on my face. “I’ll knock your ass out.”
“What do you want to be called?” Her eyes brighten. “I’m angling for Rebel or Renegade.”
I hold back a snort but roll my eyes a little. While I was busy escaping the hood, she was breaking away from her rich-ass parents. It’s not the same.
“That’s not how it works,” I say. “We ain’t supposed to name ourselves. You shouldn’t even be talkin’ about it.”
“Get real. You must have thought about it.”
I have, but I ain’t telling her. “I just want a name that will make my mama proud.” I look to the sky and cross myself. “God rest her soul.”
“I want one that’ll piss off my parents.”
“Figures. Hey, Dimples is sending me to the store to pick up supplies. She said to remind you about the officers’ drinks for church tonight.”
Nadine slides off the table she’s sitting on, raises her hands over her head, and shakes her hips. “All right, there’s gonna be a party tonight. Bring it.” She takes a deep drag off her cigarette and tosses it into the yard.
“You better pick that shit up.” I point at the smoldering butt.
She turns up her nose. “I can’t wait to earn our patches, so we don’t have to do grunt work.” She hops off the patio and picks up the cigarette. “I’ll throw my butts all over the yard and then have the prospects pick ’em up.”
“Or you could just call your maid to do it.” It’s a dick thing to say, but sometimes her entitlement rubs me wrong.
“What crawled up your ass?”
I shrug.
“I thought you’d be floating on air, getting to run an errand for Dimples.”
I eye her, but I keep my face steady. “Where you gettin’ that from?”
“Come on. I see how you look at her.”
Fucking shit.
Before I can respond, she says, “You ain’t as slick as you think, Slick.”
Now I know she’s fixin’ to get under my skin, so I give her a cool look, which is probably why she calls me slick. “Course I like her. She treats us like people, not gum…or cigarette butts under her boot.”
Nadine crosses her arms over her chest, and her lips form a pout. “Whatever.”
And there it is. It didn’t take nothing to push her. I should just leave it, but she’s been all right with me. Slipped me some cash when I needed it. She’s been doing that for a lot of the sisters, but they have something she wants—their vote—while I ain’t got nothing to offer.
“Ya know, that’s gonna hurt you,” I say.
“What?” Her tone drips with irritation.
“You gotta play it cooler than that. Not react when someone annoys you.”
“Says the woman who drools on herself whenever Dimples smiles.”
I smirk. “Whatever.”
Her eyes narrow, and I see the wheels turning inside her head. Nadine’s shrewd. She got goals, and she don’t plan on losing. She’s eyeballing me, looking for my angle.
Still with the crooked smirk on my face, I point at her. “It’s how you say it.”
Her eyes flash, and she grins. “Whatever.” She gets it right—there’s no whine in her voice, and she doesn’t pout.
“Cocky. Much better.” I chuckle. “Maybe that’ll be your club name, Cocky.”
“Fuck you! Cock will never be part of my name.”
I laugh. “Ew, yeah. Okay. Just don’t piss me off. And stop calling me Slick.”
She raises her fist at me like I did to her earlier. “Don’t make me beat your ass.”
I think about rippin’ on her some more but decide against it. “I best be gettin’ to the store. Oh, shit, I almost forgot. We’re supposed to blow up the air mattresses in case anyone wants to stay tonight.”
Nadine sighs. “Don’t you get sick of being bossed around?”
I shrug. “I’m used to taking orders. The Army taught me well.” When I was younger, I landed in some trouble, but the Army saved me.
“For someone who acts like a badass, you sure do follow the rules,” she says.
“Rules ain’t bad if they serve a purpose.” I miss the camaraderie of the hood and the service, but I don’t wanna go back to either. That’s why getting into the Thorns is so important to me.
“Maybe sometimes you should break them instead of hanging on to them like they’re a security blanket.”
Fucking shit. I should bust her down, but I ain’t in the mood to argue. Still, I can’t let her get away with it. So what if following rules makes me feel safe, she ain’t lived my life.
“Come talk to me about that shit when you’ve slept on the streets or not known where your next meal is coming from. Until then, keep it to yourself.” I pull the van keys out of my pocket and toss them in the air. “Gotta run.”