CHAPTER 36
DIMPLES
I dab blush on my cheeks, hoping to give myself a little more color. I never wear much makeup, but occasionally, I need a little extra to boost my confidence. This week is one of those weeks. I even used eyeliner to make my eyes pop. I glance in the mirror, and it’s done the trick.
Even though I’m still shaky, something with Storm has changed. I felt the shift the night we talked in my room. I thought maybe she was putting on a show, trying to draw me out of my funk, but two days later, she’s still got her fire. With church tomorrow night, she’s gonna need every ounce.
Frost has laid low, but I don’t believe for a second that she’s crawled back into her hole.
The vibe around the clubhouse is simmering with tension.
Some haveta know what she’s up to, but they aren’t talking.
Most want to stay out of it, but some favor Frost. The question is, how many?
If too many flip, it’ll cripple operations.
Our skeleton crew for Casino Night made it work, but long term, once Moonlight Races start up next month, we won’t have enough hands to go around.
Maybe I should scrub my face clean. No sense in tempting fate or sending the wrong signal. I just wanna feel less unsure, and keeping my appearance up is the best way I know to do it. Even if my insides are a hot mess, on the outside, I look together.
Jazmin is scheduled to tend bar, so I’ll run into her later. I’ve avoided her since I dropped by Black Briar the other night, but since I’ve been mostly absent, Storm’s asked me to circulate tonight.
First, Storm and I have to meet with Halo and talk numbers. Storm’s more of a doer, an action taker, and says I’m better with business and logic. Spreadsheets aren’t my thing, though. My logic is more intuitive, so I’m not certain what I can add, but I’ll be there.
I glance at my watch. Three o’clock. That gives me half an hour before our meeting. Perhaps I’ll slip downstairs and grab a drink before the meeting instead of pacing my room. With her job at Black Briar, Jazmin won’t be behind the bar until later, so it’ll be safe.
I glance at my reflection again. Yeah, I look good. I can come upstairs and wash it off before I circulate tonight. No sense in giving Jazmin the wrong idea.
There are only four patches sitting at a table near the bar but no bartender. The girls call to me, so I wave but keep walking. I glance at the clock. On Fridays, bartenders start at two, but I’m good with getting my own drink.
I stare at the bottles. Beer or something harder? As I’m contemplating, a hand claps me on my shoulder.
“Ma’am, are you supposed to be behind the bar? Shouldn’t you leave that to your bartender?” I recognize Jazmin’s voice.
I turn with a smile, and I don’t miss the widening of her eyes when she sees me.
Shit. I shouldn’t have smiled. Hearing her voice, I’d reacted without thinking when I should have remained stoic.
I need to cool the heat in her eyes. I shrug. “Well, when the bartender is shirking her duties, I had no other choice.”
“Shirking?” She points to the cases of beer on a dolly. “I was replenishing the stock before the herd shows up tonight.”
I narrow my eyes. “What are you doing here so early? Didn’t you have to work?”
“I’ve been putting in a lot of OT, so Nails cut me loose early.”
“How generous.” I laugh. “She cut you loose from your paid gig to come here and work for free.”
“I volunteered.” Her eyes bore into me.
“Really? Why?” What answer do I want? I should want to hear she’s trying to score points with the club.
Jazmin grins. “What if I told you my reason is standing right in front of me?”
Shit. I asked for it, but now I’m speechless.
A flirtatious answer flits through my mind, but I won’t voice it.
It’s not fair to Jazmin to keep up this push and pull.
It’s my normal M.O. when I’m in a relationship, which is one of the many reasons I’m single.
But doing it with a prospect is playing with fire.
Who am I kidding? It has nothing to do with that. Jazmin makes me want to work through my shit instead of dodging it. Possibly overcome what makes me push people away. And that terrifies me.
I must have taken too long to answer because Jazmin says, “You look beautiful today. And your eyes…Wow!”
I freeze. Then I glance at the table where the girls are sitting. They’re in a heated conversation and don’t seem to even notice we’re here.
“Nobody’s listening,” Jazmin says. “I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
I need to say something. “Sorry, you threw me. I’m not used to hearing compliments like that.”
“What?” Her expression conveys her disbelief. “There ain’t no way people don’t tell you how pretty you are.”
She’s not wrong. It’s rare I don’t have someone hit on me, male and female, at whatever club we visit. “It’s different coming from someone who matters.” Fuck. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Why not? Isn’t it true?” Her eyes are soft.
I look down at the floor. “Doesn’t matter if it’s true.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” She puts her hand on my shoulder. “Why don’t you go sit down, and I’ll fix you a drink?”
Damn her. Instead of pushing me, like most women would, she’s giving me the space I need. She’s too good for me. Without meeting her gaze, I slip from behind the bar and take a stool.
Sitting with the bar between us, I feel more in control of myself, so I meet her gaze.
“Now what can I serve you?” A twinkle flashes in her eyes. “How about a Bloody Mary—extra hot sauce?”
I laugh, thankful for her kindness.
When I arrive at Storm’s office, Halo is already there. They’re chatting about bikes, and their mood seems relaxed.
Good.
“Hey, Dimples.” Storm waves me in. When she glances at me, she says, “Jesus, are you going clubbing later?”
I scrunch up my face. “No, I just thought I’d look presentable for a change.”
I sit on the chair next to Halo.
Halo puts her hand on my arm. “Ignore her. She just likes busting your chops. You look great.”
“Thanks,” I mutter and look at my hands.
“Dude,” Storm says. “Sorry, I was just giving you shit.”
When I glance up at her, she’s giving me a huge smile, which makes it impossible for me not to return it.
I flick the back of my hand at her. “Let’s get on with this meeting.” I circle my hands in front of me and sway from side to side. “I’ve got some dancin’ to do.”
Halo laughs. “All right then.” She pulls a folder out of her bag and shuffles through the papers in it. “Where would you like to start? Black Briar? Casino Night? Moonlight Races?”
Storm sits back in her chair and brings her hands together. “I wanna talk big picture. We’ve got decisions to make.”
Halo nods. “What is it you want to know?”
“Way I see it, with everything going on, we’re stretching our resources pretty thin.”
Is Storm trying to hold her cards close to her vest by not mentioning Frost, or does she assume it’s a given?
“Resources were stretched too far before now,” Halo says. “The last couple of years, we expanded fast.”
I sense something unspoken in Halo’s words, and since Storm invited me, then I guess she wants me to speak up. “Do you think it was too fast?”
Halo turns her head and meets my gaze. “Astute. Nobody’s asked me that before.” She looks at Storm. “Do you want me to answer?”
“Of course.”
“Then yes, we expanded too fast. Our human resources were already taxed, and now…” She takes a deep breath. “And now, we’re at a breaking point. Tons of money but not enough help. If we bring in more or hire it, that’s another layer of problems.”
“Why do you think Aces did it?” I ask.
Halo bites her lower lip. “I’ve considered that a million times, but I can’t be certain.”
“Give me your best bet,” Storm says.
“You were here.” Halo pauses and looks between us.
“There was that stretch shortly before she got sick that Aces was hell-bent on expanding. It was almost an obsession. It’s almost like she knew, at least on a subconscious level, that she was sick.
Maybe she was trying to cement her legacy.
Build up the club so she could leave it. ”
My heart goes out to Storm when I see the pain on her face. She might not like me saying this because she bristles whenever anyone says anything negative about Aces, but I have to say it. “So inadvertently, she left us—Storm—in a tough position.”
“Yes,” Halo says.
“When we had fewer sisters and a smaller operation, the group was tighter. No cracks in the loyalty. Storm’s dealing with things Aces never had to,” I say.
“Exactly!” Halo’s head bobs up and down. “The club is at a crossroads. For the last two years, Aces drove us toward it at a breakneck speed.”
“That doesn’t mean she was trying to build her legacy.” There’s an edge in Storm’s voice. “Suppose she thought it was time we moved up to the next level—go big-time?”
Halo nods. “And that’s the other possibility. She might’ve thought the Thorns needed to evolve.”
“But what do you think?” I ask, knowing she’s not saying everything on her mind.
She glances at Storm as if looking for permission to speak freely.
“Say it,” Storm says, though her tone doesn’t convey she means it.
Halo takes the opportunity anyway. “Regardless of the reason, I think it was reckless.”
Storm frowns, and I can feel her anger simmering under the surface. “So now you’re saying Aces was reckless?”
“For fuck’s sake, Storm. Do you want Halo to be honest or blow smoke up your ass?” Storm wanted me here, so I’m gonna do my job.
Storm’s eyes lock on mine. The intensity of her gaze bores into me, but I don’t look away. She might intimidate others, but it’s never worked on me. She knows it, but true to her nature, she’s gotta try.
Storm looks down at the papers on her desk. “Fine. Let’s assume that’s true. What does that mean for our businesses?”
“Um, do you want my honest assessment?” Halo asks.
Storm looks up and lets out a heavy sigh. “Dimples already established that I want honesty, so just give it to me straight. You don’t need to ask again.”
“I’m worried.” Halo studies her spreadsheet as she talks, though I think it’s to give her something to do.
“I was worried with Aces, but I’m even more worried now.
I thought the reason Aces pursued the Black Lantern development was so we could go straight.
Get away from some of the riskier shit and still do right by Cinder Ridge. ”
Storm nods. “But it seemed like for a while she practically forgot about Black Lantern. I never understood why.”
“I gotta tell you something,” Halo says. “Six months before Aces got sick, I told her I was thinking about giving up my patch.”
My eyes widen. It wasn’t what I expected, and judging by Storm’s expression, this is new information to her, too. Halo has served the Thorns for nearly twenty years.
“I’m a nurse. I can’t afford to lose my license.
” Halo slaps her hand down on the spreadsheet.
“Even if I could afford it, I don’t want to.
And the deeper we go into this, the more we expand our operations, the riskier it gets.
I believed in what Aces was doing before.
The money went to good use, but I never signed up to put the riches into the club’s pockets. ”
“But that’s where we’re headed. Where Frost is pushing us,” Storm says.
“Yeah.” Halo’s eyes harden. “But it didn’t start with Frost. Aces started it, and Frost is just exploiting it.”
“I think it all got away from her,” Storm mutters. “I don’t think it was about her legacy. It must’ve been her misguided attempt to take care of the girls since we were already taking care of the community.”
I look at her with surprise. We’d all seen the way Aces was pushing the club, but Storm never said anything. Storm always placed Aces on the highest pedestal, and admitting this must be painful. I meet her gaze and try to convey that I’ve got her.
“Perhaps money was the only way she saw to do it,” I say.
“Aces came from nothing,” Storm says. “She watched Cinder Ridge go from a booming paper mill town to what it is today, struggling to survive.”
“We’ll probably never know her motive,” Halo says.
“But there are other ways to do it.” She puts her finger on her spreadsheet.
“Black Briar is employing eight girls and turning a great profit. I see more room for growth. And Black Lantern was supposed to be our future, but the newer recruits think wearing the patch is about the money, not their contribution.”
“Yeah,” I say. “We saw that with Casino Night.”
“Uh-huh,” Halo says. “Some think the club should support them and their families without them lifting a finger.”
“Fuck, that’s dangerous,” I say. In most clubs, the members support the club, not the other way around. With our business success, we haven’t had to pay dues for years.
“You said you thought about patching out,” Storm says. “What are you thinking now?”
Good for Storm. I wasn’t expecting her to cut to the chase, but I’m glad she did.
“I’m at a crossroads myself. If the Thorns vote to put a territory patch on our backs, I’m done. And if the Thorns keep going in the direction we are, I’m done. I can’t risk my career, my family, my life.”
Storm nods. “I respect that. And I agree with you. This isn’t what I want for the Thorns, and I’m willing to fight to save our club. Are you?”
Halo tilts her head. “What are you asking?”
“Frost is gonna destroy it, and she’s not going to back down.
” Storm lays her hand over her name patch on her cut.
“I love this club. It saved my life in more ways than one. I might not be the best leader, but I’m the best we got, and I’m not backing down.
” Storm looks at me and smiles. “I’ve had my doubts whether I’m up to the challenge.
But I have someone in my corner that wouldn’t let me give up. ”
I flash her a smile.
Storm looks back at Halo. “I have no idea how far Frost’s cancer has spread. She took advantage of Aces’ death. Of my inexperience and my grief. But I ain’t done fighting. I’ve talked to Nails, asked if she’s with me. She is. So I’m gonna ask you, Halo. Will you stand by my side in this fight?”
Halo stares at Storm for several beats before she says, “I’m with you.”
The crease in Storm’s forehead eases. “Thank you. That means I’ve got myself and three officers, while Frost only has Jinx.”
“Hey,” I say. I can’t help but be a shit. “I don’t recall being asked.”
Halo and Storm both laugh, while I try for a serious look.
Storm grins. “Fine. Dimples, are you with me?”
I put two fingers on my chin and look toward the ceiling. “Hmm.”
There’s a twinkle in Storm’s eyes when I look back at her.
“Always,” I respond.