Chapter 12
Axle
“Well shit,” I mutter as we watch Siera and Angel walk away from us. “Are we really that dense? And why the fuck wouldn’t you tell me about helping Jen?” I growl as I turn to scowl at my best friend.
Roman pulls at the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable as he apologises. “Sorry, Ax, didn’t want to drag you into it. Seemed better to keep it just between Jen and me. Easier to keep things on the down low that way.”
“Huh, okay.” I slap his shoulder. “Glad to know you’re not a completely selfish prick.”
Roman laughs, and the stress eases from his face. “Thanks Axle.”
“Welcome, brother, let’s go find the women before you have to take off with Jen. Got to admit it, Roman, I never saw it. How the fuck did we end up with kids?”
“Fucked if I know brother, but at least they came to us mostly grown. Maybe this is the way to go. No shitty diapers to deal with.”
Amusement shoots through me. He’s not wrong, though.
I push through the crowds of people milling around the club's backyard waiting on food and getting steadily drunker. Roman follows behind me. When I see Angel, she’s chatting to Lala with Siera beside her.
She catches my eye and waves a hand to my brothers who are standing around talking shit.
With a nod of understanding, I grab a beer from a cooler and find Maverick. Roman will need to let him know sooner rather than later about Jen.
I drop into a chair next to our President, who looks at us in surprise. “Figure you’d be escorting your Ol’ Lady around.”
“Angel’s with Siera and Lala, so she’s okay at the moment. Besides, I wanted to be here when Roman gave you the news.”
I smirk at Roman who growls. “You fuckhead. You want me to tell him now.”
Shrugging, I say, “Better to get it over and done with so that I can get onto my news.”
Maverick’s eyes dart between the two of us.
He heaves a heavy sigh. “How is it that two of my most stable men, the ones I’ve never had to rake over the coals have suddenly developed a shit attraction meter?
What’s fucking happened now? You’d better not have knocked up one of the whores, Roman.
That’s why I spend a fucking fortune on making sure brothers never run out of condoms.”
Laughter belts out from the brothers surrounding us. Roman looks like he’s going to kill me, but I’m the rip the bandaid off type of guy. Best he gets it all out now.
Helpfully, I say, “He’s not knocked anyone up, but you’re all losing a club whore.”
“Fuck’s sake, who and why?” Maverick rubs an aggravated hand over his face.
“Jen. And why? Because she’s not been sleeping with me.
I’ve been letting her study in my room, and I paid for her to go to school.
She knows she can’t stay if she’s not sleeping with the brothers.
Besides, she got a job,” Roman lays it out, taking a long drink of his beer.
Jen’s a favourite, so I’m not surprised when the brothers swear and glare at him.
“Jesus Christ, and you had to tell us now?” Maverick waves around at the disgruntled-looking brothers. “Fine, where is she going and who is she working for? You know we all have a soft spot for her, me included.”
“Not far,” Roman smirks, “She’s going to be working for Axle, and she’s staying in North’s place. Axle’s Ol’ Lady is giving North her van to live in for now.”
The brothers aren’t thrilled at the news that they’d be losing Jen. I’m not sure who’s more surprised, Roman, Maverick, or me when out of the blue Carnage asks, “So, do you think she’d be open to dating?”
I’d never seen the man remotely interested in a female, never mind dating.
“Ah, you’d have to check with Jen. But none of you fuckers had better treat her with anything other than respect, or you’ll have me to deal with and possibly the bunch of women that come with Angel,” Roman glares at our brothers but his gaze lingers longest on Carnage, who gives him a nod.
“Here she comes,” I stand as Jen walks towards us, a duffel bag over her shoulder and a smaller one in her hands. Her shoulders are rounded, and she looks despondent.
Angel and Siera must see her at the same time as us, because they walk over to her and say something.
Siera pushes a lock of hair behind Jen’s ears and cups her cheek.
She’s talking a mile a minute, but they're too far away for us to hear.
Jen smiles at her and nods. Angel grabs the smaller bag from her and gives her a sideways hug.
“Well fuck,” Maverick sighs. “You sure did pick a good one Axle. And if Roman ever gets his shit together, we’ll hopefully get another one.”
“I hear you, Pres,” Roman mutters, his eyes never leaving Siera as the three of them walk over to us. By the time they reach us, Jen’s smiling and wiping at her cheeks.
“I’m ready,” Jen tells Roman. Turning to Maverick, her face crumples. “I’m sorry, Pres.”
Maverick stands up from his chair and observes her, hands on his hips for a minute before he sighs and draws her into his arms. Hugging her, he presses his lips to the top of her pink hair. “It’s okay Jen. You’re too good for this life anyway. You need some money?”
She shakes her head. “No.”
“Okay.” He releases her and steps back. “Besides, I hear you’ll still be working for us. You’ll do great at the garage, sweetheart. Don’t let those men give you a hard time.”
“I won’t,” she agrees with a smile, and this time it lights up her eyes.
Angel wraps her arm around my waist. Lifting my arm, I rest it around her shoulder. Her claim hasn’t gone like I’d expected, but that was okay. We both seemed good at rolling with the punches.
“Come on, sweetheart,” Roman says, taking her bag from Angel. “Let’s get you over to the garage and settled in.”
“I’ll take her,” Carnage interrupts, taking the bag from Roman. Their eyes meet and hold. I’m not sure what passes between the two of them, but Roman nods and allows him to take the bag.
“Are you sure?” Jen asks with surprise. “I don’t want to be any trouble.”
“Wouldn’t have offered if I hadn’t wanted to,” Carnage tells her, taking hold of her other duffel. He shoulders it. “Come on, my truck’s this way.” He walks away. Jen turns wide eyes at Angel and Siera.
Siera waves her hand, “You heard the man. Best you get going. Angel and I’ll check on you tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” Jen whispers before she hurries after Carnage with a wave.
“Well shit,” Roman murmurs. “Now I need to get drunk.”
“Here,” Siera says, handing him a bottle of whiskey, “bottoms up, then pass the fucker around. I think we all need it, especially as both that scary fucker and Axle’s North seem to have designs on your daughter.”
Angel snickers at her sister, and the brothers laugh.
Roman scowls at Siera and looks a little green at the thought of Jen with other men.
He takes a big drink, then passes the bottle back to Siera, who takes a sip and passes it to Angel.
Sinking back into a chair, I pull Angel into my lap, taking the bottle from her.
I drink and pass it to Maverick who looks at it and shouts, “PROSPECT!” When Muppet looks over, Mav holds up the bottle, “Bring two more. We’re getting drunk. ”
A good portion of the day is spent drinking and having a good time with the brothers.
Angel and Siera relax and join in. Maverick and I hold back on the alcohol as the afternoon moves into evening.
Once they had a few drinks of whiskey, the girls switched back to margaritas.
It seemed to me that they each had a water bottle as well, and when Lala finally called us for food, they quit drinking.
“You can keep drinking if you want, Angel. I’ll make sure you’re okay,” I whisper.
Angel shakes her head, “No, I want to be sober when you give me my cut, and Siera doesn’t enjoy being out of control. We’ll be good. One of us will make coffee soon.”
“Okay,” I agree. Looking around, I catch Giggle's eye and motion him over. “Make coffee for Angel and Siera and bring it to them, bring sugar and cream with.”
“No problem, Axle,” he replies and heads back to the clubhouse.
Ten minutes later he’s back with two mugs on a tray, sugar and cream. Angel turns soft eyes to me, kissing my cheek before she turns to Giggles and thanks him. “Thank you, Giggles. This is perfect.”
“You’re welcome,” he dips his head and walks away.
“Thanks, Axle,” Siera says, doctoring her coffee. “Angel did good when she found you.”
Angel giggles and leans against me, patting my chest. “I did, didn’t I,” she agrees. “Well worth waiting for.”
“Fuck’s sake, Angel. Don’t tell him that. The man’s going to get a big head,” Stout playfully grumbles.
Smirking at him, I give him the finger. He belts out a laugh.
I love how comfortable the brothers are around Angel and Siera, but then they’re pretty amazing women who made it clear early on that they had no problems with the brotherhood.
Both Roman and I got messages from North and Jen. When Siera had checked her phone and given Angel a thumbs up, I assumed her girls had been in touch. For the moment, all was right in my world.
***
Later that evening it got better.
The bonfires were lit, the kids had been taken home, and my brothers were feeling mellow when Maverick walked up to the sound system and turned down the volume on the rock we’d been listening to.
He puts two fingers to his mouth and lets out a piercing whistle, making most cringe, but it gets our attention.
“Now that I have your attention. Today is an important day for the Saint’s Outlaws North Dakota Chapter. Today we welcome in our first Ol’ Lady of this generation of brothers, and she’s a kick-ass one. Axle’s a lucky man.”
“Fuck,” I mutter with amusement, “How much has the Pres had to drink? I thought he’d stopped.”
“He did,” Spook laughs, tapping my shoulder as he walks past us carrying a box. “He’s a showman though, you know that.”
He’s right, Maverick is a showman. Something that makes our enemies underestimate him, but I’ve seen how ruthless he can be when he needs to be.
“Axle, get your ass up here and bring your lady with you,” Maverick calls out, waving me over.
Angel snickers. “I really like your Pres, honey. He knows how to make people feel at ease.”
“You could say that,” I agree, wrapping my hand around hers. I tug her along with me towards where Maverick and Spook are waiting for us. Brothers slap my back as I pass them, hard enough that it’s smarting by the time we’ve made it to the front. Fuckers.
“The man and lady of the hour,” Maverick states with a shit-eating grin. “Thought you’d never get up here.”
Maverick sobers suddenly, all merriment gone from his face. “Seriously happy for you brother. I’ll let you take it from here.” He says, taking the box from Spook and opening it.
Reverently, I pick up the cut that has my name on the back. I show everyone who reads it that Angel is one of ours, but more importantly, that she’s mine. I hold it up for the brothers to see. They hoot and holler, stamping their feet until Maverick holds up his hand for silence.
It’s eerily quiet when I clear my throat and turn to Angel. She’s smiling, lips tilted up, eyes bright and happy. I’d wondered what I’d say when I got this chance, but it seemed I hadn’t needed to worry. The words poured from me. I’d waited a long time to say them, and there was no holding back.
“Angel…” I trail off as memories flood through me of us as kids, saying goodbye, the years of looking for her right up to when I found her.
“Angel,” I start again. “I loved you at sixteen, lost you at eighteen. It took us forever to find our way back to each other, but never once did I forget you. Loved you then, love you now. In front of my brothers, my president, and your family, I’m asking if you’ll be my Ol’ Lady? ”
“Oh, Garret.” Angel’s lips tremble as she reaches for me, pulling me closer. “There’s nothing I’d love more,” she whispers against my mouth.
Our kiss deepens while the brothers whistle and shout. Laughing, Angel pulls back and turns so I can slip the cut over her shoulders. My name looks fucking amazing on her back, and it settles something primal in me in a way I never expected.
“Perfect,” I murmur, turning her to face me again.
I seal my lips to hers, kissing her long, hard, and deep.
Possessiveness fills me. She’s mine now, and I’m never letting her go.
I’d be stuck to her like glue—I never wanted to go back to the way I’d lived before her, like a piece of me had been missing, and now I finally had it back.
Angel’s grinning wide when I finally let her come up for air.
“Let’s welcome the first of hopefully many Ol’ Ladies to our Chapter!” Maverick shouts. “Saint’s Outlaws.”
His shout is returned as if it’s a battle cry. Whistles, shouts, and hollers rent the air.
Maverick pulls me into a back-slapping hug. “Congratulations, Axle. Happy for you man.” He turns to Angel but slants a look at me first. I give him a nod of permission. He reaches for her and hugs her. “Welcome to the Saint’s Outlaws family, Angel.”
“Thanks for allowing me in,” Angel replies, stepping back into my arms as soon as Maverick releases her. “I’ll try and be a good Ol’ Lady.”
“Of that I have no doubt,” Maverick replies. “Go have fun. Enjoy your time. The brothers will want to celebrate with you.”
“Thanks, Pres,” I say, stepping away and into the brothers who welcome us. It’s a good night. One that neither Angel nor I will ever forget.