Chapter Five #2
I shrugged, struggling to put it into words. "Not like the usual guys. Not trying too hard or acting like he had something to prove. Just... there. Confident but not too cocky." I paused, remembering. "We played pool. Had some drinks. Then we went back to his place."
"And?" Honey prompted when I fell silent.
"And we fucked." I tried to sound casual, like it hadn't rearranged something inside me. "It was good. Really good." My cheeks heated despite my attempt at nonchalance.
Honey's eyebrows rose. "Good enough to have you walking around in a daze two days later?"
"Yeah." I stood again, unable to sit still. "But that's not the point. The next morning, I was getting ready to leave, and I accidentally kicked over his backpack." The words rushed out now. "Some stuff spilled out, and when I was putting it back, I saw something in the front pocket."
Honey went very still. "What did you see?"
"A patch." I swallowed hard, my voice soft. Guilty. "A Copperheads patch."
"Fuck." The word exploded from Honey. She rose to her feet, grabbing my shoulders, her fingers digging in.
"Are you fucking kidding me? A Copperhead?” She hissed the words in an angry whisper.
“Do you have any idea what Jack would do if he found out one of them approached you?
What Ghost would do?" Her face had drained of all color.
"Hell, those guys tried to kill me not that long ago. "
I pulled away from her grip. "I know, I know. But he wasn't wearing colors at the Valentine's Ball. And the patch was just loose in his bag, not sewn onto anything."
"Oh, well that makes it all better," Honey snapped, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Jesus Christ, Wren. Those guys aren't just another MC. They're fucking animals. They deal in shit that Bound in Blood would never touch. Human trafficking, underage girls—"
"I know what they do," I cut her off, not wanting to hear it. I didn’t point out to her I’d been in this club far longer than she had but that wasn’t fair.
Honey was only worried about me. For more than one reason.
Bound in Blood would never hurt me, but I had to tread carefully unless I wanted Rocky dead.
No one here would pull any punches for him.
The Copperheads' reputation was well-known among the clubs. They operated on the fringes, taking any job that paid, no matter how depraved. They had no code, no honor.
"Did he press you for information? Even hint that he wanted you to tell him something you shouldn’t?
" Honey fired the questions at me. She wasn’t angry.
Honey was protective of the people she loved.
Sometimes that meant bulldozing through a situation, but she always did it with the best of intentions.
"No! Nothing like that. We barely talked about the club at all." I ran my hands through my hair, frustrated. "He seemed genuinely interested in me. In my bike, my work on it. It wasn't like he was pumping me for information."
Honey paced the small living room, her hands clasped behind her head. "Do you even hear yourself? That's exactly how they operate. They find a way in, something personal, something that feels real."
"It was just sex," I lied, my voice cracking slightly. "Besides, I didn't find the patch until the next morning as I was leaving."
"Bullshit it was just sex." Honey stopped pacing and looked me dead in the eyes. "I know that look. You're still thinking about him."
My defenses crumbled. I collapsed onto the couch again, the fight draining out of me.
"I can't stop," I admitted, the confession like broken glass in my throat.
"There was something about him... he's different.
From anyone I've ever met." I looked up at her, hating the vulnerability I felt.
"I know how fucked up that sounds. Trust me, I've been telling myself the same thing for two straight fucking days. "
Honey sat beside me, her concern obvious in her expression.
"You know this can't go anywhere, right?
Even if he's not trying to use you to get to the club - which is a big fucking if — there's no universe where this ends well.
Bound in Blood and Copperheads are like oil and water.
Except the water wants to set the oil on fire. "
I nodded, staring at my hands. "I know. I'm not stupid."
"Never said you were. But even smart people do dumb shit when they're thinking with parts other than their brain." She nudged my shoulder with hers. "Believe me, I know. I fell for Bloody Jack fucking Mason."
That pulled a reluctant smile from me. "Yeah, but that worked out okay."
Honey's face grew serious again. "This is different. The tension between the clubs has been building for months. Jack says the Copperheads have been pressing into our territory."
I flinched at that. Ghost had mentioned "things happening" that I didn't know about. This must have been what he meant. The fact Honey was saying anything to me about it at all showed how worried she was.
"Maybe Rocky's not involved in that part," I said, even as I recognized how pathetic it sounded. "Maybe he's just a mechanic who works with them."
"You don't believe that any more than I do." Honey chided gently. "There's no such thing as 'just' anything with the Copperheads. Everyone gets their fucking hands get dirty."
I knew Honey was right. The logical part of my brain had been screaming the same thing since I'd seen that patch. But something else, something deeper and more primal, kept whispering there was more to Rocky than what I saw on the surface.
"I need to know," I said softly. "I need to know if it was real, or if I was just a mark."
Honey studied my face for a long moment. "Wren—"
"I know it's stupid. I know it's dangerous. But I can't let it go without knowing for sure."
The silence stretched between us, heavy with all the things neither of us was saying.
I'd never felt this way about anyone before, and the fact that it had to be someone from the fucking Copperheads felt like some cosmic joke at my expense.
Ghost would lose his mind if he found out.
Jack would probably put a hit out on Rocky on principle alone.
But none of those things changed the fact I couldn't stop thinking about him.
Couldn't stop wondering if he was thinking about me too.
Honey sat next to me on the couch. "This isn't just dangerous, Wren.
This is suicide." Her voice shook with genuine fear.
"The Copperheads aren't just rivals. They're fucking animals.
Animals who'd gut you without blinking if they thought it would hurt Bound in Blood. Pretty sure you know that better than me, yet here we are.”
I rubbed my temples, wishing I could erase the past few days and go back to when life made sense. When I didn't lie awake at night replaying every fucking moment with a man who had very well played me for a fool.
"Last month, Jack and some of the guys intercepted a truck headed for the Copperheads' compound. Young girls, Wren. Some of them no older than thirteen, all of them drugged out of their minds." She turned her head to look at me. “You’re my best friend, Wren. I can’t let them hurt you. Not over a man.”
I stood up, needing to move, needing to do something with the restless energy building inside me. "I get it, OK? They're monsters. But..." The words stuck in my throat.
"But what?" Honey challenged. "But maybe your guy is different? The exception to the rule? The one good apple in a barrel of rotten ones?" Her laugh was harsh, brittle. "Sweetheart, you're smarter than that."
"I don't know what he is," I snapped, running my hands through my hair. "That's the whole fucking problem. I can't just write him off without knowing for sure and without knowing his name I have no place to start."
"Why not? Why can't you just let this go?" Honey gave me a confused look, but I knew she understood. I’d had a similar expression on my face when I first learned of Jack’s interest in her. "There are plenty of other guys out there. Guys who won't get you killed or worse."
"Because it didn't feel like a lie," I said quietly. "What happened between us felt real. And if there's even a chance that it was..."
Honey looked at me like I'd grown a second head. "You're actually considering seeing him again." It wasn't a question.
Before I could respond, my phone buzzed on the coffee table. We both froze, staring at it like it might explode. When it buzzed a second time, I lunged for it, snatching it up before Honey could reach it.
My heart hammered against my ribs as I read the message on the screen: "Been thinking about you.
See you again?" The words sent a jolt of pleasure through me making my fingers tingling.
I must have made some sound, or maybe my face gave me away, because suddenly Honey was at my side, grabbing the phone from my hands.
"Been thinking about you. See you again?" she read aloud, her voice rising with each word. "Are you fucking kidding me right now?" She looked up at me, eyes wide with disbelief. "Tell me you're not actually considering this."
I reached for my phone, but she held it out of reach. "Give it back, Honey."
"Absolutely not. No fucking way." She backed away from me, still clutching my phone. "You are not seeing this guy again. No fucking way in hell."
"It's my decision," I said, my voice hardening. "Not yours."
"A decision that could get you killed! Or get Ghost killed, or Jack, or any of the other guys who'd come running to your rescue if you got into trouble." She sat heavily on the couch, my phone still in her white-knuckled grip. "Wren, please,” she pleaded. “Think about what you're doing."
The fight drained out of me suddenly, leaving me hollow. She was right. This wasn't just about me. If things went sideways with Rocky, it wouldn't be just my life on the line. Everyone I cared about could get caught in the crossfire.
"I'm not saying I'm going to meet him," I said. "But I need answers, Honey. I need to know what his angle is."
"His angle is using you to get to the club," she said flatly. "That's it. End of story."
I shook my head. "Maybe. Probably. But what if it's something else? What if there's more to it?"
"Like what?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "But I won't know unless I find out more about him."
Honey's eyes narrowed. "What are you suggesting?"
"Let me look into him first," I said, the idea forming as I spoke. "Maybe there's a good reason for that patch. I mean, he wasn't wearing colors at the Valentine's Ball. Maybe he's not an active member. Maybe he just works on their bikes or something."
"You don't believe that any more than I do," Honey said, but her voice had lost some of its edge.
"Give me a chance to find out," I pressed, seeing the slightest crack in her resolve. "Three days. Give me three days to figure out what his angle is. If I can't find anything that explains the patch, I'll tell Ghost everything. I swear."
Honey looked torn, her loyalty to the club warring with her friendship with me. "And in the meantime, you ignore his texts? No contact whatsoever?"
I hesitated, caught between the promise I knew I should make and the pull I felt toward Rocky.
"I promise won't meet him," I compromised. "Not until I have enough information to bring to Ghost and Jack. But I need to talk with him to get basic information. I’m not a tech guru and I didn’t think to lift his wallet to look at his drivers license. "
She studied my face for a long moment, like she was trying to read my thoughts.
Finally, she sighed, some of the tension leaving her shoulders.
"Three days," she agreed reluctantly. "But I'm watching your back.
And if you try to meet him before then, I'm going straight to Jack, who will take Ghost and go straight to you.
Do not fuck with me on this." Honey might be new to this game, but she had the president’s-old-lady role down to a science.
"Deal." I held out my hand for my phone, which she returned with obvious reluctance.
"And if you find anything, anything at all, that confirms what it looks like Rocky is, you bring it to Ghost immediately." Her voice was firm, no room for negotiation. "No matter what you think you feel for this guy."
I nodded, though my chest tightened at the thought. Part of me held out hope I wouldn't find anything, that there'd be some innocent explanation for the patch. The intelligent part of my brain knew better.
"What are you going to text him back?" Honey asked, watching me stare at my phone.
I typed out a response, then showed it to her.
Been busy. Maybe soon?
She grimaced but nodded her approval. "Vague enough to buy time without pissing him off."
I hit send before I could change my mind, then tossed the phone onto the couch like it had burned me. Three days to uncover the truth about Rocky. Three days to prepare myself for what I might find.
"You know I'm only trying to protect you, right?" Honey said softly.
"I know." I gave her a half-smile that felt more like a grimace. "And, though I don’t want to admit it, I appreciate you looking out for me. Really."
She reached out and squeezed my hand. "Just be careful. And smart. Don't let your pussy cloud your judgment."
I barked out a laugh and squeezed her hand back. “If I think that’s happening, I’ll repeat your phrase in my mind over and over.” But even as I nodded my agreement, I felt the pull of Rocky's message like a physical thing, drawing me toward a path I knew was dangerous.
Three days. I could wait three days.
Right. And pigs could fly.