Chapter Ten
Dakota
Charming righted my chair and sat, tugging me onto his lap. With his arm braced around my waist, he held me while I visited with Clarity and Meg a while longer. Jordan came back, looking refreshed and more in control of her emotions. She took the seat next to me and Charming, giving me a smile.
“Sorry about earlier,” she said.
“It’s all right. I understand.” I leaned back against Charming. “Think you’ll forgive your husband?”
“Havoc?” she asked. “Eventually. I still can’t believe he did that. I’m so angry with him. Are you okay? Everything fine with the baby?”
I nodded. “We’re right as rain.”
Charming kissed my shoulder. “I’m going to grab some food before we go back into Church. I don’t like the thought of you sitting in these hard chairs. Head home and try to rest?”
“Without you?” I turned a little so I could see his face.
“I might be here a while, Dakota.”
“We could have movie night at my house,” Clarity offered. “I’m sure Phantom won’t mind if the boys stay at his house tonight. Although, Charisma might not be too pleased about it.”
“I’ll call her and ask,” Jordan said, pulling out her phone. “Um, I mean I’ll text to ask.”
She tapped at the screen and set the phone aside while she waited for a response. Charming patted my thigh, and I stood, letting him head over to the bar. He came back with a cold beer.
“I thought you wanted food,” I said.
“Ordered a burger. Stripes is putting a bunch on the grill. Someone will bring it to me when it’s ready.” He pulled me onto his lap again.
“Charisma replied. She said the boys were more than welcome and invited Tanner too. Looks like you’re free to join them, Meg.
I can’t think of a single person who would voluntarily watch Lanie.
I’ll be sitting this one out since her daddy will be occupied.
” Jordan shoved her phone back into her pocket.
“I’ll ask Darby if she wants to drop Fawn and Holt off at my house.
Then she could meet Dakota and join you girls for movie night. She doesn’t get out enough.”
“More like she doesn’t want to,” Clarity said. “She’s glued to Renegade.”
“Sam is on the gate tonight,” Charming said. “I have Hunter running some errands. With all of us being in Church, there won’t be any men around to watch your backs. Be careful.”
Jordan rolled her eyes. “You know my house is a mini arsenal. Taggart is mostly grown and knows how to use a gun and carries a knife. If shit goes down, I’ll send him over to watch your woman. Chill out, Pres. Everything will be fine.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, Jordan. That’s like walking into an ER and saying it’s quiet. Now shit is bound to go wrong.” Charming glared at her.
“I have no idea what that means,” I said. “About the ER.”
“Hospitals and first responders never want to hear the words ‘It’s a quiet night’ because it jinxes them. The moment someone says it, all hell breaks loose.” Meg shrugged a shoulder. “Charming isn’t wrong, and Jordan knows better.”
“Right.” Jordan sighed. “Sorry. You guys are way too superstitious.”
“I’ll come get you from Scratch’s house when we’re done,” Charming said. “Go straight there and don’t leave. Not for any reason at all. I don’t care if someone tells you I’m bleeding out. Don’t listen to them.”
“You sound as paranoid as my brother,” I said.
“Speaking of Specter, I need to get him up to speed on our plans,” Charming said. “Hop up. I’ll make my call while I eat at the bar, then I’ll be calling everyone back to Church. Enjoy your time with the old ladies.”
I stood and kissed him before he walked off.
Before I sat again, Clarity and the others stood.
I followed everyone outside and got into Clarity’s SUV with her.
Meg climbed in back and Jordan waved as she got into her own vehicle and drove off.
Charming had mentioned Scratch didn’t live far, but I hadn’t realized exactly how close they were until now.
When she pulled into her driveway, I saw they lived next door.
How had that not come up before now? What else didn’t I know about my new life?
“Come on,” Clarity said. “I have popcorn. We can bake cookies. There’s soda, tea, and milk in the fridge. I’m afraid the boys drank the last of the juice this morning.”
“What movies do you like?” Meg asked me.
“Almost anything. Well, no gore. Other than that, I’m up for any movie genre,” I said.
“Rom Com it is,” Clarity said with a laugh. “It’s my favorite, and Meg’s too. But if you get sick of them, we can switch to something with more action.”
“Preferably action flicks with hot men,” Meg said. “Cinder might be my one and only, but I’m not blind.”
“Amen!” Clarity laughed. “Scratch is perfect for me, and the only man I’ll ever want. Doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy seeing a shirtless Vin Diesel, or Henry Cavill. And Scratch can’t say a damn word. I’ve noticed him drooling a little when he watches old movies with Marilyn Monroe or Elizabeth Taylor.”
“I think she just called him old,” Meg mock whispered.
“Did not!” Clarity glared. “Besides, Cinder is older than Scratch.”
“You don’t find it odd we’re all with men who are quite a bit older than us?” I asked. “I mean, it’s not exactly the norm, is it?”
“In here? Yes,” Meg said. “Out in the world? Not so much. Don’t get me wrong. I see age gap couples. Maybe not in our tiny small-minded town, but they’re out there.”
“The town is coming around,” Clarity said. “The charity work the club has done went a long way to making them accept all of us. They no longer think the men are ogres who are going to steal away their children or pump them full of drugs.”
Scratch and Clarity’s home wasn’t quite what I’d pictured.
Then again, neither was Charming’s. I looked at the family photos on the walls as I followed the ladies into the kitchen.
I accepted a glass of milk, knowing it would be good for the baby, and listened as they chatted about the townspeople and the different ways the club had helped over the years.
A chime sounded and I heard a door shut. I tensed and looked around, but Clarity and Meg seemed perfectly at ease. A woman entered the kitchen and smiled when she saw me.
“You must be Dakota. I’m Darby.”
“It’s nice to meet you. Please don’t be offended if I ask your name again at some point. It might take me a few days to get everyone straight in my head. Maybe even a few weeks.”
She nodded. “I get it. I felt overwhelmed when Renegade brought me here. My daughter had gotten his attention and led him down an alley. Some men had hurt me and left me for dead near a dumpster.”
“Scratch found me outside one of the club businesses. I was trying to sleep in the doorway. He saw I had a small child with me and offered me a safe place to rest, as well as food for both of us. I kept waiting for him to ask for something in return. A blow job. Sex. Anything. He never did.” Clarity smiled.
“That man is the kindest guy I’ve ever met.
Unless you cross him. Then he’s scary as fuck. ”
“So bad things happened to all of you?” I asked.
“Jordan was in prison. Her shithead brother didn’t pick her up when she was released.
Havoc and a few of the others found her passed out on the side of the road.
She’d tried to walk into town. From what I hear, she shouldn’t have been arrested in the first place.
Then one of the guards tried to come after her.
” Clarity sat at the kitchen table and the rest of us did the same.
“Josie is Jackal’s woman. She doesn’t have a sob story.
Not exactly. Her brother is a Dixie Reaper, and Jackal met her at their clubhouse.
They went off to have a weekend fling, except he got her pregnant.
She never told him, and he found out after his daughter was a toddler.
” Clarity sipped her drink. “Janessa is with Irish and she’s the daughter of a Dixie Reaper.
Her story is seriously messed up, but she got an awesome stepmom out of the deal.
When her daddy found out she’d been locked up in this hellish asylum, he went after her.
Janessa wouldn’t leave without Kalani. The woman had sacrificed herself to keep Janessa safe from the guards. ”
“Wow,” I said. “My brother might be the infamous Specter, and thanks to him, the Cartel wants me, but no one’s ever hurt me the way some of you have been harmed. Men actually give me a wide berth unless they’re trying to ingratiate themselves with Specter. Never works, but they kept trying anyway.”
“Grey and Charisma both have tragic stories. Especially Charisma,” Meg murmured.
“Yeah, because yours is just all sunshine and roses,” Clarity said. “I don’t know how you survived it all, Meg, but I’m glad you did. Although, we all worried Cinder wouldn’t pull his head out of his ass in time to claim you. Damn near lost you both because he’s so damn stubborn.”
“I know. He regrets his actions now. But we’re together and that’s all that matters. I love him so much.” She got a silly smile on her face. “He makes me happier than I’ve ever been before.”
“What’s Charming like?” Darby asked. “We’ve seen two sides of him. The laid-back guy who was just another patched member, and the stoic President of the Devil’s Boneyard.”
“He’s protective. Sweet. Sometimes he’s funny. Other times, he acts like a caveman. I guess I haven’t seen either version of Charming the rest of you have.” I shifted in my seat.
“It’s good he’s different with you,” Clarity said. “All our men are like that. With the club, they’re these tough bad asses. When they come home, they’re sexy, cuddly teddy bears.”
“Movie time!” Meg stood. “We can gossip another day. Anyone up for Letters to Juliet? I seriously love that one.”
“I’m game,” Darby said.
“Anything is fine with me,” I said. “I’m not sure I’ve watched that one.”