Chapter Twelve Samantha
At five until seven, I pulled my car into the clubhouse parking lot.
Well, the late-model Honda Accord wasn’t actually my car. I had borrowed it from a buddy, since it better suited the lifestyle Bishop would expect than the usual Mercedes convertible I drove.
After killing the engine, I remained seated, twirling the keys on my finger while staring ahead.
My mind whirled with thoughts from the past. Most of all, I thought of the last time I had been here with Gavin— the night I had first laid eyes on Bishop Malloy.
I couldn’t help marveling how much had changed in so little time.
Since getting to know Bishop better, I thought of him in an entirely different light than I had at our first meeting. But when my thoughts went to Gavin,
I had the usual searing pain of agony go through my heart. It was just the focus I needed to keep my eye on the prize, which was taking Bishop and the Raiders down.
A knock on the car window sent me jumping out of my skin.
When I composed myself enough to glance over, a small dark-haired girl stared curiously at me. “Samantha?” she asked through the glass.
“Yeah,” I croaked.
A grin spread across her cheeks. “Uncle B sent me to get you.”
“Willow?” When she nodded, I smiled. Bishop had spoken many times about his niece. The love he had for her was evident from the way he talked about her. I turned in my seat and grabbed the gift bag for Rev. Then I cracked the door. After Willow backed up, I opened it and stepped out of the car.
“I didn’t mean to scare you. Uncle B told me to be looking out for you.”
“Where is he?”
“He said he had an emergency club meeting with Daddy, Uncle Rev, and some of the other guys.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. “I see.”
Taking my free hand, Willow tugged me along. “Come on.”
I followed behind her. This time there were two bouncers at the front door, which I figured was because they needed more crowd control tonight. The two men didn’t give me a moment’s glance, considering that I was with Willow. She waved to them before pushing on through the front door.
Just like the time before, I was met with thumping music, loud conversation, and hazy smoke rings. “Do you come to a lot of the parties here?” I asked. I couldn’t help asking the question, considering some of the craziness I had seen the last time I was here.
“Mommy and Daddy only let me come to some of them.”
“I see.”
“I get to come tonight, since it’s Uncle Rev’s birthday.” She crooked her finger to beckon me closer. When I leaned down, she added in a low voice, “I think people act naughty after my bedtime.
Mommy gets mad if Daddy stays too late. She says there’s nothing he can be doing but getting into trouble when he stays.”
I had to bite back a smile at her words. “She’s probably right.”
Willow smiled happily as she swung my hand back and forth in her own. “Uncle B said to take you over to Mommy and the other women.”
“Okay. That sounds good.”
After Willow led me through the wall to wall crowd inside the roadhouse, we went out the back door. As soon as we got outside, we entered what could only be classified as birthday party overload.
Clear and multicolored Christmas lights were strung up all around the clearing, along with Chinese lanterns.
My nose picked up the delicious smell of hamburgers and hot dogs cooking.
When I looked to where the aromas were coming from, I saw several bikers, with beers in their hands, stationed at three commercial- sized grills.
Willow then steered us over to where a multitude of picnic tables had been set up.
Some of the tables, with their red- and- white- checked tablecloths, were overflowing with food and drinks while others were set with plates and plastic forks.
In the middle of all the tables, there was a towering, three- tiered birthday cake with a motorcycle on top. “Wow,” I murmured.
“Pretty cool, huh?” Willow questioned.
“That’s the biggest birthday cake I’ve ever seen.”
“Uncle Rev promised me I could have the motorcycle on top.”
“Do you like playing with toy motorcycles?” Considering that she was outfitted all in pink, I hadn’t pegged her for a fan of cars.
“No. I wanted it because it’s made of chocolate.”
I grinned down at her. “Now, that sounds like my kind of motorcycle.”
A feeling of apprehension came over me when I glanced down the grouping of tables to where several of the Raiders women were setting up some of the food.
Once again, I recoiled slightly at the sight of some of the ladies wearing cuts with “Property of” patches on the back.
But I knew from my research that a lot of the women considered the patches a badge of honor, just as their husbands or boyfriends did their patches.
When Willow and I walked up to the group, all conversation silenced at the sight of me. Although I had met several of the women when I went on the run, all of these faces were new. “This is Uncle B’s girlfriend, Samantha,” Willow introduced.
At the mention of the word “girlfriend,” several of the women gasped in surprise while a few narrowed their eyes at me.
Almost instinctively, my hands flew up in front of me.
“Friend, not girlfriend. Bishop and I are just friends.” My explanation did little to lighten the animosity flowing through the air.
A busty brunette, who was outfitted from head to toe in black, stepped almost toe-to-toe with me. “Willow, will you run to the kitchen and get us some more ketchup?”
“Sure, Miss Annie. Be right back,” Willow replied before sprinting off toward the house.
I felt like a real chickenshit after Willow left me alone with the women.
I glanced nervously around the group. Where the hell was Kim or Alexandra and Annabel?
The better question, though, since most of these women were new to me, was whether the Raiders had a revolving door of women.
A large part of me didn’t really want to know the answer.
When I remembered the gift bag in my hand, I thrust it out lamely. “This is for Rev.”
Annie’s eyebrows shot up. “You got Rev a present?”
I nodded. “It’s his birthday, isn’t it?”
Annie pursed her lips. “That’s not the point.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t get what you mean.”
After sweeping her hands to her hips, Annie questioned, “Do you often buy presents for other women’s husbands?”
Annie’s tone had me swallowing hard as I glanced at the other women. “Um, well, I didn’t think—”
“I don’t know where you come from, but around here, we don’t take too kindly to floozies trying to flirt with our husbands.”
Once again, I held my hands out in front of me. “I swear, I wasn’t trying to flirt with Rev. I just—”
I was interrupted by a familiar voice behind me. “Okay, Annie, that’s enough yanking Samantha’s chain.”
Relief flooded me when I realized it was Kim. With a friendly grin, she threw her arm around my shoulder. “If anyone gets to give her shit, it’s me.”
I laughed. “Thanks a lot.”
“You both better cool it. If you keep up the ragging, she’ll be running for the hills the first chance she gets, which I’m pretty sure would have Bishop on your ass.”
When I whirled around, I saw Alexandra Malloy standing behind me. This time she was without her adorable son. Instead, she held a platter of cheese in her hands. She gave me a warm smile.
“It’s good to see you again.”
I glanced over my shoulder at Annie, who winked at me. I exhaled a long breath. “So all that jazz about the present was just you fucking with me?”
Annie laughed. “Consider it a little initiation rite into the Raiders women.”
“Jesus, you scared the hell out of me.”
“Need a clean pair of panties?” Kim asked teasingly.
“Yeah, I do. I was just waiting for you all to jump me.”
Annie laughed. “Sorry about that. We like to see what a girl is made out of before we invite her into our circle.”
“They just didn’t know you had passed the most important test already,” Kim said.
“And what would that be?”
“Why, the Kim test, of course!”
“I see. Glad I managed to pass it with flying colors.” Nodding at Alexandra, I asked, “Did she do the same thing to you?”
“My situation was a little different, since I was coming here as Willow’s teacher, rather than just a hookup with one of the guys.”
When my eyebrows shot up at her summation, she quickly added, “Not that you’re just a hookup.”
“No. She’s far more than that,” Kim said knowingly.
“I am?”
Kim grinned. “Bishop has never, ever invited a woman to a Raiders party before.”
“Isn’t that because he usually gets his pieces of ass from the pool of women here?” I countered.
While the other women snickered, Kim’s blue eyes widened.
“Damn, girl, I can’t believe you went there.”
“Truth hurts, right?”
She shook her head. “It might’ve been true six months ago, but it sure as hell isn’t true now.” Reaching over, she cupped my chin. “I’ve known Bishop since he was a little kid, and I’ve seen a change in him since he’s been seeing you.”
“Well, we’re not really seeing each other,” I argued.
“Then whatever it is you’re doing.” Kim turned to Alexandra.
“Aren’t I right?”
Alexandra smiled. “I haven’t known Bishop as long as Kim has, but he is certainly different.”
At that moment, Rev’s wife, Annabel, joined the group. “I would say he’s positively smitten.”
Kim snorted. “As much as a man like Bishop can be.”
Annabel crossed her arms over her chest. “Just what would you call it, then?”
“I don’t know, but I sure as hell wouldn’t call it smitten.” Kim tapped her chin. “Maybe pussy- whipped?”
“Uh, that’s not the case, I can assure you.”
“Don’t worry, Sam. Bishop’s and your sex life is strictly your business,” Kim said.
Before I could argue that we didn’t have a sex life, Alexandra said, “That’s utter and total bullshit.”
“It is not,” Kim countered.
Alexandra wagged a finger at Kim. “You know as well as I do that nothing is sacred, especially when it comes to sex. Everyone has their nose stuck in everyone else’s business.”
Kim sighed. “Maybe you’re right.”