Chapter 19
CHAPTER
NINETEEN
Logan
Ridgehaven is hard to describe. It’s quaint, unassuming, and out in the sticks, but the vibe of this clubhouse is something else. Chaos would be one way to describe it.
Bane has been the Prez for as long as I’ve been in New Orleans, and Shadow, his VP, about the same amount of time.
Then we have Viking, a scary motherfucker who lives up to his name, who is the Sergeant at Arms. Hornet is the club Enforcer.
Other club members like Radium, Archer, Panic, Savage, Choker, and Max, who’s known as Eagle, are loyal to the club and in that sense they’re very much like the Rebels.
A family. I don’t know Declan’s club name, but I sure as shit refused to be called Hustle when I patched in.
My brothers nicknamed me that some years ago, but I don’t answer to it anymore.
My days of hustling are well and truly over.
“I don’t know what I was expecting,” Payden says, adjusting her messy bun. “But this wasn’t it.”
The clubhouse is made entirely out of wood. Like a massive log cabin set out in the middle of the wilderness. It’s green, large trees surrounding the expanse like a looming fortress set back a few miles from the road.
I’m inclined to agree with her, but somehow it fits the whole aesthetic of the Ridgehaven Hellions out here in South Mississippi.
I put Dozer on his leash, and he begins to sniff around.
“Sis!”
I glance up and a tall dude with mid-length hair, scruff, and a Hellions vest moves over to us. I assume this is Declan, running toward his sister as he engulfs her in a hug, lifting her off her feet.
“Dec!”
He spins her around as she tries to wriggle free. “Glad to see you in one piece.”
“Put me down!” she demands, and he does, but he laughs, his grin spread from ear to ear. To me, Payden says, “He’s been doing that since we were kids, and it’s still annoying. Declan, this is Logan. Logan, Declan, my little brother, and this is Dozer.”
Declan turns to look at me, holding his hand out as I glance down at his patch on his cut which reads, Drifter. We shake. Then he bends down to pet Dozer who sniffs his hand and gives him a lick. So much for being wary of strangers.
“What happened to his leg?” Declan asks.
“He was mistreated and was possibly hit by a car. His previous owners left his injuries for so long it had to be amputated.”
“No shit.”
“People are scum of the earth,” I say. “It’s why I stay indoors.”
Declan grins, pointing at me. “I like you, Logan.”
I nod to his patch. “Drifter, huh?”
He shrugs. “Used to be, not so much anymore.” He glances at his sister, who’s giving him the evil eye.
“Care to explain?” she says, crossing her arms over her chest. “You joined the Hellions and never told me?”
Declan palms the back of his head. “Yeah, about that…”
Payden holds up a hand. “Don’t wanna hear it. You dropped off the face of the earth for a while, and now I know why.” Her face drops, and I can tell this upsets her. She cares about him, hence the concern.
“I was gettin’ my shit together,” he explains. “Didn’t wanna burden you with any of it, and I know how Mom and Dad get.”
“Are you planning on telling them?”
He shrugs. “Hadn’t really thought about it. Let’s get you inside, show you around.”
“Don’t change the subject,” she snaps. “I’m not even kidding, Dec, I’m mad at you!”
“You hang around bikers,” he says, nonchalant. “I don’t see the difference.”
“We’ll talk about this later,” she says as Declan rolls his eyes, but his back is to her so she doesn’t see. “Bigger fish to fry. So, how you holdin’ up?” He swings an arm around her shoulders as we walk toward the clubhouse doors.
It’s the middle of the afternoon, and there’s a handful of motorcycles parked out front.
“I’ve been better,” Payden admits. “Things were pretty intense yesterday. I-I’m still coming to terms with it.”
“I’ll say. Always said bein’ a lawyer was more dangerous than a cop,” Declan goes on. “Crazies everywhere. What did Mom and Dad say?”
“Well, they were pretty shaken up by the whole thing, and then I had to tell them about the entire faking my death thing, and as you can imagine, that went down a real treat.”
I’ve heard her parents are conservative, but from the overheard conversation last night they were glad the MC were there.
“It’s so fuckin’ shit. I worry about you, Payd. Shoulda taken me up on that huntin’ lesson.” He turns to me. “Thank you. I owe you a debt.”
“Don’t owe me shit,” I say. “Woulda done it no matter what. Payden is… she’s club property.” The second the words are out of my mouth, I wince. We only just had a talk about this, and it just kinda slipped out.
Declan does a double take, scoffing to himself. Clearly he knows his sister well.
She gives me a side eye that I choose to ignore.
If Payden is gonna fit in around here, she’s gonna have to learn to deal with it because Bane and his men don’t pussyfoot around.
Whether I agree with it or not, Payden is club property because she chooses to hang there, and she’s chosen to share my bed.
That makes her mine, at least in the general sense.
I know the guys in this MC will try their luck, so for all intents and purposes, we’re stuck together.
I don’t want the men hitting on her, so if she’s my ol’ lady they’ll back off.
Something I had words with her about in the truck on the way here…
“What do you mean, I’m your ol’ lady?” Her eyes bore into me as I concentrate on the road.
“Payd, it’s crazy country in Mississippi. Bane does things differently. His club is not like ours, and the second you set foot in there, if you’re not mine, then you’re fair game. If you want men comin’ up to you twenty-four-seven then be my guest.” Of course, I don’t mean a word of it.
“If anyone tries to hit on me, it’ll be the last thing they do,” she mutters. “And while we’re at it, none of this ‘club property’ talk. You make it sound like a damn cattle auction.”
I chuckle. “Babe, there are worse things than pretendin’ to like me. You’re a lawyer, you’ve seen it all.”
I feel her eyes on me, her tone softening when she says, “I’m not pretending to like you, dummy head. It’s the whole men beating on their chests thing like women are property. I’m not owned by anyone and I don’t care who knows it.”
Kinda reminds me of Star when she and Nevada first got together. She said exactly the same thing.
“Does it look like I’m beatin’ on my chest?”
“No, but you’re a club member. You abide by the laws and rules of the club. One of them is owning property, such as women.”
“It’s not what you think it is. Do you really believe a woman in the NOLA Rebels doesn’t have a say with her ol’ man?” I shake my head. “You think Tag is an asshole to Luna like he is to the rest of us? I’ll bet he’s not. Luna wouldn’t put up with that shit. Or Deanna? Or Star? Or Crystal?”
“You made your point, but my point still remains.”
“Which is?”
“You see women as property.”
“No, don’t put words in my mouth. Our motto is Ride or Die, and I live by that.
Everything else comes in a close second.
If protectin’ you means that you gotta peddle some pond scum by bein’ my ol’ lady, then that’s what you’re gonna do,” I tell her.
“Because even Bane can’t protect you unless you’re claimed.
But by all means, maybe you want a little variety?
” The very idea has me gripping the wheel even tighter.
“I don’t sleep around,” she tells me, her voice firm. “And we had an agreement. If you’re breaking that agreement?—”
“Not breakin’ shit, but when we set foot inside that clubhouse, Payd, you’re mine.”
Our eyes lock for a second before I turn back to the road. “Yours?”
“That’s right, say it a few more times, it might start to sound believable.”
“That whole claiming thing is a tad misogynist, don’t you think?”
“It’s no different to a long-term relationship, or a marriage. The man is as much claimed to her as she is to him,” I say.
“It’s ridiculous.”
“Not so ridiculous when you were ridin’ my cock and submittin’ to me at every turn.”
Her lips part and I smile to myself. “I never submitted.”
“No?”
She shifts in her seat. We both know Payden is a spitfire in the bedroom, but I also know she likes me taking control. “No.”
“I beg to differ, sweetheart, and the next time you need to take your mind off things, all you gotta do is ask.”
I make a pact right now, as much as my blue balls scream at me, that I won’t do shit until she begs me for it.
She folds her arms over her chest. I notice she does that a lot when she’s getting ready for a showdown. A defense mechanism, I’m sure, but it’s hot all the same.
“Like you weren’t begging me for it,” she fires back as if reading my mind. “You couldn’t stop thinking about me.”
“Not gonna deny that, Angel. Once I had a taste of that sweet pussy, I knew I wanted more.”
“Jesus,” she mutters. “Subtle.”
I keep having flashbacks about us fucking on the bar. Goddamn that was hot. Now we’re forced together in this situation, I don’t mind putting my hand up for more of whatever she’s dishing out.
Angry sex can be good sex, too.
“Just don’t cause trouble.”
She coughs. “Seriously?”
“I mean it. When Star came down here, she gave the boys a mouthful, and while some of them thought it was hilarious, Bane didn’t appreciate the lip,” I say.
“Bane sounds like a whole boat load of fun,” she sighs. “I can’t wait to meet him.”
Jealousy snags at me because Bane is a ladies’ man. He gets all the chicks, they flock to him, not just because he’s an MC Prez, but he has a ‘baby face’ according to the women at the club. I don’t see it, but that’s just me.
“So, you gonna behave?”
“Oh, you don’t wanna see me when I misbehave, Loges.”
I grind my teeth at the nickname. “You know, I’m storin’ up spanks every time you use that word.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
I chuckle. “Clearly you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”
Just thinking about her bending over my lap, like she didn’t want me to spank that perky little ass, has me rock hard.
“Clearly you’re delusional.”
“That’s how you thank your rescuer?”
She’s quiet for a second. “You’d just leave me there to fend for myself? I don’t think so.”
Instinctively, I reach for her hand, and she doesn’t pull away when I bring her knuckles to my lips and kiss them. “If you think I’d ever do anythin’ like that, then clearly you need to get to know me better than you do, princess. Maybe in Mississippi we can find some common ground?”
I smirk when I think about when I let her hand free, and she rubbed her fingers over her knuckles where I kissed them. I don’t know what came over me, but she needed reassurance in that moment, despite her sass.
Declan pats me on the back. “Good luck to you if you think you can tie this one down,” he chuckles. “Though, I’m gonna sit back and watch you have fun tryin’.”
“Well, since I’m apparently club property, and you’re my old man, I guess I better start learning how to tow the line, hadn’t I, Loges?”
Our eyes meet as she and Declan pass in front of me.
‘Strike two,’ I mouth at her.
No matter what she says, her defiance will be better administered on my cock, rather than sassing an entire MC. And I’m gonna look forward to that tonight when she realizes we’re sharing a bed for this entire trip.
I smile behind her back. Today is looking up after all.