Chapter 2
TWO
JACOB “TINY” WELLINGTON III
I’m sitting at the far end of the bar in Perdition with a half-empty bottle of beer in front of me, watching my brothers turn into something I don’t recognize anymore.
The place is loud like it always is on a Friday night. The music is thumping low, pool balls cracking, smoke and whiskey hanging in the air. But none of that shit is what’s got my attention.
It’s them. Weston and Wyatt are posted up on the big corner couch with Hadley between them.
Weston’s got his arm around her shoulders, fingers playing with her hair.
Wyatt’s hand rests heavy on her thigh, thumb stroking slow like he’s got every right to touch her however he wants.
She leans into both of them without a second thought.
My eyes slide over to Steele and Erica in the next booth. He’s got one big hand wrapped around the back of her neck while he talks to Rook. Every few minutes he dips his head and murmurs something against her ear that makes her cheeks go pink.
Cole and Tessa are a few stools down from me, Tessa tucked back against Cole’s chest like she belongs there. And over by the jukebox, Scarlett’s leaning into Rook with that soft look on her face that says she’s exactly where she wants to be.
I drain the rest of my beer and signal the prospect for another.
All around me, my brothers are pairing off. Finding their old ladies. Building something real. And here I am, sitting at the bar like some sad, single bastard watching it all happen.
I twist the new bottle in my hands and stare at the label without seeing it.
Maybe I’m just getting old. Maybe the life that used to feel like enough is starting to feel like not enough. Or maybe I’m just tired of going home to an empty bed every night with nobody to reach for.
Whatever it is, it’s got its claws in me tonight. I’m so deep in my own head I don’t even notice Hadley until she’s standing right in front of me, one hand on her hip, head tilted like she’s trying to figure me out. “What’s wrong with you?” she asks, blunt as ever.
I blink at her, then glance past her shoulder at the twins. Weston’s watching us with a smirk. Wyatt just raises an eyebrow like he already knows this is about to get loud.
I slam my beer down on the bar a little harder than necessary and throw both hands up in the air.
“What’s wrong with me?” I repeat, loud enough that half the damn clubhouse turns to look. “I’ll tell you what’s wrong with me, cupcake. I’m sitting here watching every single one of my brothers get themselves an old lady while I’m over here dying a slow, tragic, lonely death!”
Hadley’s eyebrows shoot up, but I’m already on a roll.
“Look at them!” I gesture wildly toward the twins. “Those two used to be the biggest man-whores in three states and now they’re over there sharing one woman like it’s the most normal thing in the world! And they’re happy! Both of them! At the same time!”
Weston snorts. Wyatt just grins.
I spin toward Steele and Erica next. “And you!” I point at Steele. “You used to be the meanest bastard in this club and now you’re over there petting your woman like she’s a damn kitten! I saw you kiss her forehead earlier. Forehead! What the hell happened to you?”
Erica buries her face in Steele’s chest, shoulders shaking with laughter. Steele just flips me off without even looking up.
I keep going, getting louder, arms flailing like I’m putting on a one-man show.
“Cole’s got Tessa wrapped up like a damn security blanket, but like, who didn’t see that one coming?
Rook’s over there looking at Scarlett like she hung the fucking moon!
And me?” I slap a hand over my heart and stagger back a step like I’ve been shot.
“I’m over here drinking alone like some washed-up, lonely giant while the rest of you assholes are out here living in some kind of twisted romance novel! ”
The whole bar is watching now. Some of the guys are laughing. A few of the old ladies are trying not to smile.
Hadley crosses her arms, fighting a grin. “You done?”
“No, I’m not done!” I shout, even though I’m already grinning despite myself. “I’m gonna die alone, Hadley! Alone! With nothing but my bike and my regrets and maybe a dog that doesn’t even like me!”
Wyatt calls out from the couch, “You don’t even have a dog, Tiny.”
“That’s not the point!” I roar back.
Hadley finally loses it and starts laughing, shaking her head at me like I’m the biggest idiot she’s ever met. Which, fair. She steps closer and pats my arm, still smiling.
“You’re ridiculous,” she says.
“Yeah, well…” I mutter, dropping back onto my stool and grabbing my beer. “Ridiculous and single. It’s a whole vibe.”
She studies me for a second, eyes softer now. “You’ll find someone,” she says quietly. “When it’s supposed to happen.”
I take a long drink and don’t answer. Because the truth is, I’m not sure I believe that anymore. But I’ll be damned if I’m gonna sit here and admit it out loud while the whole clubhouse is watching me have a dramatic breakdown over being the last single bastard standing.
Suddenly Tessa gets this look on her face. It’s the kind of look that makes grown men nervous. Evil. Plotting. The kind of look that says she just came up with something that’s gonna make my life complicated.
She doesn’t say a word. Just pushes off Cole’s chest, grabs Hadley by the wrist, then jerks her chin at Erica and Scarlett. All four of them exchange one glance and then they’re gone, disappearing down the hallway toward the back rooms like a pack of she-wolves on a mission.
I watch them go, already suspicious.
“The fuck was that about?” I mutter.
Cole just smirks into his beer. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
Two minutes later they’re back. All four of them are walking toward me in a straight line like they rehearsed this shit.
Tessa’s still got that evil little smile.
Hadley looks way too pleased with herself.
Erica’s trying not to laugh. Scarlett’s got her arms crossed like she’s already won something.
I sit up straighter on my stool.
“What did you four do?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.
They stop right in front of me. Tessa tilts her head, that wicked little grin still in place.
“We’ve got a proposition for you, Tiny.”
I don’t like the sound of that. Not one bit.
Hadley jumps in before I can even open my mouth. “You let us set you up,” she says. “Each of us picks one girl. Four different girls. Four dates. You go out with all of them.”
Scarlett picks it up from there, calm as ever. “Then you tell us which one you like the best.”
Erica’s smiling now, sweet and dangerous at the same time. “The girl whose pick you like the most… wins.”
I stare at all four of them. “You’ve gotta be shitting me.”
“Nope,” Tessa says, popping the ‘p’. “We’re dead serious.”
I throw my hands up again, voice getting loud. “So let me get this straight. Y’all are gonna handpick four poor, unsuspecting women, throw them at me one by one, and then sit around judging me like some fucked-up version of The Bachelor but with bikers and old ladies instead of roses?”
Hadley shrugs, completely unbothered. “Pretty much.”
I look at each of them in turn, waiting for one of them to crack and say they’re joking. None of them do.
Cole’s laughing quietly behind me. Steele’s shaking his head like he’s seen this coming from a mile away. Even Rook’s got a smirk on his face.
I drag a hand down my face and groan loud enough for the whole damn bar to hear. “You four are actually evil. You know that, right? Actual villains. I should’ve known the second Tessa got that look on her face.”
Tessa just bats her lashes at me, innocent as hell. “So?” she asks. “You in or what?”
I stare at them for a long second, then let out a dramatic, suffering sigh and throw my arms out wide like I’m surrendering to my fate. “Fine,” I say loudly. “You evil little matchmakers win. Set me up. Throw your sacrificial lambs at me. I’ll go on your stupid dates.”
Hadley grins like she just won the lottery.
“But,” I add, pointing a finger at all four of them, “when this blows up in your faces and I end up more single and more dramatic than I already am, I’m blaming every single one of you.”
Tessa’s smile turns downright wicked. “Deal.”
I grab my beer and take a long drink, already regretting every life choice that led me to this moment. “What’s in it for y’all?”
The four girls look at each other, then back at me with matching evil little smiles.
Tessa is the one who answers. “Bragging rights,” she says first.
Then Hadley jumps in. “And the losers have to do whatever the winner wants for one full week.”
I narrow my eyes. “Define ‘whatever.’”
Scarlett shrugs, calm as ever. “Within reason. Could be cleaning her house, buying her drinks every night she comes to Perdition, doing her chores for club events… whatever she feels like making them do.”
Erica grins. “Basically, the winner becomes Queen for a Week. The other three are her little bitches.”
I stare at them, then let out a loud, dramatic groan and drop my head back like I’m in physical pain. “You four are actually deranged,” I say to the ceiling. “You know that, right? This is some evil, twisted, old lady mafia shit.”
Hadley just pats my arm like she’s comforting a toddler. “So?” she asks, eyes sparkling. “You still in?”
I lift my head and look at all four of them again, already knowing I’m about to regret this. “Yeah,” I mutter. “I’m in. But when this whole thing goes sideways and I’m still single and miserable, I’m telling everyone it was your fault.”
Tessa’s smile turns downright wicked. “Deal.”
She sticks her hand out. I look at it for a second, then slap my much bigger hand into hers and shake on it. “God help me,” I say loudly. “I just made a deal with the devil. Four devils.”
Hadley laughs and throws an arm around my shoulders. “Relax, Tiny. We’re gonna find you the perfect girl.”
I take a long drink of my beer and mutter under my breath. “Yeah… that’s what I’m afraid of.”