“You’re not so tough.” She turns her head to tease me.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. You could have had me killed.” Her voice is light but there’s an honesty there we both know hits home.
I clear my throat. “Maybe. I’ve never taken things that far…not intentionally. I’ve been in some situations. Things had to go one way or the other. Me or them. Or one of my own or them. It’s the life, but it’s not what feeds me. Or us, as a club. Like I said, we want to go in new directions. We’ll always be us, but that doesn’t mean we don’t evolve.”
She nods into my chest. “That’s good. Because I don’t want to lose you.” There’s a catch in her voice.
“Baby, you are not going to lose me.”
She’s quiet for a long moment, her breathing slow, and I have things I want to know.
“Tell me more about your parents. What happened? I want to know everything…”
Chapter Twelve
Chain
The bar is heaving. Everyone who’s anyone within the biker community is here tonight. This MC is a good friend of Heartlands, and they’ve helped us out of a tight spot more than once. That’s why we had a church meeting today; it wasn’t just about discussing what Meadow can do for us, Troy also had to impart some sad news.
It’s not just bikers either. There are no old ladies or sweetbutts here, but there are working girls for the crowd to enjoy. Meadow is the only female in this bar that isn’t either a hired prostitute or a party girl, and that puts me on edge. Truth is, I’d like to loosen her collar and let her enjoy herself, but I don’t want her mixing with these assholes. If she’s by my side, I can protect her, and that’s the way it’s going to stay.
“Brothers!” Bullet, VP of Hell Fire Club, climbs up on the bar, raising his voice. “I’m glad to see so many friendly faces here tonight. I can see you’re all enjoying our hospitality.” A cheer goes up from the crowd, Bullet grins but makes a gesture for quiet. “It’s the way Carver would have wanted it. He wasn’t one for moping or dwelling on things that didn’t go our way.”
Meadow leans in close to me. “Who’s Carver?”
“President of the Hell Fire. He died yesterday. Some sort of score gone wrong,” I whisper.
“I loved Carver like a brother,” Bullet continues. “And I know you all did too. Tomorrow, we’ll vote on a new President, but for tonight let’s give him the send off he would have wanted!”
There’s laughter and cheering as Bullet climbs down from the bar and heads our way. When he’s close, he flashes me a glimpse of his gold tooth and comes closer. I put out my hand, but he pulls me in for an embrace.
“Brother, thanks for coming.” He glances at Meadow. “Heard you guys had a bit of a troublemaker you were keeping on a tight leash. Didn’t know that was literal.”
She doesn’t respond, which is good. These guys are friends, but this is their territory, and everyone needs to show them respect.
“Meadow is working off her debt to the club.”
“Oh, really?” His eyes light up.
“Not like that,” I growl, drawing myself up to my full height, and he drops back.
“Hey, no offense intended, dude.”
I stare him down for a moment, letting him know that Meadow is off limits, but after a minute I have to shrug and nod. “No hard feelings, but nobody touches her except me.”
“Sure thing. I’ll make sure my guys know that. Look, enjoy your evening, Chain, I’ve gotta go mingle.”
He pushes off through the crowd, and I watch him go. Two guys I don’t recognize have just come in through the door to the club, and Bullet moves in their direction.
“You want a drink?” I ask as I turn to Meadow but find her eyes wide as she stares at the two strangers. “Hey, what’s up?”
“I know those guys.”
Chapter Thirteen
Meadow
“What the fuck, Meadow? How?”
Chain is staring at me, and it’s the fourth time he’s asked that question, and my mind has frozen. Shit. I don’t know what to tell him. What are they even doing here? This is a fucking biker bar. Suits like that stay well away from places like this. Even dirty suits. Because no matter how dirty they are, they still have a reputation to uphold.
Chain snaps his fingers in front of my face. “Meadow!”
“What?”
“Who the fuck are they? And more importantly, who are they to you?”
I draw a deep breath. “Okay, look, before I came to Seneca, I did a little job in Temple Bluff—”
“Hold on, define little.”
I turn my face down to the floor and mutter, “Fifty.”
Chain grabs my chin and turns it up so I can’t avoid looking at him. “Fifty what, Meadow?”
“Thousand. But they deserved it! And I didn’t know they were your friends, or I wouldn’t have picked Seneca in the first place. I’m not an idiot.”