“Wife…?” Cherry echoed, still frozen in a stunned state.
“His old lady,” Bridget said with a chuckle.
“You...you married your old lady?”
Bridget tilted her head to the side as she observed Cherry. “The Silver Saints tend to be a little more Neanderthal about their women.” Bridget laughed when Mac growled and made a grab for her, though she danced out of his reach. “They want the patch to warn other MCs and the ring to warn off everyone else.”
Erin looked back and forth between them thoughtfully. While Bridget turned to converse with her old man. “I take it you’d like me to get her settled?”
“Please,” Mac responded, making Erin’s jaw drop again.
Bridget walked over to Erin and drew her up, then linked their arms. “Let’s go—”
“Cinnamon,” Scout piped up after being quiet for so long I’d almost forgotten he was there.
Bridget did a sweep of Erin before laughing brightly. “A little on the nose for you, Scout, isn’t it?”
“No pun intended?” he quipped.
“What do you think?” she replied sassily.
The banter seemed to put Cherry a little more at ease. I didn’t like the idea of her being out of my sight, but I knew she was in good hands with Bridget, and I needed to report on the run.
Erin looked back at me as she was led to the door.
“Go with Bridget, baby. I’ll check on you soon.”
Bridget directed her next words at me. “I’ll put her in the west—”
“You know where to put her, baby,” Mac interrupted casually.
Bridget looked at Mac, then glanced back at me and frowned. Her gaze finally returned to her old man’s, and she put her free hand on her hip. “We talked about that, Jared.”
“No, baby, you talked about it. I didn’t agree.”
I knew exactly what conversation Mac was referring to. Apparently, Bridget didn’t think we should take our women straight to our rooms. We should let them come to us.
But that wasn’t how it worked. Setting aside the fact that I wouldn’t let Cherry sleep without me under any circumstances, putting her in my room was the best protection she had without wearing a property patch.
I narrowed my eyes at Mac, and he shook his head, telling me to stay out of it.
“Exactly,” Bridget said. “So I’ll put her—”
“You know where to put her, Bridget.” His tone was firm this time. The inflection meant he wouldn’t budge, not even for his wife.
“Fine!” Bridget threw her arms up in exasperation. “A bunch of cavemen!”
Mac grinned. “We both know you love my caveman.”
Bridget blushed hard as she led Cherry out of the office.
5
Erin
I wasn’t sure what to think as I followed Bridget through the Silver Saints clubhouse. Patriot and his club kept blowing my assumptions out of the water. I’d already been scared when Patriot’s president had called us into his office, and my fear skyrocketed when he’d said that Razor had already called him. I’d thought he was going to light into Patriot before telling me that I had to go back to the Devil’s Jesters. I hadn’t known how to react when he’d offered me shelter, let alone to help me disappear if it came down to that.
Then I found out he married his old lady—which was unheard of in Razor’s club. I’d once made the mistake of asking my sister why she wasn’t married when they’d been together so long. Alice had insisted it wasn’t something she wanted, but I could tell she was trying to convince herself as much as me that she was okay with wearing Razor’s property patch but not his ring.
I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn’t realize Bridget had asked me a question until she gently tugged on my arm and repeated it. “Do you want a drink or anything before we head upstairs?”
“Um, yeah. That would be great. Thanks.” She ducked behind the bar lining a wall, and I glanced around the lounge area. It wasn't what I’d expected either. The only stuff it had in common with the Devil’s Jesters clubhouse was the bar and a bunch of couches and tables spread throughout the space. But this place was clean, and there wasn’t a single club bunny hanging around.
Two women were sitting with a couple of club members at one of the tables, but they wore property patches that identified them as old ladies. I recognized both men. One of them had been at the gate when we’d pulled in, but his scary expression from earlier completely disappeared as he smiled at the brunette on his lap. The other had been sitting at the same table at Hell’s Kitchen with Patriot. He made a gagging noise when the couple across from him kissed, and the blonde next to him giggled. “Quit giving Dax and Arya a hard time, babe. You like PDA just as much as they do.”