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I scratch my cheek, running my fingers over a couple days’ worth of stubble. Damn, I really want to get home.
“Valentina? Your kids? Grandkids?”
Priest and Valentina’s relationship is slightly unusual in our biker world. They’re fiercely loyal to one another. Legend has it, Priest shot a brother back in the day for disrespecting his wife. Other clubs, it’s brotherhood first. Women are secondary. Cheating is common.
Honestly, when I was younger, the unlimited pussy was part of the appeal for me.
Now?
Well, this isn’t about me.
Some clubs have no problem sharing old ladies. I’m pretty sure I’d gut a brother before offering Lilly to one of them and they’d do the same.
“Valentina’s a good woman. You trust her.”
Priest growls at me. I’m approaching dangerous territory. Gettin’ close to those soft spots.
“You trust your brothers.”
Priest flexes his jaw. “Get to the point, Z.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Rock’s mouth twitch. He knows the route I’m taking.
“What’s your rule about brothers being alone with old ladies?” I ask.
Hope told me once a good lawyer never asks a witness a question she doesn’t know the answer to. Something that’s serving me well at the moment.
“They don’t,” Priest spits out between clenched teeth.
“What?” I ask, just to be a dick.
“Brothers and ol’ ladies aren’t allowed to be alone together.”
“Why?” I run my hand over my chin and cock my head. “You don’t trust your brothers? Your woman gonna make a brother an offer he can’t refuse?”
“Watch yourself.”
Club bylaws are about the same throughout the organization. Ride a minimum number of hours per year. Pay your dues. Blood or money pays most debts. How we earn, as well as some more personal rules, is left up to each, individual Lost Kings MC charter.
I point to Rock and then myself. “See, we don’t have a rule like that in our club. No need for it. Once a brother claims a woman,” I pass my hand in front of my eyes, “she might as well be a dolphin.”
“What?”
Next to me, Rock rumbles with laughter. “Did you just compare my wife to a dolphin?”
I shrug. “What? They’re cute, in need of our protection, and I don’t want to fuck one.”
“Jesus Christ, Z,” Priest shakes with laughter. “What the fuck?”
At least Priest’s laughing instead of ready to murder me.
Time to get serious. “My point is, we can handle our business knowing what we love the most is safe in our brother’s keeping.” I press a hand to my chest. “When Rock did his time in county, he knew Hope was safe with us.”
Priest glances over and Rock shrugs. “She lived at the clubhouse. That’s where she was safest.” He nods in Murphy’s direction. “Got Murphy and his ol’ lady living with us now. He’s alone with Hope all the time. Don’t think twice about it.”
All of that’s true. Sure, when Rock had to handle a tense situation out at the Demons’ MC and came home to find me alone in the house keeping Hope company, he looked like he wanted a club to whap me upside the head with, but he never said a word. Since she was pregnant, I chalked it up to good old-fashioned caveman possessiveness and got the hell out of there.
“You start forcing us to add people to the club who haven’t earned it, we’re gonna end up with two levels of brothers.” I hold out one hand and then the other. “Ones we trust down to our bones and ones we don’t. Over time that’s gonna erode everything we’ve built, Priest.”
“You make good points. My concern is that you’ve worked hard to build up this territory and I don’t want to lose it.”
“Neither do we,” Rock says.
“You’re actively looking?” Priest asks.
“Yeah,” I answer before Rock’s head explodes. “Wrath’s gym is back open. A lot of our successful recruits have been from his after-school program.”
Priest nods. Two of those recruits had been poached by Priest over the years, but I don’t bother pointing that out.
“What about the other club near you? The Wolf Knights?”
Rock and I share a look. The Wolf Knights are about as likely to want to patch-over to another club as we are.
“We’ve peacefully coexisted with them for years. We’re not going to shake that up unless they show some interest and, so far, that hasn’t happened.”
Last year, they were trying to patch-over a weak-ass club from Vermont to try and push us out of our territory. It didn’t end well for the Vermont club and after a change in leadership with the Wolf Knights, our clubs are back in good standing. Sort of. I still don’t trust those fuckers and they’re definitely not bikers I want to share a patch with.
“I’ve always thought they were situated too close to our territory,” Priest says.
They are and he’s right to be concerned. It is unusual. “We make it work. Especially now that the Vipers MC is gone.” The reminder that we already removed one club and took over their territory should calm Priest down.
“You’re right. Let’s not get greedy,” he finally says. He glances at Rock and then back to me. “I trust you both.”
About fucking time.
After Priest leaves, I turn to Rock who leans over and shuts the door.
“Jesus Christ.” I let out a low whistle to ease the tension. “Feels like I’ve dealt with Priest more these past few months than I have over the last few years.”
“Tell me about it,” Rock grumbles.
“Why the fuck is he so concerned about taking over more territory?”
“Our club’s earning. Much better than most from what we learned at National. Since we’re small, he’s probably thinking if we expand our numbers we’ll make even more.”
“Or all end up in prison.”
“Exactly.”
“That club up in Toronto just went through this.” I grin at Rock. “Maybe I should set up a Google alert for him so he can keep up on all the Outlaw MC news.”
Rock breaks into laughter and slaps my shoulder. “You do that.” More seriously he adds, “I think he keeps up with things through his law enforcement connections.”
“Yeah, well, he’s not interpreting the data correctly.”
“He’s getting older. Probably wants to set himself up for retirement.”
“He ain’t doing it on my back.”
“Amen to that, brother.”
I blow out a breath and shake off the tension from that meeting. Finally, I glance up at Rock and can’t help laughing. “No wonder you’re such a cynical crank. How the fuck you been doing this for years without killing anyone?”
Rock laughs and pats my cheek. “It ain’t easy, Prez.”
Thirty-Five
Lilly
Z’s been downstate since they received the news about Sway. With half the brothers spending their time downstate, holding vigil around Sway, his clubhouse seems to be thrown into gloom and chaos.
Tonight, the guys will return but only to sit down for church and then go back downstate for a club party.
Although we’ve all tried to go about our business, even Hope and Trinity have been anxious about all the upheaval.
I’m hanging out at Hope’s house so Alexa an
d Chance can play. Really, they’re more interested in playing next to each other than with each other, but from time to time they trade cars or chatter away about something that captures their interest.
Rock and Z return to the house, neither looking too happy.
Upstairs, Grace, waking up from her nap, lets out a cry. Hope trots up the stairs to check on her with Rock hot on her heels.
Smiling, Z shakes his head. “He is not pleased with me right now.”
“What’d you do?”
“I need him at this party tonight. He and Wrath are riding down with us.” He wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer. “I really want you with me.”
“Isn’t a party sort of inappropriate since Sway still hasn’t woken up?” I ask.
Z sighs. “Yeah, I’ve been going back and forth about it, but I think the guys need it. When I’m not at the hospital, I’ve been riding them hard.”
I don’t even ask.
“I have to do this tonight, and I’d like you by my side.” He glances over. “Chance can stay here with Hope. He’ll be fine.”
I’ve never spent a night away from Chance. But as I look over, and see him happily playing next to Alexa, I don’t feel as bad about it as I expected.
“Are you sure Hope’s okay with that? Doesn’t she need to be there too?”
“Rock would love to have her at his side, but there’s no way she’s leaving Grace yet. Trinity’s probably going to hang with her since Heidi and Charlotte are also coming down.”
“Let me talk to her and make sure she doesn’t mind.”
He leans in and kisses my cheek. “Thank you.”
The ride down is chilly, but uneventful. I’m grateful for the heavier leather jacket Hope insisted I wear.
Z steers the bike into the gravel parking lot, riding right up and claiming a spot in front of the clubhouse. The parking lot is jammed with motorcycles, but it seems a row has been reserved for us. Rock, Wrath, Teller, and Murphy back their bikes in next to us in a neat row.
I hand over my helmet and shake out my hair. I’d like to get to a bathroom, maybe a mirror, but that doesn’t seem likely before going inside.
