CHAPTER TWELVE
B-ry
Today had been somewhat rough but mostly boring. Handing off to the Russians was never something I felt comfortable with. For some reason, I had no problems with the Irish. But the Russians…
Maybe it was because they always seemed so big and meaty. Or it could have been that I’d seen how those guys trained and fought.
Which reminded me that there was an underground fight coming up. I had an invite to go. I was curious, for sure, but I also wasn’t stupid enough to go alone. I just had no clue who I should bring.
But back to trusting the Russians. Sure, I worked out at their gym. I could have said that it was because it was close to the compound and convenient. That was nice but it was also the best gym in the whole city. Plus being surrounded by people like myself helped me to feel comfortable there. Which, I realized didn’t make a lick of sense that I was still on the fence about how I felt.
I had no legitimate reason to be distrusting of them. I didn’t even really have some kind of pang in my gut. So there was really no reason for me to have such distaste and be on edge for every hand-off. But I was. It was there and I had a good idea that it wasn’t going to go away.
It could have been that I was taking my role in the club a little too seriously. Then again, was that really a thing? Nah, I didn’t think so. I was always on guard and that wouldn’t ever change.
After that was done, I headed back to the compound and helped get the party set up. Gwen and Cami were in the kitchen but it seemed like Gwen was doing most of the work. Cami, bless her little heart, was trying her best. Only, she was kind of a mess in the kitchen. Since I wasn’t that bad at cooking, I offered a hand. But then the chit-chat became too much when Chris came to help, so I bowed out. No one seemed to notice.
There were a few times I wanted to ask Cami if she’d invited Laurel but I didn’t. I wasn’t being a coward, I just didn’t know how to bring it up without looking suspicious. I had no legitimate reason to ask about Laurel because as far as everyone knew, I didn’t really know her.
That set me in a bad mood.
Since I knew I wouldn’t be able to shake it for a bit, I headed to my room.
I contemplated riding over to her place and picking her up. Then fear of rejection hit me too hard. I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle it if she laughed in my face and turned me down. I supposed she wasn’t really that mean but I imagined there would be some sort of hesitation and a lame excuse to why she couldn’t go.
This was stupid. No one had ever made me crazy like she did. We’d been doing our thing for a while now and I thought it was about time to pick a direction and go with it. What would happen if I pushed her to give it a label? Would she walk away from us if I told her that I wanted more?
For a moment, I thoughtfuck itand pumped myself up to talk to her.
But then I remembered that this wasn’t a night to invite drama in. This was a celebration. I didn’t want to ruin it for Mason, Lake, and Ky. Most of all Mason because he had no clue.
Ky and Lake had been pretty excited and honored when Mouse and I delivered the news. Ky, I could tell he almost saw it coming. Not that he was cocky about it. He was just smart and knew that he wouldn’t have been invited into the sacred room if something bigger wasn’t up. Lake, though, didn’t have a clue. It was almost adorable how his face lit up and he gave Mouse and me a hug. A manly hug, ya know, with the hard pats on the back and all.
Things started to get underway mid-afternoon. Mason showed up and there were cheers all around when we showed him his new patch. Then Gwen took his cut and made quick work of sewing it on. Mason was a laid back kind of guy most of the time but he didn’t hold back his acceptance and excitement about it. The man was beaming with pride, in a genuine sort of way. I wondered if he truly thought that he wasn’t good enough to fill the VP spot?
Soon the lot between the two buildings was packed with brothers, family, and friends. Things were being flipped nonstop on the grill and there was enough food spread out to feed an army.
While I did enjoy some food and a damn good burger, I couldn’t really relax. I had to stay on my toes and make sure nothing went down. We weren’t a fighting group, but all that testosterone and alcohol could occasionally bring out fists. I was determined to make sure everyone had a damn good time.
As I scanned the lot my eyes landed on Blade. I studied him for a good long minute. He knew I was watching him and I could tell because his eyes eventually met mine and he gave me a chin jerk. Not that I was trying to hide the fact that I was watching him. That only lasted a second because he was doing what I’d been doing all afternoon, watching and anticipating. I could see it in his body language and in his gaze.
For the first time, I wondered why he was still a prospect.
Then I really got to thinking about it.
He was kind of a gruff asshole. My first impression of him was not a good one. Neither was the second, third, and so on. He walked into Branded In Ink and demanded that Brand give him a job. He was arrogant and in your face. I shouldn’t have liked him and honestly, I didn’t for a long time. When I heard he wanted to prospect, I was not completely on board. But I had to admit, the guy had really stepped up and turned around. He took the shit. Did the grunt work. Even let us verbally kick him around.
Then there was this moment. This strange moment where I thought about bringing up patching him in to Iron. Because he was there making sure that nothing was going to go down just like I was. He was taking it on himself without being asked to. That was what this club needed. Good men that took the initiative and looked out without needing the order to do so.
The sun went down and people started to wander inside the clubhouse because the damn mosquitoes were so bad. Some of them opted to head over to the bar. Fitz said he would keep an eye on things inside and so I decided to stay behind and oversee the prospects on cleanup duty with Ky.
“Chris head home?” I asked after I looked around and didn’t find him.
“No, he went over to the bar with Brand and Cami.”
That made sense.
“I’m headed up there after this. I’m ready for bed, but I think Chris wants to hang around for a while. I figured I’d suck it up because he’s always doing shit for me.”
