Page 21 of Down & Dirty: Rage

She mentally sighed. He brought up his dislike of her belonging to the Angels of Fury whenever they were together. Most of the club brothers did.

They all got their panties in a wad when the ladies haddecided to start their own MC since they were forbidden from riding with the men they grew up with.

“There are always things in life we don’t like, Ash. Women usually don’t like being told what to do.” She sat up and wiped the excess ink off his skin with a damp paper towel. “Or told we’re the weaker sex. Or treated like we can’t think for ourselves. Or can’t protect ourselves.”

She did not miss the shift of his jaw. “Piper still bein’ in the hospital’s proof you can’t.”

“Really.” She rolled her chair back and stared at him. “Did you think the same about Slade? The Warriors used him as bait for an ambush and also beat the hell out of him. From what I heard, one of them shot Diesel, too. Men are not immune to being attacked or injured.”

Of course he only grunted because he couldn’t disprove what she said. When he didn’t even try, she went back to touching up the outline of the tattoo.

“Still doin’ the self-defense classes with Kat and Diamond?”

She kept her head down and the tattoo machine moving when she answered, “Occasionally.”

“How often?”

Not as often as she should. “It’s hard to find the time.”

“Supposed to be for you to learn to protect yourself.”

She wanted to respond with, “Why would I need that when I have you? A man who calls himself Rage. A man who would protect his family and friends with the ferocity of a cornered grizzly bear.”

She didn’t. Because she would never want to be one of those women who relied solely on a man. The women in the DAMC were strong, intelligent, and independent. They could fight their own battles.

But she understood his concern and why hewas asking.

“We don’t even know who they were, Ash.” She tipped her head to the side and watched his expression carefully when she said, “Unless you do and are keeping it from us.”

No matter who it was, they had approached the Angels of Fury formation from behind. It was basically a hit and run. When they hit Piper, it knocked her and her sled into both Lyric and Bri.

The brush burns on her arms were starting to heal, but she still took pain medication for her left shoulder. Her Harley was also in the shop being repaired. Luckily, it wasn’t totaled and she hoped to have it back soon as good as new.

He brushed his knuckles over the one of the skinned areas that was no longer raw but still a bit red. “How you feelin’?”

She frowned. “Nice deflection. Will you tell us who it is if you find out?”

“Know who it is, Lyric, but don’t want you girls goin’ all vigilante on them.”

“We’re not girls.”

“Women,” he corrected. “We warned you and your club sisters that the Twisted Souls were takin’ over the Demons’ old territory.”

“But why would they see us as a threat? When I say ‘us,’ I not only mean the Angels of Fury, but the DAMC.”

Clearly, he didn’t want to tell her. Most likely because it was considered “club business”, and to the men, club business wasn’t the women’s business.

“Are they trying to take over the club’s territory?”

“Don’t know that, baby, but that’s always a risk.”

Her heart skipped a beat. Ashton tended to be gruff. He grumbled and growled a lot, but whenever he called her baby, his tone changed. It softened, and so did his expression.

She figured it was the age difference betweenthem that stopped him from pursuing her. If so, he was ignoring the fact that Lyric’s mother was twelve years younger than her father and her parents were still madly in love and were true soulmates.

She grew up being told that age was only a number and love was timeless.

She believed that.