“And you never left.” I laughed.
“Never left,” he agreed with a nod.
I loved hearing their stories, learning their history, but the conversation turned decisively to me after that. Even though I’d spent time with them at the clubhouse party the other night, this was different. This felt like we were all getting to know each other, and not as brother versus a brother’s woman, but as real people. There was no divide between us now. They saw me as family, which I greatly appreciated, but I also wanted them to like me.
Cheese decided to hit the sack and said a quick goodnight before escaping to his clubhouse room. I reached into my back pocket for my phone. I lit up the screen. No word from Colt. I wondered how long it took to talk to the sheriff.
“You guys have been really wonderful to me,” I said quietly. “I just want you to know that even though I didn’t grow up in this world and I don’t always understand the way things are handled, I respect Colt. I respect all that he’s done to earn your loyalty and I just—I don’t want you to think I’m going to piss all over it or lead him around by the balls. Not that I think I even could.”
“You’re not like I thought you’d be,” Reap said.
“No? How’d you think I’d be?” I asked, setting my phone aside.
“You’re one of the guys,” Reap said with a wry grin. “I thought, maybe, you needed to be taken care of, you know? Since that’s how he rolls. Takes care of shit. Takes care of people.”
“Prez has always been methodical,” Boxer said, looking into my eyes. “He never does anything without thinking through every scenario.”
“Are you saying he did that with me? Went off the rails and did something completely out of character?”
Reap shook his head. “You know what he did the night he met you?”
I shook my head.
“We had church.”
“Church? What’s church?” I asked.
“It’s when all the brothers meet to discuss club business,” Boxer explained.
“I was club business?”
Reap grinned. “Yeah, babe. He wanted to bring you into the fold. Wanted to let us know that’s how it was gonna be.”
“Wait a second. Are you saying if a brother wants to make a woman his Old Lady, he has to run it by the club?”
“Yeah, that’s what we’re saying,” Boxer said, “But not because he needs approval or anything. It’s a courtesy. Just letting us know he’s ready to make that step.”
My eyes widened. “Seriously?”
“Yup,” Boxer said. “When Colt said you didn’t call the cops after seeing him beat the shit out of that rapist, he knew for sure what you were made of. We were shocked as hell.”
“But Zip totally vouched for it. Now look, we’re trying to be gentlemen here, so we’re not gonna repeat some of what was said.” Reap’s brown eyes seemed to twinkle with devilish enjoyment. “But some of your assets might’ve been mentioned.”
Boxer made an obvious show of checking out my body.
“Up here, dude,” I growled, causing him to laugh.
“Colt is the best judge of character I’ve ever seen,” Reap went on. “He’s got an instinct about people, you know? He just knew you were the one for him. Never seen him like this around another broad, either.”
His words made my heart expand. “Never?”
He shook his head. “Never. And point blank, I didn’t think he’d meet a chick who’d put up with his moody ass.”
“Moody?” Boxer shook his head and looked at me. “Not lately.”
“Well, a steady supply of pussy will do that,” Reap pointed out.
“Yeah, as much fun as this is,” I said, my tone snarky, causing them to grin, “I think it’s time I said goodnight.”
“Goodnight, darlin’,” Boxer said.
I got up and he pulled me in a side hug very much like a big brother.
“He needed you and I’m glad he saw that. We’re keepin’ ya, babe.”
“Then I get to keep you too, right?” I asked with a wide smile.
“That’s usually the way it works, yeah,” Reap said.
I waved and headed off to Colt’s room, my heart full and light despite the horror of the evening. Either I was becoming desensitized really quickly to this way of life, or I’d been right for it all along.
I washed the makeup off my face in Colt’s clubhouse bathroom and then went to his dresser to find a shirt to sleep in. It was only when I slid beneath the clean sheets that smelled faintly of Colt that I realized I no longer cared what people might think about the choice I had made.
A biker babe.
That’s what I’d become.
The Blue Angels had taken me in, no questions asked. My fight had become their fight. If that was the way they treated family, then I could’ve done a lot worse. I’d just have to find a way to explain to Shelly that this was truly what I wanted. To be with Colt. To have his protection. To learn how to weather the storm with another person by my side. Someone strong and loyal, someone who didn’t shy away from the grit and loss of life.
Colt may have been a rugged, tatted, biker, but his heart beat in synchronicity with mine. He understood me in a way no one else ever had. He understood the losses I’d endured, having faced similar losses himself. He knew what it meant to make a family with people that were good and true, and damn what they looked like on the outside.
I fell asleep with a smile on my face, warm and happy.
A low curse woke me up.
“Colt?”
“Sorry, babe, did I wake you?”
“It’s okay. What time is it?” I asked through a yawn.
“Late. Or early, depending on who you ask. I’m gonna flip on a lamp. I just busted my knee on the bed.”
I slowly opened my eyes. “Okay.”
A low glow washed over the room.
“How’d your talk with the sheriff go?”
“Valenti isn’t gonna be a concern.” Colt reached into his pockets and took out his cell phone and keys.
And then he reached under his T-shirt and pulled out a pistol.
He kept his eyes on me when he did it. “Does this bother you?”
“It’s a little late if it does, don’t you think?” I asked, smiling into the pillow.
“Guess it doesn’t bother you, then.”
“If you’d had your boy sweep my glove box, you’d have found out I carry too.”
“Do you now?” His smile was slow. “Well, well, Ms. O’Banion. Aren’t you full of surprises.”
He removed his cut and laid it gently across the back of the chair in the corner and then removed his shirt.
“I’ve yet to see this tattoo of yours,” I said, finally sitting up.
“Go for it.” Colt came over and took a seat on the bed next to me. I could smell the faint traces of sweat on his skin, mingling with his own unique scent. Something that made me want to trace his body with my tongue. Instead, I locked down my hormones and gently touched the edge of the bandage.
My name was written in a curly script on the right side of his chest.
Tears pricked my eyes. “It’s beautiful.”