“This is my boyfriend,” I said quickly, noting the look of displeasure on Colt’s face. He clearly didn’t like the lawyer any more than I did. “And we’re fine. Thank you.”
I took a seat in an old, wooden chair. It wasn’t very comfortable and looked like it was about to collapse.
“Perhaps your boyfriend would like to wait outside?” Leo asked. “This is a private legal matter.”
“That’s okay. It’s fine if he stays,” I stated.
Leo shrugged. “Your prerogative. Let’s get down to it then. You’re here because Richie DeMarco ordered the transfer of the deed to Dive Bar directly to you.”
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
Leo opened his desk drawer and pulled out an envelope. He flipped it open and took out the top paper and handed it to me. “This is the deed to Dive Bar. Richie set things up weeks ago so that you would get the bar—which is fully paid off, by the way. So long as you remain in good standing with yearly property taxes, business licenses, and insurance, the bar is yours.”
“He gave me Dive Bar?” I asked, taking the deed but not reading it. “I didn’t even know he owe it.”
“He bought it in cash years ago, and all the insurance policies and forms are up-to-date, complete with your name as beneficiary should anything happen to the bar.” Leo cleared his throat. “Richie is a stickler for paperwork.”
What an oddity, considering he had no problems getting into bed with the Iron Horsemen and stealing from them.
“I don’t understand. Why did he do this?”
“Why, I can’t say. I don’t get paid for why. I just do as my clients ask. And this client made it very clear that you now own Dive Bar. Just sign here, and this copy too please.”
I took the pen from his outstretched hand and signed my name next to a sticky arrow on the deed and a copy of the paperwork for the attorney to keep.
“Thank you for reaching out to me, and for your time today.” I stood, making sure I had all my belongings, including the paperwork, needing to get out into the sunshine and breathe air that didn’t reek of mold and dust mites.
When we escaped the lawyer’s office, I inhaled deeply. And did it a few more times. The street smelled of grease and urine and I instantly wished I hadn’t bothered taking such a deep breath.
My head spun with everything Leo had told me; none of it made any sense at all. It only made me more confused.
“Let’s get back to the clubhouse,” Colt said. “We can talk there. Yeah?”
I nodded.
We climbed into his truck. “I can’t wait to get you on the back of my bike. I hate having to take the truck everywhere.”
I held up my cast.
“Your safety is my top concern,” he said, pulling his aviators out of his vest pocket and sliding them onto his nose.
“When did you get on a motorcycle for the first time?” I asked.
“Twelve.”
“That seems young.”
“I was big for my age.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I bet you were.”
He grinned. “Why do you think my road name is Colt?”
“Then you really are nicknamed after a young male horse?”
“No, it’s not a nickname, but a road name. Road names are given by your brothers.”
“So how did you get your name?” I queried.
He scratched the stubble on his jaw. “When I was fourteen, I went with my dad to visit another club. The meeting place was a strip joint.” He shot me an amused look. “While my dad was taking care of business, I was told to sit at the bar, enjoy a cherry coke, and wait. Well, I heard a noise coming from one of the dressing rooms, so I went to investigate.”
His jaw clenched at the memory. “One of the bouncers had a stripper on her knees and he was forcing her to give him a blow job. She was choking on his dick and not enjoying it. Her eyes shot to mine, tears streaming mascara down her face, and before I could even think, I had my dad’s old Samuel Colt revolver out from my back pocket, and I was pistol whipping the shit out of him. I put that fucker in the hospital.”
“Holy shit, are you serious?” I asked, my mouth agape.
“Completely. Told you I’m protector of women.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “You really are.”
“Does that story change how you view me?”
“I saw what you did to that shithead the night we met, remember? I—the world needs more men like you, Colt.”
His grinned. “So… do you have any nicknames?”
“No. None that I’d like to remember, anyway.”
“Guess I’ll have to come up with a nickname for you then.”
“I guess so.”
He started the ignition and then we drove away. Colt turned on the radio to a classic rock station, almost like he knew I didn’t want to talk and needed time to think. The papers on my lap drew my attention, but I made no move to study them.
Acid and the other prospects let us through the gate. Colt took the papers from me as we walked into the clubhouse. Cam, Lily, and Silas were eating grilled cheese sandwiches at the breakfast bar. Lily jumped off her stool and ran to me and embraced my legs. I swept her up into a hug, closing my eyes and breathing in the smell of little girl and sunshine. She was exactly what I needed after the morning I’d had.
Darcy was sitting with Gray in the living room and Rachel was drinking a bottle of Pepto Bismol.
“Still hungover?” I asked after setting Lily down. She ran to her mother and crawled up next to her.
Rachel nodded. “It’s awful. I’ve only been able to suck down coffee and eat a piece of toast.”
“I haven’t even eaten today,” I said.
“You can have half my sandwich,” Cam said, offering the mangled shred to me, complete with sticky child’s handprints in the bread.
“Thanks, but you should finish it.” I smiled and then looked at Darcy. “Where is everyone?
“Joni had a shift at the hospital,” Darcy said. “Zip went with her, much to her consternation. They got into a big argument in front of everyone.”
“I didn’t want her out there on her own,” Colt said. “Not with all this sh—”
“Colt,” I interrupted, widening my eyes and gesturing with my chin to the kids.
He grinned suddenly. “Stuff. All this stuff going on.”
“I agree with you,” Darcy said. “But clearly Joni had some other ideas about how it was supposed to go down. Allison—last I knew—was suffering from a bout of morning sickness and Torque has been looking after her. Cheese is conked out after being on watch last night. Reap and Boxer are at the garage and Acid and the prospects are out front—which you saw when you came in.”
She pinned me with her eyes. “You guys get done what you needed to get done?”
I shrugged. Colt had told Boxer where we were headed and apparently Boxer had relayed it to everyone. It was difficult to keep a secret from any of them. They were a close-knit family, all up in each other’s business. It was still a foreign concept to me, but I was slowly coming around to the new dynamic.
“Let’s go to the office,” he said.
I followed him down the hall. He closed the door once we were both in private. It was a small room with a desk and laptop, a file cabinet in the corner, and two chairs in front of the desk. It wasn’t a place for all the Blue Angels to congregate, but Zip and Colt often disappeared into the room to discuss things privately between them before taking it to their brothers.