“Your own fuckin’ fault,” Mace throws back. “You hooked on to the idea of running it commercially.”
“Think that was you, Brother,” Ink snarls.
“Well, you ran with it,” Demon barks. “Where are you at, Ink?”
Ink’s eyes shutter. “If it was just us, Prez, no one would give a damn. But opening it up to the public means getting all the right building permits. Feel like I’m drowning in paperwork and regulations. Health and fuckin’ safety.”
“Beth helping?” I ask, knowing she is, and for some reason, wanting his woman to get recognition. Of course, as she works in the government offices, she’s used to the way officials think.
Ink throws me a look of gratitude. “Couldn’t do it without her, Brother. She speaks their language. Anyway, we’re getting there. The outside is basically sound now, and we’ve finally got approval for the number of heads, showers, shit like that.”
“Keeping to budget?” asks Buzzard.
“Just about,” confirms Ink.
Shit’s bandied around a little more, like Thunder wishing Ink would get a fucking move on and Ink protesting that he’s doing his best.
Prez signifies he wants to move on and it’s then I recall what I wanted to bring up. Leaning forward, I clasp my hands on the table. “Don’t know whether this is a problem or not,” I start, making sure I’ve got everyone’s attention. “Does anyone here know a man, possibly in an MC, named Major?”
There are shakes of heads, and shrugs of shoulders.
“Why, Liz?” asks the VP.
I like and respect Beef. I answer him directly. “Woman came in today, wants a ‘Property of’ tat covered up. Fancy work, not cheap.”
Cad’s looking toward me now. “The woman’s name?”
“Shayla Vonovich.” I note he’s tapping it onto his tablet.
Mace is watching me carefully. “Send her elsewhere,” he suggests. “You’ve got concerns, Brother. Let someone else take the rap.”
I inhale, then exhale through my nose. I just fucking love that my brothers have got my back and have immediately gone where I went to when I first saw that property patch.
“What did you say to her, Liz?”
“Prez, I used a delaying tactic. Said Vi was the best person for her to speak to. She’s coming back tomorrow. Wanted to have everyone’s thoughts on it first.”
“Prez?” Cad waggles his fingers. “I can do some searching overnight. If she’s local, or this Major is, might be able to turn something up.”
“So,” Beef sits back in his chair, “covering a property patch doesn’t sit right with you?”
“Worried about blowback on us,” I respond. Yeah, it worries me. First off, having a ‘Property of’ patch is more than a wedding ring to any of us, it means a commitment which should last for life. Citizens get divorced, all they need to do is remove their ring. Sure, people in MCs aren’t angels, can stray, can have relationship breakups, but a man puts a property tat on a bitch, then she’s his property. Of course, he might be an abusive fuck. She could have left him because of it, and I’ll stand with her if that’s the case. But might be, she’ll have regrets. Then on his side, removing his patch may well be something he doesn’t want her to do. Depending who he is, there might indeed be trouble for us, especially if she’s from a rival MC.
“Leave someone else to do it,” Mace suggests for the second time. “Say we don’t have the skills to do a good job.”
I acknowledge his suggestion, but we can do it right. Some of the other places in town don’t have the experience that we do, and I’d be loath to recommend their work. “She’s a nice woman, Mace, from what I saw. Hate to have her end up with a bad job.” I breathe in and sigh out again. “It’s big.” I hold my hands about eight inches apart, then four inches to demonstrate both height and width. “Serious work. I do reckon Vi will come up with a good idea of how to blend and cover it, but some of the other assholes we know around here? She could end up with some of it still showing through.”
“Has she considered getting it lasered?”
I nod at the suggestion. “Didn’t get that far. I just wondered who this Major fucker was, and whether anyone here knew.”
Prez is the next one to sigh. “Vi’s got my patch on her. I’d hate if she wanted it removed. Not sure I’d take it out on the asshole doing the job, though.”
“But you’re reasonable,” Hell suggests. “You know Violet wouldn’t get rid of your mark without good reason. Liz here is right. If this Major fucker thinks property is his for life, it could come back to us. I agree with Mace. Send her someplace else.”
“Of course,” Thunder, the sergeant-at-arms puts in, “Major might not be in an MC at all.”
“What was she like, Liz?”
I turn to our road captain, Sparky. “Nervous. Scared.”
Pal laughs. “So, like most of your customers then.”
He’s right. I just nod. That she’d had a tat before only means she knows what to expect, and something as big as the one she’s got was most probably painful.
Prez pinches the bridge of his nose, then looks up. “Okay. Cad, do your stuff. If you don’t turn anything up about this man Major, then I’ll leave it to you, Liz. Don’t much like the idea of a bitch having a tat when she doesn’t want the man anymore, whatever he feels about it. If you go ahead, then we’ll be behind you.”
“And if we find he’s MC?”
Again Prez’s shoulders rise and fall. “Then it depends on whether we’re friendly or not, and what his position is. I’ll maybe talk to their prez and find the lay of the land. If it’s going to cause problems, we’ll have to turn her away, or persuade her to go back and sort it out. Property is club property after all. Pretty serious step to get her marked in the first place, maybe she doesn’t realise how serious removal is too.”
Yeah, right. Leave the decision to me.
I must have been glaring as Mace raises his hand. “I’ll go with Liz tomorrow. See what I think of her too. Could help if Liz and I put our heads together on what’s best to do.”
I’m more grateful than the enforcer knows. This is why I’d never put myself forward for an officer job, making the right decision is not my forte. I never quite trust myself.
That sorted, Prez brings us back to the agenda. Devil’s Pins is under the microscope next. I only half listen to Rusty’s report, an image of Shayla’s haunted eyes still in my head.
When the meeting ends, Mace claps his hand to my shoulder as we walk out the door, pausing to retrieve our phones. “I told Titsy and Breezy to wait outside my room. You still game?”
“Yeah.” I grin. A good session of fucking will clear my head. “Whatcha got, Mace?”
“New handcuffs, spreader bar and a violet wand.”
“Yeah?” I repeat, my lips curving more.
“Ginger butt plugs too.”
Now I’ve a vision in my head of those girls squirming when they’re on my cock, leg’s held open so they can’t escape the burn in their asses. “You’re a cruel motherfucker, aren’t you?”