“I wouldn’t normally do this shit but thought you may want to know since you’ve been sniffing around. The bartender’s outside with some jackhole.”
“All right,” I mutter, not thrilled with the news, but she doesn’t belong to me either.
He sighs. “It’s the dipshit she rode in here with. He’s come back before. This time he’s got her out in the parking lot. It looks like he’s goading her to go with him, but she won’t let him get near enough to touch her. Something about it doesn’t sit right. None of us are going to stick our noses into her shit, but you may want to stop by if you’re interested in her.”
“Ripper,” I practically growl. “Is he fucking with her? They fighting?”
“Pretty sure.”
“I’m on my way. Don’t let him hurt her.”
“I’m staying out of her drama. This was a courtesy call. I keep out of shit unless it’s my own or my brothers.”
I hang up, my blood already boiling that he won’t step outside and make sure this guy doesn’t touch her. I understand his reluctance, but it still pisses me off. It doesn’t matter if you’re a brother or not around here. If you work for the club, you’re still a part of our family in some way, and we look out for ours. I yank on the closest pair of jeans, a t-shirt, my cut, and boots, then flip a black baseball cap backward and plant it over my messy hair.
I’m out the door in the next beat with a quick nod in the prez’s direction. I snatch up one of the extra baseball bats and strap it to the back of my shiny new bike. I don’t need a weapon when I’m pissed, but if he’s touched her, then Hollywood can take a bat to his ass in retribution. I get my sunglasses from my saddlebag, then I’m on the road, roaring down the highway. RBMC clubhouse is about forty minutes from ours, but I make it in thirty. I roll into the parking lot slowly, not wanting to look like I was rushing too much and set Hollywood further on edge.
Toeing the kickstand down, I grab the bat. I head toward Hollywood, noticing she has two cars between her and the dude giving her issues. “Babe,” I greet, watching as her gaze flicks between the other dude and me. “Thought you might want this.” I hold the bat to her, and she reaches for it. She tries not to turn in my direction, but I manage to catch her features regardless. The side of her face is swollen, and it instantly has my fists curling. “You all right?” I manage to get out as I grit my teeth, holding myself back from demanding answers as to what happened to her perfect skin.
She gives me a swift nod while eyeing joe-schmoe across the cars.
“He do that shit?”
“Who the fuck are you?” he says before she replies, and my eyes clash with his. He’s the dude I saw here before.
“I’m her backup should she need it. Now, who are you?” I fold my arms over my chest and glower.
He laughs, and my toes curl. Every nerve in my body ignites and so help me, I want to rip his punk ass apart. “She don’t need your help.” He points to his bruised jaw. “Bitch already got me.”
I glance at her for confirmation, and she nods. I wink. “Good girl. He probably deserved it. Want me to color his face some more?” She cracks a grin, and my chest doesn’t feel so tight with the glimpse of my woman’s smile. I’m used to seeing her sassy and on her toes. With her on edge when I pulled in, it had me ready to murder this jerk putting her on guard.
“You don’t have a job, biker?” she asks me, her voice teasing. My fists uncurl, relaxing a bit with her acting normal. I can banter all day with her. It’s the serious shit that has me ready to flip a switch and become someone else if she needs me to.
I shrug and step toe to toe with the guy. I stare him down while speaking to Hollywood. “Thought I’d stop by and see if you wanted to go for a ride.” I keep my glower pegged on the dude, just waiting for him to give me a reason to lose control. This is Hollywood’s fight, but I’ll help protect her if she needs me to. Otherwise, I’m here for her backup. She can fight her own battles, but she’ll never have to do it alone while I’m in the picture.
“You know what? That sounds like a great idea today.”
I nod. “Get on my bike, sweetheart, and I’ll take you wherever you wanna go.”
The ass starts to protest, but I cut him off with a dismissive grunt. My brow hikes as I look him up and down. He’s not dumb enough to miss the glower I send him. It plainly says I’ll fuck him up and bury his body without a second thought.
“Come on, Cowboy. Let’s get out of here, see some better scenery,” she calls, her voice coming from the direction of my new bike.
“You got it, babe,” I respond to her, then direct myself to the piece-of-shit excuse of a man before me. “She’s not alone anymore. You come at me or her, you’re facing the wrath of myself as well as the Oath Keepers MC. I have nothing to lose at this point in my life, so I’ll bury your corpse without a second thought. I highly suggest you don’t return unless she asks you to. You get me?” I lean in, staring down my nose at him. He’s small compared to me and looking more and more like he’s shitting himself.
“Don’t want her ass anymore anyway. Used-up cunt,” he hisses, and I catch his throat, applying pressure.
“Nah, don’t do that. You don’t get to put your rejected shit on her. She’s too good for you. Hell, she’s too good for me, too, but I’m not stupid enough to mess it up like you have.” I release him and chin lift to the RBMC boys standing outside watching everything go down. They return the gesture, and dipshit witnesses the interaction.
I see it in his eyes that he finally gets it. I have friends everywhere. I’ll know if he comes for her again. The conversation’s over, I don’t need to hear anything else. I have a woman on my bike, and that’s far more important than the filth currently wasting my air.
“You really okay?” I ask Hollywood once dipshit leaves, and I’m standing beside her next to my bike. Not gonna lie, she’s got me wanting to get her ass on the back and keep her there as long as she’ll allow it.
She blows out a breath, saying, “Yeah, sorry about all that. I doubt you were looking for drama today, and I was smack in the middle of it.”
I shrug, not perturbed by her shit. We’ve all got our demons we deal with. It’s finding the person you want to stand with to fight those demons that matters. “My life is chaos, baby. It’s been surrounding me my entire life.”
“And the Oath Keepers?”
“It was chaos when they found me,” I admit. I could scare her off, but something tells me she’s stubborn like me.
Hollywood
Dipping my chin in a nod, I’m thinking I understand. In reality, I have no clue because I know next to nothing about this man. I know how he treats other people around him and me, though. It’s better than any man I’ve come across in the RB’s clubhouse. “And your woman?” I dig a little more.
He shakes his head. “Nah, sugar, no chaos there. A woman is supposed to represent home, a place to put down roots, to help us grow.”
My throat grows tight. His words, they’re everything and more.