He’s all the shitty things Rue isn’t, with his head for money and blood and strategy.
“Monroe, get your nose outta club business. Serve the fucking drinks and move on, that’s all you gotta do,” he snarls at her, but she shrugs at him like he’s fucking nothing to her.
Exactly why I don’t need a woman.
They’re all bad fucking news.
The door to the bar swings open and in walks Trink looking like a fucking porn star wannabe in shorts so cutoff I can see her fucking underwear.
One of the Bay guys whistles and immediately gets punched in the gut because ain’t another biker here who doesn’t know who the fuck my baby sister is.
Godammit.
“What the fuck are you looking so sour for? STI check come back with bad news?” she laughs, grabbing my bottle and pouring herself a shot in the glass I’ve forgotten about.
“What the hell are you doing here? It’s a school night, go the fuck to bed.”
She laughs again and kicks at me under the table. “We can’t all be the genius of the family. I’ve been over watching Poe rebuild some engine, Thorn just came and bitched Pops out and dragged her home. She has the new Vanth Falling EP though and we got to listen to the whole thing twice through. Fuck knows how the hell she got it, that shit isn’t out for another month. It’s good shit though, Morrison could fucking get it.”
I know what it is and there’s no fucking way.
I’m not all fucking holier-than-thou about my little sister’s sex life but she’s seventeen and makes the fucking worst decisions. She lives by the seat of her pants and enjoys nothing more than pissing me and Hawk the fuck off.
If there’s a bad choice to be made, Trink’s gonna skip off into the sunset with it like a cheery fucking delight.
For a biker, I’m much more cautious than she is.
She got the full Callaghan bloodlines of reckless, raunchy, and fucking rowdy and I’ll be in an early grave because of it. She’s my responsibility until she’s locked down by some other asshole but I’ll be damned if it’s not going to be someone I approve of.
She grins at the glare in my eyes and tilts her head at the front door, “Hawk wants to talk to you. He’s out there with your Prez.”
Fucking brat.
I take the bottle with me because there’s no way I’m leaving her with that shit and I head out of the clubhouse, taking the stairs three at a time until I’m standing over in the trees with my blood.
I’m careful to make sure it’s not the same trees I stood near with Luis.
Can’t be too careful.
Rue kicks at the rocks with his boot, a scowl on his face as he looks out past the trees and over the parking lot to Pops’ garage. The lights are still on there but only in the apartment, the old man shut up shop for the night.
“Another shipment is gone.”
No way.
There’s fucking no way anyone could possibly bug that room.
I swept the whole fucking thing, I have the best tech and I’m fucking thorough. My brothers’ lives depend on this shit and I did it all stone cold sober, days before Angel clouded my shit.
King nods at me. “I know. I know it ain’t you or your tech, but there’s rats higher up in this club then we’d like.
Hawk stubs out his cigarette and says, “We’re gonna have to start some new protocols.”
Rue groans and rubs a hand over his face. “Right. So how’s this gonna fall? It’s gotta be locked the fuck down to an inner circle no one knows jack about? Who’s in and who’s out?”
Hellion lights up a blunt and takes a puff, passing it on to Hawk who smokes that thing like it’s the last one on Earth.
“Family only for now. Blood is all we can trust until we’ve got this shit on lockdown. We’ll start up family dinners again.” King says and Hawk nods.
“Keely keeps pushing for it anyway, makes it a safe option. Tell the men we’re trying to keep shit normal for now. Get the club back to family friendly and all that shit so we’re covered. Tomi, you need to rig up the back room. Make sure that shit is locked down tight and we can get a fucking plan in the works. Fucking rats in my club. I’m not having this shit touching my girls.”
I nod. No way Mom or Trink are getting fucking hurt by this shit.
I have my own suspicions on who it is but when it comes to brotherhood you gotta step careful. Keep your feet in line and make sure no one gets put out or suspicious until we’re ready to strike.
Then we’ll burn the whole fucking lot of them out.
Chapter Nine
Angel
The situation with the other girls doesn’t get any better as time goes on.
Actually, with the crowds around my stage getting bigger and bigger, their attitudes get bitchier and more freaking obvious. Every shift starts with whispers and giggling, and when I shower at the end they all talk about me in the locker room where I can hear them.
“I heard her old man has a habit. She’s in here working to keep him in the gear.”
“I heard he’s her pimp, not her boyfriend. Guess he wants to be the only one selling her pussy.”
“Imagine having some man telling you who to fuck and taking your money? Fucking pathetic.”
“I wonder if her pussy is any good? Maybe all these men throwing the cash at her don’t even realize she’s fucking loose and used up.”
It’s pathetic to me that they’re all out there talking shit about me like that. I know exactly what extras they offer and not once have I shamed any of them on that shit. Not fucking once.
I don’t want to sell myself like that because I’m fucking terrified of being touched, not because I have some moral high ground. Fuck, they all call me the frigid bitch… I’m actually the broken bitch, that girl who thinks about touching a man and runs the fuck away.
Well.
Mostly.
There’s been two times in the last few weeks of a client trying to climb on stage and grab me. Both of them were fucking wasted and didn’t really know what they were doing but that’s not at all an excuse.
Both times Speck stopped them.
One he simply grabbed by the scruff of his neck and walked him out of the club, the guy drunk enough to not be any trouble. The other guy fought him, gave him a shiner, and when he finally got rid of him and went out the back to grab ice I finished my dance and then went out to find him.
I gave him a hug.
A quick one and I didn’t really love it but I felt like he’d been there for me and even though it’s technically his job, I still appreciated him respecting my boundaries.
The grin he gives me isn’t at all flirty, like my continued aloof treatment has firmly drilled it into his head that I’m not the girl for him.
Which is good because I’m exhausted from weeks of barely getting any sleep in my truck, not enough food, and studying every second I can, so I just don’t have it in me to deal with letting anyone down gently. Fuck, no one has babied me about anything since I lost my dad and I think maybe that has made me hard, unforgiving and just over everyone’s bullshit.
The only thing that really starts to get to me is Tomi’s presence.
I think I’ve caught his eye and not in a good way.