“Sure, I’ll give you my card and you can take a look at my stuff online. Don’t worry, I won’t be offended if my style isn’t for you. I’ll just pretend the offer was never loosely given.”
Keys laughed at that. “I like you!”
“So, how did you end up in an MC run by women?” I asked.
“A few of us were in college together, not far from here, and we were fed up with men for various reasons.” My eyes widened at that and she was quick to explain that. “Not that we were all lesbians hating on men. We just wanted to make sure we surrounded ourselves with strong, like-minded women who would take our backs when we needed and who we could support in turn.”
“That sounds amazing,” I responded softly, feeling a longing for the same thing poking up from my gut. Keys took in my reaction and smiled sweetly at me. “You should come by the clubhouse and check it out sometime. Be my guest, I think you’ll like what you see.”
“I’d love that, actually. I don’t ride though,” I informed her.
She giggled. “It’s a quick jump from the back of the bike to the front, honey. I bet we could get you there in no time if you decide you want it.”
“Ah, shit! I knew we left them alone too long. I told you, no recruiting the new neighbors!” Quickshot said as he came up the stairs and joined us in the hallway. From what I’d just seen of the master suite, I was going to love living here. It was gorgeous and the view outside the windows was to die for. I always used to think that being surrounded by forest would feel too claustrophobic. I had worried about just that when Jay showed me pictures of the cabin we were moving to, but he promised it would only be temporary if I hated it. I didn’t feel closed in at all though. Instead, I felt more cocooned by nature, as if it was giving us a big hug.
Jay reached me and handed a bottle of some locally brewed beer my way. “Thank you,” I told him as I accepted it and eyeballed the bottle as if it might do horrible things. I loved beer but was weary of trying new ones after I accidentally drank a craft concoction that tasted like someone’s grandma dropped their perfume bottle in it.
“It’s good, promise,” Jay told me before he ducked into the master to have a look for himself. I took a sip and my eyes rolled back in my head as I savored the rich flavors that had a hint of vanilla notes on the back end. Keys grinned at me. “Good stuff, huh?”
“God, yes! Where do you guys get this?” I asked as I pulled the bottle away to look down at the label again.
“One of our girls started up her own brewery not too far from here. She put together some spectacular flavors that don’t taste like hot piss on a summer day.” Keys was completely serious about that description, and it made me laugh.
“I have had my share of hot piss moments,” I commiserated.
“What the fuck are you two into?” I heard Quickshot ask Jay causing Keys and I to fall into a fit of giggles.
“Men!” She hissed. “Can’t live with them, can’t live with them!”
“You said that wrong again,” Quickshot called out again.
“No, I didn’t,” Keys shot back.
“Woman, you couldn’t breathe if I wasn’t throwing you the dick on the regular.”
“Oh, for the love of God, Wallace!” Keys huffed before turning back to me and apologizing for her idiot, Neanderthal man. I didn’t care though, I was too busy watching the way light hit the window just right at this time of day to create a beautiful spectacle of color throughout the room as it hit a little stained glass lamp that was situated on the only piece of furniture in the room. I couldn’t help the smile that bloomed on my face as I spun through the room watching the riot of colors reflecting back on the walls dip and swim together as a cloud passed, briefly blocking the light and then giving it back again.
I felt a stirring in my belly then. This was absolutely where I was supposed to be. I didn’t need a better sign than this. “Can that lamp stay?” I asked as I took in the view.
“JoJo loved that it did that too. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind since they left it behind.”
“Fair warning,” Quickshot called out. “I’m pretty sure Steel left that damn lamp behind because he thought it was haunted.”
“I don’t even care,” I whispered out, still mesmerized by the beautiful display of color it provided without even being turned on. “The house is perfect,” I managed to get out after a few minutes. It was quiet though, so I glanced around and realized Quickshot and Keys were no longer standing in the room with us. Jay made his way over to me and wrapped an arm around my waist before he pulled my back into his front.
“Good to know you like the place,” he whispered into my hair.
“Thank you for asking me to tag along.”
“You aren’t tagging along, honey.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Come on, let’s go see them off before Quickshot steals anymore of the beer they stocked the fridge with. That shit is damn good.”
“Heard that,” Quickshot called out. “We can take a hint. I know when I’m not wanted,” he offered up in a mock pout.
“Keys can stick around,” I called back to him.
“That was just hurtful!” Quickshot huffed out as we made it down the stairs. Keys just laughed at him and stuck her tongue out at the man who was obviously a lot of fun to be around.
“Hang on,” I called out as they both got ready to leave the house. “Let me get you my card,” I told Keys as I moved to go dig through my purse I’d dropped on the couch when we first came inside. “Here it is,” I said, pulling my hand back from the mess of the bag. It truly had been a miracle I was able to find one so easily.
“Thanks,” Keys told me as she took the card and replaced it with a different one. “My numbers are on here. Call or text when you get settled in, and I’ll take you out to the clubhouse and show you around, introduce you to the girls, and we can talk more about some of your work.”
“That would be great, thanks.”
Once they left, Jay pulled me back into his arms and wrapped me up there. “I basically ran from my MC and here you are getting recruited by one.”
I laughed at the notion. “I don’t even drive a motorcycle, so that’s not going to happen. It would be nice to get to know some of the women though.”
“I can teach you, if you want to learn,” Jay offered.
“I may take you up on that. How would you feel about me being in the MC and you being my old lady?” I teased.
“Old man, still. Doesn’t matter who wears the bigger kutte sweetheart. Never call me your old lady again!” He winked at me as he relinquished his hold. The place had come furnished, which was great because I’d sold off all my stuff back in Charleston, and Jay hadn’t wanted to bring any of his furniture from his apartment either. Too many memories for the both of us. We wanted to start fresh, even if that was with someone else’s used furnishings. It was all new to us.
Chapter 26
Redemption
Jay
I stared up at the building and smiled as I read the sign there. Redemption, Inc. It was a fitting transition for me, considering I’d been seeking redemption since I was 18 years old. It took me this long to realize that I had gone about it all the wrong way though. I’d always done exactly enough to make myself feel better, never realizing that it wasn’t about me or how much better I felt.
It was about them.
The people I had let down.
My shallow acts were only skin deep, like the inked reminder that Ever had given me all those years ago. I had never earned her forgiveness and yet she gave it to me anyway. I couldn’t earn Toby’s either, but I would lead my best life from here on out in the hope that I’d be able to make him proud of me one day and earn the forgiveness he wasn’t capable of giving me before he died.
“You coming in, or gonna stand there smiling for the cameras all day?” A disembodied voice called out through a little speaker near the door.
“Yeah, I’m coming in,” I told the voice as I
heard the lock mechanism disengage. I’d found a new home, new job, and a new life. It was my first step toward finding normal. I was going to work for a security firm run by an all-female MC. I shook my head at the thought, knowing I was going to take shit from my family back home for that decision.
“Leave your kutte at the door,” the voice stated.
“Not wearing one,” I answered.
“I was talking about the mentality. Your club doesn’t come first here.”
“Don’t have a club anymore either,” I insisted. I didn’t wait to get anymore shit from the voice in the speaker and instead moved inside to start another aspect of my new life. Thank fuck I’d done those two years working with Phoenix on concert security because it was about to pay off huge.
“Welcome aboard,” a man greeted as soon as I passed through a metal detector. “I’m Dane, and I’ll be your cruise director here for the time being.”
I smirked at the smart ass. “Cruise director, huh?”
“Drill Sergeant tends to send people running so cruise director it is until I see what you’re made of. We don’t go in as thugs. We don’t go in as a biker club. We go in as professionals and you’re going to have to learn to be one.
“You know I did concert security before?”
“That’s nice, sweetheart. We don’t just do concert security here. We pull other details too. Either way, we’re going to whip you into shape.”
“Just how are you whipping me into shape?” I asked, knowing that I worked out all the time. One thing I made sure to keep up with was my body. I was built just like my father before me. If we Donovan men didn’t put the work in, we’d end up looking like my grandfather once did, and we’ll just call that look rotund. The man was barrel-chested, and so round that he probably never laid eyes on his dick for the last half of his life. I never wanted to be in a position where I couldn’t see my own dick, so I worked out.
“You’ll see princess,” he returned and then we walked in silence until we came to a massive room with a space that any gym rat would salivate over immediately There wasn’t just the normal cardio machines and weight benches. No, this place had everything from ropes and tires to state-of-the-art equipment. The biggest difference though, was the boxing ring off to the side and the matted floor beyond that where I saw two people already scrapping in what could only be described as no-holds-barred caged fighting without the benefit of a cage.
“How do they manage to stay on the mats in the middle of all of that?” I asked.
“Self-discipline,” was the answer I received. “How much training have you had in hand-to-hand combat?”
I just stared at the spectacle in front of us. “Just what some of the other brothers passed along. I’m sure some of it was martial arts, thought they never really put labels on it.”
“Okay, well, we’re going to put labels on it as we go. We’re starting you out with a bit of Aikido and Jujutsu. Once you’ve worked through the basics, we’ll start throwing in some Krav Maga and Muay Thai as well.” Dane told me. “Let’s get the rest of the tour out of the way and your sparring partner for the day will be ready.”
“Sounds perfect.”
By the time I changed, and we made it back to the mats, and they were clear, there was a petite pixie of a woman standing in the ring. She couldn’t have been more than 5 feet, 3 inches. I glanced around, and not seeing anyone else, I narrowed my eyes on my self-proclaimed cruise director for the day.
“Is this a joke?” He only shrugged and nodded his head in acknowledgment to the woman in the ring. “I can’t fight a little a little girl,” I told him, not bothering to watch my tone or the volume I spoke with. Dane’s face screwed up in anger.
“Lesson number one, princess, you don’t call the shots here. Lesson number two, your enemy combatants may sometimes be little girls, as you should already know having worked two years in the concert industry. Lesson number three, looks can be deceiving. More and more women are putting themselves through the paces with learning various fighting styles, and mastering some of them, because they don’t want to be victims out there. Lesson number four, if you don’t get your ass in the ring with JoJo, you can kiss your job goodbye. And by the way, you just pissed off one of your bosses. Good job!”
I turned to look at the woman who stood with wrapped hands on her hips, staring me down with a look so lethal, I actually wished I could rewind five minutes and take my words back. The little pixie took a deep breath, let it out, and then she spoke. “It’s good to know that your default wasn’t to just jump in the ring and start swinging at a woman. Some assholes do that, and they lose their position with us immediately. You passed that test. Now, it’s time to get in the ring and keep me from hitting you. You don’t even have to hit back, just block and try to push me out of your space. Think you can handle that biker boy?”
“Jesus Christ,” I muttered as I moved to get myself into the ring. By the time I came out of the ring, I had a black eye, swollen cheek bone, a sore wrist, and a few of my ribs were screaming at me. Some were the same ones that had taken a beating a couple months ago in the accident. I also came away with a strong reprimand for not disclosing that I was just this side of the healed zone from those broken ribs.
“You did good today,” Dane told me after I showered and dressed.
“You don’t have to sugarcoat it,” I told him.
“I’m not. JoJo is one of the toughest female fighters here. She rarely gets a good fight in because people are afraid to go for it with her. She is tiny, but she is also fierce.” He rubbed a spot on his jaw that still had a bit of yellowing around it. I hadn’t noticed it earlier since I don’t make a habit of checking out other men.
“She do that to you?”
“Yeah, she did. Fucking Steel pissed her off about something and she came over here to take out her aggression.”
I laughed. “I’m guessing you have a bone to pick with Steel now?”
“That fucker knows I’m coming for him. He won’t step foot in the ring with his woman, says it’s not healthy for a couple to be sparring partners because that shit flows into real life too easily. So, the bastard gets her riled up and she comes here to take it out on us.”
“Damn, wonder what they were fighting about,” I questioned without thinking.
“He wanted to knock me up again. Don’t get me started on that shit, or we’ll be heading back in there,” came her response from somewhere over my shoulder.
I raised my hands in surrender. “That won’t be necessary. Besides, I don’t think my ribs can handle any more of you today,” I admitted. JoJo beamed with pride.
“I like you! Be smarter about previous injuries, and we’ll be besties in no time!” She started to walk off and then turned back once more. “Oh and send your woman over to the clubhouse. Keys invited her, but I think she’s being shy about coming around.”
I laughed. “She got caught up with organizing all of our stuff that got delivered.”
“Does she need help? We can come to her.”
“I’ll check in with her when I get home.”
“You do that, biker boy.”
“Aren’t you married to a biker boy?”
“Nope,” she said while putting the emphasis on the ‘P’. “I’m married to a motorcycle man. You have yet to prove yourself and move up in the world!”
“Damn,” I hissed as we watched her unsheathe a lollipop and stick it in her mouth. Then she bounced off like some cracked-up little Tigger from the kids’ cartoon.
Dane chuckled. “That one is a constant ball of energy. I don’t know where she stores it all. Must be those Dum Dums she’s always sucking on.”
By the time I got home that night, all I wanted to do was eat something and carry my weary ass to bed. Dane had promised that I would be doing ‘classwork’ the following day as opposed to more physical stuff. I wasn’t sure what type of classwork was necessary to run security jobs, but I was willing to give it a go. I hadn’t thought a tiny little w
oman could beat my ass before today either, but shit, I learned that looks could definitely be deceiving.
The house was quiet when I walked in, which only meant one thing. Christina had gotten caught up in one of her projects. It was something I learned quickly in the week since we’d been here getting settled in. I moved quickly up the stairs and regretted my pace as my ribs pulled and burned with the movement. I was rewarded with a gorgeous vision for my efforts though. The minute I rounded the corner of the door to the room she had set up as her studio, the light reflecting off of that ugly ass stained glass lamp was playing with the strands of hair that had fallen down around her face as she worked. She had it all pulled up into a messy bird’s nest of a bun on the top of her head. Her body was barely covered as she was only wearing a little pink wife-beater top and a pair of boy short panties that her ass was currently eating thanks to the way she fidgeted and moved on the stool.
I’d heard the term ‘sight for sore eyes’ before, but never had I really appreciated it until that moment. I stood there just watching as she stroked her brush across the canvas, that from my point of view, was a riot of colors along the edges while the bulk of the image was blocked by her form. She had a second paintbrush perched between her clenched teeth as she worked. Before she noticed me standing there, she swapped the brushes, using the smaller one that had been in her mouth for some finer detail while keeping the larger one at the ready between her teeth. I chuckled at the sight, startling her. She turned her head enough to glance over her shoulder and I could see where she had a bit of paint near the corner of her mouth where she hadn’t been too careful when pulling the brush away. I smiled, then winced because I had forgotten about my swollen cheek and fucked up eye.
Christina’s eyes widened and she immediately dropped both the brushes into the old mason jar she used for rinsing them. “Oh my God! What happened? Did you get jumped on the way out of work?”
The Killing Ride Page 22
