He reaches out and touches my shoulder. “I have no doubt you’d have done amazing things for this city, but you still will, Clover. If you want to make a difference, there are other ways.”
“So you think I should quit.”
The thought saddens me, but I try to hide it. I love my patrols with Felix, and I can’t imagine doing anything else now.
“No, actually, I don’t,” he murmurs, an evil glint in his eyes. “You went into this with your eyes closed and your heart open, Clover, and it fucking pisses me off that the men who are meant to protect the city are the ones taking advantage of you.”
“I’m a big girl, Uncle Arrow,” I reply, but give him a quick hug. “But thank you for your kind words. I should have known better though, and I also should have known I can’t hide anything from Mom.”
He chuckles at that, just as his wife, my aunt Anna, walks in, smiling as she lays her eyes on the two of us. “Sorry to interrupt your moment, guys. But, Clover, your mom is here. And she’s brought your hot cop boyfriend with her.”
Wait, what?
Felix is at the Wind Dragons clubhouse?
“This must be the most cops you guys have ever had here without having guns pointed at you,” I say, looking between the two of them.
Anna looks at her husband. “Behave, okay? He’s just a kid. And I have a feeling he’s going to prove to everyone that he’s perfect for Clover.”
Anna looks and sounds confident.
I, on the other hand, am not so sure.
“Hi, Felix,” I say, forcing a smile. “Mom, what is my partner doing here?”
“Well, he came by the house to see you,” she starts to explain, shrugging. “And I told him I was about to meet you and he’s welcome to come along.”
“Did you tell him you were coming to the clubhouse? Because I’m pretty sure he’s not meant to be here right now,” I state, moving by his side in almost a protective motion. He’s on Wind Dragons soil now, and I need to make sure he’s okay, because I can only imagine how everyone here is going to react.
“No, I didn’t,” she says, sounding unapologetic. “I told him we were going to meet you out for ice cream.”
“And you fell for that?” I ask him, pursing my lips. “Oldest trick in the book.”
“Well, it was your mom, so I didn’t realize I had to have my guard up, nor did I realize she was going to kidnap me and bring me here,” he murmurs, but doesn’t sound bothered in the least. “So what are we doing here anyway? I’m not going to have to fight someone to the death, am I? To prove I’m a man or some shit. Because do you know what they do to cops in prison?”
“I know what I did to a cop in prison,” Arrow states.
Fuck.
Why does he love to mention his time in prison any time one of us brings a guy around? He can be so intimidating, especially if you don’t know him. Hell, I’ve known him my whole life and I’m still intimidated by him.
“Felix, this is Uncle Arrow, the president of the Wind Dragons MC. Uncle Arrow, this is Felix,” I introduce, begging him with my eyes to play nice. When Anna steps in and offers her hand to Felix, I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing she won’t let him do anything too bad to Felix.
“I’m Anna, it’s nice to meet you, Felix. And that over there is our son, Nate,” she says, pointing to Nate, who is currently teaching Natalie how to floss.
And there’s our future leader, everyone.
“Lovely to meet you both,” Felix says politely. “I have to say, this is one place I never thought I’d be visiting.”
“Don’t worry, we’ve hidden all our drugs and illegal weapons,” Arrow tells him, flashing his teeth in a scary smile. “Even if you went snooping, you wouldn’t find anything.”
Anna clears her throat. “He’s kidding. We hope you’ll stay for dinner, Felix. Everyone is coming around for one of our famous family cookouts, and I know people are dying to meet the guy who managed to catch our beautiful Clover’s eye.”
“I’d love to,” he says, smiling warmly at Anna. “Thank you.”
“Since when are we having a cookout?” I ask, blinking slowly. “Was this planned, or some spontaneous thing because Mom tricked Felix into coming here?”
Anna shrugs, typing something into her phone. “Does it matter? Oh, good. Lana is on her way.”
“Did you just put a message in your Wind Dragons women chat group?”
She looks at me with wide eyes.
“Yeah, I know all about that.”
“Maybe,” she replies, wrapping her arm around Felix. “Come on, let me give you a tour. Man, you’re tall, aren’t you? And muscled.”
Felix flashes me an amused smile, then disappears inside with Aunt Anna and my mom, leaving me and Uncle Arrow standing in the parking lot, watching them.
“This is the worst idea any of you have ever had,” I announce.
“Best we find out now what he’s made of,” Arrow mutters, and heads back inside.
I message Cara and tell her to get her ass here now.
I’m going to need all the backup I can get.
“I like him,” Aunt Lana announces, pushing her glasses up on her cute little nose. “He’s polite, good-looking, and has that whole boy-next-door vibe going on, mixed with a hell of a lot of badass.”
“Yeah, and he’s a cop, so you know he has a whole different side to him,” Mom says, adding the avocado into her salad. “And on the way here I could tell he loved hearing all my stories about Clo, like he just wants to know everything about her, and that’s a good sign. It’s hard to find men who are good listeners. I think he’s been raised really well; he’s a total gentleman. Even opened the door for me.”
“I like that,” Anna says from the kitchen countertop, where she’s having a beer and supervising Lana and Mom making a huge-ass salad for the barbecue. “I feel like the younger guys these days aren’t really like that anymore. Chivalry is slowly dying, then you meet a man like Felix and it just gives you hope again. I know I make sure Nate opens doors for women, especially me.”
I’d have to agree with that comment, actually.
Well, not the Nate part. Last time he was at our house he slammed the door in my face on purpose, but then again it might be different for a girl he’s actually interested in instead of one who is more like the older sister he never wanted.
“Asher does too,” Mom adds, beaming.
Is this what parents do? Sit around bragging about their children? No one has bragged about me yet—I’m still waiting, sitting here listening—and all the women are just pretending like I’m not even here, staring out the window, watching Felix and Uncle Tracker standing at the grill having some kind of chat. Uncle Tracker is normally quite easygoing, and even funny, so I hope he’s sticking with that theme and not trying to intimidate poor Felix, but I have a feeling Dad would have sent that memo out to all the men, probably in their WDMC men’s chat group, which I’m sure they also have. I want to go out there and save Felix, but I know for him to win the respect of the MC, he needs to handle this one alone. It’s so hard though, because if the situation were reversed I can only imagine how much I’d want Felix to help me out. It’s like my going to a cop barbecue and having all of them judge me because of who I am. It’s not very fair, but if I want him in my life permanently I need to bridge this gap. They all don’t have to love one another, but if they all got along and respected one another, I’d really love that.
As if Mom just realizes I’m in the kitchen with them, she says, “Clo, stop watching him like a stalker. He’s fine. Tracker’s not going to do anything to him.”
Felix can stand his own ground. I’m not worried about the MC men doing anything to him per se, I know it’s a lot to deal with. Not just for him, but for anyone. There’s so many of them, and they are all really in your face. Felix is also much younger than them, although I know he could hold his own in a fight. Not that I’d ever admit that out loud, because I have no doubt someone would challenge him.
; “Don’t worry, I lectured Tracker on the way over,” Aunt Lana assures me, shaking her head at Mom. “Can you believe this shit, Faye? Clover has brought a cop home to meet the family. This needs to be in a book, it basically writes itself.”
“My daughter never likes to choose the easy path,” Mom says, washing her hands in the sink and turning to me. “But you know what? Risks have the greatest rewards. I have a good feeling about Felix, and it might not be what your dad would want, but at the end of the day it’s your life, Clo. I brought him here, and now it’s up to him to make it work, and if he loves you, he’s going to put in effort with the men today.”
“He already is,” Anna pipes up, smiling at me. “Most men would have run by now.”
“No, most boys would have run by now,” Mom says with a grin. “It’s only the men who stick around.”
Aunt Anna lifts up her beer. “Truer words were never spoken.”
Uncle Rake sticks his head into the kitchen, a gun in his hand. “I got Sin’s message, who are we threatening? I thought this might be a good time to clean my gun. You know, very slowly.”
“Why does that sound sexual?” Aunt Lana asks, frowning.
And this is my cue to leave the kitchen.
“Where’s Bailey? We told her not to let you come here without her,” Mom says to Rake. I love the relationship Mom has with all the WDMC men. There are no boundaries, and all of them put up with her shit for some reason. It’s probably because she was the first woman to live at the clubhouse and break through all the badass bikers’ walls. She’s been their queen even after my father stepped down as president. They really are just one big, dysfunctional yet happy family, and I was brought up with so much love, it’s crazy.
“She went to see Natalie in the gym,” he says, looking down at me when I try to slide past him. “Where’s our victim?”
“I feel like I’m the victim in this whole thing, so I’m standing right here,” I reply in a dry tone, raising my hand.
“You are so like your mother,” he grumbles, making it out to be a bad thing. I don’t bother to tell him to put the gun away, because these men will do whatever the hell they want, and there is no point putting my two cents in.
“Where’s Cara?” I ask him before I head outside to see if Felix is still alive, or if he’s decided I’m not worth it and made a run for it.
“Gym,” he replies.
She went looking for Rhett before me? So that’s how it is now.
As I walk toward Felix and Tracker, I’m able to overhear what Tracker is saying.
“So that’s why, even if you’re on a break or you have a fight and think things might be over with a woman, you shouldn’t try to distract yourself by letting another one suck y—”
“Oh my god,” I interrupt, not needing to hear what he was about to say.
“Just bonding with your man, Clover,” Tracker says with a wide smile. He has a leather strap wrapped around his man bun, the same one that all the men give him shit over, but he claims he started a whole trend, and it’s not his fault the hipsters have tried to copy him.
“Can I get you something to drink?” I ask Felix, trying to steal him away from Tracker, who sounds like he’s trying to tell Felix about his womanizing days.
“I’ll have another beer,” Tracker replies, then turns back to Felix, who I can tell is trying hard not to laugh.
“Would you like a beer too?” I ask him, even though it was him I was asking in the first place. “You look like you might need one.”
“I’d love one,” he says, grinning and bending to give me a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Clover.”
I head back into the kitchen to grab two beers, only to bump into Cara.
“There you are,” she says, looking behind me. “Where’s Felix? I told Rhett to go and talk to him and make him feel welcome. Dude, how did today turn into this?”
“I have no idea.” I blink slowly a few times, wondering how this is my life. “I literally just came here to spar with Rhett, and it’s somehow turned into this shit show. I’d like to blame my mother.”
“Your mom is making jalapeño poppers, so I’m kind of glad it did happen,” she states, laughing when I turn my narrowed gaze onto her.
“Great, now she’s going to test his chili tolerance in front of everyone too.”
“Hey, imagine dating a guy and then finding out he can’t even eat peppers. I feel like that would be a deal breaker for me.”
I rub my palm down my face. “Okay, I need to get some beers for the men.”
“Since when are you domestic goddess of the year?” she asks, following me into the kitchen.
“Since never.”
I come to a standstill, completely scarred for life at the sight in front of me.
My mom has tied a balloon around her waist, so it’s sitting on top of her ass, and is bending over the sink while Aunt Lana tries to pop it by thrusting her hips in a humping movement. Aunt Anna is losing her shit, laughing and carrying on as she watches the show, Aunt Bailey and Aunt Tina beside her.
“I need your phone.”
“I’ll get the beers,” Cara says, handing me her phone, shoulders shaking as she laughs at their crazy old-woman antics.
“I left you guys alone for like ten minutes,” I say, shaking my head and hitting RECORD. This is one for their group chat.
“It’s a new party game we heard of,” Aunt Anna explains to me. “We thought we could get into teams and see who wins, what do you think?”
“You want to see who the best thruster is?” I clarify, my eye twitching. “In front of the whole family and my new boyfriend?”
They all nod.
Cara hands me the beers, and I’m out of there, returning to Felix and Tracker, except Felix has now disappeared.
“Where did he go?” I ask Tracker as I give him his bottle.
“Rhett took him to the gym,” he replies, chuckling softly under his breath. “Who do you think would win between them in a fight?”
“I don’t know, they’re both pretty damn strong, but I’ve been training with Felix for a while now . . . ,” I say, sighing. “I should just let them kill each other.”
I open Felix’s beer and take a sip.
“It will be fine, Clover,” Tracker assures me. “If everyone really hated him or didn’t trust him, do you think Faye would have brought him here? Think about it. This is us giving him a chance. And we have nothing to hide here anyway, even if things did go south, plus that gun Rake brought in is registered. So you don’t need to stress so much. He’s young but can handle himself. Now, these chicken wings are ready, if you want first dibs.”
“I do,” I say, picking up a plastic plate and holding it out. “And thanks, Uncle Tracker, you’re right. I’m sure it will be fine.”
I take my chicken and find a seat at the outdoor setting. I’m about to take the first bite when Nate walks over and says to me, “I think Rhett’s nose is broken.”
Fuck.
“Stop being a stubborn asshole and let me take you to the hospital so they can fix your nose!” I yell at Rhett, who is sitting there, blood everywhere, with a painful-looking crooked bump on his nose.
“It’s fine,” he states, when it clearly isn’t.
“Okay, he is your problem now,” I say to Cara, grabbing Felix and exiting the gym with him. “Did you have to break his nose, really?”
“I didn’t mean to,” he grumbles. “He wanted to see what I had, so I showed him. Can’t really hold that against me, Clo.”
I knew someone would challenge him, goddammit.
He starts to massage my shoulders. “You should relax, you’re so tense.”
“Trust me, I know.”
He kisses me. “Nothing is going to scare me away from you, okay? You have nothing to worry about. You can trust me.”
“You never told me about what Officer Jones said to you.” I blurt out what I’ve been holding inside, what I’ve been waiting for him to bring up ever since I overheard the co
nversation.
“You heard that?” he asks me, frowning. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Why didn’t you?” I fire back, jaw tightening. “You should have let me know what I’m working against, but you didn’t say a word.”
“I was going to tell you,” he admits, tucking my hair back behind my ear. “But I didn’t want to upset you, Clover. I put myself in your shoes, and I know I’d hate working and giving my all for people who don’t even trust me. I did tell your mom though, on the way here.”
“You told my mother and not me?” I ask, shaking my head at him in anger. And Mom never even mentioned anything to me. I don’t like being kept in the dark. “Are you kidding me right now, Felix? You should have been honest and just told me. I’m a big girl, and this is my life, no one else’s. I can handle everything that is thrown at me. You don’t speak to anyone else regarding my business.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry,” he says, looking me dead in the eye. “I guess . . .” He ducks his head. “I don’t know, I was giving the force the benefit of the doubt. I thought maybe they let you in because they saw how promising you were—I mean, you’re already trained; you’re smart. You’re a damn good police officer. But when Jones said all that stuff to me, it meant that they knew exactly who you were and that they didn’t trust you. So why let you in then? And when they mentioned my dad . . .” He takes a deep breath, collecting himself. “My dad was a hero. He was a good man, and an honest one. I don’t like that they brought up his name as they were telling me to keep an eye on an officer that the department let graduate. This isn’t the police officer I signed up to be.”
“What they do isn’t on you,” I tell him, resting my palm on his chest. “They definitely want something from me. It’s a bold move though. They think they have me where they want me, but they’ve underestimated me.”
“Big mistake,” he mutters.
“They probably shouldn’t have let me graduate the academy, if I’m being honest, because I’m not a person you want as your enemy. I come with an entire MC behind me. This whole thing has taught me so much, and I know now that I made many mistakes. The club never told me what I could or couldn’t do, but I knew they wouldn’t like this, and now I understand why. They weren’t trying to control me, but that’s what it felt like, like they had put rules and boundaries on me. They were just trying to protect me and the club, but no, I just had to get my way. I was selfish. And now I’m paying for it.”
Fallen Princess Page 12
