by Ada Stone
“Oh. Hi.” He found a smile and Belle grinned back. He was clearly uncomfortable.
“Hi. Uh, Turnkey, is it?”
“John. My real name is John. These assholes just call me Turnkey. It’s a nickname.”
“Hey! Language!” Sniper smacked him again, and Turnkey muttered an apology.
“Oh, don’t worry. Michael curses all the time.” She laughed, and Michael’s arm got even tighter. She laughed harder. “Well, you do.”
“Hi, Michael.” The woman who’d been tucked away glaring at them appeared next to Sniper, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her face to his chest as she gave her greeting. Belle could feel the tension seep into Michael’s body at her appearance.
“Hey, Candy.” Belle watched his expression to gauge his thoughts. His jaw tightened, that little tick in his cheek she’d seen before when he was getting irritated. Maybe Candy was his ex-girlfriend. Or his current that he gave up because Belle had gotten pregnant.
“You haven’t been around lately.” Candy turned her gaze on Belle. “This why?” She thrust her chin in Belles’ direction.
“Hey. That’s no way to talk to Michael’s old lady.” Sniper moved his hand so quick, Belle didn’t have time to guess what he was about, until his hand connected harshly with Candy’s ass. She yelped at the force of his smack but didn’t seem otherwise effected by it. “This is Belle.” He pointed to her. “Belle, this is my girl, Candy.”
“Your girl?” Michael huffed.
“Does that bother you, Michael?” The hope in Candy’s voice and her eyes tore at Belle. The girl obviously had a thing for Michael. And although Michael didn’t seem to have an attraction for her, he didn’t like her being attached to Sniper.
“Nah.” Michael let go of Belle, the chill of the room settling around her where his arm had been. “Just making sure I heard him right. ’Bout time you got yourself a guy.” Michael turned kind eyes on the girl, and Belle wondered even more what his connection to her was. She’d have to wait to ask, as it seemed Sniper had no intention of going away. Instead, he called over to the bartender, a younger-looking man with Prospect clearly labeled on his kutte, for a round of drinks.
“Coke for me, please,” Belle told Sniper, who then looked at Michael.
“Caffeine free.” Michael gave a nod.
“I can have some caffeine,” Belle interrupted when Michael and Sniper started to talk again.
“No, you already had a coffee and a cup of tea today. No more.”
Her cheeks heated. She was a grown woman, and she could have caffeine if she wanted to. Deciding it best not to start an argument among his friends, she would put it aside for when they got home, then she’d tell him all about how his overhanded ways made her feel. Telling her she couldn’t have a regular Coke like she was some child wasn’t going to fly.
“They get a little protective once they claim a girl,” Candy said, patting Sniper’s chest, then releasing him.
“Claim a girl?” Belle gave Michael a side glance, found him busy talking with Sniper and Turnkey, then turned back to Candy, easing them away from the guys. “Like how you’re Sniper’s girl?”
“Yeah. It’s just their way. But Michael, he’s a good one.” Belle noted the sadness in her tone. The venom she’d been sporting earlier dissipated.
“Were you and him, I mean, is he—”
Candy placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled softly. “We were never serious. Nothing really.”
“Sniper?”
“He’s a good one, too. A bit bossier than Michael, though.” She rubbed her ass where his hand had smacked her and laughed. “But it’s kind of hot,” she whispered. “Come on, let’s go get a drink—full caffeine. I won’t tell if you won’t.” She linked her arm through Belle’s and pulled her toward the bar.
The crowd simply cleared a path for them when they reached it. “Michael will introduce you to everyone tonight, but they already know who you are.” Candy did some quick introductions of the prospects serving the bar then ordered them their drinks. “So, how far along are you?” she asked.
Belle touched her belly. “Am I showing that much?”
“No. You look great, but like I said, everyone already knows everything.” Her smile slipped a little. “Everyone loves Michael, and they trust him with their lives. So if he’s got someone attached to him, and she’s carrying his baby, everyone is gonna know about it.”
Belle wasn’t sure how to take that, or Candy for that matter. She wasn’t even sure what she thought of the entire club. Eyes were on her every time she looked around. She wasn’t sure who was more curious, her about them or them about her. It was almost comical. Before she could ask Candy anything more, the doors to the lounge burst open and two men ran inside, panting.
“Oh, shit.” Candy’s smile slipped away, and Belle looked from her to Michael. His jaw tensed, and he hurried over to the two men. He didn’t look happy.
# # #
Of course Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb had to rush into the lounge like their asses were on fire the first fucking time Michael brought Belle to the clubhouse. There was no mistaking how nervous she’d been to venture into the compound, and now he had these two acting like hell was about to break loose.
Getting to them first, Sniper grabbed Teddy by the scruff of his neck, pulling him to stand up straighter. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” He gave the younger guy a shake.
“Devlin is at the front gate.” Teddy yanked himself out of Sniper’s grasp and straightened his shirt. “He’s demanding to talk with Craig.”
“We aren’t having this meeting now.” Michael shook his head. Why would the VP of the Devil’s Nest be standing at their front door? And he sure as fuck didn’t have any right to demand a damn thing. “You tell him we’ll reach out when we’re ready.”
“He said either we open the doors or he walks through them, either way.” Teddy looked around at the crowd starting to build behind his captains.
“Fuck.” Sniper looked around. “Where’s Craig? He was supposed to be here tonight.”
“I’m here.” The low voice of their president was followed by his appearance. “What’s all the commotion?” Turning back to the room, he waved his hands. “Get back to your beer and your women,” he shouted, and for the most part, everyone did. Michael caught a quick glance of Belle sitting with Candy, watching them with wide eyes. He smiled, gesturing with his hands that everything was fine, at least for the moment. She nodded back at him, but she didn’t look overly convinced. Smart girl, he wasn’t either.
“How many are with him?” Craig pulled his jeans up. He’d been losing more weight recently; even the belt around his waist didn’t help keep his pants from falling down anymore.
“Two prospects it looks like.”
“Fine. Walk his ass up here. I’ll see him in my office. Sniper, you and Michael will stay in the hall with whoever the fuck he brought. Outside the office.”
“You sure, Craig?” Sniper stepped forward, only to be rewarded with a hard glare.
“I may have seen better days, but I am still the fucking president of this club.” Craig stifled a cough after his loud boast, and Sniper was smart enough to step back a bit and give him room. Craig jerked a finger at Teddy, sending him scurrying back out, and headed toward his office. Michael signaled to Belle to stay put and followed his president. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Snipper signal to Candy as well.
“You two really a thing now?” he asked, only half curious.
Sniper shrugged and gave a nod. “You were right. She’s not a bad girl, just a little lost is all. Needs a firm hand.”
Michael knew what he meant and almost felt sorry for Candy. She was just a girl really, not much true life experience outside of the club. She’d come to them barely out of high school. Hell, Michael wasn’t even sure what she did for work. Whenever he was at the club, she just seemed to be there.
“Yeah, I saw how you keep her in line when we walked in.”
> “What? That blow job? The girl is a freak for that shit. She loves when the guys see her doing it. That’s probably why she was always jumping your ass when the guys were around. The whole exhibitionist shit turns her on. That little blowjob was all her idea.” Sniper gave a confident grin. “She was a good girl today, so I let her have her fun. Got herself signed up for school.”
Michael raised his eyebrows. “School?”
“Yeah. She signed up for some court reporting program at the junior college in town. Twelve months of school then she takes a test.”
“You really do give a shit about her. Hell, last we talked you wanted to send her out back to the house.”
“Yeah.” Sniper rubbed the back of his neck. “That was stupid. When I talked to her, I realized I didn’t like that option too much. Then when you hooked up with Belle, and Candy finally got the clue that you were taken, she was different. Started talking to me, like with real conversations. I’m not sure where this is all going, but she’s calmed down. Not one word of being an old lady or hooking up with anyone else. Even when I told her she was mine, she didn’t argue or roll her eyes. She just smiled and said she’d like that.” Sniper laughed.
“She’d like that?”
“Yeah, like I’d asked her out to lunch or something. Anyway, it’s working so far.” He shrugged, then pointed down the hall were Teddy showed up with Devlin and two of his guys walking behind him.
“He in there?” Devlin pointed to the door Sniper and Michael were standing in front of.
“Yeah, he’s waiting for you. We’ll be waiting out here.” Sniper reached behind him and turned the doorknob, pushing the door open.
Devlin nodded to both captains before walking into the office and greeting their president. Sniper shut the door once he got the okay from Craig and leaned against it. “Scamper off.” He waved at Teddy, who did just that. A prospect would be stupid to open his mouth once given a direct order to leave.
“What do you think the prick wants?”
“We’ll find out as soon as they talk.” Michael stuffed his hands into his jeans and leaned against the wall across from Sniper.
“So, you gonna marry that girl?” Sniper asked after several moments passed in silence.
“Marry? I could barely get her in here tonight. She needs more time. With her mom being so sick and the baby, she’s pressed too thin with stress. I’m not laying that on her. Yet.”
“So you will, just not now. Good.” Snipper nodded, like he approved.
“What’s it matter? We don’t have to get married for her to be my old lady or for her to have my kid.”
“No, but it helps. Family is important. Making her your wife; making that kid legit—that’s the right move.”
“You saying my kid won’t be legitimate if I don’t marry her?” What the fuck did that mean? How many of their brothers didn’t have parents who were married? Some of them didn’t even know who the fuck their dads were.
“No, I mean, well, technically, yeah, but I mean, it won’t matter to any of us. He’s your son.”
“Or my daughter.” Michael grinned. He hadn’t really considered having a daughter until that moment. “Shit.” His smile quickly dropped at the image of having a little girl.
Sniper laughed. “Don’t worry. If it’s a girl, she’ll have the whole club looking out for her.”
“That’s part of my worry,” Michael admitted. Candy was someone’s daughter, and look how he’d treated her—letting her blow him in the lounge or wherever the fuck she offered. He’d taken her to bed over and over again without any regard for her feelings. He told himself she knew what she was getting into with him. He’d been upfront that he wasn’t into relationships, but he couldn’t blame her for trying. Shit, Belle wasn’t even interested in one either, and look what happened with them. “You take care of Candy. Do you hear me?” Michael stepped across the hall, getting closer into Sniper’s space than he normally would. But it was important. “You don’t treat her like a whore. No more public service.”
“Fuck, Michael.” Sniper pushed off the door and straightened to his full height. “I told you that was her idea; she fucking loves it. I’ll take care of my girl how I see fit, and you do the same.”
“She’s not a whore.”
“I know that! What’s gotten into you?”
Michael sighed and dragged his hand through his hair again, stepping back. “Fuck. I don’t know. I just…I treated her like shit. She doesn’t deserve it. She’s a good kid.”
“She’s not a kid either. Did you know she’s twenty-two? I kept thinking she was barely legal, and there she was, fully aged and ready.”
The door behind Sniper opened before Michael could comment. Devlin stepped out into the hall alone. Craig still sat at his desk, chin in hand, thinking. “Hey, rumor has it you’re gonna be a daddy.”
Devlin cracked a smile as he maneuvered his way past Michael and Sniper. “Let’s hope your president makes some good choices so your bastard won’t grow up without you.”
Michael’s initial reaction would have been to throw his fist into the asshole’s face, but like it or not, doing so would have larger consequences than the club could handle, at least at that moment. The time would come when Devil’s Nest would have to be dealt with in a more permanent manner.
“Get the fuck out, Devlin.” Sniper stepped in front of Michael and nodded down the hall. “Take your little pets with you.”
Devlin stood still for a long moment, his hard stare burrowing into Michael before he turned on his booted heal and stalked off down the hall. His little prospects trailed behind him.
“Get in here,” Craig barked once the Devil’s Nest bastards no longer darkened the doorway.
Sniper and Michael walked into the office, Michael shutting the door behind him. “What did that prick want?”
“That prick wants to come to an agreement.” Craig pushed back in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head, his expansive stomach stretching the limitations of his shirt. “He’s offering to take the medical marijuana business off our hands, running the shit along with everything else through our town. In return…” He gave a pointed look to both of his captains before they could start in with their complaints. And they had plenty to voice, once he was finished. “In return, we get two percent of the cut, across the board.”
Sniper let out a low whistle. “Two percent of everything?”
“Yeah.” Craig nodded. “Financially, it’s a sweet deal. That would almost double our earnings in that area alone. All we would have to do is let them have the routes, and we’d provide some protection here and there.”
“Protection, like do the runs for them? And only get two percent, along with all the fucking risk of running that hard shit? Those assholes peddle coke and H, Craig. Street Demons…we aren’t drug peddlers,” Michael interjected. The backbone of their club had always been to protect their community. Not letting that shit flow through their streets had always been something they took pride in. Most of their kids went to the schools in town. If the Devil’s Nest took those routes and had free reign to peddle their shit, coke and heroine would be readily available at all the schools. Elementary through high school. No way would Michael let that happen.
His old man never would have allowed that shit. But his old man wasn’t around. He’d been VP when he was alive and had taken the club mostly legit with the garage. That was his old man’s work—giving them steady paychecks and something they could show to the public. No way he’d ever vote to let hard drugs run through town.
“I didn’t say I’d decided on it, so keep your panties out of a twist.” Craig sat upright.
“You’d have to bring this one to the table, Craig,” Sniper voiced softly. “This isn’t just your call.”
“No shit,” Craig shot at him, then started to cough. He held his hand out to keep either man from helping him, and they waited until the coughing fit passed. “Let me think on it. I’ll bring it to Church on Tuesday if it’s so
mething I think we should go forward with. I won’t bring it up if I’m not in support of it.”
Michael wouldn’t argue that point. Even if the club members wanted to jump on the offer, the only deals the president was required to bring forward were the ones he felt were in the club’s best interest. If he felt the deal was bad for the club, he wouldn’t bring it to the table, and everyone had to respect that. Hell, there was probably a laundry list of shit Craig never brought to them but never would he accept a deal or start something new without the vote of the board.
Michael wouldn’t ask for more than that. “They don’t want a war; they want the marijuana runs,” he noted instead.
“Yeah. He said the idiots who jumped you and Jerry last month were working on their own. They had no club backing for that. Apparently, the little shit who stabbed you was damn near blubbering when he told Devlin who he’d stuck. Fucking prospects don’t know their heads from their asses.”
