He soon put me back in my place by telling me that the men here were on their best behaviour. They wanted to impress him and prove their loyalty, which meant sucking up to the old lady as well. It did not mean they liked me.
God forbid I went around thinking I might have a fan or two!
They showed me around the clubhouse, giving me the grand tour. This charter didn’t live in a compound the way the Leeds charter did. They had the clubhouse and the garage here, but they all had houses throughout Scotland—mainly Edinburgh. They had dorm rooms at the clubhouse, which was where people crashed when they had one too many, but for the most part, they stayed in their own homes and led their own lives away from the club. The president and vice president had their own room at the clubhouse, but the others were taken up by people, both patched members and prospects, whenever they felt like it. The old ladies of the club made sure there were fresh sheets and cleaning done on a daily basis, and had a schedule to show whose turn it was.
I made a mental note to ask Dante who cleaned the dorm rooms at our club, because I’d be damned if I was picking up their dirty socks and underwear because they were too lazy to do it themselves.
“Well, that’s the grand tour,” the president, Eagle, said to me when we were back at the front of the clubhouse, pulling me out of my thoughts. Which I was grateful for, because you could only think about dirty laundry so much before you were feeling sick to your stomach.
“I’m glad you’re here, actually. You’ve chosen the perfect day to pay us a visit,” he winked at me, and something about his tone set me on edge. I didn’t enjoy being winked at anyway, but there was definitely a hidden meaning behind that wink that almostmade it feel as though he was leering at me. Whatever it was, it immediately got my back up.
“Is there something in your eye?” I asked.
“Excuse me?” He said, raising his eyebrows at me. Even Dante paused to look down at me. I knew I was at risk of breaching the contract, as I was supposed to show respect to club members at all times, but something about the way this man looked at me made my skin crawl. I had seen that look in plenty of eyes over the years, and I never once liked the outcome of it.
The Dante I knew would understand once I got the opportunity to explain.
“Did I stutter? I’m sorry, let me make it clearer.” I cleared my throat and then raised my voice. “I asked if there was something in your eye, because I know there’s no way you just winked at me.”
Dante scowled at Eagle as he spluttered his response. “No, I—”
“What is it about our visit that is perfect timing, then? What would require a wink?”
“It’s, err…” he looked at Dante, directing his next words to him. “It’s the end of the rally,” he grinned at Dante as though he would immediately understand.
He thought wrong. Dante immediately stiffened and glared down at Eagle.
“The rally?” He snapped. “Really?”
“What’s that?” I asked, but as I expected, I was ignored completely.
“And you think I’d take my old lady to one of those things?”
“I didn’t say she had to join in,” Eagle shrugged. “I just thought it would be fun for her to experience.”
“Where is your old lady?” Dante demanded.
“At home,” he laughed. “She hates those things.”
“And one look atmyold lady and you just assumed she’d love to be involved in a drug fuelled orgy?”
Oh, shit.
“Dante, it doesn’t matter,” I said, pulling on his arm. If I didn’t defuse this testosterone bomb, we’d be scraping teeth off the gravel.
What was the punishment for killing the president of another charter? Dante might be the founding president, but surely that didn’t excuse murdering another member.
“It does fucking matter,” he snapped, shrugging me off. “My kids are on their way here. Do you think I want them around this shit?”
“We always hold a rally after a long ride, you know this.”
“Fuck off, Eagle,” Dante growled, grabbing my arm and pulling me slightly behind him.
“You’ve never said no to joining one before. Mama never said no when Crash invited her.”
Jesus tap dancing Christ, was this man moronic?
I quickly jumped between the two men, placing myself in the middle before fists could go flying.
