Not professionally, but at least enough to react and not freeze up. She’s quick on her feet, and no doubt she’s taught her kid the same thing. It’s the only explanation I’ve got for how he snuck into Mama Bear’s house without the alarms going off. That or she messed with our system when she was over this morning for the party.
I frown at the thought, as it makes me trust her even less than I did before.
“You the one in charge?” Not sure if her accent is normally this thick at night or if she’s just putting a bit more twang in her voice to make a point, but I don’t hate it. Neverbeen against, or even for, an accent before. Honestly, the voice didn’t matter on the girl. Okay, if she was the shrill type, I usually cut that shit off at the pass. Even walked out mid-dicking a girl once because her screams were annoying the shit out of me. But the Brooklyn burr is growing on me the more I hear it.
“Maybe. What’s it to you?” Casper’s never one to give information without making someone work for it. Even then, he doesn’t always play by the rules.
She shrugs as her hands move around, indicating everything and everyone, as she looks over the place. “Just trying to figure out who I need to talk to about getting my kid back.”
Casper raises an eyebrow at her and then me. She almost made it sound like we were holding him hostage, which we don’t do. Not when it involves a kid, anyway. Everyone else is fair game.
“Why not talk to the one who brought you in?”
Another shrug, this time with a head tilt in my direction. “He might be the brawns, but he ain’t the brains.”
“What the fuck?” Okay, I get my role. I really do. But no one has ever accused me of not having brains before. I’m like the fucking scarecrow in that one movie in her eyes, and it pisses me off. I might not talk about it, but unlike many of the brothers here, I went to college. Not saying you have to go if you’ve got smarts, or even if you don’t have any. But I was the goddamn valedictorian. I’ve got smarts, I just choose to focus on my other skills more.
I’m not the only one who’s thrown by her words. Casper’s even a bit flabbergasted. “And you think I’ve got the brains to run this place?”
She squints her eyes as she gives him an all-over look, then me. I refuse to believe I puffed out my chest a bit when she looked my way.
She nods at her thoughts before she voices them. “You’ve got something. Maybe a little wet behind the ears, but you’ve got potential. A bit of training and you could run the place.”
“Ah, thanks. I think?” He looks at me with confusion on his face, and I just shrug. I don’t get this girl any more than he does, so I’ve got no clue why both he and I care what she has to say. But we do. At leastIdo, and from the look on Casper’s face, I think the guy is feeling both honored and horrified at the thought of being in charge.
Girl isn’t wrong, though. Casper has something only a few have. Usually only see it when a guy comes here to get approval from the big man to start a sister chapter of the Hounds someplace else. He’s got heart.
Might seem like a stupid way to describe it, but it’s there. He loves the club, what it stands for. He knows when he has to get his hands dirty, and he looks for ways to deal with things from other angles more than most of us. We’re all usually rushing in and acting at a moment’s notice, but Casper—and to that extent, Law—always takes a beat to weigh the options first.
“Sent King and Walker over to your place. Know Law’s on his way there now, but I figured you wouldn’t mind a few extra hands helping,” Casper says to Chains, who joins our little half circle.
“Thanks, man. Never should have stayed here this long,” he says with a shake of his head, one I mimic.
“Don’t put that on you. If you want to bitch about not getting laid,that’son you. But that’s it.” I give him a pointed look. Now ain’t the time to be beating ourselves up over the could-have-beens. While I’ve seen the news and know that kids Oliver’s age can harm someone, I don’t see him, or his mom, as the type. They might be capable, but they seem more the type to fight to live, not live to fight.
He nods, but his shoulders don’t drop. Doubt they will till he has eyes on his kids and his woman in his arms.
“Also called Gator in,” Casper says with a nod. “Figured it’s faster for both of us to check the feeds than doing it myself. He just left twenty minutes ago, so he’s a better bet at still being up than Flint.”
“Oh, man, Troublemaker isn’t going to like that,” Chains says with a chuckle, and I join in. I might have missed the last year, but it ain’t hard to know that an old lady ain’t going to be happy about her man going back to the club. Especially not after the way they were eye fucking each other the whole night.
“Who’s the idiot who got grazed?” General says by way of greeting as he walks into the club.
While most of the brothers went home hours ago, not a single one who’s still around is looking tired. Even me. Something about dealing with an issue is an adrenaline rush for most of the guys. Might be why we all mesh well together. If we were the bitching type about needing sleep, we wouldn’t be Hounds.
General looks over Milly with a smirk on his face. “Ah, I see.” From the way the club is, he probably knows everything already and is just saying that to piss her off. It’s a tactic we do a lot—push and push on outsiders to see how they react.Some break instantly; others take some time. A few even stick around and earn respect from us.
Not sure which way this one will go.
“Well, fuck you very much.” She jerks her hip out and puts one hand on it while using the other to gesture.
God, I love New Yorkers.They’re just so entertaining to watch. You almost can’t help but smile as they get all angry over the simplest things. Especially when it’s a chick. They overdramatizeeverything.
“If you got something to say, say it. Otherwise, keep your trap shut and step off.”
Her words have us all smiling, but I bet I’m the only one with half a boner. What can I say? It’s been a while, and the girl is hot. I might not trust her, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy looking a bit.
Also doesn’t mean I’m going to start calling her my old lady or anything. Club comes first, and while she’s pretty, she ain’t enough for me to put her above the club. And that’s what an old lady is. At least for me. Ain’t going to get one till I know it’s a question of her or the club. If I’ve got to decide, then I know she’s it. And she’ll pick me only if she knows the club has to come before her, and she gets it. Two rare qualities that only a few lucky bastards can find.
