“Yeah, I think she did,” I say in awe.
Who the hell knew gratitude would come before trust?
But I think after tonight, we might get both.
Chapter 16—Milly
You ever try not to think about something? To not worry about what’s coming? It’s impossible. I was never good at pretending something wasn’t what it was. I live in the real world. And I know what’s coming.
Well, IthoughtI knew what to expect. But I honestly never thought an entire motorcycle club would put up such a charade to make one little kid feel special. Especially Bass. He’s played every single game, from Pin the Biker on the Motorcycle—because anything else would be silly—to letting the club sing him “Happy Birthday” over a Minecraft cake. Each time, he had Ollie stand front and center with him, but he always made a big deal that it was abouthimand no one else.
My kid’s not dumb. He gets what this is. But unlike me, he’s happy to pretend with the club. To think it’s just another day. And I’ll give it to him. I’ll give him the world.
“Time’s up, Yankee.” On cue, Bass slides onto the chair next to me.
“Brooklyn,” I say with a small smile as I peel at the label on my beer. I swallow past the lump in my throat as I hear the other chairs around the table scrape across the floor, no doubt being filled by other bikers.
I’m not scared of them. Only been scared one time, and once you have that type of fear, the kind that makes you see your own death and live it, being surrounded by bikers isn’t even close to cracking my sweat gland.
When I finally look up, I see that I am indeed circled by Hounds. Law sits in front of me, Casper to his right, and Chains to his left. Me and Bass have the other seats, but a chair means nothing around here. Flint, Domino, and Kooper are leaning on the pool table close to us, and the big guy they call Mad Max is standing behind his boss. I also don’t miss the Pocahontas look-alike who’s half his size standing by him, staring at me with a blank expression, though it’s not unpleasant on her face.
“You want to do this here?” I raise an eyebrow but direct it at Bass. He might not be the one in charge, but he’s leading this.
“Why not?” Casper asks. “It’s going to get around the club as it is. No need to be shy on our account.”
I bristle at his words, but before I can snap at him, Bass puts a hand on my thigh for a brief second. The contact stills me, as it’s the first time he’s touched me since he had his fingers in me last night.
“Figured you would rather have eyes on Ollie when you get this out.” He nods to the couches to our right, and I look over, seeing what I already know I will: Ollie, Teddy, and a prospect playing video games with headphones on. Looks like they’re doing some sort of mission or something with zombies. Not really sure what it is, but they all seem to be into it. Even the prospect, who glances our way with a chin lift before focusing solely on the TV.
Having him closedoeshelp. So does knowing he can’t hear what I’m about to say. That this guy gets the importance of Ollie being in my life makes me feel things I refuse to look too deeply into.
“Right.” I nod beforeI take in the club brothers once more, stopping on the girl. “And Sacagawea is just one of the boys now?” I might not hang with biker clubs, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know how they operate. Girls don’t get involved in the club—at least no club I know of. I doubt this group is any different, but I still feel the need to push a bit. It’s my way of dealing with the unknown, pushing back and deflecting where I can.
To her credit, she just blinks at me with a tilt of her head. “Huh, never been called that one before. But I guess I’m more like her than that other one from the Disney shows. She was real, and the other was fake. Well,shewasn’t, but the Disney version was. I don’t like fake things. I don’t even fake my orgasms. Not that I would even need to with my beast, but I hear others do that.”
“Fairy.” The growl from the guy next to her has my eyes going wide, and I expect her to go all docile-like. And my reaction is to instantly defend her, as I find her lack of thinking before talking refreshing. I bet I don’t have to worry about word games with her. But then she surprises me.
“Oops, I mean Mad Max. I keep forgetting that he likes me to call him by his club name in front of people not club bound, but since I saw you here the other night, I figured it was okay. My bad.” She jumps up, literally, and plants a quick kiss on the guy’s cheek before wrapping her arms around one of his arms that’s still crossed.
He’s glaring at me, but I see the tension drop an inch off his shoulders. Maybe someone else would have missed it, but I miss very little. Been living my life in survival mood so long that I see a lot more than others. And I see what that little display was. His effort to make it seem like shewasn’t his weakness, but she ignored his attempt of putting space between them, and he actually enjoys that she’s sticking by him no matter what.
Of course, I could be reading too much into it, but that’s what I would have done if the roles were reversed.
“Fairy’s here to make sure you tell the truth,” Law says, drawing my eye for the first time since I noticed he took the seat.
“She going to beat it out of me?” I know looks can be deceiving. Hell, look at me. I doubt many would expect that I have a kill count over a dozen. But as I give her a once-over again, I still question her ability to take me on. Maybe if her man holds me down or something.
“Oh, no. I’m not really good at hitting anyone, at least not with my fists. I’m pretty good with my knives, but the club doesn’t let me bring them to the barbecues anymore,” Fairy says with a shrug.
“That’s only because General got tired of fixing up the boys when you challenged them to five finger fillet and they cut themselves trying to beat your speed,” Domino says with a snort.
“Let’s just say Fairy has a way of knowing if you’re lying or not,” Bass says with a shrug, then shakes his head the second I open my mouth. “No, she can’t show you her knife skills till after.”
Damn, the guy really knows me better than I wish he did.
“Later,” Fairy says with a smile and a wink, which eases a part of me as I smile in return. If she thinks I’m still going to be around later, that means I’ve got a shot of keeping my kid and myself safe for a little while, at least.
“Start talking,” Law grumbles, and I guess the guy has been patient enough.
