“Come on in. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll get you some tea.”
“Thank you.”
Sterling was awake, so Lyric lifted him out of his car seat and let him get passed around.
“Typical baby biker,” I said. “Total flirt.”
Lyric laughed. “God, I know. He so knows what he’s doing, too. Look at his grin.”
My hands went to my belly and I smiled. The blood tests had come back as positive, unsurprisingly, so all systems were go with our baby arriving in just under eight months.
Lyric’s hand covered mine and I met her eyes, which were suddenly teary. “Don’t you dare,” I warned.
“I’m just happy,” she said.
“Well, stop it,” I hissed. “I’m hormonal enough as it is.”
Sterling let out a scream and Ronnie carried him to Lyric who settled him at her breast while the rest of the women got settled.
“Okay, it’s a small group today, so let’s get started,” Ronnie said. “As y’all know, Taz is heading out to Portland to help with all this bullshit.”
Taz was the Sergeant for the Savannah Saints, so he’d leave a hole for the time he’d be gone.
“We need to lock everything down,” Ronnie continued. “Keep your kids close. We’ve got recruits assigned to each of you, but if you feel weird about anything, let me know. This goes for any of the women in the club. I know there are a few who are intimidated by me, so they’re not gonna bring their concerns directly to me, but theywilltalk to you, so you have the autonomy to take action.”
Jules stood and picked up a couple of gift bags, handing them to the women present.
“What’s this?” Carmen asked, pulling out a sweet looking silver bangle bracelet.
“These are essentially homing devices,” Ronnie said. “If you press the tiny button on the side, it’ll send out an alert and we’ll be able to find you.”
“You know, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up kind of thing,” Jules said, and the group laughed.
“Look, the shit these assholes are pulling, I want to make sure you ladies are protected,” Ronnie said. “Plus, it’s pretty and no one would suspect it has the ability to rain down the power of a fucking army.”
As the women tried on their bracelets, I decided a conversation with Rabbit was going to happen in the near future, and then I sat with my women and listened to Ronnie, watching the way she commanded this group and taking mental notes.
It suddenly hit me that I held the same place within the Dogs, and even though I’d tried to fight it, I was the matriarch of our club and it was time I took that seriously.
* * *
Arriving home fromthe meeting three hours later, I walked into the condo and smelled something heavenly coming from the kitchen. I set my keys in the bowl by the door and made my way toward the scent. The room was empty, but the crockpot was on the counter, so I took a peek. Oh my god, it was Doc’s chili. I was in for an orgasm of the mouth.
“Don’t touch that. It won’t be done for a few hours,” Doc warned. “Hi.”
“Hi.” I smiled up at him as he kissed me quickly. “What prompted this act of pure unadulterated love?”
“Want to make sure you get a good dose of protein.”
“I can think of another way to get a good dose of protein,” I retorted, licking my lips. He wore a pair of joggers which hugged every inch of his long legs, and a tight, white T-shirt which showcased his muscular chest.
“That’s what got you in this situation to begin with,” he pointed out and I chuckled. “How are you feeling?”
“Good. No morning sickness yet,” I said.
“I picked up more prenatals for you and some meclizine.”
“Oh, thanks, honey. I totally forgot to do that today.”
