Jinx laughed at the huge man as he acted as if his wife or ole’ lady was the scariest thing he could face. While she thought Viking was big, T-Rex was absolutely massive. He towered over her and Viking. Heck, she was pretty sure his muscles had muscles, and Viking wasn’t tiny by any stretch of the imagination. He had to be at least six-feet-four. If she were to guess, she’d put the other man at six seven or taller. And his accent, good lord, he had that Cajun twang that if she hadn’t seen and fallen for Viking first, she’d have had a crush on the big guy. Not that she’d have done anything stupid like hit on him. There were several rules she had when it came to men. If they were taken, whether married or dating, they were off limits. Period.
The closer they walked to the back entrance, the more nervous she became. “When you talked about the clubhouse, you made it sound like a bar like Taps. This looks nothing like what I expected,” she said, holding onto Viking's hand tight enough she was sure he’d lose feeling.
The two-story monstrosity reminded her of a rustic lodge you’d see in Colorado that only the wealthy could afford to step into. The entire structure appeared to be made of stone and concrete. Small windows along the back made her think there were rooms. From what she’d glimpsed of the front of the building, she wondered if their reasons for the lack of windows had to do with safety. After seeing the back, she assumed that was the case. The wraparound porch seemed to stretch all the way along the front and around one side, keeping it from looking plain with the multitude of tables and chairs set up along the wall. There was an abundance of potted plants between each table and along the front of the steps.
“It’s been updated a lot in the last several years. Here we go. If you need anything, just ask. They’ll know to put it on my tab.” Viking guided her in front of him. T-Rex walked in first, keeping her between the two of them. She felt strangely protected.
The moment the door opened, she was surprised to hear music blaring.
“The soundproofing is amazing.” She looked around the hallway as they walked through.
“Oh yeah. Cosmo sourced the best shit when we remodeled. You best believe, if you go into any of the rooms here, nobody is gonna hear shit outside of it. Unless we want you to,” T-Rex said, winking.
Viking pulled her to his side. “Ignore him, Vakker. He likes to stir the pot. Wait ’til I tell Lux he’s trying to rile you up.”
T-Rex turned around, walking backward with his hands up. “Ah, my friend. No reason to get ugly like that. My woman can get really mean. You don’t want...she’s behind me, isn’t she?”
Jinx laughed, shocked at the comical look on T-Rex’s face, like he was petrified of the tiny woman standing in the entry to what she assumed was the bar area.
“Are you talking smack about me again, my love?”
“Lux, ma chère, would I do something so stupid?” T-Rex flipped Viking the bird before turning around to face Lux.
“Sadly, the answer would be yes because sometimes you do dumb shit for good reasons. You gonna introduce me?” Lux smiled around T-Rex, waving at Jinx.
Jinx waved back, feeling Viking press on her hip. Shit, she’d posted her feet as if she wasn’t willing to move forward. How insane could she be? She tried to think of the last time she’d had a girlfriend and couldn’t come up with a date or place. In fact, she was pretty sure she’d never had a female that she called a friend. Pathetic, Jinx.
“She doesn’t bite,” Viking whispered.
“Yes, she does, but only because I like it,” T-Rex said.
Lux elbowed the other man in the abdomen. He grunted, but Jinx was pretty sure he only did so for effect.
Viking left Jinx with the three women. At first, she’d only met Lux and a woman named Lennox, who was married to Duke, the VP. The moment she’d been introduced to Ayesha, Jinx wanted to be her best friend or little sister. The woman oozed goodness and badassery in every part of her being. Then there was Jovi, who was a nurse practitioner married to Jentzen, an ex-SEAL. She felt like a complete loser compared to these women who had their shit together.
“So, what do you want to do now that you’re here? If you don’t want to stay with Bekkett, I can organize a place for you,” Ayesha said, swirling a straw in the drink she held.
“I...I want to stay with Bekkett. I’m not sure what’s going on, or you know, what’s going to happen tomorrow. I’m here with him because I want to be.” Jinx knew her voice sounded horrified.
Ayesha patted her hand. “That’s good. He’s a good man. I just wanted to make sure you knew you had options. Our guys are amazing. I know King is the one in charge.” The ladies around them snorted. Ayesha flipped them the bird. “I enjoy his dominance. However, I give him that power. Key word beinggive.” She shrugged.
Jinx understood what she meant. While Viking took charge, he’d never made her feel like she didn’t have choices. Hell, it would’ve been a whole lot easier for him if he’d wiped his hands and walked away. Most men wouldn’t have wanted to take on a woman with her kind of baggage, let alone cart her ass down to his home with his chosen family and friends.
“I get that. Viking is probably too good for me.” She stared at the women, looking at their beauty and clear accomplishments.
Ayesha wore a beautiful gold chain with an intricate heart-shaped pendant and a lock. If you were to see it, you’d think it was a pendant. She now saw it as a symbol of their connection. King and Ayesha were more than husband and wife.
Ayesha gripped the chain, covering the pendant with her fist.
She turned her gaze away, looking around the packed room. Unable to believe she was hanging out with a bunch of bikers ole’ ladies. These women and men had been nicer to her in the short time she’d known them than her own people. Her family would have had a complete breakdown if they saw her drinking alcohol in a club.
“Hey, are you all right?” Lennox asked from the seat next to her.
Jinx nodded, feeling her eyes burn with unshed tears. “I’m not sure what the fuck I’m doing here. Hell, I’m not sure where to go from the shit I left behind. Viking...he’s too good for me.”
“Oh, please. I saw the way that man looked at you when he left you with us. He texted Keys and asked him to make sure you were taken care of. He specifically asked him to reach out to King and me. Viking has a lot of favors he can call in. He has a law degree that specializes beyond just general corporate law in California. He focuses on Securities Law, Mergers and Acquisitions, Tax Law, Bankruptcy, Insolvency Law, and Intellectual Property, often overlapping with Finance, Contracts, and Regulatory Compliance, to handle specific aspects of business operations, investments, and corporate governance. That man has the memory of an elephant. His work as a lawyer spans not only the RBMC here in Cali but also the other RBMC clubs throughout the US, who need him. When we need a lawyer, day or night, we have two within the club that we can call. Viking has done more for this club than he’ll admit. There are men, women, and children he’s helped that I won’t talk about because that’s club business, but trust and believe, that man can ask just about any of us for a favor, and we’d do it. He asked us to take care of his woman. He’s never done that. Our guysonly do that when they’re claiming their ole’ lady. Do you understand what I’m saying?” Ayesha asked.
Looking at the women sitting around the small table, she made a decision. These women were a family. They could be her people. Taking a deep breath, Jinx gave them the condensed story of her past. Relaxing slightly as they listened without shifting away from her like she was crazy. She explained about losing her twin and the aftermath of bashing her brother’s brains in. Her body shook as she described the worst, which in her mind was the fact that he had gotten away with it. Sure, he was in an institution, but he wasn’t behind bars.
