Lila made a noise of disbelief. “Are you kidding? With your curves? You would look incredible.”
I smoothed my hands over the fabric of my skirt, pleasantly flustered at her compliment. Despite my initial impression of her intimidating badass attitude, she seemed easy to get along with, and I could imagine us becoming friends in no time at all.
Tarzan delivered a final parting squeeze of comfort to my shoulder. Then he returned his attention to his brother, guiding Teddy back down the corridor again.
“So,” Lila said. “Judging by the utterly horrified look on your face, I’d say that Tarzan has told you jack squat about the Reckless Order.”
I shook my head. “We just went on our first date tonight.”
She clucked her tongue. “That’s sweet. Well, I’ll let you in on a secret about shacking up with a biker. They’re crazy good in bed, but they will turn your life upside down and shake it like a motherfucking snowglobe. Fair warning.”
I blew out a breath. “Yeah. I’m beginning to see that.”
Chapter seven
Tarzan
After Teddy was finally in bed and resting properly, I closed the door and sighed. This night had turned into a royal mess. My protective big brother instincts told me I should have been home with Teddy. Maybe I could have prevented this from happening.
Logically, there was no guarantee the outcome would have been any different.
Heading back to the common room of the clubhouse, I went straight to Ironside, seated at the bar with a whiskey.
“Where is he?” I demanded, my voice pitched low.
Ironside retrieved a cigar from his cut pocket, looking unconcerned.
“You have to give me more specifics than that, Prospect.”
“The son of a bitch who shot my brother instead of me,” I replied. “Where is he?”
Ironside lifted his gaze to meet mine.
“I told Bruiser and Recoil to take him somewhere else. Away from here. Away from you.”
I frowned. “Why?”
Ironside patted down his pockets until he found a matchbook. Then lit his cigar, inhaling a deep, slow drag of the smoke before releasing it. His unhurried demeanor was infuriating, but he was the Vice President and my superior officer. I couldn’t rush him if he didn’t want to be rushed.
At last, Ironside spoke.
“I had an educated guess that as soon as you found out your brother was hurt, you would be on the war path. Looks like I was right.”
I gritted my teeth. “Don’t tell me you’re letting that bastard go.”
Ironside huffed with amusement. “Hell no. We’re not turning him over to the cops, either. That would be a fucking pointless exercise.”
“So, what are you doing with him?”
Ironside deliberated for a moment, studying his cigar.
“That’s club business and you’re not necessarily privy to it yet, Prospect. Not until you earn your patch.”
“Come on,” I coaxed. “Don’t leave me in the dark.”
He thought about it, pinning me with a long look.
“Hillbilly and I agreed that we needed to send back a little message of our own. We decided to take a finger and mail it to the Filthy Rebels. Then we dropped the fucker in the mountains and told him to walk home. Between wolves, wild cats, and hypothermia, I bet he’ll think twice about taking aim at any of us again.”
