“Well I have Kane on the phone if you need to report anything.”
“Kane, ma’am? Prez is the one who told us to come and check things out,” he answers confused.
Christ, good help is hard to find these days! And discreet ones at that.
“Is that so?” I can hear Raegan’s accusatory voice go up an octave. “Well then, you’ll want to speak with him.”
I hear ruffling and then a male’s voice. “Hello?” Ink answers with uncertainty.
“Check out the party and then the perimeter and if everything is good then leave, but not until every guy is checked.”
“Yes, sir.”
I hear ruffling again and then the sound of footsteps.
“You’re so busted, Kane. Maybe it’ll be your ass that’s red raw the next time we see each other.”
“Wildcat, the last person who threatened me ended up six feet under. I accept your challenge,” I goad, but in reality, two days ago I put a rival club member down between his eyes.
Being on the road is hard especially when other clubs want your blood. Satan’s Heart MC has always been a pain in our ass since Dad first started the club. We knew passing through their territory there was a chance of us crossing paths, but we needed to unload this merchandise as quickly as possible. Running into three of their members wasn’t part of the plan, but they just happened to be at the same bar as us at the time. Things got a little out of hand when one of the cocksuckers started talking about my Ol’ Lady, even though he had no idea who she was, the game was over for him. All three were put down before a drink hit the floor. Respect is tremendous in our lifestyle and not something to be messed with. Our motto in our club is No Road Back. Once you’ve crossed that line, it’s lights out for you.
After saying goodbye to Kane on the phone and staying another hour, Sutton, Ivy, and I walk down a few houses to Kane’s house. Ivy and I have been staying there for the last few days since he insisted on it. I have to admit that it’s a beautiful home and way more spacious than the pool house. Mom has been on my ass since Sunday at the garden brunch about not coming home. I’ve told her that we’re staying with some old school friend to give Ivy some more room, but she is the nosiest person in this town. I have a feeling that shits gonna hit the fan sooner than later when she finds out where I’m actually staying and who it belongs to.
“So, did you have a good time hanging out with Allison and her brother?” I ask Sutton hoping that maybe she and Ian made some kind of connection over the last two times they’ve hung around each other. It would definitely help stop the longing in Ian’s eyes for me.
After our blind date, we went out one other time to hang with Allison and her daughter, Annie. Who also happens to be related to Kane’s family. We never went beyond kissing, and after that night I made it obvious I didn’t feel anything for him. He suggested being friends and staying close since our mothers wouldn’t stop trying to bring us together. Even before Kane and I made that commitment to be with each other I knew Ian and I wouldn’t go any further. Even if Kane and I don’t make it, I could never see myself with Ian. We just don’t fit right. That’s the only way to describe it.
“It was a great time and exactly what I needed to get my mind off my parents. His friend Cory, who’s the ER doctor gave me his number, but I don’t know.” Sutton shrugs as we all sit on the couch with bottles of water.
“Cory seemed okay. He had some really hilarious ER stories,” Ivy says trying to get her to open up. She has this way of making people open up even when they’re the most introverted type.
Ivy comes from a lot of money and a lot is expected from her in their family social circles. She considers herself the black sheep of the family and balks at every tradition they expect her to follow. She’s the best person and the brightest light. I could never imagine her fall in line to someone else’s strict rules. She’s a butterfly and the world is her playground.
I think that is why she’s taken up with Sutton when we started hanging out with her a few days ago. What started out as a forced lunch by my mother and has turned into a growing new friendship that I think she is in desperate need of.
Sutton is nothing like she was when we went to school together. She’s turned into this beautiful swan who is trying to cut the strings her father has on her. It’s probably why Ivy can relate so well to her because they both have parents who suck. She just came back from a mission trip her dad involuntarily made her attend. Instead of college, they shipped her out of the country for the last four years to be forced to work and sleep on the ground. She describes it like a free labor nightmare camp where your free will is taken away and you work from sun up to sun down.
Sutton’s told us everything about her father and what they have planned for her. He wants her to marry a man the church deems suitable for her and expect her to go along and not have a say. They keep her locked away from most of the people, it seems, except when she’s at church on Sundays. I’m surprised she’s allowed to hang out with me, if it weren’t for my mother insisting that I make her my new friend. Little does she know that Sutton is amazing and easy to be around. I love having her here with me. It would be extremely lonely if I was by myself without her here with Kane gone.
“He’s alright, I guess,” Sutton replies and stares off at something across the room.
“But…” Ivy says, trying to get her to open up with us. I swear it’s like pulling teeth for her to tell us things. I know she doesn’t know us well yet, but hopefully she’ll see that I’m here for her. “You still can’t get your mind off that guy you had sex with a few days ago. Can you?”
The moment we stepped foot in the house from Allison’s party, Ivy started plying her with a few more drinks then switched her over to water once the pizza came. She was so frazzled, but I could tell something had happened just by the way she avoided some questions. Finally, Ivy tore down her walls, and she told us about the guy she met at a bar on the way here from the long travel home from her mission trip. Once she loosened up with the help of alcohol hitting her system, Ivy and I had the entire story of her life. She’s the nicest, most sheltered girl I’ve ever met. It’s a little sad, but also refreshing at the same time. Her father sounds like a piece of shit after being shoved into that four-year long mission trip. She’s starting to question what she really wants out of life and figure out that what she wants matters and to not settle for what others expect of you. Ivy and I have told her that we are here to help her navigate through it if she needs an ear or advice.
She peeks up at me and sets her water down on the table looking at us both. She looks scared, and it’s starting to make me fidget.
“There is something I need to tell y’all about the guy I met at the bar.” Sutton grabs her hands and starts twisting them nervously.
“You’re starting to freak me the hell out, Sutton, just say what it is. I thought you said that it was a random guy that you didn’t know.”
She takes a deep breath and pauses.
“Jesus, Sutton. What?” Ivy yells, not being able to take the suspense any longer making Sutton flinch at the volume of her voice.
“The guy was wearing that same vest as those men who stopped by earlier,” she says placing her hands on her reddening cheeks, and the wheels in my brain start to wonder.
“Okay? So he was from the MC? Did you see a patch name on his cut or anything that might identify him? I can ask Kane, and he’ll tell me which one of the guys it was.”
