We talked a while ago about what it means to be an ol’ lady. Unlike marriage, there is no divorce between a biker and his ol’ lady. This is for life. I know Rex is the only man I’ll everlove and as long as things remain the same and we continue to talk through everything, I don’t see us ending this time.
“Yes, Rex. I would love to be your ol’ lady,” I tell him as he nudges me to open the box in my lap.
After untying the ribbon, I pull off the top to find a layer of tissue paper. Peeling it back, I reveal a leather rag. I’ve seen Cali and Annistyn’s and they told me what they’re called. Rex lifts it from the box as carefully as he handles his cut and shows me the back. The club’s colors are in the center. Above them, it says, ‘Property of’ and below it has ‘Master’. The front has a patch with Doll on it and his road name under it. Rex pulls me to my feet and helps me slide my arms into the rag. Once it’s on me, he slowly spins me so he can see it all.
“You look sexy as fuck, Doll. One day soon, I’m gonna fuck you wearin’ nothin’ but this,” he says, leaning in to kiss me. Rex doesn’t hesitate to deepen it as we get lost in one another.
“I love you, Rex,” I tell him when we finally break apart.
“I love you, too, Doll. Cali and Annistyn are goin’ down to the clubhouse. Reckless wants us all to have dinner together tonight with all the clubs here. There’s gonna be a lot of people here you don’t know. If that makes you uncomfortable, we can stay here,” he says as I look up at him and realize this is my life now.
“We can go. I’ll help them cook and you can introduce me to people,” I say as he grabs my hand and we leave the house together.
Before we get the door of the clubhouse open after parking his truck, I can already hear the music playing. It’s not super loud, but definitely louder than I’ve heard before. Rex assures me it’s not a party because the kids are still here and running around. It’s just louder because of all the variousconversations going on inside. With a nod of my head, he opens the door and we enter complete chaos. There are more people than I’ve ever seen before filling every inch of the common room. Every single chair and bar stool is occupied with men and women.
“It’s okay, Doll. Cali and Annistyn are already inside and there are more ol’ ladies here. You’ll like them,” Rex promises me as we move further inside and I search the room.
Annistyn is standing next to the largest man I’ve ever seen in my life. They’re talking and laughing until she notices me. Annistyn frantically waves me over and Rex takes charge, leading me through the groups of people so I don’t get lost or run over by anyone.
“You’re here!” Annistyn says when we’re close to them. “Taleah, I’d like you to meet Tank. Tank, this is Taleah.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I tell Tank, accepting his outstretched hand. His touch is more gentle than I expected.
“Nice to meet you too, Taleah. Master, it’s always good to see ya. I’m gonna offer my congratulations because you didn’t have an ol’ lady the last time we were here,” he says, a large smile on his face as a few more people come over to join us.
“She just said yes before we came down here,” Rex informs him before turning to me. “Taleah, this is Fox, Slim, Playboy, and Grim. Tank and Grim are in the Wild Kings MC. The other three are in the Phantom Bastards MC. Slim is Reckless’ grandpa and Playboy is his dad.”
“It’s nice to meet you all,” I greet them, offering the best smile I can as nerves fill me.
“Taleah, why don’t we head to the kitchen? Most of the ol’ ladies are in there cookin’ dinner for everyone. We can find something to do because when Skylar is here, she pretty muchtakes over the kitchen. You’re gonna love her food and sweets. The woman is a goddess,” Annistyn says, moving me away from Rex and leading me into the kitchen.
Several women are already working as they look up to greet us without stopping what they’re doing. I’m introduced to Skylar, Bailey, Sam, Shy, and a few others. I’m never going to remember all of these names.
“I can see the panic on your face,” a woman says walking up to me. “My name is Hartley and I’m with Lash from the Knight’s Rebellion MC. You’ll catch on to who we all are sooner rather than later. I don’t know everyone here so we’re all learning this together.”
This woman is so nice and I can’t help but laugh with her. Annistyn remains at my side as we get orders from Skylar. With her in charge, we all work together to prepare the food quicker than I thought possible. Annistyn and I are essentially gofers, moving to get things for those working on the food. Skylar starts baking once the meat is in the oven and there’s nothing else for her to do. She makes brownies, peanut butter fudge my mouth waters over, a few pies of varying flavors, and cookies. The woman works efficiently and manages to time everything perfectly so as one thing is coming out of the oven, the next thing is ready to go in. I’m in awe of her and decide I want to be her when I grow up.
We all talk and laugh as we get used to one another and prepare a fantastic meal for everyone in the clubhouse. I’ve honestly never seen this much food in one place before. I’m having a lot of first moments being with Rex and around this clubhouse. I love every second of it. Kim and I get into a conversation about sport bikes when she learns I ride. Her son is named King and a member of another chapter of the Phantom Bastards MC. Fox is his dad. King’s wife also rides a sport bikeand I kind of want to meet them. I don’t typically ride with anyone, but it might be nice to meet up with them for a ride one weekend. Rex and I can go and just get away from everything. I’ll have to wait until after the baby is born, but we could make it work.
When we have dinner, all the men leave the table and chairs for the women and kids. They choose to stand with their meal in small groups close to their ol’ lady. Rex rarely leaves me once I sit down to eat. His eyes make sure I’m eating enough without saying a word. I’m sitting with Annistyn, Cali, and the kids. Fox and Rex are talking about something and I know he’s going to disappear in his office before too long. I’m honestly okay with it because I’m enjoying myself more than I thought I would.
Epilogue
Master
One year later
OVER THE LAST year, life has been chaotic and filled with ups and downs. The first major thing that happened was taking out Ben and the trafficking ring. Lash and a group of six men went in as if they were going to bid. We were in constant communication and it didn’t take long for the warehouse to be surrounded. Our weeks of planning paid off and no one escaped. Every asshole there was arrested along with several of the buyers. Mr. Bond had several more charges added to the long list he already had as well. Annistyn helped the few girls who came back to the clubhouse with us. They went to the ranch and got the help they were in desperate need of. Lash, Slim, and Grim all took a few girls back with them. Some of them had no one else in Glendale or the surrounding area and they wanted a fresh start in life. Others were from closer to their hometowns and they got rides back before getting the help they needed. We all agreed to keep updated on the women and girls to ensure they all thrived after being tortured.
Mr. Bond is serving life in prison. He went to trial and lost his case. The lawyer he thought was so good did nothing for him. Taleah was worried about having to testify, but they didn’t need her. There were more than enough victims to get on the stand and share their stories with the judge and jury. He’s pissed as hell, but the guards have learned and shared that he’s not allowed access to a computer and all of his calls are to be monitored closer than normal. The men involved in thetrafficking ring are also going to spend the rest of their lives in prison. None of them will be in the same place because it’s been proven they work together and no one wants this to happen again. Mrs. Bond is serving several years in prison as well. I don’t see her making it out alive if I’m being honest. She was already attacked in jail and I have a feeling it will only get worse once she’s transported to prison.
When we weren’t at work during the day, our time was spent building the second location of Roger’s ranch. With all the new victims, it was imperative we get it running as soon as possible. Members of the Phantom Bastards and Wild Kings came to help us out. With all of us helping Roger, it didn’t take long at all for all the buildings to be constructed and ready to open. Annistyn works at the original ranch while Roger is mainly at the new location. We don’t blame Annistyn for not wanting to spend a ton of time there. It’s where her torment started and she has no good memories of the place. When we took out all the buildings already on the property, she watched and cried happy tears because every place she was hurt got demolished and she could bury the pain in the dirt with them.
Link and Annistyn had another baby. They now have a second little boy named Camden Cruz. He’s adorable and we were all at the hospital for his birth despite the horrible storm. Roads were flooding, trees and power lines were taken out by lightning, and we barely got to the hospital without crashing multiple times. Taleah was the only one who wasn’t at the hospital. She wasn’t feeling the best and someone needed to stay with the kids. They were all taken to our home and I made sure the generator would stay on while we were gone. Bryce and Rory helped my ol’ lady while we were gone because it’s so hard for her to move around and Dakota barely left her side. Camden was born two hours after we got to the hospital and most of us left thesecond we knew the baby and Annistyn were okay. I left because the need to be home with Taleah consumed me.
Taleah’s pregnancy went as smoothly as it could. We waited a few months before we shared the news with everyone. Annistyn and Elara were the only two who knew. Her morning sickness lasted a few months, but it wasn’t too bad according to her doctor. Taleah had a few insane cravings and I got each and every one of them for her. The day we found out we were having a boy, the two of us cried because we’d already been discussing names and had the perfect one. I was happy as hell about having a son. Taleah really didn’t care what we had as long as they were healthy.
Our son was born first thing in the morning about a month after Camden was born. We woke up to Taleah’s water breaking. I rushed her to the hospital and never left her side. Her labor was long and I hated seeing her in pain, but she was so damn strong. Taleah never complained or made a fuss as each contraction hit and the nurses kept checking her to see how far along she was. I didn’t understand anything they said, but she seemed to. Elara was in the room with us because our parents are both out of town. I called to tell them she was in labor and they got to the hospital just after our son made his entrance into the world.
