“We’re all strays in our own way. But just because we’re a random pack of lost souls doesn’t mean we don’t make some kind of family together.” She brightens a little. “You fit in here,” she assures me. “Don’t worry so much about it.”
She stalks toward the door and suddenly turns toface me. “Oh. I forgot. Savage picked up a car seat. You should have seen him trying to install it. It was like a bad joke—how many bad-ass bikers does it take to install a baby seat?”
She cackles and waves for me to follow her. I tuck my new phone into my pocket and leave my room. I only realize when I’m walking back through the compound that I forgot the key. I didn’t lock my room.
I somehow trust that, locked or not, nothing bad will happen. And that feeling, for the first time, feels like freedom.
Stella leads me through the compound, and I duck my head, avoiding what feels like stares from a couple of women I don’t know and a bunch of bikers. Some are shirtless, watching TV and drinking coffee. Others are wearing sunglasses and talking on their phones or to one another. The vibe here is so different. At the Hellfires’ compound, you felt like a fight could break out at any moment. Power was traded and taken. The strong bullied the weak.
This place feels weirdly like a family. People shout “Morning!” to no one in particular. I clutch Aurora to my chest and follow Stella, who is shouting at people, making fun of others, and just generally acting like she’s the big sister of everyone in this place.
As we head past the bar, Phantom, who I now know is the president of the club, stops Stella with a nod of his head.
“Hey, handsome,” she drawls.
Phantom shakes his head. “Stel, come on. Poppyhates when you call me that.” But he’s stifling a grin under a thick, dark beard.
“Liar, Poppy doesn’t mind. She wears that shit like a badge of honor. You may be handsome, but that girl is way prettier than you could ever be. You really climbed that ladder.”
Phantom holds up a hand. But one corner of his mouth lifts, and he looks at me. “Savage takin’ good care of you?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to thank him, thank you. You’ve all—” I choke a bit on the word “—saved us.”
Phantom lowers his brows in a terrifying glare and waves a hand at me. “I wasn’t looking for thanks. I just… Ah fuck.” He pulls a wad of cash out of his back pocket and nods at Stella. “Savage set you up?”
Stella pats a black leather purse that’s over her shoulder. “He sure did.” She leans in and loudly whispers, “He gave me a grand, and I’m planning on spending every penny.”
My mouth drops open. A thousand dollars? Savage gave Stella a thousand dollars to spend on me and the baby? I must have misunderstood.
Phantom gives her a bunch more cash. I don’t look at it. I don’t want to know how much he’s giving her or what they plan to use it for. He talks in a low voice to Stella while I bounce Aurora in my arms.
“Yo, we goin’?” A huge guy I’ve never seen before comes out of the kitchen, brushing crumbs from the front of his black T-shirt.
“Claire, this is Tank. He’ll be driving you today.” Phantom claps the guy on the shoulder. “Take good care of them, you hear me?”
Tank widens his eyes at Aurora. “As long as I don’t have to play baby music in the truck, I’m good. Ready to go?”
“We’re ready,” Stella tells him, thankfully saving me from speaking because I’m not sure I could without my voice wavering.
What kind of crazy fairy tale did I step into, and am I going to wake up in a different reality?
I sure as fuck hope not.
5
SAVAGE
I spendthe day doing the shit I least like doing, but which is a critical part of my role in the club. I have to update our security system.
The compound is massive as far as compounds go, and we have the place reinforced for all kinds of emergencies. We have storm protection systems in place, generators, and an entire garage full of vintage cars. We have cash, guns, and even some other substances that would excite federal law enforcement if they had a clue what goes on behind our closed doors.
A club like ours can only fly under the radar if we’re careful, and my entire job is being careful. Careful to stay ten steps ahead of the law, our enemies, and our rivals. I’m no techie, but we have a few guys we trust and pay well for that trust, so after hours of thinking about upgrades and the cost, I meet with our guy off-site.
That’s another layer of protection I put between theclub and the outside world. Our tech guy Ricardo thinks my name is Sam Sloane. Sam owns a boat repair business on the coast, and he’s been screwed over before—by both the Coast Guard and the mafia. Ricardo isn’t exactly friendly with guys with badges either, so we meet in public places, and we talk about logistics and what I need to buy.
Ricardo has never seen my fictional boatyard. He’s never tested me on my knowledge about boats—of which I have none—and that’s why he keeps me as a paying customer. After Ricardo and I finish our tacos at a hole-in-the-wall joint an hour outside of town, I load up brand-new, unboxed equipment in my truck.
As I’m leaving, a thought occurs to me. “You got any laptops, tablets, or shit like that?” I ask.
