Nora
I’ve seen the Sons of Rage compound once before. It was three years ago, when my rideshare took a wrong turn. It’s a huge two-story concrete building with a cinderblock wall around it. To say it was imposing would be a mild understatement. It’s huge, barren and terrifying in its own way. I remember sitting in that back seat, afraid to breathe until we were a half mile away.
My father has talked about this place his whole life. He hates the Sons of Rage. He’s always complained that they don’t allow any other clubs to operate in their territory, which is huge. I remember my brothers saying they were greedy for territory and would fight you in a minute to get a few hundred square feet. The Sons are an outlaw club like the Hyenas. I knew that much from looking at Jinx’s cut that morning I snuck out of his house.
The minute the wall becomes visible, my anxiety spikes. I tighten my arms around Jinx. It’s even taller than I remember. It was gray before, but they’ve added stucco and it’s more of a tan color now. There are security cameras along the top of the front porch. They slowly turn to track our movements. A man in a Sons cut is leaning against a guard shack with a long rifle propped against his shoulder. Jinx slows his bike down as we pass through the gates. The gate rolls open and closes again behind us.
I think about how I’ve been taught to see this as an enemy compound all my life. My father has wanted to burn this placedown for years now. I am about to walk into their clubhouse on purpose. And I’ll be carrying this enemy’s child.
Jinx rolls us into a courtyard that somehow looks even bigger on the inside. He stops the bike right in front of the clubhouse and puts one boot down on the ground. He uses the other to lower the kickstand. I don’t immediately let go because I’m not feeling quite safe.
“You can let go now,” he says gently. “We’re inside the Sons’ compound. No one here will lay a fuckin’ finger on you. Trust me on that, Nora.”
I force my arms to let go of him, feeling immediately less secure. Taking my hands off him is harder than it should be. I think it’s because I have been missing him so much.
When we walk into the clubhouse, every pair of eyes in the cavernous main room turns to look at us. I keep my composure, although I want to turn and run away from all the casual stares.
I believe the one in the corner is their club president. I don’t know for certain because I can’t see his cut from this distance and no one has said. But I think he is because others look to him and he slowly rises to greet us. He’s older than Jinx, but not by much. He looks me over as he drifts closer.
“Jasper,” Jinx says pleasantly when he gets close. “This is Nora.”
“The woman you’ve been lookin’ for?”
“Found her near the county line. Two Hyena prospects were tryin’ to run her off the road.”
Jasper does not look at me when he says the next part. He looks at Jinx. “You wanna tell me why the fuck you think it’s a good idea to bring the Hyenas MC’s club princess here? Are you out of your fuckin’ mind, brother?”
A strange look crosses Jinx’s face when his club president mentions I’m the Hyenas’ club princess, and I wonder if he knew who I was already. “I told you, their prospects were attacking her. They ran her car off the road. You really don’t expect me to turn my back on a woman in distress, do you?” Jinx says. “I can put her back in her wrecked car if you want and leave her for the damn Hyenas.”
“Don’t be a smartass,” Jasper shoots back. “You should have run the decision past me before bringing her here,” he states flatly. Finally, he looks at me. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” I tell him, careful to speak up. “When my car hit the guardrail, the airbag deployed.”
“Good.” He keeps looking at me, and I make myself hold his eyes, because I don’t want him to think I have something to hide.
I chance asking him a question. “How do you know who I am?”
He gestures to a guy with a laptop. “Show her, Striker.”
The lanky man turns his laptop around to a social media page showing the footage they captured earlier.
“One of those prospects had a phone out,” Jinx explains.
Striker responds, “This has been running on a continuous loop for about ten minutes. All the Hyenas are looking for you. So you’re really Coal’s daughter?”
I speak up, “Yeah, my name is Nora Rivers. My father is Cyrus Rivers. You know him as Coal. What Jinx said is true. The prospects were trying to stop me leaving. I am here to ask for protection.”
“I’ll step up and vouch for her, Prez,” Jinx offers.
“Sit her down so we can have a civilized conversation,” Jasper says. “If we’re gonna seriously entertain the idea of her stayin’, we’re gonna discuss it sitting down, not standin’ in a doorway.”
They take me into a meeting room with a conference table and some comfortable chairs. I sit down, holding my bag tight to my chest. I hope they don’t take it away from me as it contains all my worldly possessions.
Jinx drops down into the seat beside me and sets a bottle of water in front of me. It’s ice cold and unopened. I grab it, unscrew the lid and take a long drink. I didn’t realize how parched my mouth was until I drank. I take several small sips trying to make it last, because something tells me this is going to be a long conversation.
Jasper sits across from me. Several other men with a strong family resemblance to him crowd around the table. They’re all club officers, like Jinx. Several more remain standing.
I feel surrounded by these strangers. Before I realize it, my hand strays over and I slip my hand into Jinx’s.
