Page 71 of Rigid

He lowered me to the floor, scanned the club, and upon seeing no threats, pulled off his kutte. He handed it to P-Nut and then took off his wife beater.

“Put this on,” he said.

“Go ahead, Smoke,” P-Nut said. “I got your back.”

Smokey looked at me with angry eyes. “Stay between us,” he demanded.

I pulled his shirt over my head. “Okay.”

With Smokey leading the way, the three of us walked past the overturned tables and toward the door. When we reached the entrance, the two doormen, who were also bouncers, were standing there.

“Step aside fellas,” Smokey said dryly.

“Let ‘em through,” I heard Craig say from behind me.

They stepped to the side of the door.

“Smokey, wait,” I said. “I want you to meet someone.”

He spun around and shot me a hard look. “What?”

“I want you to meet someone,” I said sheepishly.

Obviously still on an adrenaline rush from the fights he’d been in, he glared at me as if I had asked him to jump off the San Francisco Bridge. I tilted my head to the side. “This is Craig. He’s my best friend.”

Craig cleared his throat. “Her gay best friend.”

Smokey gave the two doormen and angry glare, glanced at Craig, and lifted his chin ever so slightly. “Nice to meet you.”

I shrugged and then put on an awkward smile. “This is my baby’s daddy.”

“I’m not your baby daddy,” Smokey growled. “I’m your Ol’ Man.”

With my eyes still fixed on Craig, my mouth curled into a prideful grin. “Didn’t take long, did it?”

He gave me the thumbs up.

“Mail my check?”

Craig simply smiled.

“What was that about?” Smokey asked.

“Inside joke,” I said.

That night I walked out the door of the club for the last time, with my Ol’ Man leading the way, and P-Nut watching our backs.

And, it felt right.

TWENTY-TWO

Smokey

It seemed odd mentoring a prospect when I normally didn’t allow anyone close to me other than the small group of people I trusted. Trusting Tank was different than mentoring him, but he was slowly making strides toward gaining my trust, nonetheless.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to get in this club, believe me,” he said. “I had that feeling of brotherhood in the Corps, and after they wouldn’t up my tour, I lost it. I miss it, and the only place I think I can get it is in an MC.”

I took a bite of my burger. “Why wouldn’t they up your tour?”