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We all know Ruby could wipe the floor with him on words alone, but something about the way he looks at her tells me he might like that a little too much.
“At your service, ma’am,” Drifter says cheekily, turning to face the redhead next to him. “I’m here to serve.” Something about the way he says it has Ruby messing up her words, and I’ve never seen her tongue-tied.
“Let’s just get one thing straight,” she says, meeting his gaze. “You’re not here to give opinions, sass inside our clubhouse with your two-dollar smile, or think you know what’s goin’ on—you don’t. Like Diamond said, you’re here to complete a task and that task only. If you don’t do what we say, I’ll personally see to it that you stay a prospect. Wrath won’t go easy on you.”
Wrath is the Prez of the Backroad Bandits. Drifter may be a member, but we all know prospects get treated like shit. Diamond, on the other hand, she’s good to her prospects, even if they get the crummy jobs.
He salutes. “Whatever you say, boss lady, but please go easy on me; I bruise easily.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Pearl mutters, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“The rest of us will sit tight.” Diamond ignores his jibes. “I’ll find out from Nash later what happened after questioning the Crow member they have in custody. Then we’ll know whether he squealed or not. For now, we wait until Drifter reports back.” She glances at him and adds, “No pressure, kid.”
“I’m up for the challenge,” he replies. There’s a confidence in him that you can’t miss. And we all know how badly prospects want to be patched in. Whatever Drifter digs up could shift things, one way or the other.
Diamond isn’t worried about Fury, but this could spell an all-out war—one that has been coming for a while now. Diamond will make them pay, even if Nash upholds the law. Which could make for an interesting dynamic.
“You good?” I ask Tilly as we filter out. She’s chewing on her lip slightly, indicating her worried thoughts.
“This is all a lot,” she whispers. “The Crows and the Devilheads teaming up?”
“Like Sapphire said, Fury isn’t ballsy enough to ride into Saddle with her own MC, which just goes to show you how spineless she really is,” I say.
“I know that… It’s just all… I don’t know… It kinda stinks a little.”
I want to wrap my arm around her, pull her into my side, but that’ll raise questions as well as eyebrows. “It does, baby girl, but like you said: the club can handle it. You’re stronger than you think.”
Her wide eyes meet mine. “Me or the club?”
I pinch her chin. “You. Last night, you were a rock. It was us against the world on your Harley.”
She smiles. “I’ve never let anyone on my motorcycle.”
“I should think not.” I grin, thumbing behind me. “Wanna take the horses out? I have to check on the cattle.”
She nods. “I’d love to.”
We saddle up and trot companionably out to the west border to check on things. A sense of peace washes over me. I love this land. It may not be mine in the figurative sense, but I’m happy here. Diamond gave me a chance when everyone else had given up on me, and I’ll always be grateful for that. I don’t have much, but what I do have I’m thankful for.
“Listen, about last night,” Tilly starts, and I’m surprised for a second, wondering what she’s going to say next. “I had an amazing time. You don’t have to treat me with kid gloves—I’m a big girl.”
“I didn’t realize I was,” I say. “But I was bein’ cautious because of the ladies. I wasn’t sure if you were ready for them to know yet.”
She turns her head. “To let them know about us?”
I like that. How she says us.
I nod. “It’s your call. I won’t pressure you, but I’m not gonna lie and say I dislike havin’ you in my bed. Not just the sex, but the cuddling part, too.”
She bites down on her lip, and it goes straight to my dick. “I like that as well,” she admits. “A little too much.”
“Listen, I’m willin’ to go where you’re goin’. All we gotta do is be honest with each other.”
“I’m ready,” she says, surprising me once more. “I’ve been waiting a long time. I’ve had so much therapy to regain what I lost, and while that was no picnic, I’m thankful for the scars. They remind me I have something to live for.”
“Of course you do,” I tell her. “You’ve come so far. You should be proud of yourself.”
“At one point, I never thought I’d be able to leave the house,” she admits. “It took a long while before I resisted looking over my shoulder at every turn. And a lot of that was thanks to you.”
