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“Let me help, as it was my request.”

The girl nodded, and we moved the table together. As we did, Nanci arrived, and my PA, Emily, followed close behind her. Even though it was five, the restaurant was already half full. People’s eyes turned to watch Emily, and I didn’t blame them. My PA was gorgeous and colourful. Today, she strutted her stuff in a red nineteen-fifties dress. Emily wore heels I’d probably break my neck in, while her hair and makeup matched her dress.

Nanci, however, rocked the biker chick look. Jeans were plastered to her slender legs, and she wore a tee with sections cut out, leaving her shoulders bare. High-heeled boots drew attention to her legs. The entire outfit was topped with a leather jacket, with the Unwanted Bastard’s patch on the back declaring her ‘Property of Inglorious’. Next to Emily, Nanci was equally striking, with her long black hair and her white streak. Many thought Nanci dyed her widow’s peak, but I knew it was natural.

“Hey!” Nanci reached over, hugged me, and kissed me on the cheek before taking a seat. Emily didn’t bother and plopped into a chair.

“I really need a drink,” Emily ground out, rubbing her brow.

“What happened?” I asked, concerned, and sat down.

Emily shook her head and released a heartfelt sigh. “Stefan.”

I didn’t need to ask anymore. Stefan was the Director of Fundraising, but despite his genius, he was known for his manic moments.

“How bad?” I inquired, worried.

“If Bernard kills him tonight, I wouldn’t be shocked in the morning. Stefan is in one of his creative moods,” Emily said, rubbing her temples now.

“Ah.” I didn’t have to say anything else.

The waitress came over, took our drink orders, and handed us menus. Drake and I ate here so often we knew the menu off by heart. I wanted Stefan’s stick-to-your-sides baby back ribs and fries. The waitress placed my Southern Comfort in front of me, Emily’s whiskey neat, and a Diet Coke for Nanci.

“Well, blow me! Congratulations!” I exclaimed.

Nanci looked at me, shocked. “How the hell did you know?”

“Bitch, you’re not drinking. Even if you’re driving, you still have one. To be completely alcohol free, that means you’re knocked up. Told the club yet?”

“No. Inglorious and I are keeping it quiet for now. I’m only a few weeks,” Nanci murmured.

I reached out, held her hand, and squeezed it gently. “It couldn’t have happened to nicer people. I hope you and Inglorious are very happy. You both deserve this.”

“Totally agree, Nanci. I bet Inglorious is over the moon,” Emily approved. “How overprotective is he being right now?”

The three of us began laughing. Because if there was anything a biker did one-hundred per cent, it was become overbearing and excessively protective when his old lady was pregnant. Inglorious was certainly one of those types.

“Yeah, I had to bitch slap him the other day.” I laughed at Nanci’s honest reply.

“I mean, seriously, I can open a damn door by myself, and it won’t harm the baby.” Nanci rolled her eyes.

“Oh boy, that surely beats what Drake did, and he turned overprotective. Remember, honey, Inglorious may be more excessive than most due to what happened.”

Nanci nodded as I spoke; she knew what I was going to say. Having all but three of their members wiped out in the war of Rapid City a few years ago destroyed the survivors. Only Inglorious, Chill, and Razor survived. They’d struggled for a year until Nanci returned and took the club’s reins. Nanci had only come back because her brother, Seth, had been Psych, the VP of Unwanted Bastards. She had thrown Inglorious’s drunken ass into jail for him to sober up and straightened Chill out at the same time.

Meanwhile, she supported Razor through his cancer treatment, holding his hand when he was sick, rubbing his back when he puked, and just generally being there. With Nanci, several legacies had joined, and for the last eighteen months, Nanci had tracked anyone who fell under the umbrella of being a legacy of a dead member. Thanks to Nanci, the Unwanted Bastards had been rebuilt.

When she returned it to Inglorious, the club was in far better shape than it had been a year earlier. She’d honoured her brother’s memory and done him proud.

“Okay, so do I have an entire town to play with, or are we limited?”

“Oh no, we have everything. I’ve told Inglorious that we are throwing a party. However, I want more than that.”

“There’s plenty of wide-open areas we can use, Nanci. What are we looking at precisely?” I asked.

“The cemetery and church are completely off limits. Under no circumstances is anything allowed there. I’ll be hiring private security to protect them while the event is taking place,” Nanci said firmly.

I nodded in complete agreement. The cemetery held the graves of all the Unwanted Bastards. Those previously buried elsewhere, with permission, had been reburied in the official Unwanted Bastard cemetery. The most recent members who died due to the war were also now there; the graveyard was sacred ground.