Chapter Five
Alexis and Nico, twenty-two years old
Alexis pulled her Honda up to the gates of The Grizzly clubhouse. She waited until the two prospects that were stationed right on the other side of the gate pulled it open, and then she drove her car up the driveway. She glanced at her rearview mirror and saw the two prospects closing the gate. They had to be brand new because she didn’t remember seeing them the last time she was home. She was back a few days earlier than what she had told her mom, dad, and even Nico. But she had wanted to surprise them. After her graduation, and upon completion of her associate’s, she had planned on coming back to Steel Corner and working with the club, but she ended up staying for another two years and completing her bachelor’s. To say her parents were pleased was an understatement, and although Nico had been less than thrilled, seeing as he had stayed back in town and they had only been able to see each other occasionally on the weekends, he was supportive of every decision she made. But it wasn’t just about her staying in school, but also about trying to find out if working for the club was really what she wanted to do. She lived the MC life and knew what it meant to live life on the edge. Her dad may have tried to shelter her, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t seen the life that surrounded them. It wasn’t always helping a charity—which she knew the club had done on more than one occasion. It also had to do with drugs, guns, violence, and, God forbid, but a total reality … death.
She cut the engine and for a minute just stared at the front doors of the clubhouse she called a second home. Her brother Odin was finishing up his last year at CSU for his bachelor’s, and although she was proud he had decided to go into the medical field, at first she had been surprised to find out he didn’t want to join the club like so many of the male offspring of The Grizzlies had. Nico and Lucas had even decided the biker life was for them, and even if she supported Nico’s decision of a dangerous life, she knew once his mind had been set all those years ago there was no changing it. Exhaling harshly she reached across her seat and grabbed her purse. She’d leave her bags in the trunk, because she was staying at her parents’, even if she wasn’t thrilled by the idea. Shouldn’t she have her own place? Hell, she’d settle for a job right away, but she needed to learn the ropes of the business. The summers while in high school and helping her mother with the books weren’t nearly enough time to prepare her for what she actually had to do. While her mother, Darra, had been doing the payable and receivable account ledgers for longer than Alexis had even been alive, her mother needed to retire, as did her dad, but he was stubborn and would probably still be part of the club as long as he could ride. Hell, he’d probably be pulling his oxygen tank around with him and have his cane strapped to the back of his motorcycle, too.
She climbed out of the car, and when she looked over at the garage she could see a shining black Harley that was all too familiar. She put the strap of her purse over her shoulder and made her way over to the massive bay doors that were open. The closer she got the louder the classic rock music became. And then she saw him standing in front of a broken down motorcycle, and a couple of prospects standing right beside him as they talked about engines and blocks. She looked at the leather cut he wore, and the MC logo patch on the back that showed the burning phoenix that was the emblem of The Brothers of Menace MC. As if Dakota sensed her staring at him, he slowly turned around to face her.
“Well holy fucking shit.” He grinned but didn’t make a move to come close to her.
He looked good—masculine to the nth degree. He was only twenty-five, but he had several days’ worth of dark beard growth on his cheeks and jaw that made him look more mature. He also looked just like his father, Malice.
“Goddamn, Alexis, you haven’t changed.” He grinned again and flashed her a set of straight white teeth. “Well, not since I saw you a couple years ago for that big ass Thanksgiving dinner at your folks’ house.
She smiled and nodded. “You haven’t changed at all … well, I take that back.” Her cheeks heated because she realized how that could have been construed. He looked the same, but older, and his body was bigger and more muscular. Yeah, he definitely took after his dad, but all of The Brothers were abnormally large and strong for humans. She lifted her arm and pointed to his cut. “So you finally patched in, huh?”
He nodded. “Yeah, couple years ago. But The MC life was always for me.”
“Yeah, I suppose it was.” That was pretty much the same thing for most of the Grizzly kids. “What are you doing here if you’re a Brother?”