“I don’t mean any disrespect, but you had to see this coming. I’ve been with Alexis for six fucking years—”
“Watch your fucking mouth, kid.”
“You had to know I’d want her as my old lady for life.”
Brick stayed silent for a second, and then exhaled and ran a hand over his jaw. His scar stood out even more as he glowered even harder, but then he seemed to relax. “Yeah, I guess I was expecting it, and am surprised you lasted this long. And actually I was wondering when you’d get around to bringing this up to me.” Brick grinned, but Nico supposed it wasn’t an easygoing one. It was more of a growl/grimace type of smile, but Nico would take it.
He exhaled and held his hand out for Brick to take, but the biker surprised the hell out of him by pulling him in and clapping him on the back. It was a hug … sort of, but that was saying a lot about Brick and his acceptance of it.
“We have always been family, Nico, but now I’m your father-in-law, and that means if you fuck with my daughter’s heart the club won’t stop me, nor will Jagger, from kicking your ass to next Sunday.” Brick clapped him on the shoulder again and grinned down at him. “Don’t screw this up just because you have that ring on her finger.”
“Never. I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life.”
****
Alexis sat next to Stinger as he was teaching her the accounts receivable. The club owned a bar in Steel Corner. It didn’t support the club, but it helped with a small and steady cash flow. They had a lot of the money tied up in smaller business throughout town, even some around the country. There were also funds that came through, and she knew they were blanketed with different companies that probably didn’t exist. The money either came from firearms, drugs, or was being earned by helping The Brothers of Menace in their endeavors. Being Nico’s old lady meant she was thick in the club, but was not privy to the workings of how the club ran or stayed afloat. Even though she was born into this lifestyle, and had a father that was at the head of the MC table, the club made sure to keep family sheltered from what happened. But Alexis preferred it that way anyway. She had tried calling Dakota to set up a double date kind of thing, but found out from his father that he had gone on a run and wouldn’t be back for a week. That was for the best anyway, because although she hadn’t asked Nico about his feelings on Dakota, and the fact it had been years since the altercation, she wasn’t all about stirring shit again.
“Hey.” Tarren leaned against the doorframe and smiled.
Tawny, Tarren’s sister who was a few years younger than Tarren, pushed her way past her sister and placed a greasy bag on the desk in front of Alexis. She wrinkled her nose. “For the guys working on the bike. They specifically asked for the greasiest, nastiest thing I could scrounge up. Tell them it’s burgers and fries from Dino’s.” With that Tawny turned and left and climbed right into a bright red Mustang. The guy in the driver’s seat had so many tattoos and piercings that it was hard to even distinguish what in the hell he looked like.
“Ugh, her new boy-toy.”
“I bet your dad’s real pleased about that.”
“You should have seen his face when he caught them all but screwing in that douche’s car.”
“And this would be my cue to leave. No way am I hearing about Dallas’s kids and that shit. No fucking way,” Stinger said and grabbed the bag after he stood. He left them alone in the office, and as soon as the door shut behind him they burst out laughing.
“You’d think the way these old men act when sex is being talked about that they were virgins back in the day or something,” Tarren said and moved into the room, and sat down in the chair across from Alexis.
“Yeah, but I think hearing about the kids by the men they consider brothers having sex and all that probably crosses the line for them,” Alexis said, and they both started laughing again.
“So, I feel like it’s been forever since we actually talked, even though we did when you first got back.”
I know. I’m sorry I’ve just been swamped with all this information from my mom and Stinger, and I want to make sure I get it all right,” She said and leaned back in her chair as she stared at Tarren.
“I know, girl. I just miss you.” Tarren reached across the table and picked up one of the invoices. She knitted her brows as she read it. “Is this for guns?” She held the invoice out.
“Who knows what any of this stuff is really for, if you get my drift.”
Tarren nodded and dropped the paper on the table. “Yeah, I am sure there is more illegal money floating around than the legal kind.”