Outlaw's Vow: Grizzlies MC Romance(21)

“What the hell you doing back here, bro? Guess this means the honeymoon's off.” Rabid came up to me at the bar, his old lady at his side.

Home, sweet home. The clubhouse always had that vibe, and I headed straight for it after blowing outta the lodge.

I hadn't seen much of his scarred beauty lately. Tutoring and managing the new bar attached to our strip joint was a full time gig for Christa.

“I'm having some fun here that I can't with her,” I said, knocking back another shot of whiskey. “The babe's cold as ice, brother. What the fuck do you expect for an arranged marriage?”

Rabid grinned. “Shit, you say it like it's a bad thing. Give it some time. Wouldn't be the first time some chick's thawed out after getting off to a rocky start.”

He grabbed his old lady's hand. Christa smiled as I watched my brother lift it to his lips.

“I feel sorry for both of you,” she said softly. “It must be a tough thing, growing up in this club from day one.”

“Yeah, tough fucking titties in the old days, for sure,” I growled. “Thing is, Tacoma was always one of the cleaner ones. They lost some guys back when we were fighting the Devils, but Gil took care of his shit like Fang didn't when that sonofabitch was still in charge of national. I'm halfway surprised her old man didn't wind up with lead in his head years ago for defying California.”

“That's what makes him dangerous. We gotta keep his ass in line, and if we have to do it through his daughter, so be it.”

Christa cocked her head. “Rabid, baby, you talk like she's just there to be used.”

I looked at them both and gave a shallow nod. “That's because she is. I'm not proud of it, but a club's gotta do what a club's gotta do. Beats having brothers under the same patch shooting and stabbing each other's guts out again. We all had enough of that shit when Fang went down.”

Rabid understood like every brother sharing this patch. We'd been through so much shit in the last few years, cleaning house and restoring this MC to its old glory. Time for it to stop.

Kicking the cartel's dick off had been a small miracle. Fuck if we needed more trouble now that things were finally settling down, drifting toward quieter, more peaceful times.

All the boys here with women and kids needed it. Wild bastards like Brass, Rabid, and Roman would do whatever the fuck they needed to get it, too.

“I'm gonna get the girl back in her natural habitat tomorrow. Calm her ass down, and get to work scoping out our 'brothers' up north.” My voice oozed contempt when I talked about brotherly love with Tacoma.

“What are you saying, bro?” Rabid said, reaching up and scratching the dark stubble on his chin. “The Prez said we're supposed to coordinate this shit. You can't just ride up there on your own and –“

“Nobody tells me what to do with my old lady – especially when I've got the club's good interest swinging from my heart.” I pounded my chest. “Go ahead and tell Blackjack what I'm doing. It's not like they're gonna beat my ass up or skin me alive for going alone. We've got Gil's girl as collateral, yeah, but she doesn't need to be miserable the entire fucking time.”

“Bro, I know you're solid. But I think you're letting this wedding crap go to your head.” Rabid pressed a friendly hand to my shoulder. It pissed me right off. “You're not really married, and she isn't really your old lady. You'd be smart to take a step back, talk to the MC, and let us all handle it the way we're supposed to.”

I jumped up from the bar and flung his hand off me. “Outta my way. Tomorrow I'll have a bunch of assholes up in Washington treating me like I don't know my ass from my own head. Don't need one of my own brothers doing it too.”

“Fuck...Asphalt!” Rabid called after me, but it was already too late.

I looked over my shoulder just long enough to catch a glimpse of Christa pulling him back, keeping his ass in line. An old lady was good for something besides fucking, at least when putting your brand on her really meant something.

I stopped by the drinking fountain and sucked down cold water 'til I thought my guts would blow. I'd come to fuck and drink my woes away, but all my instincts wouldn't let me do anything except flush out my damned system and ride back to her as soon as I could.

Didn't stop my boots from moving toward the empty rooms we had since more brothers moved out. Whores and prospects used them a lot now, crashing there with booze and condoms.

First door I hit, I stopped and inched it open. A burnt out lava lamp pumped violet light through the room. A dark haired girl sat on the bed, turned away from me, her bare back shaking.

Hadn't ever seen her before. The chick looked fuckable as all sin, but the way she quivered screamed junkie.