Page 85 of Break Out

Tie called out, “Who cares? I’m glad he did.”

The door closed behind me before I heard if Steel even responded. Compared to the front of the clubhouse, which had oaks and pine trees shading the entry, there weren’t many trees out back to block the sunlight. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the bright sunshine. I stood on a slab of concrete, which vaguely reminded me of the Riot Clubhouse, but there weren’t any picnic tables and I knew this wasn’t an area for loitering.

To my left, was more of the building and from the small window, I realized it was their kitchen which jutted out into the back – as if it were an addition to the original structure.

I shielded the sun from my eyes with my hand. The backyard gently sloped down and I saw a humongous pit with a low circular brick barricade. From the remnants of wood in the center, I assumed it was a firepit. A few feet away from the bricks were anti-gravity lounge chairs, plastic Adirondack chairs, and a couple of free-standing porch swings hanging from metal frames.

From my right side, Rafferty’s deep voice made me jump a foot in the air. Luckily, I covered my mouth to keep anyone from hearing my yelp of surprise.

It took me a moment, but his words finally registered. “The club girls say they have bonfires almost every weekend,” he’d murmured.

I blew out a breath and turned toward him. “What are you doing here?” I whispered.

“After I helped Steel load up his bike at the ass-crack of dawn, he invited me to come up here.”

My eyes widened and I shook my head. “You’re spending the night here? As a hang-around?”

He shook his head. “No, I’m staying at his place, but he told me he’d meet me here after he dropped you off. I’m guessing something came up since you’re actually here, when that wasn’t his plan this morning.”

My mind was reeling. I loved that I had a familiar face here, but he wasn’t here for me. Raff was here for Steel. On the one hand, I couldn’t ream out Rafferty since he’d been invited, but on the other hand, I thought he was more loyal.

“Are you even interested in this club?” I asked.

“Keep your voice down. I might be. Not sure yet. Steel seems pretty solid. I won’t know what I want if I keep my head in the sand, or keep dicking around waiting on Dad and the others to approve me as a prospect.”

I stared off into the backyard. At the sight of what looked like half a dozen spindly logs leaning vertically toward a single point, I asked, “Why are they having a bigger fire to the side of a perfectly decent fire pit?”

Rafferty chuckled. “Look closer, uh… Jade. Those logs are held up with chicken wire to make a see-through tee-pee.”

I shifted a foot forward, and the metal wire became more discernable. “Oh. That’s cool, like for star-gazing.”

Rafferty choked on laughter. “Yeah, because bikers lay around star-gazing.”

I glanced back to him. “What are you getting at?”

“Think about it, woman. There are cushions inside each one, which means those are for fucking. If a brother wants privacy, he can put a blanket around it.”

My attempt to hide my lip curl failed.

“What’s with the face? Aunt Abby would fuckin’ love this.”

A silent chuckle shook my body. “She and Uncle Blood are probably the only ones, that’s for sure.”

His eyes darted toward the kitchen and back to me. “Be careful. This place isn’t anything like back home, and those women are…” he trailed off and he thought for a long moment. “Let’s just say they’re different.”

I dipped my chin. “You can do better than that. I’m guessing they’re conniving and devious. Hell, half a dozen of them came out to eavesdrop on Steel’s ex laying into him.”

His chin lifted in a slow nod. “That’s what that was all about.”

I nodded. “Yeah. Wait, how did you know?”

A sly smirk curled his lips. “I was inside at the time. All the bitches except one chased out after Debra. Then a short while later, Torque ordered everyone to get the fuck out. The woman who had stayed inside with me led me to the hot tub before the rest of the women came outside. She wanted me to get in with her, but I turned her down.”

I eyed him up and down. “Obviously.”

He shrugged. “Just saying, you want to meet them, that’s where they are. All of them.”

“In one hot tub?” I asked.

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