Page 56 of Possession

Tomas nodded. “Yeah. Six mostly was doing maintenance and repairs, fixing stuff, and added some security features to the property. Then one day, he knocked on my door and said, ‘I think we should help these women.’ I thought he meant that everyone should volunteer at the shelter, which I wasn’t against, but I didn’t know if the women would be comfortable with a bunch of bikers coming around constantly.”

Mason giggled. “That’s a fair point.”

“He said he’d been talking to the director, Gayle, and they’d come up with an idea. And that’s how the red phone was born. He and I brought it to the club, and we voted to help duringemergency situations. It was a little while later when we added going to court hearings.”

“That’s so amazing,” Mason said, eyes a little wide. “The fact that he was volunteering there anyway and that he came up with this other, bigger way to help and that everyone just embraced it? It’s truly incredible.”

“Not everyone embraced it right away, but people got on board, or they got the fuck out.” He grinned at Mason’s surprised look. “We’ve always been a very community-oriented club. Back when I co-founded the Devil’s Hands down in Louisiana, we were the opposite of that. The clubhouse was out in the middle of the bayou. We lived on the fringes of society, and that’s the way we wanted it. But it got exhausting fast. One of the founders, Damian, started doing some real illegal shit, got into guns and racketeering, so me and the other founder bounced. He went west, and I went north. I almost didn’t start a new chapter I was so turned off by everything that had happened.”

“Why did you?” Mason asked.

“You get used to the camaraderie.” He laughed, a little self-conscious. “It’s different than just friends or family. The bond you form with the people in a club with you is different. You have each other’s backs. You have to be able to trust them with your life.”

“I like that,” Mason said. “You’re lucky.”

“I am lucky,” Tomas agreed. “Although, I could do without some of the damn paperwork.”

Mason burst into laughter. “What kind of paperwork does a motorcycle club have?”

Tomas groaned dramatically. “You’d be surprised.”

“No, for real. What do you do, holed up in your office all the time?”

He hesitated, reluctant to share something for the first time that evening. Confessing his struggles with his workload didn’tseem like first-date material, but they’d already talked about their parents’ deaths and a whole host of other topics. Plus, it wasn’t like they didn’t know each other.

He was hoping to build something long term and with the sort of depth that a D/s relationship required. He needed to be open and honest.

“How much do you know about the businesses the MC is involved with?”

Mason shook his head. “I think Ollie mentioned once that you guys co-owned your sister’s restaurant. Is that right?”

Tomas nodded. “It is. They started struggling during the recession and were going to have to shut down. Instead, I used some of the club’s money to invest in them. We also help by going there and eating quite often, having her cater different events for the MC, stuff like that.”

“Well, that was nice of you guys, but where did the club get the money to begin with?”

Tomas hesitated and then said, “Some of it was dues the members pay, but… most of it was from my personal accounts.”

“That you earned after getting your degree, Mr. MBA?”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I’ve always been good with money and knowing when and how to invest it.”

“Does Jill know that it was basically just you buying into her restaurant?”

“Not at first,” Tomas admitted with a grin. “When she found out later, she tried to pay me back, and I refused. That’s how I end up with a freezer full of tamales once a month.”

“What?” Mason asked, laughing.

“She never wanted to just serve Mexican food, but she likes to do a monthly special where people can order takeout or come in, and all they serve all day is tamales. It’s incredibly popular. And I always end up with a shit-ton. She likes to say that it’s how she’s paying me back for the loan, but I don’t consider it a loan.”

“That’s hilarious,” Mason said, shaking his head with a wide smile. “So I ate your loan repayment tamales?”

“You did, though I didn’t tell her. She probably would just try and give me more next time.”

“What other businesses is the club involved with?” Mason asked, folding his hands on the table and leaning forward.

“We also co-own the bar.”

“The one in front of the clubhouse? The Devil’s Garrote?”

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