Page 70 of Claim Me

“Hunter was feeling sick earlier,” Tack lies. “I can’t stay overnight when she might need to see a doctor.”

“You’re so full of shit,” Zoot sneers at Tack. “But just in case you aren’t, let’s move on.”

“Make Sync do it,” Golden insists. “He’s got no reason to leave. His girls are with their mom.”

“Good point. You can stay here with him.”

“Why?”

“Where were you going to go anyway, shit for brains?”

Golden shrugs. “Nowhere, but I don’t want to be in charge of peeling guys off the ground in the morning.”

“Life is difficult,” Zoot mutters before offering a nasty smirk. “And to make it worse, you can take a bunch of prospects with you tomorrow and ride around town to show off our numbers.”

Golden frowns at Sync who shrugs. I stay very still to avoid gaining anyone’s attention. Noble and Zoot leave us and stop at where Elvis still entertains the younger guys.

“It gets easier,” Bear tells me after the guys start playing pool. “I didn’t want to be away from Natasha at all when we first got together. I would get pissed when I had other stuff to do. That’s the stage you’re at right now. But it’ll get easier.”

Pulling out my phone, I look at my photos of Siobhan. I like the goofy pictures the best. Last weekend, when I was riding around town, she sent a photo of the four kids making funny faces. When I was out late a few weeks ago, I received a picture of the dogs trying to smell each other’s butts.

Right now, I flip through those photos and decide I’ll only stick around until closing time at two. I survive the next hour without showing my restlessness. Golden disappears with another woman. The guys and I switch from pool to cards.

My mind wanders to Siobhan curled up in bed. I picture myself wrapped around the back of her. My hand is on her belly. I just startedfeeling the baby a week ago. The twins ran to me to announce they felt their brother.

Resting my hand on her bare stomach, I felt the lightest tap. Siobhan smiled at me, and the twins hugged me on both sides. I don’t think I’d ever been happier than that moment.

So, as much as I love hanging out with my friends and the club, I need to get my ass home. Instead, just after midnight, I’m startled from my thoughts by activity at the front door.

“Everyone line up against the back wall!” yells a detective as a dozen uniformed cops enter the bar. “We’re here to serve a warrant! Keep your hands where we can see them!”

I shove my phone into my back pocket and glance at Bear. He signals for us to be compliant. We walk to the back wall and rest our hands on the wall. If these cops are looking for a reason to open fire, we won’t give them one.

Nearby, Elvis has his hands up high in the air as if he’s trying to reach the ceiling. He smiles at the cops and asks for the name on the warrant.

“We can let you know if he’s in the back rooms before he can run off.”

The two detectives glance in the direction of the clubhouse’s bedrooms and kitchen. I know instantly how the warrant is bogus, and they’re here to cause trouble. If they cared about catching someone, they’d move to that location quickly. Instead, they seem wary as if they underestimated our numbers.

“If anyone gets pinched,” Elvis says as he rests his hands on the wall next to us, “call the lawyers and let them weave their magic. No worries. Don’t give the cops any reason to fear for their safety.”

The uniformed officers start patting us down while the detectives try to figure out their plan for the bedrooms.

“Where’s your president?” a uniformed cop yells at Tack standing next to me.

“Zoot left,” Tack answers calmly.

“And the other one?” the cop demands, shoving me against the wall.

“What other one?”

“His brother.”

“I’m his brother,” Elvis says, wanting to fuck with the cop who is likely going off a script.

“The other brother!”

“He left,” Tack mutters when the cop shoves me against the wall again.

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