Page 81 of Blade

“Suurre,” he dragged the word out warily.

“Have you met the men from the Mother Chapter that are here tonight?” Archie nodded affirmatively. “What are they like?”

“Um, from what I’ve seen, they’re just like the brothers here.”

“Ok, good. That’s good,” I muttered, looking over at the clubhouse.

“Would you like me to call someone to come meet you outside?”

I turned back to Archie, “Can you call Blade?”

“Blade isn’t back yet. The girls are here. Want me to call one of them?”

“Yes, that would be a good idea.”

Before Archie could pick up the phone, Lily rushed outside.

“Beck!” Lily waved me over.

“Hey, Lil. I’m so glad you came out. I didn’t want to walk in there alone with all the new guys here.”

“Don’t blame you there. The first few times can be intimidating. The Arkansas guys are rougher around the edges than our guys, but they are great.” She looked at my chin. “I’m sorry about what happened. Are you ok?”

“I am. It was scary in the moment, but I’m doing ok. Thank you for asking.”

“If you need anything, let me know.” She drew me into a hug. “Let’s get inside. Rachel and Grace are waiting for us.”

“Did you know I was out here?”

“Yup,” she replied with a wink.

I didn’t ask how she knew.

Stepping into the clubhouse, the first thing I noticed was the noise. The music was pumping, and I could see the drinks were flowing. Taking a deep breath, I followed Lily to the table where Rach and Grace were sitting.

“Beck, you’re here!” Rachel jumped up, pulling me into a hug. “How did things go this afternoon?”

“Good.” I nodded. “We can talk about it later, though. Hi, Grace.” I slid into the seat next to her.

“Hey, Beck. How are you? I heard what happened. If the guys hadn’t taken care of things, us girls would have. Know we will always have your back!”

“Thank you. Hopefully, I am never in that position again.”

“What do you want to drink, Beck?” Rachel asked.

“Um, dry vodka martini with a twist. Absolutely no olives, or olive juice,” I said with a shiver.

“No olives, you got it. I’ll be right back.”

Looking over at Lily and Grace, I noticed they were both wearing cuts similar to Rachel’s.

“Are you guys wearing cuts? I thought you weren’t with any of the guys?”

“We aren’t, but King insists we wear these when the Mother Chapter is here. He doesn’t want any of them mistaking us for club girls,” Grace explained with an eye roll, and Lily laughed. “Mine and Lily’s sayProperty of the Silver Shadows. The difference is there isn’t a brother’s name on it.”

“I’m sure when Blade gets here, he will get one for you. For now, just stick with us.”

Rachel returned, and the four of us talked and laughed while sipping our drinks. Once they were just about gone,Lily suggested we hop on the dance floor. Dance floor was a loose term. Someone had spread the tables apart to make room for dancing.

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