Page 23 of King

“Well, I have bad news, news, and good news,” Weston remarked as he sat on the corner of my desk.

“Good news?” I muttered.

“We have a plan.”

“News?”

“You won’t like the plan.”

My eyes narrowed. “Bad news?”

“Congratulations. Welcome to the CIA.”

9

STELLA

Connor had been tight lipped about the meeting that had pulled him out of bed yesterday, but I had a hunch things were in motion with my dad’s situation. While it stung a little to be left out of the loop, I kept my questions to myself because I didn’t want his mind to be on me when he needed to be focused on my dad.

Luckily for me, before I drove myself up the wall wondering what he’d found out, a distraction came in the form of a pair of visitors to the clubhouse.

Connor yanked me against his side as he did the introductions. “Stella, this is Mac, the president of the Silver Saints, and Bridget, his old lady.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Mac tilted his head toward the bar. “Know we came for Bridget to see Matteo, but I have something I wanted to talk with you about.”

“Back soon, baby.” Connor brushed a kiss against my cheek before turning his attention back to Mac. “Let’s grab a drink.”

While they headed to the bar, Bridget led me over to the couches. Dropping onto a cushion, she patted the one next toher. “We might as well take a load off. You get two motorcycle club presidents in the same room, and they tend to get talking about all sorts of things. Trust me, I’d know. Between my dad and my husband, I’ve lived with one every day of my life.”

“You grew up in an MC?” I asked as I joined her on the couch.

“Yup,” she confirmed, swinging her arm in a circle in front of her body. “This one.”

My eyes widened. “Really?”

She nodded, her lips curving into a smile. “My dad was the prez before King.”

“Oh, wow.” I leaned back to get more comfortable. “I had no idea.”

Tugging on the bottom of the leather vest Connor had insisted I wear, she smiled. “Which means that I spent my childhood in the same room your kids will probably grow up in.”

“Umm…” My cheeks filled with heat. “I’ve only known Connor for a couple of days. It’s way too soon to talk about any possible children we may or may not have in the future.”

She held her hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I’m the very last person who would judge you, even if you were already pregnant. Not only did I provide the ladder to get down from the balcony when Jared kidnapped me from here way back when, but I’ve also had a front-row seat to all the crap the guys have gotten up to when they’ve found their women.”

“Whoa,” I breathed, my mind reeling over what she just shared. And the fact that she very well could be right about me being knocked up since Connor hadn’t used a single condom any of the times he took me, and I wasn’t on birth control. A conversation he’d managed to dodge since the first time we had sex. “Sounds as though you have a lot of great stories to tell.”

“I’m sure you’ll hear plenty of them.” She patted my hand. “For now, I’ll just say that guys like Jared—and King—tend to move quickly when they find something they want. And thatgoes double when they meet the woman they’re gonna make their old lady.”

I was still new to the world of motorcycle clubs and their lingo, so I asked, “I know Connor introduced you as Mac’s old lady, but that’s really the term they use for their women?”

“Yup,” she chirped, beaming with a pride I hadn’t expected. “And there are absolutely no negative connotations like some outsiders might assume. Being claimed by a Silver Saint is the highest honor a member can bestow on his woman.”

“Nah, gettin’ claimed by a Hound of Hellfire is even better,” a deep voice disagreed from behind me. “Especially once I join their ranks.”

“Matteo!” Bridget squealed before giving the guy who’d been at the gate when I arrived at the compound a big hug. “Hopefully, you’ll be patched in soon. I miss seeing your gorgeous face.”

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