Page 74 of Nest Of Lies

“On account of my uncanny ability to find food and eat it.” He winks and reaches up to stroke a thick, greying beard.

“Bullshit, it’s because we all used to call you honey, cause you were such a sweetheart,” Bertie teases.

He dances towards her, his arms outstretched, making kissy faces. “Come here to me, Bertie, love.”

Io rolls her eyes and gestures to the biscuit. “Eat, Mills will kill me if I don’t feed you. The boy was so worried about leaving you here.”

That slightly mollifies me. Slightly.

I heave a sigh, feeling really deflated. “I think I must have been sick again because I don’t remember how I got here. It was very kind of them to care for me.”

Io puts a hand on my shoulder. “I don’t think it’s kindness, darling.”

I lower my eyes, feeling the sting of waking up alone all over again. If they cared, wouldn’t someone be here? Wouldn’t they have told me?

“Sweetheart, men ain’t very clear on their feelings sometimes, and worse, when they start to get an inkling, they run. Often spitting out a whole lot of words, they’ll do a whole lot of grovelling for later,” Bertie says and swats Badger with a tea towel.

I bite into the biscuit, and it melts in my mouth. The inside is warm and gooey. For a moment, I can’t swallow, and my eyes burn. Io still has her hand on my shoulder and waits until I’m okay before she moves away.

“So, we’re the old ladies.”

“Hey!” Badger snarls.

“We are, not him. He’s babysitting our hot asses.”

I snicker when he looks down and fans himself dramatically. “The most beautiful women for the most dangerous of men,” Badger wiggles his eyebrows and chortles when Bertie shoves at him.

“Be quiet, you old flirt.”

“Old ladies?” I ask.

“Oh, they haven’t told you nothing, have they? Basically, it’s what we’re called. The women who are in long-standing relationships, bonded to, or are married to one of the MC.”

I bob my head. I’m suddenly nervous.

“Do you know the hierarchy of the club?”

I shake my head.

Badger grumbles. “Ain’t no way to run anything. Top dog is the prez, the president of the MC, right? That’s my boy Zaden.”

I knew that.

“The vice president is Ranger. Sergeant at arms is Ianto.”

He can see I have questions, but Io cuts him a look, and before I can swallow the biscuit, he’s moved on.

“Mills is the smartest, so he’s the chapter's Secretary. Valen is the Road Captain, and I am the Treasurer.”

I blink at all that information. It makes just enough sense for me not to be totally lost, but I don’t have a lot of details, and I’m even more confused about why I know nothing about it.

“Are you all right about what happened to Ranger?” Pasley asks with a tiny frown. “You’re probably not used to seeing such violence. But this is the life.”

I frown. “This is the life? That happens often?” Why haven’t I seen that? How often do they get hurt?

“Don’t be a bitch, Pasley. It doesn’t happen that often. Just since the Despair MC started pressing into our turf.”

They start talking rapidly, and I struggle to follow along. It would appear that a rival MC is trying to invade Mirakill turf. They are the ones who took Ranger. So at the moment, Mirakill MC is currently out getting retaliation.

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