Page 75 of Through The Woods

What happened?

I nodded. “Thanks, Blade. I’ll stay with Joker, if you don’t mind.”

He turned to the mute. “Keep her in your sight, got it? It’ll be a fucking massacre if something happens to her.”

Joker nodded and then began checking me over, before signing, are you hurt?

I shook my head, needing to choose my words carefully. Charm had said that I was part of this club; I had to be prepared to deal with bikers like ones in the Hell’s Horsemen MC. If I made a big fuss now, the party would be over before it really even began and the men might not think that I was cut out for this kind of life.

I took a deep breath to steady myself. “No…some asshole got handsy. I do need to talk to you though.”

He frowned and we walked over to the corner of the porch where it was less crowded.

I leaned against the rough wood exterior and exhaled slowly. “Did Charm tell you to watch out for me? To make sure I was okay?”

He nodded as if the questions were no big deal. Then, he linked his left index finger with his right, before reversing it.

Friend.

“He wanted you to be my friend?”

He nodded again and gestured around us.

“He wanted all of you to be friends with me?”

He smiled widely.

I grabbed him in a hug and held on, even more confused than before. His strong arms came up and wrapped around my back.

The card game.

The sunrises spent with other people.

He’d done it all for me and I’d pushed him away because I was convinced that there was someone else. It seemed blatantly obvious now.

Joker released me and pointed toward the bonfire. I nodded and we began walking toward it. He left me standing near Joseph, the prospect, while he grabbed another beer. My eyes scanned over the crowd of people gathered around the fire pit, searching for familiar faces.

Quite a few people were dancing on the slab of concrete we turned into a makeshift dancefloor—proving both Charm and Rooster wrong. Speak of the devil… I recognized Rooster as he took slow turns around the dance floor, his head leaned in, talking to a pretty brunette. Judging from the look on her face, he was doing more than counting steps as he whispered in her ear.

Gunner and Axel stood off to the side, acting as the unofficial lookouts for the party, while Guardrail was trying to drink another biker under the table. Cheers of “chug, chug, chug” echoed across the grass.

Twitch and PD were involved in a deep discussion near the fire, their heads close together. Ali walked up with drinks in her hand and PD easily pulled her into his lap before resuming his conversation. Amber appeared to be giving makeup tips to a table of club whores, but stopped and gave a small wave when she saw me.

I saw him before he saw me. Charm was sitting in one of the lawn chairs, his eyes searching every face until they landed on mine. He visibly relaxed and a small smile played on his lips.

I held up my hand and smiled back, feeling every bit like a junior high girl waving to her crush. My cheeks grew hot as he watched me.

“So, what’s it like?”

A woman with overwhelmingly strong perfume moved into my line of vision, forcing my gaze away from Charm. Her hair had been bleached until it was white and her makeup was caked on in thick layers—she’d even managed to complete the stereotype with lipstick on her teeth.

“I’m sorry?”

She pointed to Charm. “What’s it like being his ol’ lady?”

His eyes narrowed when the woman pointed and I began stuttering. “H-h-he’s not mine—”

She cut me off. “That’s not what I heard.”

I nodded, still staring at Charm. “Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”

I began walking back toward the clubhouse—I just needed a moment to get my thoughts in order and my nerves under control.

I passed several bikers who praised the food. Before I ended up here, I didn’t know my way around a kitchen. I stopped and took one last look around the gathering as Rooster and his dance partner brushed past me on their way into the house. He turned back to wink at me and I couldn’t help but smile.

I’d done it. I’d pulled it off.

Somehow, in the midst of withdrawals, I’d managed to help every biker in this club.

Well, every biker but one.

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