Page 2 of Pound

Taps piped up. “Shit, who’s gonna tell her? Meri doesn’t take orders.”

“That’s the truth.”

“You said it, brother.”

They all cared for Meri, but she was a force to be reckoned with, and no one believed otherwise. But somehow it felt… different with Meri. But still, Pound couldn’t go there.

“She can have my place,” Pound offered up. Not only because her kids didn’t belong in the clubhouse, but if she was in his house, he could stay in the clubhouse. Distance.

She’d have no reason to be there, and she wouldn’t rub elbows with any of the girls. Pound cringed at the thought of Meri hearing about his exploits. Not that she was stupid, she knew he was a grown-ass man who had sex. He’d just prefer her to not have a play-by-play. Pound counted his blessings she’d never witnessed it at the few parties she’d attended.

A quick glance at Trip, and Pound knew he’d let his mask slip a bit too much. Why was it a big deal? Trip gave up his house to Bullseye when he showed up with his ol’ lady and kid in tow. But Pound doing it seemed to cause an uncomfortable ripple through the room.

“Not that even I think I can convince Meri to pick up and move to Vegas, but what if Hex hooked them up with a trailer, that way club life wouldn’t need to be altered for the single brothers, considering there’d be kids around.”

“No!” Pound practically shouted. He cleared his throat and spoke more calmly. “Red Rock is not secure enough. They need to be here. If they take my place, they’d hardly ever need to be in the clubhouse. We could make sure that we don’t engage in… shit not appropriate for kids outside and problem solved. They’d be secure and there would always be a brother around to escort them to school, work, shopping, or wherever else they needed to go.”

“I agree with my veep. Trip, make it happen. We can’t leave her exposed. Hell, she’s been out there long enough. I’m surprised someone hasn’t made a play already but having a Traveler on her at all times may be a deterrent for now. But that won’t last forever.”

“And how exactly do you expect me to make Meri do anything she doesn’t want to? If you have any suggestions, prez, I’m all ears.”

Trip took a petulant pose.

“Don’t get lippy with me, son. I can take you. Name the time and place for me to beat that disrespect out of you.”

The warning in Granite’s voice was clear, even when phrased casually.

“Sorry, prez. Just antsy, but also scared shitless of my own damn sister.”

Pound wasn’t thrilled at how lightly Trip spoke those words. None of his brothers knew what it was to be genuinely scared shitless of a woman. While Meri was strong and opinionated, she wasn’t violent. At least Pound didn’t think so, but what did he know? His track record was oh for one.

“Aren’t we all,” Whiskey agreed with him. “She is a force to be reckoned with. She is also fine as hell. She’d make a good ol’ lady.”

The growl was out of his mouth before he could control it.

Whiskey paled and added, “If I was in the market for one. Which I’m not. Not at all.”

“Why are you looking at him, that’s my sister you’re talking about, asshole.” Trip gave Whiskey a shove.

“Enough,” Pound shouted. “Prez still has the fucking floor.”

“As I was saying, Trip, convince her any way you have to. It’s only temporary if that helps. As soon as the threat is neutralized, she can go back to her life. Next order of business. Ripley has a proposition for us. I’ve given a detailed proposal to Trip and Priest, but the skinny of it is a day slash date with a biker. It is not the usual kind of thing I would even bring to the table, but it’s for a great cause, and well, I think we should consider it. The money is going directly to a local Air Force family with a very sick little girl. No percentage off the top to CEOs or assholes running a charity like a money-making business. All cash, all directly to the family. And if Hex’s projections are correct, it could bring in enough to significantly impact their lives.”

The vote was just a formality, the Phantoms would do anything to raise money for military families.

“Before we vote, there will be some ground rules in place. We can’t have a civilian with an all-access pass, but the deal is to make it feel like it is. The finer details we can discuss later, but the Shadow Angels will handle all the business aspects and promotion of the event. We need to do our part in promoting and pick a single brother for the date-a-biker event. The Angels are putting up Barbie for the Day With a Biker.”

“Why are we treated like giant hunks of man meat and the ladies treated like it’s a take-your-kid-to-work day?”

“Taps, you have never had a problem being treated like that. Hell, you’re ready to get up on stage for Pipes Night and shake your little Taps for all the world to see,” Trip accused.

“First off, it’s Carlos, and he’s not little, it was just cold when you met him. Second—”

“Enough about Taps’s dick. First off, society as a whole is the one that has a double standard for men and women.” Priest had always been a fierce advocate for equality.

“Selling tickets for a date with a woman is viewed in a wholly different light than one with a man. There are a lot of people who would love to spend the day with a biker to learn about some of the ins and outs, and the perception is a female would be less threatening or intimidating. On the other hand, there are tons of women who would love to date a biker. According to Hex, a major source of income for their club are the MC romance novels Sin writes.”

That was interesting knowledge. Pound knew that Sin wrote as Charisma Chase, but he had no idea it was that profitable. Maybe he should start writing. That thought almost made him laugh.

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