Page 40 of Jasper
Queenie turns to me, calm like nothing happened. “Sorry about that. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I say, though I feel the words I really want to say are just the opposite. “Thank you, for showing up.”
Queenie nods once and moves to the stool Silver vacated, lowering herself onto it.
She sets her glass on the table. “Well. That was long overdue.”
She takes a sip of her drink, but the tension rolls off her.
I reposition myself on the stool, hands still curled around my glass of soda. After this latest round of what the hell with Silver, I’m growing more aware of what lines exist here, and who’s willing to draw blood to protect them.
She asks, “You want another drink?”
“I don’t drink,” I say after a second, lifting my glass in explanation.
Queenie raises her brows. “I wasn’t gonna get you a whiskey on the rocks, honey. Figured you might want something that isn’t half melted ice.”
I genuinely like Queenie. She’s good people. Her whole family is. “This is fine. To be honest my taste is all off with the pregnancy, so watered down soda is good,” I take a mouthful andturn to her. “Thanks for the offer. Thanks for everything, it’s all new being here. I hope to follow your good example.”
“You did good standing up to Silver,” she tells me. “You didn’t stoop to her level. You even let her show her ass first.”
“It wasn’t easy,” I admit quietly.
“Nothing worth doing ever is,” she replies. She lifts her glass and clinks it softly against mine. “To women who try to do the right thing,” she says.
I nod and raise mine back. “And the women who show them the way.”
Queenie doesn’t rush the conversation. She drinks like a woman who’s not in a hurry to finish her glass or her thoughts. You can tell she truly is Rock’s club queen.
I can’t help but ask, “I didn’t think women got club names. Do you mind if I ask how you came about getting yours?”
Her expression brightens once more. “It’s the nickname Rock gave me when we first got together, long before we ever thought about starting an MC. My real name is Victoria. Rock used to call me Queen Victoria because I liked having things my own way. Over the years I ended up being called Queenie for short.”
I catch sight of Silver carrying a load of laundry upstairs. Unlike when she was arguing with Jasper and myself, the round she had with Queenie took all the fight out of her.
Queenie catches me looking at her and asks, “Are you scared of Silver?”
“Not really. She’s good at pushing my buttons. I wish I’d stood up to her more forcefully.”
She nods, “Good. Don’t ever let them smell your fear. They thrive on it.”
“Is that what you told yourself when you first took in your first club girl?”
She chuckles. “Hell no. I was so naive. Thought I could save them all. But I learned fast that making progress with them is slow going and some have no intention of changing. You have to pick your battles. In order to do that, you have to figure out what your strength is, then sharpen it until you can use it as a weapon.”
There’s something about the way she says it that’s not the least bit boastful. She’s just telling the truth as she sees it. She takes another sip of her whiskey and glances at me again. “Whether you see it or not, you have the same kind of strength I have. Most girls cringe when Silver lays into them. You not only didn’t flinch, you didn’t buy into her lies and manipulation.”
“Her lies weren’t remotely believable,” I admit.
“And you saw that right away,” she reminds me. “You have mental fortitude. It’s an admirable quality to have.”
The compliment feels strange because I’ve never thought of myself that way.
“I wasn’t sure I belonged here,” I admit before I can stop myself. “Still not sure about it.”
“Do you think any of us did when we started?” She replies with a knowing look. “Rock built this place with his own hands using a borrowed truck to haul supplies and rode a busted bike until he could afford to fix it. We had nothing but grit and the ability to outsmart our enemies and find lost souls who needed us as much as we needed them.”
She sets her glass down, folds her arms on the table.
