Page 90 of The Echo of Violence

“I haven’t had a second alone since it happened. I knew you’d lose your mind, and I didn’t want that to happen when I had people around me. Plus, I’m okay. If it had been something more serious, I would have called. You know that. It’s just some bruising. Honestly, it would have been fine if I hadn’t had to deal with the rest of the MC at the same time. That’s when he got the bead on me. I was stupid.”

“You were fucking lucky. What I want to know is, where were Bill and Jake?”

“Parked down the road from the clubhouse. I wanted it to be a simple extraction. I thought I could get Scooter out, especially with Toto by my side. I was wrong.”

“Jake and Bill were your backups for a reason,” he chides me softly.

“I know, but Jake and Bill are not you guys. They would have gone in waving their cocks around, and we probably would have ended up getting our asses kicked. They’re seriously prejudiced against any kind of bikers.”

“Jake was always a dickhead. Still, I expected more from Bill.”

“Bill’s a lapdog. He doesn’t agree with half the shit Jake says—you can see it in his eyes. But he’s got Jake’s hand lodged so far up his ass, he does exactly what he’s told.”

“Splinter said he talked shit about you.”

“Jesus, I never knew bikers were such a bunch of tattletales,” I huff. I’d kept most of the shit Jake had said and done over the years quiet. One, because we don’t see them much, and two, because it’s nothing I haven’t heard before. Women in a male-dominated field will inevitably encounter dick posturing at its finest. It’s not okay, but it’s not just men like Jake who are to blame. It’s all the Bills out there, too—who say nothing when they know what is being said or done is wrong. If nobody stands up against them, then the Jakes of the world feel justified in their actions. The only option left is for me to smack them in the face with a two-by-four. But I figure I’d save that for when I retire. Go out with a bang and all that.

“Jake always talks shit about me. At first, I thought it was because of my disability. Then I realized it was the fact that I’m a woman. The main reason, though, is that I’m both, and I’m still better at my job than him, and he fucking hates me for it.”

“I’ll deal with him.”

“Let it go, Nico. He’s not worth it, and he’ll never change. Hopefully, I won’t have to work with him again.”

“Not if I get my way.”

Rex lets out a snore, which makes us both laugh. I’ve never met anyone who could fall asleep as fast as he does.

“So…bikers? You said you didn’t want one. How did you end up fucking three?”

“You know how easily I trip.”

“You tripped and landed on a dick, got up, landed on another, and then, like a series of comedic gags, you fell on a third?” He snorts wryly.

“It was the darnedest thing.”

“You like them.”

Not a question. A statement.

“Yeah,” I admit with a whisper.

“Then I’ll play nice. All I want is for you to be happy. But if they hurt you, well, they won’t have to worry about anyone falling on their dicks again.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Splinter

“Any idea what this is about?” I ask as I sit down next to Knight.

“Nope. All I know is that Scope called for a mandatory meeting. I hope it doesn’t go on too long. I want to track Jinx down before she starts thinking about all the reasons why she should stay away from us.”

“Think she will?” Eightball asks, catching the tail end of our conversation as he takes the chair opposite mine.

“It’s possible. The woman is smart. Not everyone wants to be tangled up in an MC.”

“Yeah, but she’s taking the job at the center with Mercy. That already tangles her up with us.”

Eightball shrugs. “It’s not the same.”

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