Page 33 of Mad Max

“Fuuuck,” Kooper groans, but the other boys know to keep their traps shut about the prez’s daughter.

“Got something to say about my kid?” Law growls low to Koop.

“Boss, you know I respect you. Even respect your old lady, Special K, God rest her soul. But you’ve got to admit, Ruby ain’t exactly subtle when it comes to this shit. How do we know she won’t just blurt out what we’re wanting to know?”

Law shrugs it off. “So what if she does? This chick has been one step ahead of us each turn we make. What better way to know whose side she’s on than to ask her? My girl knows when to play the game and when to show her hand. I know you two get along like cats and dogs, but trust me, she’s got this.”

Only thing Kooper can do is nod. You only get to dispute the prez once; then you shut up and do what he says. Anything else would be a sign of not trusting our leader. Kid’s smart enough to not pick this fight, even if he really wants to.

“With that, Church is over.” Law bangs the gavel to make his point. “Get with Flint to see what each of you needs to do to get this family thing going. Want us to be in full-on party mode in four hours.”

The boys file out, and I wait, per my usual, to clear the room.

“We going to have a problem?”

I look to Law, seeing he waited till the others exited before he turned and shut the door on just us two.

I answer as honestly as I can. “Don’t know. But I’ll follow an order if that’s what you’re asking.”

He looks at me, and I look back. Not sure what he sees. The guy has had my back since I started coming to the club. I trust him with my life. I only ended up in jail because I made a choice outside the club. If I’d gone to him, he wouldn’t have stopped me, just would have made sure I was protected the whole time. I’ve always followed his ruling, and I always will.

I don’t know what I feel for this chick. I want to call her something, though I’m not sure what that is, but know I shouldn’t. Too many unknowns to make any kind of commitment. Even if I did make some sort of claim on her, Law would always get the final ruling on how the club deals with her. Then her uncle would make the call on how to deal with me.

Not sure who would win in a knock-down, drag-out fight. Travis has years of prison under his belt, but Law ain’t no slouch. He doesn’t work out daily to get the vamps to cozy up against him on the weekends. I actually don’t think he’s gotten laid since his old lady passed a few years back. He keeps in shape for one reason: to keep up with the boys and not be dead weight when the time comes. He might not go on the black ops work the club has started, but he can both take and give one helluva right hook.

“Ain’t asking you to choose. Not yet. There might be a time you’ll have to. I appreciate what you’ve done for the club. We all do. Know it wasn’t easy going in for that long and being forced to deal with some of the shit that most of the boys will never have to deal with. To connect yourself to others you might not normally deal with if you were out. It’s not easy having to watch your back and play the game to keep others at bay all the time. But you did it. Even got the club an ally in the form of Jimmy Travis. I know that was hard to do, to put yourself out there and learn to trust another and find a way to split your loyalty to the club and to him at the same time. The task he gave you when you last saw him would be hard for anyone to keep. But especially for one who’s involved with her.”

My eyes go wide at his last comment. “How did you…?”

He just grins, and I shut my trap.

“You think you’re the only one to fall under the spell of a beautiful woman from the moment you laid eyes on her? I might have done the deed in the bathroom, beyond prying eyes, but you didn’t seem to have a problem using the kitchen wall.”

I raise my eyebrows, full-on shocked that anyone, much less the boss, knows who I was fucking that night. I’m not hiding it, but I sure as shit ain’t one to advertise who I hook with.

“Don’t worry, I ain’t going to gossip about what I saw. Know when to keep things to myself and when the club really needs to know something. You just got to figure out if the girl is worth more than a first-night hookup.”

He turns to leave, but I stop him as he opens the door.

“What did you do with yours?”

“Married her the first chance I got.”

I huff out a laugh as he leaves grinning. Should have known he was talking about Special K. Rumor mill says he took one look at the former president’s niece and claimed her on the spot. No clue how much of that’s true, and I ain’t about to ask. No one’s brave enough, really. Man likes to keep moments about his old lady to himself, and I don’t begrudge him for that. The love they had is what each of us strives to have.

But again, not saying I’m claiming the fairy or anything like that. Just don’t know shit, and till I do, I guess sticking closer to her to figure it out is better than staying away. Did that already. All it gave me was a massive case of blue balls, a sore hand from jacking it so much, and more dirty thoughts of her than a person should have after knowing someone for such a short amount of time.

And then there’s the threat of her uncle, who’s willing to do almost anything to make sure she stays happy. If I trust him, then I trust that he knows enough about the daily functions of his niece. If he says she’s innocent, then maybe she is.

I scrub my face in frustration. I keep going around in circles. And that’s probably the answer I’m not wanting to acknowledge. I’m forcing myself to see her in one light. No matter what the facts say and what I’ve seen with my own eyes, I keep wanting to believe her.

I’ve made my decision, it seems. I want her. I’m willing to overlook almost everything. Explain it away.

But my next move?

No fucking idea.

Chapter 15 – Cheyanne

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