Page 11 of Blackbeard (Blackjacks MC #2)

Chapter seven

Blackbeard

“It’s too quiet in there,” Kingpin muttered.

“I know,” I replied.

Watching Leigh follow Baby Doll into the kitchen sent uneasiness prickling along my skin. Two headstrong personalities in the same room. And Leigh seemed hellbent on her mission to irritate the shit out of everyone for her own amusement.

Which would go over like a fucking brick with Baby Doll.

I told myself that they were both adults and they needed to sort out things between themselves. Besides, I'd learned the hard way that Baby Doll didn’t like anyone to butt in and fight her battles for her.

So I waited. Listening. Holding my breath, expecting some sign that they were slaughtering each other in the other room.

Just as I decided that I couldn’t stand the silence any longer and probably needed to interfere, Leigh shoved the kitchen door open, striding into the main room of the clubhouse.

And she looked pissed .

That bratty demeanor was gone, overshadowed by the thundercloud that brewed in her eyes.

But her gaze snagged on mine, and she donned a well-practiced smile.

“Well, I think it’s high time I got out of your hair. There’s still some unpacking I have to do back at the house. I shouldn’t be wasting time sitting around here, twiddling my thumbs and making a nuisance of myself.”

Before I could reply, Leigh was out the door.

A moment later, Baby Doll emerged, carrying a container of leftover mac and cheese from the Cattleyard Diner, with a bottle of beer tucked into the crook of her elbow. She dropped into the seat Leigh had vacated and wedged her boot against the table’s edge.

“It’s not even noon,” I said when she chugged her beer.

“You say that like I’m supposed to give a fuck,” she replied.

I raised an eyebrow. Baby Doll avoided my gaze as she dug into her pasta, shoveling it into her mouth.

“What did you two talk about in there?” I probed.

She lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug.

“Menstruation cycles. Tampons. Mammograms. Girl stuff.”

Oh, so she wanted to play prickly and hard to get. Fine. I shoved her foot off the table. She shot me a dirty look.

“I grew up with three sisters,” I said. “I know the tampon aisle like the back of my hand. None of that shit makes me flinch. Try again.”

Baby Doll huffed and gestured at me with a forkful of pasta.

“Why do you think we talked? We’re not gal pals or anything.”

I glanced at Kingpin. He leaned back in his chair, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender. This was between me, the woman I married, and my best friend. He wasn’t about to get tangled up in my business. I had to handle it on my own.

“Because you have a reputation for speaking your mind and pulling no punches,” I said.

“I thought you liked that about me.”

“ Lillian ,” I growled.

Baby Doll pretended to gag and kicked me under the table.

“Fuck, don’t call me that. You sound like my dad before he took the belt to me.”

“Then tell me what happened,” I retorted, glossing over the comment about her father. She wouldn’t want to dwell on it anyway. “Leigh seemed subdued after she left the kitchen. Didn’t think anyone was capable of taking the piss out of her, to be honest.”

Baby Doll rolled her eyes and tossed the container of leftovers onto the table alongside her beer.

“Leigh tried to cozy up to me. Pretended like we have to stick together—girls versus boys, cross your heart and pinkie promise. It was obviously fake, so I didn't buy it."

I squinted at Baby Doll, studying her face.

My gut told me that there was more to the story she wasn’t telling.

Prying it out of her wouldn’t be easy though.

She had a tendency to lock down information when she didn’t want to share, and I knew from previous experience that no amount of pressure could waterboard it out of her.

“She’s toying with you,” Baby Doll added, meeting my gaze.

Just as I suspected, she wasn’t happy about this arranged marriage. None of the Blackjacks were—backed into a corner and forced to sign on the dotted line.

But Baby Doll was more than simply my club sister, she was a close friend. She wanted me to be happy, and watching me get pushed into a marriage with a woman I didn’t love—while Baby Doll could do nothing to stop it—must have been agonizing to endure.

“The thought has crossed my mind more than once, believe me,” I admitted.

Every word out of Leigh’s mouth felt like a chess match. Analyzing the board to make the most advantageous move.

“This whole situation reeks of bullshit,” Baby Doll replied. “And you’ve already ditched your common sense so your downstairs brain can take the wheel.”

I scoffed.

“Come on. Give me a little more credit than that.”

Baby Doll’s eyebrows flicked up with a look that said, you’re not a very convincing liar.

“Are you saying she isn’t hot? You don’t check out her tits in those tight, low-cut tops she wears?”

I hesitated for a fraction of a second. Baby Doll pointed at me, the tip of her finger an inch away from my face.

“Ah ha! I knew it. You got in her pants. You didn’t even last twenty-four hours.”

Spike turned around on his stool at the bar, leaning back on his elbows.

“Can’t fault a man for his appetite, sweetheart.”

Baby Doll rolled her eyes.

“Stay out of this. Everyone knows you don’t even have an upstairs brain. All the thinking you do is below the belt.”

Spike opened his mouth and took a breath to speak but she cut him off, slicing her hand through the air.

“Don’t. Just…don’t say anything to that.”

He smirked.

“Sounded like a compliment to me.”

She groaned and leaned onto the table, propped up on her elbows. She idly prodded at her food, waving a forkful of pasta in my direction.

“Great. Now Spike will be full of himself all week. You started this.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s full of himself on a regular basis,” I countered. “And I did not start this, so don’t pin the blame on me.”

Baby Doll wrinkled her nose and tossed her head back, draining her beer. I stole her fork and took a bite of her food. She elbowed me in the ribs hard enough to make me grunt, air rushing out of my abused lungs.

“Watch your back with that snake you married,” she said. “It might be fun to get your rocks off with her, but that won’t mean a damn thing when she has the opportunity to stab you in the back. Literally and metaphorically.”

“So, I take it you two won’t be getting along any time soon?” I replied.

She shook her head.

“Maybe when I’m dead and buried. You know it’s not a jealousy thing. Something is off about her, Blackbeard. Be careful where you step.”

Baby Doll gathered her dishes and returned to the kitchen. I watched her go, replaying her words in my mind.

Typically, she wasn’t catty with other women unless she had a good reason to be, and admittedly, Leigh had been pushing everyone’s buttons.

Baby Doll had a knack for reading people that made it nearly impossible to pull the wool over her eyes. And she didn’t make accusations lightly either. She kept her mouth shut unless she was absolutely certain about something.

I shifted my gaze to Kingpin, assessing his reaction. He regarded me with cool gray eyes, saying nothing, but the grim set of his jaw spoke volumes.

The Forsaken had planted Leigh among us like a fox in the hen house.

For the rest of the day, I stayed at the clubhouse, killing time and drinking more than I should, in an effort to avoid Leigh.

Sure, sex with her had been fiery, burning off that pent up tension between us. I could claim there were no strings attached. I could claim that it didn’t mean anything. But it was a dangerous indulgence nonetheless.

Better to keep my distance.

We lived under the same roof though. I would have to face her again eventually. On the other hand, I couldn’t help wondering—how long was this going to last?

Leigh was young. When the novelty of having a husband wore off, and sex eventually didn’t happen anymore, would she demand a divorce? What happened when she fell in love with someone else while she was still legally tied to me?

By the time midnight rolled around, I finally admitted to myself that I should probably head home. But when I rose from my seat, the world seemed to tip and sway around me from one too many beers. My temples throbbed with a headache.

Nope. I wasn’t driving anywhere in this condition.

Instead, I wandered off to one of the available back rooms, stripped off my clothes, and dropped onto the mattress—something I didn’t do very often if I had a choice. I preferred the comfort of my own bed in my own home after a long day.

That comfort had been invaded by Leigh now. My home didn’t belong strictly to me anymore.

The thought of her sleeping in my bed, wrapped up in my sheets, probably wearing some skimpy little lacy negligee that barely covered her ass and didn’t hide her stiff nipples…

Fuck.

I shook my head and shoved that fantasy to the back of my mind. Baby Doll was right. I was doing too much thinking with my dick around Leigh instead of my brain.

In the morning, I woke to a relentless cascade of buzzing from my phone, indicating an onslaught of texts. I groaned and burrowed into my pillow. Probably Leigh, wondering why I didn’t come home last night.

She was taking her role as wife a little too seriously…

Buzz-buzz-buzz.

I swore and flung a hand out, groping around on the nightstand until my fingers brushed against my phone. I squinted, bleary-eyed, at the screen.

Twelve texts filled my inbox, half from my abuela, and the other half from one of my sisters, Esperanza.

You’re married!? Why didn’t you tell us?

When did you get a wife? And why isn’t she wearing a ring yet? Don’t be cheap, chico. I taught you better than that.

Is she pregnant? Did you have a Vegas wedding? I wanted to be a bridesmaid, Diego!

Do you ever use your washing machine? There’s a mountain of dirty underwear in your hamper.

“Shit,” I grumbled, scrambling out of bed.

My family was at my house. With Leigh .