Page 63 of Indie

“Why? What is it?”

“The women don’t get to come in here. The ol’ ladies, for all we look after them, they’re not patched members of the club. No women.”

“Why not?”

“It’s just the way it has always been.”

“Does it have to be that way?”

Indie nodded, solemnly. “It’s tradition. It’s the rules.”

“And who can change the rules?”

“Technically, the club. The whole club. Everyone has to agree with them.”

“Then why not change the rules, Indie? If this isn’t a gang, if this is a club, why not be more inclusive?”

He frowned slightly, a note of tension in his voice.

“It’s easier this way. Women make more reasoned decisions in some ways. But sometimes their femininity and their passion cloud their judgement.”

I drew a breath, ready to retaliate, but he continued, those rich brown eyes pinning me in place.

“What would you do for your children, Emmie?”

“Anything.”

“Would you save them against all others?”

“Yes.”

“Would you save them first before anybody else, without thinking about who else might be in greater danger?”

I let go of the lip that I was pinching between my teeth. “Yes,” I whispered.

“And you should, Emmie. Of course, you should. But I assess the situation. I get those that need me the most out first. I think strategically and not just with my heart. In this room we need to make decisions for the club, to benefit all of the club. Weneed to be strategic. We don’t need the passion of women to get in the way of that.”

“You sound like you are fighting a war, not running a club.”

Indie smiled. It was faint, sad, and full of meaning, but I didn’t know what that meaning was.

“It’s the rules,” he finished, his voice quiet, final. “No women.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “Any more rules I should know about?”

“That you shouldn’t even be in this room.”

“This room?”

I glanced around in the space that we stood, my eyes flitting between the pictures on the walls. It was a rogue’s gallery. Some faces I recognised like Indie’s, Demon’s and Fury’s, and others I didn’t.

Indie nodded. “Only club members are allowed inside this room. Occasionally other clubs by invitation. But no women.”

“Why? I can’t see any secrets in here. Just all these pictures. Club members?”

“That’s right. Past and present.”

“Where are they now?”