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CHAPTER

THREE

INDIANA

Hours at the mall usually break me out in hives, but running into the only woman who’s sparked an interest in me changed all of that. When we parted ways, I actually felt disappointment and wanted to bundle the two of them up and bring them back to the clubhouse with me. I’m not that man. But there’s always been something about Zoey that had me bending my knees and doing whatever it took to see that glamorous smile on her face.

I’m drinking a beer in solitude when a phone is shoved in my face. I lean back and push it back so I can see who has the balls to invade my personal space. When I see fire dancing behind Icer’s eyes, concern has me glancing back to the screen and what I read has my blood turning to ice.

“What the fuck is this bullshit?” I spit, taking the device from his clutches and going through it line by line. “Raped!” My roar has the entire room growing quiet as all eyes land on me.

“My princess is here because some motherfucker hurt her mama. Fix it, Indiana, and do it now because if you don’t, I will,” he vows.

“Fix it? How the fuck do I fix something that happened six damn years ago, Icer? Please, explain that to me and I’ll do it.”

“It happened here, in this podunk town. That means her rapists may still live here. You have to bring her to the club for protection, Indiana.”

“Women who aren’t claimed don’t reside here,” Riptide reminds Icer.

“He can claim her, or I will,” Icer thunders, causing everyone to take a step away.

“You can’t unwillingly claim an old lady, Icer,” Riptide says in a commanding tone. “We don’t do that. If we did, we’d be no better than her attackers are.”

“Fine! Then I’m laying down my protection on her,” Icer proclaims, and as if we’re on some sort of movie set, the entire room gasps. That’s a card that is only used under extraordinary circumstances. It’s basically unheard of, especially when it comes to Icer, he’s all but put the title of family on her without her knowledge.

Riptide sighs, gripping the bridge of his nose between his fingers, asking, “Family protection?”

“Yeah, I’m claiming Zoey as my sister and little bit as my niece. That means she’s untouchable unless I give permission.” His statement is said with his eyes glued to me.

That motherfucker!

He just made it next to impossible for me to see where this connection I have with Zoey could lead. “Icer,” I growl, standing from my stool. He may be our enforcer, but I’m the sergeant-at-arms which means we’re on even footing where the club is concerned. Going toe-to-toe with him can cause conflict within the club, but he didn’t even give me the chance to let what I just saw on the internet sink in before making his claim.

“Fuck you!” I roar, shoving him in the chest. The dick doesn’t even stumble, but a facetious smile is plastered across his face. “Zoey is mine, and you know it.”

“Then why didn’t you do anything about it, asshole? You shouldn’t have had to think about laying protection on her, but you stalled. Why? It’s not excusable, Indiana, and I won’t stand for it.” By this time, Icer is leaned forward, his forehead basically touching mine and his eyes have grown dark and menacing. “You want her for yourself, prove to me you're worthy of her and I may let you.”

“Now wait a damn minute,” Riptide intervenes. “There hasn’t been a vote, this didn’t come up in church so nothing is laid in stone.”

“Then let’s vote, every brother is here, I don’t see a need to push it off until our next church,” Icer calls out. “This is important to me, Rip. I won’t be able to sleep tonight unless it’s been settled.”

“Indiana?” Riptide asks, looking at me. “Is this the girl you were infatuated with when we rolled into town?”

“The same one, yeah,” I confirm. “And she’s standoffish, so I didn’t want to pull her into something until I understood it fully. Now that I do, I’m with Icer, she needs protection. It says here that the Onyx Dragons were suspected of being the ones who raped her. It was the new recruits’ initiation. They’re still here, only now, they’re stronger and better connected than they were six years ago.”

“So, Zoey, and her little girl, they’re important to you both?” Riptide asks for confirmation. Both of us nod which has him lowering his head as he considers the right way to handle this shitstorm. “And you both want to claim her and the little one?”

“Yes,” we unanimously answer.

“This isn’t our normal, but let’s vote by show of hand. Raise it high in the air if you are for this and keep them at your sides if you’re against it. Who here agrees to let these two lay claim on this woman and her daughter?”

Icer swivels on his feet as he glares at them, daring them to decline his request. Nobody is dumb, of course they’re going to agree so they don’t feel his wrath. Every hand in the room shoots up, some even double hand it, meaning it’s unanimous.

“Fine, looks like the club has its first princess inducted into our ranks. Indiana. Icer, I expect them to be here for introductions and you both explain to Zoey what this means. Don’t let her be blindsided by the importance of the role you two have given her and her daughter. What’s her name?”

“Elodie,” I answer.

“Princess!” Icer yells over me. “Her official club title is princess. Got it?” Everyone nods their head, some of their jaws hanging open. “Good.” He knocks his knuckles on the bar top and walks away. “I’m gonna go watch their house. I don’t trust those fucking dragons.”

“If he has the overnight shift, one of you needs to accompany him.” As I go to follow him, Rip places his hand on my shoulders, halting me. “Not you, Indiana. We need to talk. Renegade, go with him. You’re the only one who has a chance of keeping up with him if he loses his shit.”

“Got it, pres,” Renegade states, rushing out behind Icer as the door slams shut behind him.

Rip turns toward me and points his finger at his office. The silent command is enough for me and I go that way. As soon as we make it through the doors, he slams it shut and his eyes laser focus on me. “What the holy fuck was that?”

“You know what Zoey meant to me before she disappeared,” I explain.

“No. Not that. What was up with Icer? I’ve never seen him be so passionate about another person in all the years I’ve known him. His grandfather was my Paps’ enforcer and they both have been as cold as Ice. That’s where he got his name from, he hardly tolerates us, what’s so special about this girl that has him wrapped around her finger?”

A maniacal smile crosses my face as I pull out my phone. I was saving it for blackmail material, but this is something he’ll have to see to believe. I find the first clip I filmed and press play on it. Rip’s eyes become saucer wide as he flops down in his chair, not even noticing that it rolled back on its wheels as his face leans closer to the screen. He scrolls through each reel, and with each one played, he grows paler.

“You know what this means, right?” he asks me.

“We’re fucked?” I question, leaning forward and taking a peppermint out of his candy dish.

“We’re fucked,” he mimics. “Did he seriously help her pick out school clothes and match outfits?”

“Oh, yeah,” I say, grinning. “He almost threw down with a dad over a pink leather jacket. Lucky for us, and everyone else in the shop, he found another one in the right size and color tucked behind a stack of shirts.”

“Shit, we better remember the combo we gave him then because I’ve never seen him this chill in all the years he’s been around,” Riptide states. “Hell, he’s back to his normal self right now and is still hellbent on protecting the little girl. She must have made a huge impression.”

“She knew the song he was humming and then started singing it,” I admit, snickering. “I swear to God; it was hysterical watching how he maneuvered Zoey into letting him buy all the shit he did. He even managed to toss in a backpack as well as a lunchbox fit for a princess as he started calling her.”

“He’s going to be unbearable if anything happens to either of them,” Riptide muses. “Plus, since it’s documented that the Onyx Dragons were likely behind Zoey’s assault, he’s gonna have a huge hard-on for taking them out. They’re pretty connected,” Riptide reminds me. “If we find out who hurt Zoey, we’re going to have to finesse the fuck out of it so it doesn’t blow back on the club.”

“No shit,” I rumble. “But unless we get ears to the ground, I’m sure no one is just gonna drop that intel in our laps.”

The fact that someone hurt my shy, innocent girl in such a vile way guts me. We had been friends and she had finally agreed to go out on a date with me. While I still wasn’t sure if she could handle club life, I knew I wanted her in mine so I was willing to exercise the patience needed to explain all of it to her. What’s worse is this is a small town and once people realize Zoey is back and hear how old Elodie is, there’s a good chance they’ll connect the dots. The last thing I want for her or her daughter is for the Onyx Dragons to set their sights on her once again.

Because not only will the town have to worry about the damage Icer will cause, but they’ll need to be concerned about the mayhem and destruction I’ll bring to the fight. That little one is obviously the apple of her mother’s eye, regardless of how she came about. The concerning thing to me, however, is that Zoey was adamant that her parents are no longer a part of her life, and subsequently, Elodie’s, which makes me wonder just how they reacted to Zoey’s assault and pregnancy.

“We need to get one of our guys to go undercover in their organization,” Rip decides, pulling out a bottle of whiskey from his desk drawer along with two shot glasses. “Who do we have that could pull something off like that?”

I mentally go through a list of our prospects. They’re not as well known throughout town in regard to their association with us. Many of our probies stick to the clubhouse, doing odd jobs and keeping stuff around here clean.

“Sphinx is close to patching in, this could be his loyalty test. His sister is the hairdresser in town that hooked me up with my beard regime. We could have him put in those hair extensions just in case they’ve ever seen him around town in his prospect cut. We could have her dye it to a color that’d make him unrecognizable and buy him some of those colored contacts as well. Either that or a pair of glasses,” I suggest.

“Clark Kent the shit out of him, huh?” Rip jokes. “It’s not a bad idea. Things have been quiet up until now and I wasn’t sure if I should send him to Rio for his loyalty test. But if he can do this, and you think he could pull it off safely, then I’m all for it.”

“Nothing in our life is done safely, pres,” I remind him. “We all know that the day we sign on that we put ourselves on the line. We risk everything for the club, it’s what the brotherhood is all about.”

“True, but I’d rather not lose one of our brothers, Indiana.”

“Not trying to sound cold here, Rip, but he’s not a brother yet,” I inject.

“Not officially, no. But he’s still one of us,” Rip argues.

Leaning back, I steeple my fingers and place them under my chin, trying to figure out how to say this with some tact that won’t have Rip ready to rip my balls off. “He’s not seen as a brother, Rip. He hasn’t earned that respect and hasn’t earned his patch. Until that day happens, he’s disposable and you know it. Again, I’m not trying to be a heartless bastard about this, but that’s how it’s seen by those of us who’ve earned our stripes.”

“Shut the fuck up and go track down Sphinx. See if he’s onboard,” Rip growls. “Send Slayer in here while you’re at it. I need to fill him in on our course of action.”

“You got it, pres,” I say, feeling like an asshole, but Rip gets invested in our prospects and someone needs to remind him from time-to-time that they’re still at the bottom of the totem pole.

Walking through the clubhouse’s bar, I spot Slayer at the pool table. “Yo, VP. Rip wants to have a word with you in his office.”

He salutes me with the neck of his beer bottle before laying down his pool stick. “Better be good, this pot was high and I’m winning.”

“Club business,” I spout and his attitude changes. Guess he thought Rip wanted to shoot the shit but now that he knows it’s about the club, he’s all business.

I grab another bottle of beer from behind the bar and bid my brothers goodnight. This has been a long damn day and now, I need to figure out a way to let Zoey know she belongs to the club. Along the way, I look for Sphinx, not finding him, I figure he’s bedded down for the night and send him a text letting him know I need to have a word with him first thing in the morning, then I message Rip and let him know that I asked for Sphinx to come see me first thing tomorrow.

I get a thumbs up in response and chuckle. Since Rip learned how to insert emoji’s our messages have gotten less wordy.