Page 12 of The MC’s Surprise (Bikers and Babies #4)

Sierra

I t was a little insane hearing what was happening with the Dirty Devils.

The night prior, they were all smiles, introducing themselves to me and making bets on if the baby was going to be a girl or a boy.

They weren’t bad people. Everything changed overnight and when I arrived at the clubhouse the next morning, you could feel the tension in the air.

Everyone looked pissed and wary, and I saw more than once when gazes strayed toward the windows like they were waiting for the cops to show up and bust in on the place.

I sat on the couch, waiting for Vegas to get back. He wanted me to tell Prez about my ideas, but with everything going on, Prez was busy and hard to pin down. It took him a while to find a minute where he was free to talk.

“Can I get you some water or somethin’?” a deep voice asked, drawing my attention from my phone where I’d written a list of ideas to get the club’s image back on track.

The man who stood nearby wasn’t familiar, and he wasn’t wearing a vest, so I had to assume he was one of the new prospects they’d introduced the night before.

“Oh, no thanks,” I answered with a smile. “You’re new, right?”

He nodded. “I’m Mark.”

I offered him a hand, introducing myself. “Sierra. If you don’t mind my asking, why’d you want to join, Mark? I’m hoping to help with the crew’s image and understanding why someone would overlook the rumors might help.”

He scrubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I went to the rally a few months back. Got to know ‘em a bit. I liked their vibe.”

Which only cemented my thought process that the crew needed to be out there interacting with the town. The crew was filled with good people. Once they got talking, everyone could see that. If we just got them out there instead of just helping in the background, it could mean a big difference.

“Does that help?” he asked uncertainly.

“It really does,” I assured him. “Thanks for taking the time to answer.”

He gave a nod of assent and wandered off, probably to do prospect things. My knowledge on that was limited to books I’d read. I’d have to ask Vegas for more information if I did help the crew with their image issues. I needed to be able to answer common questions when people asked.

“Sierra,” Vegas called. I twisted in my seat to look over my shoulder at where he stood in a doorway past the kitchen. He waved me over, gesturing me into the room when I came to join him.

It was an office space, which seemed so out of place in a biker clubhouse, but I kept my comments to myself. The club was run by a lawyer, so I guess I shouldn’t have been so close minded.

Prez sat behind the desk, his hair disheveled and his expression stressed.

I felt bad for him. Not only was he the club president, he was also the club lawyer.

He was literally the guy to protect the crew.

Everything was on his shoulders. It couldn’t have been an easy job, even without all the strife between them and the police.

“Hey, Sierra,” he greeted with a tired smile. “Vegas said you had something you wanted to talk to me about?”

I shot Vegas a look when I sat down. I had told him that it would be better coming from him. It felt a little wrong sticking my nose in things while the clubhouse was going through so much. Still, I rallied. I was already here. Might as well share with the class.

“I hope you don’t mind, but Vegas told me about what’s been going on. I had some ideas about things you could do to fix your image around town.”

Listing off a couple of the things I’d come up with, I studied Prez’s face.

He didn’t look as into it as Vegas had been, but part of that could have been the exhaustion.

It looked like he was running on fumes, and trying to take in everything I was saying was beyond him.

Which was why I wasn’t surprised when he didn’t immediately agree.

“I appreciate you looking out for my crew, Zoey, but I don’t really have the time to set this kind of thing up. My guys have businesses and jobs and this kind of thing would take planning. I’m sorry, but I just don’t see how we’d be able to pull it off.”

I hadn’t gotten this far in my life without fighting and proving myself time and time again. I didn’t take the first no as a sign of defeat. I just needed to sell it a little more.

“What if I do it?”

His brows pulled together, and he studied me with a frown as I continued.

“You said you’re too busy, but I’m not. I’m going to be working with Vegas, so my schedule won’t be mentally taxing, and on my days off, I’ve got nothing to do but wait for this baby. I don’t have an entire crew to take care of. Let me plan it.”

He seemed reluctant. If I had to guess, he was probably the type to want to have his hand in everything so he could control the outcome. It was Vegas who backed me up.

“At least let her pitch it to the crew. She’s right, you’ve got plenty on your plate right now.

Let the crew pick up the slack. If they’re down for it, we’ll ask for volunteers for the events.

That way no one will have to miss work or take time away from their families.

We can’t just sit here, Prez. We need to do something before the crew buckles from the strain.

And you can’t keep going like you have been. Maggie and Zoey need you.”

Prez sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. My hands twitched to offer him a hug, but I held back the impulse. We didn’t know each other and he wasn’t familiar with my particular brand of affection with the people I cared about. I wasn’t going to make things awkward for him.

“Fine,” he eventually agreed. “Let’s call a meeting, see what the crew thinks. But it needs to be low key and by the books. No stunt shows or anything that might cause noise violations. I’m trying to keep us out of jail. I don’t want to make things worse.”

“I can work with that,” I agreed. “You should get some rest. Maybe go cuddle with your family for a while. You look like you could use a hug.”

His lips quirked up in the corners and when he looked at me again, he seemed softer.

“You’re probably right. I’ll do that. Vegas, tell Rooster to call a meeting.

Not mandatory, I can’t force people to participate, but whoever doesn’t show up will probably hear it from someone else in the crew later. ”

Vegas snorted, offering me a hand to help me out of my seat. “They’re worse than those blue haired old ladies who hang out in the cafe spreading gossip.”

Snickering, I followed him out of the room. “I’m going to sell that idea, I hope you know that. Big bad bikers gossiping like little old ladies will do a lot to soften your image.”

It wasn’t a surprise to me that the entire crew showed up. What little I knew about motorcycle clubs, they were a loyal bunch and when Vegas mentioned something they could do to help with all the crap going on, they showed up for it.

I was more nervous talking to Prez earlier, but that didn’t mean it was easy for me when I was eventually stood in front of the entire crew, plus their old ladies, and the new prospects. I’d given presentations in front of audiences before, but it’d been a while, and never this large.

“You’ll do great,” Vegas assured me. He sat on the arm of the couch close by for moral support with Ellie in his arms. Something about watching him interact with kids made me feel all mushy inside and definitely stole my focus from the nerves.

Prez joined me, giving me a reassuring nod before calling the room to attention.

“Don’t tell me something else happened,” someone called out, getting a lot of grumbles in response.

Prez shook his head, exasperated. “No, nothing like that. Sierra here has some ideas on how to help the club image. I’ll let you tell her what she has in mind and we’ll have a vote afterward, but she has my backing in the meantime. I think it’ll do us some good. So keep an open mind. Sierra?”

Shaking out my hands, I moved to stand in front of the group, nodding at Prez when he touched my elbow and gave me a supportive smile. Summoning the courage and determination I’d used to get my business off the ground, I turned to face the masses.

“Okay, so I’ve heard what’s been happening and I think one of the biggest problems you’re facing is that the town believes the rumors about you guys. The only time they see you out and about as a group is thundering down the road on your bikes, am I right?”

That got a few uncertain nods. The room was heavy, quiet, and I could feel the wariness in the air. They probably thought I’d ask them to do something like stop riding around so much. They had no idea it’d be the opposite.

“When going over what you guys do for the community, I realized while you did a lot of good with donations, the town never gets to see that. You need more face time. If we get you out there doing good where the town can see you, see how much you care about the community, they’ll start to doubt whether you had anything to do with the problems the other crew is causing.

No one would see someone volunteering at an old folks home and expect them to break into a business a few hours later, right? ”

Some of the suspicion eased from their faces, bolstering me a little.

“So far, I’ve come up with several events that we can host in town to not only draw attention to who you are and give people a chance to get to know you, but also help some problem areas in the community at the same time.”

“Like what?” someone asked. I recognized his face, but not his name. He had tattoos going up his neck and looked intimidating at first glance, but the night prior, he sat in the kitchen for a little while, letting the two little girls color in the tattoos on his arms. He was a big sweetheart.

“Well, the animal shelter is overrun. I know they’re almost constantly asking for volunteers for dog walking and hosting adoption events.

The senior center is always looking for volunteers to spend time with the seniors during the day.

Habitat for Humanity is always an option, and I’m sure we could get some big coverage doing something like that.

The sky is the limit, honestly. The point is to change the narrative.

Show the town you aren’t who they think you are.

I also plan on setting up social media, a website, the works.

People get their information online nowadays.

You guys have almost zero online presence.

That leaves them with no choice but to get to know you the old fashioned way, by gossip or meeting you in public. We need to change that.”

“I can help,” Skylar volunteered. “I’m sure my ol’ man can spare me a few hours a week, at least.” She winked at Butch, whose scowl softened under her sweet attention.

“Me too,” Circus chimed in. “My classes don’t take up a ton of my time. And I know the ins and outs of social media. I can help set that up, no problem.”

More guys added their voices, volunteering to help and take time off work. They all agreed with my plan and wanted to do what they could for the crew. When I looked over at Vegas, he smiled and gave me a thumbs up.

“The wait it out approach isn’t working,” Melissa pointed out from the couch beside me. “It wouldn’t hurt to try something new.”

Looking around the room, I saw only smiles and encouraging looks.

I was both nervous and excited to start.

I refused to screw this up a second time.

It wasn’t just my livelihood on the line this time.

The crew needed help. And event planning was my jam.

I could make this happen and change how people saw this crew. I knew I could.

“Alright. If everyone agrees, then Sierra is in charge of fixing our image,” Prez said, stalling the surrounding conversations and pulling us back on track.

“Anyone who hasn’t met her, introduce yourselves and tell her what you’d be comfortable volunteering for and when.

Final approvals will go through me and the other officers.

And remember, this is to help our crew. All eyes will be on us. So no screwing around.”

“Way to put on the pressure,” I mumbled under my breath.

Vegas chuckled beside me. “You can do it. I believe in you. And I’ve got your back.”

Would there ever be a point where this man did something that didn't give me warm gooey feelings?