Page 35

CHAPTER 35

Billie

“ H ere you go, Sweetie.”

I took the sweet tea from Sloane with a murmured thanks. Toxic had brought me to the clubhouse with him while he got ready to go. They’d left for Phoenix a few days earlier than originally planned, he’d muttered something about all this supposedly going down Saturday, not today, which was Thursday, and in a hurry. So instead of arguing with him that I’d be fine to stay at the ranch, I’d gone with him when he’d told me to get into the truck.

“Jenny’s going to be bummed she missed seeing you again,” Kit said with a smile.

I didn’t point out that I’d seen them all a few days ago at Jenny and Priest’s reception. Mostly because I liked feeling as though I belonged to this group. They kept insisting I did. It was strange to me that they were so welcoming to someone they hardly knew, but they sat me right down as soon as the guys took off and started making me drinks and food. If I didn’t know a good portion of them had children, then I’d know it by the way they were mothering me. They didn’t even know what they were doing, it was just instinct at this point.

“Are they having fun on their trip?” I asked, taking a sip of my tea.

“The best,” Seek said. “We’re getting tons of pictures and updates.”

“Good,” I said with a smile, then I huffed out a breath and asked what was worrying me. “I don’t…really know much about this life. About the guys. Toxic told me they were going to Phoenix to help some allies of theirs.” They all nodded. “Is he in danger?”

They all looked around at one another and I could see that they were having a silent conversation. As to whether it was who would explain it to me, or what to divulge, I wasn’t sure.

“Did Toxic tell you what it is they do? As a club?” Seek asked.

We’d had that conversation just yesterday, when he’d told me about needing to go to Phoenix for a day or two. I nodded. “They consider themselves vigilantes.”

“The law considers them that,” Seek said with a laugh. “They protect their city.”

“That’s why Keely sent them to help you,” Dani added. “They do this kind of thing all the time.”

“That’s…nice…of them,” I offered.

“What it means,” Jordan said, “is that they get into…”

“Situations,” Gwen offered.

Jordan nodded. “Situations where things can get dangerous.”

I figured that considering what Toxic had told me. And the fact that he’d killed two men who’d come onto my ranch already. Which I hadn’t found out about until that talk yesterday. It had shaken me a little, if I was being honest. To know that my boyfriend was able to kill so easily. But he’d done so in order to protect me. And my ranch. They’d been about to burn it down.

“Does it bother any of you?” I asked, searching their faces. “What they…do?”

They were able to read between the lines and replace the question with ‘that they kill’.

“It can take some getting used to,” Dani admitted. “But they do it to protect the people that they love, and their city.”

“And they only kill the people who are criminals,” Seek added.

“The people who deserve it,” Kit said in a quieter voice. “We do whatever we have to do.”

Eva brushed her hand over Kit’s in a comforting manner. “They saved most of our lives at least once. It’s hard to think badly of them once they do that. You know?”

“I do,” I said with a nod. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to judge anyone.” Kit gave me a forced smile. I wasn’t sure what had happened with her, but she and Jordan were exchanging glances. I still wasn’t in on the secrets around here. So, while I belonged, I knew I needed to prove myself before they’d trust me with everything. And that was fair enough.

“We don’t think you’re judging, Billie,” Susie said with a shake of her head. The others mimicked the motion. “It’s a lot to take on.”

“Especially for someone who knew nothing of one-percenters to begin with,” Tori added.

“Even for those of us who did,” Daisha said with a laugh.

“But our guys aren’t like a lot of one-percenters,” Sloane continued. “They don’t sell guns, or drugs.”

“Or traffic people,” Daisha added.

My eyes widened. “There are clubs who do those things? Like, that’s not just TV?”

They all looked over at Dani.

“What?” she said in a defensive tone. “If I told her everything up front she would have distanced herself from Toxic even more than she already was. I told her a lot though.”

“She did,” I said, jumping to my friend’s defense.

“There’s a lot more to tell,” Dani admitted with a sheepish smile.

“But not today,” Seek said. “Instead let’s enjoy the time together. We don’t need to be talking about this stuff while the guys are gone.”

I sat back, digesting the information they’d given me. They were right, it wasn’t my place to judge any of the men. They’d been nothing but kind to me. And I couldn’t even explain how grateful I was for their help. Without them, I might be dead by now. And my grandpa too. It borderline horrified me to think that any of them thought that I wasn’t appreciative. I’d just been so secluded out on my ranch, this all seemed out of the realm of reality. But it was sinking in fast. Especially now that Toxic had left and was heading toward danger.

We sat and talked for hours before Ricochet came into the clubhouse. “Hey,” he said, smiling at all of us. His eyes landed on me. “I’m heading out to the ranch. I can come back and pick you up once you’re ready-”

“No, I’m ready now,” I said, hopping up. I didn’t want him to have to make another trip back to get me. Frowning, I watched as he wrapped Jordan up in a hug. “Warrant and Daryl are out at the ranch. You could always stay here.” Splitting him and Jordan up seemed wrong.

“There’s plenty of men here to watch over the families,” Ricochet explained. “We don’t want to leave any of you short-handed out at the ranch.”

The women all gave me hugs goodbye and I smiled at Dani as she squeezed me tight. “I’m so happy for you,” she said. “Toxic is a good guy. And Keely’s going to be thrilled once she hears. You’d better call her soon or you’ll never hear the end of it.”

“I will,” I said with a laugh. “Thanks, Dani.”

Leaving with Ricochet, I thought about the talk that I’d had with Toxic yesterday, then the shock of him practically throwing me into the truck today, so he could haul ass over here to meet the others before heading to Phoenix. I hadn’t asked a lot of questions as Toxic explained to me how their club worked, but they were there. I just needed to sit with the information for a bit before I asked him more.

The drive back to the ranch was fairly quiet. I was lost in my thoughts and Ricochet seemed to realize I needed to sit in silence. He and Warrant immediately started talking once we got out of the truck.

Daryl was inside the house and he looked up as I walked in. He was sitting at the table, reading a newspaper. I paused, blinking, because it was such a familiar scene, yet one I hadn’t seen in my home in a very long time.

“Everything okay?” he asked, looking worried.

“Yeah, sorry.” I didn’t want to tell him that my father used to do the same thing at lunch. That seeing him there had brought back memories like a blow to my heart. “I’m going to go groom Hank if you need anything.” I’d already told him and Warrant to treat my home as their own, and was happy to see that they were.

“Okay, Darlin’,” he said, eyes dropping back down to his paper.

Escaping out to the barn, I stepped into Hank’s stall and began brushing him. Eris trotted in beside me, then sat on her haunches and watched. After a couple minutes I reached down, and ran the brush over her a couple times.

She spun in a circle as I brushed her, snapping her teeth at the brush. I laughed and shook my head, focusing back on the animal that appreciated the grooming. Eris wasn’t a fan of baths or brushing.

I wasn’t sure how long I stood in the silence, thinking about how drastically my life had changed over the last year, when someone clearing their throat startled me. Turning my head, I looked over my shoulder.

Warrant gave a respectful nod. He was wearing a cowboy hat and the same thing most ranch hands did, jeans, boots, and a t-shirt, but I’d seen him the other night dressed as a biker. It reminded me of how Toxic flowed into either role as needed. Which reminded me that Toxic was doing God knew what right now and could potentially be in danger. It was a lot of emotion that rushed through me all at once.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Warrant said.

“It’s okay, you’re not. I just needed something to do,” I gave him a rueful look, “since you’re as bad as Toxic and won’t let me do my own chores.”

He chuckled. “Better you’re bored than me, trust me.”

“Maybe I’ll go for a ride.”

He shook his head. “Not a good idea. Too much area out here where someone up to no good could get at you. And I don’t want to split up our numbers in case someone’s ballsy enough to come by the house.”

“Oh,” I said, mentally smacking myself in the forehead. “I didn’t even think of that.” I gave a huff of amused disbelief.

“What’s banging around inside your head?”

I looked over at him again. He was leaning against the stall door with a friendly look on his face. “You’re in a motorcycle club too, right?” I knew he was. He’d been wearing a cut. But this was my way of giving him an out if he didn’t want to talk about it.

“Yeah. The Berserker’s Rage, up in Sentinel, Wyoming.”

I frowned. “Centennial?”

He chuckled. “No, though we get that a lot. Sentinel is a smaller town. Couple hours west of Centennial.”

“Oh…” I said, trailing off.

“Ask what you’re wondering. I’ll answer what I can and ignore what I can’t.”

I gave him a grateful smile. “Are you guys one-percenters, too?”

He gave me a look of consideration before he gave a single nod. “We’re like The Viking’s Rampage.”

“Vigilantes,” I said. It wasn’t a question.

“Mostly.”

“Does it bother you?”

He tilted his head. “Does what bother me?”

“Doing the things necessary… Killing people?” I finally asked when his brow arched at my first wording of the question.

He chuckled. “I was military, just like the men in this club. Killing was my profession for a lot of years.”

I looked down at the brush, fiddling with it. “I guess I’ve just never known many men in the military. My family has always been ranchers.”

“Nothing wrong with that. You struggling with the idea that your man kills?”

I frowned. “No. I think I’m just trying to realign my point of view from nothing but hay, horses, and cattle, to everything you guys do. But you guys protect people. And I think that’s important.”

He picked up another brush and stepped into the stall next to me and started brushing Irene. She turned her head, eyeing him, trying to decide if she wanted brushing more than she wanted to take a chunk out of him.

“Careful she’s-”

“A red mare,” he said with a chuckle as he scratched her between the eyes. “She already tried to bite me earlier today. We’ve come to an agreement.”

I watched with a grin as Irene went back to munching on hay, giving Warrant permission to continue brushing her. I loved the fact that these guys, well at least Toxic, Warrant, and Daryl, knew so much about animals and ranching.

“You don’t need to worry about him. Toxic is a lethal motherfucker. And none of his brothers will let anything happen to anyone.”

Sighing, I looked over at him, but he was staring down at the horse. “Is it that obvious?”

“You’re brushing a spotlessly clean horse.” His smile flashed below the brim of his hat as he looked down at his work. “It’s a tell.”

I hummed in agreement. “Does that mean you’re worried?” I countered.

He chuckled. “No. I’m antsy. Those fuckers get to go have fun and I don’t get to have any.”

I shook my head. “You’d rather go fight than…” I broke off as I realized how dumb my question was. He’d already said that fighting had been his profession. “I know they’ll take care of each other,” I said instead.

“Besides, doesn’t sound like they’ll be in the main part of the battle either. They’re just helping out by watching over one of the Saint’s Outlaws’ old ladies.”

That made me feel a little better, but I didn’t say anything about it. After a few more minutes, I asked, “Do you have an old lady?”

“Nope. Not lucky enough to find mine yet.”

I leaned against Hank and studied him. “But you want one?”

He grunted. “We all want one. Whether they admit it or not, every one of us is looking for that one woman who’ll be our ride or die.”

I smiled. “That was actually really sweet, Warrant.”

He grunted again. “Whatever. Means regular sex, too.”

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. “You can try to play off the fact that you just said something sentimental all you want. You still said it.”

“I’ll deny it if you tell anyone, Girlie.”

Laughing, I patted Hank on the neck. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

He scowled at me. “What secret?”

“That you have a soft gooey center,” I teased.

“The fuck I do,” he called out as I shut Hank’s stall and made my way out of the barn.

I was feeling a lot better after speaking with everyone. Once Toxic got home, we could finish talking about this and then I could leave all my worries behind. There was never a chance that I wouldn’t be with him over this. Like I told Warrant, I just needed to get my perspective straight. And now it was.