Doc (The Kings of Mayhem MC Tennessee 2)

When it’s clear I’m not backing it up with anything, Indy leans forward and brushes my hand with hers, “Oh sweetheart, we already know that.”

I’m surprised.

“You know?”

“Unless it’s spoken in Church, no one can keep a secret in this club,” Taylor says.

“So true,” adds Bronte.

“Just goes to show you’re already one of us.” Chastity beams with a big smile.

Her smile is infectious, and I can’t help but smile back. The queens are trying to make me feel better, and I’m kind of falling in love with them for it. They’re sweet, but I don’t mistake their sweetness for weakness. Behind their smiles, these women are badass.

The arrival of another bike distracts us, and we all turn to watch an elderly lady with wild red hair walk into the clubhouse with an elderly biker trailing in closely behind her. She’s wearing an old flying helmet and pilot glasses against her forehead and is a bright splash of color against the dark clubhouse. All faces light up when she walks in.

“Grandma Sybil,” Jack says with surprise as he embraces the old lady.

When they break off their hug, she gives him a wink. “You get better looking every time I see you, Jack Dillinger. Boy, if only I were forty years younger, you’d be in trouble.”

“If you were forty years younger, you’d still be old enough to be his grandmother,” the man walking behind her says. He shakes hands with Jack. Apparently, his name is Jury, and he is Sybil’s boyfriend.

I watch as the rest of the Kings greet her affectionately.

The prospect looks at her in awe. “You rode all the way from Mississippi?”

“Well, I didn’t fly, sonny boy. Now grab my bags out of the sidecar, will you? We’ve been riding for hours, and I need to walk off these wrinkles in my ankles.”

Indy fills me in. “Grandma Sybil, is the Original First Lady of the club. She was married to Hutch Calley, who founded the Kings of Mayhem back in the sixties. She and Jury have been coming on this ride since it started a few years back. Don’t let her age fool you. She has the energy of a twenty-year-old and is as sharp as a thumbtack.”

“And don’t let her talk you into a game of poker because she’ll kick your ass,” Taylor adds.

Chastity laughs. “And she’ll take all your money without a bat of those false eyelashes. She took me for fifty bucks the last time we played, and I’m her granddaughter.”

Grandma Sybil eyes us from across the room and quickly comes over. Immediately, her gaze seeks me out. I’m an unexpected face, and it’s piqued her interest. “Well now, aren’t you a beauty,” she says, her sharp eyes searching my face. “You know, you look like my best friend in high school. She had curls just like yours. What’s your name, sweetheart?”

“Tiger Lily, but everyone calls me just Lily.”

“Okay, Just Lily, scoot over and let’s get straight to it. Are you a spy?”

DOC

“A spy?” I look at Lily’s smiling face. We’re in my bedroom getting dressed for the ride. “She really asked you that?”

“I have a feeling it’s no surprise. Grandma Sybil doesn’t strike me as the type to waste time with small talk.”

“That is true.”

“She’s cool. I like her.”

“She’s the Original First Lady.”

“So I hear.” Lily pushes her hands through her curls and gives them a shake. “She’s intimidating, but I can’t help but love her. Something tells me not a lot gets past her.”

“You’re right. By the end of this ride, she’ll know your star sign, social security number, and bank account details, and before you know it, you’ll be promising to send her a Christmas present come December. Let me guess. You already know the perfume she wears is…”

“… Chanel N°5,” we both say in unison.

I laugh. “See? She’s crafty, shrewd, and utterly untamable, but there is no one else like her on the planet, and we all love her for it.”

“I can see why.” Lily sits on the bed to put on her boots. “I’m looking forward to getting to know her better.”

When she says things like that, it makes me think she plans to stick around, and hope erupts in my heart. Since she turned up yesterday, I’ve felt an unease that I’ll wake up and to find her gone. And damn if it doesn’t scare the fuck out of me.

We haven’t discussed what’s happening between us. Hell, we can’t seem to keep our hands off one another long enough to talk, but for now, that’s okay. She’s asked for time, and I’m going to give it to her. I don’t want to scare her off with demands. Besides, she knows we’re going to have to talk about things eventually.

I pull her to me and plant a kiss on her mouth. “You ready to ride?”