Virgin (The Henchmen MC 16)

"Shit, you too?" I asked, laughing despite myself. It wasn't often Reign took it upon himself to rib any of us. It made a man forget he was capable.

"Dunno when you fucks are gonna learn not to say 'Not me' about relationships. As soon as you say it, you are the next to find yourself a woman. Wanna stay single, keep your mouth shut."

West mimed locking his lips.

"Eh," Reign said, shaking his head a bit apologetically. "Lo has decided you're her new project. So you're fucked whether you keep your mouth shut or not," he declared. "Anyway. Tonight is gonna be me, Sugar, and Virgin. Tomorrow, we will rotate it. But you all need to be available by cell in case shit goes down over this," he told us, making his way toward the door. "I'll be back when it gets dark."

"Whoop, yo," Pagan said, almost barreling into Reign on his way in. "Something up?"

"They'll fill you in," Reign declared, jerking his chin toward us as he made his way out.

Pagan's head swiveled around, a bright red scrape down the side of his face, testament to some scuffle he had gotten his crazy ass into. "The fuck is this? You got a modeling gig or some shit?" he asked, giving my outfit a distasteful once-over.

"Didn't you hear?" Cash asked, looking way too excited to pile on. "Virgin got himself a girl."

"I did hear actually," Pagan informed us, going behind the bar to grab a beer despite it not even being noon. "Don't give me that look. You'd be drinkin' too if you woke up to a busted pipe then a contractor who wanted to fuck you over. Fucking me over," he scoffed, cracking the top of his beer.

"That where you got the new accessory?" Cash asked, motioning to his face.

"Well, how the fuck is he gonna learn?" he shot back. "Anyway, Kennedy told me you dropped down in a pedicure chair and moon-eyed some new chick in town. Also said you got ticklish feet," he added, adding even more gasoline onto an already raging fire.

"You got ticklish feet?" Sugar asked, trying his damnedest to hold back a grin. "How do I not know this about you?"

"Shut the fuck up," I demanded, but without malice. "You know, I don't remember fucking with any of you this hard about spending some time with a woman."

"What can we say, we're short on hobbies lately," Cash said, pushing off the bar. "I gotta go up to Hailstorm. Chris is having a lesson with Edison and Lenny. Not sure how this is gonna go."

Chris had made progress as a whole. Had started training up at Hailstorm with Lo, Janie, Maze, Alex, Lenny... most of the girls club. But she lost her shit when she tried to spar off with any of the guys. Fucking understandably so, but we all knew she would never really have full training until she could shake off a man, until she didn't shut down or bug out. I guess they settled on Edison this time because he did his pressure point shit that didn't require full contact.

Lo had taken to motherhood the way everyone had expected her to. Effortlessly. She'd been, after all, a mother figure to everyone in her organization for years already. And because Lo was safe, Chris had taken to her as well, clinging to the calm, confident, capable woman who promised to show her how to be all those things as well. In time.

And Cash, well, he tried. He was there. Present. Persistent. Patient. Even though Chris hadn't been great about showing any kind of affection toward a man yet.

We figured if she were ever capable of feeling that for a man, it would be Cash. Who was, essentially, one of the easiest going, loving men I had ever been around, always good with the kids, quick with a joke, not easily pushed away or offended.

We were all silently hoping for him. For Chris. For all of them and their newfound family unit.

"Only been like a year," another voice joined our conversation. One of the roughest ones we had. Not Edison, Wolf.

And, well, he would be one to know about women and recovery from the horrible things done to them, being with Jstorm.

"How does someone as massive as you walk around like a cat?" West wondered aloud, making heads turn to him. West, it seemed, was born devoid of that hindrance called a filter. Everything he thought, he spewed right out. I had a feeling it would either be refreshing over time, or completely fucking intolerable. Time would tell.

Wolf's gaze slid over, brows pulled together slightly. "Shop floors are dirty," he declared, then made his way toward the bedrooms without another word.

"The shop floors?" West clarified.

"Repo's shop," Sugar clarified.

"What kind of shop?"

Pagan's lips tipped up. "Antique car shop. Good luck with those oil stains, man," he added, clamping a hand on his shoulder before moving off.