“Sorry. Got it.” He raises his hands higher when Rooster’s severe expression doesn’t relent. “Hearing ya loud and clear.” He attempts to side-step away from our group, but Ice stops him with a hand on his chest.
“You forgettin’ something?” Ice jerks his head toward Rooster and me.
“Uh…” Bonehead’s gaze dances between us. Clearly, he’s regretting a few recent life choices and wants to get away from us. “Oh! Sorry, sweetheart,” he finally says to me. “Didn’t mean to scare ya.”
“Sure.” What else am I supposed to say here?
Ice finally lets the guy leave.
“Always knew he got the name Bonehead for a reason,” Ice grumbles.
“What’d he say to you?” Rooster demands.
Taken aback by his tone, I blink up at him.
His shoulders relax and he loosens his grip on me. “Sorry,” he says in a lower voice. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. Dealt with worse when I was waitressing.”
Next to us, Ice stares Anya down. “Put. Your. Dress. On,” he growls through his clenched jaw.
Shoot. I can’t stand it if he’s gonna be mad at her. Or worse, not let her come to my show.
I tap his arm.
Slowly, he drags his gaze away from Anya shimmying into her dress and cocks an eyebrow at me.
“I asked her to show me some moves.” I wiggle my hips in a circle and pat Rooster’s arm. “I told Rooster I wanna install a pole in the RV. So, I need a few lessons.”
Jiggy groans. “Just what you two need.”
Ice’s murderous expression melts into amusement. He and Rooster rumble with laughter. “Next time, we’ll find you two a quieter place for lessons,” Ice says.
Anya throws me a grateful smile and I wink at her.
At least there will be a next time.
Rooster
Fucking hell.
Ice and Anya move ahead of us. Jiggy nods to me before returning to the bar.
“You all right?” I ask Shelby again.
“Yeah. I was okay. A little annoyed, but nothing really happened.” She beams up at me. “You guys got there pretty fast.”
I don’t even remember crossing the room. Just knew my head was about to explode and leave chunks all over the clubhouse the second that guy touched Shelby.
“What did he say to you?” I ask again.
“Asked me if I was going to get on the stage too. Anya told him I was with you, but,” she flutters her hands in front of her, “he said the same thing about me not being patched.”
“Fucker.” I search the massive room. Maybe I should’ve punched him after all.
And maybe I need to patch Shelby sooner than later.
Before I can contemplate it further, there’s a commotion at the door.
“What now?” Shelby asks with wide eyes.
I’m taller, so I can see over the group crowding the front door.
Priest.
Son of a bitch.
So much for leaving and going to our hotel anytime soon.
Blink and Niner follow him inside. Don’t see Valentina anywhere.
The national president, vice president, and SAA showing up with no old ladies makes it clear this isn’t a friendly social call. Not a good sign for Deadbranch.
Then again, Priest’s a lot closer to Deadbranch than New York, so maybe he visits solo often.
Digger and Squiggy rush over to greet our national leaders. Can’t say Digger’s sour expression seems as welcoming as it should. But that’s his problem, not mine.
“Shoot, that’s your national president, isn’t it?” Shelby whispers to me.
“Yup.”
“What do you want me to do?” She casts a nervous look around the room. Yeah, don’t blame her for not wanting to go off on her own now.
“Stay with me.” I squeeze her tighter as we walk right up to Priest.
“Rooster!” Priest greets me with a much more enthusiastic greeting than Digger received. Great.
He shakes my hand and slaps my shoulder. “Glad you’re here.” He nods to Shelby. “Nice to see you again, too, Shelby.”
Ah, he remembered her name. Good sign, I hope.
After a round of greetings, Priest settles his presidential stare on me and jerks his head to the side, indicating I need to follow.
Lucky me.
He chooses a quiet corner with four chairs arranged in a square. I choose the one that allows me to watch Shelby.
“You all right, Rooster?”
“Yeah, there was just an issue earlier. One of the brothers approached Shelby.” I don’t want to make an issue out of this with Priest. “She’s not patched so…”
“And what are you doing about that?”
Well, fuck, Priest, dig right in.
“Uh, she hasn’t spent enough time around my home charter to ask for a vote there.”
He nods. “You can still have her wear your patch.” He gestures toward the rest of the clubhouse. “Jigsaw seems like he’ll take a bullet for her, I’m sure he’ll give her his patch.”
“He would.”
“If you’re thinking that’s where you’re headed with her.” He holds out his hands. “Not my business.”
Suuure it’s not.
“Now, Z tells me you paid a visit to our brothers in Washington. How’d that go?”