“She’s a total bitch.”

Joel spots us and throws his arm around the girl. As they approach, a smirk forms on his lips. Bastard. I won’t get to my phone fast enough to play the song, so I start singing T.I’s “No Mediocre”. Chrissy bursts out laughing then raps Iggy Azalea’s verse. Bastard loses the smirk and Bitch sneers. Whatever. We’re jamming. Ron walks up and snakes his hand around Chrissy’s waist. Perfect timing. Joel drops his head and passes by without a word. Once they’re out of sight, Chrissy throws her arms around me.

“Thanks, Ray. I needed that.”

“Trust me. It was my pleasure.”

“What was that about?” Gage asks as he approaches.

I slip my hand into his, lacing our fingers. Suddenly, I don’t care about anything.

“Cheating ex. You even think about it, I’ll Lorena Bobbitt your ass.”

He smiles then throws me over his shoulder. I let out a yelp as he smacks me on the ass.

“So possessive. I like it.”

Possessive…but dead serious.

CHAPTER 12

***Gage***

“What kind of bike is this?” Raven asks.

“Street Glide.”

“It’s different from the others I’ve seen. How many do you have?”

She’s sitting on the back of my bike, trailing her fingers across the saddle. I can’t help but think how perfect she looks sitting there.

“About a dozen.”

“All Harleys?”

“No. I got a few sport bikes – Kawasaki, Ducati, Suzuki.”

“Yeah, that’s all French to me.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll teach you everything I know.”

“I wanna learn how to ride.”

“Slide down. I’ll show you the basics.”

She squeals excitedly and scoots down, placing her hands on the handle bars. I explain the gauges and show her how to start it. I glance up and Lonnie is staring at us with a scowl. Razor told me about their little conversation, so I know she’s pissed. Raven touches my arm to get my attention.

“Gage?”

“Gimme a sec. I’m gonna go talk to your sister.”

Lonnie’s expression changes as I approach. She bites her lip and stares up at me hopefully. I pull her aside to get a little privacy.

“I know you’re wondering what’s going on, so it’s best to just be straight with you. I like your sister.”

“What do you mean you like her?”

“I want her.”

“But…she’s just a child!”

“She’ll be eighteen in a few days. I’m not looking for your blessing or for you to be okay with it. I just need you to know it’s happening.”

“Are you claiming her?”

Her bottom lip trembles and tears well in her eyes. Shit.

“Look…don’t blame her. For a long time, she blew me off because she knew you were into me. I pursued her.”

“You said you didn’t want an old lady.”

“I didn’t.”

“But now you do. I waited…I waited all this time for you…”

Waited? What the fuck? “What do you mean?”

“When I got here…you were the first. I thought…the others I did because I thought that’s what you wanted. You were supposed to come back for me.”

What the fuck is she talking about? I didn’t ask or force her to become a Hound. And if she thought I was going to claim her, why would I want her to fuck the whole town? She’s already crying, though, so I really can’t say that to her.

“I’m sorry if I said or did anything to lead you on, but you need to stop. Even if it wasn’t Raven, it would be someone else. Not you.”

“Gage…please…”

“I’m sorry, Lonnie.”

I walk away and signal the guys to get moving. Raven looks up at me with a worried frown when I get back to her.

“Everything okay?” She asks.

“Yeah. We’re good.”

“You sure? She’s not going to kill me in my sleep, is she?”

“You think she’d hurt you?”

“I’m just kidding.” She smiles, but it doesn’t hide her concern. She’s worried about this causing trouble between her and Lonnie. “I’m with you every night anyways.”

“True,” I agree.

We leave the gas station behind and ride for another hour before we arrive at the venue. The blood pumps faster through my veins. This is my kind of scene. Bikes and bikers as far as the eye can see. Before Raven, I would have added in the bitches, but I can’t seem to see anyone but her these days. Ron and Chrissy walk over to us and I watch the two girls together. It’s strange. They’ve only known each other for a few months, but they seem more like sisters than Raven and Lonnie do. But then I notice something else. Shit.

“Girls, listen. You’re not wearing cuts, so don’t stray far. Stick to one of the brothers at all times.”

“Cuts?” Raven asks.

I point to Marlowe and Renae who are standing together a few feet away. They’re Crow and Motor’s old ladies, so they’re wearing their patches. Raven and Chrissy just nod and turn back to each other. I don’t need any trouble. No cuts mean they’re not claimed and to other MCs, that makes them fair game.

“Waben!”

She turns around and her face lights up when she sees little Mikey running toward her.

“Come here, jit!”

She picks him up and spins him around. He laughs and when they stop spinning, he wraps his arms around her neck. I watch the two girls play with him until Ellen draws my attention.

“She’s great with him,” she says.

“He likes her.”

“She’ll be a good mother.”

I raise a brow at her. “If that’s some kind of hint, don’t even bother. You know where I stand on that matter.”

“Mmhmm…we’ll see.”

Aunt Nita walks up on my left. “She’s pretty, I’ll give you that.”

Pretty? She’s fucking beautiful. Raven walks over with a gorgeous smile and a seemingly love-struck Mikey.

“Hey, Ellen.”

They kiss each other’s cheeks and Mikey grins at me.

“Hi, Unca.”

“Hey, Mikey. I see you found your friend.”

“Yes! I like Waben.”

“Awww. I like you, too, Mikey.”

She turns to Nita with a big smile. “Hi, Miss Nita. Good to see you.”

“You, too, my dear. Based on what my nephew here has told me, you can call me Aunt Nita.”

Raven’s eyes widen and her smile gets bigger. “Really?” She asks.

“Of course, sweetheart.”

“Okay. Aunt Nita.” She giggles.

I listen to the four women talk, about nothing really, and the world around me disappears. The three women in my life getting along…it’s a great sight.

***Raven***

Oh. My. God. I love Aunt Nita! She has absolutely no filter. If you don’t like what she says, too bad for you. I want to be just like her when I grow up. Not only that, but she basically accepted me into her family. She has no idea how much that means to me since I have no family of my own. At this point, Lonnie doesn’t count.

I spend most of the day with the women, but Gage and Ron stick close by. I’ve seen more bikes than I have in my entire life and heard more classic rock than I care to. It’s been fun, though. We’ve eaten a ton of junk and taken a million pictures with bikes.

On our way out, members from some other MCs converge on the Dealers, so Chrissy and I get separated from them. They’re all shaking hands, talking, and laughing, so we amuse ourselves. The DJ plays Maroon 5’s “Animals” and we start to dance. A few men gather around us, watching with undisguised interest as we move and glide our fingers over each other’s bodies. Two of them approach us, their expressions looking like they’ve taken the words of the song’s chorus literally. They’re both wearing cuts bearing the name Black Snakes.

“Hey, baby. Who you here with?” The older one says. He smiles, exposing his many gold teeth.

“The Death Dealers,” I answer.

They both look behind them and then the younger one looks us over, licking his lips.

“You owned?” Lip Licker asks.

Owned? What the fuck is he talking about? “Um…no.”

Their smiles get wider.

“What do you say we all go somewhere and party?” Lip Licker jerks his head to the left.