Goose peeks down the bar at Lily talking to Rigor. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen my woman so pissed off before. Had to take her to our room before she stormed in there and told Mav off. Don’t know why, but she really likes you, Pumpkin. Wants you here.”

My heart swells a little.

“Guess the old ladies are really givin’ her hell, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess. Maybe all of them except Bethany and Kendra,” Goose answers.

Dozer grunts then waves Rigor down.

Rigor saunters over. He grabs two beers, puts them in front of Goose and Dozer, and then rests his hands on the bar. “What’s up?”

“Lil’ still get a razz of shit from the old ladies? You two are all buddy, buddy. She tell you anything?” Dozer asks.

Rigor glances warily at Goose and then looks back to Dozer. For a moment, he doesn’t say anything. Maybe he’s choosing his words wisely. “She’s gettin’ her fair share. Maybe a bit more than that. Nothin’ she can’t handle though. You step in. It’s gonna get worse, especially since a brunt of it’s comin’ from Nick.”

Goose and Dozer share a look. “Let it ride out? She did the same thing with Kendra. But they’re tight now. Probably just testin’ her,” is Dozer’s response. Goose gives a curt nod.

The guys talk amongst themselves for a minute and I listen while also looking around the club and taking in my new surroundings. Until something Goose says brings my focus back to the conversation.

“So . . . she’s gonna be our little house mouse until the party?”

Lily comes over. She’s been speaking with one of the other women. She pats my arm and takes the seat beside me.

Dozer takes a pull on his beer. “Yeah. Best I could do.” To me he says, “That means you gotta cook, clean, shit like that, babe. And I’ll spread the word you’re hands off until the party. Do your part though, and don’t put yourself in a bad situation. Don’t go roamin’ around alone. One of us, me, Goose, Lil’, or even Rigor here needs to be with you at all times.”

Rigor nods, but as he walks away he mutters, “Like I don’t got enough trouble tryin’ to keep my eyes on Lil’.”

Goose chuckles under his breath. “Part of the job, man,” he hollers down to Rigor, who flips him off good-naturedly. Then he turns back to us. “What about at night?”

Dozer shrugs. “She can sleep in my bed.”

Smirking and palming his goatee as if in deep thought, Goose replies, “Yeah? Thought she was hands off?”

“Shut up, fucker. Don’t mean nothin’. Just don’t trust any of these cocksuckers to leave her alone. She can have my bed. And I’ll crash in one of the spares.”

Awkward silence fills the space between the two bikers, Lily, and me.

Dozer turns toward me. “Umm . . . you got a problem with the other thing? Being Edge’s little gift at the party?”

My gut clenches.

I’ll be breaking my promise to myself. The one about loving the next person I have sex with, since I didn’t get to do it the first time around. But what choice do I have? Beggars can’t be choosers. Right? At least that’s what my mom used to say. Seems to be the theme of my life.

I know I can distance myself from the act. Escape mentally, if I have to. I straighten in my chair. “As long as someone’s not hurting me,” or trying to tie me up, “I’m fine with showing my appreciation to the club for letting me stay.”

“You’re gonna have to prove yourself, babe. Mav’s not gonna let up where you’re concerned. I’m sure he’ll be watchin’ and waitin’ for you to fuck up.”

I huff. Part laugh, part sigh. “He can watch and wait. But it’s going to get pretty boring pretty fast.”

Dozer laughs, “I doubt that, pretty girl.” He motions over me. “That all you got to your name.” He says it more like a statement than a question. At my nod, he leans forward and looks past me to Lily. “Any of these girls got clothes that will fit her?”

Lily taps her fingers on the bar top. “Don’t know. Maybe. The closest to her size is Bethany—”

Dozer shakes his head. “No, find somethin’ here from one of the girls even if it’s a little big. Tomorrow you can go into town and pick out some stuff for her.”

Standing, he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his wallet.

“No.” I stop him by putting my hand on his. “You’ve already spoken up for me. I’m not going to take a handout too. If there’s a washer around here, I’ll just wash what I have on and . . .” It’s not until I really think about it that I can see how one set of clothes around here might be problematic. What am I going to wear while my stuff’s in the wash? Maybe Lily could loan me something. “Maybe there’s some way I can earn some cash, or somewhere I can work within walking distance after I do the jobs you need me to do here.”

“You’re gonna need some things for a bit to get you by.” He hands the money to Lily. “Get her what she needs.”

Lily gives me a smile as she tucks the money into her back pocket. “My pleasure. Any excuse to shop.”

Dozer sits back down. “If you want to get a part-time job or somethin’, I’ll check around and see if we got a spot open somewhere at one of the businesses the club owns.”

Lily chimes in, “I could run you around to some of the shops in town to fill out some applications.”

“Thank you.”

“So you know how to do laundry and shit?” Dozer asks.

I quirk a brow. “Define ‘and shit’?”

He laughs, “You know how to use the washer and dryer, iron? That shit?”

“Yeah.” I smile and a little bit of the tension in my body melts away. It feels good to let it go. Be real for a minute. However, I can’t let down my guard fully.

The side of his mouth jacks up. “Good, I’ll spread the word. Make sure you charge for that shit though, yeah? You’ll make a fuckin’ killing.” He grins fully, and adds, “You can start with mine.”

Surely, he’s kidding.

I cock my head to the side. “Let me get this straight. You’re going to pay me to do your laundry?”

“Hell, yeah. Then I don’t have to talk some sweetie into doin’ it for me.”

He must misunderstand my expression because he goes on to say, “Some of the guys have old ladies, or citizen wives, who do that shit for them. Others like me usually get some girl we’re dating or a random hook up to do it.”

“So no wife? Or old lady or whatever?”

“N-no.” But he hesitates as if he’s not being completely truthful. “Which means I either have to keep buyin’ new clothes or I have to talk some chick into doin’ it for me. And it’s not easy findin’ clothes to fit me. I’d rather pay you to wash ’em.”

We’re quiet for a minute afterward. He’s studying my reaction so I keep my face blank and take a drink from the water bottle Rigor left in front of me.

“Can you dance? The club owns the strip club in town,” Lily asks.

One abrupt laugh leaves me at the idea and her eyes widen. “Um, no, well, yes, I can dance. But no, not like that.”

“I could teach you,” she offers.

My skin feels itchy at the idea of taking my clothes off in a club full of horny men, which is kind of crazy considering what I just signed up for. I rub my hands on my shorts and try to stir my employment prospects into safer waters. “Maybe I could find an ad in the paper for a nanny or something during the day. I’m good with kids.”

Lily leans forward as if to address us both. She gives Dozer a long, meaningful look and says, “You know, Bethany’s been looking for some help with Medda. She mentioned it the other day and—”

With clipped words Dozer says, “Not a good idea, Lil’.”

She bites her lip and mutters, “Right, I guess not.”

Some emotion flickers over Dozer’s face, but it’s gone before I can decipher it. “If you get a job, you’ll have to clean early, do breakfast, and lunch around noon. Then most of us aren’t around until late for dinner, so just make sure you make it clear when you can work and when you can’t. Also, you’ll need to be here for club events.”