Chapter 45: The Devil’s Reward: Chapter 44

“So tell me about your club,” Quinn says quietly. She’s lying beside me, sated after our third round, her hair a mess, and I have never felt this content. My entire body is relaxed, and even though I could easily fall asleep right now, I want to answer her question. It’s the first real interest she’s shown in the club, and it’s imperative she realizes how important they are to me.

“What do you want to know?” I ask her, rolling on my side, propping my head on my hand to look at her.

She mirrors my pose and smiles at me, face relaxed. The sheet around her slips down to reveal one plump breast, and my gaze immediately drops to it. My cock twitches, but I think he’s reached his limit for a while because other than the low burning of desire in my gut, it doesn’t move. Quinn glances down, rolls her eyes at me, and then hikes up the sheet to cover herself. “Perv,” she teases.

“When it comes to you, you bet your fine ass I am, gorgeous,” I leer. “But you’ve worn me out, so I’m going to need a bit more time before we try for round four.”

“No,” she says firmly. “I’ll be walking funny tomorrow as is, and one more round will render me immobile.”

“Did I hurt you?” I ask with a frown.

She gives me a look. “I think we’ve already established that I love everything you’ve done to me, but it’s been almost six years since my last sexual encounter, so I think it only makes sense to take it easy now that the edge is off.”

I smirk at her. “I suppose you’re right. Now, what do you want to know about the club?”

She shrugs. “Whatever you want to tell me. I know some things from TV, like how ‘club business’ means women can’t know stuff, but other than that, I don’t know much else.”

“TV and movies always show outlaw clubs, but we’re not one of those,” I explain. “We’re a club, yes, and we operate our businesses through the club, but we don’t do illegal shit. No drugs, no guns, no human trafficking, nothing. A long time ago, the old President did run that shit, but Bullet and Hammer got tired of it and took the club legit.”

“Wow, really?” she asks, eyes widening at the information. “I don’t think I’ve met Hammer.”

I shake my head. “You will eventually,” I say with a slight smile. “Raven calls him an edgy Santa Claus. Think Santa meets ZZ Top; that’s Hammer. He and Bullet worked hard to get the club legit, but that was thirty-plus years ago. Now, we’ve built it to include multiple businesses, and we do a lot of charity work as well. We don’t need to do anything illegal.”

but I don’t say that out loud.

“Are there a lot of members?”

“There are eighteen fully patched members, including myself, and we currently have six Prospects now that Crypt has joined. The only ones with Old Ladies though are Bullet, King, and Torque.”

“What does Old Lady mean again?”

“In our world, it’s basically a wife without the ring or paper” I say. Then I take a moment, I need to word this right because I fully intend for her to become mine someday soon. Not yet, because she’s not ready, but it’s going to happen. “Bullet and Rose are married, and other clubs have members that are the same, but some don’t like the idea of a piece of paper binding them for eternity. Especially if down the road, things don’t work out.”

“So it’s like marriage, just not legal?” she asks curiously.

I nod. “An Old Lady has the protection of the club, and so do their children. Biological or otherwise. If something happened to Rose or Bullet, someone would have stepped up to take care of the boys. The title also lets other clubs know that the woman is taken and is to be afforded the respect of a partner.”

“And you’ve never had one of those?” she asks, then flushes. “I’m sorry, that’s personal,” she hastens to add.

“No, I don’t have an Old Lady and never have,” I tell her. “That shit’s serious, and you don’t make that kind of claim unless you mean it. If I take an Old Lady, it’s going to be forever. There won’t be anyone else for either of us.”

“Oh,” she says, eyes searching mine.

I give her a soft smile. “I want you for my Old Lady, Quinn, just so there’s no confusion.” Her mouth drops open in shock at my declaration. “But we’re not there yet,” I add quickly. “I know we’ve only started seeing each other, and you’re not ready for a big step for a while. But I meant what I said earlier, you’re it for me. We’ll take the time we need, and when you’re ready, I’ll ask you.”

She closes her mouth and swallows hard. Then she sits up and pulls the sheet up over her chest as she looks at me. “You’re saying a lot of things that women want to hear, Shadow,” she says hesitantly. “I know we’ve slept together, but I think we need to be careful. I don’t want Macy getting hurt. I’m one thing, but I don’t want her thinking that men can’t be trusted to do anything but leave.”

“Quinn, you’re going to realize very soon that when I want something, I go after it with everything I have. And that includes you. I’m going to prove it to you.”

She huffs out a breath. “But, we could be incompatible,” she argues. I can sense her trying to rebuild those walls, but I’m not about to let her. Not when I can prove to her that we belong together. “You might talk with food in your mouth, or leave the toilet seat up so many times that I want to strangle you. Or, maybe your club won’t like me. Hell, you might not get along with my family, and I think that would be a deal breaker. Or maybe you spend too much money on stupid stuff and we’ll fight about it all the time.”

“Quinn,” I say firmly, sitting up and pinning her with a serious expression. “All those things can be worked out. All it takes is some compromise and communication. Both of which I’m good at. Well, except for safety. I’ll never compromise on the safety of you or Macy. That’s something we’re going to have to deal with if it comes to that, but everything else, I don’t care about. I don’t talk with my mouth full, I’ll promise to put the toilet seat down, and I think we’ve already established your family likes me. Not to mention, you’ve already met Rose and the girls, and I’ve put up with their shit for years, so I can handle anything your family throws at me.

“I’m asking you to give us a chance. If you have a problem, talk to me. We can fight about it, and then work through it and find a way to meet in the middle. I’ve seen Rose and Bullet do it the entire time I’ve known them, and that’s what I want. Rose drives Bullet crazy, but that woman is fiercely in love with him. If she knows something is important, she’ll move heaven and earth to help him make it happen. And he does the same for her. I don’t have a lot of experience with relationships, but I know I’ll do anything to make sure that you’re happy.”

“What about Macy?” she asks quietly, watching me. “Macy always has to come first, and I know that not all men like that. She’s a very busy child, so if you’re looking to come home after work to a beer and be able to kick back, watch the game and be left alone, that’s not going to happen. Not unless she’s sick, and even then, she’s pretty demanding and needy. It’s not always the good times, it’s the bad ones.”

“I think after play time earlier, you know she’s got me wrapped around her finger already,” I point out with a roll of my eyes. Her lips quirk in amusement. “Quinn, Macy should always come first for you. She’s your daughter, and though she isn’t mine by blood, that doesn’t mean I’ll view her as anything less when we get to the point that I’m a permanent fixture. I want to be here for all of it. Happy, sad, mad, sick, screaming tantrums, all of it. I have never been afraid of hard work, Quinn, and I’ll show you that.”

She doesn’t say anything, just searches my face with her eyes. I’m silent, waiting patiently. Her mind is working, and I can see she’s trying to find more questions, but not coming up with anything that she can use to push me away. Finally, she sighs. “I’m sorry for being so nervous about this, Shadow,” she tells me quietly. “I just have to be careful.”

I nod, understanding. “I get it, Quinn. I really do. We’ll take things as slow or fast as you need.”

“Thank you,” she says, leaning forward to press a soft kiss to my lips.

I kiss her slowly, savoring her taste. I pull back when my phone goes off. I quickly grab it from the nightstand and check the message.

I look at Quinn. “I need to go. Rose is awake,” I tell her as I jump out of bed.

“Yes, of course, go,” Quinn says nodding, jumping out of bed herself and pulling on her clothes. “Will you let me know how she is?” she asks.

“I will,” I promise, sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling on my boots. “I’m sorry to run out on you, Quinn, it’s just—”

“No,” she interrupts quickly. “You need to go, Shadow. I know you’re not trying to run out on me after an intense conversation. Rose is family, and I know how important it is for you to see her awake with your own eyes. Are you going to come back?”

“Depending on what time I get out of there,” I hedge. “It could be a few hours and I don’t want you to wait up too late, gorgeous. Sleep and I’ll come back in the morning. If things aren’t too hectic at the club, I might be able to take you both out to breakfast too.”

“Don’t rush back if you can’t,” she insists with a shake of her head. “Just text me and let me know you’re alright, okay?”

“I will,” I promise. I grab my keys and wallet off the nightstand and put them in my back pocket. I look at Quinn, and quickly wrap my arm around her waist to haul her up and kiss her again before I set her back on her feet.

“That mouth,” she mutters, looking up at me with a smug smile. “It should be outlawed.”

I grin down at her. “You want to limit what this mouth can do, gorgeous?” I ask her.

She purses her lips. “No, definitely no,” she amends quickly. I chuckle and lightly slap her on the ass for her sass. She jumps and glares up at me, but I just give her a satisfied smile and head out of the room. She follows me out as we move quietly down the hallway and the stairs.

When we reach the door, I whisper, “Make sure you lock up behind me, alright?”

“I will,” she assures me. “Now go, and tell Rose I’m thinking of her and I’ll come to see her as soon as she’s up to it.”

“She’ll love it. I’ll text you.” Then, just because I can’t get enough of her, I lean down and give her another quick kiss before I pull away and walk out the door. I wait on the porch until I hear the lock slide into place before I head down to my bike and turn it on. I’m probably pissing off her neighbors with the noise, but I don’t give a shit. They’ll just have to get used to it.

When I reach the hospital room, Crypt is the only one guarding it, and he nods when he sees me. “King, Stone, Torque, Viper, and Sniper are all in there,” he tells me before I can ask.

“Where’s Hulk?” I ask, looking around for the giant of a man.

“Went to grab something to eat,” Crypt says.

“You take a break yet?”

“Eventually,” is all he says. I nod because I know he’ll stand there for days with no breaks if we ask him. We both did it when we were in the Forces so it’s not anything we’re not used to.

“Anyone else been in to see them?” I ask quietly.

“Hammer was here earlier,” he answers softly. “No one else.”

I nod. I’m not surprised that Hammer was here, but I do worry about him getting that close to Bullet, Rose, and Sage. We haven’t ruled him out as a suspect, but since everyone is in there, it’s a pretty good sign that he didn’t try anything if he is. I head into the room and everyone turns to look at me, opening the circle so I can step up into the center between Rose and Bullet’s beds.

Rose looks at me, eyes tired and one swollen. She doesn’t say anything to me, just opens her good arm, and I step up and carefully fold her into my chest. She quietly cries, and my throat tightens with emotion. “Thank you,” she whispers, voice raspy. “Thank you for getting me out of there, Shadow. For saving me.”

“No thanks needed,” I say gruffly, pulling back slightly. I give her a teasing smile. “I still have that bail fund, and just for that scare, I’m going to triple your rates for the guys,” I joke.

She laughs sharply, and the tightness in my chest eases. “Deal,” she agrees. I kiss her forehead gently, then pull away and step back. I glance over at Bullet, and he gives me a knowing nod. Few men would get away with that kind of shit, but Bullet understands how important Rose is to me so I guess I get a pass this time.

“Are you tripling my rates too?” Sage asks me from the other end.

I look over at her and smile. “Just double for you,” I say with a wink. She laughs softly and snuggles into King, laying her head on his chest since he’s laying in the bed with her. I quickly realize that now that they’re all awake, some of the equipment has been removed, and the beds have been moved closer to each other. That’s probably not hospital policy, so I imagine that was Bullet’s orders, and no one’s dared to oppose him.

“I already told my woman that she’s getting the spanking of her life for scaring me like that,” Bullet says gruffly, looking at Rose with glittering eyes. The relief in them is obvious.

Rose’s lips pull up into a smug smile. “And I told you that I’m okay with that, big guy,” she returns.

“Guess it’s safe to say she’s feeling alright,” Stone says with a shake of his head, but his relief is clear.

“I think we might need to get me my own room,” Sage jokes. “I don’t need to see those things.” King gives a mock shudder.

“I wonder if that door locks,” Rose wonders.

“How about we save the sex jokes for when you two don’t look like you’re about to pass out from exhaustion just moving from one bed to the other?” Torque suggests drily.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Rose quips with a wink at Bullet, who just smirks.

The easy fun settles something inside me. The thought of losing Rose is too much for my head right now. Instead, I send off a quick message to Quinn to let her know Rose is fine and that I’ll see her in the morning, then I tuck my phone away and glance over at Sniper, who is frowning as his phone rings. “Sniper,” he says gruffly as he steps back and out of the room.

I look over at Viper, who is also watching him leave, and when our eyes connect, we share a questioning look. When Sniper steps back in, the look on his face puts me on high alert and I straighten. Everyone stops talking and looks at him. His eyes are dangerously dark, his jaw clenched, and I feel dread pool in my belly. “That was Cryos,” he says grimly. “A black SUV just pulled up at the gate and kicked out a body.”

Rose gasps, and Bullet’s body stiffens. “Who?” he asks tightly.

“It was Hammer,” Sniper answers. “Took a bullet to the head.” Rose starts to cry softly, while rage burns inside me.

“Was there a message?” I ask.

Sniper shakes his head. “It was Tyler and Norris at the gate, and all they saw was Hammer on the ground and the SUV speeding away. No plates, no descriptions. Cryos is working on the camera feed. No cops called yet, wasn’t sure if we should deal with this in-house first.”

“Call the cops so they know this isn’t our doing, but have Medic check him over first, make sure there isn’t anything we’re missing. Then find them,” Bullet grits out. “This isn’t fucking around anymore. This is war. Put the club on lockdown, and I’m going to see what we can do to get out of here. Medic can watch us at the clubhouse.”

“You’re not strong enough to leave yet,” Stone protests.

Bullet gives him a hard look. “And I’m not going to stay here like a sitting duck. I want us back behind the clubhouse’s walls.”

“The mole is still out there and you want to make yourself an easy target?” Stone demands.

“He wants to take me out, he’s got another thing coming,” Bullet snarls at him. “Anyone can get in here, and I’m not taking a chance with your mother’s life, or the others. So, you can either help or get the fuck out of my way.” He stares down his son until finally, Stone submits with a curt nod.

“I’ll call the Lincolns,” Stone says. “See what strings they can pull around here and if they can get us transportation to the clubhouse,. If we’re doing this, we might as well go full throttle.”

“King, get ahold of Syn,” Bullet orders. “Tell her what’s happened and find out if she wants to come up to the clubhouse to wait this out or not. She’s got those dogs, but I don’t put it past Dmitri and his goons to go after her just to make sure that she’s out of the way.”

“I’ll call her,” Stone interjects before King can answer. “She’s going to argue anyway.” Then he’s gone.

I immediately think of Quinn and Macy, and my heart squeezes. “I’ll be bringing in Macy and Quinn,” I tell Bullet. “As far as I know, they’re not on the radar, but I’m not taking any chances.”

Bullet nods. “Good, get it done.” He looks at Sniper. “Get rid of those waste of space Prospects. They’re of no use to us. When shit goes down, I want the ones who are going to fight, not the ones who run off with their tails between their legs.”

“Done,” Sniper agrees. He turns on his heel and stalks out, Viper and I close on his heels.

Our mole and Dmitri had better be ready, because the wrath of the Devil’s Soldiers has been awoken, and they have no idea what they’ve done.