Chapter 15

 

Jayce

 

 

I COULD TELL Candi was nervous around the club, which was no surprise, considering she was an outsider. They were good guys though, even Len.

After we took the shot, I brought her over to a more intimate part of the club, hoping she’d relax and open up a little.

“So, where are you from?” I asked after we found a table in the corner.

For a split second, a look of panic flashed across her face. It made me wonder if she really was there just to get a discount on the tattoo and wasn’t interested in me.

“Las Vegas,” she said, stirring her straw in the drink. “A couple of weeks ago.”

“Really? You have family here?”

She lowered her eyes. “No. I don’t have any family.”

“So, what made you travel up here to Minnesota? You thinking about moving?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. It’s still in debate.” Candi smiled and turned the conversation around to me. “Have you lived here all of your life?”

I nodded.

“How long have you been a prospect?”

“Over a year.” I told her about Brass being my cousin and sponsor.

“When are they going to make you a member?”

“Soon, I hope.”

She nodded toward Tarot’s table. “What’s it like, being with these guys?”

I shrugged. “Basically, it’s like we’re one big family. We look out for each other, and if something happens to one of us, it happens to all of us,” I said, trying to explain the camaraderie, which was why a lot of guys joined clubs.

“What do you mean, ‘if something happens’?”

“We have enemies all over. If they strike out at one of us, it affects us all, and we work together to take care of it. We have each other’s backs.”

Her eyes hardened for a brief second. “Does that happen a lot?”

“Strikes?”

She nodded.

“It hasn’t for a while. We had some issues with a rival club awhile back, but things have mellowed out.”

Candi took a drink of her cocktail and then asked if the rumors about the Gold Vipers were true.

“Which rumors are that?” I asked, hoping she wasn’t talking about any criminal activity. At the moment, we were only involved with some minor weapons trafficking. The Gold Vipers had stopped their involvement with drug running a few years back. In regards to prostitution, some of the chapters had their hands in that bullshit, but not us.

“I heard that you guys are a force to be reckoned with. Nobody screws with your club or they pay the consequences,” she said, chewing on her straw and staring up at me with doe eyes.

“Yeah. Those rumors are true, but you have nothing to worry about unless you’re plotting against us,” I replied with a smile.

“You don’t have anything to worry about from me. I’m just here having a drink with my new favorite tattoo artist,” she said, laughing. “Seriously, I have nothing against you guys.”

I reached forward and put my hand on hers. I’d obviously made her nervous. “I know. I’m just giving you shit.”

“I know.”

Damn, she was beautiful. It had been awhile since I’d gotten laid, being as busy as I was with the club and work. Just thinking about Candi underneath me was getting me hard. “So, why did you really agree to come over here? Was it just the tattoo?”