I’m going to be a fucking married man in two weeks. How is that shit possible? How did I get here? When I look back on the wild ride that Nicole and I have shared, I can barely believe it. I look over at her and Dani. They’re huddled up in the corner, thick as thieves. Normally, this would make me worry—especially with Dani involved, but I figure it is okay for now. Probably more damn wedding talk. I never knew women could go off the deep end over this shit. Damn woman had me sitting for two fucking hours picking out a cake, which seems ridiculous since she ended up picking chocolate. I mean hell, why did I try a thousand other flavors I had no idea existed, just to end up on chocolate?

“That looks like trouble,” Crush says sitting down beside me and angling his chair so he can watch Nicole and Dani’s huddle.

“Probably making sure they have the right damn shade of pink for napkins,” I say, only half joking.

“Fuck me, pink? Prez man, it’s bad enough you’re asking us to put on monkey suits, I’ll be damned if I will sit at a table surrounded by pink frilly shit.”

“I was thinking of making sure your new cut was pink,” I respond, taking a swig of beer.

Crusher throws up his middle finger after choking on his beer, and I can’t help but grin. I smile a lot more these days.

“Heard from Dance?” Crush asks, his eyes still glued to the women.

“Yeah, he and Red will be back in town this weekend. They’re staying with Mary for a few more days.”

“He seems better.”

“Yeah, having Red in his corner seems to have helped.”

“It’s tearing Bull up, brother.”

“He’ll be alright.”

“Maybe, but he’s pretty messed up over Carrie.”

“Jesus, Crush. When did you become such a meddling busybody?”

“Fuck you, just making observations.”

“Yeah, well, I’m making some of my own.”

Crush turns and looks at me; it’s the first time since he sat down here, that I have his attention.

“What’s that?” he asks taking another drink of his beer. He tries to appear at ease, but his body is tight, and I can tell he’s tense as hell.

“Don’t go there. Crush, that woman is nothing but trouble, bro.” It’s honest advice, I don’t figure he’ll take it, but I’m going to give it. You’d have to be a fucking moron not to notice the way he’s panting after Nic’s girl.

“Have no idea what you are talking about, Drag.”

“Like hell. You want to stick your dick in Dani, but fuck man. A woman like that? You get your dick in her, it might feel good for a minute or two, but definitely not worth the shit-storm that will follow.”

“I’m thinking I could make it feel a lot better than just good and definitely longer than a minute or two.”

“Whatever man. With a woman like that you’re liable to draw back a stub. That woman has issues.”

“What woman doesn’t?” he asks, and I can’t help but follow Crush’s lead and look over at the women still huddled in deep discussion.

“Nic, she gives me calm not drama. That’s the kind of woman you need, brother.”

“They don’t look calm right now,” Crush says.

“As long as Nicole’s drama is over what fucking shade of white the cake frosting should be? I’m cool,” I respond.

“There are shades of white?”

“Who the fuck knew, right? I swear this whole wedding thing may be the death of me.”

I sit there in silence for a little while, my eyes still watching my woman. I glance at Crush and notice he is doing much the same with Dani. This doesn’t exactly fill me with warm, fuzzy feelings. Nic hasn’t shared a lot about Dani, other than to stress how important she is to her. I was pissed as hell after the bitch put Nic in danger—hell she put herself in danger as well. Still, Nic told me Dani had a life I didn’t know anything about, that had left some deep scars. I know all about trying to survive a past that scarred you. Fuck, every member of the Savage Brothers does. So, I promised as long as the bitch didn’t cause more problems, I’d be cool. I mean it, but if Crush starts something up with her and she fucks with my brother’s head…

I trail off in my thoughts as I notice Torch coming in from the back office. Torch is a new face around here. Striker and Gunner decided to re-up with Uncle Sam. It wasn’t a big surprise, both men have wanderlust in them. I personally think they’d make better nomads than patched in members. The lure of the open road always called to them more than the rest of us. So, we slowly moved Hawk up the ranks more and patched in Frog. Nailer and Six are still prospects, though we are going to have to remedy that soon. Both men have proven their loyalty to the club in spades, especially during everything with Dancer. Still, the mess with Dancer and how an enemy managed to catch us with our pants down, pisses me the hell off. I don’t care if the man did have the power to disappear for months on end without a trace. It doesn’t matter if he had a degree in electronics and connections in the underground. I will not fucking let my men be caught unaware again. So, I did something I thought I would never do. I talked to Skull about it.

Skull and I have shit in common, even if I don’t want to admit it. Plus, being a President of a MC is not a fucking walk in the park. You carry a heavy weight on your shoulders. You make decisions that mean life and death to men and women you care about—your family. So, despite the motherfucker’s preoccupation with my woman, he and I have struck up a strange kind of truce.

Torch isn’t a member of the Savage crew. He’s actually a patched in member of Skull’s crew. He is a fucking genius at making state of the art security systems. It helped that he and Freak seemed to just immediately gel. So, I asked him to come in and help beef up our defenses. I can handle a lot of shit. I have no problem when it comes to guns, ammo, and man power. Yet, this new age shit, and the computers and high tech gadgetry are beyond me. Savage MC is a club that needs all its bases covered. I will not allow one more fucking person to take me or my men by the balls.

It’s essential that I make a statement. I need to be sure I have men around me that understand that and are willing to make some big ass moves towards becoming the major power, not only in my town, but in the state. So, with the alliance between Savage MC and Devil’s Blaze solid, Torch, Gavel, and some hulk called Beast have all become regular fixtures at my damn club. Sadly, even Skull is here more often than not—which is okay as long as he doesn’t speak to my woman.

“Yo! Dragon. We got problems, man. Freak and I need to see you in the back.”

My easy going mood vanishes immediately. Damn it, we’ve barely recovered from the drama with Dance and motherfucking Francis. I need quiet. I do not need more fucking drama. I get up and walk towards Torch, making note that Crusher falls in step behind me with a muttered curse.

I find myself hoping my day isn’t about to be shot all to hell.