Chapter 8

Elijah

To say I was happier than a pig in shit when I pulled up with Quinn for the poker run would be an understatement. Feeling her behind me on my ride, her tight ass pressed up against my back, there was nothing like it. As I pulled into the club, everyone was hanging by the bikes, the ol’ ladies, properties, men. The men were eyeing her up and smiling at me with that look in their eyes, knowing what I had been up to the last couple of days and it wasn’t ranching.

The women, especially the properties, some who I had spent time with, well some of them weren't smiling.

I walked into the club looking for Bryce. I saw Danny.

“Danny, have you seen Bryce?” I asked.

“He's around back.” Danny gave me a backwards thumb in that direction.

I found Bryce out back chopping wood for the fire. His nose was bandaged and he sported matching black eyes.

Bryce just glared at me.

“Come on, Bryce.”

“What do you mean, ‘come on,’ Bryce?” He made it sound sing song coming out of his mouth. “You come back like you’ve won a championship or something. I got this whole damn thing, everyone, together without any help from you while you are off chasing a piece of ass.”

He must've seen the look in my eyes because he got that defensive stance, but in his favor, he looked away.

“I don't know what's going on right now,” I said, “But you're my brother…”

I never even got to finish my sentence as Bryce dropped the ax and walked away.

“Jesus Christ,” I said.

I walked around to the front and saw Quinn, and walked towards her, with the guys all giving me the shoulder and all I wanted to do was wrap my arms around her. She was off by herself. A newbie. I walked over and grabbed some beer on the way as it was flowing freely.

Before we started off on the poker run I introduced Quinn Hopson to everyone. Gareth followed her like a, well, a puppy. I’d have to put him in my room when we left.

The women nodded, politely currently. The men smiled at me and joked. Quinn, God bless her, turned crimson.

Once on the road, the roar was thunderous. One of my favorite things is getting on my bike to feel that all that power under me and feeling Quinn behind me. I felt invincible. I don't know what it is about her, but it's nice to know that she's mine. All mine.

At the first stop, Quinn picked up her card. Queen of hearts. Not surprising, as she’s got mine.

I stopped for a second. She does too. I look at her and feel a warmth that has nothing to do with the kickass sex or her body. She makes me feel. Really feel, like I want to do good by her.

I hear the laughter from the other women ragging on her and giving her a hard time. Smiling, she comes over, takes a swig of my beer, and wraps her arms around me. I open my legs and draw her in close on the bar stool.

“This is the poker run?”

“Sure is.”

“I like.”

“I’m glad.” She giggles and reached around me to take another drink.

“Are you drunk?”

“I’m a light weight,” she said.

“Okay, slow down, we have four more bars.”

“Hmmm,” she said as she kissed me. I pulled that tight ass in close.

As she grabbed the beer again, I took it out of her hand.

She laughed good naturedly.

“Tell me about these guys.”

I nod over at Lance, long grey hippie hair, in a ponytail. Next to a smaller, plump brown woman.

“That guy there he's our president and one of the founding members. He owns a couple small businesses here in town. Nothing too major. Retail stuff. That Mexican woman is his wife. Man, you need to hear her cuss him out behind closed doors in Spanish. He has two beautiful daughters and wasn't too happy to know that one of them is an ol’ lady to our treasurer, but he got over it.”

I nodded over to a gorgeous Hispanic woman next to a slightly overweight Hispanic man.

“That’s them there.”

“She’s beautiful.”

“That she is.”

“Did you and she…?” She left the question out into the air.

“When we were kids, but her dad threatened me and let’s just say that was that.”

“Alright, so,” and Quinn spun around and placed her tight ass right up against me, “tell me a little bit about your family.

“Well, my mom was, let’s just say that she was everybody's ol’ lady. With my dad long enough to get knocked up and then he took off. Club takes care of their own so I sort of belonged to the club. So then she hooked up with former president, who’s Bryce’s dad. She passed a few years back. Cody Bearshield wasn’t such a nice guy and Bryce has the scars – both in and out. When we were eighteen and nineteen, we both joined the Navy and did our time there. Saw enough water. We couldn’t wait to get back to dry land.”

He thought for a second. “Bryce was a pretty awesome sailor. He applied for Seals but…” Elijah shrugged, “anger issues.”

“Imagine that,” she said.

She looked thoughtful.

“I don't have any brothers or sisters. No family left,” she said.

I kissed the top of her head.

“You do now.”

At our next stop, Quinn started playing pool. Man, she had a nice eye. She was killing it. Raking in money from the men and the women were cheering her on.

“How you get so good at pool?”

“It’s how I got through college.”

I was surprised.

“Seriously?”

“My dad left some money for me and then I scraped up the rest while I went to school and took of mom. One of those things I was good at.”

When we finally finished our poker run, Quinn laid down her cards. Royal flush. That’s my girl. She left with the pot.

We made our way back to the MC and hung out by the campfire, her tight against me. As the night grew long and the embers grew cold, I grabbed Quinn's hand and took her to my room. My little vet had me wrapped around her fingers all night long and in all different ways.

In the middle of the night, I heard someone moving around in the Church. Since I had to use the bathroom, I went over and noticed Bryce sitting there. He saw me coming and he stood up, his stance was low down and weaving, drunk, and he was mean.

“You’re giving up our friendship for some slit like that?”

My hand had never moved faster. Bryce was on the floor staring up at me.

“What the hell was that about, man. Come on now. She’s not family.”

“She’s family to me, Bryce. You better get that through your thick skull.”

“Seriously, she's family now? What am I?”

I walked over to where Bryce was sitting on the ground, grabbed him by his arms, and pulled him up.

“You’re my family, too. I’m not having this. I don't know what it is going through your mind, lately. And she’s not just anyone. She’s Zack Hopson’s daughter. She's not just some passing thing.”

“So she’s your property now?”

“Ol’ lady. Not property. Never property.”

The edge to my voice made it clear that I was done.

The next morning, Quinn and I came out to the kitchen for breakfast. Bryce came over. I tensed, waiting for any shit he might pull. I feel Quinn go still next to me.

“Zack Hopson’s daughter?”

The whole club got suddenly quiet.

Quinn looked at me. Saw in my eyes I would never keep anything from Bryce.

She walked straight up to him. I was on pins and needles. I didn’t see any weapons but since I didn’t know what was happening with Bryce, I didn’t like her that close.

“Yes, I am.”

He looks at me. For a second, I was ready to spring. Then he smiled, like the man I knew he could be.

“Looks like I have a new sister. Welcome to the family.”

Quinn smiled at him.

“I guess you do.”

Bryce leans forward as to give her a kiss. Quinn takes a step back.

“I’m messing with you.” He laughs a real laugh. First one in a long time. He bends over and kisses her on the cheek

Not such a bad start to the day.