BLAKE

 

The next day…

 

“What do you got?”

“Hold on… Gimme a second now…”

“You’ve had plenty of seconds. It’s time to put up or shut up.”

“I don’t remember there being a time limit.”

“That’s because nobody ever takes as much time as you.”

“All right, all right… I see your bet…”

Sullivan splashed the chips in front of me and put his cards down.

“Full house.”

He gave me the biggest shit-eating grin I’d ever seen in my life. I stared back at him and gritted my teeth to the amusement of the rest of the table.

“Sullivan with the full house strikes again!”

“How many hands is that in a row? You’re losing your touch, Needle.”

I sighed as Sullivan scooped all of the chips to his side of the table.

“New patches,” I sighed. “They always have the best luck.”

“Am I still a new patch?” Sullivan said. “I was out there with you the other night.”

“You’re still a new patch because I say you’re a new patch.”

“All right, all right,” he said, his hands up as he chuckled at me.

“Don’t listen to him,” Ghost said as he put a hand on Sullivan’s shoulder. “You’re patched in, you’re patched in. We wouldn’t let you be a Reaper if we didn’t think you were capable.”

“Thanks… You know, I’ve been thinking…”

Everybody turned their attention toward Sullivan as he stacked all of his chips together.

“Needle… You’re into sewing, right?” he said.

The entire table fell silent.

“That’s why they call you Needle,” he said to me. “I bet you stitched those patches onto your kutte yourself. Am I right?”

Everybody at the table looked at one another before we all burst into laughter. Sullivan rolled his eyes at all of us.

“Whatever,” he sighed. “I’m gonna come up with my own name. And I won’t tell any of you shit about it.”

“You can’t give yourself a name,” Ghost said.

“Right,” Brawn added. “You are who are you are.”

“Those are the breaks, Sully,” I said.

We all laughed at Sullivan’s expense. He was still smiling even though he wasn’t as amused as the rest of us.

“Keep laughing,” he said. “I still have all of your chips…”

“All right,” I said. “No need to hit below the belt…”

I got up from the table and let the game resume.

It was a quiet day at The Grindhouse. After what happened the other night, the club could use the peace and quiet. It was the first time in a long time that it felt like there wasn’t a burden on any of us. Even with the feds still in town, we knew we wouldn’t have to watch our backs. Not for awhile, anyway.

I took a seat at the bar and helped myself to a beer. Just as I took a sip, I heard the front door open. I turned and saw the woman I’d been waiting for walk in.

In just a plain white top and a pair of jeans, Katrina looked as angelic as she always did. Even inside of the clubhouse, it seemed like her hair was always flowing behind her.

She bit her bottom lip as she walked up to me, her hands sheepishly rubbing together.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” she whispered.

“I’d wait forever for you.”

She pecked me on the lips then squeezed me with a hug.

“How is your arm?”

I held my cast up and examined it.

“I’ve had worse,” I sighed.

“Always with the macho bullshit. You nearly died and you shrug it off like it’s nothing.”

“I thought you’d know that by now. Life in a club, in Ivory… You’re always at risk.”

“Not you,” she said, shaking her head. “Not anymore.”

“Yeah… Not anymore.”

I leaned forward and kissed her again. Her lips were so soft. Her tongue was so wet. She pulled away from me suddenly.

“I probably shouldn’t be kissing you when you’ve been drinking,” she said.

“Oh… Right… I should probably cut it out for now.”

I pushed the bottle of beer away from me and stood up straight. Katrina examined her surroundings, looking up at the walls and the Black Reapers regalia on display.

“So… This is the clubhouse of the Black Reapers,” she said. “I never thought I would be in a place like this.”

“I never thought I would welcome someone associated with the Winter Cobras in here.”

“I’m not associated with them. He’s just my brother. My allegiance isn’t to any patch. It’s to the man who wears it.”

She leaned forward against me and pressed her body to mine. Having her so close, it felt like everything was right in the world. Being in the clubhouse with her meant that there was nothing else for either of us to hide.

“Come on,” I said. “Let me introduce you.”

I took her hand and brought her over to the poker table. Everybody turned their attention to Katrina.

“You all know Katrina,” I said. “I figured I would give you all a more formal introduction. That man over there is Brawn… You’ve met him before.”

“I sure have,” she said.

“Sorry about that whole kidnapping thing,” Brawn said.

“No harm done,” she said with a smile.

“That’s Petey,” I said. “He was the one pointing the gun at you.”

Petey put a hand up and waved to Katrina, his eyes focused on the cards in his hand.

“That guy right there is Sullivan,” I said. “He’s the new patch.”

“Say, Katrina,” Sullivan said. “Let me ask you something?”

“Sure,” Katrina said, slightly confused.

“Why do they call him Needle? Did he tell you he loves sewing?”

“I… Um…”

She glanced up at me like she was looking for the right response. All I could do was laugh at her.

“It’s just a name,” I said, not giving her a chance to answer. “Get over it already.”

“Whatever,” Sullivan sighed.

“And this man right here,” I said as I put a hand on Ghost’s shoulder. “This is Ghost.”

“Jon,” Ghost said as he shook Katrina’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to formally meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine,” Katrina said, bowing her head.

“Come on,” I said to her. “Let’s let these assholes play their stupid game.”

“Still bitter,” Sullivan shouted to me as I walked away. “Get over it, Needle!”

Katrina and I walked back to the bar to get some time to ourselves. But before I could say anything, the only man in the club she hadn’t formally met walked up to us.

“So… You’re Katrina.”

Garnet examined Katrina, looking her up and down as she stood before him.

“I’m Katrina,” she said with that tender smile of hers.

“Harris’s sister.”

“Katrina Harris,” she said. “That’s me. Jordan’s sister.”

Garnet had a straight look on his face. His eyes locked on Katrina, he sighed a deep breath through his nose.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry for what happened. I’m sorry for the order I put on you.”

“It’s all right—”

“It’s not all right,” he said, cutting her off. “I let my emotions get the best of me. When I saw my old lady in the hospital like that… I wanted answers. I wanted to make them pay. I wanted it to be a Cobra.

“You were stuck in the middle of some old beef. Just an innocent woman caught between two clubs. It should never have come to that.”

Garnet leaned forward and put his arms around Katrina. Watching the two of them hug filled me with a relief I couldn’t describe.

“I don’t care who your brother is,” he said. “I’m sorry for what happened. And I want you to know that you’re always welcome in the clubhouse.”

“Thank you,” Katrina replied. “I… I’m grateful. And… I appreciate your apology. But who knows what would have happened if I didn’t spend all of that time with Blake? I… I would have never gotten the chance to get to know him better. Things worked out for the best.”

“They sure did.”

Garnet put a hand on my shoulder.

“The sister of a Winter Cobra,” he said with a smile, shaking his head at me. “Like the fucking Capulets and the Montagues. You sure know how to fucking pick ‘em, Needle.”

“I didn’t know,” I said as I laughed with him.

“You’ve always been a pain in my side. Hey, Katrina, did he ever tell you why they call him Needle?”

“Actually—”

“It’s because he’s a fucking prick!”

Garnet burst into laughter as he shook me. I chuckled right along with him.

“Don’t do anything stupid now, kids,” he said. “We’ve all been through too much shit to just throw it all away now.”

Katrina glanced up at me, her eyes narrowed as Garnet walked away.

“Thank you for coming,” I whispered to her.

“I wanted to come here. I want to know everything about you Blake. I want to spend the rest of my life figuring you out.”

“I think you’ve got me figured out pretty good by now.”

“I think so. I knew it when I first met you. Cocky, arrogant, conceited…”

“Don’t flatter me too much now,” I said, chuckling.

“Just tell me one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“When you saw me pulled over that night on the side of the road… Why did you really want to help me? Was it because you were doing it out of the kindness of your heart?”

“That was part of it, sure. But I thought you were beautiful.”

“Thanks—”

“And I really wanted to fuck you.”

I leaned down and kissed her. Her lips quivered as she giggled. I pulled away, still smiling down at her.

“I see now the same thing I saw when I first laid eyes on you.”

“What do you see?” she asked.

“An angel. My angel. I can’t imagine not being with you.”

“I feel the same way.”

“Then let’s be together.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not doing anything, are you?”

“I…”

My arms wrapped around her, I stared down into her eyes. Katrina bit her bottom lip, trying and failing to stop a grin from coming to her lip. There was no point in fighting it for either one of us.

“What do you say?” I asked.

“I say… Take me for a ride, Needle.”