Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

A ngel looked down at the amount of paperwork before her and let out a loud groan. This was the part of her job that she hated. She was an artist , not an accountant. There were days when she seriously regretted not folding her business under the club's umbrella. Then it would be Demo who was sitting here with his nose in receipts, order forms, balance sheets, and whatever else was currently sitting on her desk.

It wasn't like it was too late. Steel's offer to buy her out still stood. If the club took over her business, they'd receive a cut of her profits. Was that really that big of a deal? If she didn't have paperwork and office work to do, she could take on more clients. It would still be her shop . Like Cage's construction business, she'd still be in charge.

The thought was very tempting.

Angel was proud of her business. She'd built it from the ground up with no backing from her father or the club—financially, anyway. But…maybe Cage was right in more ways than one. She didn't have to prove herself as a businesswoman either. She didn't have to battle the business world alone.

Demo was dealing with a lot right now. He was still in active recovery from when he'd taken two bullets protecting Jasmine. Angel didn't want to put more on him, but it wouldn't hurt to talk to him and Steel.

Angel and Cage needed to have a serious talk about finances too. Between the house mortgage, utilities, and now housing two very hungry teenagers, things were starting to add up. Cage had tried to talk to her about finances when he'd first moved in, but she'd waved it off and they hadn't had time since.

Cage was also talking to his lawyer to see if he could sue for the return of the money he'd sent Veronica over the years for Aaron, even though he'd been denied any knowledge of his son. It was a long shot and, frankly, petty, but Cage wanted to make Veronica hurt for how she'd treated Aaron since he'd come out of the closet. Since Cage did not believe in physically hurting women, he wanted to make her hurt in other ways.

Angel was all for it—though she'd already volunteered her services to make Veronica hurt physically too.

Cage couldn't do anything about Aaron's grandfather, who had strong-armed him, or Veronica's pastor until after he had full custody. His entire life was under a microscope right now and he was not going to risk doing anything that might make him lose.

Afterwards, though… Angel knew Cage was already mentally shining up the chains in the cellar for two new guests.

Veronica was another story. While Angel wanted to make her hurt for hurting Aaron, she was Aaron's mother. Aaron was constantly reminding everyone that she was a good mother. Her view on his sexuality was where the problem lay.

Homophobic or not, religious or not, the woman had stood by and watched her pastor beat her son with a cane.

A mother's love should be unconditional and unwavering. Always.

If Bree came to Angel tomorrow and told her that she wanted to identify as a book hoarding dragon, Angel would certainly think it to be weird, but she'd also help Bree transform her room into a hoard room and buy her as many books as she wanted. Though she might have to set down the rule that all fire breathing be taken outside.

"What the fuck are you thinking about so hard?"

Angel looked up, startled by Cage's voice. He was leaning against the doorframe of her office with one arm reaching casually up to grip the top frame. The position brought her attention to his muscular bicep and lifted his shirt just enough where she got a glimpse of his toned abs.

Her tongue traced her bottom lip at the sight.

As she lifted her eyes to his face, she saw his knowing smile. He knew exactly what he'd been doing when he'd taken that stance.

"I'm thinking about book hoarding dragons," she answered honestly. "What are you thinking about?"

Cage raised an eyebrow but her odd answer did not deter him. He slowly lowered his arm and strode into the office, closing her door behind him. "I'm thinking about what a good boy I've been today and how I deserve a treat."

"Good boy?" she questioned skeptically with a raised eyebrow. "You?"

He nodded. "I took Aaron for a ride around town. I even took him to the construction yard and showed him around work. Then we picked up Bree from school." He rounded her desk. "She's showing him around the studio and introducing him to your employees." He pulled her rolling chair back and spun her so she was facing him. He leaned down onto the arms of her chair, placing his mouth right next to her ear. "I even ate all my veggies at lunch."

A shiver ran through her at his breath on her skin, heating her insides. "I'm impressed," she said, her voice low and husky. "You have been a good boy."

Cage nodded against the side of her face. "A very good boy. And good boys get treats."

Angel tried to keep the laugh out of her voice as she asked, "What treat did you have in mind?"

Cage moved back to look her in the eyes. Slowly, very slowly, he lowered himself onto his knees before her. The lower he got, the more soaked she felt her pussy get. Without breaking eye contact, he reached for her belt and started to undo the buckle.

Angel swallowed hard in anticipation. "Did you lock the door?" Her nipples were hard and sensitive against her bra. The friction only heightened her arousal.

He nodded.

Cage undid her button and lowered the zipper of her jeans. Angel lifted her ass enough for him lower her pants and drenched undies over her hips and down her legs. He didn't move to take off her boots though. Instead, he brought her clothing down to her ankles and left them there.

"This okay?"

Angel appreciated his asking, though unnecessary. It hadn't been that long ago that she'd been bound against her will and nearly raped. Her jeans around her ankles were a sort of bondage, but Angel also knew the difference. She trusted Cage. She loved Cage. The moment she said "stop", he would with no hesitation or complaint.

Not that she had any plans of stopping him. Ever.

Cage shifted himself under her desk, looping her bound ankles over his shoulders. He worked himself through the circle her legs and jeans created until her legs were around his middle. He brought her butt closer to the edge of the seat, the action shifting her hips enough to give him a clear view of his treat .

And then he devoured her.

Angel threw her head back against the cushion of her office chair with a loud groan. Cage did not start off slow or coaxing. He latched onto her with a ferocity that bordered on wild. He sucked and lapped at her core like she was the only water source in the Sahara.

Angel's fingers dug into his dirty blonde curls so hard she had to be hurting him, but he expressed no pain. He hooked his arms under her thighs, forcing his mouth even further against her.

"Oh fuck," Angel groaned. She was already on the verge of an orgasm.

Cage gripped her hips tighter, his teeth scrapping over her overly sensitive bud. Angel's passionate cry nearly drowned out the words from outside the door.

"Hey, Mom, have you seen Pops?"

Both Angel and Cage froze just as the office door opened.

Angel tried to sit up and look as casually as possible at her daughter as she rolled herself into the office. Angel picked up some paper and tapped it against her desk like she was stacking it. All the while pretending that her man wasn't hiding beneath her desk with his mouth still on her very wet, begging for an orgasm pussy.

"Cage?" Angel questioned as offhandedly as she could. "No, I haven't seen him."

Bree opened her mouth. She stared at Angel for a moment, as if assessing her, and then her eyes narrowed. "You two are disgusting! You have children!"

Angel knew her cheeks were reddening. It wasn't entirely from embarrassment though. Cage was laughing against her pussy and it was making her feel some very weird things. "I don't know what you're talking about," Angel insisted to Bree.

"Oh yeah? If I called Pops' phone right now, it wouldn't ring in this office?"

Angel just shrugged, trying to keep a straight face and failing. "Maybe he left his phone in here?"

Bree gagged. "Gross! Aaron and I are going across the street to the diner for ice cream. Please don't join us, but I am telling Kelly you'll be by later to pay for us."

As Bree started to back herself out of the office, Angel called, "Close the door, please!"

"Disgusting!!" Bree shouted back but did as Angel asked.

Cage's laugh burst audibly from him now.

Angel leaned back in her chair enough to slap him on top of his head. "You said you locked the door!"

"Oops," he said innocently—and then he went back to eating his treat.

With Aaron's sudden appearance and the court battles, Cage and Angel had been out of the loop on some of the more recent club business. It was nearly two weeks after the destruction of the Pythons' clubhouse that they were able to attend a Church meeting. Steel was not one to allow missed meetings, but there were a couple of exceptions. The first being family.

Cheryl was being housed in a locked apartment. For now, she was conscious and cooperating. Tessa was the only ol' lady who knew of her presence as her doctor. A camera was placed in her room and was being monitored by Keys. Everything but a bed, a chair, and some books had been removed from the room. Her bathroom had been emptied of everything but the bare essentials.

While at the vet clinic, Tessa confirmed that Cheryl was twenty-eight weeks along. After some tests, she reported that the baby was healthy.

This Church meeting was filled with a tension that was rare. Bear had the paternity results of Cheryl's baby. Only he and Steel knew the results, and it was causing some of the guys to get antsy. Unfortunately, Cheryl had been a very popular Honey before she'd been fired, so there were quite a few candidates.

Steel hit his gavel on the table.

Angel, who was holding Cage's hand under the table, turned to her left to look at Steel. The man's face was grim.

"I know many of you wish to know the test results. Cheryl herself has said that she does not know who the father is. I also need to add that she'd admitted it might not be one of you. While we did not have it as part of the Honeys' written contracts, it was stated that they were not to be sleeping with anyone outside of the club if they were providing us with such services. Cheryl says she did not follow this rule.

"Regardless of what the results are, that baby is Via Daemonia . We will care for him and raise him. He is our responsibility."

Steel met everyone's eyes with his hard gaze. "We are also going to make a decision on the remaining Honeys today and if they have a continued place in our club. However, I can see some of you are sweating and I think we should get the results over with."

Steel gestured to Bear.

The burley giant didn't hold back. He looked directly at Pumpkin and said, "Congratulations. It's a boy."

Angel felt Cage stiffen next to her but didn't look at him. Her eyes, like the rest of the room, were transfixed on Pumpkin. There was sense of relief from many in the room too.

Pumpkin looked shocked, there was no doubt about that. He didn't look happy , but that might take time. At least he wasn't protesting or demanding a redo on the paternity test. That was something.

After a moment, Steel cleared his throat. He waited for Pumpkin to look up at him before saying, "You will take responsibility."

Pumpkin nodded stiffly but remained silent.

"From the very beginning, I have been against the Honeys," Steel told the group as a whole. "I allowed it because this is not a monarchy. I might be married, but I'm not dead. I understand the allure of free pussy. Does not change the fact that since February, the Honeys have been more of nuisance than they're worth. I am not the only one who feels this way.

"In March, we voted to exclude the Honeys from our clubhouse gatherings. They are already restricted to closed-door endeavors with members. I am now calling a vote to terminate all of the Honeys."

"Wait," Lucky said, holding up a finger. "I have a suggestion that might help us in the long run."

Steel nodded. Angel tried to keep the surprise off of her face. Lucky was not one who regularly used the Honeys for sex. Maybe once or twice before he'd met Harper. Of all the members here, she hadn't thought that it would be Lucky who stood up for the Honeys.

Lucky looked to Ghost and Ranger. "The two of you have been saying you need more help at the bar." He looked across the table at Bulldog. "You've been having to pull the prospects away from the bar more and more." To everyone, Lucky said, "What if we move the Honeys to the bar? They become servers and bartenders. This frees up Ghost, Ranger, and the prospects."

"And their…other activities?" Ghost prompted. "I won't have my bar turned into a brothel."

Lucky shrugged. "They're consenting adults. They can sleep with whomever they want, just not on company time or on club property."

Steel nodded slowly. "It'll keep them employed. What about the clubhouse? I won't see Jenna turn into a housekeeper. She has enough on her plate now with Ollie and the holidays coming up."

"We hire actual housekeepers," Lucky suggested. "That's their job. If they cook, great, but we can hire one or two who come in just to clean up and do the laundry."

Bulldog leaned forward. "I'm adding extra security around the property. I'll need the prospects for more than the gate," he told Steel. He looked to Lucky. "I'm in agreement."

"What if the Honeys don't want to be a server at the bar?" Ranger asked. "They're of no help to us if they refuse to do their job."

"Fire them," Lucky said with no sympathy. "This is their option if they chose to remain employed with us."

"We already told them Evette quit," Bulldog added. Angel did not feel the least bit guilty for having been the one to pull that trigger. "They all signed NDAs when they hired on with us too."

Steel looked around the table. "All in agreement for moving the Honeys over to the bar and hiring two housekeepers who are actually housekeepers around the clubhouse?"

The room as a whole said, "Yay." No one said, "nay".

Steel pointed his gavel around the room. "No one is to sleep with the new housekeepers or they're out." Then he slammed his gavel down on the table.

Part of the custody agreement laid out by the family court judge was that Aaron had to attend school. The delay in registering him was due to Veronica not bringing Aaron's birth certificate to court with her as ordered. Not only was she fined a thousand dollars by the judge, but she still needed to relinquish it to the courts to be given to Cage.

Once Keys had gotten the necessary paperwork together to fake Ollie's adoption—since, technically, the kid didn't exist due to his birth having never been reported—and transcripts, Ollie was also able to start high school.

True to his word, Cage went to the school to register Aaron wearing his new Papasaurous shirt under his cut, which also had a new rainbow patch. Cage even went a step further and wore his new rainbow socks as well as rainbow underwear. Although Angel was pretty sure she was the only one who knew about that last one.

Steel, Jenna, and Ollie also accompanied Cage, Angel, and Aaron to the school so they could get Ollie registered too. While neither Steel nor Jenna wore anything rainbow, Ollie wore a flashy, new outfit courtesy of his shopping spree with Jenna. He had on lilac purple pants, a pink shirt, and suspenders. He painted his fingernails yellow and was wearing fake eyelashes and purple eyeshadow. His hair was gelled to add a flair in the back.

As their group walked down the hall to the main office, there were a few students who gave Ollie sneers. Angel wasn't sure who scowled more darkly at them: Steel or Aaron.

Aaron was wearing his previous team's football jersey and a pair of jeans. There was nothing about him that stood out as gay—not like Ollie, anyway. Students could very easily mistake Cage's shirt to be a reference to Ollie. Angel certainly saw a lot of girls checking Aaron out.

While Ollie's outfit screamed confidence, his expression did not. He was constantly glancing around, biting his lip, and had tripped over his own feet twice. After the second time, though, Aaron took his hand like it was the most natural thing in the world and continued walking without missing a beat. Ollie beamed up at him and wrapped his right hand around Aaron's bicep while Aaron gripped his left hand.

Angel and Jenna exchanged a glance and then had to look away or risk tearing up.

Though Aaron told both Cage and Angel that he was not interested in dating with everything else going on in his life, his feelings towards Ollie were obvious. And vice versa. Ollie glowed in Aaron's presence. While Steel had mixed feelings in regard to Aaron as a potential boyfriend to his new son, there was no doubting that Steel liked Aaron as Ollie's protector.

Aaron towered over most of the students. He was sixteen and already six feet tall and packed with muscle. No one would be foolish enough to pick on Ollie with Aaron standing between them.

Angel wanted Aaron to be his own kid here. She wanted him to grow and find his place. But , as a mom of a paraplegic teenage daughter, she couldn't help but also feel grateful that Bree would also have Aaron looking out for her.

No doubt Lucky felt the same way regarding Scotty.

After they got Aaron and Ollie signed up, Principal Rockland took them around for a tour. Unlike Lucky, Bear, and Bulldog, none of the parents present were alumni of Mount Grove High. Angel had already been on a tour when she'd registered Bree, but the others were as new to the building as Ollie and Aaron were.

Aaron got to meet Coach Wallace, who was thrilled Aaron played football. While he was coming late to training, Aaron informed the coach that he'd attended a football camp over the summer in Illinois.

Ollie fell in love with the drama classroom. He picked up a feather boa, put it flamboyantly around his neck, and started Roxy Hart's opening monologue from Chicago. "…you wanna know something? I always wanted my name in the paper…" he cooed at his applauding audience, holding his hands like he was gripping an invisible newspaper.

But no one was as enthralled as Aaron, watching the boy like he was center stage on Broadway with a thousand spotlights on him.

Jenna and Angel exchanged another look, both of them wondering if they were going to become in-laws one day.

Of the remaining four Honeys, two quit—Lacy and Ginger—and the remaining two—Gracie and Monica—agreed to become servers at the bar with no "extra services" required. Gracie had asked if she could stay at the clubhouse in one of the open housekeeping positions, but Steel had declined her request.

The club held open interviews for housekeepers as well as two more servers for the bar. They had already worked out the budget to have four servers. With Lacy and Ginger quitting, they now had open positions.

The first day of open interviews did not go well. There was a rumor going around town that the open interviews were for the old Honey position and an unreasonable amount of single women had showed up to the bar. Ghost and Ranger had had to call in reinforcements after one girl flashed Ranger to try to get the job.

After that, they held the interviews at the clubhouse where the applicants were screened at the gate by Bulldog prior to entry.

Angel, Cage, Bree, and Aaron were in their Traverse on their way home from school and got caught in the traffic backed up at the gate. Cage got to out see if he could help Bulldog, donning his cut as he went.

Aaron leaned forward between the driver and passenger seats. "What's going on?"

"Too many loose women with too much time on their hands," Angel said—before she recalled who she was talking to. She turned and looked at both teens. "Do not repeat that."

Bree snorted. "Add twenty bucks to the swear jar and you'll have my silence."

Angel glared at her. Though, she was also a bit proud. "Fine."

Aaron looked over his shoulder at Bree. Her chair was strapped down behind the driver's seat. "You do realize the swear jar isn't a deterrent for them at all."

Bree grinned widely. "I know."

They finally got themselves through the gate. Angel paused to roll her window down to ask if Cage was staying or going with them. He told them he was staying and then leaned through to give her a kiss.

Angel pulled into an open spot by the clubhouse. She wanted to see the sort of people Bulldog was letting through. Since the Honey position was now closed, there was nothing saying that a man couldn't apply for the job. Upon hearing that the other night, Ollie had swooned and said, "Oh, I do love a man in uniform."

Aaron had scowled at him and then proclaimed to the room that he was getting his new football uniform in that week.

There were three women sitting with clipboards on the couch in the clubhouse. None of them were dressed provocatively, though only one was dressed professionally.

Harper, who had been close behind Angel in the lineup at the gate, came in behind them with Scotty, Ollie, and Spot, Scotty's service dog. Spot's harness was off, so he was acting like a two-year-old golden retriever would. One of Scotty's favorite after-school activities was to play with the rescued Pitbull puppies. Angel hoped they could coax Cassie out of the house with the promise of puppy cuddles.

All of the alcohol was locked up in the cabinets. However, there were pitchers of lemonade, iced tea, and water sitting on the bar, along with a tray of cheese and crackers.

A young teenage boy sat on a bar stool. He had pitch black hair, cropped short to his head. Though his back was to her, Angel could see his sea-green eyes and light complexion in the mirror behind the bar. He was staring up above the cabinets of alcohol towards the beams in the ceiling and muttering to himself. His fingers were tapping along the wood of the bar as if he was playing an invisible piano.

Scotty went straight for the food. "Hi, Carter!" he pronounced loudly. Angel assumed he knew the teen from school.

The boy did not look at Scotty or acknowledge him by stopping what he was doing. It was a solid five seconds later that he said very clearly, "Hi, Scotty."

"Why are you here?" Scotty asked him while chewing on a square of cheddar cheese.

Again, there was a delay in Carter's answer. His fingers still fluttering along the wood. "My mom," he said distinctly. His head tipped slightly to the right. "My mom is here to apply for a job."

Scotty smiled widely at him. "My daddy's here too." Scotty looked around. "I think my daddy is here. Mommy, where's Daddy?"

Angel glanced at Bree to see how she handled Scotty's question and found Aaron had a hand on her shoulder in support. She had to bite the inside of her mouth to keep her approving smile off her lips.

Harper approached the bar. "He's in Uncle Steel's office interviewing people for the open jobs," she answered Scotty. "Hi, Carter."

Carter's tapping increased, almost out of agitation. "Ms. Hannigan. Hannigan now McCoy." He looked up even further at the ceiling. "Twenty-two. Twenty-two. Twenty-two."

Angel looked at Harper to see if she understood why the boy was muttering ‘twenty-two' to himself, but Harper didn't seem bothered by the odd behavior.

Harper smiled sweetly at him. "Carter, we're going to go play with some puppies if you want to join us."

"Twenty-two, twenty-two… Puppies?"

Angel thought the boy was asking if Harper had twenty-two puppies, but Harper seemed to understand something that Angel didn't. "Is the ceiling twenty-two feet high?"

The boy's fingers stopped their tapping. Scotty popped two pieces of cheese and a cracker into his mouth at once. "Eight beams. Only two are weight-bearing. Why eight beams?" He turned his face towards Harper but did not look at her. His eyes remained upwards. "I would like to see your puppies."

"Of course." Harper moved closer to the boy. She did not touch him, almost remaining close as if to catch him. From her familiarity to Carter, Angel could only assume he was one of her students at the high school. She placed him at thirteen or fourteen.

Carter gently got off the stool. He brought the tips of his fingers to his mouth and blew on his fingers in three quick breaths. Then he climbed back onto the stool and tapped the bar three times. He got off the stool again. Carter repeated his process three times before he took a step forward towards Harper.

Scotty excitedly led the way and Carter followed.

Harper turned towards Bree and Aaron. "You guys coming?" Harper had a key to Pirate's apartment and permission to enter whenever Scotty wanted to see the puppies.

Aaron and Bree followed behind. Spot loped after them, excited to see his little friends. If Pirate wasn't caught up by the traffic at the gate, he should be back soon and could help with the puppies.

Lucky had already put his foot down and told Scotty that he could not have a puppy because he already had Spot. Scotty was upset about this but seemed to make peace with his dad's decision after Lila had been promised a puppy. Per Scotty, that was nearly as good as him being able to keep one. Originally four puppies, there were only three that now resided in the clubhouse. Sophia, Jasmine's best friend, had already taken ownership of one of the girl puppies. Angel knew that Pirate already planned on claiming one of the males, which meant there was only one other puppy who needed a forever home.

Angel was pouring herself a glass of lemonade as Pumpkin came out from the apartments. In the few days since discovering that he was the father of Cheryl's baby, he seemed to have lost his stride. He had a pale, almost gaunt, look about him.

From a purely woman's perspective who was completely in love with her man, Angel had to admit that Pumpkin was good looking. He kept his dark full beard trimmed neat and short. Generally, he had a backwards baseball cap on his head, but it was currently replaced with a skull cap. She'd seen him without a shirt on during the summer and in her tattoo shop and knew that he was hiding a six pack under that loose shirt.

Using his key, he unlocked the mini fridge under the bar, pulled out a beer, and popped it open on the side of the counter. Then he chugged half of it down.

Angel watched him in silence. She could feel the eyes of the women waiting to be interviewed on them. Picking up her lemonade glass, she reached over the bar to take Pumpkin's hand. She dragged him down the bar and through the swinging door that led to the commercial kitchen.

She dropped his hand as soon as the door swung closed. Angel crossed her arms over her chest. "You're not even a dad yet and you're already acting like a real shitty one. What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Pumpkin drained the rest of his beer and then tossed it into the recycling bin. "Apparently I was always destined to be a shitty dad."

"What are you talking about?" Angel demanded. "You still have close to three months before your son is born. You have plenty of time to learn what you need to."

Pumpkin shook his head. "It's not him as a baby that I'm worried about."

When he didn't elaborate, Angel gestured for him to continue with her right hand.

"What the fuck am I supposed to tell him when he starts asking where his mom is? ‘Well, you see, son, that's a really funny story. Your mommy was a whore I used to fuck around with for fun until she pissed off your Uncle Bulldog and he fired her. Then she started working for this really bad guy who threatened her so she tried to kidnap your Uncle Cage. Actually, drugged him too. As a result, your daddy had to take a paternity test to see whose balls you came out of because your mommy spread her legs for so many men, no one knew whose you were. Oh, and then your daddy killed your mommy because she was such a rotten person.'"

Angel stared at Pumpkin for a long moment. "I mean, that's a bit much for a kid to understand. Maybe just start with she's dead and save some of those details for after he turns eighteen."

Pumpkin did not find her answer amusing. "What the fuck do I know about being a father?" he shouted. Like the dam on his frustration had finally broken. "All of you make it look so simple . I never had a dad. Mine walked out on my mom when I was three because he liked fucking his secretary more than he liked being my dad. How the fuck do I know how a dad is supposed to act or dress or anything?""

"Simple?" Angel scoffed. "Pumpkin, I've been a mom for just over a year. My daughter has nearly died twice since entering my care. Do you think I'm doing a good job raising her?"

"You're doing an amazing job," Pumpkin told her. "That's the problem. I'll never be a perfect dad."

Angel rolled her eyes. "There's no such thing as perfect parenting. There's definitely shitty parenting. But perfect? Fuck no. It's a myth blogger moms create to boost their ratings. You will never be a perfect dad, Pumpkin. All you can strive to be is a good one."

"I'm not really sure that makes me feel any better."

Angel shrugged. "Bree came into my office to find Cage eating me out a few days ago. Would you still call me a good parent?"

Pumpkin's eyes widened. "Oh shit."

Angel gave him a knowing smile. "Parents are still human. We make mistakes. I promise you that you will make mistakes. It's how you handle those mistakes that your kids will remember."

Slowly, Pumpkin's panic seemed to wean. "Bree really saw you and Cage like that?"

Angel nodded. "Yup. Claimed she needed ice cream over at the diner to wipe the image from her mind, but I'm pretty sure she knew she could have gotten away with anything that day."

Pumpkin snorted. "That kid's kinda awesome."

"Yup," Angel said proudly.

"You know what would really help me out?" Pumpkin asked tentatively.

"What's that?"

"If we could get down to the cellar and you'd let me have a turn at Moore. Work out some of this frustration, you know."

Angel smiled mischievously at him. "I'll let you. As long as you make him bleed."

"For what he did to Bree? Man's got a lot of pain coming his way." Then Pumpkin's face fell. "We can't get down to the cellar with the clubhouse so busy."

"Yeah, that's definitely a downfall of the design."

"Get your man to build us a second secret entrance," Pumpkin told her.

Angel rolled her eyes at him. "Meet me here at midnight. I'll let you have a go at him."

Pumpkin threw his arm around her shoulder and hugged her tight. "Thanks, Angel. You're the best."

Together they walked back out into the main room. Harper and the kids had brought the puppies out to the main room. Bree and Aaron were sitting next to each other with a puppy between them. Scotty was putting a puppy on Spot's back for a "pony ride" while Carter sat with his legs crossed next to him. Carter was muttering to himself again while counting something on the floor. Possibly the wood planks? Pirate sat at the bar nursing a beer with the last puppy tucked in a football hold under his arm. A woman whom Angel assumed to be Carter's mother was now sitting on the couch behind them and one of the other applicants was absent.

Cage was standing near the entry doors to the clubhouse with Bones. As soon as he saw Angel enter, he smiled. When he saw Pumpkin's arm around her shoulders, his eyes narrowed. "Get your hands off my woman!" he called loudly.

Pumpkin just grinned widely and pulled Angel back against him. He dipped her down low like they were in a theatrical production and kissed her cheek. Then he stood her back up—and ran!

Angel wasn't the only one laughing as Cage chased after his club brother.