2. In Control （Dust）

2

In Control (Dust)

Fourteen Months Earlier

“ F uck me blind as a bat,” I whispered underneath my breath the second I saw her, taking a long draw off my beer.

Sure, there were plenty of hot chicks at a club wedding, but none of them looked like this. They wore the same skimpy, desperate shit I'd seen a thousand times since I put on this patch. Same stuff that bored my cock to sleep.

Skin tight tank tops and ass grabbing shorts got the younger brothers hard, and didn't do a thing for any man who'd had his fill of sluts over the last couple decades.

This chick was different. Lavender heels, a long purple dress with frills like she'd borrowed it from a palace, designer purse wedged against her tit that must've cost three times the leather on my cut.

Too good to be here at Firefly and Cora's wedding. Hotter than she had any business being. Completely off limits, and my dick throbbed when it wanted the impossible.

I sucked down the rest of my brew and fished out my pipe. Needed to take in a good, long pull from southern tobacco before I laid my lines on a honey like her.

“Shit, Prez, you look like you had one too many already. Can't believe I'm gonna be next, right?” Skin, my Treasurer, came up next to me and slapped my shoulder.

“Can't believe he beat your slow ass to the punch, yeah. When's your wedding, boy?” I growled, banging his fist.

“Soon as Meg and me sort out the business with the girls at the bar. That business doesn't run itself, you know. It'd sure be nice to knock the Deads flat, too, before we've got any more wedding bells ringing in this club.”

“Yeah,” I said, blowing a wisp of smoke out my mouth, my eyes never leaving the girl in the corner, laughing while she chattered away with our newly married Firefly and his old lady, Cora. “We'll tear their balls off sooner or later. Don't wait for them, brother. At the rate it's going, you're gonna watch Joker or Sixty tie the knot before you.”

He laughed because I'd just told the dumbest joke in the world. Our Veep, Joker, was fucking crazy. If he ever started caring about anything except his dead brother and that big ass Irish Wolfound he just got, I'd swallow my own pipe.

And Sixty? Forget it. That boy never went after anything except the loosest pussy when he didn't have oil on his hands from working in the garages.

“Whatever, Prez. I see where your mind's at tonight.” Skin winked, following my gaze over to the little table where Miss Sexy, Purple, and Mysterious sat. “Christ, you know who she is, right?”

No, but you better start talkin', I thought, giving him a look that said as much.

Skinny boy's grin only got bigger. “Fuck it. I gotta find my old lady and party a little more. I'll leave you to find out. More fun that way.”

He knew I wouldn't chase him down and get in his face for screwing around. Not at a brother's wedding, when nothing ever rolled except good times aplenty.

Growling frustration, I put out my pipe and stuffed it back in my pocket. Then I straightened my leather cut on my shoulders and headed straight for her.

Firefly and Cora slipped away just a minute before, leaving me a perfect opening. Not like I needed one. Talking to pussy and reeling it in came easy.

“You look like you oughta have a champagne flute in your hand, not a damned Jack and coke,” I tell her, taking the seat across from her.

Turning slowly, I gave her a solid ten seconds to take me in. Fuck, her big blue eyes looked beautiful when they went wide, and liked what they saw.

Women always liked what they saw when I stood in front of 'em. Always.

“Why's that?” she said, narrowing her eyes, flicking her brunette hair over her shoulder. “Do I really look so out of place? Like I don't enjoy getting drunk off my ass at my own brother's wedding?”

Brother? Shit.

I thought I recognized those big blue eyes somewhere. I did a quick turn, looking over my shoulder, and saw Firefly dancing in a slow, drunken, lovestruck embrace with his new woman .

The impossible just became un-fucking-thinkable.

“Holy Hannah,” I said with a smirk, turning back to her. “So, that's who you are? Little Hannah Davis? Fuck...you must've been going to your first prom last time I saw you ridin' on the back of Firefly's bike.”

“Ain't so little anymore, Dusty.”

“No, darlin'.” No you ain't, I think to myself, admiring her like a slow sip of good whiskey.

How that skinny little girl filled out, sprouted tits as big as melons, had to be one of the great mysteries of the universe. Couldn't see her hips or legs, hiding under the table, but damn if I didn't want to.

“Are you just going to ogle me all evening, or ask me to dance?” Her glass went to her hot red lips, draining the last of her drink.

For a chance to see those legs, and feel every hot inch of her pressed against me? I'd dance the fuckin' waltz.

“Come on,” I said, extending a hand.

I pulled her up and we walked out to the little patio, where several other couples mingled. Most of the brothers had one or two sluts hanging on their arms, except for the two boys hitched to their old ladies.

Lion and Tin, our two newest brothers, were too busy sucking face with their girls to call it a dance anymore. Insane, really, because they'd both got beaten to shit a little while ago during a run-in with the Atlanta Torches MC.

Classic rock blasted through the outdoor stereo. A swarm of fireflies lit up the night all around us, like they'd come down from heaven to pay homage to Hannah's big brother on his wedding night.

“Firefly talks about you every so often,” I said, grabbing her waist and pulling her in, swaying with her to the beat. “You're some hot shot, globe trekking, caviar snorting businesswoman now, yeah?”

“Close.” She looked up, bathing me in eyes as big and blue as marbles. “I like to live fast and hard these days. Something you know a few things about with business and all, I'm sure.”

“Darlin', I was born in it. You had to learn. I'm impressed.”

Just then, my dick was pretty damned impressed with those hips. Turning in my arms, she teased me, pushing my hands back across her belly. Next few beats, and her ass started moving into my crotch, dangerously close to grinding.

Didn't know if I was harder because she looked so good, or because she was a brother's sis. One more wicked, taboo thrill I didn't need to save my ass from trouble.

“Seen your face on some of the billboards,” I growled into her ear. “Even here in Knoxville. Every girl with a phone is using your app, prowling for dick. You're something else, using your own sweet face for marketing your hookup machine.”

“Mm-hmm,” she purred, bending her sweet ass into me again. “It's not for sex, you know. It's for casual, low pressure, flirty and fun meetings for busy professionals and –“

“Yeah, yeah. Firefly sang the jingle for us a few weeks ago. Need a date? Take a date! Got a minute? Get a drink! ” Lending her a hand, I watched her turn around as the song wrapped up, reciting her ad's tag-line. “Don't tell me you're using that thing to find yourself boyfriends, too.”

She smiled slowly, drifting into my arms, pushing her hands across my neck. “Don't need to. Believe it or not, the straight-laced business guys and marathon runners on there ain't my type.”

“No? Then who the fuck is?”

I already had a good idea, but I wanted her lips to do the talking. They did, a second later, when she brought her face so close to mine I could feel her breath on my lips.

“Don't play dumb, Dusty. I like my guys big as trees and fearless, but never stupid. My brother's found himself a girl because she knows he's got a brain underneath the muscles and ink. He wouldn't stay in this club if that weren't true for all his brothers.”

“Babe, you know it,” I growled. “Any man who's stupid doesn't get far with this patch. Ain't just our fancy app that vets people. We do it the old fashioned way.”

Honestly, only thing I wanted to vet right now was how wet she'd be if I pushed my hand up her skirt. Fuck, I couldn't hold back any more.

Whatever had gotten into her tonight, the booze or the break from business, I never wasted time when there was a woman down to fuck in front of me. My hand snaked down her spine, spreading flat at the top of her hips, before gliding lower.

She'd never need any help from a computer to find a man with these hips. Hell no .

Couldn't decide if I liked her top or bottom better. One thing's for sure – she had the kind a woman's blessed with when it's her destiny to have a couple kids deep inside her.

'Course, kids were about the last thing on my mind right about now. My dick went full primal while I caressed her curves, imagining how hot she'd get straddling me, gripping her ass, riding me all the way home.

We danced the rest of the tune. Rock turned into Johnny Cash, country and hard beats coming together like the hearts banging themselves wild in the darkness tonight.

When the music died, she tried to pull away, the little minx. Damn if I didn't growl, catch her by the wrist, and jerk her back to me.

“Where you think you're going, darlin'?” I whispered, my teeth against her ear. “We've got a lot more catchin' up to do. This ain't over.”

Caressing her cheek with one hand, I tipped her face to mine, saw it was begging to be kissed. I wondered what kind of voodoo shit got slipped into the club's whiskey tonight to make me seriously consider laying a brother's little sis.

“Keep it in your pants just a little longer. I have to see Huck and Cora one more time before they leave. We'll catch up more later, Dusty. Maybe we can talk business,” she said, flashing me a wink over her shoulder as she pulled away.

“Business?” I snorted. Only business with her that interested me was finding out how wet she'd be when I slid my hand between her thighs.

“Sure, why not? Maybe I'll make you an offer you can't refuse. Later, Dusty. Promise. ”

Promise. Fuck, something about that word rolling off her sugary lips turned my cock from steel to diamond.

What the hell would happen if I brought her into my office, threw her across my desk, and reached underneath that fancy purple dress, ripping her panties off?

It'd been too long since I had any fun with a girl I was really into. Always too much club biz tying me down, too many wars and missing pennies in the club's coffers to worry about. We were just getting on our feet after my old man left us damned near broke before passing me the gavel.

Slowly, I reached for my pipe, sinking my teeth into the wood when I gave it a light. Oddly disappointing tonight.

Tobacco didn't taste half as good as I imagined Hannah tasting on my lips. If I didn't have her scent, her sweat, her cream on my tongue by the end of the night, I'd punch the mirror when I saw myself in it the next morning for letting her slip away.

Normally, fucking around with a brother's family in this club was suicide. Dumber than crashing your ride into the nearest police station. Hannah, though...she might be worth the trouble. Just for tonight.

I nodded to myself, watching the thick, rich tobacco smoke curling out my lips. Yeah, boy, you're damned near fucked.

Some boys know a man shouldn't keep stacking his plate high when he's already got more than he can swallow. Not me. Not now. I'd risk the drama and blows to the face from a very pissed off Firefly if it meant having Hannah Sexy Davis' notch in my bedpost.

They were busy talking for about an hour. I watched Hannah, Firefly, and Cora at the dinner table outta the corner of my eye while I shot the shit with Joker and Sixty.

My table jerked in between bites of rib. My Veep was doing that damned thing with the knife again, slamming the blade through the gaps in his fingers like a circus freak interviewing for a new job. Or just a fuckin' idiot looking for an express ticket to the emergency room.

“That's enough,” I said, looking up at him. “Ain't it time to take that dog for some fresh air, or something?”

He always stared at me with those hazel, almost gold eyes. Looks that made me wonder if there was anybody home. “Sure, Prez.”

He stood up a second later while I shook my head. I watched him walk off with the big Irish Wolfound's leash in his hands. If it weren't for that dog keeping him grounded, I'd have a helluva time trusting anything going on in that boy's head.

Wasn't his fault, though. Several years ago, a few mean motherfuckers from the Deadhands MC killed his twin brother and put their grandpa in a nursing home. I promised him vengeance – but only when the club got its balls back, and had the force to make those bastards extinct.

Revenge, you couldn't fuck up. Going against the Deads? Absolute death sentence, unless every single one of your ducks was in a row, and armed to the goddamned beak .

I raised my beer to my lips. Didn't taste as good, thinking about Joker's shit. One more dirty little secret I'd hidden from the brothers for their own good. Trouble with secrets was, they never stayed buried forever.

“Shit, Prez, you've been sitting there all hour like a statue. Don't you want to watch the happy couple kiss?” Sixty smiled, stroking his goatee, clanging his bottle loudly one more time.

Cora and Firefly must've been getting damned tired of it. Or maybe it was one more excuse to lock lips while the whole club looked on. Must've been a thousand wedding kisses already that night, and adding one more wouldn't hurt.

“Give the girl a break,” I said. “She's carrying his kid.”

“Yeah, yeah, maybe you're right! Easy to forget she's knocked up. Least they're doing things in the right order, or close enough,” Sixty said. He pulled out a smoke and put it between his lips. “Poor woman's gonna need a day to rest up after big boy gets done with her tonight.”

I nodded, giving him a dirty look. He might be right, but their fuckin' wasn't any of his business.

“Easy, brother. You're not talkin' about her like she's a piece of fuckin' meat. Cora's an old lady now. Part of the club's extended family. Woman deserves the same respect you give my ma, Meg, and anybody else who puts a brother's ink on her skin.”

Deflated, he looked at me, taking a long drag on his cig. “You're the boss. Hell, I'm surprised they're sticking around here so long. They gonna hang out there, chattering away with Firefly's sis all night? ”

“No,” I said, taking my cue to stand up and stretch.

Not just no. Fuck no.

“She's got business with me,” I said, holding in a smile when I thought about calling my balls on her clit 'business.'

I headed over, stopping behind Hannah's shoulder. Didn't say anything 'til I had Firefly's attention.

“What the fuck you two still doing here?” I asked. “Hit the road and get this gal out on her honeymoon, boy. That's an order. Besides, I'm fixing to borrow your sis for a minute. Got something business-like to discuss in the backroom.”

Hannah turned around and flashed me a smile, slowly standing with the happy couple. Purple never looked so good. Couldn't wait to tear it off her.

“Club business, or personal?” Firefly straightened, giving me an icy stare. Perfect with those blue eyes in his head, though they look a helluva lot prettier in Hannah's face.

“You wouldn't understand how to mix business and pleasure, Huck,” Hannah chirped, giving her brother crap like any little sister should.

Firefly didn't look too happy. For a second, I thought I might be seeing that trouble flirting with me sooner, rather than later. But then he put his hand out, took mine, and gave it the strong grip only another vet wearing the patch wields.

“Whatever. I'm too damned happy today to give a damn,” Firefly said. “Come on, darlin'. Let's blow this fuckin' bash.”

Soon as they were gone, Hannah pushed into my arms. Took a long, hot second running my hands through that silky chestnut hair. If there weren't a dozen people around us, I'd lay her out on this table and take everything she offered, just like a starving animal.

“It's later now, ain't it, darlin'?”

“My car, or your office?”

“Office,” I growled. My dick jerked in my pants, alive with the fire in my blood.

“Great. I'll meet you there.” She pulled away just in time, heading into the clubhouse, leaving me one more full, beautiful view of that ass I needed bouncing on my cock.

Didn't take me long to catch up. I headed through the crowd one more time, slapping hands with several of the boys and saying a few words. Took the long way in, through the garages attached to our building, where I found Firefly and Cora heading to their honeymoon.

I stopped to say a few words to Cora on the way out. Poor girl had been through hell. Her daddy, my old friend Jimmy, offed himself a few months ago. Left her in deep shit when she came to the club for protection. Now, she'd found her happy ending, long overdue.

Marching on in, I moved past the bar, ignoring a couple prospects who'd had too much and passed out on the floor.

Soon as I got into my office, I saw Hannah draped across my desk, her legs swinging off the edge. Perfectly positioned, ready for me to pull apart and sink my tongue into her.

Sweet merciful fuck. “You learn how to look all sexy in between that coding, darlin', or does it just come natural? ”

“Why don't you find out?” she said, pursing her lips.

I loved a challenge – especially when it made my dick harder. I stepped up, pulled her into my arms, and finally buried my lips on hers.

Her heat, her sweetness, her kiss...fuckin' divine was the phrase that came to mind. That phrase, plus a hundred more, at least a dozen too crude to say.

Our lips twined together, hungry as hell. When my tongue found hers, I only let it dance for a fraction of a second. When my face peeled away, she had her hand on my cheek, roaming across my stubble.

Her eyes were narrowed, begging, hating me already for teasing so good. “What? You really want it fast and hard that bad? Didn't think you'd be the type to skip the foreplay,” I said, raising my eyebrows.

Her hands moved to my chest, pushing against it. “You wish. Actually, a little foreplay is all you're getting tonight, Dusty.”

She can't be fuckin' serious. I blinked three times before I could move my lips.

“Bullshit,” I said, sliding my hand up her thigh, dangerously close to the pussy I knew was soaked a few inches higher.

“Truth. I'm all grown up and I like new experiences, but I don't just lay down with any old guy. I'm Huck's sister, after all. I have standards.” She smiled so sweetly I wanted to bite that damn bottom lip and never let go 'til she got naked. “You're a big, grown man...older than the rest. More mature. You can control yourself, right? Just a little make out session tonight, and then we can decide where we want to go from there.”

Growling, I wrapped my hands around her waist, jerking her close to my chest. Two seconds later, I had her pinned against my desk, smashing my lips into hers so hard it hurt.

Control? Goddamned control?! I'd show her who had it, and then some.

My dick ached like hell the entire time we thrashed lips. Couldn't think about anything else except tearing off her clothes.

I wouldn't crack, playing my part in this silly ass game 'til she begged to suck my cock.

How many years had it been? I'd never given her a second look before she had these curves, never saw her as anything except my closest brother's little sis.

In the blink of an eye, she'd become a woman. And what a woman with her big, soft tits pressed flush against my chest, two sweet nipples screaming to be sucked underneath that wine colored dress.

We barely came up for air. Her breath grew hotter in my mouth, sweeter by several magnitudes. Layers of sweat rolled off us in the humid Dixie night. Nothing perched on top of my desk survived without crashing to the floor.

Her wrists twitched in my hands toward the end of it. Hannah's hips were grinding on mine again, moving that perfect V between her legs against my cock. All the fabric in the way didn't matter worth a damn.

When her lungs hitched the last time and she bent her legs around me, digging her heels into the backs of my legs, I almost blew my load in my pants.

She came hard, into my mouth, without even getting naked. I'd done a lot of things with a woman in my life, but this was the first time they'd never come from just my kiss.

Smiling, I watched her break away for desperately needed air. “That was a lot more than just kissing, darlin'. Looks like you'd better work on that control.”

I turned around, tucking my shirt back into my waist, tangled up in the heat of the moment.

And fuck, what a moment.

“Yeah...sure.” She picked herself up from my desk, trying to be sarcastic.

Both our eyes go straight down to her legs. They were trembling, still shaking after the dry, fiery orgasm I'd fucked into her with just my lips on hers.

Christ. Normally, seeing that would be a savage invitation for more, everything we should've done skin-on-skin the first time.

Too bad. I wasn't gonna crack.

She slid off my desk slowly, leaning on it for a few more seconds to replenish her lungs. I walked over, cupped her chin in my palm, running the other hand straight through those long locks that smelled as good as she looked. Her hair looked even sexier when it was messy, with just the right sweat halo brimming on her forehead.

“You're hot as hell, Hannah. Don't know what the fuck kinda game you're playing here tonight, but if you ever want to do this again naked, you know where to find me. ”

Her smile pulled tight across her lips. Was she really blushing from just my words after all that like an innocent school girl?

“I have to fly out to Seattle tomorrow, Dusty. Business meeting with my old mentor, Ty Sterner.”

I cocked my head and squinted. “You mean that rich kid who married his own sister?”

“ Step-sister. He's more than just tabloid fodder, believe me,” she said, running her fingers slowly across my chest. My cock jerked, hornier than ever to be inside her. “You have your business. I have mine. Maybe we can have dinner and see what's next on the menu once I'm back in town.”

“Next? Babe, you're gonna have to beg for my tongue next time. Not to mention anything else.” Her eyes went wide, making me grin like mad. “Don't give me that look. You're the one who started it. Lucky you, I like being in control. Just as much as I like a challenge with the right woman.”

Her lips turned up in another smile, and then she sauntered past me like a cat who'd had her fill on milk. “I'm flattered that you think of me that way, Dusty. Truth be told, I'm too busy to settle down anytime soon. I'm just here to have some fun with you and...well, whoever else I choose.”

Whoa.

“Whoa!” I growled, stepping in front of her to block the door. “Easy, darlin'. You know exactly what I meant, and that's nothin' for us to laugh about. We're both gonna play it real cool, real casual, and that's where it ends. I'm gonna have to put a moratorium on playing heartbreaker here because I don't want Firefly breaking my nose when you run to him all disappointed.”

She grinned, a little too forced and bitter for my liking. “You think I want my brother worrying about me when he's playing family man? Come on, Dusty, I'm not helpless. I'm just jerking your chain.”

What-the-fuck ever, darlin'. Long as you jerk something else in the near future, I thought, my mind racing a hundred miles an hour.

The next growl leaving my lips was angrier. Made her feel it when we kissed one more time, my fist tugging at her hair, bringing her sweet mouth into mine.

“Goodnight, Hannah. You'll be seeing a whole lot more of me soon.”

“Oh, I hope.”

I backed off the door and watched her leave me with nothing more than another wink, plus the biggest blue balls in the entire world. Fuck.

I needed something to take the edge off. It was still a wedding party, after all, so I headed for the bar, grabbing the closest bottle of Jack I could find.

Didn't crack it open 'til after I rode my bike home. My place wasn't much to look at, just a functional little house on the edge of town, decorated with old Harley posters, Deadly Pistols patches in frames, and a few Civil War relics passed down from my great great grandpa.

I drank deep that night in bed, one hand on my dick. Sucked down a shot for every time she'd almost made me blow, setting me on fire like no woman had since...well, fuck, I couldn't remember.

It had been a long damned time. Almost as long as this club was weighed down with its woes, ever since my old man died and left me to clean up his wreck.

Woke up the next morning smelling heaven. Eggs...bacon...coffee?

What the fuck? I jerked up, shaking off my hangover, wondering who the hell was in my house cooking up a banquet.

I had one hand on the loaded nine I always kept next to me on my nightstand, ready to switch off the safety, when I heard her singing country to herself. Fuck, it was just Ma, sneaking in early for a breakfast. It had been awhile since the last time she'd done it.

Throwing my legs over the bed, I found a fresh shirt and rolled it on, getting into my jeans. I was still straightening my cut on my shoulders when I walked into the kitchen. Stainless steel caught my reflection, mirroring my patches from a dozen different angles.

Blood red, outlaw black, fiery yellow. Skulls and daggers and pistols everywhere. What I'd earned in sweat and blood, I wore proud, every day of my life I went out on the road or showed up at the businesses I owned.

“Mornin', Dusty,” Ma said, loading a plate of good food for me while I pulled up a chair at the counter. “You look like you just peeled yourself off the road. Too much fun at the wedding last night? ”

“Something like that.” I shook my head.

Forty one years old, and I still took barbs from my mother. Sure as hell didn't mind her cooking for me, though. Woman had a knack for making awesome breakfasts, huge sandwiches, and the best damned stroganoff a man ever had out of thin air.

Ma sat down next to me with her plate and coffee cup while I dug into my food. “Cora looked so pretty yesterday, wearing my dress. I'm happy I could loan it to her,” she said.

“Yeah, it did the job. I'm sure she appreciated it, Ma. Lord knows she couldn't have rustled up anything better with Firefly on her ass to get hitched, soon as he found out about the kid.”

Ma looked me up and down, taking a long slurp off her coffee. I swear she had more energy than anybody wearing the patch, a scary spark for a gray haired lady pushing seventy, and still working at the hospital part time when she wasn't fixing up wounds for our boys, or bringing us biscuits and gravy on the weekends.

“Joker's gonna be next,” she said, smiling like she could see straight into the future. “I just have a gut feeling about that boy. He's hurt too much not to snatch up a good woman the minute she walks into his life.”

I swallowed my food and grunted. “Don't hold your breath too long, Ma. He doesn't care about anything except that damned dog and getting payback for Piece.”

She stared down at her plate, slowly taking a bite. “You'll be surprised. I think we'll all be real soon. Weddings in this club come fast, like lightning. It was the same for me and your father. Whatever else changes in this club, I don't think that ever will.”

I gave her a long, hard look. She talked about my old man too much for a woman whose marriage went to total shit during the last decade.

Somehow, she loved him through it all. She loved him through his boozing, his gambling, his women. Taking on too many debts and making too many enemies, all the bullshit we're still mopping up together as a crew.

“One thing's for sure – it'll be Joker before it's me,” I said, helping myself to some more bacon to go with my coffee. “Least we'll have a few kids hanging around the family get togethers soon, thanks to Meg and Cora. Only a matter of time before Skinny boy catches up to Firefly in the baby department.”

“ Nope. You don't get off that easy, Daniel Grayson.” She wagged a finger at me and I stopped in mid-step.

Fuck, I hated it when she used my real name. 'Course, she was the only woman entitled to call me anything except Dust, seeing how she gave me birth. Still left a bad taste in my mouth.

I hadn't been called Daniel or Captain Grayson since my time in the Merchant Marines, helping protect America's trade ships from pirates in the Indian Ocean.

Yes, pirates . Merciless motherfuckers who'd hack heads off with dirty machetes, assuming they didn't get you with a rocket propelled grenade first, straight from their speedboats. Good, dangerous practice for coming home to Knoxville and taking over this club, dealing with the Deads, the Torches, and other mean sonsofbitches who had all the Somali pirates' greed and none of their restraint.

“You owe me at least one grandbaby sooner or later. The whole wife and family thing, well, that's your choice,” Ma snapped, draining the last dregs from her mug. “Look at this place!”

She turned on the stool, motioning toward the Civil War sword I had hanging on the mantle. “Do you really think Early would want his blood going to nothing? While you do – what, exactly? Get your hands dirty fixing cars and riding with the boys? Making money – for what?”

“We both know I don't give two shits about what dad would've wanted,” I growled. “Family didn't do him much good when he really went off the rails.”

Ma's coffee cup clanked down hard. Fuck, now I'd done it. She never cried openly anymore, but the hurt never died, all the pain he'd given her before he shuffled off his mortal coil.

“Aw, Ma, come on. I didn't mean it like that. You're like a mother to this whole club, you know, and a damned good one to me and everybody else. That's never gonna change.” Grabbing her hand, I gave it a squeeze, before heading for the coffee thermos on the counter to refresh her cup.

“Maybe I care about your future, Daniel. Just like I care about my poor dead husband's past.” She stood up, without bothering to finish her toast or the fresh coffee. “I have to get going. I'm going to be late for my shift.”

Part of me wanted to run after her. But I'd fucked up like this before, and this routine had gotten way too familiar.

“Let's do lunch. I'm taking my yearly trip down to Atlanta soon since everything's quiet up here.”

“Okay, fine. I'd like that,” she said quietly, halfway out the door. “Just get yourself there and back in one piece.”

The door slammed shut on her way out, leaving me alone on a beautiful morning. Wouldn't be the first time.

I knew how it went from here.

I'd feel like shit for the rest of the day – at least 'til I hit the road and fresh mountain air worked its balm. Eventually, Ma would lick her wounds and show up here again unannounced.

Sooner if, God forbid, something happened in the club warranting her medical talents.

I chugged the rest of my coffee and headed into the back for a quick shower before I hit the road. I'd be checking out the Ruby Heel, our new titty bar in town, managed by Meg and Cora.

The club was making more money these days by going clean, or close enough to it. Titty bars and chop shops for cars and bikes were a hell of a lot safer than the black market. If only the clean stuff made as much coin as going dirty.

Our growing gun trade was the ultimate dream. Carving ourselves a route from Knoxville to the sea, one worth gaining our club attention from the bigger clubs out West, the Devils and the Grizzlies MC. If we could get their greedy asses to trade with us and our friends on the coast, we'd be raking in so much money this club would never worry about the vault going empty again.

Just one problem: the Deadhands were still in the way. God willing, I'd hatch the perfect plan to wipe their asses out soon, and claim revenge for Joker and everybody else who'd ever been fucked by their sick club.

Work called, and she was a fuckin' slave driver. I couldn't afford distractions like Ma's hurt feelings, or getting myself tangled up with any broad. Even if Hannah was a lot better than most.

I had a mission, staring me in the face every damned day I woke up. And when I sunk my teeth into a calling, I never, ever let go.