Chapter 11 Trojan

T he bar was the focal point of the entire clubhouse. If it were alive and had a heartbeat, the chambers would be the bar, chapel, and the president's office. The pulse, it's members.

The first thing I did whenever I passed through the bar was walk by the wall of fame and pound my fist against the wood, paying my respects to the fallen members and those who paved the way before me. Framed photos and events dating back to the founding days in nineteen eighty-five ranged from black and white to color. Polaroids too.

Inside the chapel, framed cuts of members we'd lost hung as a reminder that nothing in this life was guaranteed, we all had to meet our maker one day, and that brotherhood, loyalty, and trust were the foundation that brought us together.

That was why I left my room and headed straight to Hades. He needed to know about our woman and plans to make her our ol' lady. I didn't want anyone fucking with Sydney, especially Barbie. She'd done enough damage. We almost lost our Bright Eyes because of bullshit.

I lifted my hand to knock when I heard Raptor and War join me. Their boots landed with a thud before they stopped, saying without words that we were all in this together. "Hades needs to know we're claiming Sydney."

No one disagreed.

I rapped my knuckles against the wood. "Pres?"

"Come in," he hollered.

I opened the door and entered, Raptor and War close behind me. "Pres."

"What's on your mind?" He sat back, folding his hands over his stomach.

"We're claiming Sydney."

Hades dropped his hands and sat forward in his chair. "You know what you're sayin'?"

We did. "Yeah, pres," Raptor answered.

Hades looked my way. "And you?"

"She's under my skin, pres. I can't shake her."

He snorted. "First Slash, Havoc, and Gunner. Now, the three of you."

"None of us cross swords," I informed him.

"No sausage fest," Raptor added.

"You fuck who you want. Not my place to say unless it's underage pussy or Becca. Since it ain't, you can all go."

"One more thing, pres," War interjected. "Barbie is a problem."

He pursed his lips. "What now?"

"She's fucking with members again. I have a bad feeling she's gonna try to mess with Sydney."

"Can't got after her for what she might do."

"There's a catch, pres," I informed him. "Sydney is six months pregnant."

His eyebrows rose.

"With twin boys," Raptor revealed.

"Which one of you fuckers had the lucky swimmers?"

"We don't know," War admitted.

"Well, I suppose you could test for it." His humor faded. "I'll keep close tabs on Barbie. Something happens, I want to know right away."

"You got it, pres."

We filed out of his office and headed toward the bar.

"How long do you think Sydney will sleep?" Raptor asked.

War shrugged. "Don't know. I'm gonna go pick up the food she wanted. Don't need her or the babies gettin' too hungry."

"I'll go to her place and pack up some of her clothes. She's gonna need shit," Raptor reminded us.

"Go. I'll head back to the room and keep an eye on her in case she needs something."

We split up. I entered the hall, taking the stairs two at a time to reach my room. I'd locked it before I left since I didn't want to leave her vulnerable. None of the members would dare enter my room, but I didn't trust all the sweet butts. Some of them were too fucking desperate, namely Barbie.

I let myself in, closing the door with a soft click as I heard Sydney's deep, even breathing. She must have been exhausted. Not wanting to wake her, I sat by the small table in my room, parking my ass in a chair as I thumbed through my phone. Didn't have much patience for social media, so I didn't have much to occupy my time.

Her phone began ringing, but the volume was low enough that I didn't think it would wake her. I was right. It transferred to voicemail, and she never stirred.

Five minutes later, it rang again. I grew concerned when the persistent caller redialed her. Maybe it was an emergency. I hoped Sydney would forgive me for glancing at her screen. I wasn't the type who liked to invade someone else's privacy. If you couldn't trust the person you were with, you had nothing.

The phone lay on top of her open purse, so technically, I didn't do shit but look as it lit up again. When I saw the name, I frowned. Daryl Withers. Daryl.

Wait. Her fucking ex?

Oh, he was not fucking messing with my girl.

I grabbed her cell and slipped out of the room, closing the door and swiping across to answer before it could go to voicemail again. "Hello, this better be important," I growled, intentionally sounding gruff.

"Who the fuck is this?" a male voice asked. He sounded like a fucking jackass.

"Her boyfriend. You the fucker that cheated, hurt her, and stole her money?"

He sounded flustered. "That's my business."

"Wrong, motherfucker. You call my woman and harass her; you're messin' with me. That means you got a world of hurt comin' your way."

He laughed. "You don't scare me."

"That's because you ain't met me yet, boy."

I heard his intake of breath and could tell that pissed him off. Good.

"Stay away from Sydney. You don't call her, text her, or contact her. If you want to talk, come to the Feral Rebels MC clubhouse. I'll be ready."

"And you are?"

"Not just me, you dumb fucker. She's got all of us watchin' her back. Ask for Raptor, Trojan, and War. We all want a piece of you."

I hung up, not bothering to let him respond. Fuck him.

Since Sydney was still sleeping, I locked my door again and marched downstairs to talk to Void. He needed to dig up everything he could find on Daryl. I wanted to make that asshole apologize to Sydney and pay her back the money he stole.

AWARENESS SLOWLY LEAKED into my conscious mind, prickling at the back of my skull until I opened my eyes. Blinking, I pushed off the hot blanket and sat up with a yawn. It took a few seconds to notice I wasn't alone.

Three pairs of eyes were staring at me. Creepy.

A heavenly aroma snagged my attention, and I scrambled across the bed for the bag War held out. He laughed when I reached for it, pulling me onto his lap. There were worse ways I could eat a meal.

Once I unwrapped my cheeseburger, I took a big bite, chewing as I relaxed against his chest.

"You're making dangerously sexy noises, Little Heathen."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm starving," I replied once I swallowed, immediately taking another bite.

"You enjoy it," Trojan laughed. "Ignore the big grumpy one."

War scowled.

I kissed his jaw between bites. "You're my favorite right now."

"Because I brought you food?" Amusement softened the hard lines around his eyes and mouth.

"Yep."

They watched as I ate, and I wondered if they were waiting for me to finish because they had something to say. It was too quiet, almost stilted.

"Are we okay?" I asked, finishing off the burger. "You're all being weird."

"We're better than okay," Raptor promised.

"But we got shit to discuss." War slid his arm around me, hugging me closer. "Finish eating. Then, we'll talk."

I decided it was too stressful to wait. "The nuggets and fruit aren't going anywhere. What's going on?"

"Daryl called your phone while you were sleeping." Trojan scooted closer to his chair and placed her cell in her palm. "I wasn't invading your privacy, but he wouldn't stop calling. Fucking blew up your phone, and I didn't want it to wake you. When I glanced at the screen, I saw his name."

"You talked to him," I guessed. "What did he say?"

"Not much," Raptor growled.

"Fucking coward," War added.

"I told him to stay away from you. He'll be dealing with me, War, and Raptor if he harasses you again."

"Then it's over?" Relief flooded my body. "Finally. He's been impossible. The messages, calls, and texts are almost constant."

"Does he threaten you?" War rumbled.

"Well, yes, but it's because I won the settlement. He's court-ordered to pay me back what he stole plus damages."

Trojan whistled. "He'll have to get over it. If he doesn't, we'll set him straight."

"Yeah, we will," Raptor agreed.

"That sounds ominous," I replied, digging into my bag for the nuggets. I found the container and pulled it free with a honey mustard container, digging in as the babies began moving again. They sure loved it when I ate.

"You should know what I do for the club," Raptor informed me. "We're all a family now. You, us, the babies. No secrets."

"Okay." I shrugged. It couldn't be that bad. Right?

"I'm a cleaner."

I chewed my nugget and swallowed it, dunking another in sauce. "That sounds wholesome."

All three bikers burst into laughter.

"Uh, no, Precious." He shook his head with mirth. "A cleaner is a wet work specialist. I clean specific kinds of messes."

"And those are?" I paused, waiting to eat my nugget.

"The bloody kind."

I wrinkled my nose. "Well," I announced, popping my nugget into my mouth and chewing, taking a few seconds to consider what he said. "I guess that makes you the diaper expert."

He paled. "The fuck?"

"Yeah, Rap, you get all the dirty diapers. You know, since it's your specialty."

War's chest shook with silent laughter.

Trojan held his side, doubled over as tears leaked from his eyes.

"What about you two? Anything I should know?"

They both sobered, shaking their heads.

"Well, I have a question."

They all seemed a little wary.

"Where do I sleep now that I'm moving in?"