Chapter 19

This is bullshit!I storm into the clubhouse, the door slamming shut echoing through the room.

As I walk, Marni"s voice suddenly pierces the silence. "Watch it, asshole! You almost hit me with the door."

My eyes burn into hers as I swiftly turn around, an intense stare conveying my emotions. Fuck, I almost slammed the door on her. Dammit. I'm a dick, but I wouldn't hurt a child and that's what she is for a few more weeks. "I'm sorry."

Hawk is at Iggie's now, getting the pictures to see if we can find out who sent them or took them. We can"t say for certain if it"s two different individuals or not. There"s a traitor in this clubhouse who is trying to ruin my relationship with Iggie and betray Hell's Mayhem.

That was a stupid fucking move though, because it just made my suspect pool small as hell. The same two who are on shit patrol. I wouldn't doubt if it's both of them. They're so far up each other's ass.

"Kiki!" She quickly jumps off of Rubble"s lap and rushes over to me.

"What's up, Pres?"

"This is Marni." I point to my new guest. "Marni, this is Kiki. She's a club whore and by choice, before you even ask. Anyway. Kiki, take Marni to one of the empty rooms and get her situated with clothes or anything else she needs. She"ll be stayin' with us for a while. So I need you to keep an eye on her. Keep her with you at all times. Shit is gettin' ready to go down in here, and she doesn't need to get involved."

"Not complainin' or arguin', Pres, but what about my, umm… other duties?" Kiki asks.

I groan, closing my eyes and rolling them, trying to hide my irritation. What I'm about to say is going to piss off some of the brothers, but they can deal with it.

"You're off duty. If anyone has a problem with it, they can take it up with me. Cody, Gabe, and Daria can handle it until I get to the bottom of the issue." I grab her elbow and pull her to the side so Marni can't hear us. "I want you to keep your eyes and ears open, Kiki. Anything seems out of the ordinary, you come directly to me. Ya feel me?"

"Yes, Steel," she says, rising to her tiptoes and kissing my cheek. "Come on, Marni." She grabs the teen by the hand and drags her from the room.

"Kiki, what the hell, baby? This boner ain't gonna fuck itself!" Rubble hollers after her, laughing.

"Listen up!" I shout, getting the attention of everyone in the room. "Kiki is closed for business. You wanna nut? You call one of the others. She's takin' care of some shit for me for a bit."

"This about that hot little thing you brought back with you? She a new whore?" Pepper asks.

"Her name's Marni and she's underage. She helped us out and we're returnin' the favor. Touch her and I'll cut your fuckin' cock off." I narrow my eyes at him, so he knows how serious I am. My tolerance for bullshit is pretty high, but I won't have some young girl scared to be in my clubhouse.

Hawk strolls through the door, a smirk playing on his lips, waving an envelope at me.

"Officers, my office now." I head that way, unlock the door, and sink into my chair behind my desk. Leaning forward, I place my elbows on the desktop and press my forehead into my hands, my fingers tangling in my brown locks. This got fucked quickly and I want it resolved even quicker.

Iggie isn't like Bre and Alisha. Did I do what they accused me of? Yes. I learned from it and now harness that obsessive energy in more productive ways. Iggie was hesitant to begin with, so I pulled back and tried to show him I'm different. But someone had to drag my past back into the spotlight and ruin it.

I intended to open up to Iggie about my past and challenges, but the opportunity never presented itself. The plan was set. Help him with the tree thing for work, take him to a nice dinner, and tell him.

Fuck! I slam my fist on the desk, causing a loud thud to reverberate through the room.

Once everyone is in my office, I hear the click of the door as Pistol shuts it firmly, locking it. Hawk drops the envelope to my desk. I grab it, open it, and pull out what Iggie gave him.

First is a picture of us naked in my bedroom. I'm balls deep inside him, and he's biting his bottom lip as he looks at me. A foreboding red X marks my face, impossible to ignore. Who the fuck was in my bedroom and took this shit? Only someone in the club could get access to my room. Even then, I keep it locked, so who snuck in?

The next is that night I sucked him off in the alley after dinner. I'm on my knees, his cock down my throat and his head is against the building behind him, pure bliss on his features. Same as the first, my face has a red X over it.

My pulse quickens at the mere sight of us together. It"s only been a few hours, but I already ache with an unbearable longing for Iggie. Not just his body, either. The urge to text him and provide comfort, letting him know that things will work out, is strong. We're gonna figure out who took and sent these pictures. They'll pay for scaring Iggie and invading our privacy.

Placing the pictures on my desk, I carefully examine the faces of each and every one of my officers. My throat burns and a sour taste fills my mouth at what I'm about to say. "Ya'll have seen me naked and I couldn't give a fuck. But you're about to see Ignatius in compromisin' positions. I'm only showing you so you can help me get to the bottom of this. Don't forget it. He is mine."

Since they"re my closest brothers, I trust them implicitly, but my attitude shifts when it comes to Iggie. Pistol quickly snatches the pictures and carefully inspects them before handing them over to Viper and so on.

Pistol speaks first. "Nothin' I can see in the pictures themselves, but I definitely think whoever took them and sent them is not happy you and Iggie are together. Seems they have their own obsession."

"I agree, but they have to be workin' with someone in the club to get the pic of us in my room here. No one has been here except brothers and whores. No family, no other clubs, no service workers. So who has ties to Iggie in the club?" Zero asks.

"I ran a background search on Iggie to ensure he wasn"t part of a Hellhound family. I didn"t find anything. Ignatius Jack Harper, twenty-eight, white male. Born to Patricia and Douglas Harper. Graduated college from Banford with a major in business and minor in communications. Started working at Howards a few years back and never left. Best friend Draco Luther and that's it. His work history and only friend vouch for his cleanliness and loyalty."

"So now what? Is there a way to see where these pictures came from or who sent them?" I ask because while it's nice to know what Iggie told me about himself is true, I knew a good chunk of Hawk's information already.

"I could see if that new bouncer Brian hired could check for prints. He was in the Navy and did Naval Criminal Investigative Service. His name's Zion and he was honorably discharged from the Navy last year. Good guy, but a lot of demons from his time in the service."

I nod my head. "Okay, ask him, but don't give him any information. I don't want to spread this information around. If whoever is involved knows we're on to them, they'll change tactics. Hawk, I want you to tap Pepper and Combo's phones, tablets, laptops, whatever you can."

"That's a slippery slope, Steel. You sure?" Pistol asks.

"Yeah. They've voted and stood against me in every vote and order. You heard them at the last church, blamin' Ignatius for the leak. Now information from my past has come to light and drove a wedge between Iggie and me. They're at the top of my suspect list."

"I agree. They're up to something. I thought it was a coup or some bullshit, but this could've been it. It's why I've been watchin' them," Viper pipes up.

"Alright. I'll back you no matter what, Steel. Just wouldn't be your VP if I didn't make sure you were sure." Pistol rubs his hands together.

"Then let's get started. I want answers ASAP." I slap a hand on the desk and my brothers all get up and file out of the room.

"First things first, I'm going to sweep your room for bugs. Someone took those photos from inside. I'm going to assume it wasn't a threesome and we know you lock your room and office tighter than Fort Knox." Hawk stands and leaves the room. Shit, I hadn't even thought of that.

* * *

I tossedand turned all night. In such a short time, I became accustomed to Iggie being beside me. We've only spent a few nights apart since we met and even then, I may or may not have slept in my truck outside his house. But that secret will stay with me.

Tonight, some of the brothers and I were supposed to go to the Community Center and help Iggie decorate the tree for his work's adopted family. There is no chance he will want me to show up and help now since it would involve him being near me. I'd love to go, but I have to prove to him I"m not the creepy stalker I"ve been portrayed as, so I won't.

Iggie is different. I can't force myself on him and hope he gets over it. No, I need to prove to him I'm listening. Getting out of bed, I make my way to the bathroom and jump into the shower, hoping the hot water will wake me up.

Once I"m done, I quickly change into jeans, a black T-shirt, and my cut. Sitting on the edge of my bed, I roll on a pair of socks and slip my feet into my boots. I get up and make my way to the kitchen for food.

Pistol, Kiki, and Marni sit at the table, the sound of their forks clinking against the plates fills the air. "Mornin'," I greet as I step up to the stove and see they have extras.

"Good morning. It turns out my little bestie here loves to cook and insisted on making breakfast. So we got up at the ass crack of dawn and she cooked while I chugged coffee," Kiki grumbles.

"You're eating good, aren't ya?" Marni sasses, and I can"t help but chuckle. The girl may be young and scared shitless of her foster dad and his brother, but she's sassier than hell here.

"Yeah, Little Gremlin. I am. Just next time, can we make food after eight am?" Kiki laughs.

"Fine," Marni agrees around a mouthful of pancake.

I fill my plate with pancakes and sausage, pour myself a cup of black coffee, and sit beside Pistol. "Gremlin, huh?" I look at Marni. "Let me ask you somethin', Gremlin. Why were you shakin' like a leaf back at the diner, but you've had no problem mouthin' off to me or Kiki here?"

Her eyes shift between her plate and me before she carefully places her fork down. "The truth?" I give her a nod. "You're scary as hell, don't get me wrong. But you took me with you when you didn't have to. You could have believed I was helping Randy and left me there to get my punishment. So while you may look terrifying and so do your members, I just have a gut feeling you won't hurt me. Like I know it in my soul."

"Who hurt you? Your foster parents or Randy?" Kiki asks her, gently massaging her back.

"Both in different ways," Marni whispers, her voice barely audible. "I was forced into working at the diner. I was nothing more than a maid to my foster parents, all because Randy pleaded with them and promised them my wages."

"If he had to pay your foster parents to get you to work there, what was in it for him?" Pistol asks.

Marni turns her head and fixates her gaze on the wall to her left. A single tear rolls down her cheek, and she frantically wipes it off her face.

"How long?" Pistol growls.

"From the age of fifteen, when I was legally allowed to have a work permit," she murmurs.

"Never again, Marni. You hear me?" Kiki firmly grasps her face and directs her attention toward her. "For two years, I"ve been in this club. No one has ever hurt me or forced me to do anything I didn"t want to do. If it did happen, I know I could go to one of these two here and the guilty party would cease to exist. As long as you're here, you"re safe."

Marni sniffles and uses her sleeve to wipe her nose. "Why do you do it?"

Kiki smiles. "Well, I've always liked sex, and I needed a way to pay for college. I get to live here for free. Not only does the club take care of my every need, but they also cover the cost of my tuition and books. I get to fuck crazy hot bikers and I like the family I've made being here. Even when I move on and ain't a club girl anymore, I know if I needed anything, I could come back here, and they'd have my back."

"Damn straight we would. Kiki is right. We're more family than a club. While a couple of the club whores are here in hopes of snaggin' a husband, we know who is loyal and is here just ‘cause they want to be," I tell her, stabbing the last piece of sausage from my plate.

"Okay," is all she says. Her lips twitch with a small smile.

"That leads me to ask y'all a favor. Tonight at seven is the tree decoratin' for the families in the area in need. Iggie is supposed to decorate one for work, but no one signed up to help him. I told him me and a few of the brothers would help, but I'm not wanted anymore. I still don"t want him to do it alone, and he deserves to have people support him. So I'm hopin' that you, Pistol." I turn and look at him. "Along with Kiki and maybe Viper can go help him. Please? I don't usually ask, brother, but I am now."

"I'll go help your man. Only because I know you've changed and you're my best friend." Pistol wiggles his brows at me.

"I'm in. I happen to really like Iggie," Kiki says, her smile revealing her genuine fondness for him.

"Can I go?" Marni asks, her voice filled with anticipation.

"Not a smart plan when Randy has to know you're with us. The Hellhounds are already on our asses," I tell her and see the disappointment in her eyes.

"I'll keep an eye on her, but if I say it's time to go, you listen. Got me, little girl?" Pistol stands and takes his plate to the sink.

"Yes, sir." Marni"s smile widens as she nods and playfully nibbles on her bottom lip.

"You're going to love Iggie. He is sexy as hell and way too good for our president, but I approve." Kiki gives me the throwback duck lips and raises her brows as she talks to Marni.

"I heard him on the phone in the truck, so I can't wait to meet him in person. Also, I am a huge fan of Christmas, but I haven"t been able to celebrate it since I went into foster care at eleven."

"Well, let's get my stuff done around the clubhouse, and then we'll get ready." Kiki stands and grabs her and Marni's plates and dumps them in the sink before they leave the kitchen giggling.

"I have a feelin' you fucked up puttin' Kiki in charge of that girl." Pistol sighs.

"Kiki is just what she needs. A strong woman who knows what she wants, goes after it, and isn't ashamed," I tell him as I move to the sink, wash my plate, and put it away. "I'm headed to my office. Holler if you need me."

I won"t be able to go tonight to help Iggie, but I"ll send a note to show my support, and my group will be there on Sunday to help deliver the tree, too.