CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Baja—

The clubhouse is crowded with people and the music is blaring. I'm playing pool with Starlord, Le Stat, and the Big Bad Wolf.

Utah bends to make a shot, his big furry paws looking ridiculous wrapped around the cue, and his tail curls up and hits Memphis in the face.

I almost snort beer out my nose.

When Rock rounds the corner. I scan his outfit and burst into laughter.

"Hello, Dad."

He comes to a dead stop when he sees me. "Oh, fucking hell."

"Is that mom hanging from your belt?"

He looks at the shrunken head. "Yeah. She got mouthy, like you."

Trez snaps his fingers and points at his father. "Ah, you're Keith Richards."

Rock gives him a death glare. "Not exactly."

After he stalks off, Trez elbows me. "Got any smokes?"

I dig a pack out of my jacket and pass them over.

"You really think it's over?" I ask.

"What do you mean?" Trez dips his head to light up and takes a long drag of his cigarette.

"I mean, yeah, we got payback for the drive-by, but in the back of my head, I know the Vipers could be a threat if they somehow think we did what we did."

"Eliminating the three Rat Boys?"

"Yeah."

"How're they gonna figure that out?" he asks.

"For all we know, they bragged about the drive-by." I shrug. "Wouldn't be too hard to put two and two together, would it?"

"Your shot," Utah says, and I grab a stick, moving around the table.

"Quit worrying, Baja," Trez says. "They can't pin shit on us."

I bend to take my shot, and Memphis whacks my arm.

"I'm shooting pool here, Memphis."

"You might want to check this out, brother."

I huff and straighten, then follow his pointer finger. Standing at the clubhouse door are all the women, and Lola pushes Elaina out front. My gaze trails down her body, and there's a lot of it exposed. My mouth dries, and my dick hardens.

"Jesus Christ," I mutter.

"No, I think that's Princess Leia, brother," Memphis says. He slaps a hand on my shoulder. "That's the famous slave girl costume, you lucky son-of-a-bitch. If that doesn't say, come get some , I don't know what does."

Utah smirks. "Who's laughing now, Captain Jack? Think you might be needing that sword to fight off every guy in here tonight."

"Shut up." I walk in a trance toward her.

She sees me approaching and looks nervous as hell.

I sweep my hat from my head and make a deep bow. "M'lady."

She grins and makes a curtsy. "Kind sir."

Something metallic jangles, and I see there are cuffs on her wrists, and one has a chain to her waist. There's a collar around her neck with a shorter chain that dangles between her breasts. Good Lord . I wet my lips. "Wow. Darlin', that is some costume."

"The girls picked it out. I thought it was a bit much."

I put my arm around her shoulders and lead her to the bar. "Let's get you a drink."

A few men whistle as we pass, and I shoot daggers their way.

"What can I get you?" A prospect braces his hands on the bar.

"I'll take a beer." Elaina smiles.

The prospect nods but doesn't look her way, as if doing so might lead to his eyes roaming over her body. And he and I both know the ass beating I'd give him if that happened, so his eyes remain locked on mine. Smart kid.

"Make that two."

He pulls them from an ice chest and slides them across the bar top.

We move through the crowd to the pool tables.

Memphis rises from the shot he just sunk. "I took over your game. I figured Miss Sex-on-a-Stick would have you thoroughly distracted." A grin spreads across his face.

Elaina blushes. "It's a bit much," she mumbles, crossing her arms over her stomach.

"No, you look hot, babe." Trez bumps her with his shoulder.

"And now I get to watch Baja fight men all night," Memphis says with a chuckle.

"Thanks, man." I shake my head. "You know I just can't get over seeing you all dolled up, Memphis. Who'd have thought I'd ever see you in lace?"

He tugs at the collar and fancy cravat of his eighteenth-century costume. "Yeah, I don't know what I did to piss off Lola, but it must have been something big for her to make me wear this frilly thing."

Elaina's nerves seem to settle, and she smiles. "I think you look very debonair."

A green-colored Isabella, clad all in leather, walks up. "Kate insists we play a drinking game, so come on, boys."

We meander to the group, who've already pushed several tables together.

"What are we playing?" I slide into a chair, pulling Elaina onto my lap.

"Two truths and a lie." Kate waggles her eyebrows. "But with shots. I'll go first. I challenge Trez."

Trez leans forward and smirks. "Bad choice, Little Red."

Kate crosses her legs, her Little Red Riding Hood dress barely covering her ass. "We'll see about that."

He ticks his responses off on his fingers. "I once attended a private school, complete with uniforms. I absolutely fucking hate black olives. I cut Lola's hair once."

Kate eyes him carefully. "Well, you stole Lola's car, so I wouldn't put it past you to have cut her hair. And who the hell likes black olives? I say you never attended private school."

"Drink up. I love black olives. I order extra every time we order a supreme pizza."

Kate throws the shot back and slams the glass down on the table.

"You monster," Evelyn points a finger at Trez. "You're the reason I spend half my meal picking those godforsaken things off my pizza. You have lost pizza ordering privileges."

His rumbling laughter fills the air. "All right, my turn. I challenge Baja."

Elaina shifts on my lap as I pour myself a shot of amber liquid before replying. "I once lived in Vegas. I played football in high school. I've ridden home butt-ass naked before."

"Damn, I'm not sure. Ah, you've never ridden home naked. That sounds crazy," Trez guesses.

"Unfortunately, that's true. I've never lived in Vegas."

"This is a story I need to hear." Elaina turns to me, smiling as I rub her thigh.

"How the hell have I never heard this story?" Trez muses, and he downs his shot.

"It was when you were MIA," Utah answers.

Trez's eyes seem to flicker with regret, but he brushes it off quickly. "Well, time to hear it, Baja."

"This little shit thought it'd be funny to shove me into a pond while I was taking a piss." I tip my beer toward Utah, who is grinning like a kid in a candy store.

"Hey man, I didn't realize it was such a deep drop right on the edge."

"Yeah, asshole. I was soaked from my head to my boots, and in fucking January, no less. I figured I'd rather ride the rest of the way home naked than turn into a damn icicle."

"Man, your balls were shriveled." Utah's eyes are leaking tears as he tries to stop laughing.

"They were fucking frozen to my seat by the time I got home."

"You only had to ride fifteen minutes," Utah defends, wiping more tears from his eyes.

"Damn asshole is what you are," I mumble, while the rest of them all laugh incessantly.

We continue to play, and as more hang-arounds and supporters join the game, the drunker everyone gets and the tales more hysterical.

"I can't believe you all have lived this long." Isabella shakes her head.

"Me, either," Elaina chimes in, and I give her ass a squeeze.

She slides from my lap, and my brows furrow. I tug on her hand. "Where are you going?"

"I just need to pee," she whispers and moves down the hall.

***

Elaina—

When I emerge from the stall, that dancer from the Cherry Bomb—the one named Desiree—is leaning in the mirror, applying a red lipstick that screams fuck me.

Her eyes slide to mine, and I move to the sink.

"Well, hello there," she purrs as if she'd accidentally run in to me.

"Humph," I grunt in return.

"You know… I didn't get a chance to play the game. Want to know my two truths and a lie?" She gives me a smile that doesn't reach her eyes.

"Can't say I do." I shut the water off and grab a paper towel.

"I fucked Baja right here on this counter." Her voice sneers behind me.

My eyes flick to it, but I keep my back turned to her.

"He begged to taste my pussy in his bedroom here in the clubhouse. And I rode him until he bellowed my name in his home, where you're just playing house. Oh, wait… I messed that up. All three of those are truths."

My jaw tightens, and I turn to see her glaring at me.

"So, you can pretend to be something more than his flavor-of-the-month, but I know better. He'll come back to me, and it'll be my name he's moaning, and don't you forget it, bitch." Then she shoves my chest.

Something in me snaps. I've taken shit and played nice my whole life, but if this whore wants to tangle with me, she'll find out just how much fight I've tamped down all these years. My voice turns deadly with cold steeliness. "Don't fucking touch me again."

She blinks. "Or what?" She reaches up to shove me again, but I snatch her wrist, twisting it until she yelps in pain.

"Or I'll fuck you up," I drawl, releasing her.

She massages her wrist and shoots daggers my way. "You fucking bitch."

In the next moment, she flings herself at me, clawing at my skin. I grab the back of her head by her hair and slam her face into the counter. The resounding crunch signals the broken nose a moment before gushing blood streams down her face.

"You broke my nose!" she wails in a nasal voice, inspecting herself in the mirror, her vanity taking over.

I stalk past her and out the door before she can turn her attention to me. My chest and neck have a few good scratch marks, but they'll fade in a few days. I can't say the same for the damage I've caused. I smile to myself as I strut down the hallway. Maybe I've got it in me to make a good biker bitch after all.

The ruckus from the game carries to me, and I reemerge into the main room of the clubhouse. Skirting around the crowd, I make my way to the door. Fuck this. I can't stand to see Baja right now; the words of that hateful skank still skitter through my head. I should go back to him. My leaving is exactly what she wants, but her words hit their mark. I don't even know how long ago they last fucked or what feelings Baja may have for this woman. An Uber to the garage apartment sounds more appealing than staying here.

I almost make it through the crowd and to the door before I hear her voice screech across the room, drawing the eyes of everyone. "Where'd that stupid bitch go? I'm going to fucking kill her."

"What the hell happened?" I hear Rock's voice boom over the now silent room.

My fingers curl around the doorknob and I yank it open just as I hear her yell, "That bitch is trying to get away! She broke my goddamn nose."

All eyes shift to me. Lola slides me a little thumbs-up and a wink. Then my gaze drifts to Baja before I shove through the door and into the brisk night.

I only make it halfway across the lot before I hear the crunching of gravel behind me.

"Elaina, wait."

I don't slow, except for the fact that high heels and gravel don't mix. Damn shoes. I'm tempted to yank them off. A brisk wind ruffles the sheer fabric that hangs from the elaborate leather waist of my costume, and a chill creeps over my skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps.

Baja catches up to me but doesn't move to stop me. Instead, he keeps pace alongside me. "Elaina, talk to me. What the hell happened back there?"

"What do you think?" I whirl on him, and I know he can read on my face exactly what caused the catfight.

"We talked about this. Desiree and I used to fool around, but I'm not with her anymore."

"She seems to think you'll be—what did she say?" I tap my finger on my chin. "‘Moaning her name again soon.'"

"That's bullshit. I've never had any feelings for her. She was just a good fuck when I needed one. That's it."

It's cold and I shiver, rubbing my upper arms. This is the last way I saw this night ending.

Baja shrugs out of his pirate coat and wraps it around me. "Here. It's freezing. You'll catch cold."

If I wasn't shivering, I'd throw it back at him.

"Look, I don't know what she told you, but I'm not interested in her. I swear it, babe."

"Don't call me babe. How many times have you been with her?"

"Elaina, she means nothing."

"Is that how it's going to be?" I fling an arm toward the clubhouse. "Every time I walk into a party, some skank is going to corner me in the restroom and tell me all about how you two used to fuck? No thanks." I shove him off and start walking.

"I've got a past, Elaina." He grabs my arm. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

"No."

"Yes." He puts a shoulder to my stomach and hefts me up and over, then carries me to his truck.

I hit his back. "Stop it."

"We're going home before you freeze to death." He flings the passenger door open, sets me in, and clicks my seatbelt. I let out a huff, fold my arms, and refuse to speak to him.

While he's rounding the hood to the driver's side, the girls flood out the front door.

Baja climbs in, fires up the engine, and turns on the heat.

I power the window down.

"You okay, honey?" Lola asks.

I nod. "Thanks for everything."

Kate cups her hands around her mouth and shouts in a whisper. "Good job on Desiree. None of us like her. Thanks for doing what we've all longed to do."

"Think she just proved she's ol' lady material, Baja!" Isabella calls out.

I try to hide my small smile, averting my head so he doesn't see it. I'm still pissed at him.

He powers up my window and pulls out. "You want to tell me what the hell you did to Desiree?"

"First of all, she started it. She shoved me. I warned her not to touch me, and she did it again."

"And you punched her in the face?"

I huff. "No. I grabbed her by the hair and slammed her face on the counter. The one she said you'd fucked her on, by the way."

His brows hit his hairline. "Babe… You're a badass ."

I cross my arms. "Maybe I am. I hate violence, but I have to admit, standing up for myself felt good. It felt damn good."

"Glad to hear it."

We drive for a few miles, and Baja is pensive, like something else is on his mind. I realize we haven't even had a chance to talk.

"What happened with the Rat Boys?"

He swings his gaze to me, and he straightens in his seat. "You know I can't tell you."

I roll my eyes and stare out my window.

A moment later, he threads his fingers with mine and brings my hand to his mouth for a kiss. "That stuff? It's my least favorite part of the MC. I hope you know that, but I can tell you that everything is taken care of, and we won't have to worry about them again."

I wonder what that means exactly —taken care of . I'm afraid if I'm right, what he did today is my least favorite part of the MC as well.

"How do you live with it?" I whisper.

He dips his head. "I live with it because I know it keeps everyone I love safe."

I stare at the road. It's a simple answer to a complex question. But maybe that's how he deals with it. Maybe that's how they all deal with it. By breaking it down to black and white. Us versus them.

"Is this the way it always is?" I whisper.

"No. I promise you." I feel his eyes on me and turn to meet his gaze. "Do you trust me?"

I study his face. I do trust him, and that's the confusing part. He's a lawless biker, an outlaw, and yet… I trust him with my life.