Page 46 of Jake's Angel

Sadie’s reply comes quick. “Dropped on his head as a baby. Lack of survival skills. Who knows?”

We drive down the path through the tall redwood trees until it spreads wide into a large open area. We pass two large barns and a metal shed before finally making our way to the mainbuilding. Mack parks us past the bikes along the side of the massive building.

It looks like an old horse stable you might find at the tracks, with the outside metal siding painted to look like a wood cabin. It’s very deceiving, but beautiful. Not what I would expect a biker’s hangout to look like.

It has a long wooden overhang on one side where several motorcycles are parked underneath. There are some large, but darkly tinted windows under the overhang that run almost the full length of the building. It appears to be two stories. I’ve seen TV shows about biker gangs and their clubhouses, but they are nothing like this place.

I swallow past the lump in my throat and take a deep breath, preparing to open the door, when Hawk yells out, “Prospect, get the fucking door!” Just as I’m about to open it, Blake comes running up out of nowhere and holds it open for me.

We enter the building and I’m in utter shock at what I see before me. The outside of this building is very deceiving. What looks like a huge equestrian style barn from the outside is an oversized nightclub with an industrial kitchen and a bar. This has my curiosity piqued, to say the least.

Sadie barrels past me, heading straight for the bar. She drops her purse on the shelf behind it, then grabs the makings for a mimosa from the small fridge under the counter and starts mixing herself a drink.

Isn’t she afraid of getting into trouble?

Much to my surprise, no one bats an eye at what she’s doing. Not even Mack.

What the hell?

The bar is long and lined with several red leather topped chrome plated stools. Behind the bar, there's a mirrored wall full of liquor bottles, and it's definitely not the cheap stuff Sadie grabs from that sketchy drive-through dairy near Baron's Edge.

In the center of the mirror is the club’s logo in white, etched in the glass. It’s the same one they all wear on their backs.

They sure love that skull.

The room is painted in a deep burgundy color, and the floors are covered in a mix of black industrial carpet and black tiles. The carpeted area has three long couches facing a set of eight flat screen televisions mounted side by side. Mack sees my question and answers, “Not everyone likes the same teams or sports. This way we can watch a variety of stuff, and no one gets their ass beat for changing the channels on a commercial break.”

He's so nonchalant with his explanation, I can almost believe he belongs here. It’s such a stark contrast to the man I’ve come to know growing up.

There are framed motorcycle pictures and neon beverage signs throughout the room mounted on top of diamond plated steel sheeted sections of the wall. It's a stunning display. When I first thought about their clubhouse, I assumed there would be pictures of naked women everywhere, broken down tables and concrete floors. I couldn't have imagined a place so well-kept and intentionally designed. It’s obvious this place is sacred to them.

We continue our slow walk through the room. I pass a short woman with an almost nonexistent outfit and boobs so big she should topple over.

If those are real—Elvis is still alive!

“The only thing real about a club whore is they’re catty and believe they have a claim on every dick they’ve sucked on this property.”I gasp, startled to see Skyler standing beside me.

My cheeks flame when I realize. “I said that out loud, huh?” Skyler smirks.

“We’ve all thought it. You can speak freely … most of the time.”

It’s a shame, because the purple pixie-style haircut looks pretty on her. I smile at the ‘club whore,’ trying to be nice. She looks me over, rolls her eyes, and walks away.

Ok, so apparently the short purple one is a people eater. Got it.

Sadie shouts from where she’s leaning against a barstool loud enough for all to hear, “Take a lesson from Drea over there, Aves. Sucking too much dick stunts your growth and your personality. Does wonders for buying new tits, though, doesn’t it?” My hand flies over my mouth to hide both my shock and laughter. Sadie lifts her glass in salute when Drea gives her a dirty look.

Skyler laughs beside me. “They aren’t all horrible people. But there are a few. Unless you want to be bailing Sadie out of jail, or a clubhouse lockdown, I’d steer clear.” She gives my shoulder a squeeze, then struts to where Ethan is, planting a kiss on his lips. I turn away, not wanting to intrude on their privacy.

There are two pool tables and a small stage area with three poles coming down from the ceiling.

Off in the corner, there’s a makeshift dance floor with a jukebox and what looks like it could be a DJ table. I can’t help myself when I catch a glimpse of Hawk talking to some woman up in the corner. She’s wearing more clothing than the last one was, but something about the way she’s touching him, all proprietary like, makes me want to lash out on behalf of my friend.

I grab the pole and call out, “Hey, look Sadie! We can practice our pole dancing skills right here in the clubhouse.”

It’s meant to be a joke, and I try to hold a straight face, but the heat and fury on Hawk’s face as he spins around to glare at us ispriceless. He’s got that no-way-in-hell look on face. It’s an exact match to the I’ll-do-whatever-the-hell-I-want look Sadie’s throwing back.

I don’t know what’s going on between the two of them, but I can’t help but feel like he needs to be taught a lesson about screwing with my friend’s emotions.

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