The wind on my face helps to wake me. I love riding my Harley. It calms the storm within, brings me peace. It settles the chaos constantly swirling in my gut before dealing with club business and my brothers’ bullshit as I ride toward the clubhouse.
It’s my job as the Sergeant at Arms to keep everyone from losing their shit. I’m the peacekeeper of sorts. Usually, I have to break up a few brawls among brothers when someone gets a little too drunk and the shit-talking gets out of hand.
Over the last few months, things have been strained among my brothers. When Ethan’s woman, Skyler, came back into town after being missing for six years, shit hit the fan. Her father’s death and the secrets surrounding it, has made the tension among the club palpable, making my job more difficult.
Rounding the bend, I’m pulling my bike around the corner, waving at the prospect as I pass through the gates. When I see Sadie Jay getting out of the driver’s side of her crimson-colored Dodge Challenger she calls Loretta, I decide to coast in quietly. This girl is about to start a whole other world of trouble wearing her light blue shirt and some way too short cutoff denim shorts.
Hawk’s going to give birth when he sees her.
After the shit he’s given me this morning, the thought of his irritation has me smiling.
Sadie pulls a rag from the backseat and begins wiping off the hood. She loves her car like I love my bike. It was given to her as a birthday slash graduation gift in March from the club. When Pop pulled up to the clubhouse behind the wheel of her bright red beauty, Sadie immediately shouted, “She looks like a Loretta to me! Sexy, curvy, purring, and just look at that beautiful ass!”
The girl is something else.
I’ve never seen her hug Pop so tightly before, but when he told her that the club got it for her, she couldn’t contain her tears.
Sadie Jay is the Pres’s niece and Caleb’s granddaughter. She’s like a little sister to me, Jayde, and most of the brothers. We grew up in the club life together. After her father, Thomas, bailed on her and her mother, Rene lost her fucking mind and my parents were awarded guardianship over Sadie. She was dealt a shit-hand, but the club stepped in and took care of her.
Like Hawk, Sadie’s a fucking genius with computers. You’d never know by looking at her. She’s the opposite of every introverted computer nerd I’ve ever met. All about showing off her curves without being trashy and creating a commotion when she walks into a room. I think her goal is to give Hawk a coronary.
I guess it makes sense, though. Sadie learned her computer skills from Hawk, and he doesn’t come off as introverted either.Sadie is the only person who can call him on his shit and walk away unscathed. She definitely gives him a run for his money with her hacking abilities too, which aggravates the hell out of him and is hilarious to watch.
I pull into a spot a few spaces over just as she’s locking her door. I park my bike, set the kickstand down and slide off. Placing my helmet over the handlebars, I yell out to her retreating backside, “Hey! Don’t you walk away from me! Bring your ass over here and show me you love me!”
She spins, ready to spit venom. Her face lights up when she realizes it’s me.
“If any other man demanded such a thing from me, I’d cut off his balls and feed them to Gran’s pigs!” She shouts back. I plant my feet just in time to catch her as she runs and jumps into my arms. I spin her around in a tight hug.
“Feed them to the pigs, huh?” I laugh, kissing her cheek. “You’re ruthless.”
“It’s in the blood.” She says it with a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. I want to ask what that look is all about, when Hawk shouts across the yard.
“Yo! We’re waiting for you, asshole! Hurry the fuck up!”
“Fuck off, Nathaniel!” Sadie shouts before I can respond. Hawk crosses his arms over his chest, glaring at her with a smirk. “We were enjoying each other’s company until you came out barking!”
I have never seen Sadie as anything more than a sister. But I know by the way she said those words combined with the smirk she’s wearing, and the pissed off scowl Hawk is now sporting, she hit her mark.
“You’re trouble.” I whisper in her ear.
“Don’t I know it,” Her grin widens. “Hey, I need a favor.”
“What’s going on?”
“Loretta’s been making some weird sound lately, and I was wondering if I could leave her here so someone could take a look at her for me?”
“We’re headed out to Ethan’s fight in a few minutes, darlin’. I can have the prospect take her to the shop and ask one of the guys there to check her out, but you may not get her back for a couple of days.”
“That’s perfect. Jayde’s on her way to pick me up anyway. We’re going to spend the weekend together getting my stuff moved into my place.” She beams with pride. It was her parents’ place years ago. She managed to get the new owner to allow her to rent it. Mom wasn’t sure it was a good idea, being that it once had been her childhood home. But Sadie was adamant that she remembered nothing about that time in her life. She fell in love with the house and wants a place of her own now that she’s graduated from high school. Pop only agreed to it because it’s close to the clubhouse. When Hawk installed the security system, Pop felt she would be even safer. If the system alarms, it alerts Garrison, and his men would be on scene immediately.
What Pop may not know is it l means he can spy on her whenever he wants.
Fucking creeper.
We walk toward the clubhouse, and Sadie splits off, heading to the passenger’s side of Jayde’s mustang.
“You boys have fun in Devil’s Canyon. Don’t do anything I would do!” She shouts just before slamming the door shut. Me and Hawk watch wide-eyed as Jayde peels out of the parking lot.