Page 5 of Jackal

But they all just became club business. And club business comes first.

Chapter 4

Shivana

The weekend was coming, and I was so ready. All the good partying happened around the weekends at the clubhouse from what I gathered when speaking to some of the bunnies–the young women who live on the compound.

Since I’d been here, though, not much partying had happened. There were small gatherings and booze, but nothing like you’d expect at a motorcycle club. That first weekend I was here was obviously a bit somber. Apparently one of the guys that was part of the club, the one that Lacy refused to let me speak to, turned out to be an inside double agent. Plus, Eagle and Jackal had been shot. They were both fine, no thanks to the club, but thanks to the basic skills I had learned as an intern and some shitty supplies that I had no clue the origin of.

The mood still seemed somber now. Even though Daisy was more loose-lipped and defiant than Lacy, she still didn’t give upa lot of details on anything, so I didn’t understand enough of what was happening. Butch was gone, gunshots healed, so what else was causing the tension?

“Hey, hon,” Mama Hen said as she walked over to the table I was sitting at in the bar area. I wasn’t sure what they called this portion of the clubhouse, but it was set up similar to a bar with some tables scattered throughout, with room for a little dance, or maybe some wild show, too.

Mama Hen wasn’t old, but she was older than all the other women here and was an important person. Maybe late forties, early fifties, her dirty blonde hair was cropped short and she had glacier blue eyes, just like Hawk. She wasn’t heavy set but was a lot thicker than most of the women here, except for me. But she carried the same confidence as all the men here while still giving off a warm, motherly vibe.

“Good afternoon. What’s this?” I asked as I looked down at the plate of food she put in front of me.

“Can’t work on an empty stomach. I noticed you don’t eat much meat, so it’s a veggie wrap. Most of those came from our garden,” she said proudly.

I motioned for her to sit and grabbed the wrap. Lettuce, tomatoes, green and yellow bell pepper, and cucumber with a white sauce. Ranch maybe. “That is so kind,” I said before taking a bite. I couldn’t stop the moan that escaped me. “Holy shit, that’s delicious. What is this sauce?”

She beamed. “Ranch, but not that store bought shit. I made it myself. Glad you like it. So, what are you so wrapped up in over here?”

I finished chewing and wiped my face with a napkin she’d brought with the food. “Figuring out how to get my license in Georgia and finding places with openings that interest me.”

Mama Hen nodded. “Staying around then?”

“You ask like you’re surprised,” I said before taking anothergenerous bite of the wrap.

“I am.” My face must have lost control because she quickly corrected, “It’s not a bad thing. I love having you around and Lacy won’t stop talking about her doctor friend. But you don’t strike me as the club type. That’s all.”

I finished chewing, then said, “I find that making assumptions can be tricky.”

Mama Hen’s brows shot up. “I didn’t mean to imply anything bad, Shiv. But let’s be honest…you stick out like a sore thumb around here.”

Glancing around, I took in the few bunnies that were tending to the guys’ drinks and making sure the area was clean. They wore cute little outfits that hardly covered much. But they were all knockouts with amazing figures. I’d walk around naked if I looked like them. “Maybe I look a little different, but haven’t you ever heard not to judge a book by its cover?”

“Now, Shiv, I wasn’t saying that at all. I know this is Georgia, but we aren’t that type of crowd. We don’t tolerate that nonsense and if you feel otherwise, I want to know who it was–”

I waved my hand around wildly. “No, no, no!” I laughed. “I didn’t mean my skin. I just meant my clothes. Everyone has been so kind and welcoming. It’s part of why I want to stay. It’s so different from back home where I’m still treated like a child.”

That made her brow furrow. “You’re not a child. You’re a whole-ass woman. Probably older than most of these girls but that’s not based on looks,” she said as she held up a hand, “just the fact you had to go to school for so long to be so accomplished.”

Sighing, I said, “Well, perhaps the best way to put it is that my family is a bit different. I’m an adult, but I’m stillthechild. Here, I can start fresh. Make my own path, you know?”

Back home, I was still expected to eventually work for my father and be groomed to one day take over his practice. ButI didn’t want to practice what he did. He was supportive of all the schooling, but lately, I’d been getting more and more pressure tosettle down. To him, that meant going to work with him. To mom, it meant finding a husband. Either way, I wasn’t interested.

“I think that’s great, hon. And if anyone can do it, it’s you. You just let me know if I can help in any way.”

She started to get up, but I spoke up before she could walk away. “Actually, until I can secure a vehicle, a ride to a few places would be great.”

She smiled and said, “You just let me know when and where. I’ll be happy to take you where you need to go. I need to go make sure things are ready for later.”

After I watched her disappear back into the kitchen, I finished eating the wrap she made me then returned to my internet search. Some of the openings mentioned help with moving. That was a little worrisome because if they were offering a lot of help to relocate you, that could mean they were desperate and that wasn’t always a good thing. People with good credentials and work ethic would leave a bad job with no second thought, leaving the employer scrambling. Still, I needed to get some roots down and the sooner the better.

I could always negotiate in the contract or if it was obviously a bad fit, I would decline. I had a little money saved, and right now, I had no bills. I couldn’t stay here forever, but it was a nice pitstop toward the next step of my life. I didn’t want to go far, though.

I’d checked around and housing prices were much better nearby than toward the city. Plus, even if I didn’t live here, I’d like to be close by to spend time with Lacy, and hopefully a little time with my biker daddy.

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