Page 60 of Fearless
Benji’s wide eyes showed that I got the point across. “Yes, Shadow. Right away.” He scampered off the roof with the drone under his arm.
Absently, I watched him and the other guys wrecking it in the street below. They took turns shooting at it, slamming it into the ground, and running over it with their bikes. I checked my rifle and returned my gaze to the sky, wondering how I would tell Reaper about this.
My hands squeezed around my weapon, ever vigilant. I silently hoped that whoever controlled the drone never got the information they were looking for.
Twenty-Four
MARIPOSA
“Property of?” I glared at the jackets Noelle was holding up.
She rolled her eyes as she tossed one to me. “Don’t get all high and mighty on me. It’s an MC thing. If you’re someone’s old lady, you are considered property of that club. It means we protect you and it lets other clubs know you’re off limits. Don’t take it too literally, ‘kay?”
I ran my fingers over the letters embroidered above the SDMC patch that all the guys wore on their cuts. An unexpected giddy feeling bubbled up in my chest. I was honestly excited to wear the demon on my back, even if I wasn’t fond of the words “Property of” centered above it. Reaper and Jandro were the heart and soul of the SDMC and I was proud to display that I belonged to them. I just hoped my tattoo wouldn’t require those words.
The leather jacket was already well-worn with lines and creases telling the story of its previous owners. It still fit like a glove when I slid it on, wrapping me in a new kind of armor. The type of armor that told onlookers I found safety in the arms of the most dangerous men in the Southwest.
“Why the fuck do you always look so good in my shit?” Noelle grumbled as I turned to look at the back of the jacket in her mirror.
“Don’t worry,” I laughed. “I’m done borrowing your stuff. I'm getting all my own clothes at the market today.”
“Keep the jacket. It really does look good on you, and I don’t need an extra,” she told me with a wave of her hand. “What are you bringing to trade for goods?”
“Drugs, of course.” I shot her a wry smile. “They’re what got me here from East Texas. Pain pills, sedatives, amphetamines, you name it. If you want to feel something, there’s a pill for it.”
“Look at you, little dope slinger.” She swatted my hip playfully. “Makes sense, considering you survived on your own this long. I don’t think that’s a market Gunner ever tapped into. He just doesn’t have the knowledge you do.”
Hearing his name brought on a twisting sensation in my stomach. He still hadn’t said a word to me since after he fought, and Jandro never told me how their talk went. We could avoid each other easily enough, but nearly a week later, the pangs of missing him refused to go away.
I shook my head at Noelle, bringing my thoughts back to our conversation. “I only slung pills when I needed to pay for travel, or if real medical services weren’t needed. My main priority is helping people, not profiting off of addictions.”
“I know, babe. It’s just interesting to know that about you.” Noelle ran her tongue across her teeth. “You did dirty work to survive, but didn’t backstab anyone in the process. You were a Steel Demon girl before my brother ever set eyes on you.”
“Yeah, right.” I blushed at the remark. “I wasn’t nearly badass enough to fit in with all of you.”
“Well, you’re stuck with us now.” She squeezed my shoulder through the worn leather jacket. “You might have noticed this already, but we’re more than just a club. We’re family.”
“Even fighting like family members,” I mumbled.
“Exactly. Now let’s go shopping!” With an excited squeal, she pulled me down the stairs by the hand, practically skipping out the front door.
She wasn’t the only one excited. Under the idle rumbling of engines outside, everyone was abuzz about this traveling market. Apparently it only came through the area sporadically, once a year at best since the Collapse. Because more people were nomadic these days, the market’s vendors followed population density, which changed with the seasons. Most of the time, from what Reaper told me, it depended on whether a certain area was in a war zone or not.
Thanks to the Steel Demons keeping order and making agreements with local businesses, our section of the Arizona territory was considered relatively peaceful. It meant people felt safer living here, and made trading goods profitable.
The major border wars had shifted eastward, with conflict growing between the New Mexico and West Texas territories. When I passed through those areas on my journey west, the conflicts had been scattered and unorganized, run by small-time gangs with little resources or connections. General Tash, the central power in New Mexico, was highly organized and well-stocked with trained soldiers and heavy artillery, the latter of which was mostly supplied by the Steel Demons, before the general betrayed them.
Reaper and Jandro ranted at each other for half a night, fueled by whiskey and añejo tequila, about the many border conflicts surrounding us and their predictions on the generals’ moves. I tried to follow and keep up, but with the booze making me drowsy and the orgasms they gave me earlier, I couldn’t stay awake. But I still woke up cozy in bed and sandwiched between them, which was becoming our new routine.
“Mmm, I love that jacket on you,” Jandro’s honeyed voice murmured in my ear as a hug wrapped around me from behind. “When we get back, I want to get you completely naked except for the jacket.”
Grinning, I looked over my shoulder for a kiss, covering his hands with mine at my waist. “If you promise to be a good boy.”
“I’ll be anything you want me to.” His kisses moved to my neck, affectionate and sweet. “Who you riding with today?”
“Reaper on the way over.” I kissed his pouting bottom lip. “You on the way back.”
“Saving the best for last, I see,” he smirked, then kissed me deeply before slowly untangling himself from me. “I’ll see you there,Mariposita.”
