Page 7 of Rattler's Revelation
Rafe looks through the door to her bedroom and shakes his head. “It would be better if you didn’t touch anything. I’m sure they can find you something to wear until tomorrow. Then you can come back here and pack. Will that work?”
I frown, but shrug my agreement. It isn’t what I want, but I don’t think I have many options. Everything is out of my control, and I hate it.
“If you give me a list of things you need, I can bring them to the clubhouse after the crime scene team leaves,” Randy offers.
I feel Rattler tense at the offer, but I only feel relief. “That would be great.” Randy takes out his phone and opens an appbefore handing it to me. I type in a short list of items that I need for the night and the next morning. Most are hair care products because my hair is a nightmare to tame without them. “That’s all I need until I can come back here,” I say, giving him the list. There’s a suitcase in my closet that you can use. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”
“I’m glad to be of help,” Randy says, squeezing my arm before he slaps Rattler on the back. When Randy’s back is to us, I hear Rattler let out a soft growl. I glance up to see him glaring at Randy. Shaking my head, I move away from Rattler. “I need to get out of here.”
My nerves increase the closer we get to the clubhouse. Images of rough bikers passing me around like a toy have me biting my thumbnail. I don’t realize my knee is bouncing until Rattler reaches over to still me.
“You're nervous. Why? What do you think is going to happen?”
I shake my head, unable to voice my fear. I consider lying, but before I can come up with a suitable one, we’re pulling into the parking lot of the clubhouse. With shaky hands, I reach for the door handle, stopping when Rattler squeezes my knee.
“I promise you that I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
I take a deep breath to bolster my courage, then nod.
“Wait for me, I’ll come around and get you.” He doesn’t wait for my response, but hops out and rushes around to open my door. I take his offered hand and slide out of the SUV. When my feet hit the ground, Rattler squeezes my hand and offers me a brilliant smile before pulling me toward the clubhouse. I reluctantly follow.
Rattler opens the door to the clubhouse, and the sound of raucous male laughter pours out, causing me to tremble. Before I can balk, Rattler pulls me inside. The room erupts as screams fill the air.
CHAPTER FIVE: RATTLER
I can feel Bianca’s hand tremble when I open the clubhouse door, and the sounds of my patch-in party roll out. Not giving her a chance to escape back to the SUV, I pull her inside. The crowd erupts in welcome. The men and women are loud, but not as loud as the kids. They scream as they rush forward and wrap their little arms around me. I bend to snag Elina around the waist and hoist her into my arms before turning to Bianca.
“Welcome to the Demon Dawg clubhouse,” I grin. “Is it what you expected?”
Bianca chuckles and shakes her head as her eyes roam around the space. She eventually turns her attention back to me and grins at Elina.
“Who are you?” Elina asks Bianca.
“My name is Bianca. Who are you?”
“I’m Elina, Club Princess and President-in-Training. That’s Mal, he’s the Club Prince and also a President-in-Training. The others are Angel, Slade, and Colt; they are our officers.”
“Hello,” Bianca beams at the kids. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
“Are you Max’s girlfriend?” Angel asks.
“His name is Rattler now,” Elina chides my half-sister.
Angel adorably scrunches her nose. “It is? Why did he change it?”
“He didn’t. Puma did when he made Max a patched member. See,” Elina says, leaning back to reveal the name embroidered on my kutte.
“You can still call me Max if you want,” I assure Angel, even though Max isn’t my real name. Mad Max was the road name Puma gave me when I was a prospect because I tended to drive a little recklessly. I grin at the look of relief on her face. She’s faced so many changes in her young life that I wouldn’t begrudge her anything that provides her with some normalcy.
“Are you and Rattler dating?” Elina asks.
“Oh, well, we just…” Bianca stumbles over her answer.
I shake my head. “Bianca and I only met today. Give me some time to convince her she should date me. For now, she needs our help, so she’ll be staying with us for a few days. No matchmaking, though,” I admonish her before tickling her belly. She squirms as I set her back on the ground. “Are you hungry?” I ask Bianca, hoping to distract her from Elina’s probing questions.
“I’m starving,” Bianca says as she follows me to the buffet table. I pick up a plate and hand it to her while I take another. As she makes her selections, Wildcard and Brigit join us.
“I’m so so glad you’re okay,” Brigit says as she, too, grabs a plate. “I thought we lost you when you called. What happened? We left the scene before getting the full story.”
