Page 26 of Crush's Fall

The other man was the same build as the first, except his skin was a warm, deep brown that matched his golden-brown eyes. His dark hair was also kept close to his scalp. He was sitting on the top step, wearing a pair of deep blue jeans, a dark gray button-down shirt, and a pair of black boots.

Sitting on the middle step was a woman who had olive skin, long, dark brown hair, green eyes, and was wearing a pair of black leggings with a pink tank and flip-flops that showed off all her curves. She could see the strength in the way she held herself.

The last person was a gorgeous black woman. She had skin the color of earth, dark and rich, and black hair that she kept cut short. Her body was that of an athlete, fit and muscular. Except for the color of her tank, she was dressed much like the woman next to her. And there was a large smile gracing her stunning face.

“Introduce us,” the black woman said through her smile. “I recognize a couple from the other day, but I didn’t get the honor of an introduction.”

Axle sighed and pointed to his right. “This is Skull, my VP.” To his left. “Pike. Sergeant at arms.” He nodded at Crush. Pike and Pinky stood between her and Axle. “Crush. The president of the Tiger’s Claw MC. To her left is her sergeant at arms, Nails. To her right, Pinky, her VP.” He motioned to the woman who asked for an introduction. “Lira. I don’t know who the others are.”

“Allow me.” Lira motioned toward the woman next to her. “This is Marya. She’s my second. Behind her is Sol. In front of me is Storme. They are champions of other gods, but they are in the fight with us.”

“Enough with the niceties and bullshit,” Crush said, bored with the pleasantries. There was too much to get straight. Crush wanted to get to the point and make things perfectly clear to thesechampions. “If we allow you to fight with us, you are not in charge. My women will not follow you. His men will not follow you. You can fight beside us, but you will not command our people.”

Lira raised a brow. “The gods didn’t send us here to control you or command you. They sent us here to get you out of the mess you got yourselves in.”

Who the fuck did this bitch think she was? Crush took a step toward Lira. Nails and Pinky stepped forward with her. Storme stood up in front of Lira.

“You trying to say we’re to blame for all of this?” Crush growled.

Axle cleared his throat, trying to give Crush a warning to chill, but fuck that.

Lira stood and put a hand on Storme’s shoulder, and Storme returned to his seat. “I didn’t say that.” Lira shrugged. “You made choices and are dealing with consequences. I’m not saying you made the wrong choices, but you made choices, nonetheless.”

Crush narrowed her eyes and glared at the woman. “When people disrespect my club, I make choices. You’d do well to remember that.”

Lira grinned, and Crush wanted to backhand it off her face. “You’re a firecracker. I look forward to working with you.”

In response, Crush showed her fangs and hissed.

“Lira, this isn’t helping.” Axle let out a deep sigh, obviously over the whole situation and trying to keep things calm.

“Fine. Fine. Fine.” Lira waved a hand in front of her. “Yes, I understand. And I assume you understand that the champions will not take orders from any of you, either. We will need to plan and communicate. Or this will end with the world being changed forever, and shifters being hunted. So… we gonna make this work?”

Crush looked over at Axle and stared a moment, then she gave a slight nod. Axle returned his attention to Lira. “Yeah, we’ll make this work. Any idea how long we have until this war?”

“As of right now,” Sol began in a voice so deep Crush could barely understand him, “our intel says two months, but that could change.”

“We’ll find a place for you to meet with us and the club members. How can we reach you when we have it arranged?”

Marya stood and handed him a business card.

After leaning forward and taking it, he looked down at it and sounded surprised when he uttered, “A gym?”

“F.L.A.G. Fight Like A Girl Gym.” Marya sounded proud. “We may be champions to gods, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have bills to pay.”

Axle still looked confused, and Crush could understand that. “We’ll be in touch,” he mumbled, and slipped the card in the side pocket of his cut. Then he turned and headed back to his bike.

Crush gave the foursome one last glare before she turned on her heel and stomped to her bike. After mounting it and turning it on, she glanced at Axle and shrugged before they all took off.

Lucifer

When Crush, Axle, and their members returned to the compound, Lucifer was eating lunch. He finally was able to grab a bite to eat at the diner without feeling like a mooch. After helping the clubs and keeping Sugar safe, Skull asked him if he wanted to go to work with Trip, one of the members in charge of doing needed repairs on any of the Howlers or Tiger’s Claw owned properties. Lucifer jumped on it since he was tired of being idle and depending on the kindness of the clubs to feed and clothe him.

Yes, he wasfinallyable to buy his own food, and wasn’t ashamed to admit how proud of that fact he was. Setting his meatball sub back down on his plate, only a couple bites eaten, he studied the look on Crush’s face through the window as she got off her bike. She looked thoughtful, maybe even concerned.

“Something wrong with your food?”

Lucifer didn’t look away from Crush when he answered Kitty’s question. “No, but can I get a box, please?”

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