great way to work through my problems, but just then it felt almost blasphemous that I would be working when someone I cared for was in danger.
The clubhouse was larger than seemed to be from the outside, in part due to the high ceilings and a large bay of windows against the rear wall. A handful of Dead Men were standing around talking loudly, presumably about the deal with the Trenchers and what had gone wrong. Tubbs led me over to a long bar and went behind it. He grabbed two glasses and a bottle of rum and poured. I'm not usually a big rum drinker, but if that was what Tubbs was recommending as my ersatz therapist, then who was I to disagree? I drank down the shot and pushed the glass over to him for another.
As I started in on my second shot, a couple of Dead Men I hadn't met before came over to the bar. They were both young, and from their patches, one of them seemed to be a recruit.
"What happened, Tubbs?" asked the slightly older one.
Tubbs went into the story again, telling it to those two just the same as he'd told it to me. Neither the two fresh faces nor anyone else in the clubhouse seemed to be bothered by my presence. I was sure it wasn't the strangest thing in the world having a woman around here, but this was a tense time and I was an outsider. More and more I felt like the Dead Men had already decided what I would do about Cash before I had decided for myself. To them, I was already his girl, even if neither of us had admitted it yet.
A door opened at the back of the room and Hep stepped out. He went to the sink behind the bar and started washing his hands, which were slick with blood. From all sides he was being pestered with questions about Cash, but he stayed quiet. When his hands were clean he walked to the other side of the bar and approached me. I didn't know what to say so I said nothing.
"He want to see you," he said.
My eyes went wide. Cash wants to see me? I was suddenly very worried that the other bikers were going to see it as a slight that he wanted to see me and not them. I could only hope that the widespread certainty they seemed to have about Cash and I would smooth over this slight as well.
I nodded at Hep and got off my stool. As I walked towards the door, the questions of the Dead Men resumed, practically yelling at Hep to provide them with some answers, but he didn't have any for them and stayed silent. I stepped into the room and shut the door behind me.
It was a bare room with a low, wide metal table. Cash was sitting on the edge of it, wrapping a bandage around his shoulder. When I walked in he smiled, and my heart melted. If he had a smile to offer me, then things were going to be alright. I rushed over to him and, without a moment's hesitation, put my hands against his broad, bare chest. He stopped winding the bandage and looked me square in the eyes.
"Are you alright?" I asked him, "Are you going to be okay?"
He put his hand against the side of my head and neck and pulled me close to him. I felt like a puppet, completely in his control at that moment. Even if I hadn't wanted to, there was nothing I could have done about it. Our lips met and still I was in shock, but only for a moment. When my brain finally registered what had just happened, I pushed my arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. He held me close to him and said nothing, preferring to let his lips and tongue show me just how he felt about me.
Cash's face - which was ordinarily smooth and soft, was rough with stubble that morning. His hair was uncharacteristically messy, and it was obvious he'd been in a fight - thought I knew it had been rather one-sided. As I put my arms around his neck, I was careful to avoid his shoulder, knowing that he must be pain. Our kisses were frenzied and desperate, as though we were two long lost lovers who had been pulled apart for years. In truth, I knew the feelings that were running through Cash that morning. He had been faced with mortality, and there was only one way to
The clubhouse was larger than seemed to be from the outside, in part due to the high ceilings and a large bay of windows against the rear wall. A handful of Dead Men were standing around talking loudly, presumably about the deal with the Trenchers and what had gone wrong. Tubbs led me over to a long bar and went behind it. He grabbed two glasses and a bottle of rum and poured. I'm not usually a big rum drinker, but if that was what Tubbs was recommending as my ersatz therapist, then who was I to disagree? I drank down the shot and pushed the glass over to him for another.
As I started in on my second shot, a couple of Dead Men I hadn't met before came over to the bar. They were both young, and from their patches, one of them seemed to be a recruit.
"What happened, Tubbs?" asked the slightly older one.
Tubbs went into the story again, telling it to those two just the same as he'd told it to me. Neither the two fresh faces nor anyone else in the clubhouse seemed to be bothered by my presence. I was sure it wasn't the strangest thing in the world having a woman around here, but this was a tense time and I was an outsider. More and more I felt like the Dead Men had already decided what I would do about Cash before I had decided for myself. To them, I was already his girl, even if neither of us had admitted it yet.
A door opened at the back of the room and Hep stepped out. He went to the sink behind the bar and started washing his hands, which were slick with blood. From all sides he was being pestered with questions about Cash, but he stayed quiet. When his hands were clean he walked to the other side of the bar and approached me. I didn't know what to say so I said nothing.
"He want to see you," he said.
My eyes went wide. Cash wants to see me? I was suddenly very worried that the other bikers were going to see it as a slight that he wanted to see me and not them. I could only hope that the widespread certainty they seemed to have about Cash and I would smooth over this slight as well.
I nodded at Hep and got off my stool. As I walked towards the door, the questions of the Dead Men resumed, practically yelling at Hep to provide them with some answers, but he didn't have any for them and stayed silent. I stepped into the room and shut the door behind me.
It was a bare room with a low, wide metal table. Cash was sitting on the edge of it, wrapping a bandage around his shoulder. When I walked in he smiled, and my heart melted. If he had a smile to offer me, then things were going to be alright. I rushed over to him and, without a moment's hesitation, put my hands against his broad, bare chest. He stopped winding the bandage and looked me square in the eyes.
"Are you alright?" I asked him, "Are you going to be okay?"
He put his hand against the side of my head and neck and pulled me close to him. I felt like a puppet, completely in his control at that moment. Even if I hadn't wanted to, there was nothing I could have done about it. Our lips met and still I was in shock, but only for a moment. When my brain finally registered what had just happened, I pushed my arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. He held me close to him and said nothing, preferring to let his lips and tongue show me just how he felt about me.
Cash's face - which was ordinarily smooth and soft, was rough with stubble that morning. His hair was uncharacteristically messy, and it was obvious he'd been in a fight - thought I knew it had been rather one-sided. As I put my arms around his neck, I was careful to avoid his shoulder, knowing that he must be pain. Our kisses were frenzied and desperate, as though we were two long lost lovers who had been pulled apart for years. In truth, I knew the feelings that were running through Cash that morning. He had been faced with mortality, and there was only one way to
Similar Books
