Allegiance (The Chicago Defiance MC Series Book 8) Page 14

  Hope folds her arms over her chest in defiance and with an exasperated huff, she says, “Jo isn’t my brother, Mom. Beau and Axton are!”

  I glance at Lift, and he smiles. “Prepare to be Foxyed,” he whispers.

  The blonde exhales, clears her throat, then starts. “The thing is, Hope… you belong to a club, a brotherhood. Yes, Beau and Axton are your blood brothers, and that means everything, but your cousins, Rix, Grace, Cooper, Riley, and McKenna plus your family friend, Jo, are going to be a part of your life for its entirety. You guys are going to have ups and downs, there’s no doubt about that. But, Hope, these eight people will have your back just like you will have theirs.”

  Hope narrows her eyes as the rest of the kids slowly stop what they’re doing and pay attention. “Because you are all united by something stronger than friendship.”

  “What is it?” Grace asks, desperately bouncing on the beanbag.

  “Brotherhood… and it’s a force like none other. You were born into it. You didn’t choose this life. It chose you. And that makes it even more special. You are this club. You are the very foundations it strives to be. You are the next generation. And with that comes great responsibility.”

  They all sit taller. “We can be responsible,” Hope calls out.

  The blonde leans forward bopping her nose. “I know you can, Racer.” That’s obviously the girl’s nickname. “You all can. You just have to work together. Enjoy being with each other because the only way to be there one hundred percent for each other is total devotion. An unwavering bond.”

  Hope jumps up, seeming full of vigor. She rushes over to Jo and places her hand out in front of him. “Friends for life?”

  A slow smile creeps up his face as he nods, placing his hand over hers. Rix and Grace stand up rushing over, placing their hands on top of the pile. “C’mon, Beau… you, too,” Hope calls out, and he rushes over, reaching up awkwardly to the hands-in.

  “C’mon, Coop, for the brotherhood,” Rix urges the one still playing on his iPad.

  He glances up, groans, and walks over placing his hand on top.

  “I’ll put in another hand for Riley. Grace, you put one for McKenna, and Beau, you put one for Axton seeing as they’re babies and can’t do it yet.”

  I chuckle at Hope. She seems quite the little organizer. Her mother watches as they all form a circle throwing their hands in. “Next-generation… on three.”

  They bop their hands three times, then scream out their mantra making the entire clubhouse turnaround to look at them. I smile wide as the blonde beams with pride. “So, now you know that no matter what, any one of you can count on the other at any time.”

  “This is so cool,” Grace calls out as they all sit back on the rug and go back to what they were doing previously.

  I shake my head in awe.

  Lift turns to me. “Not what you were expecting to walk into after that outside?”

  “Not in the slightest. Kids being taught about the values of decent friendship and loyalty… you really are the good guys.”

  Suddenly, a hand on my back startles me, and I turn my head to see Torque with a slow smile creeping over his face. “I know you had a set opinion about this club. I know most people do. But as you can see, we’re deeply involved in family. The blonde…” he points, “… she’s my wife. The mother of my three kids, and if you’re going to stay here, Lily, you’re going to need to break down any ideas you had about us.” I nod my head turning to face him. “We’re not the bad guys in this. Surely, you can see that now?”

  I glance at Lift, seeing hope in his eyes. But I knew the second I walked in here, the second Rowdy came at me, but then stopped to invite me in. Right then, I knew I was going to be okay here. “I trust everything about this club. Somehow, I feel safer in here than out there. The atmosphere here is…” I pause to think about the wording I want to use but only come up with one, “… calming.”

  Torque chuckles. “Not sure calming is the word I would use for this place, but I’ll take it. Why don’t you come on over, and we can introduce you to everybody?”

  My eyes meet Lift’s. I only want to do it if he’s okay with it. These are his people, and if he isn’t comfortable with me meeting his family, then I will hang back in the shadows until he is happy. My name is practically mud around here, and I don’t really want his name to be stuck in the dirt with mine.

  Lift wraps his arm around me seeming to sense my apprehension. “It’s all good, Lily. I want to show you off to everyone.”

  My stomach flutters at the sincerity in his words. I bite on my bottom lip and walk with them toward the pool table where a bunch of bikers are currently standing around watching us. As we approach, they all bob their heads in greeting.

  Torque’s the first to speak, “Brothers, Delilah is going to be staying with us for a while until she can get back on her feet.”

  “Please, call me Lily,” I tell them.

  Torque glances at me as if to say he wasn’t finished, so I sink in on myself a little.

  “You all might not be Lily’s biggest fans, but while she’s here, you will treat her with nothing but respect. She’s a guest of Lift’s. She’s a guest of mine. You will treat her as such.”

  They all nod in understanding as I try to take in their appearances. The thing I notice about them is they’re scruffy, rugged, but they all have good-looking features, not to mention they’re all buff as hell. This club must do group workouts or something because, man, these guys are fit.

  “She’s drooling,” a woman calls out making everyone chuckle.

  What the fuck! I audibly gasp and spin around to a redhead wearing coveralls walking toward me. She’s stunning. Looks a little like a tomboy, but she’s extremely pretty.

  “I, ah… I, umm—”

  “It’s okay, slick, we all know what these guys look like. Trust me, though, you stick around long enough, their appeal wears off. The farting alone will water your eyes so much you won’t be able to see how good looking they are.”

  Everyone laughs as I grin from ear to ear. I can’t work this girl out, but I instantly like her. She places her hand out for me to shake. “Nice to meet you, Lily. I’m Sass. The moody one over there with the dreadlocks Old Lady.”

  “I do have a name, Sass, and I am not moody. I’m reflective,” the Asian guy who looks like he could stab you before you take a second breath says. Oh, gawd, he’s attractive. Mysterious looking and has an air about him—one that screams danger. Yet, he carries himself with poise. A martial arts expert I would say. He looks like he could be a deadly weapon with his hands and mind. I like him instantly.

  “Call it what you want, it’s Sensei’s moodiness in the sack that’s a real killer, but in a good way. If you know what I mean?” Sass winks at me as one of his brothers elbows him in the side. He rolls his eyes as she moves in beside me. “Anyhoo, what I’m trying to say is the men here are hot. Their attraction will fade once you get to know them, though. But while you’re still lusting, the moody man… he’s mine, so hands off. Go for anyone else, I don’t care. You can bitch fight it out with any of the other old ladies. Actually, I think that would be fun to watch.” Her face lights up. “Can we put her in the ring with Lala, I think they could be evenly matched?”

  Sensei starts walking over to her as the rest of the brothers chuckle among themselves. “All right, Sass, I think you need to go now.” He grabs hold and starts edging her away.

  “Aww, but…” Sensei guides her to the back of the room while I stand here not knowing if she’s serious or not. “Nice meeting you, Lily,” she calls out over her shoulder as they head down the hall.

  Lift looks at me and chuckles. “She’s messing with you.”

  Everyone bursts out laughing as I swallow hard not knowing whether to join in or just keep a straight face. I’m so out of my depth here. A man steps forward, his blond hair sweeps down over his face, his piercing blue eyes look haunted like he’s seen a lot in his life. The five o’clock shadow wo
rks for him as he weakly smiles and steps in front of me. Everyone watches him as he places his hand out in offering. I take it in mine and shake.

  “Medic, nice to meet you, Lily.”

  “Hey, Medic. I’m guessing it’s not by chance that your name is Medic?”

  “Yeah, I’m the club doctor. Well, one of. It took me a little bit to adjust to being here. I came in as a civilian, helping out when Foxy got into some strife. But this life, it grabs you… this club…” he looks around at his brothers, “… this club shows you what being a part of something strong is all about. You think you know friendship? You think you know family?” He scoffs. “Lily, you don’t know anything till you’re brought into the Defiance family. These people, they took me from a hang-around to prospect to full patch without hesitation because I was there for them. Because I laid my ass on the line for them. You’ve put yourself out there now, you’ve showed us your true self. Some of the Defiance family may take a little time to forget, but it doesn’t mean we don’t acknowledge what you’re doing now.”

  My heart swarms with warmth. Medic hasn’t met me before, but he obviously knows of me. I’m sure the entire club does. But in that one monologue, he’s made me feel more welcome than I ever could have imagined I’d feel.

  My eyes well with tears as I look around at everyone, and they all stare at me.

  Suddenly, one steps forward. “I’m Scratch. Welcome to Defiance.”

  I smile, my chest squeezing with the acknowledgment.

  Another steps forward. “Trax, nice to meet ya.”

  Lift wraps his arm around me, holding me to him tightly.

  An older man steps forward. “Surge. Always here if you need someone to talk to.”

  My body warms at his kind words.

  “Ace, any tech needs, I’m your guy.” He winks at me, and I nod.

  A younger guy steps forward, his cut looks a little different to everyone else’s. There are not as many badges on the leather. “Finn. Prospect. I know what it’s like to be new around here and have to work for your respect. But trust me, Lily, you couldn’t be with a better group of people.”

  A laugh echoes from another guy who slides into the group grabbing Finn in a headlock and ruffling his hair making everyone laugh. “You’re such a suck-up.”

  Finn pushes the guy off him, then he straightens himself out taking a bow. “Daxon at your service, m’lady.” I open my eyes wide at the young guy who everyone seems to be shaking their heads at.

  “Dax, shouldn’t you be polishing the bikes?” Trax grunts.

  I raise my brow as Dax groans, swivels on his heels, and hightails it toward the exit. “Seriously, Lily, you’re gonna love it here,” his voice trails off into the distance the further he goes while I chuckle under my breath.

  “He seems…”

  “Hyperactive,” Finn finishes my sentence while everyone glares at him. “Right, don’t talk. Got it!” Finn zips his mouth shut as he walks over to the bar, walks behind it, and starts polishing some steins.

  “There’s a few more, and, of course, the old ladies and club girls, but I don’t want to overload you all in one go,” Torque tells me.

  “No, this has been great. Thanks for taking me in. I’ve loved meeting you all.”

  “We’ll let you get settled in. Dinner’s in the main room. But if you feel like staying in tonight, we’ll understand. It’s been a big day,” Torque offers.

  I glance up at Lift, and he smiles. Then I look around the clubhouse, the kids and old ladies in the corner, the bikers who have been nice, and I know I need to put in the effort. “We’ll be down for dinner as long as that’s okay with everyone.”

  Torque nods.

  Lift beams as he tightens his arm around me, planting a small kiss on my head. “Okay, let’s go get you settled in.”

  He leads me off down the hall, and I say over my shoulder, “Thanks again, guys.”

  “You’re welcome,” a couple of them call out as we head down the hall.

  As we turn the corner, Lift pulls me to a stop when we see Vibe and Rowdy standing in the hall. I tense all over wondering how this is going to play out. Lift seems as anxious as I am. I go to talk, but Vibe steps forward first. His size is ominous, and it instantly makes me nervous. I’m not sure what hell he will lash out at me about, but I stand tall trying to prepare myself. I guess I have it coming. I am a big girl, I can handle myself.

  Vibe steps in front of me. The look on his face shows me he’s struggling. He exhales like he’s having trouble, but then he starts, “I hear everyone was introducing themselves to you, so…” he hesitates, drawing in a long breath, “… I’m Vibe. This is my Old Lady, Rowdy. Nice to properly meet you.”

  My heart leaps as tears spring to my eyes, and I blink them away. My bottom lip trembles as I glance from Vibe to Rowdy. She’s smiling.

  I glance back to Vibe and steady my shoulders. “Nice to meet you both. I’m Lily, and I think we’re going to get along just fine.”

  LIFT

  The look in Vibe’s eyes tells me everything. He’s uncomfortable as we stand here together, but I know he’s trying.

  Rowdy clears her throat. “What I think we need is time, Lily. I agree we can be friends, but it’s going to be a slow process. We’ve both been hurt by all this. So, all of us…” Rowdy glances at Vibe in particular, “… need to work on this.”

  Lily tries to contain her excitement, but her jovial smile is contagious. “I’m fine with that. As long as it takes, Rowdy. Vibe, whatever it takes, I will make this up to you.”

  Rowdy nudges Vibe in the side, and he clears his throat with a nod. “I respect that. Thanks for making an effort and trying to make this right.”

  I pull Lily to me further. “We all just want to get along, brother.”

  His eyes meet mine for the first time in a long time, and something passes between us. A mutual understanding that we’re trying to do right by our women—I think he gets it now.

  “We will. It’s just gonna take time.”

  Lily rolls her shoulders. “Time, I have.”

  Rowdy reaches out grabbing Lily’s hands. “I want to thank you for coming here. It took real guts to do what you did, and also for realizing where your allegiance needs to lie.”

  “I think I always knew.” Lily shakes her head. “It was just having the tenacity to stand up for myself.”

  I tighten my grip on her. “We have your back now. Nothing will happen while you’re here, Lily.”

  “Lift’s right. The club will look out for you. All of us,” Vibe declares.

  “C’mon, let’s let them settle in,” Rowdy instructs Vibe.

  Vibe tips his head toward Lily, and they both turn heading for their room.

  Well damn! Vibe made an effort with Lily. It was clear to see it was forced, but he still came out and made the first move.

  Maybe our friendship is salvageable after all.

  It fills me with a sense of hope and excitement that my friend hasn’t gone so far down that rabbit hole that he’s lost to me forever.

  We make our way to my room. The idea of her staying with me sends a wave of excitement through me. Having her all to myself sounds like pure fucking heaven to me, and I can’t wait to tell her that. I get to my door, my hand is on Lily’s lower back, she seems reflective as we glance back down the hall to see Vibe and Rowdy watching us.

  Lily waves, and I smirk loving how even now, she’s still trying to make a good impression. Rowdy waves back as they enter Vibe’s room, and I, in turn, lead Lily into mine.

  Lily takes in the medium-size room. Becoming Sergeant At Arms comes with privileges like a room upgrade. Having a bigger living area never really worried me until now because maybe that’s all about to change.

  Her eyes linger over everything—from the made bed with black linens to the desk against the wall to the big-screen television on the drywall opposite my bed. She smiles like she had no idea this room could hold so much. She’s quiet as she takes it all in, her finge
rs trailing over the desk as she looks at the raised shelving holding my old competition trophies.

  “So that was nice,” she says, turning to face me.

  I walk up to her with a smile. “Vibe and Rowdy?”

  She nods, leaning back against my desk, her fingers gripping the edge. “I wasn’t expecting that from them. I wasn’t expecting anything and especially not from Vibe.”

  I step closer to her, the atoms in the air electro-charging. “Neither did I.” I swipe some hair behind her ear. “Honestly, I thought our friendship was over. Now I think we may be able to get it all back.”

  Lily’s eyes fall as she bites on her bottom lip. “Your friendship was in trouble because of me?” She sighs. “I hate that.”

  My fingers move to her chin, and I lift her eyes to meet mine. “Our friendship was in trouble because we both believed in different things. We fought for different things. Friendships are tested all the time. It’s how we come back from them that counts.”

  She loops her arms around my waist pulling me to her. “You think Rowdy and me could be friends… eventually?”

  I shrug. “I think with your fortitude, you could do anything you put your mind to.”

  Lily lets out a half-laugh as she leans forward planting a chaste kiss on my nose, pushing me away from her as she turns and picks up one of my trophies holding it up to her eyes. “First in Men’s Physique. What’s that?”

  I chuckle at her sudden change in direction. She’s researching, fact-finding things about me. Things we haven’t been able to do properly yet. We haven’t been given that chance to really talk, get our backgrounds, find out everything there is to know about each other. “Back in the day, I used to do bodybuilding and competition. I used to be good at it, too. But the fake tan was a little too much, and the guys poked fun at me every chance they got, so I gave it up.”

  “So, you posed on stage while flexing those muscles of yours?”

  I cock my head bringing my arm up and squeezing my bicep tight. It flexes against my shirt making it ripple so much the fabric threatens to shred. Lily laughs, grabbing my arm and yanking it down to my side. “Okay, macho man, I believe you. But you don’t need to prance around on a stage showing how much of a buff man you are, Lift. Not to me, anyway. You’re the strongest, bravest man I know.” She places the trophy on the desk, then leans up on her toes, pressing her lips to mine.