All the men in Puck’s world were scary. Time to pull myself together and deal with it.
“Good to see you again,” I said, deciding to face my history head-on. “I don’t think I ever thanked you for California. Hope you won’t hold it against me.”
He nodded his head, eyes assessing. I hadn’t been able to read him back then and I couldn’t read him now. He didn’t seem overtly hostile. That had to be a good sign.
“So you’re Puck’s property now?” he asked. “Interesting. You’ll take good care of him.”
I smiled nervously, because his words weren’t exactly comforting. One, I’d never agreed to be Puck’s property, yet obviously he’d told the clubs otherwise. Two, the “you’ll take good care of him” hadn’t been a question or an encouragement. More like a threat. I’d take care of Puck or Painter would take care of me. Obviously he didn’t fuck around when it came to his friends.
That was a good thing, I decided. Tomorrow they’d be in danger—I wanted someone strong at Puck’s back.
“You’ll take good care of him, too,” I said, smiling at Painter. “That’s what brothers are for, right?”
His eyes widened, and I got the impression I’d surprised him. Good. I wasn’t the same little girl he’d met five years ago, and he needed to know it.
Puck gave a laugh, smacking my butt again.
“You want a drink?” he asked. I nodded, wishing Painter would stop staring at me. “Over here.”
We moved toward the bar, which was manned by yet another prospect. How many of those guys did they have, anyway? I’d never really learned how many Silver Bastards there were in Callup. They seemed to sort of rotate in and out, which made keeping track of them harder.
Probably not an accident.
A minute later I held a beer as I followed Puck across the room toward Boonie and the man I recognized as the Reapers’ president. He was old enough to be my father, but still strong and sort of sexy in a weird way. He’d had a funny name . . .
“Pic, this is Becca,” Puck said. “She’s with me now.”
Picnic Hayes. That was it. I smiled at him, wishing I’d chugged the beer already. Seeing him made me think of the Longnecks and our crazy ride north.
“Good to see you again,” he said. “I heard Puck had finally claimed you. Hope it works out for you.”
“She’s tough,” Boonie commented. “Shoulda seen her at the Breakfast Table last week. Some asshole jumped Puck and she went after him with a coffeepot. Lost her job over it.”
Picnic raised a brow, clearly surprised, and I felt a small smile curling my lips. I had jumped right in and it felt good. I’d been a small, weak victim when he’d met me before. Now I was strong. Holding my own.
“Good for you,” Picnic said. “Puck, you got a minute? I wanted to go over a couple things with you.”
“Sure,” Puck said. “Let me get Becs settled.”
My new confidence disappeared. We’d never said anything about him leaving me alone at the party. I surveyed the party again, everything looking more sinister and scary this time. The girls skittered around like they might get smacked if they weren’t careful. The men seemed larger. Angrier.
I gulped my beer, forcing myself to calm down. The real menace was in my head.
“Hey, would I leave you?” Puck asked softly as we walked away.
“I think you read my mind,” I said nervously. “I don’t want to be alone.”
“We’re going to find Darcy. You can stay with her until I’m done, then I’ll come back for you. Remember, when you hooked up with me, you hooked up with the whole club. We’re all here for you, Becs. This might not seem like a safe place, but it really is. Nobody can hurt you as long as we’re together. Every man in here is my brother and someday the women will be your sisters. Darcy’s probably in the kitchen.”
Puck started toward the back, threading through clumps of men and women littering the room. Quite a few of them were old ladies, I realized. Some wore vests and others just gave off the aura of confidence that came from belonging. I saw some of the men I’d met down in Cali, too. A great big Reaper whose name I still remembered. Horse. He had a short, bubbly little brunette woman glued to his arm. She laughed at something, the sound friendly and happy.
There was another one I remembered, too. Rooper? Booger? Shit, his name wouldn’t come to me. He was alone, but when a girl came up to him with a drink and tried to worm her way into his side, he blew her off.
Toward the back of the bar was a hallway, off to the right. The music got louder as we followed it through the building. Along the left wall were a series of doors, two of which were labeled as bathrooms. Then we passed an open door. I shot a glance inside to find a big room with a heavy wooden table. On one wall hung several obviously old sets of Silver Bastard colors. Puck frowned and shut the door.
Okay, that must be the chapel.
The hallway opened up into a kitchen area. Along the back wall was a grill, and several women hovered around a big center counter, fixing platters of food. Directing them was Darcy. She saw me and a huge smile took over her face.
“Becca!” she called, sauntering over with a sexy sway of her hips. She had to be nearly fifteen years older than me, maybe more, but the woman still knew how to work it.
“I need to talk to Boonie and Picnic,” Puck said. “Will you keep an eye on Becca, make her feel welcome? I don’t want to leave her alone yet. Not until she’s more comfortable.”