Chapter 5 3 Clubs
Taryn’s POV
“You should probably tell your new friend whose property he’s touching.”
For half a second, I thought maybe I’d heard him wrong.
Then Bobby said, “Property?”
Kellan’s eyes stayed on me. “You know exactly what I mean.”
“Actually, I don’t.” I folded my arms. “Go ahead. Explain that one.”
The Iron Mesa guy behind him looked toward the crowd like he suddenly wished he were anywhere else. Kellan didn’t move.
“You’re my fiancée.”
“That’s not what you said.”
“Taryn.”
“You called me property.”
“It was a figure of speech.”
Bobby laughed under his breath. “Sounded pretty fucking clear from where I’m standing.”
Kellan finally looked at him. “This doesn’t concern you.”
“You made it concern me when you started talking about her like somebody handed you a title.”
“I don’t need advice from a twenty-year-old prospect.”
Bobby tapped the full patch on his cut. “Might want to look again.”
Kellan’s eyes dropped to it.
“I know what you’re wearing.”
“Then don’t call me a prospect.”
“Bobby,” I said.
He looked at me.
I shook my head once.
Not because Kellan deserved Bobby backing off. Because I had already heard enough about treaties, routes and what happened when men wearing different patches decided somebody had disrespected them.
Kellan caught it too.
“That’s probably the smartest thing you’ve done tonight.”
Bobby turned back to him. “Don’t confuse her stopping me with you being right.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I muttered.
Kellan stepped closer.
Bobby didn’t move.
Neither did I.
The people walking around us had started noticing. Nobody stopped completely, but there were enough sideways looks that I knew we had maybe another minute before this became entertainment.
Kellan looked at Bobby. “You know who I am.”
“Yeah.”
“Then you know what happens when you put your hands on another man’s woman.”
“I moved her out of the way before somebody hit her.”
“You had your hand around her waist.”
“I know where my hand was.”
“And now I’m telling you not to do it again.”
Bobby glanced at me. “You want me to stay away from you?”
“No.”
He looked back at Kellan. “There you go.”
Kellan’s mouth tightened. “She isn’t the one I asked.”
“That’s kind of the fucking problem.”
A voice came from behind us.
“What’s the problem?”
I turned.
Max Torres was coming through the crowd with Emilio beside him and Chester a step behind. Lola was with them, walking close to Emilio with one hand tucked into the back pocket of her jeans. She looked from Bobby to Kellan, then to me.
Bobby muttered, “Shit.”
Max stopped beside him. “That good, huh?”
“Could be better.”
Emilio looked at Kellan’s president patch, then at the Iron Mesa man behind him. “What happened?”
Kellan answered before Bobby could. “Your boy needs to learn boundaries.”
Max looked at Bobby. “You touch his bike?”
“No.”
“His cut?”
“No.”
“His money?”
“No.”
Kellan said, “My fiancée.”
Max looked at me.
I lifted a hand. “Hi.”
His eyes went back to Bobby. “That the girl from earlier?”
“Yeah.”
“The scorpion girl?”
I stared at Bobby. “You told him about that?”
Bobby shrugged. “It came up.”
Max rubbed his mouth.
Emilio looked at me. “What scorpion?”
“Not important.”
Lola leaned toward him. “I want to hear about the scorpion later.”
“Thank you,” I said.
Kellan looked between all of us. “Are we done?”
Max’s attention went back to him. “Not really. You said my member crossed a line. I’m trying to figure out what line.”
“He’s been alone with my fiancée. Putting his hands on her. Encouraging her to ignore me.”
“I didn’t need encouragement,” I said.
Kellan ignored me. “I told him to stay away from her.”
Max looked at Bobby. “And?”
Bobby shifted his laptop under his arm. “I asked Taryn if she wanted me to stay away from her.”
“And?”
“She said no.”
Max looked at me.
“I said no.”
“Okay.”
Kellan laughed once. “That’s your response?”
Max looked at him. “What do you want me to do? Ground him?”
“This isn’t a joke.”
“I know.”
“Then control your member.”
Max’s face didn’t change, but Emilio straightened beside him.
Max stepped closer to Kellan. “Careful with that.”
Kellan didn’t back away. “He’s wearing your patch.”
“Which is why I’m standing here.”
“He’s interfering in an agreement between Iron Mesa and Lost Coast.”
Bobby started to answer.
Max lifted one hand without looking at him.
Bobby stopped.
That was the first time I’d seen him do it all night.
Max looked at Kellan. “Then maybe we should get Lost Coast over here before you start accusing Sons of Doom of interfering in something nobody told us existed.”
“You know now.”
“I know you’re pissed because Bobby walked around Sturgis with a woman who apparently didn’t want to walk around with you.”
Kellan looked at me. “She should have come back to camp.”
“My camp,” I said. “Not yours.”
“Same difference soon.”
“No. It really fucking isn’t.”
“Taryn.”
I knew Dad’s voice before I turned.
Of course he was here.
Cal was beside him, with two more Renegades behind them.
I looked around at Iron Mesa, Sons of Doom and Lost Coast standing in the middle of the bike show.
“Perfect. Everybody’s here.”
Dad walked straight toward Kellan. “What happened?”
Kellan pointed toward Bobby. “Your daughter’s been walking around with him.”
Dad looked at Bobby.
Then at me.
“That’s what this is about?”
Kellan’s jaw shifted. “He had his hands on her.”
“He stopped a guy from elbowing me in the face.”
Dad looked back at Kellan. “There. Done.”
Kellan shook his head. “Not done.”
Bobby said, “Apparently moving somebody six inches in a crowd is a declaration of war.”
Dad shot him a look. “Not helping.”
“I wasn’t talking to you.”
Max glanced at Bobby. “Now you’re not helping.”
Bobby shut his mouth.
I almost laughed.
Almost.
Kellan looked at Dad. “She walked away from dinner, ignored my calls and spent the rest of the night alone with another patched man.”
“I wasn’t alone. There are approximately forty thousand people standing around us.”
“You knew what I meant.”
“And I didn’t answer your calls because I didn’t want to talk to you.”
Dad stepped closer to me. “Taryn, enough.”
I looked at him. “Why are you telling me enough?”
“Because we’re not doing this in the middle of Sturgis.”
“I wasn’t doing anything. I was looking at motorcycles.”
“With him.”
Dad glanced at Bobby.
There it was again.
I shook my head. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Start acting like I did something wrong because I spent two hours with somebody I actually wanted to be around.”
Kellan said, “You’re engaged.”
“I didn’t agree to be engaged.”
Dad lowered his voice. “Taryn.”
“No. Stop doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Saying my name every time I say something you don’t want him to hear.”
A few people had stopped now.
Not a lot.
Enough.
Dad looked around us. “We’ll deal with this back at camp.”
“We already dealt with it at camp. You told me the treaty matters more.”
“That is not what I said.”
“You told me almost eighty men are depending on you. You told me your word matters. You told me I’m marrying him whether I want to or not. Which part did I miss?”
Cal looked away.
Lola hadn’t.
She was standing beside Emilio watching me.
Kellan stepped forward. “This doesn’t need to turn into a scene.”
I laughed. “You called me property five minutes ago.”
Dad looked at him.
Finally.
Kellan shrugged. “Figure of speech.”
Bobby said, “Bullshit.”
Kellan turned. “You really want to keep inserting yourself into this?”
Bobby shifted so he was standing closer to me. “You really want to keep talking about her like she isn’t standing here?”
“I know exactly where she’s standing.”
“Then try talking to her instead of her father.”
Kellan stepped toward him.
Emilio moved at the same time.
So did Chester.
Max put an arm out across Bobby’s chest before he could go anywhere, while Dad stepped between Kellan and the rest of us.
“Enough,” Dad said. “Nobody’s fighting over this.”
Kellan looked around him. “I’m not fighting.”
“No? Because you’re doing a hell of an impression.”
Dad turned toward me. “And you need to stop pushing.”
I stared at him. “Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“Kellan calls me property, tells another man he can’t touch me, and I’m pushing?”
“I am trying to keep this from becoming something bigger than it needs to be.”
“It already is.”
“Taryn, listen to me.”
“No. You listen to me for once.”
Dad glanced at Max, then at the people standing around us.
I pointed toward Kellan. “He thinks because you signed something, he owns me. He told me where I’m going to live. He told me which club I’m going to travel with. He gets my phone number from you, then comes looking for me because I don’t answer him. Now he’s telling Bobby he can’t touch me.”
Kellan said, “You’re making it sound worse than it is.”
I turned on him. “You called me property.”
“I already told you what I meant.”
“I don’t care what you meant.”
Dad rubbed his forehead. “Can everybody lower their voices?”
“No.”
“Taryn.”
“No. I’m done being the only person at this fucking rally who’s supposed to keep everybody comfortable.”
Kellan looked at the people around us.
Then he reached for my hand.
I pulled it away.
He looked down at the space between us.
“Don’t touch me.”
Dad said his name. “Kellan.”
“I’m not hurting her.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
I looked at Dad.
He didn’t answer.
Kellan turned toward the men gathered around us, then raised his voice enough that the nearby people could hear.
“There seems to be some confusion, so let’s clear it up. Taryn Rourke and I are engaged. Lost Coast and Iron Mesa have an agreement, and she’ll be my wife.”
My head snapped toward him.
A few people nearby looked over.
One of the Iron Mesa men smiled.
Someone behind me said something I couldn’t make out.
Kellan kept going.
“The engagement is settled. Whatever happened tonight was a misunderstanding.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
He looked at me.
“I am not engaged to you.”
“Taryn.”
Dad again.
I turned slowly.
He had the chance.
Right there.
Everybody was looking at him.
Iron Mesa.
Sons of Doom.
Lost Coast.
Me.
I stepped closer to him. “Tell him.”
Dad’s mouth tightened.
“Tell him I said no.”
“Taryn, this isn’t the place.”
“Then make it the place.”
“We’ll talk at camp.”
“No. You’re going to answer me now.”
Cal took one step toward us. “Taryn—”
I pointed at him. “Not you.”
He stopped.
I looked back at Dad. “If I tell you right now, in front of everybody, that I will not marry him, are you ending the agreement?”
Dad looked at Kellan.
Then at Max.
Then back at me.
“Dad.”
“The agreement is bigger than this.”
I nodded.
He reached for my arm. “Listen—”
I moved back. “No.”
“Taryn.”
“That was the answer.”
“I didn’t say no.”
“You didn’t have to.”
He lowered his voice. “I am trying to protect this club.”
“Yeah. I know.”
“That route supports people you grew up with.”
“I know.”
“Men who would bleed for you.”
“I know.”
“Then stop acting like none of this matters.”
“I never said it didn’t matter.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“I’m saying I thought I mattered too.”
Dad stopped talking.
I looked at him for another second, then turned away.
Lola was still watching me.
She stepped away from Emilio and came closer, stopping beside me without touching me.
Dad said, “Taryn, we’re going back to camp.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I’m twenty years old.”
“And you’re my daughter.”
“That only seems to count when you need something.”
“Taryn.”
I looked at Lola. “Do you know where the bathroom is?”
She looked toward the vendor row. “Yeah.”
“Show me.”
Dad started to say something.
Emilio cut in. “She said she needs the bathroom, Rook.”
Dad looked at him.
Emilio didn’t move.
Neither did Lola.
After a second, Dad stepped back.
Lola started walking, and I went with her.
We made it past three rows of vendors before she spoke.
“You actually need the bathroom?”
“No.”
“Good. Because I was about to take you to a beer tent.”
I looked at her.
She shrugged. “Closest place I knew they’d stop following us.”
I laughed once.
She glanced back over her shoulder. “They’re still standing there.”
“Of course they are.”
“You want me to stay with you?”
I looked toward the lights farther down the row. “No. I just need a minute.”
Lola nodded. “Emilio and I are camped with Sons. You know where the RVs are?”
“Yeah.”
“If you need anything, ask for me.”
“Why?”
“Because I know what it’s like when men decide something is club business and forget there’s a woman standing in the middle of it.”
I looked at her.
She gave me a small smile. “Also, I want to see the scorpion.”
That got another laugh out of me.
“Seven legs.”
“Even better.”
She turned back toward the others.
I kept walking.
I didn’t go to Lost Coast.
I didn’t go toward Iron Mesa either.
I walked until the crowd thinned and the music dropped behind me, then climbed the gravel path Bobby had shown me earlier.
The overlook was empty when I got there.
I sat on the railing instead of leaning against it this time and looked down at the lights.
My phone had fourteen messages.
Four from Dad.
Two from Cal.
Eight from Kellan.
I deleted Kellan’s without opening them.
Dad’s first one said Come back to camp.
The second said We need to talk.
The third said Taryn.
The fourth was longer.
I didn’t read it.
I locked the phone and shoved it into my pocket.
“Figured you’d come back here.”
I turned.
Bobby was halfway up the path.
“You stalking me now?”
“Little bit.”
“You admit it fast.”
“I’m tired.”
He reached the top and leaned against the railing beside me.
“You okay?”
“No.”
“Want me to pretend I didn’t ask?”
“Maybe.”
“Done.”
For a while, neither of us said anything.
He had changed since the bike show.
Not clothes.
Something about the way he stood.
His laptop was gone. Both hands were free. He kept looking down the hill every few minutes.
I glanced at him. “Did Max yell at you?”
“Not really.”
“What does not really mean?”
“He told me I’m an idiot.”
“That seems accurate.”
“Then Emilio told me if I start a war at Sturgis, he’s making me explain it to Natalie.”
“Max’s wife?”
“Yeah.”
“That scared you more?”
“You haven’t met Natalie.”
“No.”
“She’s five foot nothing and terrifying.”
I smiled.
Bobby looked at me. “There it is.”
“Don’t start.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were going to.”
“Probably.”
I slid off the railing and stood beside him.
“What happened after I left?”
“Rook and Stroud argued for a minute. Max told everybody Sons of Doom wasn’t interested in being dragged into their agreement.”
“That sounds promising.”
“He also told Stroud if he had a problem with me, he takes it to Max. Not me.”
“And what did Kellan say?”
“That he expects Sons to respect his engagement.”
I laughed. “His engagement.”
“Max didn’t agree with the wording.”
“What did he say?”
Bobby looked at me. “You sure you want to know?”
“Yes.”
“He said, ‘Hard to respect an engagement when the woman keeps saying she isn’t engaged.’”
I stared at him.
“I like your president.”
“Most days.”
“Did Dad say anything?”
“Not much after you left.”
“That tracks.”
Bobby leaned back against the railing. “You meant what you said down there?”
“Which part?”
“That you won’t marry him.”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
I looked over. “Okay?”
“Yeah.”
“You have a really annoying way of making everything sound simple.”
“I thought we covered this.”
“We did.”
“Still don’t think you should marry him.”
“I know.”
He looked toward the lights below. “So what are you going to do?”
I shoved my hands into my jacket pockets. “I don’t know.”
“You have options.”
“Do I?”
“Everybody has options.”
“That sounds like something people say right before listing a bunch of things that don’t actually work.”
“Try me.”
I looked at him. “Fine. I tell Dad no. He ignores me. I go home and refuse. Kellan shows up. Dad tells me the treaty is signed. We do this all over again except now everybody has guns and nobody has thousands of people around to keep them from doing something stupid.”
“Okay.”
“I go to my mom, Dad finds me.”
“Where does she live?”
“California.”
“Yeah. That’s not far enough.”
“I stay with friends, same problem. Every person I know is connected to Lost Coast somehow. Dad knows where they live, who they date, where they work.”
“You could leave California.”
“With what plan?”
“You’ve got money?”
“Some.”
“A car?”
“Yes.”
“Passport?”
I looked at him. “Are you actually helping me plan this?”
“I’m asking questions.”
“That’s how plans start.”
“Maybe.”
I walked a few feet away, then turned back.
“I’ve thought about it.”
“About what?”
“Running.”
Bobby didn’t say anything right away.
I looked down toward the rally.
“I thought about it before tonight. Not seriously. More like, what if I just got in my car and kept going. Then Dad would call, I’d ignore him for a day, eventually I’d come home and he’d be an asshole for a week.”
“And now?”
“Now there’s Kellan.”
“Yeah.”
“And a treaty.”
“Yeah.”
“And apparently half of Sturgis knows I’m engaged.”
“Not half.”
“Give it an hour.”
“That’s probably fair.”
I looked at him.
He sighed. “Sorry.”
“Too late.”
He smiled a little.
I pulled my phone out, stared at it, then put it away again.
“If I actually run, Dad comes after me.”
“Probably.”
“Kellan too.”
“Definitely.”
“And anybody who helps me gets dragged into it.”
Bobby looked at me. “Also probably.”
“So there you go.”
“There I go where?”
“I don’t have anywhere to go.”
He straightened away from the railing.
“You could disappear if you wanted to.”
“I just told you I can’t.”
“I didn’t say it would be easy.”
“Dad knows everybody I know.”
“You don’t know everybody I know.”
I stared at him.
He kept going. “There are places Rook doesn’t know. People he doesn’t know. Phones that don’t connect back to you. Cars that aren’t registered where somebody expects. Cash doesn’t leave a digital trail unless you’re stupid with it.”
“Okay, hacker.”
“I’m serious.”
“That’s worse.”
“Probably.”
“You’re talking about hiding me from two MC presidents.”
“I know what I’m talking about.”
“And what happens when Max finds out?”
“That part gets complicated.”
I laughed. “There it is.”
“I never said it wouldn’t.”
“You’ve known me one day.”
“Less than that.”
“Great. Even better.”
He looked at me. “You still shouldn’t have to marry somebody because your dad needs a route.”
“I know.”
“Then stop telling yourself the only choices are marry Stroud or start a war.”
“What’s the third choice?”
“Leave.”
“And go where?”
He didn’t answer right away.
I looked at him.
“See?”
Bobby pushed away from the railing and stepped closer.
“Where would you go if nobody could find you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Think.”
“I am thinking.”
“Anywhere.”
“There isn’t anywhere.”
“There is.”
“No, Bobby. There isn’t. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. My whole life is Lost Coast. My family is Lost Coast. Everybody I know is one phone call away from my father. If I leave, I have nowhere.”
He looked at me for a long second.
Then he said, “You do now.”
I stopped.
“Bobby.”
“I mean it.”
“You have no idea what you’re offering.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I’m patched, Taryn. I know exactly what happens if I help another president’s daughter disappear after she’s been promised in a treaty.”
“Then why would you?”
“Because you asked your father in front of three clubs to choose you, and he chose the fucking route.”
I looked away.
Bobby stepped closer.
“He should’ve picked you.”
“Don’t.”
“What?”
“Say things like that.”
“Why?”
“Because I already like you.”
That shut him up.
I laughed under my breath. “Look at that. Found the button.”
“Taryn.”
“What?”
“I like you too.”
“That seems inconvenient.”
“Really fucking inconvenient.”
I looked up at him.
He was close enough now that the front of his cut brushed my jacket.
I could have stepped back.
I didn’t.
Bobby lifted one hand and stopped before touching me.
“Can I?”
I looked at his hand, then at him.
“Yes.”
His fingers settled against the side of my neck.
Then he kissed me.
I grabbed the front of his cut before he could pull away and kissed him back.
His other hand came around my waist, and this time nobody was dragging me out of somebody else’s way. I moved closer on my own, one hand sliding up behind his neck while his mouth came back to mine.
When we finally broke apart, his forehead touched mine.
I was still holding his cut.
Bobby looked down at my hand.
“You know Kellan’s really going to hate me now.”
I pulled him back toward me.
“That sounds like his problem.”
