Chapter 1—Kooper

   

     “Room 212,” the night shift clerk grunts. He might be the peppy type, but not at three in the morning.

     "What a fucking night,” I mumble as I push open the clubhouse door. I’m loud enough for a few brothers to agree with a grunt as they head to the bar and I go to the pool tables, picking up where I left off.

     A few hours ago, we were all bullshitting over cards and complaining about losing to Flint. Fucker has always been good at cards. I half suspect he counts them, but whatever. I only ever stay for a few hands, and then I’m at the pool tables. I was here playing a round with Domino when Flint rang the alarm that Chains’ woman and kids were under attack. Then shit really went south when we learned a few things, mostly about her, and got a ton of questions as to why the Devils Damned are after her.

     That woman has to have balls of steel to have lived in hiding under her house most of her life and still seem normal. Not sure I or any brother would have turned out right in the head after who knows what she went through.

     “Want me to rack them?” Flint calls as he meets me at the tables, and I nod. Ten seconds later, a prospect gives me a beer, and all is right in the world. Chains has a mess to deal with, and as a Hound brother, I’ll deal with it when he asks me to. But till then, I’ve got no place to be but here drinking and shooting the shit. We all know shit is about to go down. You don’t get a few dead Devils Damned and not have more crap to come, but right now ain’t that time. So I do what all Hounds do—live my life till I’ve got to defend it. And right now, life is fucking grand.

     Till it ain’t.

     I’m not pissed about Chains’ old lady waking up from whatever General gave her to sleep it off. Don’t even care that she’s yelling and throwing a fit about needing to see the kids. A yelling woman ain’t new in this place. Usually a vamp or some wannabe girlfriend is making a ruckus that most of us tune out.

     What drives a nail into my good mood is when I see a certain pain in the ass sneak behind the bar. One who’s shit at hiding, since Bulldog also sees and calls her out, skimpy outfit and all. I might find her annoying, but that doesn’t mean I’m blind. No makeup, but she can still pull the eye. She’s young, maybe younger than some of the girls who hang around here. But her eyes? If you look closely enough, you can tell she’s seen some shit and knows more than those twice her age. She’s wearing close to a vamp-style outfit, even if she thinks it’s suitable pajamas for the night. If she were anyone but the boss’s kid, she’d be kicked out right about now.

     Now she’s the one making a scene. I swear to Christ, we can’t have one normal night without someone bitching, and usually it comes from the fairer sex.

     “Might learn a few things while you’re down there,” I chirp when she complains about the floor being sticky. I don’t know why I spoke up, but I’ve got no reason to shy away from her. She’s an annoying brat who always gets her way and needs to start learning things.

     “Fuck off, Kooper. I ain’t about to get on my knees to blow your fucking ugly ass.”

     I roll my eyes at her stupid comment. It’s so not happening.

     “Never fucking wanted you to. Just thought you could learn how to clean up after yourself for once instead of getting us to do it.” I turn my back on her and go back to the game.

     Ruby ain’t my problem, just a nuisance I don’t understand. I get families being in the club, even if I’ve got none of my own here. And sure, she’s the president’s only kid and the only thing he has left to live for. But still. Ruby’s in college. She needs to stop hanging around the clubhouse and running to Daddy anytime she needs something. She has to grow the fuck up like the rest of us.

     “Why do you always got to put her down like that?” Flint asks with a slight eyebrow raise sent my way over the pool table.

     I ignore the look as I line up my next shot. “Girl’s got to learn one of these days that she can’t just expect her dad, or any of us, to pick up after her.” I sink the two ball and walk around to take another shot, glancing up at him briefly before I look back at the table. “Maybe she ain’t the only one who needs reminding.”

     Flint shakes his head. “Ruby’s special.”

     His words make me miss my shot wide, and he snorts at the look of shock on my face, I’m sure.

     “Not like that,” he says. “She’s Law’s daughter. The president’s

daughter is always treated like glass, no matter what club you’re with.”

     Now it’s my turn to snort. “Glass ain’t even a word that should be used within a ten-mile radius of describing that one. I’ll give you that she gets special treatment, but at the end of the day, she’s still outside the club. Women come and go. Even if she becomes someone’s old lady one day, she’s going to need to be a bit tougher at taking care of her own shit. I feel sorry for whoever claims her ass. He’ll either have balls of steel, or she’ll have them around her neck.”

     “I think the saying is ‘She’ll carry them in her purse.’” Flint aims for his shot, and I shrug as I grab my beer and take a swig.

     “Never seen Ruby carry a purse. And if she had a man, she’d take his balls, stab them with a needle, and just wear them around her neck to show not only him but God and country as well who he belongs to.”

     “Kooper.” My name is bellowed across the bar, and I look toward the voice, but I already know who it is. Only one man can get away with yelling at me like a child and not get a fist to the face.

     “What did you do now?” Flint asks as he eyes the president, who’s waiting for me to come over.

     “No clue,” I sigh as I set the pool cue down, grab my beer, and head toward the boss. Some might think his bark is worse than his bite since he’s got a look that some say is the silver fox incarnate. At least that’s how the vamps around here describe him. They’re always trying to get on his dick, but the guy has zero time for club pussy. He had an old lady once and never wanted a replacement.

     I knew of Special K, but other than knowing a name, it never went beyond that. From the way the boys who were close to her talk about her, she seems like one helluva woman. If I had that as my old lady, I wouldn’t want to taint any memory with a girl half the damn club’s been with either.

     “You need something?” I look right into his dark almond eyes, giving him the respect he’s earned. Not just from his position in the club; being the president doesn’t come with instant approval from everyone. It’s earned. Good bosses know how to get everyone on board. Even if they disagree with a situation, they trust the man making it. Like we all do with Law.

     “My office.” He leaves the “now” part out as he turns and heads up the stairs, knowing I’ll follow.

     I don’t drag it out. When he crosses into his office, I’m shutting the door the moment he takes his seat, and then I take the one across from him in front of his desk.

     “What did you want to see me about?”

     “It’s about Ruby.”

     I don’t even hide my sigh or my eye roll. “She complaining or some shit because I spoke the truth down there?”

     He shakes his head. “Ain’t about that, but I’m not keen on how you talk to her, even if she needs someone to call her on her bull most days.”

     I’m a bit taken aback that the prez agrees with me. But not enough to express it other than to keep listening to what he has to say.

     “What happened tonight with Chains’ soon-to-be woman has me thinking. Club’s got enemies. Some we know; others we don’t. And as the president, more than one is going to think that a club issue should be dealt against me. Got no issue with that. I took the chair knowing the risk and ain’t stepping down unless it’s pried out of my cold, dead hands. But despite that, and despite what we Hounds think, there will be a point where it could slip through my fingers.”

     I adjust in my seat, not liking where this conversation is going. I’m not a lifer to the club. Did some time in the military as a cop, then moved to diplomatic security for a bit. It was a Hail Mary career choice someone in Uncle Sam’s pocket threw my way in hopes that I’d stick around longer. It worked for a bit, but not as long as I’m sure they’d hoped for. Guarding diplomats has you seeing a different part of life. Not only in the bodyguard world on how to keep things operational, but some of the shadier shit people do that others trust. It made me physically sick one too many times, and I hung up my badge before going out drinking one night. Which led me to a bar, and then another bar, and then I stumbled into Law, literally. A couple of hours later, and after a hell of a lot of coffee, I agreed to prospect and have been here ever since.

     “Spit it out, boss. Ain’t one for reading between the lines.” I can do it if I have to, but why guess when you can get it directly from the horse’s mouth?

     “Got one weakness in this world. And it ain’t a secret. If something happens to Ruby, I’m not sure which way I’d go. I can claim all I want that I’d choose the club or a brother, but I don’t know, and I ain’t willing to find out. I know your past. Know what you’re capable of. And I want you to be permanently assigned to Ruby.”

     “Say what?”

     “Don’t need you tailing her all the time, but if she needs someone to call, I want it to be you. I want you to check her place and make the security safe. To look into guys who fuck with her, and you fuck back. It ain’t the perfect plan, but I’d feel better knowing it’s more than just me looking after her.”

     “And if I fail and she still gets nabbed or worse?”

     Law lets out a deep breath. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. All I want to know is I’ve got someone on the inside who sees something I might not.”

     “Why me?” Some might see this as a punishment, others as a promotion. I’m holding back on what I think till I get the full story.

     “You ain’t been around like everyone else. She’s got no ties to you. No way to twist you off what I want.”

     At least he’s smart enough to get that Ruby has a pull around here with the brothers, even if it’s a little sister pull. I don’t think any brother is dumb enough to want to try something with her. It’s not that Law won’t allow it, but I don’t see anyone stupid enough to deal with her type of crazy. And she is. Crazy, that is. There’s all types of crazy. Some are cuckoo in the head, and then others are like Ruby—a loose cannon that you don’t know when it’ll go off. And when it does, the destruction can be massive or minimal. It’s all unknown till it happens.

     I rub my index finger just under my lip and think through his words. I might not be the smartest man alive, but I’ve learned to consider multiple scenarios before ever agreeing to anything. And I only do it when I can see more than a 60 percent chance of this going in my favor.

     Like how I ended up with the Hounds. They showed up when some might say I had no other choice but to join them. They’d be wrong. I always have a Plan B, C, and D when Plan A goes to shit. Joining a club was Plan L if I really think about it. But they spoke pretty words, and the more I thought on it, the more I saw possibilities I couldn’t get on my own.

     I was coming off diplomatic duty. Most of my connections were still tied up in red tape, and if I wanted to venture out on something alone, I would be. Sure, I had a few favors to call in to help set shit up, but other than that, it was just me. Having a club gave me more than one door to go into. The odds were overly in favor of club life then, and still are. Even if I’m not so sure about the latest door presented to me.

     “What do I get out of this babysitting gig?”

     He shrugs as he leans back in his chair. “What do you want?”

     I lean forward and rest my clasped hands together on the desk. “The club. I protect your daughter, and I get your chair when you’re ready to step down.”

     Silence.

     To his credit, Law doesn’t protest outright or shoot me. Both would be understandable reactions. But there’s a reason he’s the boss. Like me, he takes the time to think everything through. To weigh it all before reacting.

     He keeps his face neutral, like I do. I’ve got no read on him other than knowing he’s considering it.

     “Ruby doesn’t come with the chair.”

     I shake my head. “Never said I wanted her.”

     His eyes narrow at my words before they even out again. “Can’t promise the club’s vote.”

     “You can make a recommendation,” I say with a tilt of my head.

     He takes a deep breath. “What if I had someone else in mind?”

     I don’t fault him for already thinking ahead. That’s what he does, sees the problem seven paces down the line. And I’ve got a feeling I know who he’s thinking, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be just as good. When I became a Hound, I saw possibilities for more. More opportunities, more resources. Sure, the “power” is cool too. But if I lead the Hounds, the mother chapter, my resources would be endless. I could take this club further than what others might do. I want more than just monitoring our area. And I’m not alone in that. Not sure how this will pan out, but I’ve got to at least get my hat in the ring first before I start making changes.

     “Who says you can’t take two under your wing till the time comes? No one needs to know what you really want, just what you say when it comes to it.”

     “And if I don’t get to make the call? If I go out before I can pass it on?”

     I lean back and raise my shoulders once. “Like you said about Ruby and the possibility of her getting taken or worse. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

     “What if I say no? That I’m not interested in this trade of services or whatever you want to call it? I could kick your ass out right now. Hell, one yell to the brothers and every single one would gun you down if I wanted it.”

     I nod at his words and then shake my head. “Do what you’ve got to do. You’re the one who called me in. You have your pick of the brothers. You know me, and you know them. I don’t do things for shits and giggles, which you also know. You expected me to ask for something. Maybe not this, but be honest with yourself. It was on the table. Half the reason you said Ruby doesn’t come with the deal is because you already thought I would ask that, and it was your line in the sand.” I wait a beat and square off with him as I hold his stare. “For now. Depending on how deep this shit goes, she might also be on the table. You willing to risk that?”

     One beat before he nods. “For her safety, I’d risk almost anything. Even death.”

     I stand and hold out my hand. “Then we have a deal.”

     He looks at me, then at my hand before offering his up, but not standing to match my height. When we lock hands, he pulls me down just a bit so the power dynamic is clear. I might have come up with this, but he has everything in this. I’m just one man. He’s the Hound. He made this club what it is today. I can’t overlook that. I respect the man too much not to.

     But I’ve also got to think about me. And my end goal. Dad always said, “The only person looking out for you is yourself.” Something I’ve lived by every day. Still do. Law could have told me to stuff it and fuck off. Or hell, he could have told me I was babysitting his little girl and there was nothing in it for me at all. But he didn’t. And now the cards have been dealt. Who the fuck knows where they’ll land once life starts dealing too.

     “Keep her alive and I’ll do my part to get you the chair. That’s my guarantee.”

     Another thing my dad taught me: There are no guarantees in life.