All three men nodded.
“Good, give me your f**king jackets.” Each of the three men handed over the leather jackets with hesitation. Murphy’s own jacket he’d burned, along with every single reminder of his time within the other club.
“Burn this shit.” Tiny threw the cuts at Hardy who then left to deal with it. “I don’t know what shit went on back in your club, and I don’t care. Here, now, you respect my rules. No drugs, it’s not an option for me. We deliver them, but we don’t use or deal them here in Fort Wills. If you’re given a job, you do it without any questions asked. When a woman says no, it means no. Follow the rules, respect the club, respect the patch, and you’ll learn the rest as you go.”
Tiny slammed his hand down on the table. “Meeting finished. Get the f**k out of here. Murphy, I want a word with you.”
He watched the others leave, nodding at Killer, Whizz, and Time to wait for him.
Lash was the last to leave, closing the door behind him.
“What’s the matter?” Murphy asked.
“Tate hates you, and I know shit went down with the two of you before you left. What’s going on?” Tiny stood up, looking every part the scary biker. He wasn’t wearing his jacket, and it showed his thick, tattooed arms folded across his chest.
“She was in love with me, and there were feelings there. I broke her heart, but I did what I had to. I put the club first.” Murphy kept his gaze on the older man. He expected Tiny to lose it very soon. “I’ll always put the club first.” It was hard to get the words out, but he knew what was expected of him. Murphy knew the moment he made that promise all those years ago to Tate.
Tiny nodded. “Patricia learned to deal with the club coming first. Her death was hard to deal with. I had this place to keep me going. I love my daughter. Don’t make her promises you can’t keep.”
Murphy agreed letting himself out of the room. Several of the men were wrapped around the sweet-butts. Taking a seat near the bar he ordered a shot of whiskey. He needed to calm his nerves. For the past three months he’d been back in the fold of The Skulls. Some of his brothers were still apprehensive around him, Tiny included. Did they think he turned while he’d been away?
“Hey, baby, do you want some company?” Fern asked, sliding up against him. She was one of the worst sweet-butts in the club, f**king anyone who’d have her. He remembered her trying to get one of the members to marry her, but she was a sweet-butt and would always be a sweet-butt.
“It’s not going to happen, Fern. Fuck off.” Murphy pushed her away.
“Do you seriously have a hang up on that fat bitch?” Fern’s voice rose. “Tate’s not even around here, and the last thing you’ll get is between those chubby thighs.”
Her words about Tate pissed him off. Acting without thinking, he grabbed her around the throat and slammed her head against the bar. The contact wasn’t harsh, but it had her gasping and shaking. “You ever talk about Tate like that again and I’ll f**king kill you. You’re a whore around here, Fern. No one wants you for anything other than a good hole. Tate is old lady material. You, you’re not.”
No one interfered as he grabbed his beer and walked outside. He noticed no one went running to Fern’s defense. The old ladies hated her, and the men used her.
Going behind the club he stared out at the mass of trees located behind their building. He would stand out here many times when looking out for Tate. She was such a hard woman to understand when he took care of her. Tate hadn’t been difficult or a bitch. She’d been this carefree spirit looking for a good time. Over the years he’d lost count of the parties he’d dragged her out of, but she’d never fought him when he removed her from the partying scene. He remembered the fact she simply stopped going to parties. Every time he did pull her out of a party he kept the information to himself and made sure Eva looked after her if she’d drunk too much.
Killer cleared his throat. Turning to look at him, Murphy saw the doubt on the other man’s face.
“What’s the matter?” Murphy asked.
“The men don’t like me or the others. We’re thinking of cutting and running,” Killer said, surprising him. Murphy never had them tagged for quitters.
“You came from another group known for its lack of rules. If you want to quit, then quit, but don’t make that decision lightly.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ll have a mark on your head like the rest of The Lions. Tiny wants you all dead, and he’ll find each and every one of you.” Murphy let his words settle between them. Reaching into the back of his pocket, he grabbed his pack of smokes and lit one up.
“I wasn’t part of that shit,” Killer said.
“Then prove it. Become a member and fight each and every one of them.” Murphy offered the other man a smoke.
“Fight, again?”
Murphy shrugged. “You want to die? Then run. You don’t want to die then you fight and prove to these men that you’re worth the risk of having you in the club.”
For several minutes he finished smoking his cigarette and threw the butt away. “I’ve got a woman to go and protect.”
****
Tate left the dentist building where she worked. It was f**king boring, but it made her enough money to get by. The apartment wasn’t too bad either. Several of the women, dental nurses, and fellow receptionists mumbled as she passed them. She was used to the name calling and ignored them. Only a couple of weeks had passed since she left her father’s home, but she knew it was the best decision she’d made.
Grabbing her cell phone from her bag she saw several missed calls from Tiny, Lash, and Nash. She ignored them all, deleting any messages from the club. The Skulls was not her life. Her father would never let her become a member. Women were not allowed in the club, and the club always came first. She was tired of being second best.
Pocketing her phone she headed away from the group of the women.
“Tate?” One of the women called out to her, but she kept on walking. “Tate.”
The sound of running feet had her stopping, turning around to see a cherry blonde following her. The woman was on the large side, like Angel and herself. It amazed her how many of the sweet-butts were always so slim. They did nothing but f**k the club members.
She stared at the other woman’s bright smile.
“I thought you didn’t hear me,” the woman said.