“I’m fucked. So fucked,” I say aloud to Leo as I climb up on a barstool. Like usual, the youngest member of the Savage Kings is wearing a black baseball hat to hide the scars on his face, while I wish my own hat could just cover up my shame of being manipulated by a magical pussy.
“Having trouble narrowing down the options for our new prospect?” Leo asks as he slides a cold glass of beer in front of me.
“You could say that,” I agree as I drink a big swig of it. I’m pretty sure his question is the most he’s said to me in months, since he was tortured by that sick fuck who nearly killed him.
If we hadn’t gotten to the bar when we did…well, let’s just say I won’t ever forget seeing how messed up he was.
“I don’t care if you want to kick my ass or not. I took them some sandwiches and water a few times. I figured it was better to incur your wrath than let them all die.”
“What?” I ask, swiping at my damp lips with the back of my hand.
“The potential prospects you told to stay out back?”
“Oh, shit!” I exclaim.
I jump down from the stool and run, taking the shortcut behind the bar to go out the back door so I can get there the quickest.
Sure enough, when I burst through it, there are four sad sacks of shit sitting on the ground. They all try to get to their feet, but it takes some a few tries to get upright.
How fucking long have they been out here? Nearly forty-eight hours? Jesus.
Guess I got a little too distracted with Teagan.
What the fuck am I supposed to say to these boys? Sorry, I forgot about you because I was too busy trying to fuck this insane chick who thinks she has a shot at being a prospect? That she’s trying to get me addicted to her pussy, so I’ll do whatever she wants? That I’m halfway there after one single fuck?
Yeah, I don’t think so.
“Congrats,” I say to the boys instead. “You four are the only ones who made the first cut by passing my, ah, patience test. Everyone who left failed and are out of the running.”
The fuckers actually smile as if I made their dreams come true after making them suffer two days and nights out here.
“Go home and get some sleep. I’ll meet you back here Thursday night at nine p.m.,” I tell them.
When none of them move, I say, “Seriously, go! Get out of here!”
Finally, all four start walking slowly toward the parking lot while glancing over their shoulders at me every five seconds until they’re finally out of sight.
Heading back inside, I grab the remainder of my beer from the bar, chug it, and then ask Leo for another one.
“You forgot about them, didn’t you?” he asks, a slight curve to his lips, nearly a smile.
“Fuck yes, I did,” I admit with a chuckle.
“How many were left?”
“Only four.”
“Well, that’s one way to trim down the numbers fast,” he agrees. “I remember Cannon did something similar to me. I had to wash every inch of every bike in the Harley dealership twice before I could leave. It took at least twelve hours because I didn’t want to miss a spot.”
“That may have been worse. Those sons of bitches didn’t even do any work out back. They just stood around, probably talking and playing on their phones until they died.”
“Yeah. At least it didn’t rain much or get cold. If it had, we might have had to start the search all over again,” Leo remarks.
“Very true.”
“So, Marcus, if you forgot about the prospects, then what were you moping about when you came in?”
“Nothing.”
“If you say so,” Leo mutters before he goes and gets back on his stool. He picks up the paperback book he left there turned upside down to mark where he left off.
I drink my beer in silence while trying to decide what the hell I’m going to do about Teagan.
How many days should I let her stay with me? Five? That would take us through the weekend. Five days seems like a long time when I lost my head after just two before. But on the other hand, there is a whole lot of fucking that can be done in five more days.
And while she’s obviously using me for a free place to stay, I’m pretty sure she thinks that by getting in good with me, she’ll have a shot at prospecting.
Is it wrong to lead her on when she’s using me? Nah, I don’t think so.
Still, that little seed she planted in my head keeps growing more roots, because I can admit to myself that I like the idea of doing what I want to her whenever I want. Fuck, I like that idea a lot. Not to mention that she can actually take a spanking. The belt marks on her ass are some of my best work. I’ve never left more than a handprint before.
Still, whenever I see the welts, I feel guilty and horny as hell. It’s a bad combination.
“There you are!” Roman says as he comes strolling out of his office. I assume he’s talking to me since Leo is always here. “Did you finally let the potentials leave?”
“Ah, yeah, I did.”
“Brutal lesson, but it’s better for us to know now who can take the heat,” he says. “Good work.”
Leo snickers from behind his book but doesn’t call me out.
“I sent all of the applications to Reece to start his background searches. Should I tell him to narrow it down?”
“Nah, may as well run them all if it’s not too much trouble,” I reply since I don’t even know the names of the four guys I just sent home. Thursday night, I’ll be sure to get them written down.
“Yeah, Reece won’t mind too much,” Roman agrees. “Are the prospects all that’s got you drinking in here so early?”
“Uh-huh,” I mutter. “Do you ever feel guilty about…taking advantage of the pathetic fuckers?”
“No. That’s what we do to prospects. Most of you had to go through it at some point to get patches. Only a few of us are as lucky as those boys up in Virginia that Hugo vouched for.”
“They get patches without prospecting?” Leo looks up from his book to ask.
“Same as I did. How else would the Savage Kings ever start a new chapter?” Roman replies. “You need at least five men, and most guys won’t move just to start up in a new city. Usually, the Kings find a club and do a patch over if the group is amenable. Virginia got a pass from the Fury brothers because four of them are related and have been riding together for years. That’s basically the same thing as having been a club.”
“Still seems like they got off easy,” I remark.
“Yeah, well, don’t envy them,” Roman says. “Each new member is about to pick a prospect so they can double their numbers within a year or so. When the number of prospects is the same as members, there’s going to be problems.”
“How the fuck they going to all pick a prospect? It’s a pain in the ass for me to find one,” I grumble.
“Probably all of them will be boys they know and grew up with in town. Hugo will be the only new blood, but he doesn’t seem to mind, and he doesn’t even want the gavel for long. At least Abel will be crashing so he can help him out as needed,” Roman explains. “Still, keeping five prospects in line while getting off the ground won’t be easy. Getting established always comes with a few speedbumps because there’s usually some group who doesn’t like the Savage Kings rolling into town, setting up shop.”
“Yeah, drug dealers and other criminals,” Leo mutters.
“That’s right,” Roman agrees. “Anyway, they’ll figure it out. We’ve got our own problems, like what to do about our recently shot up prospects who are always at each other’s throats. Any suggestions?”
“Let them fight to the death, winner take all, including patching in?” I suggest with a grin.
“Let me amend my question — any suggestions where Lucas and Jake both live and both patch in without any of their baggage? Both have proven themselves and we need to replace Hugo and Abel’s seat at the table.”
“What the hell is their baggage?” Leo asks.
“Fuck if I know,” Roman replies. “Neither of them will talk about it.”
“You could tell them there’s only room for one and they have to work it out between themselves to decide who gets in,” I suggest.
“Again, I want a way so that both of them live,” Roman says with a chuckle.
“No, I think Marcus could be on to something,” Leo tells him. “It would force them to work together and maybe work through their shit.”
“I’ll think about it, and we’ll discuss it at our next meeting,” Roman decides. “But it’s going to be soon, so you need to narrow down the potentials to five or less.”
“Already done,” I tell him with a smirk.
“Yeah?”
“Uh-huh. Guess some guys weren’t cut out for pulling a few all-nighters.”
“Damn,” Roman mutters. “I hope we’ve got some decent men left.”
“Guess we’ll find out more about them Thursday night. I told them to be back here at nine.”
Before I forget, I pull out my phone and set an alarm for six, an hour before our weekly Kings meeting just in case I get distracted with Teagan again.
And that thought on its own tells me all I need to know – she’s staying. At least for a few more days.
When Roman goes back to his office, I climb down from my stool, ready to get back to her when Leo asks, “You don’t even know the names of the guys who stayed out back, do you?”
“Not a clue,” I answer. “I’ll get it written down Thursday night if they show up.”
“You better hope they do,” he says. “And Reece is going to be pissed if he finds out he did backgrounds for dozens of potentials for no reason.”
“Then let’s hope nobody tells him,” I say with a grin. “See you tomorrow.”
“See you then,” he agrees.
