Bikers, Chains and Bad Boys

Chapter 16

Jared was leaning against my truck when I made my way outside.

"I hear your attendance is now required at the club party tonight." I shrugged at him in response. It would be nice to go somewhere other than home and work. I'd been treated like an inmate with work privileges the last week. Yes, it was great to be able to get out of the house and go to work, but I wasn't allowed to leave anywhere without someone attached to my hip.

It didn't bother me all that much, really. Jared was a cool guy and he was fun to hang out with. But it'd been a lot of years since I'd needed a babysitter and it felt like soon I wouldn't be able to wipe my own ass without someone standing guard.

I appreciated the gesture, but dear God I was starting to feel a little suffocated. While I understood that danger was lurking around the corner, there hadn't even been a peep let alone a sighting from any DH members in the last two weeks. I had formed the small habit of looking over my shoulder whenever I got the slightest odd feeling, but only when no one was there to notice.

"Hey," Corey jogged over to me, his slightly longer hair flopping into his eyes. He swiped a hand through his hair to pull it out of his eyes and stopped a few feet away from me. "You're going to the party, right?"

My brows pulled together of their own accord as I swung my keys around my finger. "Yeah, why?"

"Can I catch a ride with you? Elias took my bike again." I frowned in annoyance. Corey had come over a few times the last couple weeks to hang out and he'd told me about his family. His mother, Alice, and his stepfather, Elias. The latter of which was a deputy for the Evansville Police Department.

His and Casey's father, Gabriel Graves, died in a bike accident when Corey was eleven and his mother had gotten remarried to Elias only eight months after they'd buried Gabriel. Gabriel was Warren and Mickey's illegitimate cousin. Alice was a drunk that no one particularly cared for and Elias liked to hit things that were smaller than him and could cry. It was hard to prove such things about a highly respected deputy, though. Corey was only sticking it out until Casey graduated and took off for college.

"Can't really do anything about it when it's technically in his name." He grumbled, shrugging. I gestured with my head toward the truck and he slid in between Jared and me.

"Still bullshit." I pulled away, heading to Corey's house. He hopped out and was back in the truck in less than five minutes, freshly changed. We made a quick pitstop at my house next, so I could change as well. I hadn't done much of anything to get dirty today, but it was still hot as hell during the day in August so I needed to throw on something I wouldn't freeze in when the sun went down. The nights around here could get quite chilly sometimes.

Dad wasn't super excited about me going out, but apparently the fact that I'd be in the company of Reapers calmed him enough to let me go. I didn't know what to think about that little bit of information.

When we finally made it to the Reaper's clubhouse, there were so many bikes in the lot that I had to park my truck along the outside of the fence with a few other cars and walk back to get in through the gate.

Apparently, this party was a founder's celebration party for the club. It was the anniversary of the day the founders had formed the club in 1966. Corey said it was only meant for those associated with the club, like members and members' families. I was neither, so I still wasn't sure why Warren had invited me.

I was standing with Corey, listening to a couple of guys telling stories about when they'd first become members of the club. Every now and then, boisterous laughter bursted from the group of people standing close enough to hear. I chuckled at a particularly funny part as I brought my third cup of whatever Brody had surprised me with tonight.