Page 29 of Trick
King raised a brow, then nodded.
“Let’s hear it.”
Tyler’s nerves almost betrayed him, then he took a deep breath and sat up even straighter. “Tony said that this was a diverse MC, but I know most of ‘em aren’t. I understand that prospects are hazed, and I got no problem with that, but I’m not interested if I’m gonna get shit just because I’m a Black man.”
That’s when King’s expression softened, just a bit.
“That’s a fair question, kid. You’re right. A lot of MCs, especially one-percenters, are made up exclusively of one race or another. That’s not us. First of all, we aren’t one-percenters.Second, we aren’t fuckin’ assholes.” King smirked before adding, “Well, some of us are fuckin’ assholes, but we aren’t fuckin’racistassholes.”
I chuckled, and Tyler relaxed a little as King continued talking.
“My father founded this club in 1978, and some years later, added a clause to our club bylaws specifying that no one would be denied a patch due to race, religion, ethnicity, or nationality. We revised it again a few years ago to add sexual orientation to the list, too. I support those changes fully.”
King glanced at me and cocked his brow questioningly. I responded with a slight bow of my head.
“As long as your background check and drug screening come back fine, we’d like you to prospect for us. If you have any problems with anyone associated with this club due to the color of your skin, you let Trick know about it. He’s our Sergeant-at-Arms, and he enforces the bylaws, including the ones we’ve added. He’ll put a stop to that shit.”
Tyler glanced at me, and I nodded.
Ten minutes later, he’d given his information to Bull for the background check and left with instructions on where to go to piss in a cup.
“Do you think Ace is gonna say anything about this?” I asked, knowing he was a racist piece of shit who ignored the club members who didn’t fit in with his whites-only bullshit mentality.
He wasn’t openly hostile to anyone because he knew King would pull his patch, but he didn’t associate with some people unless he had to. That was fine with them because they didn’t want anything to do with him either. Hell, none of uswanted anything to do with him, for that matter, even those related to him by blood.
King shrugged, then smiled grimly. “Sinner punched him in the face years ago, when the lousy motherfucker objected to the bylaw change so Joker could get a patch. If he says anything about Tyler, I’ll enjoy knockin’ the shit out of him, then I’ll turn him over to you. If that doesn’t stop him, then we’ll call a vote and kick him out.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said, then left King to do some paperwork. I needed to get to the gym since I had a training session scheduled with one of Rossi’s fighters.
I passed Sinner and Viking on my way out the door.
“Do we have a new prospect?” Sinner asked.
“As long as his checks come back clean,” I responded and Sinner nodded his approval.
“He just got certified as a mechanic,” I told Viking, “so we’ll put him in the garage with you.”
“Good, ‘cuz we need the help. We’re busier than a one-armed monkey with two peckers,” he complained, causing Sinner to do a double take before asking what the hell was wrong with him.
I’d wondered that myself on more than one occasion.
Later that night, alone in my room, my thoughts drifted to Lauren. I still wasn’t sure how to get close to her, since it was clear that my usual moves didn’t impress her in the slightest.
I wasn’t used to working so hard to get a woman’s attention, but she was the total package…smart, funny, and caring, not to mention gorgeous and sexy as hell. I had a feeling she was gonna be worth it, if I could only figure out how to make it happen.
Chapter 10
Lauren
I had a full day booked at the studio on Monday. I’d been hired to do a radio commercial for a local furniture store and would be recording that in the morning, before moving into the solo booth for the afternoon to record a few more chapters of the book I was working on.
Dustin had been hired for the commercial, too, playing the role of the poor, beleaguered husband I’d been dragging all over town in search of the perfect dining room set.
I got to the studio a few minutes early but deliberately stayed in my car until it was time for our session, hoping that would mean Dustin wouldn’t have the opportunity to speak with me before we started. I was worried he would ask me out again, and I would have to turn him down.
I should have known better than to date someone I crossed paths with professionally. It always had the potential to turn awkward and ruin a good working relationship.
Luckily, Steve was directing the spot today, and he was a stickler for starting on time and staying focused, which didn’t leave any down time for idle chit-chat.
