Page 77 of The Devil's Revelation
“I second that,” Rose agrees.
I slide my gaze over to hers. “But you’re his mother.”
“So? I’m still a woman, and I know full well that boy is going to get himself into trouble one of these days and you’re going to do one of two things. You’re going to either make him pay, and we’ll help, or you’re going to leave his ass. If it’s to the point that you can’t be with him anymore, then I figure there’s a reason. Sure, I’ll be disappointed and I’m going to have to listen to his side of the story, but I also know he’s his father’s son and that means he’s stubborn as a damn mule.”
“And I want to add that I’m an expert at getting back at them,” Sage grins wickedly. “Just ask King.”
Rose snorts. “You’re not Raven good. That girl is a menace all unto herself,” she says with obvious pride.
“Who’s Raven?” I ask, trying to place her.
Rose grins. “Raven is a surrogate daughter of mine and is dating Sloan Lincoln, whose mother is one of my best friends.” I nod, remembering her now from the bar.
“It’s going to get confusing so just roll with it,” Sage advises.
“Anyway, Raven loves to prank people, and she and those boys at the tattoo shop she works at, along with her man and his family, are the butt of her pranks,” Rose snickers. “She’s pulled some doozies too.”
“Wait,” I say quickly, the pieces falling into place. “Isn’t Raven the one you got arrested with?”
Sage and Rose both grin widely. “One and the same. She’s also the one who put a snake in her man’s bed and scared the shit out of him,” Rose giggles.
“Didn’t she prank Sloan by putting a bunch of Viagra posters and stuff all over his office too?” Sage wonders.
“Yep. That’s my girl. So if you need to get back at Torque, between us and her, and a few of the other girls, we’ve got you covered,” Rose promises me.
I’m a mixture of shocked, amused, and wary. Okay, Torque has a point on them being a bit nuts, but I like it. Why not have a little fun? “Ah, thanks, I’ll keep that in mind,” I say with a smile, getting another spoonful of ice cream. Feeling a bit more comfortable with them both, I add, “I think Torque and I could be good together, but we don’t know each other enough yet for me to be fully confident.”
“Are you worried about the Old Lady thing?” Sage asks.
I frown. “I still don’t know what that means. We just talked about trying out a relationship.”
Rose leans forward, expression serious. “An Old Lady in this world is essentially marriage without a piece of paper. You’d be declaring to everyone that the two of you are in a committed relationship and that you belong to him, just as he belongs to you. You would have a cut like his, but it would say Property of Torque on it.”
“Property?” I can’t keep the distaste from my tone.
Rose chuckles. “It’s more a way of making sure that no one else touches you. Other clubs may look at it as you’re subservient and there to serve him, but we don’t operate that way. Here, you’re essentially his wife and his job is to provide for you and keep you safe. Other clubs may look at it as a mutually beneficial arrangement and still live mostly separate lives, but for my sons, that means you’re in a committed relationship and the two of you will be loyal to each other. You support each other no matter what, and when he comes home with the world hanging heavy on his shoulders, you’re there for him. Just like he’ll be there for you.
“In an MC, there are a lot of things we won’t know or be told. It might bother you, but eventually you’ll realize it’s for your protection. There’s more to it, but for now I think you get the picture. If Torque hasn’t mentioned that term to you yet, it’s probably because he wants to make sure the two of you are solid before he offers something so important and permanent. Like I said, Torque’s a thinker and he doesn’t jump into things.”
This is so much information that I’m kind of glad he didn’t mention that, because otherwise I’d be running for the hills. I am definitely not ready for that kind of commitment.
“I still think we’re jumping the gun here,” I say with a pout. “I mean, with this whole mob thing, I should be focusing on learning to protect myself, not relying on him and the club to do it for me.”
“Know any self-defence?” Sage asks me.
I shake my head. “No. Well, I mean, I fight dirty, but I don’t do any of that hair pulling shit.” I pause. “Okay, I will, but only if necessary.”
Sage snorts. “Good to know.” She glances at Rose. “You know, maybe it’s a good idea for her to have some kind of self-defence training.” Rose nods her agreement. “Do you know how to shoot a gun?”
I nod. “I haven’t in a while so I’m probably rusty.”
Sage pulls out her phone. “We’ll rectify that now. I’m calling Syn and she can help us get this started.”
“What started?” I ask in confusion as Rose is already moving and packing up the ice cream.
“Your self defense lessons. She’s a K9 trainer and also a black belt. Oh, and she knows how to fight dirty,” Sage says with a grin. “If anyone is going to help, it’s her, and since she’s right next door she can just hike over now and we can get started.”
“This’ll have to be an outdoors thing though,” Rose warns. “Otherwise those boys will be all over us trying to give us ‘tips’.” She saystipsin air quotes and with a sneer.
“Good point. You got a good spot to set up?” Sage asks her as she types away on her phone.
“I do. Let me just run up and grab my gun and see if I can sneak past Bullet.”
I’m feeling dizzy, but excited at the thought of learning new, and obviously important stuff. I just hope I don’t end up shooting myself or getting my ass handed to me. Zeb will never let me live it down.
