I had to look close at Shelly Reagan to see the family resemblance. Her eyes were much brighter, and she didn't have that darkness swirling around her like Brass, the same sweet intensity I wanted to tame.
As soon as I said I was his old lady, there was a minute of stunned silence. Then the woman laughed, threw herself at me, and tucked her arms around me in a big, brutal, almost possessive hug. Okay, maybe they had something in common after all.
“Damn it, Jordan. Brass.” Shelly – Saffron? – pulled away and stuck her tongue out. “You blather on about being away and all this club intrigue, but don't even tell your own sis you've finally found a girl?”
I watched her do something I thought I'd never see. Saffron reached up and shoved her fingers through his short dark hair, the hair that felt amazing underneath my fingertips. Of course, Brass didn't wait more than a second before he pulled away – something he never would've done with me.
“Whatever,” he grunted. “You know there's been some serious shit going on. My mind's been in strange places.”
We shared a look. The stern mask on his face broke in a thin smile, and then he grabbed my hand and clutched it to his chest.
“You heard the lady right, sis. This is my old lady, and that's never gonna change no matter what your hubby decides in there.” He gestured his head toward the closed meeting room. “I'm gonna fuck up the men who've wrecked my club one way or another. Then I'm gonna give these two everything they seriously deserve.”
The hair ruffling fingers must've been infectious. He leaned past me, tossing Jackie's hair, much to my little sister's surprise.
“And where are you staying here in Missoula?” Saffron asked, giving me a good look.
“The Bison. The guys said it'd be the safest place.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Come on. We can do better than that. I'll talk to Blaze and see if you can stay at the new lake house we're renting.”
“Lake house?” Brass raised an eyebrow. “Fuck me sideways, sis. You've really come a long way in the world after growing up in shitty apartments. Whatever. Long as fucking Blaze is treating you right...”
She smiled. “He is. And you've come a long way too...”
I was about to grab his arm, press it between my breasts, a desperate little preview of all the ways I wanted to show him just how far he'd come. But the door to the meeting room swung open, and all the angry looking Devils came filing out.
Their President, Blaze, marched toward us like he was running on rocket fuel. Brass instantly tensed up, stepping out of my grasp. Saffron backed up toward the table, and I took a seat with Jackie, trying not to eavesdrop on the serious business unfolding behind me.
Well, good luck doing that. The men were right in front of me, and they looked like dynamite about to explode.
“Well? What's the word?” Brass asked.
“It's an aye. Unanimous. You're a sorry bastard, but you're fucking right. My boys and I can't risk watching the Grizzlies fall apart or become a damned front for the cartel to creep north. We'll help your asses out – on our terms.”
The thick tension melted. I turned, even as Saffron looked at me like I was nuts. She looked away, clearly marking the hard border she'd chosen to create between club business and family.
Brass and Blaze shook hands like two long bartering merchants finally making a deal. There was no smiling, none of the manly pats on the back I'd seen among brothers. It was a wartime alliance, a marriage of convenience, plain and simple. Nothing more.
“I'll have my guys bring that fucking video by and get it copied. We'll have it out to every Grizzlies charter as soon as Throttle gives the okay from Dakota,” Blaze said. “Better to head off the reinforcements to Redding before we've gotta fight 'em. Hope you're right about this shit making the other charters flip on Fang.”
“I am. You read my mind, Blaze.”
They shared a grunt, and then Blaze stepped up, grabbing Saffron and lifting her by the hand. “Come on, baby. Let's get his sidekicks some grub before they head to their rooms for the night.”
“Oh, no,” Saffron said, standing and shaking her head. “I'm not putting my own brother and his old lady up in that crappy lodge. It's a bad place for a little girl too.”
Blaze's eyes bugged out. “What the fuck are you saying, woman? You wanna bring 'em...?”
“The lake house. I knew you'd throw a fit if I said home, so I'm picking the next best thing. Seeing as we're not using it in the off season...”
“Jesus Christ.” Blaze pushed a hand through his spiky hair, going red in the face, as if he was trying to hold in a hurricane.