Teagan
I was in Hatch and Maisie’s basent, hanging with Cambry and Tillie, waiting for Maisie to call us all up for dessert, when Hatch walked down. "Ladies."
"Hey, Uncle Hatch," I said.
"Hi," Tillie said, her tone one of hesitance.
Cambry just rolled her eyes.
Obviously, I’d missed sothing, per usual.
"You girls need to co with ," he said, and I raised an eyebrow toward Tillie who just sighed.
We stood and followed him down the hall and into his office. He closed the door behind us and waved to the chairs in front of his desk. "Have a seat."
"What’s up?" Tillie asked as we sat down.
Cambry stood off to the side and Hatch gave her a little head shake before lowering himself into the chair across from us. Leaning back slightly, he tugged on the lapel of his cut. "Y’all understand what this stands for, right?"
We nodded in unison, but my heart started to race.
"Tell then, Tillie."
"It ans you’re in a club. That you ride with the Dogs of Fire."
I swallowed convulsively. That’s not all it ant, but I kept my mouth shut.
He shook his head. "It ans I’m a mber. And even though I’m the club president, first and foremost, I’m a mber. A mber of this club, a mber of this brotherhood, a mber of this family. Even though none of you wear a cut, you are also mbers of this family and when mbers don’t look out for other mbers, or put themselves into dangerous situations, I get itchy, because it’s my job to get itchy. But when that itching turns to burning, we have a problem." He speared us all with a look of death. "And ladies, we have a big fuckin’ problem."
I bit my lip and squird in my seat.
He focused on Tillie and demanded, "What’s this I hear about you gettin’ fake IDs for underage kids?"
"Oh my god, my dad knows no bounds," I ground out.
"Hush," Hatch growled, and I imdiately hushed. "Matilda, answer the question."
"It was only for a few friends, and I haven’t done it for a while... well, until Teagan."
"So, you sent your friend, your sister, into Spiders’ territory, alone, all so she could get into a club less than six months before her twenty-first birthday?"
"What?" Tillie squeaked, turning to . "Spiders’ territory? Why were you in Gresham? Lou lives in Hazel Dell."
"I don’t know, that’s the address Lou texted ," I said.
"How much did you pay for this shitty ID, Teagan?" Hatch asked.
"Two hundred fifty."
"It was supposed to be a hundred. Lou charged you two-fifty?" Tillie asked .
"Lou wasn’t there," I said. "I had to deal with Hooks."
"Who the fuck is this Hook guy?" Hatch snapped.
"Hooks," I corrected. "You know, because he hooks you up with whatever you need."
"Jesus fuckin’ Christ," he hissed. "Focus, Teagan. Who the fuck is Hooks?"
"I don’t know," I said with a shrug. "Just so creepy guy I never want to see again."
"He was creepy?" Tillie asked. "Oh my god, T, you should have gotten out of there."
"Like, oh my god, Tillie, she totally shouldn’t have been there in the first fuckin’ place," Hatch bellowed, losing his fake Valley Girl accent.
"But—"
"No buts and I don’t wanna hear any more of this horseshit. The bottom line is, you were all involved in this illicit enterprise." He pointed to . "You know how fuckin’ problematic going to a club like Elixir is, especially underage. You should not have been there, period, but if you were smart, you wouldn’t have gone without one of us at your back." He then pointed to Tillie. "You shouldn’t even know the kind of guys that make and sell fake IDs, let alone sending him business." Then onto to Cambry. "And you, out of everyone here, should have sent Teagan’s ass packing the second you saw her in the club. You should have called one of us to co pick her up and make sure she got ho safely. All three of you failed as mbers of this family and you failed each other as sisters. I want you all to think long and hard about what could have happened if this Hooks guy wanted more than just two-hundred-fifty dollars. Or, even worse, if he knew who you were affiliated with, and hand delivered Teagan to the Spiders." He scowled. "I don’t even want to think about what those animals would have done."
"I think you and my dad are being totally dramatic about this," I said. "I was fine. Nothing happened. We were just trying to give Daisy the best twenty-first birthday possible."
"Your rationale’s about as thin as your understanding of how much danger you put yourself in," Hatch growled.
"You’re absolutely right, Uncle Hatch," Cambry said. "I didn’t know how Teagan got in, but I should have called Dad or a rideshare and sent her ho."
"Really, Cambry?" I snapped. "I was fine."
"It seems to like you still don’t get it, baby girl," Hatch continued. "I think you need so serious ti to reflect on my words. So, tomorrow, the three of you are going to work in the shop."
We all groaned.
"I’ve notified all brothers of a mandatory oil change and inspection of every bike in the club. From points and plugs to tanks and tires, every bike better be ready for a cross-country ride by the ti you’re all done."
"But it’s a holiday," Tillie pointed out. "My first day off in months."
"Don’t give a shit," Hatch said. "You’ll be workin’ at the club for the day."
"We don’t know anything about chanical shit," Tillie said.
"That’s why Flea and Cash are going to teach and supervise."
I was suddenly all for this punishnt but let out a dramatic sigh. "Really, Uncle Hatch. Do we have to?"
"Yeah, you fuckin’ have to."
"Okay fine," I said, trying not to sound excited.
"Now get out of my fuckin’ office. See you at the club shop at six a.m."
Cambry and Tillie let out protests galore, but I didn’t care. If it ant spending an entire day with my man, I was in.
We filed out of his office and Hatch headed back upstairs.
"Well, this has been fun," Cambry droned. "I’m going to head ho. I need sothing stronger than wine."
She hugged us and made her way upstairs and I moved to follow, but Tillie grabbed my arm. "You better spill, Mistress of the Dark."
"Spill what?" I asked.
"Uncle Hatch might not know when you’re lying, but I do."
I scoffed. "What’s that supposed to an?"
"Cash."
"What about him?"
"You were perched on your high horse, until Hatch ntioned him, then you were all, ’oh, darn, oh drat, oh dearie . Not that, anything but that,’" she said in a sing-song voice.
I scoffed. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."
"Yes you do, and if you deny it one more ti, you will have broken the sacred circle of trust."
"Okay, fine, I like Cash, but you can’t tell anyone."
"I’ll keep your secret, because I don’t want to see Cash’s arms broken, or you love your dad any less."
"That’s exactly what I’m talking about! No one can know. You have to swear."
Tillie moved her arms in a circular motion around us. "The sacred circle of trust is intact."
"Great. Now, after all that, I need pie," I said. "You in?"
"Hells yes."
We rushed upstairs, and after spending a few minutes apologizing to our parents, we dove into dessert.
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