He trailed his hand down along my body as he spoke, fingers tracing my curves, pulling my hips closer into his. I shook my head, wondering if I’d lost my mind. Jeff might get killed, I’d just had mind-blowing couch sex with his potential killer and now I was supposed to apply for college.

Just like that.

“You’re serious? You want me to go to school?”

“Why not?” he challenged. “So long as you take care of shit around here, I’m fine with it. Might want to move on that whole divorce thing too while you’re at it. Club’s got a lawyer, I’ll set up an appointment for you. I can pretty much guarantee your ex won’t put up a fight.”

He smiled when he said it—not a nice smile.

“Okay, I’ll go check it out,” I said slowly. “This is weird, you get that? You kidnapping me, holding me hostage and then sending me to school? This isn’t how things like this usually work.”

Horse grinned at me, eyes lazy and satisfied.

“Just roll with it,” he whispered. “And keep doing whatever exercises you do to make your cunt squeeze like that. They got a college degree for that?”

“You’re a pig,” I whispered back. “You know that, right?”

“So far bein’ a pig works for me, babe,” he said. “Gotta go now. Check out the college. Hit the clinic and get some pills. Don’t call your brother. Cook something f**kin’ great for dinner and don’t wear any panties. That’s all I ask.”

With that he pushed himself up off the couch. I watched him pull up his pants, stunned and bemused. He walked out the front door. I heard his bike roar to life and then I was on my own.

That whole cooking dinner/no panties thing didn’t quite work out.

My trip to Coeur d’Alene was great. I didn’t really know my way around, but it wasn’t hard to find downtown. It was right next to the great big giant lake that gave the place its name, sort of a “once you drive into the water you’ve gone too far” kind of situation. I stopped off and bought a cup of coffee and a bagel at a little coffee shop right down on Sherman Avenue, the main strip through town. The waitress there helped me find the college campus—surprisingly, just a few blocks away, also on the lake. I ended up walking there along a broad, paved trail that had a beach on one side and a really pretty park on the other. Everywhere I looked there were kids running around and having a good time, punctuated by painstakingly casual groups of teens in tiny swimsuits trolling with their friends. Just offshore, a seaplane took off from the water. Farther along I saw someone parasailing.

The trail took me into a residential neighborhood and then I started seeing college buildings. From there it was easy to find the admissions office. I talked with a lady for close to an hour and left with a handful of brochures.

On the walk back I saw a bank, so I went and checked my balance on their ATM. Exactly $1,146.24 total. Seeing my balance felt good, and I got out $200 in cash, just in case. Horse said he’d give me money, but I hadn’t given up on finding a way to earn my own. It might be okay to play house with him for a while, but I wasn’t stupid enough to think I should count on him. I couldn’t define what we had, and I couldn’t afford to fool myself about my situation. I was a still-married woman held as collateral by a motorcycle club for her brother’s debt.

I might have to leave town in a hurry at some point.

I finished up by visiting the women’s clinic and got a prescription, reminding myself I was way too early in my cycle to seriously worry about a pregnancy. That seemed like enough for one day, so I headed home to start dinner. Horse hadn’t said what time he’d be back but I didn’t want to call and ask. That would be a little too real or something. Playing house scared me.

There were two strange cars in the driveway when I pulled up—a small, red convertible and a classic Mustang, beautifully restored. I parked my little car next to them, wondering who I would be dealing with now. No sign of Horse’s bike, and he hadn’t mentioned someone coming to visit either. I pushed through the front door to find four strange women sitting in the living room, laughing and drinking beer. All of them had that biker chick vibe going on—not slutty, but definitely not shy about showing some skin. They smiled and started coming toward me. Thankfully, Darcy walked in from the back of the house, carrying a tray with a bowl of chips and some dip on it.

“Marie! I’m so glad you’re back, we weren’t sure how long you’d be!” she said, setting down the tray on the coffee table and pulling me into her arms. It was a little overwhelming but it felt good too. Then she let me go and turned me toward the other women, who’d collected around us.

“Girls, this is Marie,” Darcy said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “She’s Horse’s property now, think I filled you in on that. Marie, this is Cookie, Maggs, Dancer and Em.”

I smiled uncertainly at the women as they crowded forward, most of them hugging me and kissing my cheek. They ranged in age from Em, a young girl who looked strangely familiar to me and had to be in her early twenties, to Darcy and Maggs, both of whom were probably in their forties.

“Come on,” said Cookie, taking my arm and pulling me toward the couch. Dancer grabbed my purse and hung it on a hook by the door. Maggs handed me a beer and they settled like a flock of birds, watching me. Awkward… I couldn’t even remember all their names, let alone think of anything to say.

“I’m Dancer,” said a tall, black-haired woman with chocolate-brown skin. Her features were sharp and she wore her hair long and straight down her back. She looked Indian to me, and I wondered if she was part of the Coeur d’Alene tribe. I’d seen several historic markers around town, and a lot of them seemed to be sponsored by the local tribal casino. “I’m Bam Bam’s old lady.”

That startled me—Horse was pretty darn pale to be this woman’s brother, but he’d said his sister was married to Bam Bam.

“You’re Horse’s sister?” I asked. Then I blushed, realizing how rude I must sound. She laughed.

“Half-sister,” she said. “I’m Coeur d’Alene, he’s not, but it works. Bam and I have been together forever, got three beautiful little babies to prove it. I’m really happy to meet you, honey.”

I smiled a little uncertainly.

“I don’t know how much you know,” I started to say, thinking I should probably clear things up pretty quick here before they got the wrong impression.

“We know it all,” said Maggs. She was petite with shaggy blonde hair, bright eyes and a great big smile. She reminded me of Goldie Hawn. “I hope you don’t mind, but Darcy told us. I mean, some of it’s club business and we don’t have those details, but she told us everything you told her.”

I frowned. I guess I hadn’t exactly sworn Darcy to secrecy, but I hadn’t expected her to make all the details public either. Maggs reached forward and took my hand, rubbing it between hers with a look of concern.

“Oh honey, don’t worry,” she said quickly. “We’re all family here. If you’re with Horse, you’re with us and trust me, these boys cause enough trouble that they need all of us to keep them straight. It’s a group effort.”

The others murmured agreement.

“Old ladies have to stick together,” Darcy said. “Things can get rough, but no matter what we have each other. This is your family now, and we’re here to welcome you.”

I shook my head.

“I’m not Horse’s old lady,” I said. “I don’t know what I am, but we’ve only been together for a couple of days.”

“Bam says Horse is crazy for you,” Dancer said. That caught my attention in a big way. “Never seen him this way. You may not get this, but my brother doesn’t exactly have trouble finding women. He doesn’t need to drive across the state to get laid, Marie. And this collateral bullshit? The club doesn’t work that way, this is a special situation. He’s never brought anyone home before. Never.”

“Really?” I asked, still uncertain.

“Never,” she replied. “It’s a rule of his, actually. ‘No bitches in the house.’ Drives me crazy, he’s such a dumbass, sexist pig about it. Been that way since high school.”

“Wow.”

“Wow is right,” chimed in Em, a tall, slender girl with a shy smile. “I never thought Horse would hook up with someone. We’re excited to have you here. I’m Picnic’s daughter.”

“I saw your pictures!” I said, placing her now. I could see Picnic’s features in her face, although softened and feminine. “He showed them to me once when they came to visit. He’s really proud of you.”

“Thanks,” she replied, blushing. “It’s good to have you here. Dancer’s right, the club is like a family and sometimes it feels like we’ve got a lot more brothers than sisters. We’re excited to get to know you.”

“No kidding!” chimed in Cookie, a bouncy, petite girl who had bright red curls, green eyes and lots of freckles. “I’m Bagger’s old lady. You haven’t met him, he’s over in Afghanistan right now. We girls have to stick together, for sure. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have Maggs and Dancer and the others to keep me sane.”

“I guess that means it’s my turn,” Maggs said. “I’m with Bolt, you haven’t met him yet either. He’s down in Kuna, at the prison.”

That caught my attention. Why was her man in prison? I felt for her, thinking about visiting Mom in jail. Prison had to be so much worse, and for longer too. I knew for myself that good people could do stupid, stupid things.

“My mom’s in jail right now,” I told her, taking her hand. “She’s going to get out in a few months though. Have you been on your own for long?”

“About two years now,” she replied, looking momentarily tired. “But we’re working on an appeal. I know everyone says this, but Bolt honestly didn’t do what he went down for, and we can prove it. It’s actually been kind of a big case. Every time there’s a hearing we have reporters come around like a bunch of f**king scavengers—there’s a big scandal about prosecutorial misconduct and mishandling DNA evidence. At least I don’t have to deal with it alone though.”

“Exactly,” said Darcy. “None of us are alone. And this isn’t all the girls either. This is just the posse I managed to round up on short notice. Between the Reapers and the Silver Bastards there are about fifteen old ladies, and we stick together.”

“What about those girls at the party last night?”

Em made a gagging sound.

“They’re definitely not family,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Bunch of sluts and losers.”

“Some of them are nice girls,” Cookie protested. “I met Bagger at a club party.”

“That was a real party,” said Em. “Not one of those drunken f**kfests my dad likes to pretend I don’t know about.”

“Whoever they are, they aren’t old ladies,” said Dancer firmly. “They aren’t like us, and you aren’t like them,” she added, catching my eye.

“And that’s why we’re here,” said Cookie. “We decided you probably need a break, so it’s ladies’ night. We’re going to take you out and show you just how much fun your new sisters can be.”

I sat up straight, shaking my head and leaning forward to set down my untouched beer. They might not understand my situation, but I certainly did. Going out to party was not on the agenda. Horse left me with orders and I intended to follow them.

“I don’t think Horse would like that,” I said. “He told me to make dinner, I think he was planning something…”

I trailed off as Dancer walked over to my purse, pulled out my phone and scrolled through the numbers, hitting one and putting it on speaker. It rang and then I heard Horse’s voice.

“Babe, what’s up?”

“This is your sister,” Dancer announced, flashing an evil grin. “We’re kidnapping Marie and taking her out tonight. You’ll just have to jack off if you get horny. She’ll be busy.”

There was a pause from the phone.

“Give the phone to Marie,” he said. “I need to talk to her.”

I lunged for it, but Dancer tossed it to Cookie, who jumped up on the couch to hold it out of my reach. “Too bad! I’ve got a cooler full of jello shots and a flask, so we’re gonna have fun fun fun! You might as well camp out at the armory tonight, stud.”

The girls all laughed, but I felt a little sick. I couldn’t afford to piss Horse off. They might think I was part of the “family” now, but I knew better.

“Put Marie on the f**king phone,” Horse said again, and the tone of his voice was not amused one little bit.

“This is Dancer again,” said his sister, grabbing the phone from Cookie and taking it off speaker. “You might as well give up, Horse. We’re going to take her, she needs a break and you’re a dick if you won’t let her have one. I heard what you did last night. Poor girl probably needs therapy after that. I promise I’ll take good care of her and drive sober. Find something to do that doesn’t involve shooting anyone, okay?”

Then she hung up the phone.

I stared at her, stunned.

“You can do that?” I asked.

“What?”

“Hang up on Horse.”

Dancer burst out laughing.

“Oh, he’ll be pissed. He and Bam’ll probably bitch to each other all night. But we’re just going out for a little fun and he’ll look like a pu**y-whipped baby if he makes too big a deal out of it. And our boys may be pu**y-whipped, but they sure as f**k don’t want to look like they are. It’s all good.”