Reinventing Mel: A Hellion MC Novel (3 page)

"Saw you looking at that guy and the kids across the street," she started.  One thing I'd discovered was that even though it was a city, by and large Missoula's gossip was of the small town variety.

"He just started at the place where I work," I offered.  "Know anything about him?"

"Not much.  Comes from Texas and has custody of his brother and sister.  Heard he's under the protection of the Hellions," Marty said and I knew she meant the motorcycle club and not the construction company.  "The girl's real sweet and cute, the teenager has a stick up his butt and the good looking guy tips good."

"No parents?"

"None that I've heard of."  I saw the green nylon of Marty's uniform shift with her shrug.

"Do you know if he's seeing anyone?"  I knew I was pumping for info but Marty was always a varietal font of local knowledge.

Marty gave me a sharp glance before turning back to her task. "Not that I've seen or heard.  Why?  You interested?"

"Could be," I said wiggling my eyebrows with a grin.

I heard the bell chime and knew Chico had my food ready.  When Marty dropped off my salad she continued to stand by my table.  "If he's a part of those Hellions you might want to rethink cozying up to him.  Word is that they destroyed one business and beat the crap out of two other business owners just a couple of weeks ago.  If he's a part of them bikers, he's bad news."

"But he's not wearing that vest thing they wear," I protested wondering what the older blonde knew about Mel in addition to what she'd said.

"Honey, it's not the clothes that makes the man.  It's the friends they keep."  Marty's voice had dropped in pitch as if she was giving me the wisdom of the ages. 

As I ate my salad, I thought about her warning.  I knew all the managers I supported were bikers but outside of their potty mouths and constant invitations to go out, they basically seemed to be good guys.  I'd even met Carly Carter and Reese Jovanovic when they'd come by to see their husbands and the women had been both funny and sweet.  So I wasn't sure why Marty had given me the warning.

Actually why the town seemed to have it in for the club.

I'd had limited business dealings bikers in Albuquerque, both the recreational and the one-percenters, and had found by and large they were easy to get along with.  As in, you don't bother them and they wouldn't bother you. 

At the sound of motorcycles on the street, I cast my eyes up to the big windows and saw two riders wearing gray vest with a picture of a scary looking ghost, a demonic specter wearing an evil grin and holding a bloody knife, emblazoned on the back.  I'd been approached by a couple when I'd gone to the Sit 'n' Sip, a local bar by my motel and hadn't liked their looks or their smell.  Luckily Frank, the bartender, had run interference and since then I'd had no trouble.

But, still
, I remember thinking with a shudder. 
Stay away from those kind of bikers
.

Chapter Three

Dare showed up at Mel's place just after eight-thirty with a six pack.  Since it was a mild night, the two men took their beers out to the back porch to talk.

"So as soon as you're on a crew you'll start as a recruit at the club," Dare said.

"What exactly does that mean?  I know you said that I'd be a part of the club and that you were sponsoring me but I don't know nothing about the biker world."  Mel had been holding on to his questions for two months and needed an explanation before he was shoved into that arena which seemed to be looming on the horizon.

Dare upended his bottle and reached for another one before he spoke.  "Basically you'll be at the beck and call of the full-time members of the club for a full year doing whatever, whenever you're asked.  You'll be riding with the brothers and doing their scut work.  It ain't pretty but once you're in and that recruit patch is torn off, you'll be happy to have gone through it."

"And the sponsor thing?"

"Consider me your damn 'daddy'.  I'm ultimately responsible for your interactions with and around the club.  So if you fuck up then I get to fuck
you
up."

Mel emptied his bottle and sat back as he considered what he'd been told.  "I don't have a bike and don't even know how to ride one."

"No fuckin' worries, man.  We had some trouble earlier in the year and lost a few brothers.  We have some sweet rides in storage just waiting to get back on the street.  Once you've got some electrician's green in your wallet, you can pay the club back.  As for the riding?  I'll fuckin' teach you and take you to get your license."

"Does the recruit thing involve a lot of hours?"

He felt the biker's face turn towards him.   "Some.  Mostly fuckin' evenings and weekends.  Is that a problem?"

"It's just with my brother and sister…"

"Your girl's already under the Honey's wing and Dee knows what's doing so that's a no brainer.  What about your brother?  I thought he was fuckin' fifteen."

Mel sighed and hearing it, Dare started laughing.

"Being a punk-ass?"

"Yeah, he is."

Dare sobered and turned back to the younger man.  "Hellions have a program for that, too.  Right now Trey's future bro-in-law is one month into his six month stint and doing good.  If your little shit gets further out of line, just let me know and I'll talk with the council to see about fuckin' getting him in."

"I don't think we're to that point yet but I'll keep it in mind," Mel replied.  Damn!  Was there anything the club wasn't involved in?

The men were quiet for a time until Dare abruptly changed the conversation.

"So you still hard after spending all that time one-on-one time with the sweet cherry in reception?"

Mel smiled before answering.  "She's hot all right."

"Fuck, yeah.  But she keeps shutting all of us down and we can't figure it the fuck out."

"Maybe she doesn't date the guys she works with," Mel suggested.

"Who the fuck said anything about dating?  I just want to dip into her sweet honey-pot to the fuckin' point I can't remember my own name," Dare chuckled.  "But the thought that the drapes and carpets might match is kind of fuckin' scary.  I mean, hot pink streaked pubes?"

Mel couldn't help his laughter at the mental picture the biker created.  "No, that'd kind of be a deal breaker."

"Deal breaker?  Shit, I'd lose my fuckin' stiffie, man!"

Their combined laughter rang out into the quiet night and Mel heard a "quiet down" shouted from someplace down the block.

"I should probably bail.  Listen, I'll be around if you have any more questions.  You still have a few days before you'll be fuckin' sporting the Hellion cut so if you've got worries come see me.  Brand's got you on inventory, right?  Good.  So swing by my office if something fuckin' occurs to you.  Nah, stay there, man.  I'll see myself out."  And with a flick of his fingers, the huge biker left.

Mel stayed outside and considered how much both he and his life had changed in only a couple of months.  He was learning a trade that would definitely support his family over the long haul and he was slowly coming out of his shell each day.  When he was younger, he'd been outgoing but had quickly learned Deschames liked his guards seen but not heard.  Since the old man had been holding Der and Jules as insurance to keep Mel in line, he'd had no choice but to become quieter and much more serious.

He still wasn't sure about becoming a part of HMC but they'd done so much for his family Mel didn't know how to refuse.  And from what he could see, the club behaved much like a family, a very large and boisterous family.  But one that took care of each other and those under their protection.

Compared to their old life, being a part of the Hellion family wouldn't be so bad, Mel decided as he picked up the empties and went into the house.

*.*.*.*.*

"Texas, huh?  So how come you don't have a drawl?"  I asked, delicately forking up another mouthful of my diet meal for one as I tried and failed to keep my eyes off the gorgeous hunk who sat across from me. 

"I still do when I'm stressed but I'm working on getting rid of it.  Montana seems to think you have no brains when they hear the South in your voice," Mel explained with a chuckle.  I really liked his smile deciding his slightly crossed front teeth only added to his charm.  But, then, I was so enamored with the virile guy I hadn't found much I didn't find fascinating.

He and I just 'happened' to have the same lunch break and had taken to spending that time together since we were the only ones who didn't go across the wide, wide driveway to eat at the club.  'Happened' because I snuck his timecard out of the holder after his first day and saw when Brand had scheduled Mel's half-hour to eat.

A girl needed to create the opportunities she wanted to occur.

"What do you do for fun in your time off?" I asked.  We'd had lunch three times by then and I was getting tired of our little getting to know you chats.  I'd dropped more than enough hints in trying to get him to ask me out but he didn't seem to be picking up on any of them.  It was so darn frustrating!  So frustrating in fact, I was considering asking him out, something that went against my personal code of dating which was very specific about the man being the hunter. 

"Not too much because I don't have the time with my brother and sister and all," he said, taking a bite out of his second sandwich.  The man sure could eat and his daily lunch usually contained more items than my entire week's worth of groceries.

"So you don't date or have friends over?"  I was fishing but trying to keep it light wondering if the lack of initiative on his part was because he was already seeing someone. 

"I haven't dated in a while but sometimes the Hellions or Honeys come by to visit."

Shoot!  So the reason he hadn't asked me out wasn't because of another woman which meant…what?  My mind moved at the speed of light to come up with an explanation.  I knew he liked me and found me attractive since I'd caught him looking at me and my rounded parts when he thought I didn't see.

"Can I ask you something, Miss Palmer?"

"Sure, Mel.  Ask away," I replied with a giggle.  Usually I was the one blazing the trail for most of our conversations which didn't bother me in the least.

"Why is your hair pink?  I mean, did you color it that way on purpose or was it just something that happened?"

I could feel my smile fade at his question.  I know I blinked before I answered wondering if his motive for not taking me out was because of my bright hair.  Maybe he didn't want to be seen with me in public.  "No, my hair's this color because I like it.  I don't moo on cue."

"I'm sorry…do what?"

"I'm not part of the herd and I like that my hair makes me different than everyone else."

"Moo on cue, that's funny!" he laughed before finishing his last bite and reaching for his chips.  I must've sounded defensive with my answer because he went on.  "It's not that it doesn't look good on you, though."

"Why, thank you, Mel,"  I said, beaming my biggest, brightest smile at him as I leaned in. "And for that you can call me Lulu."

"Lulu," He repeated as he smiled back and I saw his eyelids move to the half-hooded position.  I knew what that meant having seen the look on many men's faces before, so I turned my head to allow his eyes to roam over me where they would.

"Ah.  If you're not busy tomorrow night, would you like to go with me to 'Boots'?  They have live music on Tuesdays that I've heard is pretty good."

"Sure.  That sounds like fun!"  Yes, yes, yes!  He asked me out!  Fabtastic!

"If you give me your address I'll pick you up around seven," he continued and I could see he was making a concentrated effort to keep his eyes on my face.  I hadn't (and didn't want to be) as successful in that regard, allowing my eyes to roam over his shoulders and huge biceps.

"Seven will be fine," I breathed before glancing down at my now empty cardboard bowl.  "Do you want my phone number, too?  You know, just in case something happens?"

"That'd be great, Lulu," he replied looking like I'd just handed him his lottery winnings instead of my phone.

I'd wasted three days with my hints when all it would've taken was giving him permission to use my first name?  

The inner workings of the male psyche was a deeply mysterious thing.

*.*.*.*.*

Silo, storming back by the conference room on the way to his desk, couldn't help but overhear the young couple who ate lunch there.  Flipping a bitch in the middle of the hall he raced to Bishop's office.

Dare was seated in one of the visitor's chairs with his feet up on a corner of Bishop's desktop.

"You are not going to fuckin' believe this!  Meat asked princess out and she said fuckin' yes!" he boomed after closing the door.

"You're shittin' me," Dare breathed.

"Meat?  As in young Mel?" Bishop asked incredulously.

"That's the one.  Now I need one of you fuckers to tell me why him and not us, huh?  What's he fuckin' got we ain't?"  Silo's disbelief was hard to miss.

"He doesn't even have game, for Christ's sake!"  Dare yelled.

"Maybe that's the fucking attraction," Bishop ruminated.  "Dig it. She's bright and scary smart so maybe quiet is more her damn type."

"He don't seem so quiet when she's around," Silo advised.  "Fuckin' little chatter box during their fuckin' little lunches."

"You think she'll do him?" Dare got straight to the point.

All three men looked at each other.  They had a pool going to see which one of them would get underneath those cute as fuckin' hell petticoats and by what date.  But with her agreeing to go out with the soon to be recruit, the game had changed.

"I call two weeks," Bishop yelled, pulling up his calendar and changing the labels written in the same pink as her hair.

"Nine days," Silo intoned, moving around to stand behind the IT Manager's chair.

"Shit.  He's my fuckin' responsibility and my time with him starts in four days.  So I'm gonna ensure the kid fuckin' hits it in five."  Dare announced with a challenging grin.  "And then we'll get the fuckin' answer to the goddamn carpet and curtains question too."

All three men looked at each other before they burst out laughing.