Bang… Bang… Bang… I jumped up feeling a horrible head rush from moving way too fast. I hoped I didn’t have a concussion from the hard ass blow Cruz gave me. “Hang on,” I groaned pulling myself out of bed. Opening the door, Casey stood there. Her beautiful smile instantly fell at the sight of me. “Looks that bad, huh?” I laughed.

“Holy shit, girl. You weren’t kidding about the fight.” Casey took in my face as she stepped in, locking the door behind her. When she reached to touch it, I shied away, heading back over to the bottle of Jack, taking another deep swig.

“That shit helping at all?” she asked throwing our bags in the corner. If we were on lockdown, she was on lockdown, too. Her dad, Bam, died three years ago during a run. We never got the details, but Bam was all that Casey had. Her whore of a mom left her when she was a baby. Bam raised her here, in this world. She was tough, but not a fighter, like me. She was more inclined to use her brains to get what she wanted instead of her fists. But since she was the kid of a patched member, even though passed, she was protected, too.

“A little.” Sitting on the edge of the bed, I sighed.

“What’s up?” she asked, sitting next to me and wrapping her arm around my shoulder.

“Case, I haven’t been home twenty-four hours yet, and I’ve kicked a shop guy’s ass, got shot at, patched up my Ma, and got into a knock down drag out fight with a brother.”

“Welcome home,” she said smiling.

Laughing, “Yeah, welcome home.” I paused, thinking. “I haven’t had shit going on for two years. I missed this.”

“I missed you,” she said, squeezing me. “Come on. This is your party. Let’s get out there and enjoy it.”

After Casey worked her magic on fixing my face, we headed out to the bar. She wasn’t shitting when she said the place was packed. There was wall to wall people, and I had no idea where they would all sleep, and why I cared I had no idea. I guessed the bunks. I couldn’t remember the last time I was part of a lockdown.

As we walked through the crowd of people, I began seeing more and more people that I knew. Hugging each one of them, I made my way to the bar, getting a shot of Jack from Buzz or Breaker. I couldn’t tell who was who. They took being identical twins to the ultimate level. Maybe I could talk them into some ink on their hands so I could tell them apart. I laughed at the idea, yeah, right.

Legs, Bubbles, and Flash were there with open arms, hugging me repeatedly. These ol’ ladies have been around since I was a kid and were my Ma’s best friends. They proudly wore their ‘Property of’ patches, and while some hung tight to their guys, others like Flash didn’t stay close, at all. She free-floated, and Dagger never seemed to say a word as he was doing the same.

Even seeing the other ol’ ladies I didn’t know so well and watching their little kids run around the clubhouse felt comforting. The guys added on a room off of the gym for all the kids to go and play. It also had tons of bunk beds, so they could all have a big sleepover. Pops said they had to since so many of the brothers had families that need protection.

Scanning the room, my eyes landed on an adorable little boy. His hair was a light brown and his eyes shined a beautiful blue. He had adorable carpenter jeans on with a ‘Support Your Local Ravage MC’ t-shirt on. “Cooper!” I heard Cruz’s voice boom my eyes shot up in his direction. He scooped the little boy up and began tickling him up in the air. The little boy laughing uncontrollably. He had to be Cruz’s son. Damn.

Standing next to Cruz was a beautiful, long-haired, blonde with very short shorts on, making her legs look like they went on for miles, along with a tank top that showed most of her tits off except for her nipples. Her body kicked ass. Her huge boobs and curvy hips made her stand out in the sea of people, and she carried herself like she knew it. Hell I knew it. As the woman touched Cruz’s arm, he turned and smiled at her. My heart dropped. She must be his ol’ lady, and I kissed him a few hours ago, in front of all the guys. Shit. Shit. Shit.

“Is he the one you fought?” Casey asked, following my line of sight.

“What gave it away? The black and blue eye or the busted lip?” My sarcasm hiding my true feelings inside.

“Ha. Ha. So what do you think? His ol’ lady?” she asked, and I didn’t want to answer. I just wanted to drink. A lot. This was the exact reason I never got involved with brothers. Now I’m on lockdown with them and had to watch them be one big happy fucking family. I couldn’t stand this shit. This was the exact reason rules were in fucking place, even if they’re self-imposed.

“Looks like it. I need a drink,” I said, turning back towards the bar. “B.Boys!” I called slamming my hand to the bar but not knowing who was who and using the first name that came to mind. “I need Jack and beer. Please.” I downed the Jack and began on the beer. I needed to forget what a dumbass I was.

“Princess?” Cruz’s deep voice behind me sent shivers up my spine, and I wanted to kick myself in the ass. Turning slowly, I came face to face with an adorable little boy who looked like an exact replica of Cruz, and if I had to guess was around two and a half years old, not that I was a child expert. But the smile radiating off of him was contagious.

“Hey, little guy,” I said, smiling at the boy. “You look just like your daddy.”

“Cooper, say hi to Princess.” Cooper gave me his sparkling megawatt smile and giggled.

“Pin… ess, owie,” Cooper’s adorable voice tried to say, making my smile grow wide.

“It’s nice to meet you, Bud. I’m okay. The owie doesn’t hurt.” Yeah right. As the beautiful blonde approached Cruz’s side, I felt my body stiffen. Then, seeing Cooper cling to his daddy’s arm set several warning bells off in my head, but it wasn’t my business.

The blonde ran her fake nails down Cruz’s arm, and damn if part of me wanted to tear her fucking arm off. But I kept myself in check, taking another swig of my almost empty beer; I watched the scene unfold in front of me. I should have known that Cruz would have an ol’ lady. “Who’s this?” her way too high pitched voice questioned.

He addressed me and not her. “Princess, this is Mel, Cooper’s mom.” I eyed him, waiting for the other part of the introduction, but it never came.

“Harlow,” I said, nodding. “I got shit to do.” Looking at Casey, I chin nodded to the door, but she shook her head.

“I’m not going out there,” she said, taking a shot of Jack.

“Why?”

“I’m just not. Go on. I’ll be fine.” She nodded to the door. I pulled myself away from their happy little family, needing some air. Grabbing another beer and leaving Casey in the bar, I headed out to the courtyard. The guys made a separate space right off the clubhouse that was protected all the way around by tall, elaborate gates. In the center was a huge fire pit that was roaring to life.

Pops and Ma were sitting around it, along with many of the brothers. As I scanned the area, G.T. was leaning up against the fence talking to some brunette who looked like a club momma judging from her nonexistent clothes. That was another reason why I hated lockdowns, having the whores and ol’ ladies in one area was always a bad idea. One slip and chaos could erupt sending everything spiraling into oblivion.

Making my way to Ma, I asked her “You feeling okay?” and sat down next to her.

“Yeah. I’m good. Nothing, a few drinks, can’t fix,” Ma said, smiling. She’s always been so damn strong. I envied her. I never said that I wanted to be her when I grew up, for the mere fact that I didn’t allow myself to get close enough to one of the brothers to become an ol’ lady. But I learned from her strength and the way she held herself and took that to heart.

“You know who this was?” I asked, knowing that my Pops was going to interject, but I had to keep trying.