Start a War (Saint View Psychos #1)(61)

“Not in polite company.”

“Well, there ain’t no polite company here tonight. You ready? ‘Cause that’s the clubhouse.”

A huge rectangular building loomed ahead of us. It wasn’t attractive and kind of reminded me of Psychos’ imposing exterior. But unlike Psychos, a large roller door took up the entire front of the building. They had it up, light and people and music all spilling from inside.

I parked my car beside a row of bikes, extremely careful not to get too close for fear of knocking one of them down.

But Rebel sprang out of the car, and I quickly turned the engine off to run after her, not wanting to be left behind in the dark.

“Hey, Rebel’s here,” someone yelled from the thick of the party.

She was a bigger woman with a round face and a wide smile. Her dark hair was braided into tight strands and then wound on top of her head in a huge bun. Her gold hoop earrings gave her a gypsy vibe.

“Queenie!” Rebel trotted to her side and gave the woman a hug. Then she waved me over. “Q, this is Disney.”

Queenie turned to me, a motherly smile on her face. “Disney? Your parents really dislike you or did you already pick yourself a road name?”

I wasn’t sure what a road name was exactly, but I could guess. I was pretty sure War and Hawk and Fang didn’t have those names on their birth certificates either. “I’m Bliss. Rebel’s the only one who calls me Disney.”

The woman nodded. “Nice to meet you. Is this your first time, sweetheart? War said Rebel was bringing someone. Didn’t tell us any more than that though.”

I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. “Yes, ma’am.”

Queenie hooted. “Oh Lawd, she’s got manners. Where the hell did War and Rebel find you? No need to ma’am anyone around here, sweet thing. Ain’t nobody that formal. Come on, let me introduce you around before you turn tail and run back to your car. We don’t bite.”

“Unless you want us to!” a male voice called out.

“Shut up, you great lug,” Queenie said to the man sitting on an outdoor couch with a beer bottle balanced between his fingers.

He tilted his head up as we walked behind him. “You love me, my queen bee. Don’t pretend you don’t like it when I bite you.”

I went hot with awkwardness at their intimate talk.

But Queenie laughed and dropped a kiss on his upturned face. “You know it.

I recognized Aloha from Psychos, and he did a double take when he recognized me. “Bliss! Good to see you here. You already met my woman, I see?”

“I did. She’s very kindly introducing me around.” Which I was incredibly grateful for because Rebel seemed to have disappeared into the crowd of people.

“Come on, sugar, let’s keep going. You need to come meet the rest of the girls if you want to hang here. The boys will accept anything with tits and a warm pussy, but it’s the women you need to get on your side. They might be tiny skinny scraps of things, but don’t underestimate how wily they can be.” She grinned at my worried face. “Not me, of course. I couldn’t care less who hangs around here, but I already locked my man down tight, and he doesn’t stray. The other girls are younger, and they have their favorites amongst the guys. You don’t want to step on that if you want to keep them sweet.”

I swallowed thickly. I’d just walked into a whole different world with a whole new set of rules I hadn’t studied in advance.

Queenie waved at a few other people and introduced me to a couple of other guys, most who were already vaguely familiar, even if I hadn’t spoken to them directly. I caught sight of Rebel for a moment, and she shot me a questioning thumbs-up, which I nodded to, even though I really wasn’t one-hundred-percent comfortable, but then she disappeared again, so I kept following Queenie.

Inside, a long bar took up almost the entire right-hand wall. Two men with club cuts stood with the rows of alcohol at their backs, pouring drinks for the women who sat on the other side.

I was instantly awkward. They both wore tiny tight dresses that rode up their thighs. One had a skirt so short I could see her panties and I was pretty sure she knew it. Their long legs were toned and skinny and looked great in the impossibly tall high heels.

Queenie nudged me. “Don’t be jealous. They might have tiny little bodies we ain’t had since we were prepubescent, but they jealous of our titties.”

She shook her own, and I grinned at her. I liked Queenie a lot.

“Siren, Kiki. Meet Bliss. She came in with Rebel.”

Kiki jumped off her stool, wobbling over to us on her heels that she didn’t seem to have much practice in. “Bliss! What a beautiful name!” She wrapped her skinny arms around me in a surprisingly strong hug.

Queenie frowned, then glanced over at the guys behind the bar. “She’s toast, and it’s not even nine. No more.”

“Aw, Queenie!” Kiki complained, but it was clear there was no messing with Queenie’s orders. She was obviously the mother hen, and she’d cut Kiki off.

Siren didn’t get up off her seat to greet me. She just nodded coolly. I did the same back.

“You want a drink, Bliss?” one of the young guys behind the bar called out. He introduced himself as Ice and had long blond hair that curled around his collar.

I did. Badly. But I was also a little worried about fully relaxing in this place. Everyone had been kind and welcoming so far, but I hadn’t forgotten that any one of them could be Axel’s killer.