Page 30 of Bleed Me

That is when I learned Justice can read a man from a mile away. “Why does your brother use you to test an identity?”

“To protect his dogs.”

In my mind, I pictured the wall behind the Barn bar where the howling wolves were. “Wolves.”

She touched the tip of her little pointed nose then didn’t make a sound, but tilted her head back to silently howl, smiling as if celebrating that I’d been paying attention. Facing me again, she kept smiling. “You’re not the only dog with secrets.” She stopped the swinging bag. “James Gunn Dalton, meet your new best friend.”

I stared at her.

She winked. “Not me. The bag.”

I didn’t stop staring at her as I approached the bag. “Thank you.”

Justice did a sharp inhale, then settled. Grinning in wondrous amazement, she asked, “Who the fuck ARE you, James?”

Now, it was me who was smirking. “I guess it‘ll take more research for you to find out.”

She dipped her chin. “Challenge accepted.”

Justice showed me a few combinations while explaining, “As you trust the club, trust the bag. It can handle your frustrations and even rage when needed.” She stopped and pulled a cell from the inside of her black leather Stallions MC vest. “Give it a go. I gotta book some rooms.” She walked away.

Listening to her on the phone, “Hey, Mildred… Yes, ma’am, I gotta few boys rollin’ through. Got four rooms open?...” I started practicing on the bag. It was awkward at first, right hand and ribs were tender, but eventually, I found a little rhythm.

After then talking to someone named Meatball on the phone, Justice eventually came back to me. “We’ll work more on technique, but for now, you need to shower.” She grabbed a little pair of scissors to cut the gauze and tape off me. She eyed the new blood, then me. “Reopened those wounds, Giver.”

“Giver?”

She cut off the material. “Your road name. Diesel voted Pitbull.” That made her chuckle. “Definitely hotter than Giver.”

More to myself than Justice, I asked, “What the hell does Art mean by that name?”

She huffed. “I guess that’s something you need to figure out, but you’ve already given me your trust, so I’d say the bastard’s on to something.”

I lifted an inquisitive brow. “Bastard? Do I hear resentment?”

Beautiful grey eyes rolled as she turned away. “You hear a ‘past’.” She tossed my wrappings in the trash and headed to the bathroom. I didn’t hesitate and followed her into the locker room. Her cell still in hand, she pointed to a tall hamper in a corner. “Dirty clothes in there. The bunnies will get your washed clothes back to you.” Dialing, she thumbed to all the showers to her left. “Scrub your ass, Prospect. I’m telling Saph to bring you more clothes.”

I was learning more names with Justice than any of the men. “Saph?”

Her head tilted. “Your bunny? Sapphire.”

“Oh.” I turned from Justice to kick off my shoes. “We haven’t officially met.”

“What? She was instructed to take care of you.”

Unbuttoning my jeans, I faced her. “She is. Just… I was in the shower when we talked.”

Annoyed, she popped out a hip. “She better have been in that shower as you ‘spoke’.”

I winced. “Damn. You, too?”

“What?”

“Why do I have to fuck her?”

“That’s her job.”

“Do you hear yourself?”