“To become a member?” Winter knew Evie was right even as her mind and morals fought against her decision.

“Yes.” Evie had made it clear that unless she became a member, a relationship with Viper wouldn’t last. Becoming a member of the Last Riders made you a member of the family. If she didn’t become a member, she would always be on the outside.

Sighing, she leaned back in her chair knowing she was going to go for it. Fear filled her stomach. What if she went through with getting the votes and Viper didn’t return her feelings? Surely she wasn’t stupid enough to let him make a fool of her twice.

“Well, I guess I better start collecting markers.”

The women laughed this time.

“Not many left to collect,” Evie laughed. “I heard you already managed to get Train, Cash, and Rider’s vote. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Winter blushed bright red, refusing to look at Beth who chimed in. “You have Viper’s.”

“That leaves two more. You’re ahead of Joy, and she’s been here longer, but I think she’s determined to get her votes this weekend,” Evie speculated as all the women at the table turned to gaze at the woman flirting with Train.

“She certainly is going after the man who can help her get the votes,” Jewell said with envy. Winter sensed the women wanted their own piece of Train. He came across as laid back and easy going until you actually studied his actions. He was always aware of where everyone in the room was. If something needed to be done, he was the first one there. He and Knox were always surrounded by the women and Winter figured that it was because they were probably the best at giving the women what they needed. But it was his grey eyes that set Train apart; they belied his easygoing nature and held a flash of turbulence whenever his temper was roused. One day Winter had been eating lunch when she had seen Rider accidently bump into Beth. He didn’t apologize fast enough for Train, who clocked him for not being careful. He kept you guessing if he was going to react with a smile or his fist.

“I’ll talk to Razer about giving you his marker,” Beth promised, drawing Winter’s attention back to her.

“Thanks, Beth.”

“Geez, what is this club turning into? You guys are missing out on the best part,” Jewell muttered.

“I am not missing out on anything,” Beth gloated.

This time it was Beth receiving the envious looks. Winter and Beth laughed, and the topic switched to Beth’s upcoming wedding.

“Next weekend I’m going to Lexington with Lily and her roommate to find my dress.” She looked at Winter. “Would you be one my bridesmaids?”

Tears came to her eyes. “I would be honored.”

Beth turned to Evie. “Will you be one of my bridesmaids? I also asked Sex Piston and Crazy Bitch.” Being the peacemaker she was, she was picking two from each set of her friends.

Evie voice wavered, “No, I don’t deserve it.”

Beth gave her a frown. “Don’t talk like that again, that’s all water under the bridge now. It happened months ago. Would you treat me like that again, truthfully?”

Evie was quiet several minutes before admitting. “No, I wouldn’t. I would leave The Last Riders before I ever treated you that way again. Those biker bitches taught us all a hard lesson Beth, one that we haven’t forgotten.”

“I knew that all along, Evie. Now I am not going to take no for an answer. I wish I could have everyone as a bridesmaid, but Razer drew the line at asking more than five brothers to be groomsmen. Said he was going to have to bribe a few of them,” Beth mimicked her fiancé.

“I can see that.” Winter bet he used threats instead of money. The members wouldn’t be anxious to be dressed in the tuxes that she was sure they were going to be forced to wear.

The outside door opened and Viper, Razer, and Shade came in with grim expressions on their faces. The men glanced at their table. Evie stood up at a signal from Viper.

“We have to go into the other room,” she told the women at the table. All the women stood up without demur and headed to the living room. Winter and Beth moved more slowly, but did as they were told. Winter knew Beth was just as concerned as she was, but they were just going to have to wait until later to find out what the meeting was about.

Viper went to the middle of the room while the members surrounded him.

“I want to thank everyone for being here. I know you put in a hard week at work and spent the night riding up here. First off, I would like to tell everyone that, with Winter’s help, we were able to prove that Gavin didn’t disrespect the club rules by fucking Sam. The bitch lied just as we all knew she had. We still haven’t been able to locate the baby, but the Sheriff is still investigating. We offered our assistance if he needs our help. Evie and the women have been given permission to do what is necessary if Sam makes any further attacks on the club, but as of now, we are done with the bitch.”

Murmurs of approval filled the air before they quieted down with Viper’s next words.

“I wanted to handle this a few weeks ago, but Shade cautioned me to hold my hand. The group that Sam has attached herself to are one percenters, and he didn’t want us to strike out before we were ready. We are now prepared and that’s why I sent for you. We planned on hitting their club tonight, but they called for a meet this morning. My guess is they have someone watching the house and are aware that we are about to strike. I was not happy that they wanted a meet, but did so because Shade urged me to at least talk to them. I was glad I listened. The president of The Blue Horsemen informed me that the four men who attacked Beth and Lily were outlaws, no longer associated with their club. They have been trying to get their colors back, but they have been outrunning their enforcers. We offered our help and they accepted. Shade has put in motion a set up for tomorrow that they won’t be able to resist. We won’t need a show of force, but I am not an idiot. I won’t send you back to Ohio until our business with them is complete. Enjoy yourselves tonight and we’ll take care of business tomorrow morning. If everything goes as planned, you can be back home tomorrow night.”

After the meeting broke up, Viper and Razer went in search of their women, finding them seated on the couch with worried frowns.

Winter saw Viper and Razer now appeared more relaxed and her nerves settled.

“Everything okay?” Winter asked, searching Viper’s eyes.

“Everything is fine. We thought we had an issue with another club, turned out we were wrong,” Viper shrugged. “The brothers are going to stay the night and head back tomorrow.”

Relieved, Winter felt the tension her and Beth were feeling dissipate. Viper sank down onto the couch next to her, pulling her onto his lap. Razer repeated the same maneuver with Beth. At first, Winter felt uncomfortable, aware of the eyes of the house on her, but gradually she relaxed as she and Beth discussed bridesmaid dresses. Curious, Winter asked Razer if he had chosen his groomsmen.

“Yeah, anyone that wouldn’t black my eyes. They aren’t too happy being dressed up as a penguin for the day.” He cast Beth a reproachful look before he admitted defeat, the woman was determined to get her dream wedding, and Razer was all about giving her what she wanted. “Viper, Shade, Cash, Train, and Rider.”