"I..." She met his gaze, her mouth drawn in a straight line. "Give me a few minutes."
He let go of her. She walked away from him and headed toward the door. Halfway there, she veered over to the couch and approached Cami.
The two women whispered together, then walked out of the clubhouse leaning closely. Chrischris looked around the room and connected with Paco. His MC brother had the same curiosity about what was going on and why the women were leaving.
He shrugged, not having any clue about what had happened. Every woman he'd been with had tried to become a WAG. Every chick that hung around, hooking up with whatever biker wanted her for a few minutes of pleasure, secretly hoped it would turn into more.
Being a WAG brought special privileges to the lady in question.
He was proud to claim Josie. Besides, he wanted all his MC brothers to know she belonged to him.
With him staying at her apartment and his schedule for the club compromised, everyone needed to know that his time was divided.
Chrischris approached him, putting his back against the wall. "Problem?"
"No clue," he muttered, watching Whip walk in the clubhouse with Rick and Tracy. "I don't like her outside alone, even if she is on Tarkio property."
"Cami's with her, and she'll stay aware of her surroundings. Plus, there are at least ten Tarkio members outside that'll watch over them." Chrischris lit a cigarette. "Both of them are still dealing with being afraid to go anywhere alone, so she won't go far."
"It's smart of her to be leery, right now." He bummed the smoke off Chrischris. "I was going to talk to you about that today."
"Shoot."
"There were men from the reservations hanging around the block last night. I stayed with Josie, and I didn't hear or see anything afterward. I'm sure they knew I was there and split." He gave the cigarette back. "I'll be staying at Josie's apartment until I deal with them."
"Are you thinking about going back to the casino?"
"Not thinking. I'm going." He looked around the room. "Priest shut down the idea, but I need to take Shaw out of the picture. It's the only way Josie is going to be able to live on the outside."
Chrischris grunted. "What don't I know? You're talking about Josie, but what about Cami?"
He shook his head. It wasn't his business to tell.
"There's history between the Shaw and Josie. He's not going to let Josie walk away," he said.
"Does Cami know that?"
"Don't know."
"Does Josie belong to him?"
"Fuck, no." He pushed away from the wall. "We'll talk more tomorrow before the meeting. I'm going to check on the girls."
"Wait." Chrischris walked with him. "I want in."
"You'll be going against Priest. I won't let you ruin your life." He paused at the door. "If you want to help, watch over Josie and Cami while I'm gone."
"Yeah, no problem." His MC brother lowered his voice. "When are you planning on going?"
"I'll let you know." He pushed out of the clubhouse as Curley tried to enter.
Curley gave him a fist bump. "Heading over to Promise?"
"No." He spotted Josie and Cami.
Going by their body language, both of them were upset. They leaned toward each other, both of their mouths moving at the same time.
"Are you hanging around for a while?" asked Curley.
"Yeah...no." He slapped Chrischris, stopping him from going straight to the women. "I don't know."
Curley looked behind him and chuckled. "Are they both yours?"
"Just one." Paco stepped around his vice president.
Whatever was going on had to do with Josie. She was the one who got upset and left him after talking about her status with Priest. Nothing should come as a surprise to her. He'd told her he had fallen in love with her when he'd read her journal.
Josie raised her head as he approached. She blankly looked at him.
He stopped beside her. "Are you ready to go home?"
"We don't have to." She looked at Cami. "I needed some air."
"Did you get some?"
Her jaw opened, and she snapped her mouth shut before answering. "I was warm inside."
"Now, you're cool?"
She pursed her lips. He raised his brows. If she wanted to keep what was bothering her to herself, that was fine. But it was obvious she thought Cami could help because she'd brought her friend outside with her.
He cupped the back of her neck and brought her to him. "If you're upset, you come to me, and I'll make it easy to understand what's pissed you off."
"I'm not upset."
"Now, you're lying to me." He looked at Cami for validation that he understood Josie had a problem with something he did, and she averted her eyes. "You belong to me. That's nothing Cami can explain to you."
"I don't—"
"You do." He brought Josie closer. "We can argue out here, or you can accept it, and we can go back inside."
"I want to go home."
"We can do that."
"Alone." She grabbed Cami's hand. "Cami's ready to go, too."
Chrischris joined the group and whispered to Cami, leading her away. Alone with Josie, he put his hands in his pockets and gave her space. Knowing she would fight back, he wanted her to feel comfortable around him. He wasn't like her dad or Shaw.
She was leery of him. He got that.
For the first eighteen years of her life, she'd lived on the reservation, surrounded by people who had a similar lifestyle and upbringing. Living in Missoula, she struggled with how other people lived and the disconnection she felt being Blackfoot.
Too proud to tell anyone about her struggles, she'd poured her heart out in her journal. Those fears were now his. She could deny them all she wanted, but he still owned them. He would share her fears and do whatever possible to lessen them.
"When I was your age, I stumbled into a guy named Jerry. He rode a sweet Harley that I admired. A few months later, I worked with him at Lanier's Towing,"
