Page 14 of Hammer’s Fall

“Did they tell you there are only two kinds of women around here?”

“What do you mean?” she asked with a frown.

“We’ve got women like Winter and Miranda, they belong to one of the men. We call them old ladies, they’re basically married in the eyes of the club.”

“But not legally?”

“Some are, some aren’t, doesn’t matter to the club. The other kind of woman around here are the girls who are club ass.”

“Club ass?” The crude words sounded off in her sweet voice, but he didn’t say that, he answered her instead.

“The girls like Velvet.”

“Velvet?”

“The woman with Goliath this morning. While Bulldog was questioning you.”

“Ah. Her. I did not know her name is Velvet.” She scowled. “What is with you people and weird names? What kind of name is Velvet?”

“One she chose. The club ass, that’s what we call the girls like Velvet. She’s not the only one but she’s the one who’s around the most. I’m not sure she has anyone else to spend time with.” He shook his head and realized he hadn’t thought much about why Velvet was always around, at least not until now. He wondered who might know more about her and what was going on with her life and if she needed any kind of help, or at least help that the Sons could give. But that wasn’t the point of this. “Where was I again?”

“Two kinds of women around the club.”

“That’s right. Like I was saying, there are two kinds of women who hang around the club.”

“Yes, the ones who belong to a man and the ones used by all the men.”

Hammer looked down at her, wondering at her straightforward tone. She didn’t sound offended that there were women who did nothing more than screw the brothers. It wasn’t like he’d been hoping for a cat fight or anything, but he hadn’t expected her to act like it was nothing. Then again, she’d already seen Velvet in action, and had barely blinked.

“How much time do I have?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“How long do I have until I have to be either an old lady or club ass?”

Hammer looked down at her, scowling.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“What?”

“I don’t mean you have to be one of those. What I meant is we might have a little resistance from some of the men. If no one claims you, no one offers you protection, then they’ll expect you to act like the club ass.”

Her nose wrinkled in distaste.

“I brought you into this, I’ll protect you. If any of the men get in your face, tell them to come see me. I’ll handle them.”

“What about the women? Will they give me trouble?”

“The club ass might. The old ladies? Well, Winter and Miranda have already taken to you. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble there.”

“But the other girls? The ones like Velvet?”

“They might give you a little trouble. But if you’re not comfortable telling them where to shove their attitude, then let Winter know or come tell me and one of us will handle it.”

She fell silent for long enough that Hammer started to think she’d fallen back to sleep. He was about to get up and get moving for the day, hit the gym, then check on the bots he’d set to mine data while he’d slept, when she spoke again.

“I still need to figure out how to contribute,” her voice was barely more than a whisper and he didn’t think she’d meant him to hear her. But he had. He didn’t know all that much about her, but he knew some. He threw the blankets back and got up. He needed to see if he could figure out something she could do that would make her feel like she was earning her way. It was important to feel useful, if not needed, and he wanted to make sure she had what she needed.