Meiling
I reached down and pinched my arm, but no, I wasn’t still asleep. Why had he asked about how his wife had slept? Was that supposed to be me? Or was I about to find out that there was another woman in his life? No, he’d been looking at me when he said it. The last time I checked, we weren’t married. Didn’t we have to go before a judge or priest for that to happen?
“Wife?” I asked.
Dingo sighed. “Come have a seat, Mei. It seems we need to talk.”
“I don’t remember marrying you. Am I about to be tossed out by some angry woman you forgot you married?” I asked, stepping farther into the room and perching on the edge of the couch.
Dingo rubbed his hands up and down his face, something I’d noticed he did when he was stressed. Which meant he probably didn’t have the best of news for me. I’d heard him talking on the phone, but I hadn’t made out much of the conversation. By the time I reached the hall, he was hanging up.
“I asked Outlaw to look into a few things for me,” he said. “For lack of a better word, he’s a hacker. With a bit of help, he was able to dig into your past and find out some information I don’t think even you’re aware of.”
Digging into my past? Was there something worse than the videos he’d already found? I’d thought maybe it had been enough to satisfy the club’s curiosity. My stomach clenched. That would be very, very bad. I knew exactly what someone with those sorts of skills could find without much searching, and all of it would either infuriate Dingo, or disgust him so much he’d throw me out.
“Like what?” I asked, deciding to be braver than I felt and forge ahead. Better to know now than keep wondering.
“Do you know your full name?” he asked.
“Meiling Chen,” I said.
Dingo got up and moved closer, sitting down next to me. “No, sweetheart. Your name is Meiling Shan Young. Do you remember anything about your parents? Anything at all before foster care?”
“No. The first memories I have are of an old woman who smelled like mothballs. I was only with her a short time before the social worker moved me elsewhere. I didn’t stay in any particular home for long until the last family,” I said.
He nodded, looking as if he’d expected me to say as much. Had he found out why I’d been moved so much? Or how those horrible people had ever become foster parents? “Do you know why I was moved so much? Or why I was placed with that family?” I asked.
“Your mother was from China and was here on a student visa. We don’t know yet what happened to her, but it seems that she was seeing someone. Your father, obviously.” Dingo blew out a breath and reached for my hand. “This isn’t going to be easy to say, so I’m just going to spit it out. Your dad is Robert Young. Around here, we know him as Blades, and he’s serving a life sentence for murder. As to the other, the foster bullshit, Outlaw is still working on it. We think the social worker was in on it, but I don’t know how it all fits together yet, or why they’d bother to falsify your birth certificate, unless they had a plan for you from the beginning.”
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to cry over finding out my father’s name, or because he was a murderer. Did that mean I really was just trash? Dingo had made me feel special, like everyone in my life had lied up to this point. Now I had to wonder if everyone else was right and he was wrong. How could I be good, be decent, if my father was in prison for murder?
“Blades? What kind of name is…” And then it hit me. “He’s part of your club?”
Dingo nodded. “Back before my time here. I’ve only heard stories of him and never met the man. Mei, he signed the paperwork for your birth certificate. He knew about you and accepted you as his daughter.”
I digested those words a moment. If my father had known about me, and was still alive, then shouldn’t he have sent someone for me? It seemed the President, Grizzly, liked to take in stray girls. Wouldn’t he have given me a place to stay?
“Then why did no one ever come for me?” I asked. Had my own father not even wanted me? Had he thrown me away like everyone else in my life up to this point?
“And that is the million-dollar question, sweetheart. I don’t know and neither does Outlaw. We haven’t told the rest of the club yet that you’re Blades’ daughter.”
“I’m not sure I want to be a murderer’s kid.”
Dingo tipped his head and studied me. “Not everything is always black-and-white, Mei. If anyone should know that, it’s you.”
My cheeks warmed. He was right. To everyone else, I was just a whore. Dingo didn’t see me that way, though, and he hadn’t from the very beginning. Although… I still didn’t fully understand the wife comment.
“While I appreciate learning more about where I came from, what does that have to do with the wife you mentioned?” I asked.
“When Outlaw realized who your dad is, he knew that I was going to have a very short life when Blades heard I’d claimed his daughter. So he asked some friends to hack into the county government and create a marriage license and certificate for us. As far as the county and state are concerned, we’re officially married, which makes you Meiling Shan Withers.”
“Withers?” she asked. “I didn’t even know your last name.”
He rolled his neck and it cracked twice. “Yeah, well. We kind of went about all this the wrong way, but time was of the essence. Not sure your daddy is going to give a shit that I tried to save you.”
“You’re assuming he even cares. What if he’s the reason I was given up? Did you ever think maybe he had me put into foster care? You said it yourself. The club didn’t know about me. Would he have kept me away from the club if he was proud of me? If he’d…” I swallowed the knot in my throat. “If he’d wanted me, would I have still been his dirty little secret?”
Dingo gathered me into his arms and held me as tears burned my eyes. I fought hard not to cry. I’d learned not to show weakness, and even though I knew he would never judge me for it, I still didn’t like letting my emotions get the best of me. On the streets, and in the foster care system, only the strongest survived. Crying made people think you were fragile, and that only led to trouble.
“I can’t tell you what to do, sweetheart. This one is entirely up to you, but the club is going to talk to Blades once they hear you’re his daughter. He’ll find out you’re here, that you’re living in my house as my ol’ lady, and he’ll want to speak to you. Assuming he doesn’t just hire someone to have me gutted in my sleep. That’s always a possibility.”
I tensed and pulled away. “What? I know you said he was in prison for murder, but then you said that not everything was black-and-white. Either he’s a stone-cold killer or he’s not. Which is it, Jameson?”
“When it comes to his baby girl? I’m going to think all bets are off and he’ll do whatever it takes to protect you. Until someone talks to him, we’ll never know why he didn’t mention you. Do you want to meet your father, Mei?”
“No.” At least, I didn’t think I did. “Or at least not right now.”
“Do you know your ring size?” he asked. “Since you’re my wife, you’ll need a ring.” I glanced at his bare hand and he snickered. “Yes, Mei. I’m getting one too. If you want, I’ll even tattoo your name on me.”
I thought about the artwork I’d noticed on his body. He had one for his club across his back, and countless others on his chest and abdomen. His arms were pretty bare except his biceps, but his shirt hid those. In fact, none of his tattoos could be seen unless he was partially undressed. I wondered if he’d done that on purpose.
“Do you want me to have your name tattooed on me?” I asked.
“Only if you want to. You’ll have a property cut soon. Possibly by tomorrow. You’ll need to wear it anytime you leave the house. Consider it a layer of protection.”
I nodded and contemplated whether I wanted to get his name on my body. It seemed so permanent, as if I were agreeing to be his forever. In my world, forever could last a lifetime or until your next breath. But he wouldn’t offer to put my name on his body permanently if he didn’t want a lifetime with me, would he? I was still trying to learn to trust people. So far, Dingo hadn’t lied to me. “Could we get the tattoos together?” I asked.
“If that’s what you want. There’s a parlor over on the main strip in town. Lots of foot traffic over that way, so even if we ran into anyone from your past, they wouldn’t dare cause trouble. Especially if we take a few of my brothers with us. Wolf would be a good person to ask.”
“Just you and Wolf?” I asked.
“Well, no. You haven’t met Steel yet, but I think you’d like him. Maybe. He’s kind of reserved. Ex-military so he’s never been all that chatty with any of us. I know he’d protect you with his life. Any of the club would.”
“Then ask Steel and Wolf. I just need a minute to clean up.”
“Don’t get your bandage wet, Mei. If you get in the shower, only let the water hit you from the shoulders down.”
“I’ll be quick,” I promised. I stopped by the guest room and gathered my things, then moved them over to Dingo’s room. Since everything in his bathroom had a manly scent, I also grabbed some of the things from the other shower. While he made his calls, or whatever he needed to do, I quickly rinsed off, braided my hair, and changed into a fresh pair of jeans and a gray shirt. It was as plain and nondescript as I could get, and I loved it. There was a pair of white tennis shoes and I put those on as well. Admiring myself in the mirror, I had to admit that this look was definitely one I’d want to keep for a while. I didn’t know if it would be considered what I’d heard called “soccer mom” or what, but I liked it.
By the time I got back to the living room, Dingo was dressed and ready to go. He waited for me at the front door and gave me a smile, reaching out his hand. I slipped my fingers across his palm and let him tug me out the door.
“I didn’t think you should be on my bike after this morning’s incident, so we’ll use one of the club trucks.” He opened the passenger door, then stared at me. “Can you drive?”
“No. I don’t have a license either. Or any other form of ID.”
“Hmm. We’ll have to fix that. Not sure I’d be the best person to teach you, though. I might ask Grizzly. He taught his girls and has the patience of a saint when it comes to women.”
I wasn’t sure I agreed with him on that one, but he knew the man better than I did.
I’d ridden through town with the foster family plenty of times, but I’d never paid much attention to my surroundings. I’d always been too focused on just getting through the day. Now I had the chance to look at the different stores and admire some of the historic buildings. Dingo pulled up in front of a building that seemed to have been a barber shop at some point, the red-and-white pole out front still swirled, but the glass window clearly said Inkin’ It. The glass was smoky and I couldn’t see inside, but anticipation thrummed in my veins. A tattoo! I’d never thought to get one before.
Two motorcycles parked on either side of the truck and I saw Wolf and a man I hadn’t yet met get off their bikes. Maybe the Steel he’d mentioned? They lounged on either side of the entrance to the tattoo shop, arms folded, looking very much like bodyguards. I supposed that’s what they were, for the moment.
Dingo helped me from the truck and we walked in together, a bell jingling as the door to the shop opened. I reached up to smooth my hair, making sure it hid my bandage. I’d learned the fewer questions people asked the better.
There was a petite woman behind the counter, her pixie-cut hair spiked up in neon pink, and her piercings glittered under the bright lights. There were two black stars outlined on her upper right cheek. The look worked for her. She came off as a badass fairy. Since I didn’t know if she’d appreciate that description, I kept my mouth shut.
“Hey, Dingo. What did you bring us today? New customer?” she asked, her smile going wide. “Or are you getting more ink?”
“Both,” he said. “This is Meiling. My wife.”
The woman’s mouth formed an O of surprise and her gaze skittered over to me. I wasn’t sure what she thought of Dingo’s surprise, but when she held her hand out to me, I figured I’d passed inspection.
“Hi, Meiling. I’m Deidre. Everyone just calls me Dee.”
“And everyone just calls me Mei.” I smiled and took her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Dee rubbed her hands together like an eager child about to get a cookie. “What are we doing for the two of you?”
“Mei wants her first tattoo, and I want to get her name inked on me.”
Dee blinked a moment, glancing between the two of us. “I see. Well, you know the policy on getting someone’s name put on your body. If you can convince Teagan to do it, more power to you. Mind if I tattoo your wife?”
Dingo looked down at me. “You might prefer Dee’s touch to Teagan’s. He’s a big bastard.”
“I’d be honored to have you give me my first tattoo, Dee,” I told the woman.
“Excellent!” She bounced on her toes. “Come over to my station and tell me what you want. I’ll sketch something up and we can talk logistics.”
I released Dingo’s hand and followed Dee to a workstation just two cubes over. The half walls let me see into all the different areas, and it looked like they had at least four artists set up. Unless some of the stations weren’t in use, or were intended for other purposes. This world was new to me.
“I haven’t really thought this over,” I admitted. “He said I could get a tattoo, and so here we are.”
Dee smiled. “Well, you don’t have to get the ink today. Just tell me what you’re thinking and I’ll come up with some ideas. I can show you a rough sketch after we talk, and then give me a few days to flesh it out and we’ll set up an appointment for the actual tattoo.”
“Dingo sort of saved me. I haven’t had the easiest life, but he made himself my protector from the moment he saw me. He claimed me, and now we’re married. I want something that shows where I came from, but also where I’m going, if that makes sense.”
Dee nodded. She grabbed a sketch pad and pencil, then stared at me.
“Um. Well, he called me a phoenix. I don’t know if that gives you anything. I was in foster care. A really fucked-up family had me, and when I aged out of the system, I ended up working at the Ruby Slipper.” I sank my teeth into my lip to keep from saying anything more. Everyone in town knew about that place, so now she’d know what type of woman I was. Or rather had been. “I didn’t want to be there. I never wanted any of that.”
Dee gave me a sympathetic smile. “Hon, I doubt that any of the girls over there want to be there. There’s no shame in doing whatever is necessary to survive. But I’m going to need some time to think this one over. Come back in two or three days and I’ll have a few things sketched. Once I know the direction you prefer me to go, then I can add some more details and we’ll get your appointment scheduled.”
“Thanks, Dee.” I hesitated. “And thank you for not judging me.”
Her eyebrows lifted. She set her stuff aside and stood, lifting her shirt to expose her lower abdomen. There were long, angry scars that looked like deep knife wounds across her belly and in the fleshy part over her hip. “This is a reminder that I can’t trust everyone I meet,” she said. “We all have a past, Mei. Some are worse than others, but it’s how we use the knowledge to move forward that counts.”
She gave me a hug and led me over to Dingo. He hadn’t been wrong when he’d said Teagan was a big bastard. The man working ink into Dingo’s skin had to be the tallest, broadest guy I’d ever seen. If he were an actor, studios would be lining up to put him in roles about giants or Titans or something. I watched as he formed my name. My full name. Meiling. I narrowed my eyes at Dingo because he damn well knew I preferred Mei.
“Stop looking at me like that,” he said.
“That’s not what everyone calls me and you know it.”
He winked. “I happen to think your name is sexy. Did you know that Meiling Shan means beautiful coral? Seems fitting.”
He thought I looked like coral? I tipped my head to the side as I stared at him, trying to puzzle how I even remotely resembled that.
“You’re beautiful, with a fiery color, and you can be prickly,” he said.
I huffed and rolled my eyes. Should have known it wasn’t completely a compliment. If he wanted Meiling on his wrist, then it wasn’t like I could stop him. Especially at this point, since my name was already formed in a black script, but Teagan was adding some shading in a pinkish hue around it that almost made my name look like it was glowing. It was actually a bit fascinating. I’d never seen someone get a tattoo before.
After the design was finished, and the tattoo had been cleaned and covered, Dingo paid and we walked out to the truck. I’d thought we were done, but apparently I was wrong. Instead of opening the truck door for me, he led me across the street to Dyson’s Jewelry, with the two bikers watching our every move from their spot across the street outside the tattoo shop. He’d mentioned getting wedding rings since we were legally -- illegally? -- married. I just hadn’t realized he meant right now. Didn’t something like that cost a lot of money? We hadn’t discussed finances, and while his home was nice and his furniture was decent, nothing screamed rich guy.
We entered the store, and he went straight to the glass case of wedding rings. It was hard to miss with all the sparkling diamonds, and took up the entire center section of the store’s display. Blackwood Falls wasn’t anywhere near big enough for this, was it? It almost looked like they had more diamonds than residents.
“May I help you?” asked a man in a gray suit.
“I was a dumbass and married this beautiful lady before buying any rings. Thought I’d remedy that by stopping by your store,” Dingo said.
The man eyed me, then Dingo, his gaze staying on the black leather covering his torso a little longer than I’d have liked. Were we about to be kicked out just because Dingo was a biker?
“Anything in particular? Perhaps a plain band?” the man asked.
I squeezed Dingo’s hand. “I don’t need anything.”
He gazed down at me with a look that clearly said we weren’t leaving without rings. I sighed and looked at all the shiny things in the case. They were beautiful, but completely unnecessary. I’d never owned jewelry before, and I’d get along just fine without having any now. It was a frivolous expense.
“I want my wife to have the prettiest ring in the store. Anything she wants.”
“They’re all so sparkly,” I murmured.
The man eyed me. “Maybe something a little less ostentatious?”
I nodded. “I don’t want anything flashy. Something plain is perfectly fine.”
Dingo bumped my shoulder with his. “Meiling, I want you to have the best. You don’t have to pick the cheapest thing in here.”
I worried at my lip until I tasted blood, too anxious to even bother correcting his use of my full name. I didn’t want to discuss this with him, not in the middle of the store, but I needed him to understand that I didn’t want anything that would draw attention to myself. I liked being nondescript, blending into the background. It was safer.
“Your wife seems like the type to enjoy understated things. With her coloring and pretty eyes, she doesn’t need anything ornamental to make her shine,” the man said.
I glanced at him in surprise and he gave me a kind smile. The tension eased from my shoulders a bit and I hoped he could see how grateful I was. Maybe Dingo would listen to him without me having to spell it out for him.
“That it, Meiling?” Dingo asked, watching me intently.
“Yeah. I want to wear a ring that shows I’m yours, but I don’t want it to draw attention.”
He nodded and looked in the case again. After a moment, he pointed to a silver colored band with pink roses etched into it. “What about that?”
The salesman smiled. “Excellent choice. This band is white and rose gold. If it’s not the correct size, we can re-size it or special order one.”
He removed it from the case and held the black velvet box out to me. I just stared, almost afraid to touch it. Dingo slipped the ring from the box and eased it onto the ring finger on my left hand. And it fit perfectly. I had to admit, it was very pretty and delicate. I loved it.
“It’s perfect, Meiling.” He kissed my cheek. “We’ll take it.”
“Are you going to wear one?” I asked. “You said you would.”
“Yeah, but I’d have to take it off at certain times, like when I’m working on the bike. Wouldn’t want it to get caught up in anything.”
The man cleared his throat. “If I may make a suggestion. We don’t sell them here, but there are bands made of a type of rubber material that seem popular with fireman, law enforcement, and men who work with their hands. I believe you can order them online if you know your size.”
He looked down at his hands. “I’ve never worn a ring before.”
The man pulled out a ring of little circles and held one up. “Let’s try this one. Once you know your size, you can order your ring. Or if you’d like, we can place an order for you to pick up at your convenience.”
After a few tries, Dingo found his ring size and placed the order for his wedding band. He paid for our purchases and thanked the man. I smiled up at him as we stepped out onto the sidewalk and immediately ran into someone.
“I’m sor…” The words died on my tongue.
“Time to come home, girl,” my foster father said.
Dingo put himself between us and growled like a damn bear. “My wife isn’t going anywhere with you. “