"I'm good, thanks." I sit down, noticing Tank's assessing gaze. The VP hasn't said much to me over the past month, but I've felt him watching. Evaluating. Making sure I'm worth the trust King placed in me.
"So," King says, leaning back in his chair. "What's on your mind?"
This is it. The moment of truth.
I take a breath. "I want to prospect."
Shadow misses his shot. I hear the pool cue scrape across felt, and Chaos lets out a low whistle. Tank's expression doesn't change, but I see his eyes narrow slightly.
King just nods slowly, like he's been expecting this. "Tell me why."
"Because this is what I've been looking for." The words come easier now that I've started. "A club that actually gives a shit about something beyond profit and territory. A brotherhood that means something. I thought that was dead, thought my old MC killed it when they chose trafficking and drugs over honor. But you've proven me wrong."
"One month isn't very long," Tank speaks up, his voice gravelly. "How do you know we're not just good at hiding the bad shit?"
It's a fair question. A test, maybe, to see if I've actually been paying attention or just seeing what I want to see.
"Because I've been looking for it," I tell him honestly. "I've been watching everything you do, every decision you make, waiting for the mask to slip. Waiting to see the real operation underneath. And there isn't one. This is it. This is who you are."
"And your brother’s club?" King asks. "The Iron Phoenixes, right? They know you're here?"
I nod. "I told Eli, my brother, when I first decided to stay. He gave me his blessing. Said as long as I was happy and Maya was safe, that's all that mattered to him."
"Good man," King observes. "We've heard of them. Clean club, good reputation. Your brother built something solid after the fallout."
"He did." Pride swells in my chest thinking about what Eli accomplished. "Built it from the ground up with men who actually believe in the code."
"But you didn't want to be part of it," Tank says. It's not a question.
"I couldn't be in his shadow. Couldn't be 'Eli's little brother' for the rest of my life. I needed to find my own way." I look at King. "And I think I have."
Shadow has abandoned the pool game, leaning against his cue and watching this conversation with those unsettling eyes of his. Chaos is beside him, arms crossed, expression serious for once.
"What about Alice?" King asks. "She know you're here? Know what you're asking for?"
"She knows. We've talked about this multiple times over the past month. She's all in." I can't help the small smile. "She's something special. Actually, we've been talking about moving in together. Maya and I are just renting month-to-month right now, but Alice has space for all of us. Maya's been asking to live with Biscuit anyway."
"That she is," Tank agrees, and there's approval in his voice now. "Good woman. Patient, too, putting up with your ugly ass."
That gets a laugh from Chaos. Shadow's lips twitch, as close to a smile as he gets.
King drums his fingers on the table, thinking. I wait, letting him process. This is his call: his club, his decision about who gets to prospect.
"You understand what you're asking for?" King finally says. "Prospecting isn't easy. We'll work you harder than we've been working you. Test you. Push you. Make sure you're serious about this and not just chasing a feeling."
"I understand."
"You'll be at the bottom of the ladder. Every patched member outranks you. You do what you're told, when you're told, no questions."
"I understand."
"And it could take six months. Could take two years. However long it takes for us to be absolutely sure you're Savage Riders material." King leans forward. "Your past doesn't matter here except as lessons learned. But your future, your commitment to this club, to this town, to the code we live by, that means everything. You ready for that?"
I think about my parents. About the code they believed in, the one they tried to instill in me and Eli. About honor and loyalty and protecting people who can't protect themselves.
I think about Maya, safe and happy in Blackwater Falls, making friends at school, begging for a dog every single day.
I think about Alice, who looks at me like I'm something precious instead of something broken. Who accepted my past and believed in my future. Who wants to build a life with me and Maya.
