She grinned. “I do like the sound of that.”
“I want this to be your home, but I also know how close you are to the Knights and to your family. I know you need to keep that part of your life; it’s who you are. I wouldn’t ever ask for anything else.”
She nodded. “I appreciate that, honey.”
“I gotta take a meet with my men for a bit. You gonna be okay? The prospects minding their manners?”
She snorted. “Are you kidding? They’re terrified to even look at me.”
“Good,” I muttered in all seriousness.
She cocked her head to the side, assessing me. “Everything okay? I didn’t think you’d need to take a meet tonight. Not that I mind.”
She was testing the waters, and I didn’t hesitate to wade in.
“Pike has some young recruits; a couple of them aren’t even out of high school. We intercepted them on a run over the pass just before you got into town. I’ve been letting them stay on site, knowing if I send them back to Pike, they likely won’t be breathing long. I’m debating what to do with them,” I shared.
She pressed her hands to my chest. “I’m sure you’ll do the right thing, whatever it is.” Her easy confidence with no questions asked had me momentarily speechless. “I’ll go find the girls,” she continued, kissing me briefly before striding from the room, leaving me, as always when she was walking away, wanting more.
“You ready for us, Prez?” Ryland asked from the doorway, delivering a chin lift in greeting to Grace as she strode past.
I nodded, moving to sit behind my desk. “Sit,” I commanded the four boys as they filed in, looking apprehensive as they took a seat in the chairs across from me.
“You loyal to Pike?” I demanded without preamble. I’d come to my own conclusions but wanted to hear from them.
“No, sir.” I wasn’t surprised when Sunny, the oldest and most confident of the foursome, spoke up.
I cocked my head to the side. “Do you understand loyalty?”
“The four of us are loyal to each other,” Sunny replied as Gage, the smallest of the four, shifted in his seat.
“Gage, speak,” I demanded, having zero patience when so much was on the line.
“Pike threatened my older sister if I didn’t agree to do the pickup for him. I guess he’d approached her a few times and she wasn’t interested. Likely bruised his fragile ego.” He looked at me, his young face full of fury. “I may be young, but no one hurts my sister. The guys didn’t want to let me clean up my own mess,” he explained, referring to Sunny, Reid, and Lucas, who all looked vexed.
“Wasn’t your fucking mess,” Reid, the blond, protested. “He’s an asshole with power who knows we don’t have shit.”
I clenched my fists, having been through a similar experience with my own sister. “Where is your sister now?”
“Left town, thank god,” Gage muttered.
I looked to Cason, who nodded once. I couldn’t validate their whole story, but Cason would know if the sister had recently left town. And we certainly knew these boys had very little in the way of means. They could also easily disappear, both attributes making them easy pickings for Pike.
“I’m not like Pike,” I snarled. “I don’t recruit out of fear. Hell, I don’t recruit at all. My brothers and I have either served together or they’ve joined up following their service, needing solid ground.
“Now, because my gut and experience are telling me you’re being honest, I’m going to give you a few choices. I’m willing to take you on as prospects if the MC is a life you want to lead. But I’m warning you, one fuckup—one fucking speck of dust indicating you’re not trustworthy, and you’ll live to regret it. Another option is the military—for me personally, it gave me a chance to see the world, to have opportunities I otherwise wouldn’t have. I have some contacts I can set you up with. Or the final option is for you to go home, free and clear.”
“Why?” Reid blurted. “Why would you do all that for us?”
I eyed him steadily, recognizing his skepticism for what it was; this kid had seen very little kindness. “Because all anyone needs is a chance.”
He blinked, nodding once before looking at the friends I suspected were the closest family he had. “Can we think about it?”
I nodded. “But I want an answer tomorrow. In the meantime, you want to hang out and not hole up in the barracks—you can. Now, I’ve got a woman to get back to.” I rose, and the boys immediately took the hint and filed out of the room.
“Prospects, huh?” Ryland grunted as he and Cason followed me back out to the main room.
I shot him a look. “Got a problem with my decisions, Adams?”
