Page 110
“No, what you’ve got is like some crazy voodoo magic that I want no part in.”
“I’ve got to go with Kodiak on this one, Streak,” Blaze says from the table next to us. “I’ve never met a guy who finds more money layin’ on the ground than you do.”
“Whatever,” Streak mumbles, a smile still on his face as he sips his beer.
“Who’s left? Oh, Chance – also just his name. Super unoriginal. And Blaze is because he used to like to play with fire a little too much.”
“Keywords there, used to,” Blaze says, and Kodiak nods.
“Wait. What about you?” Carly asks, and when I glance over at her, I smile. Chance is also staring at my best friend like he can’t drag his eyes away.
“Mine is ‘cause I’m from Alaska.”
“Wait, hold on. That’s only part of it,” Moose says, his cheeks finally returning to their regular color. “You know how grizzly bears in Alaska are so much bigger and meaner than ones you find in the lower forty-eight?”
“Yeah,” Carly says, nodding. Moose motions to Kodiak, who just rolls his eyes.
“Oh, please, I’m just a big teddy bear.”
“Is that why you almost got arrested when you went home last year and saw that guy talking to your baby sister?”
Kodiak growls and takes a sip of his beer. “Whatever. That little fucker had it coming.”
“I feel like we’re forgetting someone,” Smith says, leaning forward and looking around the circle.
“Henn,” Logan says from behind me. Kodiak snaps his fingers.
“That’s right. Blaze tells that story the best though.”
Blaze chuckles and leans forward, placing his beer on the table. “When Henn was prospecting in, we had a party one night. The guys had been riding him hard cause some of them didn’t think he belonged in the club and he wanted to prove himself. He drank so much goddamn Hennessey that he just ran around the clubhouse naked screaming, ‘I am Hennessey!’ at the top of his lungs.” He shrugs. “The name stuck.”
“Oh, man, that’s great,” Izzy says, sighing as she stands. “Now, which one of you is gonna show me where the booze is?”
Kodiak jumps up and smirks at her. “I got ya, Darlin’.”
“Mmhmm,” she hums, walking off with Kodiak following behind her with his tongue wagging. I lean into Logan’s arms, giggling as I watch my friend lay it on thick as she disappears into the clubhouse.
“Let’s get some music going,” Streak says, hopping up and pulling a remote out of his pocket. He pushes a button and Thunder Kiss ’65 by Rob Zombie starts playing. The guys all break off into different groups, talking and laughing as they drink, and when I glance around, I realize that Carly is gone.
“Did you see where Carly went?” I ask, and Logan nods.
“She disappeared with Chance.”
I laugh and shake my head. “I can’t say that I’m surprised.”
Before he can say anything, his phone rings and he lifts me off his lap for a second to grab it. I half-heartedly listen as he talks to whoever is on the other end of the line, and when he hangs up, he squeezes me.
“You want to go home, Kitten?”
I whip my head around to look at him. “What?”
“That phone call I just got was from a buddy who is helping us deal with our little situation. It’s over. We can go home.”
The news slowly sinks in, and a smile stretches across my face. I’m free. “Yeah, I wanna go home.”
He nods and stands, setting me on top of the table. “Wait right here. I just need to go talk to Kodiak for a second.”
I watch him disappear into the clubhouse, feeling one hundred pounds lighter knowing that this is really over and Logan and I can move on with our lives.
