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“We’re patched. And Spike, who is…”

“In the glass room with three girls,” Croft supplied, making Brigg’s lips curve up.

“Think I might like it here,” he said.

“Then there are the legacies who you will be in the prospect room with: Ronan, Vas, and Carver.”

“All legacies, huh?” Briggs asked, wincing.

“This fuck is a legacy, too. Spike and I aren’t. You wanna come in? Feeling pretty rude to keep a guest in the doorway.”

Briggs gave me a nod and moved inside, his gaze sliding around the clubhouse, taking in the bar, pool table, foosball, darts, and the living room with all the gaming systems.

“Interesting paint selection,” he said, looking at the paintball-splattered walls.

“Yeah, the prospects will be cleaning that up when they wake up. You get a pass today,” Croft told him.

“Seems like everyone had a good time last night,” he added, glancing at the recycling bin overflowing with dead soldiers, then the bar covered in red plastic cups and an assortment of bottled fruity drinks.

“Every night’s a party around here,” I told him. “I hope you don’t like sleep.”

“Live in the woods in the middle of nowhere with nothing to interrupt my sleep but the bears getting into the trashcans. I can use some sleepless nights.”

“You’re gonna get ‘em. Want me to show you to your bunk and locker so you can put your bag away?”

“Sounds good.”

With that, I led him down the hall to the massive prospect room with its impossibly high walls with the windows up near the ceiling.

It was almost hard to believe I used to live in the barracks-style room. That I slept in the bed that Vas now occupied. That I had to either head to bed early or find somewhere private in the clubhouse to hook up with a girl. That I kept everything I owned in one of the lockers that lined one whole wall.

“Those two are both empty,” I said, waving to the bunk in the middle. “And the last two lockers are open. The bathrooms are through there,” I said, waving back.

“Not bad. I wasn’t expecting so much room.”

“Yeah. This was originally a safe space for the guys to lock down their families in case of trouble. Now, there is another room like this in the basement instead, with all the supplies we could need.”

“How the hell do you get to that glass room on the roof?”

“Down through the basement, then up a ladder.”

Briggs nodded as he shoved his bag into the locker. Next went his keys. His phone too. But he closed it without removing the book from his pocket.

“There’s not much else. A garage, obviously. Other than that, we have a pool and hot tub out back.”

“What about all the doors we passed?”

“Rooms for patched members. Everyone rotates into them eventually. Then when someone moves on to buy their own home, someone else gets a room.”

“Good system.”

“You have cabins, I hear.”

“Yeah. And the lodge itself.”

“Never had interest in running it like it was set up for?”

“I grew up in the industry. It takes a shit ton of work to make everyone’s vacation a positive experience. Wouldn’t want to do that for the rest of my life.”