AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We glance at Armor, but he’s doing his rebooting Terminator move and doesn’t react.
“Is the older one doing okay back at her school?” Ruin asks as we spot Blair and Joie walking along the path.
“Sure. I wish we could just pull her out for the last few weeks. But Landry says they have a field trip planned and other fun shit. So, she’d be missing the best part of the year, basically.”
“The sooner you disconnect your people from Beehive Ridge, the better,” Ruin mutters before smiling at Joie acting out basketball moves for Blair. “The Copper family is trouble.”
“We ought to do more with that town,” I suggest, and he flashes a frown at me. “It’s got growth potential. Businesses are cheap there. I noticed a few restaurants and a laundromat up for sale. That’d be an easy way to increase our power and hide our dirty money.”
“So now you’re a businessman?” Goose mutters and shakes her head. “Domestication sure fucks up a person’s brain.”
“No, expansion is smart,” Ruin says as if in awe that I came up with a simple idea on my own. “But I don’t know if that’s what the club needs now.”
I don’t get why his vibe goes sideways over an easy deal. Eagle and a showered Hobo stroll up, notice Ruin’s shitty mood, and focus on me.
“Your woman offered me a cupcake,” Hobo says and lifts what’s left. I’m glad he cleaned up before joining the party. He even brushed his blond hair and dressed in a hole-free shirt and jeans. “Your last woman didn’t do that. Definite upgrade.”
“That’s all it takes to win you over, huh?” Tomcat asks as Walla Walla and him join the other founding members. “With those low standards, how are you not saddled with a woman yet?”
“Saddled?” Ruin grumbles and moves to shove his cousin before remembering Tomcat’s chest wound.
Armor’s glare implies he might shove Tomcat anyway.
“Women are complicated, and I prefer a simple life,” Hobo explains and jams the last bit of cupcake into his mouth.
“Is this a meeting?” Walla Walla asks, frowning at how it’s only the founding members standing together.
Hoyt shrugs. “No, we’re just talking.”
“About Nomad’s sweet little ones?” Walla Walla asks, eyeing me to see if I’m still pissed about earlier.
Shaking my head, I reply, “About expanding into Beehive Ridge.”
Ruin frowns at me. “Holding McMurdo Valley is what matters. We’ve got problems brewing. Todd Rogers and your woman’s people and the rest of the Edwardses. Until shit is quiet, I don’t want to add more to our plate.”
Though I can usually be rather oblivious, I manage to read between the lines today.
Ruin’s got a fragile woman and her mentally wrecked sister to protect. He’s still healing from gunshot wounds. His kid is getting older and becoming aware of the uglier side of his job. I’ve also heard Joie claim she wants to be a member of the Steel Berserkers Motorcycle Club one day. His natural inclination is to hunker down in his safe zone, only venturing out to raid our enemies when their guard is down.
That shit worked back in the day, but we’re no longer hiding in McMurdo Valley’s wilderness, waiting to strike. Ruin owns a big house that might as well have a fucking bullseye on it. Mine is only slightly more hidden from prying eyes. Our kids and women are obvious targets. We both have people living on our properties that are like family.
We’re not the only ones in the club with something to lose, but our weaknesses are starker than Armor and Goose stressing their mom’s safety or Tomcat worrying about his kids living in the next town.
When I see through Ruin’s eyes, I stop caring about bringing Beehive Ridge into the fold. I’m no longer concerned with expanding at all. I only want to protect what’s mine.
“He really does like you,” Tomcat mutters when Beckett returns to my side and wants up.
Grinning at the little man in my arms, I try to imagine a future where he rides with the club. Nope, never going to happen!
I’m still sore from the slice and dice in the woods a week ago. No way do I want my kids knifed by a loser with shitty tattoos.
Rather than worry about what Beckett might want in the future, I hold the boy and enjoy a beer with my club. Inside the house, Landry chills with her new girlfriends. Nearby, Blair and Joie bond over whatever the hell girls talk about at that age.
Right now, my golden luck feels untouchable.
