AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I won’t. But family is important, and you came back here to be with Bella. I won’t take these moments from you when you’re not needed right now. So go. You and Ingrid spend time with her. I know how precious it is.”
South smiles as I rise from my chair, the other guys standing with me. “Thank you. I appreciate this more than you know,” South replies.
“I know, South. I know. Now get the fuck out of here.” I chuckle as he turns to walk out of the Chapel. The other guys follow him while I make my way over to Rip.
His long, flowing hair cascades down around his shoulders. “Hey, bro, so I’m totally on board with this plan and all, but am I still gonna be able to get in some sick waves at Manhattan Beach every morning?”
Snorting out a laugh, I walk with him down the stairs. “Honestly, Rip, I don’t care whether you surf, wank, or toke yourself into oblivion each morning. All I care about is you do your job on the farm and show up when we need you.”
He laughs, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t wankeverymorning, Pres. Sometimes, I do it at night. Depends on when the mood strikes.”
Jesus Christ!We walk through the clubhouse and out the back door toward the attached farm. “I didn’t fucking need to know that, Rip, but thanks for sharing.”
He snorts out a laugh. “My pleasure, dude…literally.”
I can always count on Rip to lighten the mood. Smiling to myself as we open the gate, we walk past the animal enclosure. Iglance up to the loft above the pigsty. It’s made for a farmhand to stay in, but we’ve never had the ability to have one we trust with all the shit that goes on at the club. So Rip tends to do everything on his own. Sometimes, I think he’s pressed a little thin. He needs help. I just don’t know how to get it for him.
The muffled noises of the pigs as they forage about their pigsty snap me out of my thoughts and send me to deeper feelings of Poppy. She fucking loved these pigs. I don’t know what it was about these disgusting, stinky animals, but she adored them. Maybe it’s because of the stuffed toy I gave her that she loved so much. Maybe it’s because they were the first animals she really got to know growing up. Either way, she bonded with them, especially Fajita. Poppy loved saying Fajita’s name and found it so amusing that she would belly laugh. It was the highlight of my day listening as Poppy called to Fajita and then giggled to her heart’s content.
Smiling at the fond memory, Rip and I step up to the pigsty, and Rip grabs a bucket of slops consisting of barley, wheat, corn, soybeans, and canola meal. “Sooey! Fajita, Taco, Nacho, Salsa… come get your fiesta, my little grommets,” he calls out, sloshing the gooey mix into the trough.
I chuckle when the pigs trot over, digging their faces into the mix, snorting, and shoving each other out of the way for their feed. “You hit three different styles in one sentence there, Rip. Opening with a southern twang, then getting the completely wrong wording with fiesta in the middle, and ending on a surfing term. I think that’s a new record for you.”
He smiles wide like he is proud of himself. “And that is why I am the big Kahuna ’round here.”
Shaking my head, I take off, walking past the pigsty through the next gate, which opens into the greenhouse. The humidity instantly hits me as the high-voltage lighting blasts down on me from above. The iridescent white walls help to light thisplace up like a Christmas tree as I glance at the rows and rows of cannabis plants lining the greenhouse. When they legalized the growing and distribution of marijuana in California back in 2016, Defiance got on board immediately. If there is a way to bring in aboveboard revenue, then we’re interested in doing that.
Admittedly, we find ways to ensure we make profits on the side that the government doesn’t know about. But we try to make everything look as squeaky clean as possible.
“How’s everything going in here, Rip?” I ask.
He picks up a spray bottle and begins walking down an aisle, running his fingers along the tall leafy bushes, gently spraying them as he goes. “The crop is doing great. All our mandatory testing and licensing are current, and our suppliers aremorethan satisfied. Everything is looking gnarly, Pres!”
I grip his shoulder, nodding at him. “Keep up the good work.” As I turn to exit, I bump into Doughnut, Rip’s stupid fucking pet goat. “Jesus, Doughnut!” I shout louder than I mean to, making the goat gasp in fright. His muscles tense, his body stiffens, and I reach out for him as he keels over, falling to the ground in one of his usual fainting spells.
“Fuck!” I murmur.
Rip chuckles behind me. “Naw, don’t worry, Pres. He’ll be back up and roaming the greenhouse in no time.”
Shaking my head, I sidestep the comatose fucking goat and head for the exit. “Keep me updated on the next shipment out?”
“You got it!” Rip calls back, and I walk out past the pigs who have finished their slops and are happily rolling in the mud. My mind flicks to Poppy once more.
I’m going to make this right for you, Poppy, if it’s the last fucking thing I do.
I don’t know how.
Or how long this is going to take.
But Iwillavenge you!
CHAPTER EIGHT
Haven
A Week Later
I can’t shake Alpha from my goddamn mind.
