“'Bout five minutes out. And they've got all the cavalry onboard. I don't remember how much I told you about Seventy-seven Brothers, but they always ride with seventy-seven members when they're out on club business. Always. But that ain't all of them, so we better play real nice here.” I glance over at Gaine as he rises from his seat. “No shots fired, you stupid motherfucking asshole.” My friend's face flushes, but he doesn't argue. He knows you do stupid shit when you're in love.
“Gaine, sweep the halls and grab anybody you can find. I split the group in half, so there should be at least twenty-five people still here in the hotel. The rest will be out by the beach most likely, so start makin' some phone calls.” Austin copies me and sticks a cigarette in his mouth while I grin like a fool and slap Mireya on the back. She scowls at me.
“Finally acting like a real President there,” I whisper, watching as Austin turns to Amy with a look. Splitting the group in two, one for leisure time, the rest on guard duty. I love it. Our two Southern belles have already caught the drift and follow Gaine out of the restaurant and into the lobby. Me, I check my weapons one more time and head back outside, fetching one of my pistols from the lock box on the back of my bike. “Please don't kill anybody today, sugar tits,” I tell Melissa when she steps out into the sunlight, blinking rapidly as her eyes adjust to the brightness.
“Don't tempt me, Evans,” she whispers, moving up next to me and pausing with a hand on one hip. Even after all the shit that went down with Bested by Crows, we never had a security talk. And you know, maybe that was my fault. I should've brought it up before, but we all been through so many changes as of late that my brain's scrambled up like this morning's eggs. Still, we're better prepared here, now, than we were for Broken Dallas and Bested by Crows at the hotel. We'll get the hang of it eventually, I guess. It's adapt or die at this point.
I touch my .38 reverently and then tuck it into my pants. I ain't gonna use the damn thing, but it's there just in case. No such thing as being over prepared.
I close my eyes and listen to the sound of engines in the distance, like the roar of a jet plane taking off. It is that fucking loud, but it's also a thousand times more pleasant. There's a life, a voice, to the sound of those motors running. I lick my lips and taste salt and wind, opening my eyes and scanning the street. I've looked it up and down twice already, but like I said, no such fucking thing as being over prepared. If I know where to stand, how to hide, how to move, I can take on any threat. This is the magic behind the scenes, the things Gaine, Austin, and Kimmi won't ever know about me. I should be teaching them, maybe, but it's hard. I don't know if it's something I could even instill in them or anyone else. I was raised like this. It's a part of my DNA.
I stretch my arms above my head, leather vest crinkling as I pull my cig from my mouth and yawn, tossing it down to the pavement with a sigh. No ladies and no rest. Some vacation, right?
“What'd you do last night?” I ask Mel, knowing that nobody but me would bring this shit up right before a confrontation. That's how I roll, though. Like a fast hog down a slow hill. Don't make no sense, but that's me. Pretty sure the universe has been trying to figure out what to do with me forever and a day.
“I sat in my room and I read a book,” Melissa says, which is the absolute last thing I ever thought I'd hear her say. I glance over, at her face which is still pretty but etched with fine lines. She's tired, I know she is. And grieving. But she looks better today, just a smidgen. “Amy gave it to me, and I swear to God, it's the hottest sex I've had in years.” I grin at her, nice and wide.
“Shoulda let me come in there and help you out with those lady blue balls, my friend. What, you don't like me anymore?” I give her a faux pout as Triple M'ers start to pour out from the building, walking nice and casual but with muscles taut and drawn. I know they're still wary of Austin as the Pres, especially since it kind of just happened and nobody fucking talked about it. I get it. But I also know they see in him what I see. Otherwise, they wouldn't be here. We've had a handful of deserters, but less than I can count on two hands, so I know this can work. All we have to do is find our little niche in this community. We might not be able to get back what we had before, but we can find something new. It's all about riding out the storm. And if there's one thing I know we're all good at, it's fuckin' ridin'.
“Let's make this a peaceful exchange. We're not in their actual territory, just close to it. Nobody owns this beach.” Austin comes out of the building with Kimmi by his side. I don't see Gaine or Mireya, so I figure they got stuck babysitting again. I try not to grin too wide. “And we're not here to start trouble. We're just passing through.” I watch as Austin takes a deep breath and pulls himself together as the first bikes come around the corner.