Page 20 of Outlaw Xmas
“Can’t say that I’m not thrilled you’ll be back home. I miss you, girl.”
“Me too, Dad.”
Banger pushed up from the chair. “Let’s go to the family room. I’ll get a fire going. The snow’s really coming down hard.”
While they were sitting on the couch, Banger’s phone rang and he saw Hawk’s name flash on the screen. He jumped up and went into the laundry room, closing the door behind him.
“You got something?” he asked Hawk.
“Maybe. Sketcher said he’d heard a shipment of crack was coming through soon. He’s not sure exactly when.”
“Fuckin’ bastards! They’ve got balls to deal that shit in our county.”
“It’s bypassing Pinewood and going to Silverton,” Hawk said.
“Did he say it was the fuckin’ Deadly Demons?”
“Not exactly. He said he thought bikers are involved, but he isn’t sure from which club yet.”
“Tell Sketcher I wanna talk to him tomorrow at Belcroft’s farm off the old highway. I’ll meet him at ten in the morning.”
“I’ll come too.”
“Sounds good. We gotta stop this shit before it gets too big. I wanna know everything I can about these two punk gangs in the Night Rebels’ neck of the woods. Call Steel and Paco and set up a conference call for tomorrow afternoon around three.”
“Will do. You playing poker tonight?”
“Nah.”
“Me neither. It looks like Braxton’s coming down with something, and this whole damn mess with the Deadly Demons is constantly in my head.”
“Mine too, brother. We gotta crush ’em if they’re involved in this shit. I’m not too sure they are, but we’ll talk about that tomorrow.”
When Banger exited the laundry room, Belle came up to him. He looped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, kissing her on the lips. “You smell amazing, woman.”
Her electric blue eyes sparkled. “It’s flour, onions, and garlic you’re smelling. I made pot roast and it’s on the table.” She squeezed him hard. “Take the rest of the night off. We can watch a movie with the kids. I’ll make caramel corn.”
He laughed. “You know me well, woman.” Since he’d been a kid, caramel corn had always been his favorite. He’d used to sneak under the fence when the carnival would come to town during the summers just to buy a bag of it. The other kids he’d go with snuck in for the rides or the games, but he was there just for the caramel corn.
After dinner, Banger sat on the couch, his feet propped up on the coffee table as he channel-surfed. Ethan came over and sat down on the cushy chair by the fireplace, staring at the television screen as images flashed by.
“That was a good dinner your mom fixed,” Banger said, glancing sideways at him.
“Yeah. Pot roast is my favorite. Whaddaya trying to find on TV?”
“Nothing much. Just waiting for the women to get in here so we can watch the movie.” Harley came over and climbed up on the couch. Banger tugged him close and nestled him under his arm.
“Is Emily gonna watch the movie too?”
“Seems like it.” Emily had just come home the previous week from another stay at the alcohol rehab center. So far she seemed happier than she had for the past few years. She’d been excited to go Christmas shopping with Kylie, and Banger hoped that his nineteen-year-old stepdaughter had finally realized life was too short to spend it in and out of rehab.
“We’re almost done,” Belle said from the kitchen. The scent of freshly popped popcorn and sweet buttery caramel filled the room.
“Smells good, Mom,” Ethan said.
“How’s Jack doing?” Banger asked his stepson quietly.
“Good.”
