Page 43 of Christmas Wish
“Yeah, she’s hot and all, but she’s heading out soon after the beginning of the year,” Ryder said.
“Then have some fun until she does. You never know what may happen,” Hawk replied.
“And this is coming from a man who fought falling in love with Cara?”
“He’s got a point, bro.” Banger laughed.
Hawk scowled. “I’m just saying to go for it. You got this hot chick in your cabin who seems more than ready to spend some cozy nights with you. It fuckin’ beats the club girls.”
“Yeah … well … we’re just friends,” Ryder replied.
“Make it with benefits, and you’ve got a great holiday.” Hawk grinned.
Banger cleared his throat. “As fun as this shit is, we gotta talk serious now. We’ve got some assholes making noise in our territory. They call themselves the Twisted Kings. Skinless was at a dive bar …” He snapped his fingers.
“Brown Barrel,” Hawk said.
“… the Brown Barrel,” Banger continued, “and he saw these three fuckers wearing their colors. The prospect said what got him was that the bottom rocker saidColorado.” Banger’s face flushed red and his nostrils flared.
“What the fuck?” Ryder said. “Are they asking for trouble?”
“They’re asking for a beatdown, and if they keep it up, then their families will be visiting Horan’s Mortuary to pick out coffins,” Hawk replied.
“No one fuckin’ wears the Colorado property rocker in Insurgents’ territory.” Banger held out his glass and Hawk poured him another shot, then he tipped the bottle toward Ryder. Ryder shook his head, so Hawk put the bottle back on the table. “We gotta address this, pronto.” Banger leaned back in the chair.
“You need my help?” Ryder asked.
“If you want to be in on it. You told me a month ago that you’re itching to be involved in some of the club’s enforcement, so we could definitely use you. You want in?” Hawk asked.
Ryder slowly nodded, excitement weaving through him. It had been a long time since he’d done a mission with his brothers, and it would prove to him that he still had what it took to be an outlaw. “I’m in. When do we roll?”
“We wanna do it before Saturday. What about Wednesday?” Banger asked.
“Can’t—the fuckin’ tree lighting is Wednesday,” Hawk replied.
“That’s right. I don’t want Belle, Harley, Ethan, and Emily going alone to that. No fuckin’ way,” Banger said.
“Same with Cara and the kids. I gotta be there to make sure my family’s protected.” Hawk glanced at Ryder. “Are you doing the tree shit too?” A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
“Savannah said Cara had mentioned it.” Ryder rubbed the top of his thigh; his residual limb was hurting like a motherfucker.
“Is that a yes?” A full-blown smile broke out over Hawk’s smug face.
“Yeah, we’re going. Fuck, dude,” Ryder answered.
“Then we’ll move on Thursday. The prospect said these three assholes hang out at that bar from Thursday through Saturday. Chas, Wheelie, and Animal are gonna find out how many of these bastards are playing MC. We’ll just introduce ourselves to the fuckers at the bar. The way they’re gonna look after we’re done with them will be the warning to the other ass-wipes.” Banger glanced at his phone.
“How many of us are going?” Ryder asked, his adrenaline already starting to pump.
“Figure eight of us should do the trick. Maybe ten, in case some shit happens that we aren’t expecting. Hawk will get the posse rounded up tomorrow, and we’ll meet at the clubhouse before heading over to the dive. Sound good?” Ryder nodded along with Hawk. “Good.” Banger stood up. “I gotta get going. I promised Ethan I’d take him and his friends skiing in the morning. The shit we do for our kids.” Banger laughed as he headed out of the room.
Gritting his teeth, Ryder stood up. “I better go too.”
“Yeah, you got a tree to pick out.” Hawk playfully smacked him on the back. “You okay, bud? You need some aspirin?”
“I’m good. It’s just been a long day. Thanks, bro.”
After they said their goodbyes, Ryder found himself doing something he never thought he would—going to buy a Christmas tree. He’d given up on holiday cheer after Dana had left him and took Colt with her. Even though he acted disinterested and downright gruff, he smiled inside when he saw how excited Timmy was from picking out a tree.
