Page 44 of Courting Danger

“Good,” Danger growled. “‘Cause it would piss me off to wait months to see you again.”

“Can’t have that,” Ocean said. “I’ve heard some of the Jokers talk about your temper. Is it true that you hog-tied someone with barbed wire?”

Pope’s bark of laughter, followed by the animated way Danger perked up, was proof that at least some of the stories Ocean had heard were true.

“He did,” Pope said. “And shredded his favorite leather gloves in the process.”

“Never found a replacement pair like them either,” Danger grumbled. “Wouldn’t have happened if the dumb fuck had just walked away when I told him to.”

“Red never did have the sense god gave a billy goat,” Pope muttered.

“Wait,” Roan said, needing a minute to process what he’d just learned. “It was Red you tied up?”

“Yup,” Danger replied, chuckling.

Picturing the redheaded man with the handlebar mustache bound hand and foot with strands of barbed wire instantly prompted Roan into a fit of giggles he tried to smother behind his hands.

“Why do you do that?” Ocean asked, tugging Roan’s hands away from his face.

Roan was too busy laughing to protest or tug his hands away from Ocean, who had a firm grip on them. By the time he’d composed himself and wiped a few tears from his eyes, Pope and Danger were staring at them, both wearing the same stern expressions.

“Someone gave you shit about the way you laughed, didn’t they?” Pope said.

Nodding, Roan felt his cheeks heat up. “My grandpa said I sounded like a little kid when I giggled like that. He was always after me to grow the fuck up and act like a man. I think it was just because he wanted his house back. He’d raised his kids, yaknow; getting stuck with me wasn’t part of the plan, especially when he’d always hated my mama and felt like she’d trapped my old man into marrying her.”

“Never understood that way of thinking,” Pope said. “Nor the need to say that shit to a kid.”

“What happened to your parents?” Danger asked.

“My dad was a logger; he got killed on the job,” Roan explained. “My mom worked at one of the bars in town. After he died, she did more drinking than pouring, and eventually the state stepped in and sent me to live with my dad’s parents.”

“Why not hers?” Pope asked.

“There was just my grandmother,” Roan explained, “and she had a bunch of convictions for writing bad checks and shoplifting, so the state didn’t feel like she’d make a good guardian for me.”

“Did your mom ever get sober?” Pope asked.

“Nah,” Roan said. “When I left home, I went to see her. She was so drunk she didn’t even remember my name. Didn’t see any point in sticking around after that, so I hit the road. I’m not going back there, or to my grandparents’ place.”

“Good,” Danger said. “You shouldn’t go chasing after folks who aren’t capable of treating you right.”

“The Jokers were formed by orphans who decided to be a family,” Pope said. “You don’t ever have to worry about being alone again.”

“Once I survive being a prospect, anyway,” Roan said, still scared about how that part was going to turn out.

“You will,” Pope said.

“He’s right.” Danger said. “These past few weeks you’ve really stepped up, done what I needed you to, and shown the guys that you’re capable of keeping out of trouble and being a huge asset in the process. Just keep it up and everything will turn out in your favor when it comes time to vote.”

Ocean wiggled up close to Roan and wrapped an arm around him, getting cozy with him on the couch. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“Apparently not,” Roan replied when Ocean rested his head on Roan’s lap like a tired puppy.

“Have you ever gone back home?” Roan asked Danger.

He shook his head and reached for the remote, bringing the flat screen to life with the touch of a button.

“Nope,” Danger said as he started scrolling through the guide. “The last thing my old man said to me before I roared away was not to come back. He was pissed off that I wanted to see the world. Said it would change me in ways that would turn me against my family. More like it opened my eyes to how many other possibilities there were than to live in seclusion, hiding from the things they didn’t like.”