Page 21 of Bowser (Dragon Riders MC 2)
“There’s a question in there?” Knuckles asked.
I put my hand down because it felt like this was going to up another conversation. And when
Sly swallowed hard, I knew this wasn’t good.
“What is it?” I asked.
He shook his head. “What happens if this plan goes wrong?”
Knuckles blinked. “What?”
Sly shrugged. “What if it goes wrong? What if we dangle some girl in front of Skeleton and it backfires? Then he’s got another girl one of us cares about and feels responsible for, and we’re shit out of luck.”
Link nodded toward him. “He’s got a point.”
I motioned for Knuckles to put his hand down and we were right back to the main talking points.
“One, I’m not sure why that question is being asked. I’ve been part of this crew for years now, and not once as a plan ever been seen as something that might fail,” I said.
Link clicked his tongue. “Because I was always the one to talk behind everyone’s back, get their worries, and find ways to reassure them that things would go off without a hitch. There were questions just like this one, except I did what was necessary to—”
I held up my hand. “I get it. You don’t like the fact that I called this meeting without speaking to you, Oh Head Honcho One. We got it. Can you tuck in the attitude now?”
Link’s eyes widened. “You wanna shore up that statement a bit before I break your jaw?”
I lunged for him. “What the fuck did you just say to me?”
Sly jumped in between the two of us and Knuckles wrapped his arms around me. He pulled me away from Link, whose head I was about to pop off the top of his fucking neck. Sly pulled Link into one corner while Knuckles dragged me into the other, and for the first time since I had pledged this damn crew, I wondered what had become of us.
Since when were we all pussies?
“Dude, you have to calm down,” Knuckles murmured.
My nostrils flared. “When the hell did we become worried little women?”
He snickered. “We all have worries, asshole. Like the fact that you’re worried about Hope.”
I looked over at him. “That obvious?”
He chuckled. “Are you kidding me with that question?”
I sighed. “Fuck.”
“Yeah. Fuck is right. But now isn’t the time for us to be ripping at each other’s throats. Sly has a good worry, especially if we’re going to be calling upon women we know to help us out. Entertain the worries, man. We’ve all got them.”
I looked across the room at Link and it seemed as if Sly had talked some sense into him. He didn’t look so angry anymore, which would play to our benefit. Knuckles and I returned to the main living space before Sly and Link joined us. Then, I drew in a deep breath to speak.
Before Link interrupted.
“Can I go first?”
I nodded. “Of course.”
He puffed his cheeks out. “It’s a good plan. One that could work with some serious tweaking to make sure all parties involved are safe. I just don’t like the part about moving Hope in order to use this clubhouse.”
“Why not?”
“This place is secretive for a reason. It’s the one main thing that has kept Hope safe this entire time. Not us. Not our efforts. But the walls of this place. No one knows it’s out here. No one knows to look for it. Everyone thinks we operate out of our bars, and we do. But the reason this place works is because no one knows to look for it. I’m not ready to compromise that.”
“Fair enough. We’ll need to rework that part of the plan, though.”
“Plans always need reworking. But I agree with the bones of it. Luring Skeleton off his property and onto ours, so to speak, is a good move. Especially with the idea of forcing them into fear in order to use up some of that ammunition. I’ve got an even better place to do that, though.”
I paused. “You do?”
He nodded. “Yep. Which is why you should have come to me with this in the first place.”
Sly chuckled. “There’s a reason he’s president, man.”
I held my hand up to him. “What place are you talking about?”
Link raised his hand. “All in favor of the old bait-and-switch plan, raise your hands.”
The three of us shot our hands into the air, matching Link as he grinned. He inched his hand down, signaling for us to put our hands down. And as we did, it felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I’d have to have another talk with Link. One that didn’t include the guys hovering around us.
But just as quickly as things had turned positive, they turned tense again with the sound of her voice. The sound of Hope’s voice asking a question I knew would get my ass in trouble.
