Page 26 of Archer (Dirty Misfits MC 3)
She propped herself up on her elbow. “Will you come get me if I’m needed there, though?”
I pointed at her playfully. “Only if you promise to stay put and take your pain medication promptly at nine.”
She held up three fingers. “Scout’s Honor.”
I smirked. “Good.”
After rushing around to get myself clothed and placing Josie’s pain medication on her bedside table, I made my way for my bike. With my sand-laced jacket tossed around my shoulders and my helmet slid onto my head, I rip-roared toward the clubhouse. I was starving and had a serious need for food but Chops rarely called church meetings first thing in the morning.
Which meant shit was about to go down.
However, when I parked my bike and walked into the clubhouse, I certainly didn’t expect what I found.
“There he is!” Chops exclaimed as his words slurred. “Tell Porter here it’s okay for his work wife to shut the fuck up so he can have a drink with me.”
Porter rolled his eyes. “For the last time, I’m sober, Chops. I don’t drink in the mornings.”
Chops slapped his arm. “Because Brooks fucks you up the ass with it, right?”
I looked over at Brooks and saw him gnawing on the inside of his cheek like it was a pack of fucking chewing gum. I smelled the booze on Chop’s breath from across the room and I wondered why the hell he had called a church meeting in the middle of his beer binge. The man stumbled around, and I grimaced as he tried to hug and buddy up to each and every one of us.
But when he got to me, I took a step back.
Chops scoffed. “What’s got your dick in a knot?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “There are reason you pulled me away from my patient and called us here? Because if not, she needs her pain meds and could really use someone to—I don’t know—help her walk.”
Chops waved his hand in the air. “Bah, you got all the time in the world. Not like this crew’s going anywhere anyway.”
Brooks blinked. “The hell does that mean?”
Chops pointed at him before he stumbled on his feet. “No cussing at your ‘President,’ asshole.”
I leaned toward Cole. “He been like this all morning?”
Cole nodded. “Ever since I got here, and that was an hour ago.”
“Jesus,” I hissed.
Then, Cole threw his hands into the air. “Someone wanna tell me why those Black Flag dudes are making all the money moves and we’re sitting on our thumbs like a bunch of fags!?”
Brooks winced. “Can we do away with the slurs?”
Chops got into his face and grinned. “What? Can’t handle a little penis in the butthole?”
Porter rolled his eyes. “Spit it out or let us go.”
Chops slowly looked over at him and glared. “What? You think you got the balls to do what I do?”
I shook my head. “He’s right. Get to the chase or let us get back to my families.”
Chops barked with laughter. “Like half you asshats got families. Sheee-it.”
Finn stepped to the forefront. “If you’re so upset that we aren’t like the Black Flags, then maybe you should go join them instead of dealing with us.”
I pointed at Finn. “He’s got a point. If you like what they’re doing so much, go pledge them. Because you know we don’t roll like them. Never have, and never will.”
Chops tipped up the rest of his beer before crumbling the can in his hand. “That really how you think this works, newbie?”
He turned his anger on Finn and it pissed me off. “You think I can just jump ship and leave you assholes to ruin everything I’m trying to build here?”
I shrugged. “All you’re building right now is a tolerance to alcohol, as far as I’m concerned.”
Chops turned in my direction. “Oh, you got jokes?”
I shrugged. “No. Just hard truths.”
He lunged at me and got in my face. “Then, let me tell you a little truth of my own. If the jagoffs we hate so much start outdoing us around here, they’re gonna be the top dogs by sheer businesses they own. You got that? They’ll own this entire place, and you’ll just be sitting ducks they pick off for practice.”
I leaned toward him until our noses almost touched. “Then go. Join up. With them.”
For the faintest second, I could’ve sworn I saw fear rush behind Chops’ eyes. But it disappeared as quickly as it appeared, and I honestly wasn’t sure of what happened. All I knew was that, for some reason, my words had tripped him up.
But he covered it well with the laugh he spat in my face. “Like I’d ever go to our enemy and grovel to be part of them. Are you fucking nuts?”
I smirked. “When I’m drunk. Which is why I don’t drink any longer.”
Cole slid in between us and pushed Chops back a bit. “What was the point of calling church, dude? I got a doctor’s appointment I need to be at, and the last thing I’m going to do is field a drunk President when I need to be getting my shoulder looked at.”
