But my focus tunes in to something he said. “You said when Koa joined Oahu Defiance. Does that mean there’s a club in Hawaii and you were there first, Koa?”
He grins at me. “Sure does. They’re way more laid back over there, but I came to the mainland to help Sin with… some club business. So, I transferred over from Oahu for a while. Eventually, I’ll go back home.”
Deek turns to me with that mischievous grin I’m learning to recognize as trouble. “Speaking of different lives, did I ever tell you about the time I accidentally joined a circus?”
I nearly choke on my lasagna. “I’m sorry,what?”
“Oh, here we go,” Ghost mutters, but he’s fighting a smile.
“No,no, this really happened!” Deek insists, leaning forward dramatically. “I was maybe nineteen, still a prospect. Got separated from the guys during a ride through Arizona. Bike breaks down in the middle of nowhere, right? So, I’m walking down this desert road with my helmet under my arm, looking like a lost leather-clad scarecrow.”
His storytelling ability is actually impressive. The way he sets the scene completely draws you in.
“This caravan of RVs pulls over,” he continues, gesturing wildly. “Turns out it’s a traveling circus. They see this big, intimidating biker walking alone in the desert and figure I must be some kind of strongman looking for work.”
“You didn’t correct them?” I ask, already invested in the story.
“I tried! But the circus master, this tiny woman with bright purple hair, starts talking so fast I couldn’t get a word in. Next thing I knew, I was in the back of an RV getting fitted for a costume.”
Bear shakes his head. “This is where it gets ridiculous.”
“It was already ridiculous,” I point out.
“Hey!I’m telling this story,” Deek protests. “So anyway, they dress me up as this strongman character. Big fake mustache, one of those old-timey striped outfits. I figured I’d just play along until I could get help with my bike.”
“Please tell me you didn’t actually perform?” I ask, though part of mereallyhopes he did.
Deek’s grin gets wider. “Three shows. I lifted weights, which, granted, wasn’t hard, and flexed for crowds while this guy in a top hat announced my‘amazing feats of strength.’Made forty bucks and got the best cotton candy of my life.”
I want this to be true so badly.
“The best part…” Koa adds, clearly having heard this story before, “… is that when the brothers finally found him, he was helping tear down the big top.”
“They offered me a permanent position,” Deek says proudly. “Said I had‘natural showmanship.’”
“What you had was natural bullshit ability,” Ghost says dryly, but his eyes are warm with affection.
“So, what happened? How’d you get out of circus life?” I ask.
“The circus master figured I wasn’t really a strongman when she caught me using a motorcycle jack to lift the weights backstage. Apparently,realstrongmen don’t need hydraulic assistance.”
The table erupts in laughter, and I find myself laughing, too, harder than I have in weeks. There’s something infectious about their camaraderie, the way they tease each other with genuine love underneath.
“That story gets more elaborate every time you tell it,” Bear observes.
“The core elements remain true,” Deek insists with mock dignity. “I stand by my circus career.”
“What about you, Elizabeth?” Koa asks. “Got any weird job stories?”
I think for a moment. “I once spent a summer working at a Renaissance fair as a teen. Had to speak in fake old English for eight hours a day and wear a corset that I’m pretty sure was designed as a medieval torture device. They had jousting and fake knight fights and even burning witches at the stake, which actually looked so real, I was a little terrified of it, to be honest.”
“Now that’s a circus I’d like to work at,” Deek jokes.
“Renaissance fair, dick head,” Bear groans.
“Same thing!” Deek says triumphantly.
It’s stories like Deek’s that make me realize what a boring life I have lived. None of my stories involves accidentally joininga circus while on the run from… what exactly?What were they running from in Arizona?The thought reminds me why I’m here, and the warmth I’d been feeling starts to ebb. These moments of genuine connection make it easy to forget that I’m supposed to be investigating these bikers, not bonding with them over lasagna and ridiculous stories.
