“But you said that’s the busiest time at Wicked.”
“I’ll make it work.”
She pulls me to her and whispers, “You really are trying to change.”
“I am, babe, and from now on, nothing will come before you and Portia.”
I can tell she doesn’t totally believe me, but I mean every word.
I head into the garage, and my phone buzzes again. I swipe at it and answer, “I’m on my way.”
Ienter the Gold Mine, and my footsteps echo around the empty room.
“Where is everybody?” I ask Cobra, heading toward me.
“Usually slow around the holidays especially since some of the brothers have kids now. Doin’ family shit and all, ‘cause if we didn’t, our old ladies would have our balls on a silver platter.”
I screw up my lips. “That’s a frightening visual.”
“But fuckin’ true. Our women are a fierce bunch.”
“And you wouldn’t have it any other way.” I smile, then sober. “What have you got?” I like to get down the business.
“All set to go,” Cobra says. “Pierce showed up at Wicked’s garage looking for Jax and found Rattler and Mamba like a fuckin’ welcoming committee.”
I’m glad Jax came through in the end ‘cause I wasn’t looking forward to righting that wrong. Pierce, on the other hand, was a completely different story.
I look at my watch. “Let’s get this done.” The last thing I want to do is disappoint my baby girl. “I got dinner at six.”
“There’s one other thing.” Cobra nods to the end of the bar.
“What’s he doin’ here?”
“Showed up an hour ago, said he wanted to see you.”
I make my way to the end of the bar, and Frank looks up.
“What’s goin’ on?” I ask.
“Got some business to settle.”
“How come you didn’t tell me you were in Vegas when I talked to you before?”
“You know me, I like the element of surprise.” Frank runs his finger along the rim of his glass. “Thought you could use some help with Pierce.”
“How’d you know about him?”
“I know everything.” He throws me a smirky grin.
“Thanks, but I think we got it handled.” I slide onto the barstool next to him. “The Serpents ambushed him, and now we’re all gonna take a ride out to the desert.”
“Sounds like a solid plan, just wouldn’t mind being a part of it.”
“I went to the Serpents for a reason.”
“No blowback, no favors to repay,” Frank assures. “This one is personal.”
“Personal? What did you have going on with Pierce?”
