When we got to the top, the first thing the other five bikers did was gawk at the scenery and admire it. The second thing four of them did was express their admiration to Cole—Garrett was the only one who did not, because he was too busy eying Cole’s liquor collection.
“All right, let’s talk,” Cole said.
He waited a couple seconds for Garrett to come back over.
“So, here’s the good news,” he said, shifting his gaze from one of us to the other with each passing moment. “I found an abandoned building in Santa Maria that you all can use as your repair shop. You’ll have to figure out the name, which means you’ll have to have a little business sense, but I’ll trust you to figure it out.”
“Professor Smartass will,” Garrett said.
“I’m sorry?” Cole said.
“Oh, Zack, here, he’ll do that. He’s smart, unlike us. He still takes college classes. He’s a nerd.”
Cole nodded with slightly widened eyes. I would have bet anything he didn’t run into that type too often back in Springsville.
“I’ve also got weapons coming in to help defend yourselves. This will, for obvious reasons, be a little more personal, as it’s not exactly something we would trust UPS to deliver without issues. So, one of the old members of the original Black Reapers will come down here first to deliver and then to help raise you guys off the ground.”
“Who?”
But Cole shook his head.
“That’s still being decided upon back there. As soon as I know, I’ll let you know. Now…”
His voice trailed off. He looked like the teacher who had stopped class with the explicit intent of calling out a student who was not paying attention. Our eyes followed his and found their target—Steele.
“What’s going on, Steele?” he said. “You look like you’d rather be in Mexico right now.”
Steele scoffed.
“I’m here because I want to be part of the Black Reapers MC, not because I want to discuss my feelings.”
Cole bit his lip, folded his arms, started to speak, stopped, and then finally spoke.
“First of all, you are not Black Reapers yet,” Cole said. “Let me make one thing clear. You aren’t given that. You earn it. However, with that said, you’re right. When you’re doing your work as a club member, it doesn’t fucking matter what your feelings are. When I was younger, I let my feelings get in the way. If you guys want to be the men you’re capable of, sometimes you have to say fuck your feelings and move forward.”
However…
“However, if you show up to the club looking like this every day—especially if it’s because of some girl drama or some club drama—then you need to get that shit taken care of immediately. You cannot protect this town if you are divided. You cannot protect your loved ones if you are divided. Do not let whatever shit is bothering you splinter you away from the club. Don’t you fucking dare make the same mistakes Lane and I did.”
Cole might have been speaking to Steele, but I treated the words as if they were meant for me. No, Steele was not my brother by blood. But yes, Steele was my brother in every other sense of the word.
No, Steele and I were not going to just shake hands, hug it out, and go back to normal. But yes, we—I hoped—could reach a cold truce, one in which we promised to serve the club and put aside our personal feelings.
And if this was all the naïve hope of someone who was hoping to get the power of a club behind him to stop the Bandits?
Well, I supposed we could make do with a club of five.
Cole covered a few more logistics, including scheduling a time for meeting once a week to discuss business—he called it “church”—figuring out some revenue streams that went under the table, a plan for recruiting prospects, and much more. It was overwhelming to take in, but I welcomed it. I welcomed the chance to finally make a difference.
Cole let us go after about an hour of conversation. Although the elevator ride down was silent, there was definitely a sense of hope, excitement, and nervousness. Even Mason had a hint of a smile on his face.
Steele and I were the only ones who weren’t buzzing with energy. And that had to change. As soon as we got outside the complex, I stopped.
“Steele.”
For the first time since who knew when, but certainly for the first time tonight, Steele looked at me in the eyes.
“The rest of you, go,” I said. “We’ll catch up in a couple.”
