“The first time?” I asked in surprise.
“Yeah, we’ve failed two. I distinctly remember there being a handrail on the garage stairs when we first purchased the house. We fixed it and had them come back out. This time, apparently, the wiring wasn’t up to code,” Bronze offered.
“How is that possible? And why wasn’t it mentioned in the first inspection?”
Bronze leaned forward on his elbows. “We don’t know. Splint’s dad’s company did the work. When we didn’t pass the second inspection, his dad came out and inspected the wiring himself that same day. He says there’s nothing wrong with it. So, we’ve hired an independent company to do an inspection the day before the city inspector comes. We’ll see what happens this time and go from there.”
There wasn’t anything I could add, so I nodded and sat back in my chair while Copper moved on to the next topic.
“This may or may not be anything, but it’s worth bringing to your attention. The girl who was kicked out of the clubhouse last weekend, Didi, died from an apparent overdose the following day. The part that concerns me is that she was seen leaving Precious Metals before she was found dead in her car in her driveway,” Copper shared.
“What are you getting at, Prez?” Tiny asked.
“Hopefully, nothing, but I want to have more brothers present at Precious Metals for the next few weeks. We need to be absolutely certain no one is bringing drugs into our place of business,” Copper ordered.
“I’m all for being more present, Prez, but I seriously doubt anyone would be stupid enough to try something like that in our presence,” Batta added.
Copper grinned. “You’re right. And that brings me to the next topic of discussion. Coal and Savior arrived in Devil Springs this morning. They’re getting settled, but we’ll welcome them with a party tonight. Anyway, I was thinking they would be the perfect ones to hang around Precious Metals. Without their cuts, no one will know who they are.”
After we all voted in favor of the plan, Copper dismissed Church and reminded us to be back at the clubhouse by seven o’clock so we could welcome our new brothers, which left me plenty of time to catch up on some work, shower, and have dinner.
I was surprised to find River sprawled on the sofa with her eyes fixed on the television when I arrived at my house. She usually slept until three or four when she’d worked the night before.
“What are you—?”
“Shh!!” she demanded with one finger pressed against her lips. She quickly sat up and grabbed the remote to pause her show. “Sorry, I’m trying to catch up before the new season starts. Everyone talks about this show, but I’d never seen it because I didn’t see the point in paying for any kind of television service, let alone paying extra for a specialty channel.”
“I see. So, you’re planning on living here for at least the next six weeks?” I asked.
“Not necessarily. If I’m not still living here, I’ll come over to watch it on Sundays, or the following morning if I had to work,” she explained.
I chuckled and noted the scene paused on the screen. “Looks like you’re almost caught up. When did you start watching it?”
Her cheeks flushed and she looked away from me. “Um, last week.”
“You’ve watched almost all seven seasons since last week?” I teased.
“Shut it. I’m skilled at binge watching. Now hush up so I can finish.”
I kicked off my boots and made my way over to the sofa where I spent the next two hours watching the last two episodes of season seven with her.
“So, what do you think’s going to happen next?” I asked.
“If they pull another bullshit move like they did withThe Sopranos, I think it will be the end ofHBO. You don’t think they’ll kill everyone, do you?”
I shrugged. “I honestly have no idea. I would hope not, but it seems to be a common theme for finales of hit series to go very wrong.”
She slapped my chest playfully. “You were supposed to say, ‘No, River, of course they won’t kill everyone.’”
“Sorry, babe, if you want false reassurances, you came to the wrong man,” I told her honestly.
“I suppose that’s not a bad thing.”
I grinned. “Listen, we’re having a party at the clubhouse tonight to welcome two new members. You wanna come with me?”
“Sure. Do you know if Kennedy or Layla are going to be there?”
“Layla will definitely be there, and probably some of the other Old Ladies, but I don’t know about Kennedy. Come on,” I said and extended my hand, “I need a shower, and you will, too, after I fuck you against my bedroom wall.”
