“Yeah, the concert isn’t until tomorrow, so I thought I’d get a good night’s sleep tonight. Is that okay? I can stay if you need me to.”
“Nah, we got it.”
I clapped Aries on the shoulder. “Where the fuck you been, man?”
Aries shrugged. “Been sorting through some shit. Needed space. I’ve been around, but you’ve had so much stuff going on, you barely see me when I’m here.”
He was right. Since Ruby, I’d hardly been around the club at all. It was a shame, because out of all the younger brothers, Aries was definitely my favorite. Well, him and Fish. That kid cracks me up, while Pollux and Castor have the tendency to grate on my nerves.
“True. Well, it’s good to see you, Brother.”
Aries glanced over at Ruby, who was kind of hiding behind me. “This must be the girl my dad was telling me about. Hi, I’m Tobias, but people round here call me Aries.”
“Do all of you have names like that?”
Zodiac smiled. “Yeah, we keep our club small, unlike other clubs that are all about numbers. When we started the club, we wanted it to be based on the twelve signs of the Zodiac, so we try not to have more than thirteen members at a time. I’m the only exception to our actual Zodiac sign rule. Due to me being the club Prez and all. I’m technically a Virgo, just like Virg, but we just don’t count me in the equation.”
“Oh, I see. So, Cap is short for Capricorn then? Not Captain?”
“It kind of means two things,” I said with a smile. “I’m the club’s Road Captain, and I’m a Capricorn. But technically yes, it’s short for Capricorn.”
“And Archer?”
“The Sagittarian symbol is the Archer. It just fit better than calling him Sag.”
“And Fish?”
“You mean Guppy,” Zodiac said with a wink.
“Or Carp, Bass, Flounder… fuck, we even called him Nemo once, I think,” Aries said with a laugh.
“What sign is he? And why do you guys call him so many names?”
“It’s an inside joke because he’s a Pisces, and the sign for Pisces is two fish. When we rib him, it gets him right around the gills.” Aries laughed at his own joke again.
“Oh,” Ruby said, unsure of what else to say. “So, that means your club is full? I mean, you have Scales, he’s a Libra, right? And Pincher’s gotta be a Cancer. Archer is your Sagittarius, and Fish is your Pisces, so that means Bull is a Taurus, right?”
“The twins make up Gemini, it’s only fitting,” Cap added. “Then we also have me who is a Capricorn, and Zodiac and Virg are our Virgos. Scorpio is pretty self-explanatory, as is Aries. That’s all of it.”
“No, we’re missing a sign,” Aries reminded him. “Aquarius.”
Ruby gasped. “Chase was an Aquarius!” Tears appeared in her eyes, and I felt like we were going backwards again. “God, I wish he could’ve found your club instead of the Artillery. My life may have been a lot different now if he had.”
Without thinking, I put my arm around her shoulders, pulling her in until she was nestled against my chest. “Don’t think about it like that, Ruby. I know you wish you could bring him back, but you’re just setting yourself up for failure if you keep thinking about this.”
“I know,” she said with a sniff. “It’s just hard.”
Zodiac cleared his throat. “Why don’t you two head out? We got it from here.” He gave me a knowing look, seeing her spiraling just like I was.
“Okay, Prez. I’ll be here first thing in the morning.”
“Not here, Cap. The farm. Did you reach out to all the other biker clubs so they could attend?”
“I did. Some may come, but I don’t know. It’s not like the rally. They may not feel as welcome.”
“True. Let’s hope some of them make it. I felt bad having to refund everything last year.”
“Me too.”
