I frowned and flicked my beer cap at him. He chuckled and caught it easily.
When I was eight years old, my dad walked out. It threw me for a loop when he was there one day and gone the next. He never talked about leaving, and he never contacted me or my mother again. It was like he simply vanished into thin air—packed his shit and disappeared.
And it broke my heart into a thousand pieces because I loved him more than life itself.
Hillbilly became the closest thing to a father figure that I had in this world. I was practically the same age as his daughter, Lila, who was just as strong-willed as I was. So he didn’t mind taking an additional wild teenage girl under his wing in an effort to keep me out of trouble.
But there were times when I realized that I wasn’t actually part of their family. Like the legal battle during Hillbilly’s divorce with his ex-wife, when they shuttled Lila back and forth between them for joint custody.
No one argued over who would take me for the weekend.
And my mother…by the time I turned sixteen, we were practically strangers to each other. She was too preoccupied with the parade of boyfriends through her bedroom, and she didn’t have time for me.
“That sounds like you’re ordering me around,” I countered, teasing.
“Well, the other option is that half of my club marches into your house and bunks down for the night,” Hillbilly said idly. “Trooper wanted to put one biker on you for protection. But I’ll take it a step further and put six men on you. Then they willfollow you around like a pack of wolves until this Ritter punk gets spooked and finally leaves you alone.”
“You know I would hate that. I don’t like being crowded.”
“Exactly. You’re too stubborn to ask for help, Shea,” Hillbilly said. “So, you don’t have to ask. I’m butting in. We all are. Just humor an old man, would you?”
Wrinkling my nose, I took another swig of my beer. I was too tired to argue with him tonight anyway. Maybe I could try again in the morning.
Although deep down, it was a relief to know that I wouldn’t face Ritter alone. I had friends who were willing to have my back.
“You’re not that old,” I pointed out.
“My knees would say otherwise,” Hillbilly replied. “And I know you bastards are planning a surprise party for my seventieth birthday.”
“Who told you?” I demanded, grateful for a lighter change of subject.
His eyes twinkled and he tipped his head back, draining the last of his beer.
“An old dog like me might not be able to learn new tricks, but he can still sniff out trouble when he catches a whiff of it. You youngsters aren’t as sneaky as you think you are.”
I squinted at him.
“Keely blabbed, didn’t she?”
Hillbilly breathed a faint laugh.
“That sweet little thing can’t keep a secret for shit, bless her heart.”
Chapter four
Trooper
“For fuck’s sake, this is ridiculous,” Hillbilly grumbled.
Lila, Shea, and Keely laughed as they draped him in birthday finery. A few brightly colored plastic leis around his neck. A corny party hat with a rainbow pompom on the top and an elastic strap under his chin. And a silvery sash over one shoulder that announced in big bold letters,Birthday Boy.
“You’re looking beautiful, Prez,” I called across the room.
“Shut up,” he growled back.
It was an amusing sight to see this tough, weathered old biker, with his grizzled beard and his tattered ancient cut wearing such festive and gaudy birthday attire.
Two weeks had passed since the incident at Hotline with no sign of Ritter. Raine thought the whole thing was over and he had moved on. But Shea and I didn’t think it would be that easy.
