Chapter Twenty-Nine
David brought Spiderhis spiked mocha, and a beer for Raven while he was at it.Spider had known this was coming—Raven had asked him before the meeting what he thought.Did he want to possibly lose Dax in Bozeman if they patched him in and he chose to remain in Craven’s Creek once he wasn’t a prospect to go where he was told?Spider wasn’t worried.
“How are you enjoying your visit?”Raven asked Jordon.
“I’m enjoying it.I like what you’ve got here, how everyone is treated like family, even though there’s no blood relation.And unlike companies and workplaces that claim they’re one big family, this feels like one.It feels like you’ve got each other’s backs.”
“You didn’t look too happy about it a few minutes ago.”
She shrugged.“That’s because I didn’t know what you were up to.I thought you were kicking him out.And while I’ve only been around a few weeks, from what I’ve seen, Dax didn’t deserve that.”
“It’s Echo now,” Spider reminded her.
“I know.I’ll work on that.I’ll do my best, but I may slip up now and then until I make the new name a habit.Why do you do that by the way?”
“It’s a name you earn.And it’s chosen just for you.It’s just a thing we do,” Raven said.
“Hey, what’s going on?Is this where you want me?”Echo asked as he approached the table, a cold bottle of beer in one hand.
“It is ...have a seat.”Raven motioned to the unoccupied side of the table.
“What do you need?”Echo asked once he was seated.His gaze flicked from one face to another as if making sure he wasn’t in trouble.
“Now that you’re a full member, it’s up to you if you continue staying in Bozeman with Spider.”
Echo frowned and looked back and forth between Spider and the president.“Do you want someone else?”he asked Spider after a moment.
“No.But now that you’ve got your colors, things change up a little.There will still be orders, but it’s different.Something that’s not strictly club business and could keep you away from it for a while, will be up to you.We won’t order you for petty shit anymore, some of that will be up to you.This is one of them.If you would rather stay here, we’ll find someone else to come.”The tension in Jordon’s hand where he still held it, told Spider she was about to say something.He squeezed her hand and met her gaze, silently asking her to hold off.
Echo was quiet for a moment.He continued to look around the table, but Spider couldn’t tell what he was thinking.After a moment he picked up his drink and took a long pull, then spoke.
“I’ll go.I appreciate being given the option, but I want to see it through.”He looked at Jordon for a long moment, then his gaze flicked to Spider.“I think the stability of someone who’s familiar with what’s going on will make it easier on everyone.”
“Okay.That works.”Raven checked the time, then turned his attention to Echo.“Two things.You’ll go back to Bozeman in less than twenty-four hours.Enjoy your night.Celebrate.We’ll have a patching in party sometime soon, but we’re not set up for it now.Before you have too much to drink, though, I need to know which prospect you want.”
“What do you mean?”Echo scowled.
“You were the prospect there to help Fletch and Spider.Fletch is staying this time, you’re the brother, so you need a prospect.Which one do you think will fight you least?That’s not an issue you need to deal with there.It can happen here where the rest of the brothers will have your back.You need someone who won’t give you shit and make things harder because you were patched in and they haven’t been yet.”
