looked a little surprised to have the announcement handed to him, but he nodded and cleared his throat. “The Liberty Crew’s patching in to Hell’s Ankhor,” he said, never one to beat around the bush.
Murmurs of shock rippled through the group as members of both clubs absorbed this information. Eli and Nix knocked their shoulders together, grinning, and Star’s jaw dropped. Tru whooped his excitement, and that seemed to set off everyone else’s reactions—hoots and cheers and the stomping of feet.
Blade looked as relieved as I felt at the positive reaction.
“This wasn’t a decision that was made lightly, but it makes sense,” Mal said, holding out a hand to quell the noise. “The Crew is technically within Hell’s Ankhor territory. Our numbers are low—and Junee’s not exactly a boomtown for new blood. We’ve already been trying to improve inter-club relations. This is more a formalization of the relationship we’ve been building over these past couple months.”
“So what’s gonna change?” Star asked.
“The Crew will be the Junee chapter of Hell’s Ankhor,” Mal said. “We’ll freshen up our jackets, for one.”
“‘Bout damn time,” Eli said.
“And communication will be a lot tighter,” Blade said. “We’ve kept our nose out of Junee out of respect for the historical boundaries, and the Crew’s done the same with Elkin Lake. Now, we’ll keep Junee in our rounds, and we’ll be available for backup or support if any need arises.”
“And that goes both ways,” Mal added. “The Crew will be called in when Hell’s Ankhor needs assistance for any of their issues.”
“And the roles?” Tru asked. “Who’s prez?”
“No change in leadership,” Blade said firmly.
“Uh, what?” Tru blinked confusedly. “But we’re getting patched in?”
“The clubs are still autonomous,” Mal said.
“The Crew is patching in to Hell’s Ankhor, but your club has a long history, and Mal and I both want to respect that,” Blade said. “So I want the leadership roles and the day-to-day operations of the clubs to remain largely the same for the Junee and Elkin Lake chapters. Technically, in the charter, Mal and I will be co-presidents, and Dante and Priest will be co-vices.”
“Things might get messy with that,” Gunnar said a little darkly, no doubt thinking of all the power struggles that had rotted the Viper’s Nest from within.
“I know,” Mal said. “There are guaranteed to be bumps in the road. But this isn’t just a club—it’s a family. And we’ll handle those disagreements like family, too.”
“So we’ll get drunk and scream our heads off?” Tru asked.
“Yeah—so you won’t really see much change,” Blade said with a grin.
With most of the questions answered, the clubs settled into easy, excited conversation.
“I think that went pretty well.” Heath pulled me away from the group, then faced me with his fingers hooked into my belt loops. He tugged me close and tilted his face up to mine. “You think?”
I took a moment to take stock. I knew that it would be a good thing for me and Heath, since we wouldn’t have to worry about the lines of club loyalty getting blurred, or hard feelings between our brothers, but I hadn’t been sure how everyone else would take it.
But behind us, everyone looked…
Everyone looked happy. Gunnar had Raven in his arms, and Rebel was rolling his eyes fondly at Coop, Jazz had Tex in a headlock in an apparent demonstration to Star, Maverick bounced Grace in his arms while Jonah chatted with Eli and Nix, and Tru was howling with laughter at something Siren said. Logan had found his way back to Blade’s side, and they were back in easy conversation with Priest and Dad again.
It already felt like we were one big family.
“All right, guys, I’ve run though the last check and you should be okay to start clearing stuff out.” Beau stepped out onto the sidewalk and tucked his flashlight back into the pocket of his work pants. He narrowed his eyes at the antics. “Y’all having a party or something?”
“Not till later, unfortunately,” Coop said.
Tru slunk away from Siren and sauntered toward Beau with a coy little smile on his face. “You can join me for a party, if you’re looking for something to do.”
Beau raised his eyebrows at Tru, his gaze lingering, but then he wrinkled his nose in comprehension. “You really are a piece of work, huh?”
“What does that even mean?” Tru shot back.
Beau just shook his head with a slight smile and held out a stack of documents for me to sign off on.