Road Tripped (Satan's Devils MC Utah #1) - Manda Mellett Page 0,75

since I’ve arrived. My anger replaced by a sense of bemusement.

I hear his chuckle. “Something needed to. Been less walking on eggshells since you’ve been gone. You intend staying on for a bit?”

“If that’s okay with you, Prez.”

“Yeah. Take your time, Road. But keep in touch, yeah?”

Prez ends the call which is like him. Why waste time saying goodbyes when they can be taken for granted.

I bow my head as I replace my phone on the table.

I’ve never lied to my Prez before, and it feels like I’ve gone against the patch on my back. He trusted me, and I’ve betrayed him. I had my chance, and I’ve blown it. Whatever happens from here on out, Prez will know I misled him.

I go to slide my phone back to Pip who shakes his head. “Keep it.” He wipes a hand over his relieved looking face. “Drummer’s not found out for ten years, Road. And hell, Brother, I’m grateful for you keeping us a secret.”

“You’re using this club as a cover,” I remind him.

“We are Satan’s Devils,” Pip throws back.

“Think we ought to show Road that.” A grin comes over Snatcher’s face. “Give him another incentive to join us.”

Pip’s mouth starts to curve up as he turns to his VP. “You could have a good idea there.”

18

Swift…

“You alright?” I rest my hand on Cowboy’s back as we walk out of church.

“No,” he replies honestly. “I know it’s ancient history now, Gianetta’s been gone twelve years now.” His eyes glaze slightly. “Annie would have been fifteen. It kills me to think about that, how she never had a chance to grow.” Glancing down at me, he shakes his head. “I’ve no choice but to go on, but hell, Swift, sometimes it’s so fuckin’ hard. Losing Gianetta was bad enough, but why the fuck did they have to rob a little girl of her life? That’s what will haunt me forever.”

He knows why, as do I. It was to throw up a smokescreen. Instead of taking out one target, it had been made to look like the panicked action of amateur kidnappers. The truth, Pip had said, wasn’t hard to find. Annie’s death had been for nothing.

“I think about them every day.” Cowboy’s eyes are still staring into the distance. “Sometimes I can focus on the joy they brought to my life. Other times, well, I know Pip’s telling Road my story now. It brings it all back up as if it happened yesterday.”

There’s nothing I can say. Cowboy had had all his hopes and dreams wrenched away from him. I knew joining the MC, helping to build the business we’re in now, has given him a new lease of life, while he can stop others having to suffer the same grief as he had. He’s got a reason to keep breathing.

“Well, I better start getting the food prepared for tonight.” Cowboy flicks his imaginary hat, and strides off leaving me staring after him. I suspect we’re in for a culinary treat later. ‘Boy can lose himself in his trade, using it to focus his mind and push his darkest thoughts down. Though we know that grief is the reason he cooks and sadly, when a gourmet meal appears, it’s because he’s feeling particularly blue.

I wonder whether he’ll ever find happiness again—a new woman to help ease the hurt of losing his wife. Then I want to slap myself for my feminine thought. Why should a relationship be the answer to someone’s woes? Man probably just needs a good fuck with none of the messy commitments.

As I make my way to the comms room, I can’t help but think about Road. I know Pip’s going to persuade him to stay. I, and the team with me, had been taken by surprise when Road had impressed us with his quick thinking in California. Sure, we’ve all got skills. Me, I tend to look at a problem in tactical ways, working out the logistics of getting in and getting back out. Stormy’s a sniper known for his long-distance shots. Rascal is our money man. Thor and Piston are mechanics, geniuses at fixing or modifying anything. Honor and Duty are tech experts—though we all keep our hands in to help them out. Bolt, well, he’s bilingual, able to speak Spanish fluently.

But there’s a place for someone like Road, a man who looks at a problem from a different angle, without being fixated on a particular approach.

Opening the door to our technical hub, I nod at Duty