Zorro (Reapers MC #16) - Elizabeth Knox Page 0,12
first real holiday we had in a long time, but after having so much death come at us in a short amount of time . . . it felt fuckin’ rude to plan extravagant parties and get togethers. Not when we were missing some of the most important people in our lives.
Fuck, it started with Cracker getting blown to bits trying to protect Ivy. Saffron was burned alive in the old clubhouse, and Fist took a knife to the heart to save Alexa. Three people who were important to every single one of us here.
Sure, we survived it all . . . but I won’t ever stand here and act like it was easy.
I’m just glad I was able to talk Zane into putting on a spectacular show for New Year’s Day. Octavia and Ashley nagged on him for having a party for Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day. Because of it I thought he’d put his foot down, but Octavia said Neo would love the lights, and it was a done deal. He’d do anything for his kid, fuckin’ anything.
I stand here with my arms wrapped around Ruby for at least fifteen minutes while we watch the entire show. The club must’ve spent at least five grand on fireworks for tonight, but it’s alright. We can afford it, that’s for damn sure. With the extra work we’ve been picking up and the alliances we’re forming things are going well. Hell, Zane already told us we have church tonight, so there must be somethin’ he needs to tell the group of us.
“That was so pretty,” Ruby giggles, turning around to face me. Her eyes can light up the darkest of my days. Every time I look at her I see it, her positivity, her resilience. I’m a damn lucky man and I don’t take it for granted.
My phone buzzes in my pocket so I take it out and look at the time. It’s five to seven and Zane asked us to be downstairs at seven sharp. “I’m glad you liked it, sweet girl. But I gotta go head downstairs for church. I’ll catch up with you after, alright?”
“Okay. I’ll go see what Ashley and Octavia are up to,” Ruby immediately answers, walking off toward the French doors that lead out onto the second story deck. I decide to cut down the wooden stairwell and take the back door into the club and get settled into my seat in the room where we hold church.
Leaning back in my seat, I wait as the rest of the guys pour in. Zane came in right after me, and Blackjack was behind him. It was a good couple of minutes before Bull, Grim, Tex, Dracus, Bolt, Hammer, and Axel came piling in. Skirting it close like they always do.
Dracus shuts the door firmly behind him, opting to stand at the door instead of taking his seat. Zane cocks a brow and looks at him. “What’re you doing over there?”
Dracus stifles out a chuckle. “We don’t need any Crina repeats. You hear about that girl bustin’ into church? Heard she planted a few slammers into some faces too.”
I spot most of the brothers trying to hide their laughter, but I sure don’t. Chaz, our brother at our Las Vegas charter, sure does know how to pick women. He’s never gone for the plain Jane type of girls.
Zane waves his hand in dismissal, not wanting to waste his energy on dealing with Dracus’ nonsense. “I have some news brothers and figuring it’s a new year . . . today seemed fitting to tell you all what I’ve been able to solidify with the Steele brothers.”
The Steele brothers. They’re multi-billionaires who act as investors to small start-up companies, but in reality, it’s all a front. They’re criminal royalty, running guns across North America. A few months ago, they contracted us and a couple of our ally MCs to help them get their product where it needed to go. But, it was done on a job-by-job basis. From the sounds of it, we’ve got something a bit more solid.
“You gonna tell us, or just stand there with that smug look on your face?” Bull quips, crossing his arms.
“I secured us a contract with the Steeles. We’ll do a couple runs for them every month to move their product, mostly at night but sometimes it’ll be during the day depending on where we need to go. They’re paying us . . . well. Very well. We could shut down