Joker (Hell's Ankhor #8) - Aiden Bates Page 0,6

even before then, my education had fallen by the wayside. I could make my way through the world—street signs, menus if I had enough time, and maps—but I couldn’t read a fucking newspaper if you put a gun to my head. And math was a whole different beast. And it seemed like everyone else in the club had a handle on it. None of us were huge readers, but I’d seen Raven curled up with a novel the size of my head, and Maverick had stacks and stacks of auto magazines.

How would they react when they found out I couldn’t even run the register at Ankhor Works? No one in the club knew my secret—not even Priest. And I wanted to keep it that way. So I’d stay out of this entire conversation about the renovations, even if I had ideas. It wasn’t worth the risk of being found out.

“It’s exciting,” Heath agreed. “A new chapter.”

Dante hummed his agreement and pressed a kiss to the top of Heath’s head. “Yep. We’re excited about it, Brennan, if that wasn’t obvious.”

Brennan grinned, looking a little more at ease now. He was so hot when he smiled—frustratingly hot. Even when he pissed me off, he was still hot. This would be a lot easier to deal with if I wasn’t so fucking horny all the time, but it was a fucking ordeal to get laid now.

“I’m excited to get started on it,” Brennan said. “I like projects like this—big, fun, and a little hard.”

“Yeah, I bet you do,” I said with a smirk. It was thoughtless, automatic, like catching a baseball thrown in my direction. He couldn’t say something like that and expect me not to comment on it.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it didn’t get laughs. Dante rolled his eyes, Maverick sighed, and Blade reached over and swatted me. Brennan just ignored the remark, same as he had in the bathroom.

“Come on, Joker,” Heath said. “Will you grow up?”

“Lighten up,” I sneered back. “You’re in a motorcycle club, not a convent.”

Heath rolled his eyes and took a swig of his beer. “Anyway.”

It really, really pissed me off when Heath got in my business like that. I knew it was irrational—he couldn’t help it that he looked so much like my brother, Parker. He didn’t even know about Parker. But they were so similar in appearance and mannerisms. If Parker had lived to see adulthood, he might’ve looked like Heath. It wasn’t fair. Why did Heath get to live and Parker didn’t? Why did I have to be reminded of that every time I saw Heath?

I pushed that thought away. I’d just leave this conversation and go back to my whittling. It’d be easier to deal with the rising swell of grief when I didn’t have to stand here and look at Heath.

Before I could walk away, though, Priest closed the grill pointedly and climbed the stairs to the porch. “Speaking of the renovations,” he said. “I was thinking we might need some updated signage, as well.”

“What do you mean?” Brennan asked.

“Well, we’re no longer Hell’s Ankhor. We’re the Hell’s Ankhor Crew. We should honor that.” Priest rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I was thinking a big wooden sign mounted at the driveway.”

“Oh, love that idea,” Maverick agreed. “So the passersby can see it, too.”

“Exactly,” Priest said. “We’re a big part of this community. The citizens should know where to find us.”

I could see it in my mind now. An immense, single panel of wood with rough edges, and the new logo carved into the center. But I kept my mouth shut.

“Well, wish I could help you with that,” Brennan said. He carded his hand through his dark red hair. “But I’m just a lowly construction guy. I don’t have an eye for the artistic projects like that. More of a woodworker thing.”

“Hm,” Priest said. “Makes sense. I suppose we can tackle that once all the renovations are completed. I’ll start looking into local woodworkers.”

“Joker might be able to help out,” Brennan said.

The porch suddenly fell silent. All eyes turned to me, and my skin crawled under the sudden influx of eyes. I liked being the center of attention, but not like this. Not when I felt itchy and exposed. Fucking Brennan. Why’d he have to bring it up? The whittling was a private hobby, not something I showed off to the club. I’d only told Brennan about it because being so close to him, alone in the bathroom, had made