about and Brittany is a great distraction. She’s down for just fucking, no feelings, no commitment, no expectations. It’s exactly what I want.
“Harper wants everyone over for a BBQ after we get back from New York,” Zane says, picking the label of his beer.
“When are you guys leaving?” I ask.
“Tomorrow night we are flying out. It’ll be our last trip. Her grandparents' house sold, so we just need to finish cleaning it out. We’ll be back in a few days,” he says, looking around. “You guys hear that Brooks has been seeing Maren Faraway?”
“Isn’t she friends with Nora and your mom?” Riley asks.
“Yeah, she’s Nora’s cousin. She’s good for him,” Z says.
We all lost Gloria, but Zane struggles with it the most. She was his fucking aunt and the shit she put us all through is unforgivable. Brooks deserves to find some happiness after all that fucking shit.
“You invite her to the BBQ?” Porter asks.
Zane nods and we all smile.
“Hey, lets get around the table,” Enzo says, walking over to us.
We all get up and follow him in. Once we are all sitting, Brooks looks around. Shit.
“I’m just gonna say what I’ve been hearing. With the Vegas Kings crumbling and that territory up for grabs, I’ve been hearing shit that the Raging Devils are moving in,” Brooks says, taking a drag of his cigarette.
“Fuck,” I say, running my hand through my hair.
“More fucking drugs,” Riley says, shaking his head.
Enzo nods his head, running his hand through his beard. “Looks like it might go that way. We need to keep our eyes open. We can’t let them get the upper hand. That shit will never happen again, and we all know how fucking violent they are. They make the Vegas Kings looks like a fucking preschool group.”
The Raging Devils are as dirty as they come. The violence, drugs, and mayhem that surrounds them is well known. We ran them off once, they aren’t going to go as easy this time. I knew the peace wasn’t going to last long, but this is some fucked up shit to land in our neighborhood, if it’s true.
“We can’t let them in this neighborhood,” Zane says, scrubbing his face.
He’s worried about Harper; I can see the tension coming back.
“We won’t,” I say, pulling a joint out of my cigarette pack.
“Fuck no we won’t, but for now it’s just rumors. Let’s stay smart and keep ahead of this shit. Anyone sees anything, let us know,” Brooks says, leaning back in his chair. He turns his attention to Porter. “Porter, how’d we do this month?”
Porter shakes his head smiling. “We are making a fucking killing at Souls Two. Harper really did us good with that one. Between Souls and Souls Two, we have tripled what we made last month.”
Holy fuck. I look at Zane as he smiles with pride. Opening Souls Two was brilliant and letting Harper run it was the best idea Zane’s had. I grab my money and smile. Damn, I’m gonna celebrate tonight.
“Alright, I have shit to go do. Remember to keep your eyes open and don’t let your guard down. Let’s hope it’s just fucking rumors,” Brooks says, standing up.
We all follow, and I grab Zane’s arm when we walk out. “I saw your face. This has nothing to do with you or Harper. Don’t even go there, Z. You lived through your hell; this is just regular club bullshit.”
He lets out a sigh and scrubs his face. “I know, brother. We’re just happy and I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
I laugh and wrap my arm around him. “I think both shoes dropped already.”
We hang out a little longer, but I call it a night. When I get outside I climb on my Harley and peel out of the parking lot. It doesn’t take long before I’m home. I park my bike in the driveway and take the short walkway to my door. When I step inside I toss my keys on the old entryway table, continuing to the kitchen. This house is big, too big for just me, but I’ll never leave. This is where I grew up, a place that holds the only happy memories I have. Unfortunately, it shows its age. The only thing I’ve done is replace the roof last year. Other than that, it’s exactly the way it was when my parents were alive. I glance down at all the money and shake my head. The smart thing would be to fix this place up