“What do you want to know?”
“Is Dice your real name?”
“Dice is my road name. My legal name is Grady. Grady Fox.”
“Can I ask how you got your road name?”
He chuckled. “Years ago, when I was a prospect, I was helping Ember get the food ready for a cookout. She asked me to chop the onions for the hot dogs. Normally, it wouldn’t have been an issue, but after chopping enough onions for thirty to forty hot dogs, I looked like I’d been crying for days. My eyes were red and swollen for hours. I spent the rest of the day assuring everyone I was okay, but they didn’t believe me. It got to the point where Phoenix had to make an announcement. And I’ve been Dice ever since.”
I laughed, and once again groaned in pain. “Oh, that’s funny, and I really want to laugh more.”
“Did they X-ray your ribs at the hospital?”
“Yeah, they did. It’s just bruising, which they said could hurt just as bad, if not worse, than a break.” I pulled up my shirt to show him. “But it will heal faster than broken ribs, so there’s that.”
“Holy shit, Daphne!” he said and got up to take a closer look. “That looks …”
“Awful,” I finished for him. “I’ve always bruised easily, so it’s definitely going to get worse.”
“Is it like that on both sides?”
“I think so,” I said and carefully turned on my side. “It feels like it is.”
“Fucking hell, woman. I’m going to get you another ice pack.”
“Thank you.”
I waited until he came back to reposition myself. I smiled when he handed me another bag of frozen peas. “Do you guys have an affinity for peas? I’ve never known anyone to have more than one bag on hand.”
He laughed. “We don’t actually eat them. We always keep a couple of bags on hand because they make the best ice packs.”
“Sounds like you guys are prone to accidents.”
“Not exactly. We have a small gym with a boxing ring. A lot of the guys, and some of the girls, like to spar. Sometimes accidents happen,” he explained.
“You guys own a gym, too?”
“No, we have a gym here at the clubhouse. The Devil Springs chapter owns a gym. They own a lot of rental houses, too. Which is something we’ve been casually talking about getting into for years. Maybe you could help us with that endeavor.”
“If you’re serious, I’d be happy to help. If you have the money to invest, it’s a great time to purchase rental properties. A lot of people are choosing to rent instead of buy, which hasn’t been exactly great for me.”
“I’ll mention that to Phoenix. I’m sure he’ll want to set up a time to talk to you.”
“If he has any free time over the next few days, I’ll be happy to talk to him while I’m here.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
“It’s no trouble. Really, he’d be doing me a favor. I’m not used to having nothing to do. I’ll probably be bored out of my mind by tomorrow afternoon.”
Before he could reply, someone knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
Ember pushed the door open and stepped inside. “We’re about to get set up for movie night. Do you feel up to joining us?”
“I think so, but I might fall asleep before the end of the movie.”
“That’s fine. We can wake you when it’s over.”