And I wish things could have been different. I wish that cutting off my father didn’t have to result in not seeing her, too.
I slip my phone back into my pocket.
A yelp goes up from near the grill.
Crash is doubled over the cooler with his hand clamped under his arm, swearing with real range. A skewer lies in the dirt where it looks like he dropped it.
I walk over to see if I can help.
“In my defense,” Crash says to the guys, “Joker bet me ten bucks I wouldn’t grab it barehanded.”
“Worth every dollar,” Joker says.
“Get him away from my grill,” Saber says.
“Kitchen,” I say, and the whole yard discovers I have a bossy register.
Viper has the first-aid kit out of his saddlebag before I ask for it. He keeps it there now. A first-aid kit saved his life once; he doesn’t forget things like that.
I run Crash’s palm under cool water at the sink, coat the burn, wrap it in clean gauze while he narrates his own bravery.
I pat his wrist, signifying he’s all set.
Crash smiles at me. “Marry me.”
“No,” Viper says from six feet away.
“Eden, blink twice if?—”
I laugh, then tell him, “Keep the wound dry. Don’t take any more dares.”
When we go back outside, Saber looks the bandage over and tips his bottle at me. “Nice work. Not only do you make Viper less of an asshole, but you take care of our guys. Welcome to the family, sweetheart.” He turns back to the grill, and that’s the whole ceremony, and somehow it lands bigger than a speech.
I carry the first-aid kit out to the bike while two prospects argue over horseshoes. Viper follows, as I figured he would. He leans against the seat and waits.
“I’m going to ask you something,” I say. “And I want you to be honest.”
He nods. “Okay.”
That gives me the confidence to continue. “The men who stabbed you. The Warriors.” I set the kit on the seat beside him. “They could be a problem in the future, couldn’t they?”
“Yes.”
“How dangerous is it?”
He doesn’t dress it up. “It can get ugly. It has before. It’s leaning that way again.” His hand comes up and closes over my shoulder. “But you’re safe. That part I can promise you. The Hellborn Kings have chapters all over the country. National is watching what’s happening here. If the Warriors push, we don’t stand alone.”
“Then why does it keep getting worse? Why not end it?”
“Can’t. Not now.”
“Why?”
“Club business.”
I step out from under his hand.
“I don’t know what counts as club business. But I know what that sounds like. It means stop asking and obey. I grew up on that answer.”