Page 24 of Minus

“Yeah, well, none of that matters now. She hates my guts and I’ve got a new scar to remind me.” I pointed at my face. “Plus, her dickhead Fire Dog brother is probably gonna show up wanting to start shit with me.”

“Well, I hope not, because I was kind of counting on you being able to work with him on some things,” Cutter said.

“What? You want me to work with Hatch?”

“No, I want you to work withallthe Dogs of Fire. More specifically, you and my niece. She’s the key to this whole thing working.”

“What’s your deal with Cricket? What exactly are you envisioning here? For us to rule the land together as young king and queen? Which brings up my next point. I’m only thirty-one years old. All you do is tell me how much I don’t know and point out my lack of wisdom. Why choose my young, dumb ass?”

“The truth is, I wasn’t much older or smarter than you when I started this club, so I have the utmost faith in my choice. In fact, your age and differing views are strong reasons as to why I want you to wear the President’s patch.”

“So how does Cricket factor into all of this?”

“Not only am I hoping she can be the bridge to the Dogs of Fire, she’s also a marketing and branding whiz. I’ve beenkeeping track of her career this entire time. She’s got achievements and accolades up the wazoo and has been doing great work at Mann Industries.”

“And you want her to help you run a motorcycle club full of criminals and leg breakers?”

“No. I want you to work with her to help the Burning Saints grow and change into something new.”

“You want to re-brand a one-percenter motorcycle club.”

“By Jove, Warthog, I believe he’s got it,” he sang out.

* * *

Cricket

I told myself over and over that what I was doing wasn’t stalking. I reminded myself that I had legitimate reasons to call Minus. I reasoned with myself that it wasn’t at all creepy or wrong that I’d asked Dani, one of the sweetest women on the planet, to convince her hacker husband to commit a federal crime and keep it secret from my brother, one of his closest friends.

“This is Minus.”

His voice sent a shock to my center that left me momentarily speechless.

“Hello? Who is this?”

“Uh… hi, it’s… it’s me… uh, Cricket… Cricket Wallace.”

“As opposed to all the other Crickets I know?” he retorted.

I could hear him smiling over the phone and my face burned with embarrassment. I was glad he couldn’t see me right now, as I’m sure my cheeks were bright red.

“How did you get this number?” he asked.

Ohmigod, what could I say? I couldn’t possibly tell him the truth, and yet that’s exactly what I did. “A hacker,” I razzed.

“Youknow a hacker? Holy shit.” He laughed, and my stomach dropped again.

I thought he’d be angry, but instead he seemed to enjoy this bit of information.

“Yes, I know a hacker,” I replied, defensively. “For your information, he’s really good at… hacking.”

“Wow, you must really want to talk. You know, there were probably easier ways to get my number than violating F.C.C. laws… like through your uncle Cutter.”

I felt like an idiot. I had to pull myself together. I could not let Minus get the upper hand. I was calling with questions and I wanted answers.

“Yes, I’m aware of that, but I’m not speaking to my uncle. In fact, I’m not really speaking to you, for that matter. I’m not calling for social reasons.

“No?”

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