Page 61 of On The Rocks

“Amen to that,” Donny said, lifting his beer in a salute before taking a swig.

“A few of us are thinking of goin’ up there,” Atlas said casually. “You should come with.”

Donovan perked up. “For the party?”

“Nah,” Atlas said sarcastically. “For a sleepover and to braid some hair.”

My eyes cut directly to my brother. “Forget it.”

He threw his arms out to the sides. “What?”

I leaned toward him, my movements jerky. “You’ll be up in their women like a dog in fucking heat. You can’t keep your dick in your pants, and I’ll be damned if I have a one percenter MC as well as the fucking Irish Mafia breathing down our necks.”

“It’ll be good community relations,” Atlas pointed out. “They’ll be good people to get to know, especially if you do eventually get on the wrong side of the Irish Mafia. The KOAMCis probably the only organization in the world that any syndicate would think twice about going up against.”

“I’m not sucking up to an MC I don’t know for future protection,” I argued.

“You don’t need to,” Bowie told me. “Seeing as you’ve already got us at your back. Though, Atlas is right. It’s good to know the right people. You may have a disagreement with your New York family one day. What if they block your booze orders to make life difficult?”

Donny shot me a knowing look.

We both knew it was exactly the kind of thing Patrick would do to put the squeeze on us if the time ever came. Cutting off our suppliers would be the first step in taking us out. If the bar couldn’t trade, we couldn’t pay him. It was an easy lesson in ‘taking down a business one-o-one.’

“Me and Kitten are going,” Breaker told me. “She wants to give her card out and try and score some new clients.”

“I’m taking my Stitch, too,” Atlas confirmed. “She’s curious, and you know if Ned goes, Soph will be there with bells on.”

“I could ask Maeve, too.” I glanced at my brother. “You up for it if you promise to keep your dick in your pants?”

He shrugged. “I could take a chick, too. We could double date.”

“That’s cool,” I agreed. “As long as it’s somebody Maeve likes.”

He stood, pulling his cell from his pocket. “Better make some calls,” he muttered, walking out the back.

Bowie grinned at me. “You better warn Maeve what biker parties can get like. She may get a shock.”

“She probably read about it in one of her MC romances,” Atlas said wryly. “I read one,” he shook his head, “they were some dirty bastards.”

“You read a biker romance book?” I scoffed.

His eyes almost bugged out of his head. “Yeah. Those fuckers were runnin’ trains and all sorts’a shit. Made me blush.”

“Nothin’ we didn’t do before we all started gettin’ wifed up,” Breaker interjected.

Atlas sniffed. “Speak for yourself, dog’s dick.”

“Reformed dog’s dick,” Break corrected.

Atlas sniffed again. “We’ll go up together. You can follow us. Safety in numbers and all that.”

A feeling of unease pinged in my chest. “You think we’ll need it?”

“Nah,” he drawled, scraping an open palm across his beard. “It’s a given that allied MCs get the red carpet treatment. We’ll be fine. Nothing wrong with a show of strength, is all. We’ll also have the Dischordium boys at our backs, so I can’t imagine we’d have any issues. I reckon we’ll have a good night. Just make sure you tell Maeve not to leave our sides. Ol’ ladies should wear their property of jackets, but Maeve’s not a biker wife. The KOA boys will be aware civilians are in their clubhouse, so make sure she wears her wedding ring instead.”

My chest gave a curious twist. “Any fucker touches my wife, and I’ll beat their ass.”

Bowie and Breaker exchanged a look while Atlas covered his mouth with his hand, trying to hide his grin.

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