Page 148 of Heartbeats & Highways

“Come on, let me introduce you to the brothers.”

Duke hugged me immediately and there were no lingering questions in his gaze. I appreciated his demonstrative affection. I lost track by the fourth name, pressing into Savage’s side as I tried to memorize who was who. “This is Colt,” Savage said, gesturing to the man with dark hair. “He’s our club president.”

“Officer Fletcher asked me to tell you hello.”

Colt frowned. “You know Fletch?”

“Not well. We were—ah—recently introduced. When he pulled me over, wanting to give me a ticket.” I blushed and shot Savage a look. “Turns out I was speeding.”

Savage raised his brows. “You? Speeding?”

“That’s what I’m saying. I got excited on my way here.”

“Did you get the ticket?” Colt demanded.

“No. I told him . . .”

“Yeah?” Colt prodded. “What did you tell him?”

“I told him I was Savage’s Old Lady,” I admitted. “He let me go with a warning and told me to tell you he said hi.”

It felt like all the noise of the party had come to a stop and silence descended on the group.

Colt finally broke the spell. He grunted. “We work on cops’ bikes for free and are friends with a few others.”

“Oh?” I frowned in confusion.

“Club owns a motorcycle repair shop.”

“Charlie’s, right?” I asked, looking at Savage.

Savage grinned. “Right.”

“Cops, firefighters, and first responders get their work done free of charge,” Colt elaborated.

“Ah,” I said. “That’s nice of you.”

Colt, Zip—the vice president—and Boxer all laughed.

“Why is that funny?” I demanded.

“Come on,” Savage said, taking my hand. “Let’s get you something to eat.”

He ushered me toward the tables of food and handed me a paper plate.

“Are you going to explain why my comment made them laugh?”

“We don’t do anything because we’renice. For example, Fletch gets his bike worked on for free and then he doesn’t give you a ticket. See?”

“Ah, so it’s bribery.”

“We like to call it a mutual exchange of benefits,” Savage said with a mock glare.

“Whatever you say.” I looked around the party. “I’m gonna need a diagram to keep everyone straight. Who do those kids belong to?”

“The tall, gangly dark-haired one is Silas. He belongs to Mia and Colt. He’s not their biological kid though, they adopted him.”

“Okay.” I nodded. “And the other two?”

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