Page 40 of Deuce

I shook my head.“No, but he was here when I took off.He’s going to have questions.”

Sophia rolled her eyes.“He always has questions.”

“Yeah, he does.But he cares about you so I’m going to let him ask all he wants.”

She stopped and I pivoted to face her.“You’re not trying to recruit him into your biker gang, are you?”

“It’s not a gang,” I said.“It’s a club.A group of ex-SEALs who understand each other better than anybody else could.Your dad seems to fit right in.”

“He doesn’t own a motorcycle,” she pointed out.

“Neither does Jake,” I countered.

She frowned.“Who’s Jake?”

“I’m Jake.”An older guy detached himself from the shadows at the end of the palatial porch and held out his hand.“You must be Sophia.”

She took his hand.“Must I?”

“Well, from everything your father has told me about you, yes.”

“Then I guess I’m Sophia.”She studied him curiously.“Why don’t you have a motorcycle?”

“Long story, or short version?”

“Short will do for now.”

“I was in an accident.”

“And?”

He shrugged.“And now I don’t ride.Used to.Gave it up.Miss it sometimes but it is what it is.I’ll give you the long version someday but right now I have the feeling Deuce has plans for you.”

She looked over at me, and I nodded.“Ace is expecting us.”

“Ace is the head honcho, right?”

I suppressed a smile.“He’s the president of Riptide, yes.”

“So why would he want to see me?I don’t own a motorcycle.”

“Give it a minute, and he can tell you himself.”

Jake stood aside and we entered the house.Sophia paused and looked around.“This is a lot nicer than I expected.Cleaner, too.”

“That would be thanks to Mom.She keeps us all in line and makes sure the mess gets cleaned up after a party.You’ll meet her later.”

“I will?”

“Yes.Right now, we need to see Ace though.”

A door opened down the hallway and Ace stepped out.“Yes, you do.Come on in.”

We entered his office, and Ace shut the door behind us before striding to his desk.He gestured at two very comfortable-looking chairs.“Have a seat.”

Sophia gave me a wry smile.“I feel like I’m back in grade school and I just got sent to the principal’s office.”

I had to make an effort not to grin at the picture of a young Sophia and what she might have gotten into that would send her to the principal’s office.

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