Page 55 of Viking

“What about Gator? He was Army, right?”

“Marines.”

“He handle a shot like that?”

“With the right gun, yeah. But the second we kill one of their guards, they’ll know we’re coming.”

“Then I guess we better drive like hell. I’ll have Fanta camp out overnight with the Prospect. It’ll give us a better idea of when this causeway opens up, and how much time we have before it closes.”

Niko hands me the binoculars again and I lift them and watch the guard on the tower. “You die soon, motherfucker.”

Niko slaps me on the back. “Soon, brother. Then you and your woman can put this place behind you.”

I don’t know if she’ll ever get over the horrors that happened here, but I hope he’s right.

***

THE DISTANT RUMBLEof bikes cuts through the night, and a beat later, the Holwin’ Wolves MC rides into the compound. They line their bikes up alongside ours. Niko’s clubhouse is large, but by the time Hunter rolls in with his crew, it’s going to be a pretty full house.

Arie squeezes my hand. “What if he doesn’t like me?”

“What are you talkin’ about?”

“He’s your oldest friend.”

“He’s gonna fuckin’ love you, because I fuckin’ love you.”

I walk toward the Wolves, Arie’s hand tightly clutched in mine. “It’s good to see you, brother.”

Wolf moves to embrace me, and Arie slips her hand free, slinking back a step.

“You too. Montana misses you.Ifuckin’ miss you.” He slaps me on the back, and we release one another. Wolf’s gaze settles on Arie. “There she is. The face that launched a thousand ships. Or in this case, fifty fucking bikers. Don’t be shy, darlin’. Let’s get a look at ya.”

Arie gives him a tentative smile and Wolf embraces her too. She tenses in his arms. I’m just about to step in and save her when he whispers something in her ear that I don’t catch. Her shoulders drop and she actually laughs. It took me days to get a goddamn chuckle out of this bitch, and he has her eating out of the palm of his hand after five goddamn seconds?Maybe I shouldn’t have called him here.

She steps back and I glare at the two of them. “What the fuck is so funny?”

Arie turns to me with a grin, “He said—”

“Uh-uh-uh. Don’t go giving away all my secrets, sweetheart.”

Arie throws her arms around my neck and stands on her tippytoes, kissing my cheek and then nuzzles in against my beard. I tighten my arms around her like a vise as the rest of the Wolves descend.

“Brother!” Lucky shouts as he moves in to shake my hand. Lucky is Wolf’s VP. I’ve known the man since I first moved to Montana from Denmark. He’s the one who indoctrinated Wolf and me into MC life.

“How you been, brother?” he asks, and then takes one look at Arie and chuckles. “Never mind. I think I already figured it out.”

“Funny, dipshit. Arie, this is Lucky,” I say. She’s about to reply when a kid no older than eighteen with the same blond waves, pretty boy face, and blue eyes as Lucky holds a hand out in front of my woman.

“And I’m Daydream,” the little punk says.

I knock his hand away. “You’re gonna be dead in about five seconds unless you stop lookin’ at my old lady like that.”

Lucky puts Daydream in a headlock and gives him a noogie. “He’s a chip off the old block, huh?”

“He your kid?”

“Yep. Just started prospecting for the club.”

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