Page 35 of Thor
I knew from countless operations in hostile territory that the danger was likely over for now.The enemy would want surprise to be on their side when they launched the next attack, but it never paid to lower your guard.Janet came back out in less than five minutes, a bulging backpack slung over her shoulders.
“Ready?”
She nodded and followed me to the bike.We strapped on helmets in record time, and I fired up the engine.
“Hold on tight,” I hollered over my shoulder.On the off chance that some fucking asshole was watching us, I had no intention of being predictable.Yanking the handlebars around in a tight circle, I headed straight for the vacant lot behind the shop.
Janet’s arms tightened around my waist as the bike jumped the curb and bounced over the rough ground.The lot extended past the main road, and we exited onto one of the older side roads.I zigzagged my way through town and headed out to the club’s compound.
As we approached the club, I could see four prospects guarding the gate, twice the usual number.I took that as a sign that Ace expected trouble.The prospects recognized me and opened the gate wide enough for me to blast through without slowing down.
The long line of bikes in the parking area showed most of the guys were here already.I pulled up at the top end of the row and killed the engine.Janet slid off the bike and pulled off her helmet.Shaking out her hair, she gave me a wan smile and placed her helmet on the back seat.“That was… intense.”
“But fun, right?”I hung my helmet on the handlebar.
She wrinkled her nose, a doubtful look on her face.“Sure.Might have been, if I hadn’t worried about someone taking potshots at us.”
I slung an arm over her shoulder, and we headed up to the clubhouse.As we climbed the stairs, Deuce appeared in the doorway.“Prez called church in ten minutes.”He nodded at Janet.“Nice to see you.I think Sophia’s out back at the shooting range with the twins.”
“Thanks.”Janet shifted her gaze to me.“I’ll go catch up with Sophia while you’re in church.I haven’t talked to her much since this all started.”
She didn’t quite meet my gaze, and I put a finger under her chin to lift it.“Cheer up.I’m not that easy to kill, and we’re safe here.”
She gulped and nodded her head shakily.I wished there was something, anything, I could say to ease her mind.Sometimes shit got real, and as much as I wanted to sugarcoat it for her, this was the life.
We entered the clubhouse, and a wall of noise hit us.I wasn’t kidding about most of the guys being there and they weren’t a quiet bunch.We made it through to the kitchen without stopping, and I nodded at Mom who was busy making piles of snacks.She loved cooking for large groups, the more the merrier.
Willow, Piper’s little terrier was guarding the floor, making sure no crumb that fell from above accidentally landed on it.She glanced over and wagged her tail when she heard us but didn’t make a move to come over and greet us.She had her priorities.
Mom stopped filling little pastry tarts with some kind of meat mixture.“Glad to see you two in one piece.”
I grinned and snagged a cookie from a heaping plate.“Pushing up daisies isn’t in my five-year plan.”
She shook her head.“Plans change.Make sure yours don’t.You’ve got an old lady to worry about now.Time to settle down and take things a little more seriously.”
“I’m not his old lady.”Janet’s voice lacked conviction.
Mom tilted her head.“You might not be wearing his cut yet, but it sure looks like you two are joined at the hip.I’m betting if you go sit on anyone else’s lap out there in the common room, we’d have a fight going in no time.”
This wasn’t the time to get into the old lady argument again, although I appreciated Mom coming down on my side.I could hear the noise in the other room quieting down as my brothers started heading to the cabin out back where church was held.
I always thought church was a good name for it, although it didn’t fall that way with some people.None of that holier-than-you crap.For bikers, church was a place where we met and talked about shit that was important to us.We listened to each other and made decisions based on who was in favor.Everyone got a vote.That’s how decisions were made, and we all stood by those decisions, even if we didn’t agree with them.Majority ruled.A brother didn’t do anything that could affect the rest of us without taking it to church.If a brother wanted to make someone his old lady, he’d go to church and make sure it was okay with everyone.I’d already let them know I planned to make Janet my old lady, so to them it was a done deal even if she hadn’t agreed yet.Most of my brothers thought it was fucking hilarious that she wasn’t on board.
“Almost time for church.Let’s go find Sophia and the twins.”I urged Janet toward the back door.
“You should get the twins to give you shooting lessons.”Mom opened the oven and stuck a tray of those tiny meat pie things in.“They’re better shots than a lot of the guys.”
A bit of an exaggeration.The twins were good, but as ex-SEALs the Riptide brothers were all crack shots.I’d be happy if she got the twins to teach her though.“They taught Emma, and it saved her life.”
“Yeah, she told me.She thinks I should learn.Sophia does too.”
We headed out the back door.I could see Sophia and the twins over at the shooting range.I glanced down at my watch.Two minutes until church.Ace wasn’t okay with a guy being late.“You okay if I leave you and head over to church?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”She turned toward me and brushed her lips over mine.“Go do what you gotta do.”
* * *
I made it to church just as Ace motioned to Rattler to close the doors.The noise quieted down and everyone’s attention focused on the Prez.
