Page 38 of Property of Riptide
I shake my head at my VP because sometimes, his sense of humor is too warped, even for me. Glancing at Rio, I nod, so he knows he’s got the table.
“Big Daddy called me a few days ago,” Rio starts, glancing around the table. “Seems he wants a viable chapter in the great state of Montana.”
Groans reverberate around the room and I watch as several of the brothers bang their heads on the table before Abyss asks, “He’s aware it fucking snows there, right?”
Well, that explains why Rio did it the way he did. When Big Daddy calls, he usually wants an answer pretty damn quick. Asunderstanding courses through me, I sit back and listen intently since this is the first I’m hearing about all of this, just like my crew.
“He is, but here’s the thing. The few guys who were starting up the chapter ran into some problems. Seems there’s a group of cattle rustlers who have been stealing the stock,” Rio states. “Stock that they’re breeding to yield championship lines which my wife is highly interested in buying. But not only that, they’re raising grass fed beef as well as bison. We need to have some of y’all go up there,” he holds his hands up when grumbles start, “temporarily,you fuckers, to help the new president, Gemini, build the chapter and get a handle on the situation. Big Daddy wants a strong presence from some of us ‘old timers’ as he called us. Because they have no idea just who they’re fucking with.”
“Nobody fucks with the Kings,” I rumble out, which has every brother pounding their fists on the table or against the wall.
“I can’t go,” Icer advises. “Gotta protect the kids.”
How I refrain from rolling my eyes is a testament to the fact that I’m used to how he acts. “We’ll probably send several from both our chapters,” I tell him, hoping I’m correct. It’s not like Rio and I had a powwow on our own, for fuck’s sake. Yeah, I’m still a little salty about it, but seeing as Big Daddy is riding his ass, I now see the bigger picture.
“And like I said, it’s only for a few months,” Rio adds.
“This will be a voluntary thing, right?” I ask, throwing Rio under the bus. After all, this is his rodeo and his clowns, I’m apparently only along for the ride.
“Unless there are no show of hands,” Rio amends. “Then Rip, Abyss, Slayer, and I will decide who goes.”
“How soon do we need to send Big Daddy the lineup?” I ask, “because we’ve got some shit going down on the home front and I’m not sure I can afford to lose any of my numbers.”
“Fucking Onyx Dragons,” Indiana murmurs.
“They’re slowly coming out of hiding. One of their members had the balls to show up at the event yesterday. We tracked him for a little bit but he got eaten up in the crowd and we lost him,” I announce.
“Pokey has printed out copies of his face we got off one of the surveillance cameras, we’ll be distributing them at the end of church. You see that motherfucker, you snatch him and bring him back here,” Rio demands.
“Icer and Indiana are going hunting once church concludes if anyone wants to join them,” I tack on.
“That’s news to me,” Icer mumbles. “But I’m not opposed as long as the kids stay here behind these walls.”
I side-eye him, staring him down. I do not like my orders to be questioned, especially in front of another Kings chapter. “Brother, you’re trying my patience.”
“The kids are my responsibility,” Icer says behind gritted teeth.
“You don’t carry that weight alone,” I state, grinding my jaw. “You’re the best tracker I have, I need you on this.”
“The kids are safe as long as they’re at my house, Icer,” Rio points out. “We take security seriously here. Nobody gets through the gates without being vetted.”
“It’s not like yesterday, Icer. The gates aren’t open to the public so there won’t be any outsiders hanging around,” I say, tryingto alleviate his anxiety. The rodeo grounds are not tied to the clubhouse per se, but close enough to have Icer uncomfortable.
Then he says something that has me staggering. “Okay. I trust you, Rip.”
“Brother’s full of compliments lately,” Indiana muses, shaking his head. “Who knew two women and two kiddos would’ve brought out his soft side.”
I knew it was coming, but you’re never truly prepared for the brute strength of Icer. The second Icer’s fist meets Indiana’s face he goes flying sideways when his knees buckle. “Who’s soft now?” Icer growls, leaning over Indiana’s prone body.
“Alright, you two, break it up!” I shout, taking my disarrayed strands out of the ponytail holder and running my fingers through it to smooth it back out. I tie it back up and run my hands down my face. “Icer, I don’t want to have to give you a happy pill, but I will if you don’t reign your shit back in.”
Indiana raises his hand and asks, “Do I get a vote?”
“You want your singing sidekick back, try using respect when talking to or about him. This is on you, Indiana. You brought this on yourself, now, you get to fix it,” I snap out.
“I was only messing around, Icer. I swear. Zoey and I both appreciate the way you look over our girl.” As far as apologies go, that’s the best Icer can expect to get when it comes to Indiana. He’s not poetic by any stretch of the imagination but he has loyalty ingrained down deep inside of him. “You have twenty-four hours to find that piece of shit. After that, we head home so get moving.”
“And that’s my cue to end church,” Rio says, once again, smirking. He’s having too much fun at my expense. He bangs the gavel and the brothers near or around Icer give him a wide berth as they leave.
