Page 10 of Viper

Hulk looks at me for permission and I give a quick nod. We call him Hulk because of his sheer size, but I’ve never worried about him around any of the kids. At six-five with layers of muscle, he’s one of our largest brothers but also one of the quietest and gentlest. He’s got a thick beard that he keeps meticulously cropped and trimmed, ink covering his arms and legs, and looks like a scary son of a bitch when you piss him off, but he’s also been super good about working with Archer on self-defence and conditioning, since Archer wants to start trying out for different teams in the coming year. “I think he’s still got some spare clothes in the locker room,” I tell Hulk.

“Got it. Come on, kid, no time for slacking,” Hulk says with a jerk of his head toward the back. Archer nods and follows him excitedly. Hulk pauses at the door and looks at Crypt. “You staying here or joining?”

Crypt shakes his head. “Got paperwork to finish up. If I get it done before you’re finished, I’ll come down.” Then he heads to his desk and wakes up his computer to get to work. He is also former Special Forces and worked with Shadow and his former team in the past. Surprisingly, at this moment, he’s our tallest Prospect, topping out at six-six, and while he doesn’t say much either, he’s starting to open up a bit more with each week that passes. However, that might have something to do with the women always after him. Not in the way most would think, but about him being on the cover of a book. I can admit he’s handsome with the broad shoulders and chest, tattoos, a thick beard, and silvery eyes, but I can’t see him standing there and posing like King does for Sage.

Speaking of which, that reminds me I need to work on finding out who the latest author is to use King’s image and plaster it all over the clubhouse. King takes it all in stride, giving the rest of us a good laugh.

“Congratulations, brother,” Shadow says again, pulling my attention back to him. “That must feel damn fucking good.”

I nod and lean against the empty reception desk and recount everything that happened. Shadow laughs when he hears about how the judge put her in her place. “Was tough sitting there being quiet,” I say with a sigh. “Especially when her asshole of a boyfriend shoved at me, but I wasn’t about to do anything to mess this up for Archer and I. It also means I don’t have to pay her as much in child support. Less money to support her habit,” I add with a bitter smile.

Shadow claps me on the shoulder. “Soon enough she’s going to slip up and you’ll get Archer full-time. She’s falling down the hole of being an addict being with that loser, and all we need to do is wait it out. Besides, you and I both know if we really want to make things hard for her, we can have Cryos plant some information and Archer will be yours a hell of a lot faster.”

I shake my head at that. “No, I don’t want to do that, even though some days I feel like I should. I won’t rule it out if something happens to Archer because of it. But right now, I’m happy with this and I’ll leave everything else be, for now. Because you’re right, she’s going to slip up.” Then another thought hits me and a slow grin pulls at my lips. Shadow gives me a curious look and I explain, “I also was able to find a certain someone today as well.”

Shadow’s brow arches at that. “You found the woman you’ve been looking for?”

I nod. “Turns out, she works for the courts and Archer was sent to stay with her when the judge took him out of the courtroom. Talk about a surprise.”

“And she remembers you?”

An image of her face flashes through my mind. “Oh, yeah, she remembers me,” I chuckle. “Couldn’t do much about it, but now I know where she is and I’ll go and talk to her once I get Archer settled, and I feel like it’s been enough time to let her relax.”

Shadow chuckles. “The poor woman doesn’t know what she’s getting into, does she? And just so we’re clear, the bail fund is not to get your stalker ass out of jail if she calls the cops.”

I chuckle. “Nah, she won’t do that, and I’m no stalker. I’ll talk to her, and if she’s serious she only wants it to be that one night, I’ll back off. But damn if I don’t want to try my shot. I have a feeling she’s just the kind of woman that could give me a run for my money.”

Shadow groans. “Fuck, not another one.” He narrows his eyes. “I know your type, and they all run to crazy. Don’t you think that we have enough of those?”

I grin and straighten. “Brother, you can never have enough fun in your life. You really should embrace it now that you know that’s exactly what your future is going to look like with your little princess.”

Shadow sighs. “Don’t remind me. Not even an hour ago, Quinn texted me to tell me that Macy decided she wanted to look cool and cut up all her clothes so they have holes in them like some girl she saw at the high school. So now, we have to go out tonight and buy her all new clothes. And she’s grounded, so she’s pissed and throwing a tantrum, deciding that we hate her.”

I can’t help but laugh. “God, I’m going to love it when she’s a teenager. You’re going to be gray within the first year.”

He flips me off. “And I’m sure she’ll get whatever wild ideas she comes up with from you and whatever woman is forced to hook up with you out of pity.” I grin at his teasing, unfazed. He glances at his watch. “Now, as much fun as this has been, we have some interviewees coming in the next fifteen and we need to get ready.”

I sober at that reminder. “Right. Alright, I’ll go and get the questions I prepared and the resumes together and we’ll set up in the conference room. Crypt, you good to show them where to go when they arrive?” I ask him. He turns to look at me and nod. “Thanks, man.” Then I’m off to my office.

Our assessment of the candidates turned out to be right, because the first candidate doesn’t even show. The second candidate shows up, but with barely an answer prepared and all but admits they need a job so they could have enough money to buy weed. We send him packing within five minutes.

The final two candidates are definitely promising. The third is a former intelligence specialist contractor for the Army, and the final is a former Marine who also did some intelligence gathering but specialized more in the day to day grunt work.

Marcus McKinney, the contractor, says all the right things but the moment his gaze lands on our cuts, they cool. Still, I don’t let it bother me. Most people who have seen those MC shows on TV think all bikers are like that, and while we like to party and have fun, we’re not the same. And most realize that quickly enough. When we tell him the club owns the business, and there is a chance that some jobs will intersect with the MC, his face sours. “I don’t think this is a good fit for me,” he says politely, but there’s an icy coolness under it. “I don’t want the career I have built to be taken down by being associated with a biker gang.”

“First, we’re not a gang,” Shadow says calmly. We’ve been called worse, and we’ve learned not to take any of that shit to heart. “Secondly, I’m glad we won’t be wasting each other’s time.” We both stand, and he does as well. He doesn’t bother shaking our hands, he just turns on his heel and heads out the door. I shoot Crypt a message for him to make sure this guy leaves without a problem, and then I sit back down and sigh, scrubbing a hand over my face.

“Jesus,” I mutter, before looking at Shadow. “At least he figured that shit out before we hired him, and he caused a bunch of problems.”

Shadow chuckles. “He’d have never been able to handle Rose or any of the women. And if he said that shit in front of them, he’d leave here with something shoved so far up inside his asshole, he’d never walk normally again.”

On that we can agree. “Well, then that leaves our last candidate.”

Thankfully, our final candidate, Eric Ellis, is okay with our cuts and the club’s association. And it’s quickly clear he’ll be a good fit around here. Unlike the rest of us, he’s got a goofy vibe about him, with his Marine short bright blonde hair, green eyes, and wide smile. He’s not overly muscular, but has the lean muscle that shows he keeps himself in shape. He’s good at answering our questions, and if he doesn’t know what to say, he’s upfront about it.

Now we’re down to the tough questions. “How are you with pushy women that will probably show up here multiple times of day to ask questions, or who will probably want all the details of your life?” I ask him with a smirk.

He grins. “Well, the ladies have always loved me, so I’m sure it’ll be just fine. Nothing a little charm and some carefully worded answers can’t get me out of.”

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