Page 1 of Idaho

CHAPTER 1

Idaho

My brother shoved me into the wall, making my teeth rattle in my head. My only response was a smirk. Something I knew would piss him off even more. I was used to him blowing up. It was kind of his thing. He had the patience of a saint ninety percent of the time, but the other ten? Fucking watch out.

"What?" I asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible. "You're not happy to see me, Liam?"

His snarl of frustration sounded like a pissed off animal. "Fuck off, Levi. Why are you here?"

I knew showing up here was bound to piss my twin off, but I was sick of this divide between us. Business was good, I had some time where I could afford to step away from it, and I was bound and determined to fix the gulf between us. It'd been years since I'd seen him, and even though he wanted to hit me, it was damn good to have him standing here before me.

His hand curled up into a fist as he glared at me. Some of his guys piled into the hallway behind him. I nodded at Static. It hadn't been quite as long since I'd seen our childhood friend. We still kept in touch and met up whenever I was in town for business. I didn't personally know the other man standing next to Static, but I recognized him. Derek Skore, also known as Riptide. He was my brother's VP here in their motorcycle club.

"I'm here to help you out," I said, answering Liam's question.

"I don't need your fucking help."

My eyes strayed back over his head to where the other men were standing. The looks on their faces said that Liam was wrong. They did need my help; it was why Static had called me. This was finally my way back in with my brother and I wasn't going to let the opportunity pass me by. I'd been searching for years for a way to get close to him again. It wasn't easy. My brother was a stubborn fucker, and we didn't exactly part on the best of terms. "Not what I heard."

"Fuck what you heard." He was still raging. When Liam's temper went off it was like he was a pissed off bear. He'd kill anything in sight before he regained his composure.

As though to accent that idea, he slammed his fist into the wall. I shook my head. He was going to regret that. We weren't as young as we used to be. "Why don't I come back later?" I offered. It was the last thing I wanted to do, but he was so fucking spooled up. There was no way to talk to him when he was like this.

"How about you tell me why the hell you're here?"

"We called him," Static said, interrupting. "Lockout, we really do need his help."

My brother lowered his head, sucking in deep breaths as he tried to calm himself. It was a technique our mother had shown him when he was young. Sadness gripped me at the thought of Mom. I shoved it to the side. There wasn't time for regrets. I needed to keep my wits about me because I wasn't out of the line of fire yet. I'd be lucky if I got out of this without a broken nose.

Folding my arms over my chest, I waited while he pulled himself together. I'd gotten more of Mom's personality while Liam was a carbon copy of our dad. Mom had always known exactly how to deal with Dad to focus his temper. Despite having known Liam all our lives, I'd never quite figured out how to do the same with him. In fact, it was the opposite. Any effort I made to calm him only further enraged him.

After a few tense minutes, Liam lifted his head and glared at me. "I need to finish church. You can wait out by the bar. Or fuck off. I don't care which."

I couldn't help but chuckle as my brother walked back into the room. Static made a face when I looked at him with my eyebrows raised. "He hasn't changed much."

"Did you think he would?" He stepped forward and we hugged each other. He slammed his palm into the center of my back as hard as he could. "Thanks for coming, Levi."

"We appreciate it, Idaho," Derek said.

My brows climbed higher. "Idaho?"

Derek chuckled. "Static always calls you the man from Idaho. Idaho is shorter."

Static chuckled. "Looks like we've found your road name." He cocked his head. "I assume you still plan to stick around?"

"It's going to piss him off, but yeah, that's the plan."

"Good." Static's eyes flicked over to the closed door. "It's long past time to put all this shit to rest."

"Agreed. Go ahead, I'll wait out here."

The men nodded and went back inside while I walked back out front. There was a woman at the bar now. It had been empty when I came through the door. She was tall, had dark hair, and was fucking gorgeous.

"Hey, Lock. Want a drink?" Her eyes strayed back to the hallway and her brows drew together. "Where're the others?" Her brows drew together as she took a good look at me. "What are you all dressed up for?"

Choosing one of the questions, I answered, "They're in church." I sat down on one of the stools that was in front of the bar.

She looked so confused I nearly laughed. "What?"

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