Page 36 of Fighting a Riot

Yak

The distinct scent of sawdust filled Yak with nostalgia. It always did, and it was the reason he’d been willing to help Rage and Lisa a few months ago. Nothing reminded him of his dad and granddad quite the same way.

“What are you doin’ here, Yak?” Lisa asked, pulling off her safety goggles.

Rage glowered at him. “You better not be here to spread your foul mood.”

Yak dipped his chin. “Because I’ll ruin your sunny disposition?”

“What are you two talking about? Yak’s always in a good mood.”

Rage backed away from a workbench. “He hasn’t been lately. Don’t know what’s up his ass, won’t talk to any of us about it.”

Yak shook his head. “Taste of your own medicine, motherfucker.” He looked at Lisa. “You still willing to build that hammock stand for me?”

Months ago, when Yak saw Lisa’s talent in furniture construction, he showed her a meme. It contained a picture of a hammock. Rather than use a metal stand, the stand was made of wood which had been carved to look like a pirate ship with a dragon head at the helm. The text read “When you wanna take a nap but you also wanna pillage.” He’d been halfway fucking with her at the time, thinking it couldn’t be done and that the photo had possibly been fake. Yet, from the way Lisa’s eyes had lit up Yak saw it might be doable.

She grinned. “Like I said, if you get the wood for me—”

“And twenty-five hundred dollars,” Rage muttered.

Lisa glanced at Rage. “He can pay me when it’s finished.”

“The teak wood is supposed to arrive in about half an hour. That’s why I’m here. To make sure it’s delivered, and I’ll pay you half now. How’s that?”

Rage crossed his arms on his chest. “You could have called to tell us and sent the money through a cash app. Save yourself a trip over here from Avondale.”

Yak shrugged. “I could have, but lovely Lisa hasn’t hired anyone yet, and I know she wants more pieces out on that showroom floor. I’m here to help for the official grand opening in May.”

“It’s not even March yet.”

Lisa sidled up to Rage and rubbed his bicep. “March first is tomorrow, honey. If Yak wants to help, I won’t say no. Let it go.”

The hard stare Rage gave Yak should have made him uncomfortable, but after years with the Riot, Yak withstood it.

“You got some other motive for being here. Least you could do is be open about it.”

Sometimes it pissed him off how well his brothers could read him, but it came with the territory. Yak needed to be here instead of at home. Nora didn’t leave for her office until quarter to eight every morning. After kissing her in his kitchen last Friday night, Yak had fought stalking over to her place and giving her exactly what she wanted. Yesterday morning, he nearly lost that fight. Which was when he came up with the idea of coming here straight from Platinum’s.

He shook his head. “How about you listen to your woman and let it go? I’m only sticking around until about noon, then I’m going home to get some shut-eye.”

Avoiding Nora was just one of the reasons he sought refuge at Lisa’s workshop. When he hit the clubhouse to get some sleep, it only set his mind reeling about who could possibly be sabotaging Platinum’s. As much as he hated it, he thought a brother was behind this shit.

But that was ludicrous.

Sacrilege.

Still, he couldn’t get the nagging thought out of his head and sharing the idea with any of his brothers would open the floodgates.

Four hours later, the teak wood was delivered and Yak helped Rage stack it in a corner of the workshop.

Lisa stared down at the wood, her expression full of admiration. “That wood is gorgeous, Yak.” Her brown eyes caught his. “But you should have called me. My supplier probably offers a better price.”

He grinned. “But would it be better quality?”

Her hands twisted up for a moment. “We’ll never know, but this feels like Christmas. I can’t wait to work with that wood.”

Yak couldn’t resist such an easy set-up. “Good to know. Rage’s woman likes to work with my wood.”

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