Page 104 of His Road Dog

Epilogue

~ Three months later ~

Priest

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CURLEY HAULED OFF ANDpunched Whip, sending him crashing into the table in the middle of the meeting room. Priest shoved back his chair to escape the beer bottle toppling over, liquid spilling over the edge.

"Jesus Christ, take it outside." Priest stood and looked at Paco. "Whichever woman is causing my men to fight, ban her from the clubhouse."

"It's Faye, Prez. She's back in town." Paco lunged forward, getting ahold of Curley.

Leaving his men to fight it out, Priest walked into the main room. The grunts of the scuffle and banging of chairs followed him.

Worst thing that had happened to Curley was getting hooked up with Faye years ago. When she was gone, his V.P. kept his head. When she was around, things got crazy.

He searched for Nicole and found her talking to Tracy, who held her and Rick's youngest, and watching Joey play a couple of the prospects in a game of pool.

Roddy approached him and held out a piece of paper. "Here's a list of everyone scheduled to take the trip."

He read down the list of Tarkio members. Fifty riders would take the once a month trip to Northern California. For the last three months, the rotating crew oversaw delivery after spending a month at the commune being introduced to the contacts and being trained by the men in the commune. It'd taken that long for him to find workers, not associated with the club or commune, to work the plots.

Everyone involved knew the risks were higher since the buyout. Nobody trusted anyone. Tarkio Motorcycle Club had the most to lose. That's why he wanted a large crew there to oversee every step for the first six months or so. In the future, he hoped they could depend on a select few that would stay at the location and let him know the progress by phone.

"Jerry and Aaron are setting up the last parts run. They plan to head out Thursday," said Roddy.

"Good." He handed the paper back to Roddy. "Once Curley calms down, update him. Then, tell him I don't want to see his old lady around here, causing trouble."

Roddy chuckled. "Hell, yeah. Glad to pass the message on to him."

A fight broke out on the other side of the room. Women scattered. Judging the distance between the flying fists and Nicole, he relaxed. She was out of the way.

"It must be a full-fucking moon," he muttered.

Nicole's gaze went across the room, then searched for him. Her eyes connected with him, and she came up on her toes and smiled.

Gut punched, his muscles tensed. He would never get used to having her in his life. She pushed when he was a stubborn asshole and pulled back when she supported him. It was a fine dance, much like the back and forth they'd started that first night they'd met.

He shoved his hand in his pocket, his fingers searching for the silver dollar coin that had been his constant companion since he was sixteen years old. But his pocket was empty.

Along with asking Nicole to be his old lady, he'd handed her the coin and told her the story of why he carried it every single day with him.

He'd found what he searched for his whole life. What he needed. What he craved.

Without that gift, he would've turned into another statistic, probably sitting behind bars because he never learned to play smart.

Because of Copperhead, he had Tarkio Motorcycle. He had his family.

The silver dollar piece now sat at the bottom of Nicole's purse. Since she would always be with him, he wasn't losing anything, only gaining.

Theresa stepped into his line of vision. The woman's eyes lit up at finding him at the clubhouse. With her hips swinging and her breasts leading the way, she stopped in front of him. "Need company, Priest?"

Without looking over the offer, he hitched his chin. "Find someone else."

Her lower lip protruded. Out of patience, he was about to walk away, and Nicole stepped up beside him. He looped his arm around her shoulders.

"Scram." Nicole raised her hand and flicked her fingers away from her, getting rid of the woman.

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