Page 7 of Locke

“That’s not long. You must have come right after I left.”

“Maybe.”

“Are you always this short with your answers?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

“Listen, I’ll watch your ass because of your dad and your brother. That doesn’t mean I trust you bein’ here. I don’t know why you’re back. I don’t know what you want. What I do know is, if you try and fuck this club over, I will fuck back.”

“Are you always this accommodating, or is this just for me?”

“Anyone who strolls their ass back in here after runnin’ with another club would get the same treatment.”

“Good to know. But I’m not just anyone. And trust me when I say that part of my life is dead. I want nothing to do with it or him. I did what I did, and now that’s over.”

“Doesn’t mean I trust you.”

“You don’t have to trust me. I didn’t ask you to.”

“But your dad wants me to. My Prez.”

“You two became close in the last two years.”

“Yeah, we have. And nothin’ and no one is gonna fuck that up. What we have here is a strong brotherhood, and I don’t plan on that bein’ broken any time soon.” With that, he downs his shot and walks away. I watch him go as Remy steps up next to me.

“He’s always like that. You’ll get used to it,” he says.

“Good to know.”

“He’s a good guy, though. He’d do anything for this club or the members.”

“At least he has that going for him.” Remy laughs and I can’t help but smile along with him.

“That he does.”

Chapter 4

Locke

“What did you need?” I ask Gunner as I drop into the chair in front of him. He’s at his desk looking a little haggard today. I know everything has been weighing on him, and anything I can do to help with that, I will. That’s my job.

“Wanted to talk to you about some things.”

“Which are?”

“That shit in Arizona. I heard you took a lot of shit for us. That you called in some favors,” he says. I didn’t want to talk about this. I did what I had to do.

“Yeah. Just doin’ my job.”

“No. You went above and beyond pullin’ personal favors, Locke. You didn’t have to do that, but you did.”

“And I’d do it again, Prez. It’s what we do.”

“I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done around here, Locke. Two years and holy fuck, you’ve stepped up more than any other person ever has. I don’t want you to think that shit goes unnoticed. It doesn’t.”

“I get it, Gunner. I’m just doin’ what I need to do,” I tell him. He grabs his glass and takes down his drink before shaking his head.

“I ain’t never had a VP who went this far for the club, so this shit is new to me, brother.”

“I get it.”

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