Page 31 of Sophia, Property of Tracker

Past

Sitting on my bike facing security gates, a biker stands in front with a rifle in his hand. Quill gets off his bike and removes his helmet, greeting the biker who’s holding the rifle. I can’t hear their conversation, but I see the biker nod. Then he turns around and looks up at another biker who also has a rifle in his hand who stands on top of a brick fence.

The man talking to Quill gestures with his hand to the biker above, and suddenly the gates open.

Quill returns to his bike and looks over at me.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

“Yeah, all good, brother. They were expecting us.”

As soon as the gates are wide enough, one by one, we head into the compound. Quill is first, followed by Hawke, Blaze, and then I follow behind them.

I follow Quill and the others, parking our bikes side by side. I must admit, I felt a sense of pride riding through the street with the club. People respected us as we rode through town. We waved and kids stood there excited to see us.

Lifting my helmet, I get off my bike and place it on my seat.

Quill walks up to me and says, “Let me do the talking. Viper has a history of being a hothead.”

There’s a tall, well-built man standing at the front of the clubhouse with his arms crossed over his chest. Other men begin to walk outside, and I spot Tate. I go to take a step toward him, but Quill holds me back with a hand to the chest.

“Easy, brother. Remember, we don’t know if they have information on what you do for a living. Be cool, follow my lead.” I give him a chin lift and walk behind him along with Hawke and Blaze. I’m excited to see my brother, but at the same time, I’m worried about what the club knows about me. Surely, Tate isn’t stupid enough to tell them what I do for a living.

“Quillentine, what a pleasure to finally meet the man behind the Blood Brothers.” The president of the Sinners steps forward, embracing Quill.

While they’re in an embrace, I look at my brother, and he smiles. Tate steps forward and embraces me, but not before I see that he’s wearing a cut with the word ‘Prospect’ on his patch along with the Sinners’ logo.What has he done?It doesn’t stop me from hugging him, though. I’m so happy to see him, but at the same time, I want to punch him for making Mom and me worry about his whereabouts.

Pulling back, I hold Tate at arm’s length and begin to check him over. “You, okay?”

“He’s good, brother,” Viper interrupts, answering on behalf of Tate. “He’s one of us now. He’s a Sinner.” Viper grabs him in a headlock and laughs, revealing a gold front tooth. He then looks back at me with a smile. “So this is Tate’s brother… the one who’s been around asking questions.”

Responding, I say, “Yeah, that’s me.” I put my hand out to shake Viper’s hand, and he accepts. His handshake is strong and firm, and I almost pull away from his strength but don’t want to seem like a pussy. So I give him a firm shake back. I’m fit and keep my body in shape, but this is something different. This is him letting me know he’s the leader and he demands respect.Can he sense I’m an FBI?

“Looks like you had your brother worried there now, prospect.”

Viper has a long beard and a shaved head with tattoos inked on his scalp. He has black eyes that are staring through me, and I can read him just from his look. I am a trained agent, after all, and I know that he’s trying to prove something to me. Maybe to let me know that even though Tate is my brother, he now belongs to him, and even though I hate to admit it, it’s true. Tate has joined the Sinners, and he is now their property.

I seriously need to talk to him and alone.

He lets go of my hand and gives me a swift nod. To the left of him is a skinny man with dirty blond hair to his shoulders, and his cut reads, ‘Tork, Vice President.’

I can’t help but notice the difference between the two clubs. The Blood Brothers take pride in their appearance. Hawke has his hair fully styled and in a bun. Blaze is wearing aftershave, and Quill, well, he’s the president. He’s been given some great genes to look that good—the guy doesn’t even have to work hard to look like that.

“Come in, brothers,mi casa es su casa.”My house is your housein Spanish.

They turn to the clubhouse, and I grab Tate for a hug again and whisper in his ear, “Did you tell them that I’m an agent?”

Tate looks up at me and shakes his head.

“Good,” I whisper. “Now, is there somewhere we can talk in private?”

“What’s taking you two so long? Get your asses in here.”

“We’re coming, Prez,” Tate replies, and we walk in together right behind them, where Viper and the rest of the Sinners lead us into the main room of the clubhouse.

It’s not what I was expecting. I mean, sure it has a bar, a pool table, and a jukebox, but it also has arcade machines and poker tables. Not what you would usually see in a motorcycle clubhouse.

Quill looks back at me and smirks, and I can’t help but smile back. He knows what I’m thinking because he is thinking the same.

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