Page 20 of In Too Deep

He smirks. “Ten o’clock tonight, we’re having a club party, other chapters of the Royal Bastards are coming down to party with us, and bitches will be there too. Do you have a woman, Seth?” He scratches his beard, waiting for my reply.

Shaking my head, I say, “No. Not right now.”

He smiles, the gap in his teeth visible once again. “That’s good.” He laughs, tapping me on the shoulder.

“Lots of pussy out there. Don’t settle down with one, you got me?”

Laughing along with him, I answer, “I got you.”

Vinney takes his leave and says, “See you at ten.”

Mikki eyes me before he says, “Prez might want to give you a chance, but I don’t. I don’t trust you, fucker.” He throws his half-finished smoke on the floor and follows Vinney to his bike.

“I’ll get you the keys to your bike,” Tyler tells Shooter before he leaves us and steps into my office, grabbing the keys to his bike.” Hearing the sounds of engines, I find Mikki, Vinney, and the other two sitting on their bikes, waiting on Shooter.

“Hey, brother,” Shooter above the sound of the bikes. I turn to face him. “Appreciate the work you did on the bike. I’ll buy you a drink tonight at the clubhouse.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” I reply, thinking he might be my way into the club. If I can gain his friendship, he might vouch for me to become a member of the RBMC.

“No problem. We will celebrate tonight. I’ll see you later,” I say, walking him and his bike out of the garage. Shooter sits on his motorcycle, starts it up, and the sound echoes all around us. His smile is wide as he revs the engine. I smile back, and he sticks his middle finger up before he takes off out of the driveway, following the rest of them.

“Fuck, you did good. I was worried there for a second,” Tyler says as we both stand at the opening of the garage, watching them leave the driveway.

“Tell me about it. Don’t know about Mikki, though. He’s going to be a hard one to get on my side. He already doesn’t trust me.”

“Mikki’s like that, Seth. He was the same with Brent. But one thing you have that Brent never did.”

“What’s that?”

“You’ve been invited to the clubhouse by the fuckin’ president. He must like you. That’s gotta be a positive. Good idea putting a new air drone on Shooter’s bike. Seems you’re already on his good side,” Tyler says, winking at me.

“Yeah, well, I’m hoping he can be my way into the club. If I befriend him and get him to trust me, then maybe he can vouch for me to become a member.”

“Fuck, this is all happening so fast.”

Tyler walks over to the side table where parts are lying and grabs his packet of smokes. He grabs a cigarette and lights it, then takes another and lights it with the burning tip of the first.

Walking over to me, he hands me the smoke and says, “You need to get used to this. Here.”

Knowing he’s right, I accept it and bring it to my lips, inhaling. The smoke burns my throat, almost causing me to choke, but I don’t. I’ve never liked the taste. I tried smoking when I was younger before I joined the military, and other than looking cool doing it, there was absolutely no reason to pick up the habit. I didn’t enjoy it one bit.

“Man, you gotta look at least like you’re enjoying it.”

Smirking, I take another drag, and this time try to look like it’s not the most disgusting thing on this earth.

I’ve always looked after my body. I believe your body is a temple, and you should look after it, especially when I was training for the military. We needed to be fit and at our best. Our frame is what protected us, so we had to make sure we looked after it. I was at the gym two times a day, working on my strength to ensure I was able to protect myself and my squad, no matter what.

“That’s better, now you got it,” Tyler teases and I continue to smoke.

“I’ve been here for the last couple of years and haven’t been invited to the club once. This is your first interaction with them, and you’re already invited to their clubhouse. I would come with you, but I don’t think they’d like that.”

“Nah, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me,” I reply, taking another drag before I throw the butt on the floor and step on it with my foot.

We continue to work for a little longer, trying to get as much done as we can. This place has been busy since I took it over. It’smade some good money, and I must admit, Brent did a hell of a job running it.

Five o’clock hits and Tyler announces that he’s done for the day. We chat for a while before he reminds me that if I need him, I can give him a call. I thank him and lock the garage after he leaves, making sure no one is around.

Once alone, I head to the desk in my office, grab the phone Theresa gave me, and dial my landlord.

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