Page 10 of Festive

“I just want to thank you again for letting me stay here. You’ve been so generous, especially because it’s Christmas, and I have nowhere else to go.”

“You’re welcome, Amber. The kids love you. It’s been great having that extra set of hands to watch over them while we work and the old ladies are busy.”

Amber shrugs. “Well, I adore those kids. They’re so charming, each with their own individual personality. Kenna isso muchlike you. Headstrong and brave. Really knows what she wants.”

Wraith and Zero smirk like they’re enjoying this damninteraction we’re having. I, on the other hand, need to get back to these fucking numbers. “Kenna is a handful, that’s for sure… sorry to cut you short, Amber, but we’re in the middle of some shit—”

“Oh yes, of course…” she caresses my shoulder, “… sorry. I’ll talk to you later. Thanks again, Pres.” She smiles wide at me, then turns and saunters off, but my eyes fall straight back to the page in front of me to focus on how we’re going to deal with this shipment issue.

Zero shakes his head as Wraith chuckles, slapping my back. “Ahh, brother… you’re so fucking oblivious.”

“What?” I turn to them, raising a brow.

Zero snorts. “You better watch your six with that one. Definite hero-worship vibes going on there.”

Snorting out a laugh, I shake my head. “Nah, she’s just grateful to have a roof over her head.”

Wraith huffs. “Don’t kid yourself, brother. That bitch wants to ride your cock from here to New York. Just remember how good you have it with Rebel.”

I narrow my eyes on him. “I’d never fucking hurt Rebel like that.”

Zero wraps his arm around my shoulders and nods. “We know you won’t, but does Amber? ’Cause from here, it looks like she hasn’t got the memo.”

I glance over my shoulder to see Amber smiling at me like she’s in absolute awe. She gives me a little wave, causing my entire body to inadvertently shudder. “Well… fuck!”

Zero and Wraith both laugh as I turn back. “It’ll be fine. New girls always have a settling-in period. They love the thrill of being here. The thought of bedding the top dog. Normally, though, the brothers aren’t all tied down with old ladies, or they don’t give a shit if they are. We all broke the mold where that’s concerned. Bikers who don’t stray on their women, whowould’ve thought?” I mock.

“You wouldn’t catch me going near another woman. Prinie would cut my balls off and make me eat them if I did. That bitch is scary.” Wraith chuckles.

Zero and I nod because our sister more than likely would do exactly that to him.

“Yeah, well, you married the crazy.” I snort out a laugh as Zero fist-bumps with me.

Wraith smirks. “Yeah, but her crazy matches mine, so it evens out.”

“Really?” I ask, making Wraith glare at me and Zero chuckle under his breath.

“You may be my president and my brother-in-law, but I can still kick your ass,” Wraith states.

I tilt my head, grinning at Wraith. “Yeah, but I can also strip you of your VP patch and kick you out of the club, so…”

Zero bursts out laughing as Wraith smiles wide. “Asshole,” he chimes happily.

Even though we’re family somehow, whether by blood or by marriage, it’s good to know we can fuck around and mock each other and still have each other’s backs.

Zero slaps my bicep and moves his hand over the paperwork to form his version of a point. Even with all the physical therapy he endured after reconstructive surgery, he still can’t extend his finger out fully.Poor bastard.“How’s it looking? Can we make the shipments to NOLA?”

Turning back to what I was supposed to be doing before all this bullshit started, I reply, “Yeah, I believe so. Here’s what I’m thinking…” I scrub my beard. “We get a secure line on the rail system from Houston to NOLA. Maybe even have some Slavers go with the Snow White to reach the destination for added safety. Then, the NOLA guys can meet the product on the other end, transport it to the shipping yard, and get it to where it needsto go. We’ll need to give them a cut for their time, but hey, we can manage that. They’re our brother chapter, and they have been there for us more times than we can count.”

Zero nudges my shoulder. “Now you’re thinking like a president. We go cargo, ask Marcel to use his powers of persuasion to get us the ‘in’ we need with the right people, and we should get the clearances for the nine-and-a-half-hour journey. If we do this right, we can make this a constant delivery, and with Marcel’s help, we can’t get caught.”

Nodding, I crack my knuckles. “Marcel runs everything coming in and out of New Orleans. If he knows NOLA Defiance is in on this, he’ll be on board granting us access to his ports.”

“Exactly. It’s a solid plan. Now, we just have to put it into action.”

Glancing over my shoulder, I spot Scout sitting with his Old Lady, Crimson, and I send out a whistle to gain his attention. “Scout!”

He snaps his head to me with a raised brow before pressing his lips to Crimson’s head, then stands and walks over. “Pres?”

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