Page 1 of Protector

Prologue

Grey: 2000

“No, no.” I held my hand up. “No more tequila.”

Slim grinned and took a swig from the bottle. “You turnin’ into a lightweight now? C’mon, Grey, it’s your last night as Pres. Drink up.”

I looked down at my wrist, trying to decide which of the three watches I was seeing was the real one. I closed my left eye and brought my arm up toward my face. “Night? Fuck, it’s just past six, Slim. I’d say it’s time to shut this shit down and get some sleep.”

We’d been so deep in drinking and reminiscing about the early days that I’d lost track of time; along with any hope of getting home by dinner.

Bear stumbled over and collapsed onto the barstool next to mine. “Shit.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and cursed again.

“Yes, Bear? Somethin’ you need to share with the class?” Slim asked with a smirk.

“Fuckin’ prospect just called me Pres—”

“As opposed to… what? Dickhead?”

“Fuck you, Slim,” Bear snapped. “It took me by surprise; I actually looked around for Grey when he said it. Never thought I’d live to see the day that I wasn’t ridin’ by his side, you know?”

I blinked slowly and lifted my head. “You know I ain’t dead, right? I’m right here, and as far as I’m concerned, I’m the motherfuckin’ boss for…” I squinted down at my watch again. “Six more hours.”

He sighed and rested his arm against the bar top. “Thank fuck for that. I’m gonna need to sober up before I’m expected to make decisions and shit.”

“Bein’ sober ain’t gonna make a damn bit of difference,” I grumbled. “You’ll still second guess every call you make; wondering if it was the right one.”

“You’re really goin’ all out to sell me on this, aren’t ya? Fuck, Grey, at least give me some positives to work with here.”

I looked up at him. “What do you want me to say? That your life is goin’ to be filled with sunshine and every mornin’ when you wake up, you’ll shit rainbows? That ain’t this life, and you know it. It pays better than anything else out there, but this?”

I gestured around the New Mexico chapter’s clubhouse. “This don’t come for free. You gotta fight for it… every fuckin’ day.”

“Jesus,” Slim noted from across the bar. “Is that the motivational speech Wolverine gave you when he stepped down?”

“Nah.” I grinned, remembering the night I’d earned my road name. “Fucker had me convinced I’d been born into the role—said I’d shown some real impressive skills and wanted me to wipe out any motherfucker who didn’t respect Silent Phoenix.”

Bear grabbed one of the many empty shot glasses littering the bar and pried the tequila from Slim’s hand. He carefully poured out a shot and looked it over before tipping the entire bottle back into his open mouth.

“Well, that’s one way of dealing with a promotion.” Slim glared at me. “Any other words of wisdom you care to impart? Now, think carefully, because Bear’s liable to end up with alcohol poisoning before it’s all said and done.”

“What do you want me to say? He’s been ridin’ longer than I have. If he don’t know how this shit works by now, then I made the wrong fuckin’ decision.”

The empty bottle landed against the scarred wood with a thud and Bear ran the back of his hand across his mouth. “What are you gonna do, Grey? Where are you gonna go that people don’t immediately know who the fuck you are? You stick out like a goddamn Viking!”

He was right.

We had thirty-three chapters worldwide. The odds of me disappearing forever were slim, at best. Hell, it had been damn near impossible to stay off the feds’ radar over the past three years.

“Who said I was runnin’ away? In fact, I found a nice little mini-mansion out by the golf course. Maybe that’s where I’ll be spending my days. Golfin’ with the other rich fucks.”

Slim hunched over the bar, gasping with laughter. “Shit, I can guarantee that you’ll be the only one on that course. Can you imagine the looks you’d get? Feds would be all over your ass within an hour.”

“You could leave the country,” Bear said, suddenly serious. “We’ve got the connections. A couple of phone calls to our guys, and you and your family are gone forever.”

I’d looked into it, but with the war over, there was no sense in hiding.

“I think I’m good. We’ll let the girls finish school and then maybe rent a camper…” My voice trailed off, and I let myself get caught up in the life we were going to create outside the club.

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