Page 169 of Patching Over

“Shut the fuck up, we got shit to discuss,” Brick says through the speaker. “Kracken, you with us, Brother?”

I shouldn’t be here, listening, but there’s not much choice, so I’m sitting on the bed, flipping through one of the magazines Kracken bought me, while he sits on the couch for his meeting.

“Yeah, Pres,” Kracken replies.

“Okay, so let’s talk about what we’re going to do now that we’re both clubs without a name,” Brick decrees.

“What do you think about the Imperial Knights MC?” Dragon asks. “We’ve been tossing names around and there are no clubs with that name. Seems we’re on a quest so it made sense to us when we were talking about it.”

“Mighta had more to do with the whiskey we were drinking,” Butcher drawls, causing the room to erupt in laughter.

I grin, but smother my giggles with a pillow, earning a smirk from Kracken when he catches it. With one ear on theconversation and the other on the article in front of me, I think about what’s going to happen.

“Maybe so, but it’s a good, solid club name,” Wrecker states. “What do y’all think, Brick?”

“Sounds good to me,” Brick says. “All in favor?”

A chorus of ‘ayes’ come through the speaker as Kracken adds his own to the mix.

“Then it’s settled, from here on, we’ll be known as the Imperial Knights MC,” Brick advises. “We’ll get new cuts made and when Kracken gets back, we’ll do a patch party for all of us.”

“We need property cuts for the ol’ ladies,” Kracken says. “Are we all going to be in Roanoke? How’s that gonna work?”

“Eventually, we’re getting our home in Cedar Creek back,” Dragon replies. “Until then, we thought we’d go over the state line and see what we can find. That way, we’ll be close enough to one another in case anything comes up.”

“Until you find the space, there’s plenty of room here,” Banshee says. “All the ol’ ladies from your club and ours are getting along well, and I think y’all’s club could use the time to decompress a little.”

“Plus, of course, we need to deal with those Lynchburg fuckers,” Hawg interjects.

“Got an idea about that as well,” Dragon adds.

He doesn’t say anything for a few minutes, then I clearly hear, “What the fuck?” from Banshee.

“Brother, why does it look like I’m on the beach right now?” Brick asks. “With a fucking ice-cold beer in my hand and Ryleigh in a bikini?”

Dragon laughs long and hard before he says, “I did that. I have the ability to create illusions, so right now, all of y’all are on a beach.”

“Why am I wearing fucking shorts?” Scythe questions. “Jesus fucking Christ, I’m as pale as the belly of a fucking fish!”

I can’t help my giggles that time, they erupt and join with Kracken’s laughter, as well as the raucous sounds coming through the phone. Seems like Scythe has jokes, which is probably needed to break up the tense atmosphere that even I can sense.

“Here’s what I was thinking,” Dragon says, and I notice that the sound has quietened down. “We’ll go to Lynchburg, and I’ll create an illusion that will allow the women and children to escape. Once we know they’re safe, I’ll have those fuckers kill themselves. No blowback that way for any of us.”

“Dammit, I was hoping to crush a few skulls,” Kracken murmurs. I can see from his face he’s disappointed and I can’t say that I blame him.

“Feel pretty confident that with us starting fresh again, we’ll have to do that a time or two,” Brick advises, chuckling. “Dragon, that sounds pretty fucking good to me. Now, I know those government pussies likely locked y’all’s money down, so I’ll reiterate Banshee’s invitation because y’all need to get back on y’all’s feet.”

I hear Hawg, who I vaguely remember meeting during my time in Roanoke, speak up. “Uh, about that, Pres. Selah, Beast, and I have been busy working our magic behind the scenes. Those fundamentalists are funding our Cedar Creek brothers’ new venture and there’s no fucking way they’ll ever figure it out. Plus, we also diverted y’all’s money that they hadn’t frozen yet. Selah’s got all those details.”

“So, we’re flush?” Dragon asks.

“Brother, y’all are so flush, you could wait five years to set up any businesses andstillhave money to spare,” Hawg states.

“Not gonna wait that long, but it sure as hell takes a load off my shoulders,” Dragon says, sounding relieved as if a weighted boulder was just picked up and tossed off his shoulders. I bet hewas worried how he and his guys were going to financially take care of their family.

“Hawg, any of that diverted our way?” Brick questions.

Kracken bursts into laughter, obviously knowing his brothers well, because Hawg retorts, “With all due respect, Brick, what do you think? Both Belle and Moira went through hell, so they’ve got their own accounts now, but Selah and I got money for the club as well. We’re gonna need new cuts, a new table, all that shit.”

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