Page 20 of Q: Satan's Fury MC

“Great. I’ve gotta get my tools out of the truck,” Moon replied. “I’ll be up in a minute.”

“Me, too.” Guardrail sounded a little less panicked as he told us, “Just give me a minute to get the others going.”

“Take your time. We got it covered.”

He and Moon made their way out to the parking lot while I headed up to the top floor of the building. I slipped on my tool belt, then got busy ripping out the old wires. It was easy to see why Moon had been so upset. The wiring was a complete mess, and little could be salvaged—which was a big hit for the club. We’d have to eat the added expense, and no one would be happy about that.

I was halfway done with the west end of the building when Hayes came trudging into the room with a soured look on his face. Without so much as a word, he walked over next to me and started jerking wire out of the joist. It was clear he was pissed, so I asked, “Something wrong?”

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“What’s going on?”

“Dad wants me to wait another six months before I start prospecting, and it’s total bullshit.” His dark eyes flashed with rage as he roared, “I’ll be twenty next month. The same age he was when he started prospecting.”

“I’m sure he has his reasons.”

“Yeah, he’s been spouting them off for the past week.”

I hated to overstep, but I could tell this was something he needed to sort. So, I asked, “Like what?”

“He thinks it’ll be too hard for me to take classes and prospect at the same time.” He kicked the wall with his steel-toe boots with an angry scowl. “He thinks I should get my stupid degree first, then see how I feel about prospecting.”

“Makes sense.” When he turned to me with an angry scowl, I lifted my hands in surrender and said, “Hold on, now. Hear me out. I get where you’re coming from. I know you’re eager to become a brother, but prospecting is tough. Hell, it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”

“I can handle it.”

“You say that now, but when one of the brothers calls you to clean up Wrath’s puke at four in the morning, or they order you to do a run to Seattle in the middle of the night, it’ll be hard to make it to that eight a.m. class. A few nights of that shit, and I guarantee you’ll be singing a different tune.”

“I’d find a way to get through it.”

His expression softened as he admitted, “I’ve wanted this for as long as I can remember.”

“Yeah, I remember that feeling. It’s tough.” I gave him a pat on the shoulder as I said, “But wanting it for a few more months or even a year isn’t going to kill ya.”

“I was afraid you were gonna say that.” His eyes dropped to the floor as he grumbled, “I hate that he’s always right.”

“Just be patient. One of these days, you’ll prove him wrong.”

“We’ll see about that.” Hayes started prying out one of the knobs that were nailed to the framing, then started pulling the wires through as he said, “You know Dad is planning a get-together this weekend.”

“Yeah, I heard something about that.”

“You’re going, right?”

“Suppose so. You?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

Without saying anything more, we both got back to work, and it wasn’t long before we’d removed all the wiring from the top floor. Knowing there was still lots of work to be done, we headed downstairs to help Rooster and Chains. They were working on removing the old drywall, and as expected, they were both busting their asses to get it done and get it done right.

They’d both patched in a couple of years prior and had never failed to give one hundred percent—no matter what they were doing. Rooster was an ex-Marine. He was a good-looking guy in his early thirties with dark hair, blue eyes, muscles of steel, and a heart of gold. I thought a lot of him. We all did. He’d proven time and time again that there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for the brothers, and we felt the same about him.

Chains was a bit older, quieter, and a little rougher around the edges. He’d also spent some time in the military, but it hadn’t done him any favors. He’d seen things and done things that changed him, rattled him to the core, and there were times when his PTSD got the best of him. Thankfully, he had us to help him stay on track.

As soon as Rooster spotted us coming in their direction, he shook his head and grumbled, “It’s about time. Hell, I thought you slackers were gonna spend all morning fucking around up there.”

“We weren’t fucking around, asshat. We were working.”

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