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“Is it weird I was more terrified asking her today than I was last night?”
I slid my shades over my eyes and gazed up at the sky. “Uh, yeah, brother. Last night it was just the club; today, you did that shit for all the world to see.”
Aero had asked Sloane to marry him for the second time in front of the club, God, and the world, and she had again said yes. Damn, she had been a hell of an actress, too. If I wouldn’t have known better, I would have thought Sloane didn’t know it was going to happen.
“You think Yarder is selling it to the producers that the camera crew needs to follow us?” Aero asked.
“Yarder could sell a cape to Superman, Aero. I wouldn’t worry about it.”
If that camera crew didn’t follow us to Golden, Colorado, Yarder would personally shove them into their van and push it down the damn road. The camera crew wasn’t going to hang around a second longer than Yarder wanted them to.
Dove and Sloane had headed to their rooms to pack, even though they had packed last night. Right now, we were all acting for the cameras, and I prayed it all looked authentic.
Aero plopped onto the bench next to the front door. “In two days, I am going to be a married man, Throttle.”
“Yeah, yeah, you are,” I chuckled. “I sure as hell didn’t see this curve ball heading our way. I was suspicious of Faye being the reason for shit hitting the fan, but come to find out, it was Dove and her dear old dad.”
“You can’t be mad at Dove for this, Throttle. Even if Russ hadn’t sent her to try and find dirt on us, whoever Boone and Gibbs sent after us would still have come. Hell, it’s probably a good thing he talked Dove into being a snitch; otherwise, it would have been too late, and we wouldn’t have known trouble was headed our way before he took us down.”
Aero was right, but it still annoyed the fuck out of me.
If Dove didn’t think we were dirty, she should have told us what was going on.
“It is what it is, brother. Can’t go back and change things.”
I was sure Dove knew she had fucked up, and she had no clue that her dad was into something so much deeper than he led her to believe.
Still, I was pissed.
Yarder walked out the door and looked around the parking lot. “You’re good to go. The camera crew is heading to their hotel to pack up their shit, and you guys will be on the road within the hour.”
Hook, line, and sinker. I knew Yarder would make the producers see following us to Colorado was better than sticking around the clubhouse and garage.
“They did give me a bit of hell for covering the cameras for a couple of hours yesterday,” Yarder smirked and pulled a cigarette out of his pocket. “Told them must have been a glitch, but they didn’t believe me because they had screen grabs of Dice and Pirate with their faces front and center right before they were covered.”
“I would pay to see those photos,” Aero laughed.
“Oh, I have a feeling everyone will see them eventually,” Yarder laughed.
The camera crew walked out of the clubhouse and headed to their van.
“We’ll be back in half an hour, Yarder,” a redhead woman called.
Yarder nodded and lit his cigarette. “Sounds good, Adalee.”
They climbed into their van and headed out of the driveway.
“You learned their names?” I asked.
Yarder shrugged. “We did sign up for this shit, and it’s not their fault that the shit is hitting the fan while they are here. They are just doing their job.”
“Are you drunk or high?” Aero asked.
Yarder shook his head and blew out a cloud of smoke. “Neither. I’m just trying to take in the joy of knowing my ass won’t be followed around by the camera crew for the next seven days.”
I wasn’t thrilled about being the one taking the brunt of being recorded, but it was what it was. Anything for the Iron Fiends. “As long as you take those seven days to figure out who blew up the gym and what the hell is headed our way.”
Yarder nodded. “The first one we are going to make happen. I doubt we are going to be able to find out what is heading our way, but we are going to do everything we can to be prepared for it. Boone and Gibbs may be powerful, but I don’t know if they’ve ever gone up against people like the Iron Fiends. We are clean, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have connections that aren’t.”
“Just be careful, brother.” Aero stood and clapped Yarder on the back. “I’m gonna go check on the girls. Sloane said she was all packed last night, but she said she was going to check things over. I need to make sure she’s ready to hit the road by the time the camera crew gets back.”
Aero walked back into the clubhouse.
“You really think we’re going to be ready for whatever hell is headed our way?”
Yarder took a long drag off his cigarette and blew out a plume of smoke. “Yeah, Throttle. A bunch of guys in suits aren’t going to take us down. Just keep a close eye on Dove while you’re gone.”
“You worried she’s going to flip on us or something?”
Yarder tossed his cigarette on the ground and snubbed it out with the toe of his boot. “Nah, she was clueless as to what her dad was up to. The shitstorm he brought might wind up trying to take her out since she’s Russ’ daughter.”
“She’s safe with me.”
Yarder nodded. “I know. You look at her the same way Aero looks at Sloane.”
“And how is that?” I asked.
“Like you’ll die before anything bad happens to her.”
*
