Whip places his hand on my shoulder and squeezes. “That it does.”
And I know he knows what I mean, because he walks on a prosthetic limb, thanks to a landmine in the early days of the war in Afghanistan.
“Saint,” Whip says, shaking his hand. “Good to see you. Hear you’re busy saving trafficked women.”
Saint nods. There’s a faraway look in his eye for a moment. Then he shakes his head, grips the belt loops of his jeans, and faces Whip. “I’ll take it. Bastards had done a right fucking number on her. She shivered the whole time she was on the back of my bike.”
“You know who it was?” Whip asks.
I nod. “We think it’s the Righteous Brotherhood.”
“Shit.” Whip slugs back the rest of the beer he was drinking when we arrived. “Those fuckers are up in our faces too.”
“Yeah, we tracked a truck back to Bethlehem,” I say.
“Not surprised. I think they want to take the East one state at a time. Keep getting caught up in territory disputes with them,” Whip says. “We think they’re getting close to a local Russian group, trying to cause instability. Real insurrectionist shit.”
I think about the weapons we brought with us. We kept half the ones the Russians tried to steal from us but brought the rest for Wreck, the president of the Allentown chapter, to sell on for us after taking a cut. And I wonder if it was the Russians and the Brotherhood who attempted to steal the weapons from us. Trying to steal our turf and our weapons right from beneath us. Vex vetted the buyers as best he could with the intel we had. But maybe we got it wrong.
“You might want to hold on to some of those guns from the load we brought,” I say. “I think they might be trying to steal weapons to arm their endeavors. Watch who you sell to if you sell on.”
“Good to know, and I’ll propose it. You guys taking them on for the trafficking?”
“Don’t get me started on that shit,” Saint says. “I’m hitting the shitter before I get mad.”
I watch Saint go. “King doesn’t give a shit about the women. Just wants to keep the Brotherhood out of Jersey because of what they stand for. Saint wants us to use our access to the docks to actually scout for the women being transported. King thinks that puts the advantage we currently have at risk.”
Whip looks over at my president, who is already downing vodka like it’s water. “You gotta pick your battles. And speaking of battles, you talk to someone about yours?” he asks, before tapping the bar to get the attention of one of their prospects. “Beer?”
I nod to the beer. “I spoke to someone as soon as it happened. Not since.”
Whip holds my gaze long and hard. I want to hide from it because I know he can read the secrets I want to keep. “Fix that shit,” he says.
I grab the beer that lands in front of me and knock the neck of it against his.
“Cheers,” he says. “And I’m not kidding about fixing that shit. I’d rather sit and listen to your story for hours than spend hours going to your funeral.”
I huff. “I’m fine.”
“Plenty of good men have said that too. I’ll kick your ass if you die before you’re meant to.”
I sip on my beer, then nod. “Understood.”
And bizarrely, I do. I don’t think I’ve ever sat and thought about killing myself, not in any meaningful concrete way. But there were days when I felt displaced, alone. Misunderstood. Where I wondered whether I would be missed if I were no longer here.
Until Iris.
“How’s the missus?” I ask. Whip is well into his forties, but his old lady, Anna, is only thirty.
“Feisty as always. The twins are seven, little Rachel is three and a fucking heartbreaker, and we just found out Anna is expecting again.”
The twins were a happy one-night stand accident. Whip was definitely not happy about it at the time. “You heard of contraception?”
He grins wryly. “Like knocking her up. She’s a fantastic mom. Is way better with the kids than I am, but she’s teaching me. Plus, she looks hot with one of my kids in her. Her tits turn into fucking watermelons. What about you?”
I debate telling him about Iris, but I keep it low-key. “There’s a woman. It’s complicated.”
Whip laughs. “Isn’t it always. I keep knocking up my best friend and president’s daughter. First time, I wasn’t even trying. If I ever fuck up, I have to deal with her and him.”
“Yeah, but it’s worth it, right?”
Whip sobers for a minute, takes a slow draw on his beer. “It’s worth every fucking minute. She’s my whole life. Don’t give a rat’s ass if that makes me sound like a pussy. She’s the quiet strength I never knew I needed.”
I wonder what Iris is to me. It started out with an obsession for her safety. I know. It’s fucked up. But somehow, she’s gotten under my skin. I love the way she isn’t scared of me. I love the way she calls me on shit in her own way. I love the way her trust in me is growing and how I never intend to break it. I never thought I’d trust another woman again after my ex, but I do. I trust Iris. “She makes me want to be a better man.”
“Then she’s a rare gem,” Whips says before I realize I said that part out loud.
“Yeah. She is. Can I borrow your room?”
Whip laughs. “Yeah. But clean up any fucking mess you make if things turn to virtual dick.”
“Fuck you.” I laugh.
He shrugs. “You act as though I don’t know how it feels to be on a run instead of in bed with your bitch’s ass rubbing against your dick in her sleep. Go call her.”
I stride to Whip’s room but before I can get there, King stops me. “You get a drink?” he asks.
I show him the beer bottle in my hand. “You should talk to Whip. The Righteous Brotherhood are up in their faces. Said they are cozying up with the Russians. Made me wonder if we got played with that deal. What if they’re connected? Those guys had a mix of accents.”
King’s eyes narrowed. “We found no identification, or the one who got away.”
I shrug. “Maybe we need to look harder. Search all known Brotherhood members. See if we recognize anyone.”
“I’ll get Vex to dig deeper, and I’ll run that shit by Wreck, Whip, and the guys here.” He glances in the direction I was headed. “Where you going?”
I can’t tell him the truth, so I wink over his shoulder at one of the girls that was checking me out. Deflection as a strategy works. “Grabbing a shower in Whip’s room before I grab some more drink and then hit that.”
King lazily takes her in. “Save time and take her and the beer into the shower with you.”
I force a grin. I have no intention of fucking around because waiting for Iris is its own reward, but I’m not telling King that. “Later, Prez,” I say before heading to Whip’s room.
When I get there, I lock the door behind me. Pictures are tacked to the wall. Him and Anna, their kids. Man, they’ve grown. I wonder what Iris’s views on kids are. Can’t assume just because she teaches little kids that she wants them or can have them.
I’d like them, but I want Iris more.