“I will, too.” Drake winced, trying to shift her to a more comfortable position.
“I’m sorry.” Bliss started to straighten off him, but he tugged her back.
“Stay still. You’re not the only one who’s going to remember this night.”
“Can I ask you a question?” When he nodded, she asked, “Why does Rider look so good? I would have never known he was in the fight if Winter hadn’t told me.”
“Damned if I know. I gave him some of my best punches. That man has an iron jaw. He should look worse than any of us. The only reason I got past him was because I lasted so long against him.”
“Even when Jared shot him, it only took him a couple of days to recover.” Train spoke up from the chair across the table. “He’s a freak of nature. Do you know how he got his nickname in the service?” He waited for Drake to raise his brows in question. “When we were in the service, we woke up to enemy fire. We were all scared shitless, running around in the dark, trying to wake up and return fire. Thank God Shade had come in that night from a mission and was still awake. He gave us enough time to retaliate.
“We were so freaked out we didn’t notice Rider had been shot until it was over and were assessing the damage. Ten men never made it out of their bunk rolls that night. Rider coded on me twice, and when I was about to give up, I got him back. They flew him out, and once I managed to hitch a ride with the next helicopter two hours later, I went to the hospital to find him. It took me thirty minutes to find him in the X-ray room, fucking the technician. He was fucking her from behind as if he didn’t have three bullets in him.”
Drake held his ribs. “Which was why you called him Rider, for ‘ride her,’ right?”
“Yep.” Train laughed. “He gave her the ride of her life after being declared dead twice.”
“Too bad I don’t remember it. I was too full of painkillers and the pot Shade had packed in to us the night before.”
“Want me to call Tate to bring you something to take the edge off the pain?” Bliss offered noticing Drake’s pale complexion.
“No, thanks. He wouldn’t bring it, anyway. Tate, Greer, and Dustin aren’t talking to me right now.”
“Why not?” The cousins seemed too tight to not be on speaking terms.
“I told them Cash helped me become a member, and they’re so mad at me they aren’t talking to me or him. They even told him they aren’t coming to Christmas dinner.”
Bliss wondered about the triumphant smile on his broken face, but she figured he didn’t believe the brothers would stay mad long.
“Is Cash upset?”
“Yeah, he’s all broken up about it.”
Bliss realized then Drake was joking. No man who was upset his brothers-in-law wouldn’t be coming Christmas day would be singing “best Christmas ever.”
“Is Rachel mad?”
“At me, not Cash. I told him she’s having a girl. When he told her I had told him, she was so mad she wouldn’t even call to cuss me out. She’s not talking to me, either.”
“Thank God the craziness that runs in that family missed you.”
“What makes you think that?”
Bliss stopped smiling. “It did, didn’t it?” The Porter brothers were constantly in fights. Plus, Rachel had special gifts, and it was rumored her brothers did, too…
“I’ve been known to do some crazy shit in my life.”
“What’s the craziest thing you’ve done?” Bliss quirked her head to the side, studying his face up close.
“The craziest?” He stopped to think about it. “When Stephanie cheated on me, I kind of went crazy and started cage fighting on the weekends when she had visitation. It kept me from wanting to beat the shit out of the bastard she moved in with when I kicked her out.”
“You were a cage fighter?” Viper groaned. “Does Cash know?”
“Hell no. No one knew. Stephanie would have used it to try to get custody away from me.”
“That would have been useful knowledge before the fight.” Viper turned to Shade, who was sitting at the table with Lily on his lap. “That was never part of the information you gave me on Drake when I told you to check him out.”
“It’s Christmas Eve. The info was coming in slow.”
“Exactly when did you find out that piece of information?” Viper’s eyes narrowed on his enforcer.
“Right about the time it was your turn. I was going to tell you, but Winter told me not to.”
Viper glared at his innocent-looking wife. “Why in the hell not?”
“You’re constantly telling me how fighting makes you horny. I still remember the last time you were in a fight. If you think I was going to deny myself another night like that, you’re as crazy as Greer.”