“Women, don’t forget that you get a penalty lump of coal if you switch names. And make sure you text me the name you drew—”
“How many fucking penalties—”
Hennessy snapped his mouth shut when Viper took a step toward him.
“Never fucking mind,” he snapped. “I just want all the fucking rules before I start a game.”
“Why do I have one pain in the ass every year?” Viper complained to the group, moving the bag so Jewell could draw a name.
Arin didn’t think Viper expected an answer, but Hennessy gave him one anyway.
“Maybe you should give better directions rather than short and simple.” Becoming bolder as Viper moved to the other end of the room, he then said, “What I want to know is: Who in the fuck came up with this dumb game?”
Arin held her breath when Viper turned back toward Hennessy. She could practically see the chill coming off the president.
“I did. I came up with the game. Tomorrow, Lily and Winter will be putting a Christmas tree up in the front room, and I didn’t trust the kids that came here to eat some meals getting away from their parents to snoop through the Christmas presents that some of the members put under the tree for them. They know they’re not allowed in the front room, but they’re kids, and we don’t want to take the chance. This way, none of the parents have to worry that little eyes will be seeing someone fucking on the couch, which is banned to the upstairs once the tree goes up.”
“I just asked,” he mumbled.
“Jewell, make a stocking for Hennessy and put a lump of coal in it for me.”
“What the fuck? Why?” Hennessy protested.
“Put two in there.”
Hennessy snapped his mouth shut.
“Finally, something that shuts you the fuck up.” Viper closed the bag. “Merry fucking Christmas to me.”
Chapter 9
“You want me to find who has your name?”
“No.” Hennessy took the cigarette and lighter that Core handed him. “If Arin has my name, she’ll switch with one of those bitches who has it out for me.”
Lighting the cigarette, he took a long drag on the filter.
“What the fuck happened to us going to Florida?”
“We have a few days to spare before the job; what’s the rush?”
His enforcer gave him a look that shouted you have lost your mind. “They’re putting up a Christmas tree in their clubhouse, and the best part of staying here isn’t going to happen until you find out which woman drew your name.”
“You could have played.”
“No, thanks. I don’t play games when I want a woman in my bed.”
“I don’t either.”
“Got news for you: you are.”
“Does it count as a game if I change the rules?”
“What’s the plan?”
“To find out whose name Arin picked and make sure he doesn’t guess it’s her before I win the bet.”
“She can’t stand you; doesn’t matter if you keep her from hooking up with the brother she picked.”
“I’ll work my charm on her.”
“Then you’re fucked. You don’t have any.”
“I can when it involves that curvy cutie.”
“Please don’t call her that in front of her. It’s embarrassing when she shoots you down.”
“She’s playing hard to get.”
“She isn’t playing hard to get with Moon and Nickel.”
“It’s just a smokescreen.”
“And why is that?”
“She wants me to work for it.”
“She isn’t making Moon and Nickel do any work,” Core countered. “She’s ready to give it to them for free.”
“She’s just pretending to make me jealous and make me—”
“Work for it,” Core finished for him.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, brother, have I told you I have a sweet, little property in Louisiana that I want to sell? It’s right in the middle of lost-your-fucking-mind and you-fucking-wish. I’ll sell it to you for five thousand.”
Hennessy clenched his jaw. “You making fun of me?”
“Brother, the only thing you’re going to get out of this game, other than me riding your ass for playing, is a stocking filled with coal.”
“The penalties have set me back,” Hennessy agreed with his enforcer. “But, if they have penalties, there have to be rewards.”
“I would ask someone else other than Viper,” Core suggested. “Or Moon,” he added.
“I’ll ask Rider when I see him. He’s the sneakiest bastard in The Last Riders. Sasha has Zip, and Jewell has Nickel. I saw them switching when I was going to the bathroom.”
Damn, they wouldn’t even get a penalty point because they had switched before texting Viper their names. He had to find a way to get one of his coals removed from his stocking, or he would only have one guess.
“Who was the brother that most of the women wanted?”
“The new one, Jack.”
“I need to find out who has his name.” Hennessy gave Core a calculating smile. “Knowledge is power. I might not know a lot about women, but what I do know is that they want bragging rights.”
Core just shook his head at him. “What you know about women can be written on a postage stamp.”