Apoc and Sarafina had disappeared before the fire trucks had left. Hennessy didn’t know or care where they were. Actually, he took that back. He wished both of them were with the Predators. They deserved Apoc and the dog.
Hennessy’s life had gone to shit in a handbasket ever since he’d set eyes on Penni, Jackal’s wife, and despite every attempt he made, bad luck kept dogging his footsteps. Literally.
In the coming year, he planned to turn over a new leaf. When the repairs were made to the Road Kingz’s clubhouse, he was going to be even more of a hardass to any of brothers who had bailed on him. And that meant no fucking dogs!
Snow crunched under his boots as he climbed the long flight of steps to the door. The brother standing guard didn’t exactly hold out the welcome mat.
“Hennessy.”
“Moon.”
“Wasn’t expecting to see you riding in today.”
Neither of them was a fan of the other. They had clashed heads more than one time during the brief stays he’d had with The Last Riders.
Moon irritated the fuck out of him. The brother’s dick had always gotten him in trouble. Hennessy had also spent weeks on the open road with him during the hunt for the head of the cartel, who was determined to take him and The Last Riders out.
The brother—and Hennessy called him a brother loosely—always had a hard-on for the unattainable. Moon could have any willing pussy he wanted, but he had a knack for being attracted to those who would bring the heat bearing down on whoever was the dumb fuck that was unfortunate to be next to him at the time. Viper had to be a saint for putting up with some of the shit that Moon was responsible for, which was why his ass was stuck in Treepoint.
“Told Viper we’d be here tomorrow. I’m early.” Hennessy wanted to grind his teeth for having to explain, blaming his politeness on the cold.
Stomping snow off his boots instead of throwing Moon over the railing of the porch, he waited for Moon to step aside so Core and he could go inside.
“Come back tomorrow … when you’re expected.”
Hennessy shrugged the snow off his shoulders. Screw being nice.
In one quick move, he did what he had wanted to do when he’d first seen Moon guarding the door. Then, not bothering to look at the snow angel that Moon had made when he’d hit the snowbank, Hennessy walked inside the club.
Both men dropped their saddlebags beside the door before making their way into the large clubroom. The expansive area was a cross between a living room and a man cave with several couches and chairs scattered around in sitting areas, two pool tables that took more than their fair share of space, and a large bar with several stools.
Envious, Core sat down on the comfortable couch that, by an act of God, he had made to first. “Every time I come here, I want to cry.”
Unlacing his boot, Hennessy let it drop to the floor. “You willing to take on The Last Riders to earn a spot in the club, I won’t hold you back … I’ll watch.” He grunted out the last part when his other boot refused to budge.
“I’ll pass.”
“I thought you might.”
His leather jacket was being just as resistant. Seeing that Core was having the same problem, he reached out and pulled at the length of one sleeve.
The front door flew open as Moon came storming inside.
“Fuckwad.”
“Dipshit.”
Moon threw himself down on a chair across from them, giving him an amicable grin. “It’s as cold as a witch’s tit out there. How were the roads?”
With Core’s jacket finally off, he was able to work on his own. “A snowplow had cleared the road, or we’d never have made it.”
“I’ll get you two a drink. You look like you need it.” Moon rose, going behind the bar.
“Not for me,” Core refused. “I need a hot shower.”
Moon opened a bottle of Jim Beam to pour in a glass. “Take your pick. There’s one upstairs and one downstairs you can use. One of you will have to sleep in the basement on a couch anyway—space is limited right now. The other one gets a room to himself upstairs.”
“You can take the couch. You’re shorter,” Hennessy ordered, remembering the couch downstairs.
“Is the basement just as warm?”
“Yes,” Moon answered, giving Hennessy a glass.
“Then I don’t care where I sleep as long as it’s warm.” His enforcer grabbed his jacket, then went back to the entranceway for his saddlebag. “I wouldn’t drink too much. We haven’t eaten all day.”
Ignoring the warning, Hennessy took a drink, then shifted his ass on the couch. The tingling sensations going through that extremity had his toes curling in his thick socks.
“I’ll finish this, and then I’ll get a shower.” He needed a drink to get the courage to take a shower. As numb as he felt, removing his clothes was going to be like trying to pull the skin off a grape, and it was going to hurt like a motherfucker.