Leave a Trail (Signal Bend #7)(56)

Badger smiled at the memory.

Finally, with one more look at Zeke, Tommy said, “Aye.” And the table took a breath and then tensed again as Isaac’s fiery eyes turned back to Zeke.

“Brother, you got a problem with this vote, any problem at all, you can put that kutte on the table. When the table has spoken, the matter is f*ckin’ closed. I will not wait for another malcontent to take me down. I swear that on my own patch.”

Zeke stared back for about ten full seconds—which was a very long time when a whole table was waiting on his answer to a challenge like that. Finally, the old man nodded. “I rode outlaw for a long time.

Before your time. Not once did we ever ask a woman do anything but cook our food, suck our dicks, or spread her legs.”

Holy shit. Isaac sat suddenly forward, his one good hand curled into a fist so tight it shook. Badger held his breath. This was the world’s shittiest time for Zeke to find his tongue. Being the strong silent type was so much safer than saying something like that when they were talking about Lilli.

But Zeke held out his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “But my first club shut down. Got run right over.

So maybe our way wasn’t the right way. And I’m man enough to admit that the world moved on while I was playin’ weekend rider. I ain’t got a problem with the vote, boss. I apologize for forcin’ it.”

Isaac nodded, and that was the end of it. Badger could almost hear the collective drop in adrenaline around the table. His voice much easier, Isaac said, “Dom—talk to Lilli when we’re done here.” He took a breath and cleared his throat. “Before we adjourn, we got one more thing. Double A. He’s six months past his minimum, and we haven’t brought him to a vote.

Show interrupted. “He’s young—what is he, twenty-two, twenty-three?”

Double A—born Aaron—had started hanging around the club right after high school. Badger had gotten to know him then and had sponsored his Prospect application. Double A never balked at anything he’d been asked to do—and that remained true as a Prospect. He’d taken on a tough role as sparring partner in the ring, as well as cleanup duty for some of the Horde’s messier lessons. He had a strong stomach and stronger fists. Moreover, his day job was at the fireworks factory off of I-44. He’d learned a few things about explosives there, and had taught himself more. Badger hadn’t expected Double A’s patch vote today, but he was ready to endorse it.

Badger answered Show’s question. “Twenty-three. Three years younger than I am. Older than I was when I patched in.”

But Show obviously had concerns. “Yeah, brother, and you are too f*ckin’ young to deal with the shit you’ve had to deal with.”

Though he was surprised by the concern for him Show’s comment revealed, Badger shrugged, the pull in his chest reminding him of the worst of the shit he’d had to deal with. “I won’t argue—I don’t know if you can be old enough for some of our shit. But fact is, he’ll time out in six months, and he won’t be much older then. We need to fill out the table, right?” He turned from Show to Isaac. “Right?”

Isaac cocked his head. “That’s for the club to decide. I say we decide with a patch vote. Any objections?”

There were none. A few minutes later, when Isaac rapped on the table with his un-slung fist, calling the meeting to an end, the Horde had another member.



oOo



“Hand me the torque wrench, would ya?”

Nolan passed the tool to Badger. They’d been working on the Sportster a couple of nights a week for a couple of weeks now. A couple of days after the Spring Fest, Nolan had come to him at the B&B, saying that it hurt too much to see the bones of what he and Havoc had not been able to finish together scattered over the worktable in the garage. He wanted to honor him by finishing what they’d started. But Nolan didn’t know enough to do it on his own.

Badger didn’t know bikes the way Havoc had known bikes. Havoc had had a sixth sense or something about this stuff. But Badger was decent, and Nolan, it was clear, had the same kind of sense that Havoc had had—just without the experience or training. They had a good manual, and they were learning as they went.

They’d been having a good time. Nolan was right—it was a way to honor Havoc. In fact, sometimes it felt like he was in there with them.

The last couple of times Badger had come over, Adrienne had come with him. She was hanging out with Cory and Loki. They cooked supper while he and Nolan worked in the garage, but Badger thought Adrienne was also trying to get some understanding about the life of the Horde from Cory, who had lost more than anyone else—save, maybe, Show.

Badger didn’t know if Cory was ready to talk, but he trusted that Adrienne, who was naturally empathetic and kind, would not push her too far.

“How’re things going with Len?”

Nolan looked up, shaking hair out of his eyes—his dark hair had a tendency to flop over his face. He had a faint bruise on one cheekbone. “Okay, I guess. But he’s kind of…an *.”

Badger laughed. Sometimes he thought he could still feel the ache from his time training in the ring with Len. “Yeah—but that’s good. You don’t want him going easy on you. Somebody who’s trying to hurt you isn’t gonna go easy.”

When Badger had sat down with Isaac, Show, and Len and told them that Nolan was looking to track into the club as quickly as he could, nobody had been surprised. Isaac and Show had then sat down with Cory, though, and she had surprised them—she’d agreed without much hesitation. She knew what Nolan wanted, and she, like her oldest son, knew they had no family but the Horde. She understood his choice.