Riding the Line (Devil's Knights 2nd Generation)

by Winter Travers

  “I don’t think she’s his woman yet, though,” Easy cracked. “You might be jumping the gun there, Demon.”

  “Wait, I thought you nailed her down?” Rigid twirled his finger in the air. “We’re doing this for a chick that is just a chick?”

  “Aren’t they all chicks?” Zig asked.

  “I mean she isn’t an ol’ lady,” Rigid clarified.

  “Yet,” I drawled.

  “Oh,” Easy laughed. “Months of staring and admiring from a distance is actually going to be something more?”

  “I didn’t stare for months,” I disagreed. “I just needed to make sure she was… it.”

  “Well, can I just say if you and she do become an item, I hope she quits dancing, or I’m never going to be able to step foot into the club again,” Zag complained. “I can’t be watching my brother’s girlfriend flipping and twisting around on the pole.”

  “Your ass better never have watched her,” I growled. I knew damn well what Indiana did for a living, and I was okay with it. As long as no one laid a finger on her, and none of my brothers watched her, I was fine.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Easy laughed. “You really think none of us have seen Indiana dance? You’re delusional, Frost.”

  “You guys are fine.” I pointed at Zig and Zag. “But you two assholes need to become blind anytime Indiana steps foot on stage.” The rest of the guys in the club were respectful enough to not gawk at Indiana. I knew Zig and Zag would make an outright show of making sure to go to the club when Indiana was working.

  Zig grabbed Zag’s arm and clutched his other hand to his chest. “I do believe we have offended our dear little brother.”

  Zag gasped. “I think you may be right!”

  “Are you sure I’m not adopted?” I asked Dad.

  He shrugged.

  “Or maybe they were somehow switched at the hospital? You brought home the wrong babies?” I pondered.

  “How dare you?” Zag gasped. “Can you not see my chiseled jawline and striking resemblance to Dad?”

  “Yeah, ditto for me since, you know, we’re identical,” Zig added.

  Dad shook his head. “None of you are adopted or were switched at the hospital. Your mama didn’t leave you guys once you were born, though I have to wonder what it would be like if you were switched.”

  “Do you think we will ever have church where we don’t run off with some weird as shit topic every time?” King asked Rigid.

  Rigid shrugged. “I mean, it’s been a solid run of over twenty years of having meetings like this. You really think we should change them now?”

  “All we wanted to know is if Frost was with the chick, and now we’re talking about Zig and Zag not being able to go to Sultry Knights anymore.” King sat back in his chair and sighed. “I guess it doesn’t really matter at this point. Not like we can call Marco and tell him never mind.”

  Rigid nodded. “Yup. Let’s just hope getting this girl back isn’t going to cost an arm and a leg.”

  “Whatever it costs, I’ll take care of,” I growled.

  “Oh, you will, huh?” Dad asked. “You got a gold egg you’re hiding in your room or something?”

  “Whatever it is, it’ll get paid,” King replied.

  “Maybe they’ll just give her back without needing anything from us,” Zag guessed.

  King rolled his eyes. “They aren’t going to want anything from us, Zag. The Meeks are going to want something from the Banachis, and then Leo is going to let us know how much that is going to cost us.”

  I opened my mouth to again say I would cover whatever was needed, but Dad pointed his finger at me.

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Thankfully we’re on Leo’s good side,” Dad noted.

  “Thanks to Slider,” Pie laughed. “Pretty sure Slider snagging Fayth cemented the fact that the Devil’s Knights will always be on the Banachis’ good side.”

  King laughed. “Good point.” He grabbed the gavel and weighed it in his hand. “So, we wait to hear from Marco. The rest of the club will be back in a couple of days, and then, we’ll figure out who is going and who is staying.”

  “Are we going to pretend that Indiana is actually going to stay, or maybe we should just plan on her coming? Maybe come up with a game plan,” Dad suggested. He looked at King and Rigid. “We might as well use our years of experience with our own ol’ ladies and know that sometimes it’s easier to go along with their crazy plans than to try to stop them.”

  “Part of me thinks that’s a good idea, and then another part thinks we’re just inviting a disaster down to Florida with us,” Rigid groaned.

  “Look, it’s not like we’re going to send Indiana down there alone. We’re gonna be there and will be able to control the situation,” I pointed out. “I say we let her come along if she wants and just avoid the huge uproar it will cause if we tell her no.”

  “You know Mama and Meg will have a heyday with you throwing the club business words around,” Hero laughed.

  “I haven’t used those words in years,” Kings grunted.

  “Probably because there hasn’t been any shit happening with the club that the girls shouldn’t know about,” Dad chuckled.

  Rigid pointed at Dad. “That would be true.”

  King slammed the gavel on the table. “We wait to hear from Marco, and once we do, Indiana can come along if she wants.” He sniffed the air. “Am I the only one smelling actual food?”

  Everyone sniffed the air.

  “Is Meg back?” Snapper asked.

  King shook his head. “No. I just talked to her half an hour ago. They were getting ready to leave Gravel’s.”

  Pie jumped up. “That must be my dream girl, Indiana, cooking me dinner.”

  “She better be cooking us all dinner,” Zag called.

  We all filed out of church and headed to the common area.

  The scent of delicious food grew stronger with each step, and my stomach rumbled.

  “If that smell is Indiana’s cooking, then you’re one lucky fucker,” Snapper laughed.

  “Says the kid who grew up with Meg’s home cooking every night,” Easy drawled. “Pretty sure you and King are the lucky fuckers.”

  The couch was filled with girls with plates in their hands, and for once, they weren’t all talking at the same time. Reva, Greta, and Luna sat at the table by the kitchen with filled plates in front of them.

  “There better be more where that came from.” Hero stood next to Reva and pointed at her plate.

  Reva pointed her fork toward the kitchen. “Better get in there, then. Indy made a huge pot of sloppy joes.”

  Pie rubbed his stomach and headed straight into the kitchen. “Honey, I’m home,” he called.

  Even I had to laugh. Indiana and I may not have been nailed down yet, but I knew I had a much better chance than Pie did. After all, I was the one Indiana had kissed after church this morning. And, when it came down to it, it more had to do with the fact that Indiana could cook, not that he actually liked her. I was going to have to find him a woman who could actually cook to get him off Indiana’s tail.

  Everyone had their plates and were digging in when I finally made my way into the kitchen. Indiana was stirring a huge pot and wiped her brow with the back of her hand.

  “Working hard, darlin’?” I leaned against the cabinet next to the stove and just watched her.

  “Yup. I figured since I couldn’t be a part of your meeting, I would make some dinner.” She grabbed a plate and held it out to me. “You’re the last one to eat.”

  I grabbed the plate and nodded to the pot. “You gotta eat, too.”

  She shook her head and held a hand to her stomach. “I did way too much taste testing along the way. I am more than full.”

  “You sure?”

  She nodded. “More than sure.” She stepped to the side and motioned for me to fill my plate.

  “This looks amazing, darlin’.” It reminded me of Meg’s cooking, and that was a damn compliment.
I grabbed a bun and spooned a heaping amount of sloppy joe on top.

  “So, uh,” she muttered. “How did the meeting go? I know you can’t tell me much or really anything at all…”

  I glanced over at her and smiled. “She’s still alive, darlin’.”

  She clutched her hand to her chest. “Thank God.”

  “We should know in three days what the next step is to get her back.” I slapped the top onto my sandwich and scooped fries onto my plate.

  “I also saw Grit was here.”

  I grunted and stepped back. I leaned against the counter again and popped a French fry into my mouth. “Yeah, he was here.”

  “Uh, was that the Marco guy with him?” she asked.

  I nodded. “Yeah. That’s Fayth’s kid.” I managed to lift the sandwich to my mouth with only dropping half of the filling onto my plate. I groaned when the deliciousness hit my tongue and closed my eyes.

  “Good?” she asked hesitantly.

  “The best.” I opened my eyes and took another bite. “Don’t tell Meg I said that, though.”

  “I heard that!” Zag called. “And we all agree!”

  “Not all of us,” King countered.

  “Only because Meg sleeps in the same bed as you. She’ll chop your balls off if you tell her someone cooks better than her.”

  Indiana rolled her eyes. “I can follow a recipe. That hardly makes me a good cook.” She wagged her finger at me. “You all could be good cooks if you actually tried.”

  I pointed at my plate. “Why would I cook when you can make this?”

  “You’re gonna eat sloppy joes for the rest of your life?” she laughed.

  “If you’re the one making it, yeah.”

  She plugged the sink and turned on the water. “You’re crazy, Frost.”

  I nodded to the sink. “Leave that. Rules around here are the cook doesn’t clean. You took the time to cook, and now, we can take the time to clean the mess.”

  “I don’t mind doing the dishes,” she insisted.

  “You make the mess; we clean it up,” Snapper called. “Drop the sponge and back away.”

  Indiana chuckled and held up her hands. “All right, all right. I won’t do the dishes.” She reached her arms over her head and stretched. “Do you think I have time to take a shower before we go see the puppies?”

  “Puppies are postponed until tomorrow. Four o’clock,” Greta called.

  “Then, that means you can take a long-ass bubble bath while we clean up,” Luna called.

  I nodded toward the hallway. “You better take that offer and run with it, darlin’.”

  Indiana wiped her hands on the dishtowel and tossed it at me. “Don’t gotta tell me twice,” she laughed. “See you in a couple of hours.” She darted out of the kitchen and down the hallway.

  “Couple of hours?” I called.

  “You ain’t seeing her the rest of the night,” King laughed.

  Yeah, I was totally going to see her later.

  This morning, we had kissed. The ice had been broken, and there wasn’t a chance in hell I wasn’t going to take my shot at getting a kiss goodnight.

  *

  Indiana

  I hadn’t felt this relaxed in months.

  Even before moving into the clubhouse because of the psycho on the loose, I never took the time to just relax and float in the tub. This was going to have to become at least a weekly occurrence now.

  After I drained the water, I slipped into a pair of soft pajamas and wrapped my hair in a towel on top of my head. My body was like Jell-o, and I didn’t have the motivation to brush my hair. I had zero plans to do anything other than fall into bed and sleep.

  Although Royal was still with the Meeks, Frost had reassured me she was safe, and for tonight, I could sleep better than I had last night.

  I fell face-first onto the bed and was out within seconds.

  Passed the hell out.

  *

  Chapter Nine

  Frost

  Puppies were dangerous.

  They were too cute and could make a sane person do anything to pet their adorable faces.

  “This one has to be Bones,” Reva cooed. “He’s so cute and smooshie.”

  “Smooshie?” King laughed. “Is that a good thing?”

  Reva sighed and cuddled the puppy to her face. “The absolute best. If you don’t get these boys, then I will.”

  “Whoa, whoa,” Hero called. “Pump the brakes.”

  King pulled the puppy from Reva and cuddled him to his chest. “Find your own,” he growled.

  Greta laughed. “Did you hear that Meg?” she called. Meg was on speakerphone while everyone oohed and ahhed over the puppies.

  “I knew he was going to love them. You better send me a picture of Lo and the puppies,” Meg called. “It’s probably going to make my non-existent ovaries explode, but I need to see that man being cute and cuddly. It’s been too long since I’ve seen him.”

  King rolled his eyes and pressed Bones to his cheek. “Take the fucking picture,” he growled at Greta.

  “Oh, Lo,” Meg swooned. “I miss that growl.”

  Greta swiped a couple of times on her phone and then held it up to King. “Done.”

  “They both look good?” Meg asked Greta.

  “They both look extremely healthy and just all around happy,” Greta reported.

  “Good!” Meg cheered. “Pay the lady the deposit and find out when we can pick them up.”

  “They’re only five weeks right now. You’re going to have to wait another three weeks before you can separate them from mama,” Greta advised.

  “Aww,” Meg cooed. “I wish I could see them with their mama.”

  “No,” King barked. “I know exactly what you are thinking, woman, and you are not offering to buy their mom.”

  Meg cackled. “That man knows me too well. I’m gonna run. Get all the puppy snuggles, and I’ll talk to you guys later.”

  We all hollered goodbye, and Greta ended the call.

  I took in the scene in front of me and smiled. “Well, I can’t really say I’m surprised that these cuties are going to be the newest members of your family, King.”

  Indiana was camped out on the floor playing with Brody. She had caged him in with her legs, and he was sprawled out on his back, getting belly rubs.

  “If you guys ever need a dog sitter, just know I am always available,” Indiana sighed. “These boys are the cutest thing ever.”

  “Get in line, sister. I will forever be available to take care of these beautiful boys,” Greta cooed at Bones.

  “We’re gonna have to set up some type of visitation schedule,” Indiana pouted.

  King handed Bones to Reva and scooped Brody away from Indiana. “How about you two go get your own puppies and stop talking about stealing mine?”

  Hero chuckled. “The man is tough as steel but put a puppy in his face, and he’s like a new person.” He reached out to scratch Brody behind his ear and smiled.

  “Pretty sure the same can be said for you,” I smirked.

  “I’m gonna go pay the lady, yeah?” Greta laughed. She wandered back around to the front of the house to where the woman said she would be.

  Indiana leaned back on her hands and smiled up at me. “I am happy but extremely tired.”

  “That’s because Moose came in today, and he lives up to his name,” Reva laughed. “It took you and me both to wrestle him into the tub.”

  “He was named properly, at least,” Indiana laughed. “I’m going to assume that Great Danes don’t really like water.”

  Reva smiled wide and scratched Bones chest. “At least not Moose.”

  Greta walked back around the house and brushed her hands on her jeans. “All right, fuckers. We are good to go. I gave her Meg’s phone number, and she said she’ll send her pictures of the boys growing until you guys pick them up. Let’s pack it up.” She pointed at Reva and Indiana. “No trying to smuggle the puppies home with us. They need to be with their mama for
the next three weeks. Helps with their socialization and whatnot.”

  Ten minutes later, we managed to rip the puppies away from King and the girls. Greta rode on the back of King’s bike, while Reva was with Hero, and Indiana was at my back.

  “This is so much fun!” Indiana yelled over the roar of the engine and wind.

  “Good,” I yelled back.

  She wrapped her arms tightly around my waist and rested her head on my shoulder.

  The forty-five-minute drive to the see the dogs had flown by fast, but now that we had seen them and weren’t in a rush anymore, King led the way down the highway without driving like a bat out of hell.

  Having Indiana on the back of my bike was just as good as I imagined it.

  Last night, she had knocked out before I even got to her room, and this morning, I did manage to sneak a kiss when she handed me a plate filled with French toast and sausage.

  Tonight, I was hoping to sneak a whole hell of a lot more than just a kiss.

  *

  Chapter Ten

  Indiana

  “Hey, what are you doing out here?”

  I whipped around and hid the cigarette behind my back. “Uh, nothing?” The cloud of smoke dissipating around me disagreed.

  Frost waved his hand in the air in front of me. “Yeah, nothing,” he chuckled.

  “It’s a shitty habit, I know.” One I fully intended to stop. I just needed to stop being stressed out.

  Puppies were a good stress relief, but that didn’t last for long.

  Royal was still missing, and there was still a killer on the loose. Both things stressful on their own, but when they were happening at the same time, well, I needed a smoke.

  “Not judging, darlin’. Just checking to make sure you’re okay. Last time when you came out here for a quick smoke, your ex suddenly appeared.”

  I cringed. “Ugh, can you please not mention Grit. Like, ever again.” Grit was a part of my life I never wanted to pop up again. As soon as we got the Royal situation sorted, I hoped like hell he slipped back into my torrid past and stayed there.

  “You haven’t said much about him, but deducing from the fact you aren’t with him anymore and just his general attitude, I have to assume things between you two weren’t sunshine and rainbows.”