Rooster stood as well. “Yeah, wouldn’t hurt to work some kinks out.”
I tousled my boy’s hair. “Stick close to Viper and Rooster. You have your phone?”
He nodded, and I waved him away. When they were gone, I looked back to my brothers. “Probably need to bring up a vote so he can be armed around us. He’s a good shot and he’s safe with his weapons. Has a carry license.” I shrugged. “Has mostly tiny three-eighties so he can dress in tight clothes without an imprint. I bought him a subcompact nine-mil but he doesn’t carry it often.”
“Let’s set the vote for a month out,” said Duke.
I nodded, and we went back to discussing the possibilities of the Chattanooga and Atlanta chapters opening our own microbrewery as a joint effort.
“Georgia’s beer laws are more business friendly than Tennessee’s, but if you set up in North Carolina you’ll be even better off,” said Zeke, one of our attorneys. “You’ll need to pull someone in who specializes in breweries before you decide for sure, but Brain asked me to do a little research so I could add to the conversation today, and that’s what I came up with. Also, this is another business your felons won’t be able to take part in — at least the ones with a felony less than ten years old.”
“The national office is going to want five percent of net if we call it Rolling Thunder Beer and distribute wide,” said Bud. “Also, if another chapter wants to open their own brewery, we’ll have to work with them on ways to differentiate ours from theirs.”
“And if we call it Raging Thunder and use a large RT with a totally different font than the RTMC uses?” asked McGyver.
“The potential court case would be messy and expensive, and there’s no guarantee you’d win,” said Zeke. “Unless your national office will sign off on it and agree not to come after you for it, you might want to consider a different T word.”
“Other than the fact it’d be handled outside of court, he’s right,” said Brain. “I’m more inclined to call it Thunder Canyon or Thunder Bay. Even Thunder Ridge might be pushing it if we use the initials.”
“Thunder River?” asked Shadow.
“Let’s hold off on the name,” said Duke. “Today’s about feasibility. None of us are brew masters, and I understand the top people in the industry are expensive hires.”
We batted ideas around for another hour without coming to an agreement, but we all learned a great deal about antiquated distribution laws. We’d thought we could sell our own beer in the two bars, but it wasn’t that simple unless we went the brewpub route, which severely limited how much we could make and sell per year. In the end, Brain and Shadow were going to get with an attorney who specialized in breweries and put together a few proposals based on our discussion.
Matty ate half his body weight in barbecue and slaw when he got back from their run, and I tried not to be too obvious about how much I loved my boy while I watched him eat. Angelica ate twice as much as him, and Bash kept handfeeding her when she slowed. Eventually, that would probably be okay in the clubhouse, but Matty and I didn’t need to do it during this kind of gathering.
I hadn’t met Bud’s ol’lady until we’d sat down to eat, and then she’d disappeared with the other women again. She showed up towards the end, plopped down beside me, and gave me a knowing smirk. “I like your boy. He recognized me for what I am right away, and when I asked if I could email him, he said I should ask you. I’m impressed.”
I wasn’t sure what she was, but she spoke as if he’d recognized her as a Top. No way was Bud married to a Domme, but it didn’t seem the time to ask for specifics. I glanced at Bud across the way, and back to Nickie. “You can get my email address from Bud, but I’m not sure why you’d want it?”
“He says you’re new to town and don’t know about the Atlanta clubs. I can set you up with safe places to take him.”
If she was submissive, he wouldn’t ordinarily have brought me into it. Only with another Top does he have them go through me. Perhaps he was being careful not to do something against club rules? I looked across the table at Matty, and he blushed. I wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, but it was clear she was inviting us to go to a BDSM club with them.
“You’ve mentioned going to Nashville?” I asked Matty.
“There are good clubs in both cities. It’s just whatever makes you the most comfortable.”
I wasn’t interested in putting the time in to gain respect in clubs, nor was I interested in people looking down on me because they didn’t know me. This seemed important to Matty though, so I’d need to figure something out. I looked back to Nickie. “Thanks. I look forward to your email.”
Chapter 15
Matty
* * *
I’m used to flying around mountain curves — and with a GPS unit mounted so I can see what’s coming up on unfamiliar roads, I can do so safely. However, the MC is pretty laid back when they ride as a group, so I settled in, matched their pace, and let my mind wander.
I’d been working for Dana as an assistant for a few months, but she was going to let me handle the children’s room in a major reno she’d been hired to design and oversee. Everything would need to be approved by her, but she was letting me interview the children and look through their things so I could come up with a design plan on my own without her input. I knew this was a test — one of the designers had just announced she was pregnant, and I had a feeling Dana was looking to move someone into her position. The office gossip said this designer had taken off a full year when she’d given birth the first time.
I saw the truck come around the corner, and everything went into slow motion. Rock wall on one side, and about ten feet of trees and grass on the other — right before a steep drop-off down the side of the mountain. And a logging truck headed for the group of us. A big fucking truck.
I aimed for the grass, and the second I was on it I put my bike down and hoped I’d get stopped before I hit something. I heard brakes and clashing metal on the road, but I needed to get stopped before I could help anyone else.
You learn how to lay your bike down with the least amount of pain when you race on dirt tracks, and I came to a stop in surprisingly good shape. My left arm had lost a good bit of skin, but my head was okay and nothing seemed broken. I stood and searched for Daddy’s bike, and my heart fell into my feet when I saw his clothes with nothing in them. It was as if he’d teleported out of them. His bike was wrapped around a tree and he was just… gone.
And maybe my head wasn’t okay, because I caught a glimpse of a giant rabbit hopping around a corner and out of sight.
“I can’t explain right now,” said Duke from behind me, his voice gravelly, “but Razor’s okay. Gen’s a little shaken up. Are you good to sit with her and make sure she stays okay?” I turned in a daze and looked at him without focusing. He continued. “Let me know if you think her head might have taken some damage. Okay?”
Gen looked white as a sheet, and I pulled her into my arms. “Adrenaline. It’s a good thing Duke put you in those fancy leathers.” Harmony had taken her leathers off to run in shorts. Had she put them back on? I looked around and didn’t see her. Angelica, either. Lots of bikes in bad shape with no bodies. What the fuck?
“I’m putting her in your care,” Duke told me, pulling me back to the present. “Are you in good enough shape to handle taking care of her? And anyone else I send to you?”
“I think I’m okay. Razor’s first aid kit is on his bike, if someone needs patching up.”
“Sit with Gen.”
He left, and I walked Gen to a grassy spot and helped her sit on the ground with me.
“I know it looks scary, but Razor’s fine,” she said.
A lion roared in the distance, and a huge crow flew over us and into a tree behind us. Viper grabbed Razor’s clothes and disappeared into the woods with them. It wasn’t safe to walk so close to the drop-off, but I didn’t say anything. Something was majorly fucked up, and my head had obviously taken more of a hit than I’d rea
lized.
“I thought I was okay, but it’s possible I have a concussion,” I told Gen. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. Like you said, it’s more about adrenaline right now.”
Connie and Angelica walked across the road to us — Angelica in underwear and a shirt, Connie in ripped jeans and a shirt with no bra. She’d had a bra on before. Also, her jeans had been eaten by the pavement and her leg was fine underneath. What the fuck.
“Harmony’s hurt but she’ll be okay,” said Angelica. “Nothing that won’t heal. Eric was at the back and put his bike down on the shoulder without hitting anything. He has fancy tech-clothing that protected his skin. He’s helping Brain with Harmony. How are the two of you?”
“I feel fine but I’m seeing and hearing things, so I must’ve taken a hit to the head.” I looked at my arm. “It isn’t hurting yet but will be soon. Gen’s dealing with an adrenaline dump, I think.”
Connie asked Gen when she was born, what Max’s favorite food is, what she’d had for breakfast that morning, and a few basic math questions. When she was satisfied Gen was okay, she moved to me, but Daddy walked up behind me, barefoot and clothed, and said, “He’s okay.”
I jumped to my feet and turned. “How are you okay?”
“I need you to not ask questions, Matty.”
Viper handed him his boots, and Daddy sat on the ground. “Sit back down, boy. Where you were.” He waited until I was back beside Gen, and said, “Don’t tell the police about anything odd — not about my clothes, the lion roaring in the woods, or the rabbit you think you saw.”
I shook my head. “If you know about the rabbit and lion then that means… no, it can’t be real.”
“Which is why you don’t mention it to the cops when they get here. They’ll tell the EMTs, who’ll have to take you in for observation. I’m gonna check on Harmony. You did good, reminding Duke about my first aid kit. I’ll be back to take care of your arm.”
I looked at Angelica when Daddy left. “What just happened?”
“Only Razor can explain, and there isn’t time now. Can you be cool when the cops and ambulance get here?”
I nodded, and she smiled. “Okay then. Knife was working the kitchen today. He put one of the employees in charge and he’s on his way with the big panel-truck so we can get all the bikes home. Sprite’s bringing the van, and Aaron has someone driving down in another van.”
Razor
* * *
Harmony had a broken leg and hip, and Brain only needed us to stabilize her enough to get her to the cabin so he could bite her. They’d been talking about changing her at some point, this was just going to speed up their plans. Eric called a friend with a helicopter, so they’d just need the ambulance to drive them eight miles to an area the pilot had received permission to land. They’d only have about a ten or fifteen minute helicopter ride, though it would take at least an hour and a half by ambulance on the curvy mountain roads.
I’d played with The Abbott and his boy a few times before I met Matty, so I had their phone numbers. I called Abbott, let him know the situation, and asked what he’d charge to replace my boy’s memories of the afternoon.
“I’ll oversee the bonding ceremony and will only require a full feeding from you — one you’ll have to change to recover from, but I’ll feed you in both forms. Replacing memories will cost ten grand and a feeding from you both — your boy tonight, and from you within five days. Also, I’ll want to fuck you when I feed from you, though I can take the memory away if you’d rather not have it in your head.”
I shook my head. “I’m not used to my lovers knowing about me. That’s a big difference in price. I don’t understand.”
“You know your brothers and their ol’ladies would prefer he know about them. Isaac’s partners don’t know about him and I disagree with his choices, too. Matty will still love you if he knows what you are.”
I sighed. “I’ll let you know my decision when we arrive. When will be convenient for you?”
“I’ll be at TBC until around eleven, and at the Diamond Club until three in the morning. I’ll likely return to my home on the mountain after. Text me when you’re back in town and ready, and I’ll let you know when and where will work. Bring the cash with you if you decide you want his memories replaced. You should have an idea of what you want him to remember in your head, complete with visuals. I’ll get them from you and put them into his head.”
Duke heard both sides of the conversation, and he asked, “That’s a no-brainer, right?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. Ravens aren’t used to the humans in our lives knowing.”
“Then ask Eric to get you in touch with Kendra. She can replace memories, too.”
I headed to the stupid fuck of a truck driver. Bobcat was sitting in the passenger seat to make sure no one tried to move the idiot. He’d smashed into the rock wall, and his truck hadn’t had airbags. I looked him over, observed what I could of the pulse in his arms, neck, and face. Something wasn’t right, and they’d been wise to make him keep still.
“I don’t have a neck brace, and they’ll need to put one on you before you’re moved. Everyone’s going to be okay. Miraculously, you didn’t kill anyone. Sit tight and relax until the ambulance arrives. I can put some cold packs on your knee — it’s already swelling. Did it hit the dash?”
“Don’t know. It hurts. My whole leg hurts. My head is killing me. I saw a giant rabbit and a grizzly bear. I saw wolves, and a man turned into a damned white lion! A crow flew away from a bike just before it wrapped around a tree. Fuck.”
“You have a concussion, Sir. If you tell your story to the police or paramedics, they’ll put you in the psych ward for observation. Are you on any mind-altering drugs?”
“No!”
“You want to keep quiet about what you saw and just let them treat you. You were traveling way too fast for these mountain roads, and you were in the wrong damned lane. It’s a wonder you didn’t kill most of us, and it’d be vehicular manslaughter if you had because you were driving recklessly.”
I retrieved cold packs from my kit, put them on his knee, and returned to Matty.
Would he still love me if he knew I wasn’t human?
Only one way to find out. I’d tell him now and gauge his reaction. If it was bad, Abbott or Kendra would be replacing his memories anyway.
“Angelica,” I said as I neared them. “I don’t suppose you’d like to tell Matty how you survived and why you aren’t wearing pants? Maybe a simple, one handed demonstration?”
I can’t tell anyone else’s secrets, but they can tell their own.
“I’m a werewolf, Matty. I was hurt pretty badly, but I changed into a wolf, and now that I’m back to human, I’m healed. I’m really hungry, but I’m not hurt anymore.”
He shook his head. “Don’t fuck with me.”
She held her hand up and let it turn into a wolf’s paw. Matty’s face went ghost-white, and Angelica turned it back to human.
Nothing like ripping the band-aid off. I reminded myself Abbott could make him forget all of this, and if Matty looked at me like a freak, it didn’t have to be permanent. “There are all kinds of animal shifters,” I told him. “I’m a raven, and I changed into my animal form and flew away before my bike hit the tree. Wolves can’t do that because they get hung up in their clothes, but I’ve practiced flying out of my clothes enough, I managed.”
“I’m a snake,” said Viper. “I changed and stayed inside my clothes. My bike slid under the truck but stayed away from the wheels. I slithered out, changed back to human, retrieved my clothes, and got dressed.”
“And then took clothes to Razor,” said Matty. He was still looking at Angelica’s hand. He didn’t want to believe. He was probably trying to convince himself he had a concussion and was seeing things.
A few cars had driven up and the people had gotten out to see if they could help. A woman was headed towards us, and I waved her away. “Everyone here’s okay. Some
road rash we need to take care of, but no head injuries or broken bones.”
“I’m a nurse, let me look all of you over.”
I’d already activated a cold pack and put it at the top of Matty’s arm, above the raw spots to try to block the pain from reaching his brain. Now, I pulled the squirt bottle of Betadine and warned Matty, “This’ll stain your shirt and jeans, and will never come out, but I’d like to disinfect this mess before I bandage it. We’ll clean it properly later.”
He shook his head. “I’m okay. You have Betadine wipes? I can clean it.”
I frowned at him, and he quickly corrected. “I’m just sayin’ I’ve done it before. If you want to do it, that’s fine. You can see better. Don’t worry about being gentle. It’s just pain.”
I looked at the nurse. “He races motorcycles professionally. Not his first spill. He knew how to put his bike down without hurting himself too badly. We have one female with a leg broken in several places. Someone with some wilderness first-responder training helped her husband stabilize the leg, and we’ve arranged for a helicopter. If the ambulance ever gets here, it’ll just be a short ride to get her to the ’copter. I have someone sitting with the driver, and I put cold packs on his knee, but we shouldn’t move him until someone gets a neck brace on him. He’s leaned back in his seat and as comfortable as we can make him for the present time. He probably needs your attention more than the rest of us. I did all I could for him without a brace and board, but he’s in trouble.”
I caught movement behind her — Bash lifted himself into the cab, leaned over the driver, and seemed to do something to him, but I couldn’t be sure what.
“I see more bikes than people?” the nurse asked.
Razor: Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club, Book 11 Page 11