I was feeling pretty damn good as I headed into the clubhouse for church. Viper wanted to discuss the upcoming meet with Flint and how we’d be getting back to business as usual at the strip clubs. We’d all just gotten settled at the table when Viper slammed the gavel. “I wanted to take a moment to applaud you all on how you’ve handled things over the past few weeks. Because of your hard work and dedication, we were able to put an end to the Punishers and all the bullshit they brought with them. As Shotgun suggested, the cash we collected on the night of the attack was put in the hands of the kids who’d been distributing for them, and if they play it smart, it could be a game-changer for them all.”
Axel leaned forward and added, “Wouldn’t have been able to get it in the right hands if it hadn’t been for McKinney. Because of him, we were able to keep them from knowing it came from us.”
“Speaking of McKinney...” Hawk glanced over to me. “What are our plans for him?”
“That’s not my call, but if it were up to me, I’d say let the guy go.” I could tell by my brothers’ expressions they were surprised by my response. Hell, I was surprised by it myself. I was a man who didn’t do favors, especially when it came to people who’d gone after my brothers, but McKinney had proven himself to be a valuable asset to us. “Give him a handful of cash, a passport, and send him on his way. But that’s just me. Ultimately, it’s Prez’s decision.”
“I got no problem with letting him go if you can guarantee the club won’t get any blowback from it.”
“There are never any guarantees, but my gut says we can trust him.”
“Then, it’s settled.” Without giving it another thought, Viper moved on. “We’re meeting up with Flint first thing in the morning. We’ll be getting our next shipment, and we’re gonna need to push it hard. We’ve lost a lot of time and money over the past few weeks, and we gotta get back to business.”
“Understood,” we all answered.
“In case you haven’t heard, Mathews had more charges added last night. On top of extortion, tax evasion, kidnapping, and all the other bullshit, they got him for two counts of murder. Seems he killed a couple of kids who witnessed an exchange between him and a few gang members.”
“Damn. This guy is fucked.” With a smile plastered on his face, Country continued, “It couldn’t have happened to a better guy.”
The brothers all joined in, giving their own slam on Mathews. When the heckling finally stopped, Viper said a few more words, then dismissed us from church. The brothers quickly started to disperse, and I was about to follow suit when Viper came over to me and asked, “How’s Remington making it?”
“Pretty good, I guess. She’s back to work and seems to be feeling a little more like herself.”
“I’m sure after all she’s gone through it hasn’t been easy, but she’s a smart girl. Strong with a good head on her shoulders. The kind of girl that makes a good ol’ lady.” A spark of mischief flashed through his eyes as he poked, “She’ll certainly keep you on your toes.”
Viper’s opinion meant a great deal to me, so it did me good to hear him speak so positively about her—especially after their initial meeting. I gave him a nod. “That she will.”
“Heard from Ada this morning. She’s back from her visit with Kara.”
“Good. I’ll have to go by and check in on her.”
“I’m sure that’ll mean a lot to her.” As he turned to leave, he said, “Give her my best.”
“Will do.”
After leaving the clubhouse, I rode straight over to Ada’s. After hearing from Viper she was back home from her visit, I wanted to see how it had gone with her granddaughter. I also wanted to let her know I’d taken her advice to heart—that without her pushing me like she had I wouldn’t be in the place I was now. When I pulled up to her place, she was sitting on her front porch, wearing her big floppy hat, and having a cup of coffee. As I got off my bike and started towards her, she smiled and said, “I wasn’t expectin’ to sees you today.”
“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by to see how you were making it.”
“I’m making just fine. Just like I’s always do. Looks like you are doing pretty good yourself.” She cocked her eyebrow as she asked, “Where dat Remington?”
“She’s at work; otherwise, she’d be here with me.” I walked over and sat down next to her. “How’d it go with Kara?”
“’Bout like I expected, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.” I wasn’t surprised she wouldn’t tell me the whole truth about her visit. Ada knew how I felt about Kara taking advantage of her like she did, but I also knew how much her granddaughter meant to her. I just hoped in time Kara would realize how lucky she was to have Ada in her life. “Enough ’bouts me. I saw da news. Heard dat ‘da police found Remington. Seems they saved the day.”