“You’re back!”
Wrapping his arms around Natasha, Gavin returned the hug. “The brothers been treating you right since I’ve been gone?”
“You know they treat me good whether you’re around or not,” she teased. “They’re too afraid you’ll kick them out of the club if they don’t.”
“That’s good. I’m too tired to kick anyone’s ass right now.” Letting her go, he took another glance around the club. “Have you seen Viper?”
“He’s out back in the office.”
“Thanks.”
Natasha gave him a quick hug before he could step away. “I’m glad you’re back.”
“Believe me, I am too.”
Walking away when she released him, Gavin made his way out back. Giving a brief knock, Gavin waited until he heard his brother tell him to come inside.
Viper turned in his chair as he stepped into the room. “How was the trip?”
Gavin closed the door before answering his brother’s question. “A complete waste of time, other than being able to see Lucky.”
“He told me. Said he didn’t think you were impressed with the town,” Viper said, placing his cell phone down on his desk.
“The town, I liked, just not as another location for the factory.”
When his brother swiveled in his chair, Gavin knew Viper was going to tell him something he wasn’t going to like. His brother never met his eyes when he was going to use his authority as the president of The Last Riders over him.
“Why wouldn’t it work?”
Gavin took a seat in the chair by Viper’s desk. “The nearest interstate is an hour and a half away, the airport is three, and it’s an eight-hour drive to the nearest ocean.”
“You didn’t like any of the properties the realtor showed you?”
“No. The only one that came close is an old inn. It has a decent amount of property for sale, but I don’t want to get started on another renovation when we just finished this one. The brothers would rather go back in the service before living in Treepoint, and I can’t blame them.”
“Did you talk to Lucky about how his investigation is going?”
“You know I did. Save us some time, Viper; Taylor is waiting for me.”
“The drug trafficking there is worse than Will knew. Lucky found out there’s a well-oiled pipeline going right through Treepoint.”
“We already knew that. That’s why Lucky is there, undercover as a pastor.”
“There are several large shipments in the works that the ATF are planning to let slip through the cracks so their agents can track those involved.”
“Then Lucky better get busy. From what he said, he was having trouble getting the townspeople to open up. It’s expected that most people wouldn’t want to discuss their drug use with their pastor. Lucky knew when he went undercover that it wasn’t going to be accomplished overnight.”
“He was just hoping to make more headway than he has. How was he when you saw him?”
“He misses the brothers. The few hours I spent with him, he seemed fine.”
“He seemed fine when I talked to him, as well.”
“But you don’t believe he is?”
“No. Will told me that Lucky went to visit a sick parishioner whose husband was refusing to take her to the hospital because he thought God was going to heal her. The husband called Will on him because Lucky refused to leave. Will had to drag him out of there. Will was able to smooth it over and convince the husband not to press charges. If he makes another mistake like that, it’ll jeopardize his investigation and all his hard work will go down the drain.” Worry furrowed Viper’s brow.
Viper became president of The Last Riders because each of them felt he had their backs as well as being able to handle the responsibility of the club as a whole. The same blood ran through his and Viper’s veins, but when the men joined the club, they all became family to him. There wasn’t a man among them who Viper wouldn’t lay his life down for.
“What are you thinking?” Gavin interrupted the silence in the room.
“If none of the townspeople are willing to talk to Lucky, we could give them someone they might feel more comfortable talking to.”
Gavin felt in his gut where this conversation was going.
“You’re joking, right?”
“No.”
“Are you talking about sending another Last Rider to go undercover, or are we talking about the factory? Because, if you want to send Lucky some help, I’m all for it, but to invest that kind of money into a factory that can’t recoup our stake isn’t going to be something I can be onboard with.”
“This is a small town that will be wary of anyone coming to town, asking questions. They might not feel the need to unburden their souls about the drugs in town, but they’ll be a hell of a lot less suspicious of someone spreading their cash around town.”
“Except it’ll be our money!” Gavin argued.