“I’m not, whiner. My concern is your sister. I don’t want you telling Winnie I shot you in the stomach. The leg doesn’t sound as bad.”
“Oh,” she muttered catching up with me as we followed Vaughn and Judd through the woods.
“You kicked ass,” I said, rubbing my tender stomach. “Maybe you should join the club.”
“They don’t have chick members. Even if they did, would I really want to be surrounded by guys thinking I was less than them?”
“No, I guess not.”
“Are you going to join?”
“Not up to me.”
“If it was, would you?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know why the club would want me.”
“You’re tough and loyal. Not every guy in the club does work like those two dumbasses.”
Focusing on the men in front of me, I saw them shoving each other while walking steadily through an open patch of woods. I was ready to turn to Harlow when Vaughn and Judd started shooting each other. After cussing a little, they returned to walking.
“Enforcers are stupid,” she whispered. “Being idiots is part of the job.
“I think it’s just them together. When I see one without the other, the IQ level is much higher.”
Harlow smiled, but I caught her rubbing her leg.
“The gut shot really hurt,” I whined to make her feel better. “I nearly puked.”
“Wuss,” she laughed. “Does Winnie know you’re a crybaby bitch?”
I laughed. “She loves me the way I am. Crybaby bitch and all.”
Harlow nodded. “She’ll probably be happy you didn’t get shot in the crotch. You’ve turned her into a sex-crazed slutbag.”
“You sound jealous,” I said, bumping her. “Ahh, don’t worry. One day, a guy will fuck you slutty too.”
“Nope.”
“Into girls?”
“Nope. I’m staying solo.”
“Good. That way you’ll be available to babysit for me and Winnie.”
Rolling her eyes, Harlow smiled. “You really think you and Winnie are leading to a baby carriage?”
“If Winnie wants free of me, she’ll have to pry me off her,” I said then added, “A restraining order might be necessary too.”
“Might? Wuss. A real man knows he’ll stalk his woman if she runs for freedom.”
“How would you know?”
“I’m very knowledgeable from watching a lot of Friends reruns.”
“I don’t remember a lot of stalking on Friends.”
“You must have missed that episode,” she said, nudging me with the gun. “Don’t make me shoot you to distract from this awkward conversation.”
“What awkward conversation?” I teased as we reached the opening to the field behind the Johanssons’ house.
“Sorry I punched you that day.”
“It’s okay. Winnie deserves to have people who’ll kick ass for her.”
Harlow smiled and I saw the sweet kid underneath her grumpy exterior. Her smile grew when she noticed Winnie up on the deck with her parents and brother.
“We’re a good family, Dylan. I hear you need one. I mean, Lark’s great, but Raven is a pain in the ass.”
“I’m right here!” Raven yelled.
“I know, but I’m packing paint heat.”
Raven rolled her eyes while climbing Vaughn. “Did you win, baby?” she asked him. “Is that why you’re covered in paint?”
“Yeah, I won. No one beats, Big V.”
Vaughn and Raven looked ready to make a baby in front of everyone. Harlow shook her head and walked faster. I watched her disappear into a group of people as she headed towards her family.
“Wait up,” Cooper said before I could follow Harlow.
“Sorry you got shot in the ass,” I said and Cooper glared at Vaughn.
“I hope he’s that clever in the spring.”
Up on the deck, Winnie waited for me. As much as I wanted to join her, I knew Cooper wasn’t done chatting yet.
“Last year, we had a mole in our club. Selling us out to our enemies. He was a tough guy. He worked with my pop for years and had the balls to stand up for people. He had no loyalty and that’s what did him in.”
I said nothing because Cooper wasn’t having a conversation. He was telling me what was what.
“You have balls, Dylan. You watch out for those people that matter to you. Balls are great, but your loyalty means more. You don’t talk shit about the crew. You don’t share secrets. I asked around. Your guys on the worksite. Your neighbors. People you might blab to, but you haven’t said shit. You keep your mouth shut because you understand loyalty isn’t only about throwing or taking a punch.”
Sensing he was getting to his point, I just nodded.
“You think about if you want to be more than part of the crew. I have a circle of people I trust. Not my pop’s guys, but my guys. I want you to be part of that circle. You think about if that interests you.”