He went to sit at the table as she opened the refrigerator door. Shade almost dropped the coffee cup as he practically ran without stopping until he was back in his room, dragging in deep breaths of clear air.
Viper’s woman was proving to be as resourceful as he was. Shade didn’t like being the blackmailed; he much preferred being the blackmailer. She was cleaning up a mess he didn’t have the stomach for, for no reason. He had already planned on giving Viper his marker for Winter’s vote, even though she certainly didn’t need it. She had secured five votes on her own, and Razer would have been cajoled by Beth—he was sure—for the sixth she would need.
Shade whistled as he took off his clothes and went to the shower. He was the master of maneuvering people to do what he wanted. Winter needed to be taught by someone who really knew how to play the game.
As soon as he had showered and his stomach had settled down, he would find Viper. They needed to have a talk.
Shade grinned evilly to himself. Winter was going to become a student once again. He was going to teach her not to fuck with him.
Chapter 23
Dressed in workout shorts, Shade found Viper already in the gym finishing up a set. Picking up a couple of hand weights, he started up the treadmill to a steady run.
“Where’s Winter?”
“Upstairs talking to the lawyer from the Teacher’s Union.”
“She still trying to get her job back as principal of the high school?”
Evie had told him the school board had given Winter’s job away while she was recovering from her injuries, citing moral turpitude as the reason. Shade personally thought it was small-town bullshit, she’d have a battle on her hands, trying to fight the hypocrisy of the residents of Treepoint.
He pressed a few buttons so that he ran on an incline.
“Do you have to do that while I’m working out?” Viper grunted, dropping the weights onto the mat.
“Do what?”
“Show off.”
Shade grinned. “I have to stay in shape.”
“Fucker.”
“Who’s her lawyer?”
“Ms. Richards,” Viper mimicked the snooty woman’s tone.
“She’s new in town,” Shade commented.
“You know her?”
“No, just make it my business to know all the lawyers in town. I wouldn’t be much of an enforcer if I didn’t know the best way to protect the brothers if any of them get in trouble.”
Viper nodded in acknowledgement. “I talked to Cash. Winter spoke with Carmen, Jake’s girlfriend, and she’s convinced Jake is innocent.”
Shade had felt something wasn’t right himself.
“The sheriff ran the DNA on the cigar butt I found; it wasn’t a match.”
“Get the sheriff to let you talk to Jake. Take Cash and Razer with you. The three of you together might be enough to get him to confess. If he doesn’t, we’ll look into it further.”
“Cash will be enough to scare that kid.”
Viper frowned. “Shade, Razer didn’t mean anything by what he said. He’s trying to protect Lily.”
“He doesn’t have to protect her from me. I’m not going to make a move until I know she’s old enough to handle it.”
“Brother, that woman has problems age isn’t going to fix.”
“Not with everyone wrapping her in cotton. Overprotecting her can get her hurt.”
“It isn’t up to you to make that decision,” Viper cautioned.
“Not yet.”
“You always were a patient bastard.”
*
Shade passed out beers to the brothers as they watched the women get ready to leave for Beth’s bachelorette party at Rosie’s. The brothers were complaing that the women looked to hot to leave the house without them.
Shade eyed Bliss who had been one of the first downstairs. She would be coming home early with the Biker Bitches coming after she left. I’ll have to make sure she doesn’t feel left out when she returns, he thought in anticipation.
“Let’s go!” Natasha’s yell had doors from the upstairs banging open as the women rushed to answer her summons.
It wasn’t long before the women were all waiting at the bottom of the stairs for the happy couple to come down the steps. As they did, Razer kept his arm around Beth’s shoulders, who was wearing a pink ‘Bride to be’ T-shirt and a modest blue jean skirt. The couple didn’t try to hide their happiness from the large group watching them.
A couple of months had passed since his and Razer’s argument and since then, Razer had tried to make friendly overtures, which Shade had rejected. He wasn’t nursing hurt feelings like a pussy, but he resented the lack of faith Razer had him, thinking he would make a move on Lily while she was still so young.
“They are perfect together,” Shade overheard Winter’s comment to Viper.
“Let’s go, or Bliss is going to miss the party.” Evie nudged everyone out the door.
Viper swept Winter into his arms, following the women who were excitedly rushing outside.
“He’s fucking whipped,” Knox groaned.
Rider laughed. “Better not let Viper hear you say that, or you’ll be the one getting your ass whipped.”