Shade smiled. He had seen Winter’s car pull in the parking lot. It was Viper’s birthday, and his doting wife was probably at that moment giving Viper his present. From the moans he heard in the background, he had interrupted one or both of them coming.
“I need to hire a new driver.”
“We hired one a week ago. We don’t need to hire a new driver; just have them make another trip.”
“That doesn’t work for me. I like to stay on schedule. Besides, we don’t have to hire a new employee; I have the perfect person in mind, and he already works for us. We’ll just increase how much he gets paid.”
“No, I want to stay on budget.”
Shade grinned evilly. “I have Winter’s IOU from last night. I’m thinking of cashing it in because Bliss likes that new purse Winter’s been packing.”
“Son of a bitch!” Shade didn’t know if Viper had just come or if he was insulting him. “Go ahead. Do what you want, but I want that IOU at dinner tonight.”
“Will do. Oh, and Viper, I have a brand new paddle that hasn’t been broken in yet if you want to borrow it.”
“Fuck off.”
Shade waited until the end of the day before calling Hardin into his office.
“In your employment application, you stated you have your CDL license. That true?”
“Yes, but I also said I was tired of driving. I drove a coal truck and—”
“Is the license still current?”
“Yes, bu—”
“Good. We need another driver, and Viper doesn’t want to hire a new one. You can start tomorrow.”
Hardin placed a hand on his desk, leaning toward him. “I don’t want to drive a truck,” he said angrily.
“Then I’ll have to fire you so I can hire someone who does. It’s your decision.” Shade shrugged.
“It’s not my decision, or I wouldn’t have to drive a fucking truck.”
Shade remained silent.
“Fine, I’ll drive the truck. I have child support payments to make, and I’m two months behind. I can’t afford to be late on another payment, or my ex will take me to court.”
“I’m glad that’s settled.” Shade went back to work on his computer. “Make sure you stay away from Lily while you’re loading the trucks, or I’ll call your ex and tell her about the extra cash you’re making helping Razer build his house.”
As Hardin’s face turned a ruddy red and his hands clenched by his side, Shade stood up, coming around his desk. “Are we going to have a problem?”
Shade pinned him with a deadly look. The slimy fucker wasn’t going to slide into home plate with Lily after he had waited years for her. Shade didn’t believe Lily would be attracted to Hardin, but he wasn’t going to take a chance. Shade had seen too many killed in the service by not being careful.
“No, I don’t have a problem. I’m sure I’ll enjoy my new job,” Hardin said, jerking the door open.
“Is everything all right?” Shade heard Lily ask Hardin.
He didn’t speak to her, merely walked past her to leave the building at the same time Shade came out of his office.
“Is everything all right?” she asked Shade instead.
“Everything is fine,” Shade said, losing interest with the man when he walked out the door.
“Why was Hardin upset?”
“That’s none of your business.” When Lily would have said something else, Shade forestalled her. “But I’ll tell you, anyway. I gave him a promotion. We need another driver, so he’s going to be working on the trucks from now on.”
Lily looked out the window as Hardin sped out of the parking lot. “He doesn’t seem to be very happy about his promotion.”
“I’m sure he’s not,” he said grimly. “Are you ready?”
Lily nodded, following him outside.
“I need to get my clothes.”
Shade waited by the steps as she grabbed her small travel bag out of the backseat of her car.
“Where are we going to work out?” Lily asked as she came to stand by him.
“In the gym in the basement.” Shade walked up the path. The concrete path had taken them a couple of months to lay and led around the house to the backdoor, making it easier for Winter to walk up instead of using all the steps.
Instead of going in through the kitchen door, Shade opened another door at the side of the house which had been added when the path had been made. He wanted Lily to be able to come and go from the basement without going upstairs. That way, Lily couldn’t see anything he didn’t want her to, and The Last Riders could still have their freedom while Lily was downstairs. Shade and Razer had both told Beth when they had agreed for her to work in the factory that the upstairs was off-limits.
She looked around curiously, and Shade saw what she was seeing: a large room with exercise equipment, the pole Rider and Train had installed for the women to give shows to the brothers, a large couch placed against one wall, and a flat-screen television.