“Jagger’s not here yet, so no rush.”
Where the fuck was Jagger? He was supposed to be at the party an hour ago and he didn’t have the Jacks as an excuse to keep him busy. Viper had managed to slither away yet again, disappearing down some kind of rabbit hole that none of the Sinners could find. They’d heard from National that Viper’s decision to kidnap Ty had earned him a stern rebuke from the Black Jack national president, and a forced cessation of hostilities between the two clubs for six months. Arianne had also come under fire for her trip up to Ennis. Jagger had managed to get her off with just a warning, and the only real rebuke she’d received had been from him. In private. Zane would have loved to have been there that night.
He joined Arianne on the back steps, and she broke off her conversation with Dawn to greet him. “You’re looking for Jagger; I can tell from your scowl.”
He made the mistake of sending Shooter down to the shop to pick up the order and Shooter got a little riled when it wasn’t ready. Jagger had to go make good with the owner and pay to have the bullet holes removed from the walls.”
Dawn ruffled the hair of one of her twin girls. Zane couldn’t tell them apart, but they were around the same age as Ty and they all enjoyed playing together. Although when one of them chased Ty and tried to kiss him, Zane had to put his foot down. He knew better than anyone the dangers of eight-year-old girls and how easily they could capture a boy’s heart. “You think he’s gonna change his mind about Shooter?”
Shooter was due to receive his cut tonight. The board had decided that despite being trigger-happy, Shooter was more an asset than a liability and, except for the occasional mess Jagger had to clean up, he had made a significant contribution to the club.
Arianne laughed. “You know Jagger. He’ll rant, shout, and scowl, but in the end, Shooter is good for the club and he’ll get his cut. Plus, the club now has Benson as a prospect and that’s just going to be all kinds of fun. A cop as a prospect. Jagger’s got all sorts of humiliation planned for him.”
“You hear what he’s planned for Shooter’s patch-in?” Zane gestured to a big painted target near his back fence. “He had Evie paint the Sinner’s Tribe logo on that target. I folded up an old cut to fit in the middle and pinned it there. He’s gonna tell Shooter that’s his real cut and he only gets it if he can shoot through each one of the skull’s eyes without hitting it.”
“Bastard.” Dawn pressed her lips together. “Sometimes his sense of humor borders on cruel.”
“He has gone a bit overboard since he tricked T-Rex with that package to get his cut.” Arianne’s smile faded. “I miss T-Rex. The party won’t be the same without him.”
“The MC isn’t the same without him,” Zane said. Once the truce was over, Viper would face Sinner justice. Despite Evie’s plea for mercy, Zane and Jagger would have finished him off if he hadn’t escaped. Viper had been responsible for too many Sinner deaths, and kidnapping Ty wasn’t something he could ever forgive.
Evie joined them, dressed in her favorite skintight jeans, leather boots, and a black leather jacket. She gave him a hug, and Ty ran off to play with Dax’s and Cade’s kids on the play structure Zane had built after he rented the house.
“You look too damn sexy.” He wrapped his arms around her and leaned down to nuzzle her neck. “Might be I’ll have to drag you away from the party for a bit.”
“Beast. This is Shooter’s patch-in party. You’re not supposed to be thinking about sex.”
“I wouldn’t have to think about it if I had you in my bed every night.” He nipped her ear. “Man sees his woman looking so hot, he has needs.”
“And women don’t?”
He cupped her face between his hands. “You asking me for something, sweetheart? Because I am more than happy to blow off the party after Shooter’s got his cut.”
“Maybe I am.” She pressed a key into his hand. “And we have a new house to try it out.”
“What’s this?”
“The start of our new life together, I hope.” Her smile wavered when he scowled.
“You bought a house without me? What happened to the idea of making big purchases together?”
Evie slid her arms around his waist. “You seemed to have trouble with the concept so I just followed your lead.”
How could he complain when he’d just been handed the key to his dream—a life with Evie and Ty, a family and a home, and her acceptance of his brothers and his life with the MC? Only the impending court hearing loomed over his head. But if Evie wasn’t worried, then he’d put his concerns aside and deal with it when the day came.