Mine Now (The Phantom Vipers MC)

7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Hunter

The ride down to Dallas was uneventful. In fact, it was so empty on the roads that I got here in record time. I would have arrived quicker if I didn’t have to stop for gas because Viper’s tank was riding on fumes.

My back aches from the rough ride. This damn Harley is such a piece of shit; I’m surprised it even got me back to the clubhouse. Viper is lucky I consider him a ride or die brother because I would have kicked him to the curb a long ass time ago. He can be such an imbecile sometimes.

Honestly, how Viper has survived this long is beyond me. His bike is falling apart at this point; I am going to have to light a fire under his ass to do some work on this poor ride.

It is now seven in the morning as I travel down the gravel driveway to the clubhouse. Two of our prospects—not yet initiated members, stand out front, keeping guard. They both just joined a month ago and have a full year before they will be full members if they last that long. We use them to do the dirty jobs such as standing guard in random places, or keeping an eye on certain places if we don’t feel like it. Their entire existence is to prove to us that they want to be apart of the club by any means necessary and that means proving your loyalty.

There is not a lot of action out this way, but we are always prepared if another club wants to pick a fight. Or start a war. The Blue Devil’s have been making themselves known here lately, so it is just a matter of time before we will be seeing them.

I park Viper’s bike under the overhang and grab the drugs from the back. I will have to add the gas money to the never-ending tab I have on him. He still owes me from the time he ruined my vest. I think back to the day he got so drunk that he poured his beer all over me. My vest stunk of it for days, no matter how many times I washed it. I ended up having to just replace the damn thing and call it a day.

When I walk toward the door, the prospect on the left makes eye contact and starts a conversation. “Have a nice ride?”

I know he is just trying to get in good with the club and be nice, but, can’t he tell that I look like hell and am probably a grumpy fucker? I need a fucking nap. I run my hand through my hair and give him a grim look. “I don’t know if you’re fucking blind or something, but the patch on my vest and the patch on yours means that you speak when you are fucking spoken to. And I don’t remember saying a goddamn word to you, prospect.”

He quickly stands up straighter and looks out into the lot as I walk past him through the front door.

Xavier sits with a smirk on his face, sipping a cup of coffee at the bar when I close the door behind me. I raise my brow. “What’s so funny?”

“Did you really have to be so mean to the poor kid this early in the morning?” He sets his cup down on the bar.

I take a seat next to him on one of the stools and tilt my head. “Do I look like I want to have a friendly fucking conversation this early in the morning?”

He chuckles and shakes his head. “No, you look like hell, if I’m being honest.”

I roll my eyes. “That is because someone I know forced me to ride through the night to get here when all I wanted to do was take a damn nap.”

He smacks me hard on the shoulder and stands. “One of these days, you might learn to listen to me willingly.”

“As if I don’t already.” I scoff. He may be my president, but I am the vice president. It has been a long time since I felt the need to bow at anyone's feet.

“You know what I mean.”

I shrug. “I am too old to be kneeling, your highness. I don’t know if I could get up off the floor.”

“Oh, fuck off,” he grumbles. “Let’s go into the church.”

I follow him to the room that we use to discuss important matters. It has black walls, a large table with twelve chairs situated around it, and a huge viper wrapped around a phantom that sits on the wall above the president's seat.

Engraved on the table itself is another iteration of our patch with the name of our club and our chapter—Phantom Vipers—Texas.

Xavier takes his seat at the end of the table, and I sit next to him in mine. I place the brick of cocaine onto the table and slide it over to him. “It is all there.”

He nods. “I never doubted it.” He moves the brick over to the side and leans on the table with his elbows. “You going to tell me how you wrecked your bike?”

I lean back in my chair and roll my eyes. “This woman's fucking car came out of nowhere. It was too late to stop.” I shrug. “That’s all.”

“I’m assuming you played it out so that you could get away unscathed by the police.”

“Yeah, I ended up basically kidnapping the poor woman and child and forcing them to drive me where I needed to go.”

He starts to laugh. “So, you hit this woman’s car and then fucking forced her to drive you somewhere. How did she not shit her pants?”

I shrug. “I’m not sure. I was pretty impressed.” I can still feel the way her skin felt under my hands.

He leans back and lets out a breath. His face forms into a frown as he stares at me for a moment.

“Just spit it out already, Xavier.”

“How are you doing?”

God damnit. I knew he was going to ask me this. Tomorrow is the anniversary of my baby girl's death, and it hits me harder and harder every year. I don’t want to fucking think about it though.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I am fine. I’m always fine. There is nothing to worry about.” I lie right through my teeth. Last year, I nearly drank myself to death, and he knows it. But I am okay right now, at least.

He shakes his head. “I’ll let the matter go for now. But if you do what you did last year, I will personally beat your fucking ass.”

I chuckle. “Sounds like a deal. I don’t plan to drink or do anything else, for that matter.” I shrug. “I might go for a long ride or something.”

He clenches his jaw. “That sounds like a good plan. Why don’t you take Viper with you to keep you out of trouble?”

He says it as a question, but I know better. He is telling me to do this. He knows what kind of trouble I tend to get myself into when I’m in this headspace.

I nod. “Fine. If I decide to go riding, I’ll take him. But I don’t know if I’m even going yet.” Hell, I still need to figure out if my bike is even salvageable. I may need to start from scratch again. I let out a breath. I guess I could use a new project to keep my mind busy.

Accepting my answer he nods. “Did you have any issues with any of the other crews nearby? I know the Blue Devils have been roaming around the area the past few days. Their president reached out a couple of days ago for a meet but I told him to fuck off.”

I raise my brow. “I didn’t have any issues with the other clubs, but why did you tell their president to fuck off? I thought we were trying to keep the peace for now.”

He shrugs. “The way he made it seem like we owe them something pissed me off. And besides this is our fucking territory. It always has been and they need to learn their place.”

I sigh. Xavier has always been quick to let his emotions get the better of him.

Xavier stands from his chair and leans on the table. “Okay. You look like shit, so go take a nap or something before heading home.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” I grumble and make my way to my room in the clubhouse.

The room looks exactly the same as it did when I left it last. We don’t share rooms here so this room is mine alone. But it still impresses me that no one goes snooping around some times. Thankfully, I get to sleep in peace when I come here.