Chapter 31
KNIGHT
“Watch the corners!” Ghost called.
Hollywood swore a streak as his knuckles scraped against the doorframe. “Damn it, Joy!”
“Why is it my fault?” Joyride demanded, voice strained as he and Hollywood carried an antique desk—tilted at an angle to fit—into the trailer that Ghost was moving into on the south end of the Clover Leaf Mobile Home Park.
“What did you do?” he asked Ghost. “Fill the drawers with rocks?”
“Nope,” Ghost said. “That’s just solid oak. They don’t make them like that anymore.”
“With good reason,” Joy muttered.
“Why do you need a desk?” I asked as I hauled a recliner up the sidewalk, balancing it over my back like a turtle with a shell.
“Where else am I supposed to pay bills and write letters?”
“On a laptop or your phone like the rest of the world,” Joyride called out the door. “Where do you want this heavy-ass thing?”
“Will it fit in the bedroom?”
“No!” Hollywood called from inside. “Your bed takes up too much of the space.”
“Cram it in the living area, then.”
The trailer was camper-sized. Ghost had taken the deal I’d worked out with Nina to move into the park at a discounted rate in exchange for working as a groundskeeper at the park.
He’d looked at the little camper dented by hail and rusting around the wheels—noting that the lot next to him was vacant—and agreed to move in without even seeing the interior.
“Anything’s better than sharing a wall with that nosy loudmouth Ned,” he’d said. “He stops me every time I check the mail and he won’t stop talking.”
The trailer was small, the kitchen practically nonexistent, but Ghost said he didn’t need much. So here we were, trying to make his furniture fit into a space more suited to camping.
Joyride disappeared back inside. I took the aluminum steps up to the door, Ghost following me with an end table in his hands. Despite this being his stuff, he’d let us carry the heaviest shit. No one said he was a dumb man.
Once inside, I leaned back to set the recliner down, then fell into it with a sigh. A couch sat two feet across from me, and the desk ended up wedged into the corner, partially blocking the entrance to the tiny galley-style kitchen.
“Are we done yet?” I asked. “I could use a beer.”
Hollywood pulled open the fridge, which we’d loaded when we first arrived for just this occasion. He pulled out a Miller and tossed it my way. I caught it and cracked the top with a satisfying fizzing sound.
“Who else wants one?” Holly asked.
I tipped my beer back, guzzling, while Hollywood tossed a second can to Ghost, where he sat on the loveseat. Joyride had hopped onto the corner of the desk. When Hollywood tossed a beer his way, he missed.
The can hit the grungy dark brown carpeting and kept rolling. “Damn it, man. Now it’s gonna explode when I open it.”
Hollywood rolled his eyes and grabbed a replacement beer, walking it over to Joy. “For our little prince who can’t catch.”
Joyride flipped him the bird. “I was on my high school baseball team, fucker.”
Hollywood laughed as he scooped up the runaway beer can. “That makes it even worse, man. Did your daddy buy your way onto the team or something?”
Joyride’s face went red. His parents and their money was a touchy issue with him. “He sponsored some team events,” he muttered. “That doesn’t mean I bought my way onto the team. I was good.”
Hollywood opened his mouth, but I shook my head. He snapped it closed. “Bad joke, sorry.”
“Yeah, Holly, didn’t your mom help you get your first job out of college?” I asked him.
Hollywood sent me an annoyed look as he returned the shaken-up beer to the fridge and grabbed one of the fancy IPA brands he’d brought for himself. “Yeah, she did. Everyone called me a nepo baby. It’s why I left and made my own way.”
“Which went so well you ended up in prison,” Ghost added.
Hollywood flipped him the bird without responding.
Joyride gave Hollywood an interested look. “You worked with your mom? How was it? Because my dad is really pushing—”
“Don’t do it,” Hollywood said. “Trust me on that. You’ll never get anyone’s respect, especially your own.”
“Yeah, that’s what I figured,” Joyride said glumly.
Something wasn’t right at that house. Joyride hadn’t said much, but I got the feeling he didn’t actually want to be there. His parents treated him like a child, and as long as he allowed that to continue, he couldn’t become a man.
“You don’t have to do what your dad tells ya,” Ghost said, obviously thinking along the same lines. “You’re a grown-up. You went to prison, for fuck’s sake.”
It was practically a long-winded speech coming from him.
“Too bad they don’t see it that way,” Joyride muttered.
“You can move out here too,” Ghost said. “Get your own start away from them. Hell, I’ll even split the maintenance duties with you.”
I snorted. “You trying to con the kid into doing your work?”
Ghost sent me a stern look. “Would I do that?”
With his sharp features, cool blue eyes, and eerily calm tone, I felt as if I’d just stepped into a bear trap.
The hairs rose on the back of my neck.
“Nope,” I said quickly. “Never.”
Hollywood laughed. “You need to teach us how to be so fucking scary, man.”
Ghost shook his head. “Would never work for you.”
“Why?” Hollywood demanded.
“You talk too much.” He paused. “And you’re too pretty.”
Hollywood gaped at him. “What the—”
I laughed. “He’s right. There’s a reason your nickname is Hollywood.”
He huffed. “It’s not like Joyride looks like a hardened criminal.”
Joyride shrugged and sipped his beer, not arguing that fact. “Knight can be a badass, though,” he said. “We’ve all seen that.”
I grimaced. “I’d rather not have a repeat of that.”
The guys all agreed. It’d been three weeks since the fight to get free and clear of the Serpents. Joyride had been impressed with my fighting skills, but he didn’t fully understand the cost. Every time I raised my fists, I was reminded of a different man, one I didn’t want to be anymore.
“How did Winslow take the news?” Ghost asked. “You, uh, had a meeting recently, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.” I tipped back my beer for another swallow. “He took it better than Matteo.”
Joyride snorted a laugh. “I thought he was gonna blow his top.”
We’d left Matteo out of our dirty dealings because even though he was supportive, he was in an official position as the program director. He had to schmooze with business owners to line up jobs, not to mention continue to win grants to fund the program. His reputation had to be spotless.
So, when he saw me right after the fight, he’d freaked out, thinking the Serpents had jumped me again. He’d been ready to pack me up and ship me to the state line himself.
Once I told him the full story, he was relieved—but still pissed as hell.
“You could have gotten yourself killed!” he’d lectured. “How do you even know they’ll keep their word?”
“They voted to release me if I won the fight,” I said. “They stand by their votes. Unless I get in their way, they’ll leave me alone.”
“I hope you’re right,” he said. “The word of guys like that…”
“They have a code,” I said. “It’s not the same as ours, but they believe in it. This was my best option, Matteo. Really.”
He hadn’t looked as if he totally agreed, but he’d accepted that I didn’t have a lot of good choices. I could have moved out of state and hoped they didn’t come after me. But this way, I got to hold on to the life I’d been building.
The people I’d been building it with.
“There’s more boxes to move,” Joyride said, hopping off the desk.
“I’m still recovering,” I declared. “You get them.”
Joyride gave me an unimpressed look. “I don’t see any bruises.”
“It hurts on the inside,” I said solemnly.
“That’s not what you said last night,” Aiden’s teasing voice came through the doorway.
I clapped a hand to my chest. “Betrayed by my one true love! Say it isn’t so.”
That I could joke about love and betrayal so easily said a lot about how far I’d come since meeting Aiden. At one time, it was all too real for me. Of course, I’d realized that my dynamic with Puck had always been too imbalanced for real love.
“Sorry, Will,” Aiden said, coming over to perch on the arm of the chair and peck a kiss to my lips. “You know how I value honesty.”
“Ha!” Joyride said. “Suck it.”
“But we have to leave for a barbecue, so you’re still on your own,” Aiden added.
Joyride’s expression fell. “Damn it.”
With a huff, he stomped out of the front door. Hollywood heaved a sigh and followed him. Ghost sat on the couch, smirking.
“You coming to the cookout?” Aiden asked.
“Nah,” Ghost said. “Got to unpack.”
“We’ll come by and help you later,” he offered.
Ghost’s brow furrowed. I could tell he wanted to say no, but he also didn’t want to offend Aiden. The guys had all treated him like a saint since the night of the fight. I guess they saw how sweet he was.
Or maybe it was because word had gotten around about those ketamine syringes he’d brought, and they didn’t want to get on his wrong side.
I slipped an arm around Aiden’s back. “I think he’s got it covered.”
Ghost tipped his head gratefully.
I pushed out of the recliner and followed Aiden outside. Ghost followed us to the door. Apparently, he wasn’t going to let Joyride and Hollywood do all the work.
“It’s good to have you in the neighborhood,” I said. “Maybe you can host our Monday night grill n chill.”
“Over my dead body,” he said grimly.
“You’ve got all that space next door,” Aiden said. “You could set up a grill and picnic table. You’d have more room to spread out.”
Hollywood came over, two boxes in his arms. “Hey, yeah, maybe a firepit for when the weather cools down.”
Joyride walked by, sweating as he carried his load. “My dad’s got extra lawn chairs. He’ll never miss them.”
“Well, fuck,” Ghost said.
“Ah, don’t act like it’s such a hardship,” I teased. “You know you love us.”
He glowered. “I moved out here to ditch my neighbors, not host parties.”
“C’mon, you like shooting the shit with us. You show up every Monday at my place. It’s no different, really.”
He grumbled something under his breath, heaved a sigh, and said, “Fine.”
That was as good as an enthusiastic invitation from anyone else. I called my goodbyes to Hollywood and Joyride, then headed toward Aiden’s hatchback. He had wanted to take a side dish to the cookout, so riding the bike was out today.
I opened the passenger door, picked up the bowl of broccoli salad resting on my seat, and sat down. “This looks good.”
“Well, it was easy anyway,” Aiden said with a laugh. “It tastes good and it’s not store-bought. I call that a win, right?”
“You’re such an overachiever,” I teased. “You know those guys eat their potato salad right out of the grocery store tub.”
He shrugged, color seeping into his cheeks as he started the car. “I wanted to do something nice. They’ve all been so welcoming, and I haven’t always shown my appreciation.”
“They know.” I buckled my seat belt, then rested my left hand on his thigh. “They wouldn’t keep inviting you out to drag shows otherwise.”
He laughed. “Yeah, well, Sassy Solo is something to see,” he said. “You should have come with us last night.”
“Nah. You deserve your own friend time,” I said. “How did Liliana like the show?”
“Oh, she loved it. She fit in great with the guys, too. Her and Shiloh were sharing naughty stories all night.”
I chuckled. I loved that Aiden had made a good friend like Liliana and felt connected to his brother’s family. He was settling in and finding his place in Riverton.
The guys at Redemption Road grounded me. They were like the brothers I’d never had. I wanted Aiden to feel that sense of family, too. To know that he wasn’t alone in the world anymore.
Aiden frowned. “I worry about Ghost, though. He’s too isolated.”
“He likes it that way,” I said.
“Doesn’t mean it’s good for him,” Aiden said. “He was in prison a long time, right? He probably doesn’t know any other way to be. Maybe if there are leftovers, we could bring him some when we get back?”
That was when it hit me. Ghost and the other Redemption Road guys weren’t just my family. They were becoming Aiden’s, too. And I was more than happy to share them.
Ghost would grumble when we showed up with food, but something told me he’d survive it. Maybe even secretly like it.
“Good idea, Angel,” I said. “Very good idea.”