Ace (Reckless Souls MC 2)

I laugh. “You want my advice on how to fix things with your old lady? You must be desperate.”

“I am. Whatever is going on with her, I don’t want it to interfere with her recovering from the shit the Iron Kings did to her. What should I do?”

“Be there for her, man. That’s all you can do. Be there, and when she’s ready to talk, to lean on you, she will.”

Coop lets out a slow sigh because it’s not the news he wants to hear, but it’s the truth. “Yeah, okay. Thanks. You all right?”

“I’m always all right,” I tell him. “But no, we got some shit to deal with. I was just with Kelsey’s sister.”

“McKenna? God, why?”’

My lips pull into a lopsided grin. “Because that girl Grace is—was—her best friend. If anyone can help us figure out who put a body at our port, it’s her.”

“True.” Coop blows out a breath and tries for a smile. “But she’s the last person who wants to help us. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but she has a pretty big blind spot when it comes to bikers.”

“I’ve noticed, but more than she hates us, she wants to know who did this to her friend.”

“Yeah?”

I nod. “Yeah. And that means that while we wait for her to get her head on straight, we have our own shit to do.”

Coop nods and falls into step beside me. “Whatever you need.”

Exactly what I want to hear. “Round up everyone who’s here and meet me at the bar. I need a fucking beer.”

“On it.” Coop claps me on the shoulder before walking off to do as I ask.

I make a beeline for the bar where Joaquin has already cracked open a beer for me, a cold shot of tequila right beside the bottle. “Thanks.”

Joaquin nods. “Everything all right?”

“Nope,” I grunt. “But I’m working on it.”

“Anything I can do?”

I nod. “Stick around, and I’ll let you know.” The ice-cold beer is just the thing I need to get my shit in order before all the guys show up and look to me for answers.

Leader is a role I fell into easily in the Marines and when I went back to civilian life. Founding Reckless Souls with Shades might have caused a power struggle, but again, I fell into the role easily, and Shades had no desire to be in charge of anything but the money.

It made a weird sort of sense for both of us, actually. I grew up the oldest of four siblings I had to look after, care for, and protect, while Shades grew up poorer than my family. As soon as he started making his own, he made damn sure it would never run out.

And that made him an excellent MC treasurer.

Shades enters first with a knowing smirk. “How’d things go with the sister?”

I shrug because I’m sure as shit not going to tell him I kissed the prissy rich bitch until we were both senseless. “Before or after all the tears?”

Shades tosses his head back and laughs with far more energy than the question requires. “Better you than me, man. Find out anything?”

“Anything about what?” Wilder enters, sturdy laptop tucked under his arms as he sidles up to the bar and flips the computer open.

More brothers filter into the bar area that makes up the biggest part of the clubhouse. I look around. “Where’s Preacher and Nova?”

Shades lets out a sigh. “Taking care of some business at the whorehouses. Someone got a little rough with one of the new girls, and he went to sort it out. Took Nova with him just in case anyone needs patching up.”

Nova uses his medical experience to keep the club and the women healthy.

“Good.” Preacher has a soft spot for the girls, and I can count on him to keep them safe and happy. “All right. I guess this is everyone.”

“Now, it’s everyone,” Devon says as he walks in with a small frown on his face. “Jordi and Lucky are at the shop.” Devon is a prospect, former Air Force, but I don’t hold that against him. The kid is cocky and a pussy hound, but he’s also quick on his feet, an excellent shot, and can fix just about any damn thing.

I finish my beer and send a nod of gratitude to Joaquin for sliding a double shot my way. “McKenna—that’s Kelsey’s sister for those of you who don’t know—was Grace Davies’ best friend.”

“No shit?” Shades asks. “I knew they knew each other but best friends? Damn, that sucks. Did you get any info out of her?”

“Yes and no. Apparently, Grace was very tight-lipped about the new boyfriend. McKenna guessed they’d only been dating a few months, but she doesn’t know his name or what he looks like. She’s going to find out for us, though.”