Saving Dallas Forever (Saving Dallas 3)

“Uh-huh. You and Maddie had it out.” A very observant Red confirmed. These bitches paid way too much attention.

“And what makes you say that, Red?” I put my drink up to my mouth, looking at her over the rim of my glass, and watched as she smiled coolly at me.

“Oh, just that she stomped out of the bathroom, and only seconds later, you emerged looking like you had lost your best friend.” Yep. Too observant.

“It’s nothing. Just a minor disagreement.” I dismissed the subject with a wave of my hand, and was rescued from the accusing stares when Punkin came up and announced that the new PROSPECT from Lake Charles was catching hell outside. Red, who I had learned had a very soft spot for the PROSPECTS, almost broke her leg trying to get away from the bar to go and see what was going on. I couldn’t help but laugh at Brooklyn’s attempts to stop her, but soon we were all following Red out the door.

We entered the circle of men that were crowded around, and my heart’s steady rhythm intensified. I don’t know what I had been expecting, but something told me that whoever was in the middle of that circle was being subjected to great harm. My stomach dropped at the thought of Luke using physical force against one of his brothers, or even his potential brothers. I had never seen the side of Luke that Maddie had spoken of earlier. Sure, I had been subject to his wrath, but I couldn’t imagine him ever being mean to one of the guys. I heard Luke’s loud voice carry across the yard, as I stepped between Brooklyn and Red to find a guy cleaning Ronnie’s bike.

“Don’t you ever fucking say you are gonna do something and not follow through. Consider this a lesson. Never offer more than you are willing to give.” Luke wasn’t shouting, but his voice was louder than normal, and did not contain even a hint of playfulness. I watched as the man paid special attention to ensuring that he did not miss a spot in cleaning the bike, as he worked feverishly, shining it and returning it to its original glory. He kept his head down and his mouth shut, as Luke continued to speak, “You want to clean bikes? Well, now you’ve got your chance. There are twenty-three bikes in this yard that are the property of the Devil’s Renegades and every one of them had better be shining like new. Ronnie, what time do y’all plan to leave in the morning?” Luke turned his eyes from the working PROSPECT toward Ronnie, who stood tall, and bow-legged as ever, next to Luke.

“Oh, I figure we will pull out about ten. I want to get home before it gets dark. PROSPECT, if you can’t add, that gives you about eight and a half hours to have our shit looking good.” I watched as the guys around them laughed. I looked over at Red, who didn’t think this was very funny. I could see her mentally calculating the hours in her head. There was no way he would be able to detail twenty-three bikes in eight hours. Even if he could, he would get no sleep, and he was one of those who would be making the four-hour ride home tomorrow.

“If it’s not done, I’ll cut that PROSPECT rocker off and give it to someone who deserves it.” I snapped my head up at Luke, as he stood with his arms crossed, looking down at the poor guy, who seemed to be breaking into a sweat, and he picked up the pace. Luke must have felt my eyes on him. He looked over at me and his menacing stare melted, to be replaced with a wide smile and a wink that had me breathing a sigh of relief. He was only kidding. I felt someone move beside me, and watched as Red walked back into the clubhouse. The unspoken demand for us to follow was heard, and we all trailed in behind her.

“This is fucking stupid,” Red snapped, as soon as the door was closed and we were all inside. “I mean, the poor guy ain’t even gonna get to take a fucking break. Come on, Dallas. Get over here and help me.” I immediately went to her, fearing if I didn’t it would be me she snapped at next.

“Calm down, Red. It’s part of it. I don’t know why you get all bent out of shape about this shit,” Brooklyn snapped, her voice holding a hint of disapproval.

“Well, it just ain’t right,” Red said, busying herself behind the bar, while I just stood there waiting for orders.

“They all went through it. He needs to watch what he says.” It was clear that Red and Brooklyn had had this conversation before. Red had issues with the way the club disciplined the PROSPECTS, while an exasperated Brooklyn seemed to consider it reasonable, and tried to convince Red that it was a normal part of the PROSPECT period.