“Ready?” Sammie asks, putting the SUV in gear.
I swallow past the lump in my throat. “As I’ll ever be.”
CHAPTER 4
SCREAMER
Life is good.
“Gotta say,I’m surprised you’re retiring.”
Jarod smirks at Crow as Journey and I sit back. Crow wanted to meet with Jarod as soon as I told him the club had a chance of buying his shop, but I was surprised when Jarod agreed to meet. I thought for sure he’d back out.
“The missus says it’s time,” Jarod says with a shrug. “She wants to spend more time with the grandkids and travel, and I can’t deny her that. She’s put up with way too much over the years from me.”
Crow chuckles. “So that’s what I have to look forward to with Addi… nagging to get me to do less with the club?”
“Happy wife, happy life,” my boss jokes.
“Maybe I’ll get lucky,” Journey chimes in. “With Wren’s different personalities, one of ‘em’s bound to be okay with me riding till I die.”
Jarod throws his head back and laughs. “Good luck with that.”
“If Peg has anything to say about it,” I begin, referring to the personality that doles out punishment. “You’ll be outta the club by the time you’re forty.”
Journey groans. It took him a while to sort through the different identities Wren has, but he’s managed. In fact, we don’t see a lot of them anymore because Wren’s therapist has really been helping.
“Let’s get down to business,” Crow states, refocusing the conversation. “Do you have a price in mind for the shop?”
Jarod arches a brow. “Do you?”
My pres grins. “Of course,” he says before giving a number.
“Wow, that’s generous,” Jarod says.
“It’s fair,” Journey comments. “We’ve all discussed what the club can afford, as well as what we think the shop is worth. It’s understood that it took you years and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get the shop where it is today. You’ve built a solid reputation in the community, and we recognize that you deserve to be compensated for more than just the building.”
We spend the next hour going over details of the sale, and by the time Jarod leaves, the Soulless Kings MC owns another business. There are stipulations to the sale, such as we cannot turn away any current customers, and Jarod wants to stay on part-time. The sale won’t be final for another three months, which gives him time to adjust, and plenty of time to find some new employees and get them trained.
“Can you believe it?” Journey asks after Jarod leaves.
“Fuck, no,” I say with a chuckle. “I thought we were getting our hopes up for nothing. That man lives and breathes the shop.”
Crow slaps me on the back. “It might seem like it, but he lives for his family. You’d understand that if you ever settled down.”
I shake my head. “Nope, not happening.” Walking toward the door, I add, “I’m outta here.”
My brothers’ laughter follows me down the hallway. They know my stance on relationships and why I have an aversion to them, but it doesn’t seem to stop them from throwing out jabs every now and then, especially now that they’re all tied down to a woman.
“Is it done?” Stunner, our treasurer, asks when I enter the main room.
“It is,” I say with a grin. “There’ll be a Sinful Wheels in Marble Falls in three months.”
“You gonna talk to Jimmy about working there?” he asks, referring to one of the prospects.
“Yeah, I will,” I confirm. “Kid’s a killer mechanic, and he knows his shit when it comes to custom projects.”
“I know he’ll be thrilled,” Stunner says. “Whenever he’s here, all he does is talk about bikes.”
