Page 16 of Hostile Saint

“Fuck, kid,” grumbled Dagger.

Pulling into a driveway, I saw a white and blue house that sat high due to the two-car garage underneath it. It was way nicer than the home I grew up in. My home used to look real nice, too, but started falling apart after my dad died. I figured my mom wasn’t able to raise three boys and tend to all the upkeep. The pool turned green and the paint faded. The roof eventually started leaking. My brothers never helped to change the deterioration. They were too busy terrorizing me in their spare time.

“Ugh,” complained Dagger. “Neighbors.”

There were several other houses on the street, but they weren’t on top of each other like where Lace and I grew up.

Lynx hit a button on the car’s visor that opened the garage door. He pulled us in, right next to two beautiful dragons—black Harleys with gleaming chrome.

Getting out of the car, I paid more attention to not banging my door into the bikes than to all my injuries. “I love the sound of your dragons.”

“Dragons?” asked Lynx while shutting the driver’s door.

We were still in the garage as the large door slid shut. “Yeah, your bikes sounded like angry dragons the other night. It was… comforting, if that makes any sense.”

Dagger beamed. “My HOG is life. You’re making perfect sense to me.”

The shiny bikes were similar, but each had different renditions of painted horses and running wolves. The artwork was outstanding.

“Wait.” While gesturing to the designs, I thought back… “You said I sure ain’t no wolf yet.”

Putting a key into the door of the house, Lynx smiled. “That day will come.”

We walked up two steps and through a small laundry room that Dagger and Lynx barely fit in, then entered a kitchen that opened up into a large living room. “Wow.” I gazed about. “This house is way bigger than mine—I mean, where I used to live, I guess.” I started getting nervous. “I, uh, don’t think Lace and I can afford this house. Can we rent a smaller one?”

Both men blinked.

Dagger tilted his head. “What? No, this rent ain’t fallin’ on you, kid.”

“Nah, we got you covered.” Lynx tossed keys on the white kitchen counter. “And, once we get your girl, we head home. Our roots are in Austin.”

“Texas?” I was stunned. “Then, why are you here?”

“Some club business, until we came across,” Dagger grinned at me, “a situation.”

I winced out of guilt and aches due to healing stab wounds. “Sorry about that.”

Lynx reached into the fridge. “Dag, the bitches hooked us up. Want a beer?”

He teased, “Did we find Swiss Cheese in the woods?”

“Why, yes, we did.” Lynx tossed him a bottle of a clear liquid that read Sol. He tossed me a bottle of water.

I didn’t cringe in pain when I caught it. There was no way I was going to puss out like that in front of these guys.

“Swiss Cheese.” After chuckling, Dagger popped the cap then took a healthy swig. “The kid has so many road names already. And the boys haven’t even met him yet.”

“Road names?” I asked, ignoring their crude sense of humor that I truly found funny.

Prez shrugged. “Nine Lives, Pound Pup, Bulldog, Swiss Cheese. Now you’ve added Dragon.” He took a big sip of his beer, then exhaled. “Yum. Mexican beer. I’m missing home even more.”

I asked, “If you don’t live here, who filled your fridge?”

“Trusted wives of a sister chapter. You okay, kid? You’re lookin’ a little pale.”

Trying to ignore pain and a flipping gut, I brushed it off. “All good.”

Dagger eyed me, dipped his chin, then said, “I, for one, want to plop my ass down on that couch.”