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“It’s looking good in here. I like what they’ve done with the layout.” Steel takes a sip of his beer.

“We talked to the contractor about updating the bunkhouse next to give anyone passing through their own place to stay."

"Smart.” He nods, glancing around. "Seems like you’ve been settling into Texas nicely.”

“It’s been fine.” I dip my hands into my pockets, avoiding eye contact.

If it were anyone but Steel who made this trip, I’d already be getting crap about how I rode up with Harloe on the back of my bike. Thankfully, Steel keeps his thoughts on it to himself.

“I had a chance to meet with the guys,” Steel says.

“They know their shit.”

“Seems like it, and that’s good.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I don’t know what Jackson was doing around here, but you’ve done more in the past ten weeks than he did in a year.”

“Harloe played a big part in that. She and her family have been helping us build relationships around town.”

“That right, Shane?” Steel smirks, using my legal name like Harloe did.

I chuckle. “It’s a small-town thing. The locals seem to respond better to Shane than Venom, so we’re rolling with it.”

“Whatever works to get things up and running.” Steel takes another sip of his beer. It will be the only one he has tonight, with his strict self-imposed one-drink rule while on the road.

“How are things back in Vegas?”

“Fine. Busy. Zane left us a mess, and now we have a couple of clubs vying for abandoned Iron Sinners territory, so we’re having to move fast. There’s no shortage of shit that needs to be done. That’s one of the reasons I came out here for a visit.”

“You need help getting it straightened out?”

If Steel asks me to return home right now, I’ll have no choice but to do it. My club comes first. So why does that grate on my nerves all of a sudden?

“No, you’re still needed in Texas. We can’t risk any more delays because I don’t have the bandwidth to deal with them. Which leads me to my point.” He walks to the window, which is missing glass, and stares out at the horizon. “Originally, Ironside Ridge was going to be an extension of Vegas, but that’s not going to work. I can’t split my focus across the country like I have been. Not with how much we’re dealing with back at home.”

“What are you saying? You want to grant Ironside Ridge its own chapter status?”

He turns to me. “Yeah, I do. It might not operate quite like our clubhouse back home because it has its own purpose to serve, but I can’t run both. Coming to Lanceleaf made that clear. This town isn’t like Vegas, and I shouldn’t be the one making the decisions when there are other things I need to focus on.”

I glance around at the empty clubhouse. Steel is right. Ironside Ridge is nothing like Vegas, even if our mission is the same. When this place is up and running, it will take someone who knows this place—this town—to make it work.

Steel glances through the window to where the guys are cooking. “I’m going to need your help, Venom.”

“You want me to decide who’s going to run it?” Now his request from a few weeks ago makes more sense. He doesn’t just need someone to take the lead; he needs someone to hand over a patch to.

“Every chapter needs a president, and I need to know who that should be.” Steel glances at me. “You know these guys and what they’re capable of. Their weaknesses, their strengths. They came here with no plans of going back home. They’re in it for the long haul. And they seem like they’ve done this place good.”

“They have,” I agree.

East cracks a joke that has Lawson smacking him on the back of the head, while Max looks up at both of them with a pinched expression. East is still learning what it means to be around a kid, so he gets called out for cussing or saying something inappropriate around Max almost daily.

Aiden chuckles, tossing a hamburger bun at East, who throws it into the fire.

Harloe and Tempe have made their way back outside, sitting in chairs on the porch, sipping whiskey and talking, avoiding whatever chaos the guys are starting.

Steel watches Tempe from where we stand. “You’ve done good out here. I heard the club is purchasing a local business.”

“East signed the contract for Vicious Ink yesterday.” I nod. “It’ll bring in some cash for the club.”

And it will keep East busy, which is good, since he does nothing but cause Kincaid a headache when we assign him work around the ranch.