“Mornin’, Pres.”
“Salvation,” he acknowledges. He is a man of few words and that’s okay with me. He doesn’t need to say anything around me really because I know what he’s thinkin’ already. “It’s too early for your ugly mug this mornin’.”
“Yours too, you’ve aged a little though. I see the lines around your eyes.”
“That’s because I deal with your uncontrollable shiftin’ ass.”
“I think I maintain well; I haven’t had a non-controlled shifting moment in a while.”
“I thought for sure you would never learn how to control that shit.”
“Thanks to your brilliance, I got it.”
“How’s the treasury lookin’ this month?” he asks, quickly changing the subject.
Why do we have to talk shop before I’ve had my coffee? “Lux, bro, I haven’t had my first cup of coffee yet. Come on,” I growl, as Andi, the clubhouse bartender and Ridge’s old lady, sets a full cup of coffee down in front of me. I wink at her. “Thank you, doll face.”
She smiles. “You’re welcome.” Andi and Ridge are perfect for each other and when they argue, it’s somethin’ to see and it sure keeps me entertained. “You know there’s no shop talk this early right, Lux?”
“You’ll need somethin’ stronger than coffee to wake his tired ass up,” Lux states firmly.
“Well, if you wake up Salvation’s panther, I sure hope you can calm it down, there are still claw marks in the floor from the last time,” Andi reminds him.
Too late, my panther is already awake as he rolls his eyes to the back of his head. You know Lux likes to give you shit.
I take my first sip of black coffee, letting the warmth seep into my old tired bones. “You could at least wait for chapel to talk business. I know who owes what, where the next shipment is coming from, and where it’s going out.”
Lux slaps the bar top and vacates his stool. “I’ll be in my office if you need me.” I watch him walk down the hallway towards the back of the clubhouse. He opens the door to his office and closes it behind him. I hear the click of the lock and the chair creak under his weight as he sits down.
Get out of my head, Salvation.
Mind-reading, Lux. I can’t control it. Learn to block your thoughts from me.
Stop reading my mind and finish your coffee.
I used to think I was crazy. The thoughts of those who were in close proximity to me plagued my brain for years before I finally understood that reading minds was a superpower I was born with. Hell, everything about me is enhanced. I can hear the tiniest sounds that would be undetectable to the human ear and smell some of the nastiest things that would make any normal human being, vomit.
“He seem okay to you, Salvation?” Andi asks, leaning her elbows on the bar.
“I don’t know. He may sense something is coming. You know Lux, he keeps a lot close to the chest, having all the information before he’s ready to share.”
Salvation, stop flirting with my woman. I hear Ridge before I see him.
The sunlight fills the room when Ridge enters the clubhouse.
Bite me, asshole. I ain’t flirtin’ with her, I’m makin’ conversation.
He punches me in the shoulder as he passes me to sit down and my coffee spills over the top of my cup. Dick.
Andi sets another cup of coffee on the bar for Ridge as he takes the stool Lux had been occupying. “Mornin’ sweetheart,” Ridge says, pulling Andi over the bar. “You’re here early.” He kisses her and I turn my head to give them somewhat of a private moment.
“Work, Ridge, it calls. Plus, I couldn’t sleep.”
“I’m sure sleepin’ next to this beast is no picnic,” I say, punching Ridge in his arm.
Ridge cuts his eyes to me and his upper lip curls into a snarl. “Says the douche bag who’s womanless and sleeps alone.”
“Suck my dick, man.” I down the rest of my coffee and stand. “I prefer it that way. I’d rather hug a cactus than to be next to some broad who thinks she’s gonna be my ole lady just because she had a piece of salvation. I gotta go. I got work to do.”
“One - handed action, Salvation. The sparks don’t last forever,” Ridge smarts.
I’ll knock his teeth in for that comment.
44
Maximus “Max”
I have a favorite spot just below the mountain tops. It’s an area of rocks where the air is thin, the terrain endless, and the snow is pristine and untouched. Not even nature has disturbed it. Sometimes, I sit up there for hours, allowing the sun to warm my face and the chill wind blow across my uncovered skin. Today, while I’m there, I encounter a lynx. He or she approaches me so calmly that I‘m able to scratch them behind the ears and play with the tips of black hair that spring up from the tips, curling the hair around my fingers. When I stop, the lynx playfully head-butts me, allowing me to scratch them some more before scampering off into the wilderness.
When the sun begins to set, I hop back on my four-wheeler, pull my beanie down over my ears, secure my goggles, and blaze a trail back home. Once home, I warm up with a hot shower, make myself some hot chocolate, and plop down in my over-stuffed
