“Well, it is her job, right?” Bristol asked. “She obviously does care about Sultry Knights and wants the best for the club. I’m sure with her being the manager, it means you guys don’t have to be so hands-on. You can focus on other things,” Bristol pointed out.

  “Well, yeah,” I grumbled. Bristol was right, but it just ended up giving Luna the power she so badly wanted.

  Bristol laughed. “Then maybe you need to use that to your advantage.”

  “You give Luna an inch, Bristol, and she’ll take a fucking mile.” Fuck, an inch and she’d take a hundred miles.

  Bristol shook her head. “And I think maybe it might be that Luna doesn’t like feeling she has seven brothers and six uncles telling her what she needs to be doing all of the time.”

  I grunted and took a sip of my coffee. “You may be right.” Though the thing that could fix that was for Luna to take a step back and not be so damn headstrong with everything.

  That would never happen.

  She bumped her shoulder against mine. “I know.”

  “Doesn’t mean I like it,” I growled.

  Bristol leaned over and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “You will eventually.”

  I grabbed my phone and typed out a message to Luna. “I’m telling her she needs to meet us at the club tomorrow. I’m not going to give her an option.” I hit send and smiled. Luna wasn’t going to like me telling her what the plan was.

  Bristol rolled her eyes. “You’re making things harder for you than they need to be.”

  I opened the group chat for the club. “No, I’m not, because the whole club is going to be there tomorrow, too. You can cook all the items, and we can taste test them.” I typed out message and sent it to all of the members. “Not like we’re going to not like any of them.” I grabbed a piece of bacon and popped it in my mouth.

  “You never know,” Bristol laughed. “You might not like my ideas for Pussy and Pasta or Burgers and Boobs.”

  I choked on my bacon and took a sip of my coffee. “Hearing those words come out of your mouth just doesn’t sound right.” Though Bristol saying pussy oddly turned me on.

  Bristol laughed. “I thought I could put this on my resume if I ever needed another job. Creator of the Boobs and Burgers, Tacos and Titties, and my personal favorite, Pussy and Pasta menu.”

  “As if Marco and Leo will ever let you leave Wyndemere,” I scoffed. Bristol would be the chef for Wyndemere until the day she couldn’t hold a spoon anymore.

  Bristol leaned her head on my shoulder. “You’re right, but it’s fun to think about having some restaurant owner looking over my resume and seeing Pussy and Pasta,” she giggled.

  “You’re a bit crazy, Bristol,” I chuckled. “You’re gonna fit in just fine with the rest of the ol’ ladies.”

  She smiled wide. “That is the best thing I have ever heard. The ol’ ladies are some of the best people I’ve met, and for you to think I’ll fit in with them means a lot.”

  Wow. Maybe my dad had been right when I talked to him.

  “You’re a little crazy and slightly sentimental, babe,” I laughed.

  She leaned into me and sighed. “You know how you said you changed lanes and realized you wanted me in your life?”

  I nodded and sipped my coffee. “Yeah.”

  “Well, I changed lanes, too.” She sighed lightly. “Right into your lane. I’m in your lane, Pie, and I don’t ever plan to leave it.”

  I grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. “Thank fucking God, because if you do, I’ll crash and burn without you, babe.”

  “That was fucking golden,” Apollo called through the speaker. “I need to write that down.”

  My eyes connected with Bristol’s. “We’re staying the night at your place tonight,” I growled. “I’m not into the mafia eavesdropping on all of my conversations,” I shouted.

  “No need to shout, Pie. We can hear you just fine when you talk normal,” Apollo laughed.

  Bristol reached up and turned my face toward her. “How about we stay at my place tonight, and then tomorrow night, we can stay at the clubhouse?” she whispered.

  “Sounds like a plan to me, babe.”

  Bristol smiled. “We’ll always figure things out, Brock.”

  I blinked twice. “You told me you wouldn’t call me my name.”

  She pressed a kiss to my lips and smiled. “I wouldn’t before because only your family calls you that.” She winked and sat back in her chair. “I think you can figure out what it means that I called you Brock.”

  I reached out and pulled her back to me. “It means you fucking love me, Bristol.”

  Her eyes darted down, and then they connected with mine. “I do.”

  I smiled wide. “Thank fucking God you changed lanes, babe, because if you hadn’t, I would have swerved into yours and never left.”

  *

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I like it here…

  Bristol

  “What kind of cheese did you put on this?” Luna flipped off the top bun and scowled at the burger.

  This was not a good sign. “Uh, that one has cheddar and pepper jack.”

  Luna was proving to be a harder audience to please than I had expected. Everyone else was fawning over my food while Luna was dissecting each plate and making notes in her notebook.

  I was ready to grab her notebook and toss it out the window. I was sure she was making notes about how horrible the food was and how she needed to find someone else to come up with the menu.

  Pie moved behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Is she giving you a hard time?” he whispered. He pressed a kiss to my cheek and reached out to snag a fry from Luna’s plate.

  “I don’t know if it needs both kinds of cheese. I think just the pepper jack would be fine.” Luna grabbed her napkin and wiped her mouth. She glared at Pie. “Stop stealing my fries.”

  Pie grabbed another fry. “Make me.”

  In the hour I had been at the clubhouse, I had watched Pie and Luna go back and forth goading each other.

  There was no denying that they were brother and sister.

  Greta scoffed next to Luna and shook her head. “Are you even from Wisconsin?” she asked Luna. Greta grabbed Luna’s burger and took a huge bite. “Mmm, fucking yummy cheese,” she mumbled.

  “I guess my Wisconsin side got the best of me, and I figured two cheeses are better than one.” Maybe my chef taste buds weren’t as great as I thought. Though Greta was right, this was Wisconsin, and most people loved cheese.

  Luna rolled her eyes. “I like cheese, I just don’t want to drown in it.”

  “You’re keeping both kinds of cheese,” Pie replied. “More cheese is always better.”

  Luna’s eyes flicked to Pie. “I thought I got to have a say in this?”

  Pie shrugged. “You do, but you know you’re just picky because you don’t want to have Bristol think you are nice.”

  “I am nice,” Luna said defensively. “I just know what I like,” she insisted.

  “Right,” Greta drawled. “You’re just so nice.” She shook her head and popped her last fry in her mouth. “I’m ready for my pasta now,” she said to me. She wiped her mouth with her napkin and grabbed her fork and knife. “Bring it on.”

  I grabbed a plate of ravioli with homemade tomato sauce and set it in front of her. “Dig in,” I smiled.

  Greta grabbed a fork and stabbed a piece of pasta. “I swear to goodness if you don’t like this, Luna, you’re insane.” Greta shoved the ravioli into her mouth and moaned. “So good.”

  “I didn’t say the burger was bad; I just think that’s too much cheese.” She glared at Greta. “I just know what I like,” she repeated.

  I wouldn’t disagree with Luna knowing what she liked, but I would say she could try to put a nice spin on it when she disagreed. “I can take the cheddar off and see how it is.”

  Luna nodded. “Other than that, everything is amazing. I think the customers are going to love that we are back open, and now they can get some food with their striptease.”

  “Hey!” Zag shouted.

  Hero was two barstools away from Luna, and he dropped his half-eaten burger on the bar. “Holy fuck,” he gasped.

  Pie and I looked at the door to the strip club, and Meg and King stood there.

  “I knew he would be back,” Pie whispered.

  I tipped my head to the side and glanced at Pie. “He’s the backbone of the club, right?”

  Pie nodded. “He most definitely is.”

  The mood in the club ratcheted up by fifty. You could feel the hope course through everyone.

  Luna tossed her napkin on the bar. “As if a stroke was going to be able to take out King.”

  “You’re right,” Pie laughed. “But you might want to lay off being a bitch to him for a little bit, yeah?”

  Luna flipped me off. “I’ll take that into consideration, but I can’t promise anything.” Luna slid off her barstool and made her way over to the group gathered around King.

  “This is the brotherhood you guys are so into, isn’t it?” I asked.

  King stood in the center of the group with Meg by his side. All the guys had smiles on their faces, and you could feel the joy in the air. King really was the backbone of the Devil’s Knights. I didn’t want to know what would have happened if King hadn’t pulled through.

  “This is my family, Bristol. These are the people I would give my life for.” He pressed a kiss to my temple. “And now, you’re part of it.”

  I leaned back into his body and sighed. “I like it here, Brock.” This was the best place I could have ever hoped to be. I had a man I loved, and now a second family.

  “Good, babe, because I’m not letting you go.”

  That was good because I was never letting Pie go either. I had finally found someone who loved me for me. He didn’t want to change me or hide me away like I was something shameful.

  I was here, right in the middle of his life, and I knew without a doubt he wanted me.

  When you found that, you never let it go.

  “I love you, Pie,” I whispered.

  “And I love you, Bristol.”

  *

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Hello?

  Luna

  “Make sure you try the food Bristol made.”

  King nodded. “That’s why I’m here.” He smiled. “And to make sure I don’t need to buy that ticket to Alaska for you.”

  Even after having a stroke, King was still on my case. Typical.

  And it was also amazing. I don’t know what I would have done if he had died. It was a reality I had thought about for a second when I got the phone call he was being rushed to the hospital, and I knew I never wanted to think about that again. At least not for thirty years.

  I held up my hands. “Hey, I’m trying to play nice. I even let Pie think all of this was his idea.” He had mentioned that I try the local culinary school for a cook for the club when I had actually already called the school. I would just keep that info in my back pocket and pull it out when I needed something to hold over his head.

  King laughed. “You know, at the end of the day, we all want the same thing, Luna.”

  “For Sultry Knights to be successful,” I sighed. I had heard that so many times before that the words didn’t hold much weight anymore. “And since we’re reopening, that can happen again.” I reached up and hugged King. I knew the rest of the guys were eager to talk to him, and I didn’t want to stand around with him lecturing me. “You’re looking good, King,” I whispered. “I’m glad you’re still here.”

  King gave me an extra squeeze. “Thanks, squirt.”

  I rolled my eyes at the nickname he gave me years ago. He knew I hated it, and I knew that was why he continued to call me it.

  I now knew that play my cards close to my chest when it came to King, but I hadn’t figured that out before I told him to stop calling me squirt. I would more than likely go to my grave with him calling me squirt.

  My phone rang in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see a number I didn’t know. Since I had called the culinary school the other day and put the word out that I was looking for a cook for Sultry Knights, I had gotten a few calls from numbers I didn’t know. “I gotta get this.” This might be someone interested in the job.

  King nodded, and I stepped toward the front door as I connected the call. “Hello?”

  The voice was muffled, and I couldn’t hear what they were saying over the noise in the club. “Hold on for one second,” I called. “I can’t hear anything you’re saying.”

  I slipped out the front door and moved to the side of the building. “Can you hear me now?” I asked. “Hello?” I called. I pulled the phone from my ear and saw that the call had dropped. “Shit.” I swiped on the number to call them back in hopes this might be my new cook. The menu was set, so now all I needed was a cook before we opened back up Sultry Knights.

  The phone rang two times, and then I heard a phone ringing behind me. I turned on my heel thinking one of the guys were out here sneaking a smoke. Snapper was always slipping away to smoke because he didn’t want Meg and King to know he had taken up the bad habit. Little did he know that King and Meg both knew.

  I turned the corner around the building, and a person knocked me onto the pavement. A knee planted in my stomach and pinned me to the ground. My phone flew from my hand, and a wave of nausea washed over me. I tried to tuck my legs to my chest to get some space between the person on top of me, but they had all of their weight weighing on me. I tried to lift my arms to cover my head, but they landed three hard blows right in my face.

  “You fucking scream, and I’ll kill you right here, bitch,” the person growled in my ear.

  My head swam from getting hit so hard, and I struggled to see who was on top of me. I had to get up, but my stomach rolled, and another punch landed on my face.

  “Please,” I gasped. I tried to scream, but I couldn’t suck enough air into my lungs to breath, let alone scream.

  “Shut up,” he spat. He grabbed a fist full of my hair and slammed my head on the concrete.

  A groan escaped my lips, and the last thing I felt was a warmth in the back of my head, and then…nothing.

  Preorder the next book in the Devil’s Knights MC 2nd Gen

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  About the Author

  Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Winter Travers is a devoted wife, mother, and aunt turned author who was born and raised in Wisconsin. After a brief stint in South Carolina following her heart to chase the man who is now her hubby, they retreated back up North to the changing seasons, and to the place they now call home.

  Winter spends her days writing happily ever-afters, and her nights being a karate mom hauling her son to practices and tournaments.. She also has an addiction to anything MC related, puppies, and baking.

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  Dive into the 1st chapter of DOWNSHIFT

  Downshift

  Skid Row Kings

  Book 1

  Winter Travers

  Chapter 1

  Violet

  It was half past seven, and I should be on my way home already, but I wasn’t.

  I watched the lone girl who was sitting at the far table and sighed. She came in every day after school like clockwork, stayed till five forty-five then left. Except today, she didn’t. The only way for me to get the heck out of here was to tell her the library was closing, but I didn’t have the heart to.

  She appeared to be well taken care of, nice clothes, good tennis shoes and well groomed. But she was never with anyone when she came in. Even when other kids would come in to work on homework or such, she stayed by herself at the far table.

  I glanced at the watch on my wrist one last time and knew I had to go talk to her. All I wanted to do was go home, eat dinner, and take a nice long bath with my latest book boyfriend. Was that too much to ask?

  After I skirted around the desk, I hesitantly made my way over to her, not wanting to tell someone they had to leave. I wasn’t one for confrontation. “Um, excuse me.”

  The girl looked up at me and smiled. She couldn’t have been more than thirteen, fourteen tops. Shiny braces encased her teeth, and black-rimmed glasses sat perched on her nose. “Yes?”

  “The library closes at seven.”

  She glanced at the watch on her wrist and hit her hand on the table. “Crud. Luke was supposed to pick me up over an hour ago. I’m really sorry,” she said, gathering her books and shoving them into her bag.

  “Did you need to call him?”

  “No, he probably won’t answer the phone. He’s only managed to pick me up once this week. He’s busy getting ready for Street Wars. He’s probably stuck under the hood of a car right now.” She zipped her book bag shut and slung it over her shoulder. “I’m really sorry for keeping you here so late. I know the library closes at seven, but I was so into my book I didn’t even notice the time.”

  “It’s OK.” I had totally been there before. That was the whole reason I worked at the library, I got to be surrounded by the things I loved all day.

  “I’ll see ya,” she waved and headed out the door.

 

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