“Mind if we join you?” Shade asked, tempted to let Cash handle this on his own for trying to trick him into helping, but he couldn’t desert a brother who was facing a firing squad.

They didn’t wait for acquiescence, both of them taking a seat at the table. The Porter brothers might hate Cash, but Shade was their regular customer, so he would be harder to piss off.

The men looked like the beer in their stomachs was turning sour as Cash and Shade both ordered their drinks.

“What do you want, Cash?” Tate didn’t hesitate to ask why Cash would be willing to sit down at the table with them.

Cash decided to take the devil by the horns and be honest with the three brothers. “We need to come to an understanding and cut out this bullshit between us.” Cash began his talk to get in the good graces of Rachel’s brothers.

“Why? It works for us.” An evil grin came to Tate’s face. “This has to do with Rachel, doesn’t it?”

“Why does his talking to us have anything to do with Rachel?”

God, Dustin has to be the slowest of these idiots, Shade thought in pity.

While his two older brothers rolled their eyes at the question, realization slowly hit Rachel’s youngest brother.

“Hell, no.” Dustin’s reaction mirrored his older brothers’.

“We can keep fighting between us, and we’ll all lose Rachel, or we can pretend to get along and keep Rachel in Treepoint. It’s up to you. I’m willing to tolerate you three for Rachel.”

Without another word, the three brothers got up from the table, leaving Cash and him staring at their backs as they left the bar.

“That went well,” Cash said drily.

“Did you expect any different? You four have spent years pissing each other off. It’s going to take more than a meet to change that.”

Cash studied Shade speculatively. “I gave Lily my vote for your marker.”

Shade’s amusement died. “Yes, you did. So?”

“I want your help to bring those assholes around,” Cash laid out his terms.

“I promised you my marker, not a fucking miracle.”

“Shade, you’re the most manipulative bastard I know. If anyone can get those assholes to tolerate me, it’s you. Can you think of a bigger challenge for your skills?”

“Actually, no.”

Mick set the beer down in front of them.

“You’re buying,” Shade told Cash, picking up his.

* * *

“What are we doing here?” Cash asked as they sat outside the movie theater.

“Trying to pay you back.”

Before Cash could ask any more questions, the movie let out and the moviegoers came through the doors. They sat in silence while Shade searched the exiting crowd for the one he was wanting to talk to.

“You sneaky son of a bitch.” Cash’s voice was filled with admiration of Shade’s skills.

As the two boys they were waiting for drew closer to where they were sitting, their gazes were all for the bikes.

“Hi, Shade, Cash.” Jace and his friend came to a stop at the bikes.

“Hey, Jace, Cal,” Shade responded to their greeting.

Jace and Cal were friends who came from opposite sides of town. Jace’s father had been one of the wealthiest men in town until The Last Riders had arrived, while Cal’s parents were lucky to put dinner on the table. It was a mismatched pair, but the two were close friends.

“Can we talk?” Shade deliberately made it seem as if he was taking the boys into his confidence.

“Sure.” Jace puffed up his chest at the thought of someone like Shade seeking him out, while Cal’s expression became impassive and watchful.

“Your dad will be here any minute.”

Shade had to admire the kid for trying to watch out for his friend.

“This won’t take long. I have a favor to ask. Cash here wants to make friends with those cousins of yours. I was hoping you could hook him up with a helping hand. Of course, I could help you out with something you’re wanting real badly, too. I have an extra bike I don’t need any more. You would have to get your dad’s permission and get your motorcycle license, but it would be yours, free of charge.”

“Why do you want to become friends with them? They hate your guts.” Of course the boy was a Porter, and he was suspicious of their motives, despite the gleam in his eyes when the motorcycle had been mentioned.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shade saw Cash wince at the blunt question.

“I was hoping you could help me out with that problem. I’m going to be straight with you: I don’t give a shit about your cousins, but Rachel won’t go out with me without their permission,” Cash admitted.

As the two boys looked at each other and burst into laughter, Cash shifted uncomfortably on his bike.

“You have a whole clubhouse of chicks, and Rach is giving you trouble?”

At Cash’s silence, their laughter continued.

“Do we have a deal?” Shade intervened before Cash made another relative of Rachel’s an enemy.

“Yeah, I’ll help. But let’s be clear: if he hurts my cousin again, I’ll tell my dad, and believe me, if you think Rachel’s brothers are a pain to deal with, he will become your own personal nightmare.”

“I have no intention of hurting Rachel,” Cash said through clenched teeth.

“Cool, it’s settled then,” Shade intervened once again, seeing Cash’s temper wearing thin. He shot him a warning look.

“I’m going hunting with them this weekend. We’ve been dying to hunt on your private land. We could stay the night at your cabin. That would win some brownie points with them.”

“All right. Set it up. I’ll pick you guys up Saturday morning at five a.m.”

“We better go,” Shade warned.

Everyone in town knew the cherry-colored Porsche at the red light, ready to pull into the theater’s parking lot, was Jace’s father’s car.

“Later,” Cash said, starting his motor.

While both men rode out as Drake pulled in, Cash lifted his hand in acknowledgment. Shade shook his head, not missing the gloating look on Cash’s face. The poor fucker was actually looking forward to getting the Porters on his side; however, Shade would rather make friends with a pack of rabid dogs.

* * *

He opened the door to his house later that night, seeing Lily sitting on the floor beside the couch, going through her purse.

“What are you doing?”

Lily looked up, smiling at his worried question. “You’re going to be mad if I tell you, so before I do, could you help me up?”

Shade hastily walked to her, bending down then easily lifting her to her feet.

“Thank you.”

“Now tell me what happened.”

“Nothing. I over-estimated the size of my belly. I didn’t realize that I couldn’t move the table back once I scooted down from the couch.”

“You actually wanted to sit on the floor?” Shade asked patiently.

Lily nodded. “I was looking for my driver’s license. I must have dropped it the other day when I switched purses.”

“Did you find it?”

“No. I must be getting careless, trying to get everything ready for the baby. I’ll go into town tomorrow to get a new one.”