Page 22 of Idaho

Static glanced over at me and grinned. "The inspector is set to come back out after Christmas. I have a feeling that the bogus violations are going to disappear."

Riptide was grinning as well when he added, "We've already gotten calls from a few different teachers as well. They're interested in this new opportunity."

Lock's eyes narrowed as he looked between them, then back at me. "How?"

I arched my brow. "How what?"

"It's been less than two weeks. How did you swing all this?"

Shrugging, I folded my arms over my chest. "Someone owed me a favor. I asked him to look into the inspector and see what he could do."

"And he jumped on it that fast?" My twin asked. I stared at him, letting my silence be the answer. He sighed. "And the teachers?"

"I have a contact who is heavily involved in humanitarian efforts," I replied.

"A contact?" Lock accused, more than asked.

"Rhymes with Senator Gonzalez," Riptide coughed.

Lock narrowed his eyes on me. "A Senator?"

"His entire campaign was centered around education, and I have a partial ownership in one or three of his companies that focus on donating. Once I told him you guys were creating this school for underprivileged youth he was more than happy to put the word out to see if there was anyone who would be interested in being involved. Of course, I told him that these would be paying positions."

"Of course," Lock said. Judging by the look on his face, he wanted to ask more questions, but knew there was only so much I would tell him when it came to my business affairs. The club, and the kids, were benefiting from all this so he was willing to drop it and just accept what was happening.

"I'll take care of that," Riptide told us. "This is my project."

I had something in the works to help out with that, but I didn't mention it yet. I wouldn't until it was a done deal. This was going to be a charter school, so parents would be paying for their children to attend. Once that happened, the salaries of the faculty would be taken care of, but who knew how long it would take to fill the school? There were plenty of people who would be happy to help pay for an education for the cult kids in the meantime. I just needed the time to meet with some of them. Maybe host a fundraiser.

Lockout's eyes narrowed as he studied me. He'd been able to read me better than anyone when we were kids and it looked like he hadn't lost that ability. "What are you planning?"

"Nothing." I kept an innocent expression on my face, but I knew he wasn't fooled. He knew me too damn well. What they did for the women and children from the cult was a good thing. And it was easy to see not one man here had a problem with housing and feeding all those families, and while Rip paid for the bulk of it, I knew the others pitched in as well.

If I could make things easier for them, I would. I had a soft spot for kids. Not that I'd admit it to anyone. I'd already been out to see where the families were living. It was a nice building. The club had done well by them, but I wanted things to be better.

"Does that mean it's all taken care of?" Lock asked.

"I'm sure more will pop up," Static told him. "But now we can handle the problems as they arise. There won't be any more bullshit issues though."

Lockout nodded, then turned to the others and they began speaking about other club issues.

My mind wandered as I listened. I made a mental checklist of what needed to be done over the next few days. My assistant, Andrew, was going to be incredibly busy. I had a couple last minute ideas that had come to me once I'd gone with Static to see the school and the apartments where the families were living. One idea had already been put into motion, but in order to pull the other off, there was one person I needed to speak to.

After another thirty minutes, Lockout released us. I frowned as I realized I was scheduled to watch over the perimeter of the compound today. It was going to be tough to convince Eva to stay here with me if I left her alone to stew. A hand landed on my shoulder and I glanced over at Priest.

"You're off for the day."

My brows pulled together as I frowned at him. "Since when?"

"Now."

"Who's taking over my duties then?"

"Ricochet offered to do your patrols."

My eyes searched the faces as they passed by and they locked with Ricochet's. I gave him a nod of thanks, since there were too many men between us. They were all talking and laughing, making it impossible to speak over the noise. He returned the gesture before heading out of the room and into the hallway.

"Thanks, Priest." It was obvious the man had already considered my predicament and asked our brothers if someone would be willing to take over so I could speak with Eva. That was something I was quickly realizing about Priest. He was always one step ahead of everything around here. I would hire him in a heartbeat if I didn't already know he'd refuse. Lock had hired him to keep the club running smoothly, not only because it helped the club, but because it helped Priest. He was always here for anything his kids might need. He had his hands full with those little girls, but every person on this compound was head over heels for them. All the children here were loved. It was really fucking nice to see. My brother had done more than create a brotherhood. He'd created a family.