Free Earning the Cut (Riding the Line Series, Prequel) by Jayna Vixen Page A

that whatever kind of hell he himself had been through, Crow had been there too. Dax looked back, his eyes steady, as Crow fired up the joint and passed it over to him.
    “Got a proposition for you, kid.”
    Dax took a long, slow drag, letting the sweet smoke enter his lungs and dull his brain. “I’m listening.”
    ***
    Dax looked around himself with more than a hint of wonder. He stood in a small room with wood paneled walls. The space was tiny-just large enough to house a mattress and a night table. A dusty lamp sat on the table, its shade yellow with age. A rectangular, screen-less window large enough to climb out of opened onto a large, grassy yard. Dax could see beer cans littering the ground out there, clustered around a huge black and white flag that proclaimed, “The Phantoms.”
    The space was tiny, but it was his for the time being. His own place. Who would have thought that taking a chance on an animal in distress would lead to this?! Crow had spoken softly, his eyes taking on a faraway glint as he had offered Dax a place with the crew. Well, not as a member, but as a grunt with a place to call home until he had figured things out a bit.
    I came up hard, too. But, I don’t let the scars of my past hold me back. You get what I’m saying kid? A lot of us got stuck with a shitty set of cards. That don’t mean you lay down and take it. It means you stand up stronger. Me, the club, we stand together. We’re a family. Everybody needs a family. You look like you could use one right about now.
    “Got any questions, kid?”
    His eyes were uncharacteristically wet but Dax managed to avoid shedding a tear, even though Crow’s willingness to give him what he had never had nearly overcame him. The man was a veritable stranger. A fierce ball of loyalty began to churn in the pit of his stomach as he accepted the older man’s generosity. I’ll never let him down!
    “Why do they call you Crow?”
    “Me and my army buddies were called the Night Crows. But, that’s a story for another time and a lot more grass.”
    ***
    He had a little time to kill, what with no school and being newly accepted into the clubhouse. Crow said he would have more stuff to do later if he proved himself, but for now, Dax was basically considered a grunt—the lowest caste of wannabe crew members. He was the youngest one there and he had nothing but Crow’s word to vouch for his allegiance, but Dax knew that he would never bite the tattooed hands that had decided to feed him. Lenny liked him, especially so after he had jumped in a pile of stinking trash to rescue Curly, so he’d be helping out at the bar until something else came up. Dax could live with that. He smiled to himself, stretching out on the worn mattress. A place of my own. My very own place. With The Phantoms, no less! It was more than he could have ever hoped for, even if he had no idea what he was getting himself into.
    Dax took stock of his new digs immediately. The communal shower and toilet was located just down the hall. Some of the rooms were bigger and some had their own bathrooms. Dax figured those were for the original club members. Even though most of them had their own homes, each guy had his own space in the clubhouse, which from the outside looked like an old warehouse. It was a pretty cool set up, all in all. Dax closed his eyes. What a long, unusual, and utterly amazing day.
    ***
    After a few days with the club, Dax fell into a nice routine. He slept in late, then spent his day doing busy work around the clubhouse until one of the guys shuttled him to the bar. Dax generally worked until the wee hours of the morning, cleaning, stocking ice, and looking after that damned cat. Funny name for a bald fuckin’cat! Once the creature was clean, Dax was shocked to find out that Curly was completely hairless. The cat had no hair on him whatsoever. His skin was mostly pink and he had large ears that made him look like a wombat or something. Dax had no idea where Lenny had