Page 1 of Alice & Meg: Summer Vacation (Fallen Lords MC & Devil’s Knights MC Crossover)

Meg

“Lo!”

I hollered as I squatted next to our loaded-down motorcycle, pawing through the saddlebag like it had eaten my favorite tank top and refused to give it back.

“Grab the seventy proof!”

There was a beat of silence from inside the house, then Lo’s voice echoed out, “What?”

I didn’t even bother looking up.

“The seventy proof!”

I called again, louder this time.

“We’re gonna need it!”

“Babe,”

he shouted back, “what the hell do you need seventy proof for?”

I finally stood and turned around to see him standing in the doorway, one hand on the doorframe and the other holding the keys.

“When it gets hot,”

I said, pointing to the sky, “we’re gonna need it.”

“The seventy proof?”

he asked again, like I hadn’t just said it twice already.

“Yes, Lo. The seventy proof.”

He raised his eyebrows and gave me a look, then nodded.

“You got it, babe.”

He disappeared back into the house, muttering something I didn’t catch, and I turned back to the saddlebag to zip it shut. I patted the top like it was a good girl and heard the door lock click, then the porch creak beneath Lo’s boots.

“Here,”

he said. I turned to see him holding out a familiar mason jar.

“It’s eighty proof. We don’t have seventy.”

I blinked at the jar, then at him.

“Why do you have the moonshine?”

“Because you asked for it, Meg.”

He looked down at the jar.

“We don’t have anything else close to seventy proof.”

I took the jar from him and stared at it like it was going to make sense if I looked long enough.

“Is this going to protect me from the sun?”

Lo looked at me like I’d grown a second head.

“No, babe. It’s gonna get you drunk off your ass, and then I’m going to have to carry you back to the motel room.”

Honestly, that was likely to happen at least once this trip, but I didn’t think we needed to bring our own moonshine for it.

“I wanted the seventy proof sunscreen, Lo.”

He closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.

“SPF, Meg.”

He opened one eye.

“Sunscreen is SPF, not proof.”

“Oh,”

I drawled, then nodded.

“Yeah, I meant seventy SPF.”

I handed the jar back.

“You can put that back in the house and grab the seventy SPF sunscreen.”

Lo took the jar, still shaking his head as he trudged back up the steps. I leaned against the bike, tipped my head back to the brightening sky, and smiled.

We were really doing this. One whole week. Falls City, here we come.

Cyn and Rigid, along with Reva and Hero, were all meeting us here, riding up together on their bikes. Greta and Bear were bringing up the rear in Bear’s Bronco, stuffed to the brim with everything we couldn’t pack on our bikes.

In just a couple hours, we were all going to be together in Falls City. Vacation mode officially activated.

The door clicked shut again, and I looked up to see Lo locking it behind him, sunscreen bottle in hand.

“Seventy SPF,”

he said and tossed it to me.

“You’re a good man,”

I grinned and shoved it into the saddlebag.

As he stepped off the porch, I heard the familiar rumble of bikes. Cyn on the back of Rigid’s. Reva perched behind Hero. And Greta and Bear’s Bronco pulled up behind them.

They cut their engines, and I raised a hand.

“Right on time!”

Greta and Bear climbed out of the Bronco and walked toward us.

“Did you manage to actually pack everything on the bike?”

Greta asked, eyeing the bulging saddlebags with amusement.

I nodded.

“I managed to pack light, but I might need some space in the Bronco on the way back for souvenirs.”

Yesterday, Greta and Bear had come over to pick up all of the things I wouldn’t be able to fit on the bike, but I knew they needed to come with us. You know, the usual: air fryer, griddle, and four coolers filled with drinks and food.

“Souvenirs?”

Lo chuckled behind me.

“We live not even two hours from Falls City, babe. I don’t think you need to load up on souvenirs like we’re never going back.”

I rolled my eyes.

“I know we’ll be back, but what are the odds we’ll go back with the Fallen Lords?”

Rigid shrugged.

“I mean, it’s pretty likely. This is the third time you’ve planned a crazy trip with them.”

Cyn bumped her shoulder into him.

“The first time we hung out was a coincidence. We’re going back to Falls City so we can hit all the fun spots this time. Last time we just stayed at the Kalahari because of the convention.”

“Please don’t make us go on the boat tours,”

Rigid groaned.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”

Greta interrupted, stepping forward with a finger raised.

“You can bet your ass we are going on the boat tours, old man.”

She started counting on her fingers.

“Duck. Jet boat. Dinner. Ghost. We are doing all four of them, and I don’t want to hear one complaint from any of you.”

Bear raised both hands.

“I don’t have a damn clue what she’s talking about, but she won’t stop talking about the boat tours. I’d like to do them just so she can stop talking about them.”

Hero laughed and ran a hand through his hair.

“The last time I was on the jet boat tour, I was seventeen, half-drunk from sneaking beers with Zig and Zag, and burnt to a crisp because I was too cool to wear sunscreen.”

Cyn tsked.

“Even though I kept reminding you all day to put it on.”

Rigid turned to her.

“You’re going to skip over being pissed as hell at him and the boys because they were drunk?”

Cyn shrugged.

“I’m too old to still be mad about it. I think they learned their lesson when all three of them were throwing up in the same garbage can on the dock.”

“Yeah,”

Hero agreed.

“Lesson more than learned.”

“Why don’t we put a pause on the reminiscing and get on the road?”

Lo suggested.

“Yeah,”

I agreed.

“We can make some more memories this weekend.”

I looked at Greta.

“You didn’t take the air fryer, popcorn popper, and blender out, right?”

Greta smiled widely.

“Nope, and I also grabbed the crock pot because I want to make spicy sausage dip to eat by the pool. I had Bear run out to get the ingredients for it late last night.”

Reva laughed.

“I love hanging out with you guys. I know there will always be laughs and plenty of food.”

Lo wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pressed a kiss to my temple.

“But no hotel room fires, right?”

Cyn and I both rolled our eyes.

“Let it go,”

we said in unison.

One freaking time we accidentally smoked out two floors of the Kalahari trying to make banana bread in an air fryer, and Lo wouldn’t let us live it down.

“Let’s hit the road!”

Reva called and hopped on behind Hero.

We all mounted up. I slid behind Lo and wrapped my arms around his waist. Cyn climbed onto Rigid’s bike, and Bear climbed into the Bronco with Greta riding shotgun.

Lo pulled out of the driveway, and the rumble of the bikes filled the air as we hit the road with the Bronco trailing behind us.

I held my hands out, catching the wind between my fingers as we left Rockton behind and headed for Falls City.

Summer vacation had officially begun.