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My eyes stayed on my VP and daughter a little longer. When Taz lays claim to her, I recognize the devotion in his eyes and hear the truth in his words. My hand runs through my hair and over my face. That discussion will have to happen at another time, where I can lay his ass out for not talking to me about this shit. It’s about respect, and I’m his motherfucking president.
Right now, my focus needs to be on the dead bodies that litter my compound, and who the fuck thought attacking me and mine was going to go unchecked? Not my right-hand man claiming my kid.
“Well, shit!”
I look back at my daughter again. I know I have no right to have an opinion. Like it or not, she is my baby girl, who she wants to be with, and what she does with her life will always be my business. Seeing Bellamy on my VP’s lap makes me feel a way that isn’t necessarily a good feeling. My mind goes back to when my VP asked her to dance earlier. I saw it. I saw the way he looked at her, and I knew. He looked at her the way I looked at her mother. Shaking my head, I bring myself out of those thoughts. It’s not the time for that.
Looking around the room, I see my family, brothers, and children, all except Princess, who is still in the safe room. My eyes connect with my son Blaze, and for the first time since meeting him, I don’t see hatred and loathing, and a sense of relief shoots through me. Giving him a nod, he stares at me, assessing me for a moment, and then he does the same. That kid made it clear I’m not off the hook and am okay with it. I fucked up. If I have to do pennants to get in his good graces, then I will. Because he deserved to have me in his life. I fucked up, and I know it. And he will make sure I pay for it. I smirk at what that’s going to look like.
I turned my head to survey the room, trying to come to terms with and ignore my daughter being claimed and sitting on my VP’s lap happily. I stare directly into her eyes.
“So, Bellamy. You said we needed to talk. First, before I let you say what you need to.” Taking my eyes off Bell, I look around the room. “I want to let everyone know we are on lockdown. If that wasn’t obvious by the shit that just went down, it should be now. As soon as we are done, I need you all to get your families on the club grounds as soon as possible. Let's get this show on the road and done as quickly as possible and get our families situated. Officers, when we are done here, we will reconvene in the morning unless shit is time sensitive and we need to meet sooner.” I focus back on Bell, signaling her to say her peace.
She shifts on Taz’s lap, and his face changes. I know that fucking face. Fuck no… I glance away. I don’t need to see that shit. When I look back at her, she has a massive smile. This fucking girl is going to be the end of me. She knows this shit is making me uncomfortable, and she’s doing this shit on purpose. The twinkle in her eyes tells me all I need to know. My eyes narrowed into slits, which she ignored as she turned to the room.
“So, from what my team has gathered so far, this was an obvious message from the Italians. The Rossi family is deadly. But whoever they hired, they were not pros. It was sloppy, uncoordinated, and I’m assuming they didn’t do any research on the club and how you’ve handled these types of head-on attacks in the past.” she says matter-of-factly.
The room erupts with hell, yeah, motherfuckers, and anger. I raise my hand to quiet everyone down. “What I want to know is what’s their end game? Because we took out a lot of men and had no losses on our end. So, what was the point?” Before she can answer me, Blaze steps forward and does.
“There was no point. I don’t think this was Don Rossi but his son. From what we know of the younger Rossi, he is impulsive and a lunatic. This was his version of hello. And a test.” Blazes steps back, leans his shoulder on the wall and stares at me.
I regard my son’s response, which causes me to have more questions. Not for the first time. I wonder what the fuck Beverly has gotten us into. “So, you are saying some young mafia fuck wanted to say fucking hi' by shooting up my fucking clubhouse and possibly killing members of my family? As a goddamned introduction. That fucker is going to die.” I’m seething. What happened to the days when you tried to talk shit out if you had a problem, and then if all else failed, fuck shit up? Damn, I miss those days.
“As we explained before, the younger Rossi is… unhinged. From what I could gather from the limited communication between Rossi and your ex-wife, the guy is getting impatient. He wants what he wants. And what he wants is your daughter.” Blaze's voice is impersonal. Making it clear he’s not the biggest fan of Princess. Hell, half my club has her on their shit list. But she’s my kid, and I’m not giving her up because of some fucked up mafia contract her mother saddled her with.
“Okay, with all that being said. And the history is what it is between the families. The father may not have sanctioned the son's actions, hence the piss poor coordination of the attack. My question is, how far is he willing to take this? How did we not know this was going to happen? And how do we take care of the little shit? Because I’m telling you all now, I’m not letting my little girl be fucked over by her mother for some shit I knew nothing about.” I say through clenched teeth.
When the words leave my mouth, my phone vibrates in my pocket. Usually, I wouldn’t have it in church. But with how shit went tonight, I didn’t even think about it until now. I ignore the vibration and await an answer from one of my kids.
Blaze catches my eye as he shifts his stance, pulling a bag from his back. He sets it down on the floor and pulls out two computers. Without a word, he hands one to Bellamy, then stands back, pulling his open, and types one-handed. His eyes narrow on the screen, and he looks up at his sister. The phone in my pocket stops vibrating, but that doesn’t last long. Instead of ignoring it, I pull it out and set it on the table to see who it is, but there is no number on the screen. It just reads UNKNOWN.
“Answer that.” My head snaps up, and my eyes connect with Blaze’s.
“Gunner, answer the phone.” I look over to Bell, her eyes telling me it’s essential.
So, I answer my fucking phone.
“Who the fuck is this?” I growl out.
I set my phone on the table and put it on speaker. Nothing… All I hear from the other end is clicking and breathing; otherwise, it’s silent. I refuse to play whatever game whoever’s calling wants to play. So I hung up.
I look up at my children; they aren’t looking at me. They are staring at one another. Breaking in on their silent conversation
“Do you know who that was?”
“Yes,” they say in unison.
I stare at them, waiting for them to elaborate. But they don’t. They look at each other again and then click away at their laptops. Bull jumps up from his chair, understanding they are onto something. And everyone in the room is looking at me, wondering what the fuck is going on. I hear mumbling coming from Bellamy.
“He was last spotted in… Gotcha, you slimy fucker…”
Bellamy’s fist bumps the air as she stares over at her brother. Blaze hasn’t stopped typing on the computer. Then he lets out a furious and frustrated growl and types more furiously than before.
“He’s a fucking little prick. Bellamy, check your screen…”
“What the fuck are they up to?” I say to no one in particular.
Everyone’s head ping-pongs back and forth between the two, more clueless than ever, and I’m becoming frustrated with not knowing what the fuck is happening.
