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Dean was manning the bar, and it wasn’t lost on Simon that Devil had organized it so all of his boys were here. Pa, Felix, Knight, Twig, and Teddy.
Dick was also in residence.
The moment Teddy and Dick first met, it had been a little intense.
“You think it’s funny?” Dick asked, getting into Teddy’s face.
Teddy, for his size and just the sheer force of him, smiled. He was bigger than Dick. He towered over the other man. Dick didn’t back down.
“Do I think what is funny?”
“Calling yourself Teddy?”
“It’s my name.”
“Yeah, and mine is fucking Teddy Bear, what you got to say about that?”
Everyone had burst out laughing, Dick included. They’d shook hands and afterward, Dick had gone to meditate.
“I’m not nervous, Anthony. I want to know what brings you boys here, that’s all.”
“I guess if you’d stuck around, you’d have been a fully patched-in member.”
“Yeah, but why do I get the sense that this trip is about me?” Simon asked.
Anthony shrugged.
Devil’s door opened. “Simon.”
The doors closed.
“I guess we’re about to find out.” He walked toward the door and slid inside. Lash and Tiny were there in the office.
He acknowledged both men before turning toward his prez. Right now, Devil wasn’t his dad.
“The Monster Dogs want to meet with you,” Devil said.
“They do?”
“Lash and Tiny here are negotiating the terms.” Devil took a seat.
To anyone who didn’t know Devil, they would assume he was calm, okay, and everything was fine with him. They didn’t know him like he did. Underneath the surface, Devil was fucking fuming.
He controlled it.
Sitting back in his chair, he watched Lash and Tiny. The current prez and the former prez. His gaze on them more like a hawk ready to strike.
“I know you think this is a meeting to hand him off,” Lash said.
“Oh, I think this is a lot more than that. I think this is a fucking trap. The last five years have been all about peace and being friends. They scratch your back, and you do the same.”
“It’s not like that,” Lash said.
“No?” Devil laughed. “Then tell me how this little arrangement has benefitted me? My son can’t go to Fort Wills, and his woman is one of yours. You tell me how that’s going to fucking go.” Devil slammed his hand on the desk. “Tell me.”
“I wasn’t going to start a war,” Lash said. “I know this is painful for you.”
Devil laughed. “This shit isn’t painful to me, Lash. I followed your lead because you are a damn good one. You know what you’re doing, but somewhere along the way, the Monster Dogs have come out as the injured party. They fuck you left and right. They make demands, you turn them down, they scream like a child. Make threats. You’re here, asking my son to go and have a sit down with them. That shit isn’t happening.”
“And if this had been anyone else?” Lash asked. “What he did could have started a war with the clubs. We’ve been there. We know how all this goes down.”
Devil threw the contents of his desk onto the floor. “What they started. We didn’t throw the first punch. As I seem to recall, your daughter.” He looked toward Tiny. “She was the victim. They threw the first punch, and your son.” His gaze turned to Lash. “Found her in that state. They fucked up. Not us. We didn’t cause this. They did!” He yelled each word. “Or did you forget about that? We have been treating this wrong for too long.”
“He killed Ryan,” Lash said.
“And what, you’re saying Tabitha’s rape was less than that? What should we have done, slap him around a bit? Cut him? What Simon did is what all of us would do! Don’t forget who we fucking are deep down in our core.”
“I haven’t forgotten who we are,” Lash said. “I know the price that had to be paid, but he was the one to do it in fucking public in my town. We could have handled this differently.”
“Stop acting like a pussy.”
“They’re on my doorstep,” Lash said. “They are the ones who want to negotiate a truce.”
“No,” Tabby said.
Simon turned to see his woman, panting. She stood in the doorway and stepped into the room.
Tiny got to his feet but she held her hand out. “No more,” she said.
“Tabitha, you need to wait outside.”
“No!” She slammed her foot to the ground. “I’m not going to be told to go outside. To go and wait, to be a good little girl. I’m done with that.” She looked toward Simon. “You are not going!”
“This isn’t your decision,” Devil said.
“This is my decision. I have stood by and watched you all try to keep the peace. For fuck’s sake, you’ve been together for twenty-plus years. You’ve all had your ups and downs, but this isn’t going to fall apart because of those assholes,” Tabby said.
