Not whatever, because it’s blatantly clear he means, as long as the club remains on the same path it’s always been on.
I should have taken him aside before this, told him my plans, and gotten his support before bringing it up. The regretlodges firmly in my gut. It would have made a difference, especially for the younger guys who are eager to follow in their enforcer’s footsteps.
“We can’t operate how we are…”
“So, we figure something else out. We get crafty,” Blaze cuts me off, flicking open the Zippo never far from his grasp. The flame dances, reflected in his eyes, a calling card for his road name.
The nods around the table are unanimous. They’re aligned against me, the decision already made without a formal vote. It’s a losing fight, one not worth pushing. At least not until something happens and they see the reality of what I’m trying to protect us from.
“That’s how you all feel?”
The agreements sound off around the closed-up room, deeming the vote useless.
“Got it. Moving on, then.” I swallow the frustration and pivot. “There’s a rally coming up in Florida. We’ve got some business to settle up with the Tallahassee chapter. The majority of us need to be there, but Pierce, Ricky, Blaze, and Tank will stay back at the compound.”
A groan of annoyance comes from the lot, except for Pierce, who gives me a grateful nod. Lexi’s due any day with their second, and after everything they’ve been through, I’m not taking him out of state when he doesn’t need to be there. Si can handle anything that comes up along those lines.
“Si, your girl is good to come. Patch has an interest in meeting her.”
Patch has another thing coming if he thinks he’s getting anywhere near my enforcer’s girl. Not that Harlow can’t handle herself better than some of my own men.
“Make sure she’s on a leash, though. The last thing we need is a full-out war with one of our own chapters.”
He scoffs, dark eyebrows nearly touching his hairline. “My wife does what she wants, when she wants. I haven’t been able to control that woman since the day she walked back into my life. If Patch wants a meeting with her, he’d better buckle up.”
“Jesus fucking christ.” I shake my head, knowing damn well he’s not wrong. Harlow’s a loose cannon, just like her damn husband.
“We leave Wednesday. Family only. Don’t show up with some passaround. There’ll be plenty of pussy for everyone when we get down there.”
My gavel hits the wooden table one last time, and the meeting is closed. The men get up and leave, chairs scraping, voices already rising again as if nothing monumental just happened. But I’m glued to my chair, my mind still reeling from their reaction. The weight of leadership presses harder now than it did when I walked in.
They can’t see it yet, but it sits on the horizon like a loaded weapon waiting for the sight to zero in. If it does, we’re fucking screwed, because we’ll be a shell of the club they’re used to.
Maybe Patch will have some advice on how I can get through to them.
YOUNG, DUMB, AND IN LOVE
JOSEPHINE
The oven timerchimes its incessant song. I get it’s necessary, but does it really need to be so damn long and start again before I can even make it into the kitchen?
“Haley, baby. Go wash up, dinner’s almost ready.”
Pushing the timer off so I don’t have to hear its annoying tune again, I slip on the oven mitts and pull out the casserole dish, placing it gently on the stovetop to cool.
A strong arm snakes around my waist, pulling me into a hard chest. The scream I let loose at the unexpected touch filters throughout the kitchen.
“Jesus fucking christ, when the hell did you get home!”
Vik’s deep laugh jostles my small frame in his grasp. “I just came in. Dinner smells amazin’, mama.”
“Oh, don’t mama me, you big oaf, make some fucking noise before you accidentally get a knife to the gut.” I threaten, but when his lips find that spot on my neck—that he knows drives me wild—my body melts into him.
“Mhh, you trying to make me hard? Because we can take a little…”
“Daddy!” Haley squeals, tearing around the corner.
The look he throws me as he drops down to eye level with our daughter does nothing to quell the thunderous beat in my chest.
