Page 33 of Cannon

“Yes, Barbara, that is how it’s supposed to be.” Whack doesn’t look impressed with what Noah has just told him. He turns away and disappears.

“Okay, ladies, where to?”

“Young man, you are in for a long day of women’s clothes shopping.” I take his arm, and we head out of the kitchen.

“Hell, as long as clothes shopping includes lingerie, trying it on, and needing an opinion, I’m up for it.” He nods and winks as he says this, but loses his smirk when Pattie speaks up.

“Two out of three ain’t bad, Noah. Two out of three.”

Surprisingly, we’re only shopping for a couple of hours, and we’re all done. Pattie has enough clothes now to be able to look casual-smart in her new position. She chose mainly jeans and blouses, but with a trouser suit for any formal meetings and a couple of jackets should she need them. Her choice of shoes was almost work-boot like, but again, she also had some smart feminine shoes.

Walking back into the clubhouse, I noticed Mella lounging in the rec room. I thought she was supposed to be doing more work around the place lately, from what Pattie told me while we were shopping, but hey, that’s none of my concern.

As I look away from Mella, I’m lifted off my feet and a mouth slams hard over mine. Blinking furiously, I see that it’s Cannon, thankfully, and I surrender to the moment. When the kiss finally ends and I catch my breath, we’re no longer in the rec room, we’re in Cannon’s room.

Chapter 20

*~* Cannon *~*

When Jamie gave me the all-clear, I immediately asked about Barbara. She’d been given the all-clear hours ago apparently, as there were no signs that she could be contagious. That’s just my luck. Going in search of her, I find she’s already escaped our prison and gone shopping. Well, I can’t fault her there.

Walking through the clubhouse, I take crap from anyone who sees me. They hold up two fingers in the sign of a cross, dodge out of my way, even scream and run in the opposite direction. Assholes, that’s what they are.

Grabbing a mug of coffee, I head for Pres’ office. Maybe now I can find out everything that is going on with my truck. Knocking on the door, I enter when instructed. Seeing Breaker and Griller standing behind a seated Bandit, I know this can’t be good.

“Just in time, Cannon. You’ll need your VP head on for this one, that’s for sure,” Whack says, without taking his attention from Bandit, I notice.

Bandit turns to look at me, and I don’t recognize the man staring at me. The eyes are glassy and empty, but they have a malevolence to them as well. “VP? He doesn’t know his ass from his elbow. He’s about as clueless as the rest of you jokers.” He makes to stand up, but powerful hands descend on each shoulder and hold him down. He growls like a caged animal but stays in the chair.

“What’s happening here, Pres?” I ask, but I’ve seen plenty of drug abuse in the past. I’m disappointed that none of us saw this earlier, myself included.

“We’ve been lacking in our own security and welfare checks, it seems. Bandit has become an addict under our very noses, and we’ve all made excuses for his behavior instead of looking deeper for the cause. He expressed a desire to be President of the club, and he wants to challenge me for it. If he were compos mentis, I’d just agree and have at it, but he clearly isn’t. Any thoughts on the matter?” Whack appears to be relaxed through all this, but I can see the tenseness in his shoulders, the guarded look in his eyes, and more than that, there is something in his voice.

“Can Jamie get him into rehab somewhere? I don’t think a challenge for the presidency is a viable option, neither is just cutting him loose to fend for himself.” We are better than both of those scenarios. A challenge would mean his death. Cutting him loose would be just as bad, probably worse.

“I’ve spoken to Jamie already, and she’s looking into the rehab thing. I think it’s the best option, so let’s wait and see what she comes up with. In the meantime, keep him in his room. Any shit from him and we'll lock him in the shed. He is not to pose a threat to anyone here,” Pres states, and Breaker and Griller take him from the room. I pointedly sit in a different chair to the one Bandit used.

“Where was he getting his fixes from, Pres?” I’m thinking out loud more than anything.

“I’m not doing your job for you. You find out and then deal with it. Are you back in the land of the living now?” Pres grins at me.

“I wasn’t dead, just contagious. I got the all-clear, so I’m good. Any news on my truck?” I change the subject quickly.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Ghost believes your truck is at Stephan Haroldson’s ranch. He hasn’t confirmed it, but I think he has someone on the inside. Our wannabe senator is making enemies faster than he is spending his ill-gotten gains. We need to get your truck out of there before someone decides Stephan is getting too big for his britches and takes over the operation.”

“Hmm, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. If we knew who it was, we might be able to kill two birds with one stone.” That could work in our favor, I think to myself.

“I’m not sure that the club getting into bed with anyone who wants to take over that operation is in our best interests. Better the devil you know, eh? If it was someone who was shutting it down, that would be different.” Whack tilts his head to one side. “I think your wanderer has just returned.” Without a word, I’m out of the chair, headed for the rec room.

Walking into the rec room, I step straight into Barbara’s path, lift her off her feet, and take a kiss that I’ve been waiting for far too long . Keeping the kiss going, I carry her to my room and only stop when I need to breathe. When she gets over her glassy-eyed look, she sees where we are, and an evil smirk takes over her features.

Placing my cut over the chair back, the rest of my clothes stay where they fall. Barbara is taking far too long for my liking, and I grab her blouse and rip the buttons off as I tear it open. As she scrabbles at her jeans' button and zipper, I throw her onto the bed, grab the bottom of her jeans' legs and pull them off. She slides close to the bed's edge as I do this, and with a slight dip of my thighs I’m at her opening.

“I’m not on anything at the moment. I could get pregnant if your swimmers are on the ball?” She looks at me, but I don’t think the look says she is bothered by the prospect. I know I wouldn’t mind. It would just bring a wedding forward.

“Barbara, if you tell me in an hour, a week, or a month, I wouldn’t mind one bit. It would just give us more time to have more kids. What do you say?”

“Stop talking and do me!” She smiles and pushes herself to meet my hard cock.