Page 37 of Cannon

The peace is shattered when Spirit walks into the clubhouse. Shattered is probably the wrong word, as she comes in quietly enough, it’s just the aura that she brings with her. She walks directly up to Ghost who is sitting on a bar stool at the bar. Obviously expecting the worst, he slips off the stool, so he is standing before her.

“He asked me to bring him here, Spirit. I only did as he asked.” Ghost holds his hands up in mock surrender, and I see her turn her attention to Mateo.

“I sent you a text. I couldn’t stay in that place a minute longer. I had to get out to save my sanity.” Mateo holds up his phone as though this is some kind of apology.

“I didn’t get a text. If I had, you would still be resting in that hospital bed, you muppet.”

“She loves him. She called him a muppet.” The words are whispered by me to Barbara, but obviously not quietly enough, as Spirit’s eyes bore into me like lasers. She turns and walks towards the offices, and we all breathe a sigh of relief.

Mateo tries to get the lowdown on everything that has been going on, but we keep him in the dark as much as possible. He knows about Pattie being his deputy, and when she appears he sits her on the couch with him, and they start talking shop. Fury and the pair of them go at it like school kids as they discuss the bar and all their aspirations for the place.

Fury and Pattie are still jabbering away when Spirit walks back into the room. She stands before them, and they both take a second before they realize she is there.

“Really, Fury? You’re determined to kill him, is that it?” Her laser stare burns into him, and then Pattie breaks the spell.

“Sorry, Spirit. We three got carried away at the prospect of the bar opening.” This is when everyone else in the room notices that Mateo is fast asleep and probably worn out from the excitement.

“Well, my prospect is not staying here. He needs complete rest, and you lot aren’t going to see he gets it.” She turns and storms back to where she had just come from. Whoever’s office it may have been.

Seconds later, she is back, with Pres in tow. “He’s coming home with me, and that’s final. This is not resting, this is exhaustion and he’s only been back an hour.”

Pres looks like he’s about to argue, but then Spirit whistles. Seconds later, two dogs rush into the room to stand by her side. Ghost steps carefully toward Spirit but stops when the Rottweiler looks at him. The Malinois seems to be fixated on Pres, who hasn’t moved a muscle since they appeared.

“Ghost, help this young lady get Mateo safely ensconced at her place, wherever that may be, and you can fill me in when you get back. I think Mateo will be in safe hands and paws.” Pres nods to Spirit and she nods back.

Once she has the dogs out of the room, Ghost and I carry Mateo, still blissfully unaware, out to her truck. She takes off home with her precious cargo and Ghost follows on his hog.

When he gets back, he gets bombarded with questions and fills us all in on Spirit and her story. I notice that he is very careful with certain details, such as where she lives. He also redirects the conversation away from her when he explains that she is the daughter of the man who should have cared for Thorn. Telling that story diverts everyone’s thoughts away from her very nicely.

Finally, all alone and in our room, Barbara asks what happened with Mella. Giving her as brief a description as I can, I see her fill in the blanks in her own mind. Lying together on the bed, she snuggles into me and I wrap an arm around her. Surprisingly, neither of us initiate lovemaking and the clubhouse enjoys an evening spared from our high decibel antics.

Chapter 23

*~* Cannon *~*

Monday morning always comes around too fast. I suppose that’s true for most people. Barbara is back at work, much to her relief. They had a training session on Sunday morning, and she was partnered with Pattie this time. Pattie did not hold back when they were sparring, and I’m sure some of it was payback for when Barbara hit Pattie's head onto a table. That’s not the sort of thing you forget. Barbara took it all in her stride but was more than a little fatigued by the time they’d finished the session. Pattie, however, looked like she’d been on a Sunday afternoon picnic.

Whack held Church yesterday, too, and it was decided that as we have had no issues, it was deemed safe for her to go back. A prospect will be present at the practice each day as a precaution. More of a warning system than a defense system, though. He’s also graciously allowed us to vacate the clubhouse and move into Barbara’s house. I’m looking forward to that.

High on the agenda was still my missing truck. Ghost confirmed that it was with Stephan Haroldson’s collection at his ranch, so I’m all for the guns blazing approach and taking it back, plus whatever else takes my fancy as compensation. Pres, quite rightly, pointed out that getting payback for Mateo had now taken priority. I’m still in favor of the guns blazing approach for that mission as well.

We also now have the issue of this Carlos character at the college to take care of. That’s down for one of today's chores. I get to go on that mission shortly.

Pres told everyone in Church about Mella and Bandit. He also insisted that for the foreseeable future, we would all be undergoing monthly drug testing by Jamie. Anyone who had an issue with that should speak to Pres on a confidential one-to-one basis before the first tests were administered. He also pressed home the fact that we should be looking out for each other and that he expected Bandit to be the one and only time anything like this slipped through the net.

Fury put forward that the bar was ready to open, and he wanted it for Monday evening, but the general consensus was that it would be a flop at such an early part of the week. A compromise was agreed that it would open on Thursday. Late enough in the week to catch the start of the weekend business, but also early enough that it probably wouldn’t be flooded with hardened drinkers and troublemakers.

With Hellion, Bear, and Rage on security and plenty of brothers in attendance, we didn’t think it was likely that anything or anyone would kick off. Fury asked if Mateo could attend the opening as he was the Assistant Manager and had been involved from day one, but Pres told him he would have to be the one to broach that subject with Spirit, because he definitely wasn’t going to.

Fury made the call to Spirit, and after a thirty-minute wait, she called him back. Mateo could go to the opening ceremony, have a quick drink to celebrate, and then she was taking him home. Fury was happy with that, and I suppose Mateo must have been, too.

Partnering up with Vortex yet again, my chaperone from earlier, we take an SUV and head for the college. Having only a rough description of Carlos, we thought he might be hard to find, but I’m sure we’ll manage. Griller and Rage have teamed up to man one of the club’s vans, should we need them. A good pair to have as backup in any scenario.

Arriving at the college, we find a spot away from the busiest area at the front of the college and watch. It doesn’t take long to spot Carlos. He’s standing by an almost new Cadillac Escalade. In this area, he looks like a fish out of water. He couldn’t be less inconspicuous if he walked around with an arrow pointing to him saying, ‘Get your drugs here.’

Leaving our cuts in the SUV, we separate and head his way. It’s almost time for the college’s first classes to start, so we guess that he’ll leave as soon as the kids have thinned out and his trade has gone. We want to be there before he disappears.

We’re discreetly closing in on him when the SUV door opens and a familiar face appears. If it isn’t my old friend, Big Ugly. He must have been demoted from riding around with Santos if he’s looking after a dealer now.