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I shook my head. “No. I’m going to get one of the boys to run you to the train station. I have something I need to take care of.”
Her smile faded, but she said, “Okay, thanks.” She walked to the door, glancing back at me briefly to say, “Thank you for taking care of Tony for me.”
After I’d organised Kick to take Ivy where she needed to go, I rested my ass against the desk and took a moment to get my thoughts under control. Shit was changing and not in good ways. Ryland being replaced wasn’t great. It was better the devil we knew with him. Fuck knew who would take over. Also, we were still in the dark as to Romano’s location. The feds had him tucked away somewhere safe. And while I’d agreed for Ivy to leave, I would worry about her until we had her husband sorted. On top of all that, the club was struggling with everything going on. We were stretched thin trying to keep business running as usual while also working like fuck to fix the shit we were in. Add to that the fact I’d sent all family members away, and my men were starting to grow restless. I needed to pull us all back into line and get us ready for the next part of this battle.
I headed out to the clubhouse bar in search of Hyde. Finding him drinking with Nitro, I sat with them and detailed where we were at with Ryland as well as my thoughts on the unrest in the club. I then said, “We need a club get together tomorrow night. Something to bring us all back together and on the same page.”
Hyde nodded his agreement. “I’ll organise it.”
“We also need a new plan to allow for everyone to have a couple of days off to visit their families. We’ve got Cole and the Brisbane boys here. They’ll boost our numbers to make that possible.” I looked at Nitro. “Can you get a roster sorted for that?”
“Will do.”
I couldn’t put my finger on what it was, but something had my gut churning. Something didn’t fucking feel right, and I needed to figure that shit out fast.
I surveyed the clubhouse bar late the next afternoon, taking in my men. They’d started drinking just after three, and I’d let them all know our plan going forward. It was exactly what they needed to hear, and I watched as the tension eased with the knowledge they’d have time with their families soon.
“Everyone seems much happier,” Annika said, joining me at the table where I sat in the corner. “It’s amazing what some alcohol will do.”
I drank some of my beer. It wasn’t the alcohol that had caused this turn in mood. It was the brotherhood. It was always that. But I’d found unless someone was part of it, they struggled to wrap their head around just what the club meant. Every one of us would lay down our life for our brothers. Sometimes, though, the battles we waged took their toll. It was at those times we had to draw close and trust in our brothers to get us through. That was what today was about.
“How are the kids?”
“They’ve had enough, King. How much longer do you think this is going to go on?”
“They were okay at dinner last night.”
“That’s because you were there. They love you being around.”
“I don’t plan for this to take much longer, Nik.” Axe had a lead on Romano’s whereabouts, and we were following up on that. I was hopeful to have him dealt with in the next day, but I didn’t tell her that in case shit went south.
“Good.” She stood to leave. “One other thing—I really like Lily. She’s such a great influence on Skylar. You did good there, big brother.”
I finished my beer before heading out, too. I wasn’t hanging around tonight. My head was all fucked up, so I needed some space to figure some of that out. I grabbed my shit from the office and dropped in on Skylar to check on her.
She glanced up at me from the bed where she was doing some study. “Ooh King, I’m glad you came by. Lily left her phone here.” She held it out to me. “Can you please take it to her. She’s probably stressing, wondering where it is.”
I took the phone, but I wouldn’t take it to Lily. I’d get Kick to run it over to her. “I’ll get it to her,” I promised.
Skye smiled, and I admitted to myself how right Nik had been about Lily’s influence on our sister. Her anxiety had levelled out and she hadn’
t argued with me in days. “Thankyou,” she said.
I pulled up a chair and spent some time chatting with her. Half an hour passed as she told me about her progress with Lily and the study she had to catch up on. We laughed and joked around with each other, and it felt like the easiest half hour I’d had in too fucking long.
“Something’s going on with you,” she said as we laughed over something silly she’d done that morning.
“What?”
“I don’t know, but last night you wanted dinner with us all and now you’re just sitting with me cracking jokes like I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you crack them.” Her face softened. “It’s nice, King. I like seeing you smile.”
I stretched my neck. “I’d say it’s because I haven’t had a headache for a couple of days.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Maybe. Whatever it is, I hope it continues. You need some happiness in your life.”
“Okay,” I said, standing, “I’ve got stuff to do, so I’m gonna head out. You need anything?”
“No, I’m good. Just please don’t forget to get Lily’s phone to her.”
