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I smile to myself as he takes off back into the house to get breakfast on. No way he’d ever do that in front of the club members. Not even Runner, the closest one to him. Hell, not even to Sin. Only me, because he knows I like that he treats my baby girl as the exception to all that hardness he’s gotta bring with everybody else in his life. He treats her like a princess, just the way I do, like the way I want for her.
“All right, girls,” I say, getting to my feet. “I’m gonna head inside. Need a moment with Ax.”
As I lean down and give Ava and Roxana a kiss, Roxana tells me, “Just don’t rile him up, Dad. He’s tense right now.”
“I hear you, princess.”
Truth is, I’m gonna do whatever I need to in order to get through to him, to make sure he’s protected, no matter what, and even in spite of himself, and that bullheaded state he sometimes gets in when things get crazy and personal for him.
* * *
“What kinda trouble?”
Ax darts around the kitchen, fixing breakfast.
Eggs Benedict with his signature homemade hollandaise sauce.
“Just one of the painters down at the housing development Reirdon Construction’s working on running his mouth and causing some shit, smoking weed and bringing his friends over when he’s painting at night. The supervisor thinks he needs a talking to, but the guy needs firing.”
“And you’re gonna take care of it?”
He frowns at my tone. “What’s the problem?”
I take a sip from my coffee mug and rest my elbows on the breakfast bar counter, eyeing him intently. I got a real bad feeling here. I’ve seen this kind of thing from him before.
“We’re talking low-level stuff here. It shouldn’t even be on your radar. I mean, it’s not even SAA worthy, more like enforcer and baby enforcer level at that.” I snap my fingers. “Easy, the new kid, he should be on it.”
“That ain’t the way I run my club.”
“It ain’t the way you run it when you’re worked up.”
“What you talking about?”
“Last time you stopped delegating stuff like this was when you started working that list to take down all your enemies so you could get Roxana back.”
“That ain’t—”
“You almost killed Vicky’s ex.”
“And you’re the one who actually did.”
“You left me no choice with the way you’d messed him up. It was in broad daylight, I couldn’t let you take the heat, had to be a ghost like me taking it on. He weren’t the only one neither. There was that guy Roxana was seeing when you were apart who you almost beat down out in public. The only thing that stopped you was her pleading with you.”
“That pussy laid his hands on your daughter. You would’ve done the same thing.”
“Yeah, I would’ve.”
“Right, then what’s the problem?”
“You can’t!” I shoot to my feet and kick back my stool, crossing to him. “That’s what you gotta get here, Ax! You’re Prez! You’re known now, basically a public figure. There’s people watching what you do, the calls you make and the mistakes you make. You make a move, it’s the club making it.”
“I ain’t new to none of this. Been Prez for years now.”
“But there’s certain things that have that good sense and experience flying right out the window. Your hands being tied is a major one. It’s what happened back then when you lost Roxana and it’s what I’m worried about happening now. You can’t make a move against the man who attacked your wife. You gotta also wait on the war with Hounds of Fury, knowing those fuckers are gonna come at you and yours, risking everything you love in this world. It’s a whole lot of waiting, biding time, and doing things the careful way, the slow way. That’s gotta be taking its toll. The Priest situation has pushed it way too far, I’m wagering.”
He holds up his hand grasping the spatula. “I’m good, Dealer.”
“Ax—”
