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Chapter 26
Loki
I was feeling good as I came down the steps of my house. My night with Ivy was fantastic, and it calmed my nerves. I wanted her with me. It was just that fucking simple. When I said I loved her, I wanted the words back. But she had a lot to think about with the news I’d brought her, so I’d be patient a little while longer. I reminded myself that she was still grieving, and she finally had hope of getting the vengeance she needed for her sister. As soon as that was done, I was going to lock her in my room until she told me she loved me, too.
Piotr intercepted me in the hall as I was close to the kitchen. “Someone looks happy.”
“Fuck off, Andrysiak,” I smiled.
He fell into step with me as I went out the back door, heading to our conference room for Church.
“Why are you here, anyway?”
“I wanted to know what the Valhalla Heathens had decided,” he said, continuing to give me that patronizing smile.
“You’ll know when you know.”
“Okay Anderson, don’t get all king of the world on me now. I happen to be a crime boss. A fucking scary one.” His mock scowl was precious.
“Whatever!” I called and went to open the door. Piotr knew he wasn’t welcome in Church.
When I entered, my brothers all sat around the table. I went to my chair, but was too antsy to sit. I hit the gavel on the table. “We have two things to discuss. The first is about our relationship with the Andrysiak family. The other is about Ivy.”
“What do you mean, our relationship with the Andrysiak family?” Whiskey asked, frowning.
“It’s no secret the last few weeks have been stressful and I want to know where your heads are at about taking a step back from our end of distributing guns.”
“Wait, you want to get out of the gun trade?” Boa’s shock was apparent.
“I want a break. We still need to sort out if the rest of the Rogue Boys are dead. We could use some time to regroup.”
“What about the shit ton of money we’ll be passing up?” Roar chimed in.
“I know, but the club is doing well. We can afford some time,” I reasoned.
“Well, no offense, Prez, but not all of us have family money,” Taz said quietly.
I paused, accessing each of them. Bones was the only one who hadn’t commented yet. I turned toward the wall and swiped my hand through my hair.
“Look, I'm not trying to take your earnings away. But we need to investigate, close ranks, make sure we never get infiltrated again. We started this thinking we’d only have to contend with keeping this outside of the DEAs watch. Maybe we need some time before jumping back in.”
Bones commented, “what you're saying isn’t unreasonable. But I don’t know that you always understand what it’s like for the rest of us. We want insurance for the future, so we don’t always have to bust our asses. It’s not greed. It’s long-term survival on our part.”
I didn’t respond right away. Not that I was unsympathetic to their goals or needs. I’d die for my brothers.
“I can always add to your accounts while we take this time,” I said.
“So, we’re fucking charity now?” Taz had an edge to his voice.
I glared at him. I couldn’t help it. When did I ever make them feel like they were a charity? I was about to smart off when Bones interrupted, “that’s not what he means.”
We all stared at anything but each other. So, I tried another tack, “I just meant that while we tighten up ship. I want to propose a six-month hiatus.”
“This isn’t because of the girl, right?” Whiskey asked.
“What girl?”
“Bridget, Ivy, whatever her real name is?”
