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I shake out my shoulders and take a deep breath before entering the room with Dodge by my side. My men sit around the large table, with Tag and Anton sitting in chairs on the outside of our circle. My men belong at the table, each having earned their place here. Anton and Tag are Mafia, Anton being the head, and I trust them. They’re good guys, and Tag is my son-in-law, but they haven’t earned a place at my table.
Tag called me last night to arrange this meet, saying they have news for us. I sit at the head of the table, the gavel to my right, handed down to me from my father and his father before that. I bang it once to indicate that church is now in session, and the voices around the table fall silent as all eyes turn to me. “Sorry for keeping you all waiting. Things went a little crazy.”
“We heard that little Mae is going off the rails,” pipes up Chuck.
“Where’d yah hear that?” I ask. “She made a small mistake. It’s all sorted, no harm done.” I’m playing it down because, ultimately, it was my fault. I took my eye off the ball and kicked that guy from her room without escorting him out. It was a rooky mistake because my head was too full of her.
“No harm done this time,” growls Hulk. “She could have had us all killed in our beds.”
“Man, if you think a little chump like that can slaughter us all in our beds then . . .” I trail off, and some of the guys around the table chuckle.
“How’d you know he was a little chump?” asks Hulk. “He could’ve been a seven-foot biker.” I press my lips together in a fine line, realising my mistake.
“Just a guess. She looks like she goes for the geeky type.”
“You’re right, Pres, he was a geek.” Scar smirks.
“Have we come to talk about Mae, or should we get onto real business?” I snap, my patience running thin. I can’t risk talking about her or I might slip up again, and no one can know what we’ve done. I don’t know how the guys would feel. Mae has been a part of this club since she was a small girl, raised by us all after her father was killed. “Apparently, Anton has something to tell us.”
We all turn to look at Anton, who stands and straightens his expensive suit jacket. “We’ve had intel that Lorenzo Corallo is back in town.” I grimace at this new information. Tag’s father ran after he’d tried to have Tag killed so he could re-claim his title as head of the family and underboss to Anton. When the assassination failed, he went underground.
“He’s using an alias, but the passport under that name was used yesterday to re-enter England.”
“Do we know if he’s in London?” I ask, my concern rising for my daughter and grandchild.
“I’m looking after her, Ace,” snaps Tag, reading my mind.
“Where is she right now, Tag, cos I don’t see her by your side?” I growl. Dodge picks up on the sudden tension in the room and stands, waiting for my instruction.
Tag gets to his feet too. “She’s with my security team at the gym, and my son is with Queenie in this clubhouse. They’re both safe, Ace. They’re always my number one priority.” Dodge grumbles, and Tag glances at him warily. I click my fingers, and he stops, choosing to sit by my feet with his eyes fixed on Tag.
“Lucy should be here, under this roof until we find him.” This is the safest place for them to be right now, and Tag knows it. After he was shot, they both moved in here, but I’ve noticed lately they’re spending more and more time at one of his places. I’m not sure Lucy even realises he’s doing it,keeping her to himself.
“Well, you know Lucy, always challenging my decisions and pushing the boundaries,” he snaps, and I wonder if everything is okay between the two. He almost sounds pissed.
“Then I suggest you get your woman in order,” I hiss. “There’s no way I’d have my woman out of my sight with Lorenzo around.”
Anton waves his hands. “Enough! This isn’t a pissing contest. I came to advise you to step up security around the club. We don’t know if he knows Lucy has ties here, especially after you helped us out with him before.”
When Tag was trying to help his father escape the Mafia after wronging them, we helped to pull off a fake murder, making Anton’s father believe he was dead, so Tag could step into his shoes.
“Of course, it goes without saying. Tag, pull Lucy back here. I’m putting the club on lockdown.” Groans erupt from around the table. “It’s to keep our women safe. We don’t know why he’s back, or if he plans on trying to kill Tag again. We’re all at risk, and most of all, so is my daughter and grandchild. I ain’t risking them.” I slam the gavel on the table and leave the room. I need to work off this stress, but I can’t bother Mae again, she’ll get sick of me.
I go to the bar, and Mae is behind it, a cloth in her hand, chatting happily to her mum. She glances in my direction, and I scowl, still playing the role of pissed-off President. “Whiskey, neat,” I grumble, but she hesitates. “Which part didn’t you understand?”
“Everything okay?” she asks, and I glare at her. It’s something she would have asked me before we complicated everything, but I still feel like people will guess if she speaks to me like that.
“Get me the drink,” I snap, and she raises her eyebrows before turning away from me and getting my drink. She slams it on the bar and the amber liquid splashes, a few drops landing on the polished wood. I’m tempted to teach her sassy mouth a lesson and have her lick the damn spill up, but she snatches the cloth from her shoulder and wipes it away.
Bernie smiles weakly. “Kids,” she mutters, causing me to almost choke on my drink. It’s not what I need to hear after I just fucked her against my office wall.
“We’re on lockdown, Bernie,” I growl, “until further notice. Spread the word and make sure the club girls are on hand for the guys. We’ll all need to work off our pent-up aggression.”
“You got it,” says Bernie.
“Wow,” huffs Mae, “work off pent-up aggression. Willyoube doing that, Pres?” It’s what I’d normally do, before her, but I can’t tell her that I’ll be taking my frustration out on her fine arse. Not with her mother sitting right next to me. “It’s not fair on the ladies stuck here. What about me and Piper?” she goes on.
“You want me to hire male gigolos?” I offer, adding a smirk.
