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Nodding my head at him, I turn and keep my eyes glued to the passing scenery even though I don’t know what the hell I’m looking at. Time isn’t something I can comprehend right now. The only thing I’m worrying about is my sister and how she’s doing in the car with Sabotage as we drive the rest of the way in silence.
WALKING BACK IN the clubhouse, we’re met with every man in the room jumping up from the chairs they’re sitting in. The four of us reek of smoke and the men in the club want to know what’s going on since I’m the president and Sabotage is the enforcer of the club. Looking at my family, my appreciation and love for them soars. They’re ready to jump up and go to war because something may have happened to us. These men have my back and know without a doubt I have their back. It’s the way our family works and why I don’t want anything to change in my life.
They all begin to talk at once. Asking questions and trying to figure out what’s happened and why no one else was called in to help out with the situation. I let them go at it for a few minutes as Hartley and Jaelyn try to figure out what’s going on around them. Wrapping my arm around Hartley, I pull her close to my side before looking at the room once more.
“I’m callin’ church in a few minutes. We need to get Hartley and her sister, Jaelyn, settled so they can take showers to rid themselves of the smell. I’ll be out in a little bit so we can go over everythin’,’ I let everyone know as I gently push Hartley and her sister through the room and up the stairs to my bedroom.
“You can go handle whatever you need to. We can sit out here until you’re done with business,” Hartley tells me, her voice filled with unshed tears.
“Not happenin’, Pixie. I’m gonna get you guys in the room and then make sure you have clothes to wear when you get out. They can wait a few minutes,” I tell her, placing my hand on her lower back.
It doesn’t take long to get the girls in my room, lay out clean clothes, and then make sure they don’t need anything else before I head out to church. Jaelyn pretty much hugs up to her sister and doesn’t say a single word. Her eyes are glossed over, and I know she’s in some sort of shock or something. These two women have had a long, rough day and I’m surprised they’re still standing upright on their own. They’ll crash soon and it’s going to be needed in order to get through the next few days.
“If you need anythin’ else, we’ll be in church. I’ll make sure Trina is here. She’s an ol’ lady and will help you out if you need it. Otherwise, I’d prefer you to stay in my room until I come back,” I tell them, looking from one sister to the other. “Lock this door behind me. I’ve got a key and can get back in. Don’t let anyone else in.”
Each and every time I look at Hartley, my heart does this weird thing in my chest. I’m not sure what it is, or if I even like it. It feels as if my heart is going to beat out of my chest and land right at her feet. I’ve never felt anything like this before in my entire life. It’s something to think about later on though. For now, I have to let the club know what’s going on.
Taking one last look at Hartley, I force myself to leave the room. It’s as if I want to stay with her and let Talon lead the club. I know it’s not something I can do, and I can’t think of a single reason why I’d want to stay with her when I’ve never wanted anything more from a woman than the time it takes to find my release and make sure they find theirs too. This tiny slip of a woman is changing me and I’m not going to worry about it anytime soon.
Walking out of the room, I close my door behind me and wait a minute until I hear the lock click in place. Turning around, I come face-to-face with Mona. This bitch is about to wear out her welcome here quicker than hell. Not that she hasn’t already.
“What do you want, Mona? I’m kind of in a hurry,” I question her, not bothering to hide the venom from my voice.
“Baby, why are those whores in your room? They don’t belong in there. It’s our room and until we get back on track, you don’t get to do whatever the fuck you want,” Mona tells me, trying to look as if she truly believes the shit she’s spewing right now.
“First of all, you don’t even look in their direction. Those two aren’t rebels, whores, or anythin’ else you think to call them. They’re none of your concern and not your business. So, I suggest you take your ass somewhere and clean like you’re supposed to. If not, you know where the door is. Don’t let it hit you in the ass on the way out,” I growl at her. “Plus, you don’t belong up here unless you’re with a brother. Get the fuck downstairs and stay there.”
“Lash, don’t you dare fucking walk away from me!” Mona screams as I walk down the stairs toward church. “Look at me.”
I ignore her and continue on my way. Stepping up to the thick, closed wooden doors, I hand over my gun and phone to the prospect, Evan, guarding the door. Before entering, I admire our colors which have been burned into the wood by my father. He wanted everyone to know this is our domain and no one other than fully patched members are allowed inside these doors. The only time a prospect or member of a different club is allowed inside is for special circumstances. We don’t have many of those around here.
Finally, I make my way through the door and see every member of the club sitting around the table. Everyone is somber and calm as they wait for me to show up and take my seat. Pulling out my chair at the head of the table, I look around as I sit down and grab the gavel in my hand. Banging it on the table before me, everyone sits up and waits for me to speak.
“First, I want to go over club business. I know you all want to know what happened today and we’ll get to it. Books and everythin’ else before that though,” I tell them, turning my attention toward Zeus and Shank.
“We got paid for the last run everyone went on. I put the money in the safe after countin’ it and makin’ sure everyone was paid. Your money is in the safe as well,” Shank begins. “Businesses are all in the black and makin’ good money. Whatever went down at Jaded Outlaw yesterday had no impact on business.”
Wow, was it really just twenty-four hours ago I met Hartley outside our strip club and saved her from the douche canoe? It seems like a lot longer than that since meeting her. I guess it’s because of everything that’s happened in such a short amount of time.
“That’s good to hear. Zeus, what do you have for me?” I ask.
“Need to think about hirin’ another stripper or two for the club. Bring in fresh pussy for the guys who come in. I think we need another bartender or waitress at Rowdy Shot too. As far as Rebellion’s Ink, Whittaker’s Wheels, and Knight’s Diner go, we’re all good. Pretty sure that’s it for club business. Unless you want to tell us what happened with Sal when you met with him,” Zeus says, his voice confused because normally I would have already called church to discuss what happened on my trip.
“About that,” I begin, running my hand through my hair, missing the hat I normally wear. “We’re not goin’ to be doin’ quite as much work for him now. The deal we struck is we’ll be called in for jobs his guys can’t handle for whatever reason on their own. We’ll still be runnin’ the guns, but it won’t be goin’ through them anymore. I’m not in direct contact with the buyer. He wants a shipment once a month. Maybe more dependin’ on what’s goin’ on.”
For a few minutes, not a single man surrounding me says a word. It’s so silent you can hear a pin drop. Everyone is thinking about what I just said and processing what that means for the club as a whole and on a personal level. I’d be doing the same thing if I weren’t sitting at the head of this table.
“What about the money we were makin’ with them?” Death asks, looking at me.
“Not losin’ a single dime. In fact, we’ll be makin’ more because we won’t have Sal in the middle of every transaction anymore,” I respond to him.
That information puts a few smiles on their faces and their eyes light up as I look around the table. The men are sitting relaxed in their chairs. Some are even lounged back as they smoke or just sit there. I know they’re all tense and waiting for me to get to what happened today and why Sab and I reek of smoke and are covered in soot and other grime from the fire.
“We’ll be gettin’ a drop in the next few days for the next run. A bag will be dropped here with information inside. We want to keep this off the books as much as possible. Nothin’ is written down; it will be on a burner phone placed inside the duffle bag. Any questions?” I ask the table at large.
No one says a word in response. I look from one man to the next in order to make sure everyone understands what I’m saying in here. I’m sure questions will come up in the future and I’ll try to answer all of them. For now, no one has anything and that means it’s time to move on.
“Movin’ on. Last night, we saved Hartley when some of us showed up at Jaded Outlaw. Her ex was beatin’ on her and had his hand wrapped around her throat as you can tell from the bruisin’ she’s sportin’,” I begin telling my family what happened for those of the men who haven’t seen her or heard the story yet. “This mornin’ when she woke up, there were several threatenin’ messages on her phone from the twatwaffle. When we went to get her sister and some things for them to stay here, Molotov cocktails were thrown through the windows and they lost their home. Well, we don’t know how much damage there is right now. She has to call the fire chief tomorrow. Needless to say, the girls are here in my room, and they’re quite shaken up.”
