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Curly set the platter down in the center of the table. “Eat up, fam.”
The next ten minutes were full of loud chatter, arguing, and laughter as everyone loaded their plates with food from the delicious spread. Had Brenna known Brooke was planning this elaborate breakfast when they’d talked, she would have offered to help. As it was, she’d been clueless and pleasantly surprised.
A loud whistle sliced through the air after everyone had filled plates and refilled coffee mugs. The shrill noise cut through the boisterous crowd and garnered everyone’s attention immediately.
Curly smiled at the group. “Thanks to all of you for being here on such short notice. I know Brooke invited—”
“Ordered,” Jinx called.
Curly smirked. “Ordered you to family breakfast this morning, but it’s not just to eat. There’s been a complication, and we need all hands on deck.”
The playful mood evaporated in an instant. The sudden transformation from busting each other’s balls to dead silence and rapt attention had Brenna’s jaw dropping. This group was fun, but they knew when the occasion called for serious focus.
“What happened, Prez?” Ty asked. It probably wasn’t often the prez called a meeting without informing his VP of the reason.
Curly tilted his head and shifted his attention to Lock as though asking if he wanted to be the one to reveal the news. Lock nodded once, then tightened his hold on her hand.
“I was served legal papers last night. Oliver has petitioned the courts to remove Caleb from my custody due to my former drug use and affiliation with the club.”
All hell broke loose as soon as the words left his mouth. Jinx shouted a vile string of curses as Spec threatened Oliver’s life in no less than seven gruesome ways.
Even Ty, who sat to Brenna’s left, cracked his knuckles and added a loud slew of threats to the mix.
Curly whistled again, but this time, the response was slower. It took a solid few minutes for everyone to settle.
Brenna watched Lock, who blinked and swallowed, seeming to be dealing with a barrage of emotions. For some reason, he had the ridiculous notion he hadn’t earned love and loyalty from his club due to his past mistakes.
Aside from helping him retain custody of Caleb, her mission from then forward would be to make Lock see how much he deserved the love of his club family.
He cleared his throat. “Um, I spoke with the club’s lawyer last night, who said Oliver actually has a good chance of success with this lawsuit.”
“So we kill him,” Spec said as though it was the simplest solution.
Brenna gawked at him. She’d never been around someone who threatened violence and wouldn’t lose a wink of sleep carrying out that threat.
“Seriously?” Liv rolled her eyes as she backhanded her man’s chest. “You don’t think your club is the first place the cops will look if that jackass turns up dead?”
Spec scoffed with mock indignation. “Babe, I’m hurt. It’s like you don’t know me at all. I can make it look like an accident.”
“Oh yeah.” Tracker snorted. “You’re about as subtle as a neon billboard.”
“Hey! That’s rude.” Spec threw another biscuit.
Beside him, Liv shook her head and shrugged. “I tried.”
The way none of them balked at the idea of killing a man, only the intelligence of killing Oliver at this specific time, left Brenna’s head spinning. With as much time as she’d spent around Lock and his club family, this was a stark reminder of how new she was to their occasionally violent world.
What she didn’t admit out loud and never would was how she fully supported Spec’s idea. Oliver had gone from a thorn in her side to a significant threat to Lock’s future. His death wouldn’t cause her any tears.
“It wouldn’t matter anyway,” Curly said, speaking over the chaos. “The lawsuit was filed in the name of Oliver’s law firm. His partners would carry on with or without Oliver.”
Spec shrugged. “So we kill them too.”
“Oh Lord,” Liv muttered, smacking a palm to her forehead.
“Let’s save that for Plan B,” Curly said before sipping his coffee. “Any other ideas for a Plan A?”
Ty scratched his chin as he leaned forward. “Way I see it, we either need to discredit the judge once it goes to trial or fuck with Oliver’s law firm. Do we have a way to bankrupt them or reveal a scandal that’ll put their rulings in question?”
