Ten minutes later, I’m sitting around the table with the rest of my brothers, but I’m finding it hard to focus on what could be going on that we were all called here out of the blue. We hold weekly meetings, but we haven’t been called to an impromptu meeting for a while now. It must be something big for him send for all of us. Even the prospects are here. Of course, they’re not allowed in this room, so they’re out in the bar, but they’ll get filled in after, I’m sure.
Once everyone is seated, Mack gets right to the point. “I got word today that The Street Kings have reinforcements. About five of their brothers from an out-of-town chapter showed up a few days ago. I don’t know why they’re here, but we need to find out. I don’t want to be surprised by anything. If they are readying for something, I want to know about it. I want round the clock supervision on them and we need everyone here on alert. If this is going to turn ugly, I don’t want to be caught with my pants down.”
He looks around the room, making sure we are all taking this seriously and are all on point. As soon as he mentioned The Street Kings, all my rage from the flowers and Harlow got directed toward them. If they are up to something or trying to fuck with us, they’re going to be sorry.
“Any questions?” Mack asks, but no one questions him or his sources. “Louie, Blaze, Toby, and Tom Tom. My office to discuss strategy. Slayer, Jax, Tyke. I want you to take point with the rest of the brothers. I want at least three brothers close to them at all times. Keep tabs on their comings and goings. Report back to me with any sign of suspicion or trouble.” He slams the gavel down hard on the table.
Everyone dispenses, knowing what they have to do and what needs to be done.
I follow Mack, Blaze, Toby, and Tom Tom into Mack’s office. Since I’m the last one in, I close the door behind me, then lean up against it with my arms crossed.
“What’s your feelings on this? You think they’re preparing to go to war with us or are they just bringing brothers in for the fuck of it?” Toby is the first to ask a question.
Mack sits down behind his desk and steeples his fingers in front of his mouth, thinking.
“I honestly have no idea what to think of this, and that’s what worries me. I am completely in the dark on this one. When we got word that they first moved in, we heard all kinds of rumors and stories of their reputation. But we kept a close eye on them sonsabitches for a year and we saw nothing. We pulled back a bit, still watching, but still, we see nothing. Now, they’re bringing more fuckers in? For what?” he asks, but it’s a rhetorical question. He’s thinking out loud while the rest of us are thinking the same thing in our heads.
“Could it just be a celebration?” Tom Tom asks, but he doesn’t sound like he even believes it himself.
“For what? And why now? It just doesn’t make sense.” Blaze is the one to answer, but Mack nods in agreement.
“What have their business dealings been? Maybe something big is going down but it has nothing to do with us.” This comes from Tom Tom again.
We each think that over, but that still doesn’t sound right. “Nah, it’s something else.” This time, I’m the one to answer. “Mack’s right, we need to keep a closer eye on them. Until we know more, there’s no telling what they’re up to.”
“Make sure the girls are protected at all costs. I don’t want any of this spilling over to them. Not this time. They’ve each been through too much,” Mack says to Toby, Blaze, and myself. I’ve let them in on what happened with Harlow, and even though she hasn’t been hurt or brought into anything because of the club, I’m glad they feel like she needs protection as well. She’s one of us no matter how deep she’s in.
“No fucking problem,” Toby says.
“Maybe we should get the girls outta town this time. Send a prospect with them and have all three of ’em go to one of our safe houses with the kids.” This comes from Blaze. He’s being levelheaded right now, but I can see the fire in his eyes. If Dani doesn’t agree to go willingly, he’ll haul her ass somewhere out of the way kickin’ and screamin’. She’s been involved in the last few threats we’ve had, and been hurt every time in some way.
“I think that’s a great idea, but will she go for it?” Mack asks.
Everyone is quiet, thinking about the way Dani would react. Everything is so up in the air with her most times, we never know if she’s going to be reasonable or not. But this time, I think she will. I hate that I won’t have Harlow here and be able to protect her if need be, but I know she’ll be safer this way.
“She has the kids now. I think she’ll be agreeable if we approach it the right way. And with the other girls going, she’ll go no problem,” I say.
Blaze looks at me, trying to read if I really believe that or not. And I do. “You’re right. Maybe you should be the one to broach the subject.”
I want to joke and give him shit that he’s scared of his woman and too pussy to tell her himself, but I think he’s right. I might be the best person to lay it all out there without sugarcoating it, but to also get her to see that it’s the best option.
“All right man. I gotta get back to the shop anyway. I’ll talk to her then.”
Slapping me on the back, he says, “Thanks, brother.”
I take my time getting back to the shop. As much as I want to focus on Harlow and the flowers, I can’t because getting Dani on board is going to be tricky. I’m going to have to word what I say just right to get her to agree. And once I have her in agreement, the other girls will have no choice but to go along with her.
I park my bike and take a deep breath. Ready or not, this is going to happen. I only hope that it turns out the way we need it to. The girls have to be safe. The kids need to be safe. We need to know they are taken care of so we can focus on what is important here and that’s getting to the bottom of what The Street Kings have planned and if it involves us.
I spot Dani first, but Harlow comes around the corner seconds later. Ignoring her, I grab Dani’s hand and start to pull her toward her office. “What the fuck, Louie?”
Probably not the best way to get her alone so I can talk to her, but oh well.
As soon as we’re in her office, I close the door on a confused Harlow.
“What the hell has gotten into you?” Dani asks, arms crossed.
I don’t answer, still trying to get my words straight in my head. “I’m sorry, but I needed to talk to you alone.” It’s the only thing that comes to mind off hand.
Still standing with her arms crossed, she levels a glare at me. “All right. Well, you got me alone. Now care to share what the fuck is going on?”
What the fuck was I thinking? There’s no easy way to tell her this or get her to agree to it, so I mind as well just spit it out and deal with it. Whether she likes it or not, she’s going to the safe house.
“There’s something brewing. We don’t know what it is or what it means, but it could get bloody. You need to go home, pack up some clothes for you and the kids, and get out of town. We’re going to have a prospect go with you, the twins, and the girls to a safe house. Until we can figure this out, it will be the safest place for you all.” There. Just like that it’s done. Now I just wait for the yelling or her to start throwing shit. Then I’ll break it down further for her. Anything to make sure she gets what’s at stake here.
But she doesn’t do either of those things. She doesn’t yell and she doesn’t throw shit. She’s not even looking at me like she wants to set me on fire.
“Did you hear me, Dani? You need to leave. It’s not safe for you here.” How can I make it clearer? I don’t want to have to tell her all the ways she and the twins could be hurt, or worse, but I will if that’s what it will take to get her to leave.
She finally answers. “I heard you.” That’s all she says. She doesn’t agree with me, tell me she’ll go, or tell me that I’m out of my mind. Nothing.
“You heard me? And you aren’t going to argue?” It’s crazy how much both she and Blaze have changed since the twins were born.
I honestly can’t tell if I like it or not, but right now, I think it’s the latter. At least when she was bitching and fighting us tooth and nail, I knew what she was thinking. But now? I have no fucking clue.
“Yes, I heard you. And no, I’m not going to argue. You’re right. If something is going down, I need to get EJ and Harley and take them someplace safe,” she says, which has me speechless. That was easy. Almost too easy.
“But…?” I start, waiting for her to drop the bomb that has to be there.
“But nothing. Am I upset? Yes. Do I want to leave? No. But it’s the right thing to do. I know that you’re waiting for me to argue, but I’m not going to. Those kids are the most important thing to me. If this is what I need to do to keep them safe, then so be it.”
Letting out the breath I was holding, I finally start to relax. I was ready to fight with her, but now that I know that’s not going to happen, I’m relieved. I hate fighting with Dani and demanding her to do things. She such a strong person and I always want her to be in control, but in times like this, we don’t have a choice.
I close the distance between us and take her in my arms. “Good. I’m glad you agree,” I say quietly into her hair.
We stand like that for a few moments, then I hear her sigh. “But—” she starts to say, but I don’t let her finish. Stepping angrily away from her, I throw my hands up in the air.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now? Of course you’re going to argue. It’s what you do best, Dani. But please. Please tell me what the fuck you have to argue, huh? You just said that your kids are the most important thing to you. And I just told you that they’re in danger. Now you want to fight with me about this?” I ask, pissed that this is the way it’s going to go. I should have fucking known.
She opens her mouth to reply, but I continue yelling. “Do you understand that they could take you to get to us? Do you get that? And not only you, but EJ and Harley! They could kill you, Dani! You, and EJ, and Harley. You’ll all be fucking dead, and it’ll be because of your stupid, headstrong ass.” I know I’m being an ass and I didn’t need to break it down like that, but maybe I did. She’s always gotta argue, and look what always happens. Someone gets hurt or worse, they die.
“Fuck you, Louie. If you would stop being a fucking prick for one goddamn second and let me finish, I was just going to say but I don’t want to close the shop. I need and want the kids safe and I know I need to be safe for them as well, but this shop means a lot to me too. So I was going to say that I needed you to tell me that you’d still work. Keep things up around here until it’s safe for me to come back. But I guess that’s just too fucking much to ask, isn’t it?”
Fuck. She’s right. I am an ass. I just jumped right to the worst, thinking she’d never got for it and fight till the end to get what she wanted. And I was wrong. Seems I’ve been wrong about a lot of things lately.
“Shit, Dani. I’m sorry. It’s just with everything going on and the position it’s put everyone in, I jumped the gun. I’m sorry.”
Again, she surprises me by calming right down and is understanding. The old Dani would have ripped me a new asshole ‘til she was blue in the face. My outburst would have caused her to fight harder, but not now. “It’s fine, Louie. I get it. Everyone is jumpy and all out of sorts I’m sure. But I’m serious. I need you here, at the shop, for as long as possible until I can get back here. I don’t want to close it down for an unknown amount of time. It will kill our business.”
“Of course I’ll keep the shop open. You don’t even need to ask. I know how much this place means to you and it means just as much to me. It won’t be easy with having to handle everything from tattooing to the scheduling and paperwork, but I can manage. I can do this one thing for you so you don’t have to worry,” I say, and it’s true. She’s making a huge sacrifice by agreeing to leave so she’s safe for us to do what we need to. I can do this for her.
Before she can answer me, the door opens and Harlow is standing there with a look I don’t quite recognize. “He won’t have to do it alone. I’ll stay behind and help.”
Dani and I both look at her like she’s outta her mind. Of course she can’t stay back. She needs to go with Dani, the kids, and Sara so she’s safe as well.
“No. Absolutely fucking not. You’re going with her and this kids. Sara’s going too. End of discussion,” I say, drawing the line.
“Not end of discussion, jackass. You don’t make decisions for me. I will decide what I do and don’t do, and I decided that I’m staying. No one knows me or that I’m connected to the club. And it’s the least I can do for Dani after everything she’s done for me.” I know she thinks she owes Dani and the club for bringing her in and helping her when she needed it, but she’s wrong. We’re family and that’s what we do. We don’t need thanks or to be paid back.
“I can’t ask you to do that, Low. You need to come with us. We don’t know what’s going on or who we are dealing with. For all we know, they’ve been watching the shop. They’d know you are connected to the club, to me…to Louie. They could hurt you.” Dani says, taking Harlow’s hand in hers.
“You aren’t asking, Dani. And neither am I. I’m staying and that’s final. If they know I’m with the club and want to hurt me to get to them, then so be it. Everyone has made sacrifices. It’s my turn now.”
Insufferable woman! “Harlow—” I start, but she cuts me off.
“I’m staying,” she says, then stomps out of the room.
Great. Just fucking great.
Chapter 14
Harlow
As I make my way back to my desk, leaving both Dani and Louie behind in the office, I think back to what I heard.
I don’t have any specifics, but I got the gist of it; something’s happening that could be dangerous and they want the women and children to go into hiding at a safe house. But when it comes down to it, that’s all I really need to know. That doesn’t mean that I’m going to follow along though.
I do agree with Louie about Dani, the twins, and Sara going though. They each have a deeper connection to the club. Sara is married to Toby and Dani has children with Blaze. Me, on the other hand, I’m pretty much nothing to them. I’m an employee, slash friend, slash fuck buddy. I’m not trying to degrade myself or have a pity party, that’s just the cold hard truth. And I’m okay with that. I’m content with it, too. But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to run off at the first sign of trouble.
Dani and Sara have both been in sticky positions before I got back; each being hurt and put into danger. They don’t need that again.
And knowing that Dani wants to keep the shop open gives me another reason to stay behind. I owe her so much. I can stay behind and make sure that all runs smoothly and help Louie out around here till things calm down and the girls can come back.
“You’re going,” I hear Louie say behind me, anger evident in his voice. I know he’s probably upset about me staying behind, but I also know that that’s not the only thing he’s upset about. I could tell before he left to go to his meeting that he was upset about something. I just have no idea what it could be. Surely he’s not mad because I left him sleeping in my bed this morning. Or maybe seeing the flowers, he remembered I never thanked him for them. Maybe he thinks I think someone else sent them?
“No I’m not, Louie. I’m staying here.” I’m not going to let him railroad me into leaving when there’s probably no threat anyway. At least not to me. But if there was, it’s more important that Dani and Sara be gone with the kids, not me. And if trouble does come knocking, then I can take care of myself or I could even leave when it’s a given that I need to.
I don’t know what part of what I said did it, but Louie’s eyes flash and I see something that I never want to see again directed at me: pure rage. It’s so intense, it’s almost demonic.
“Of course you don’t want to leave. You probably want to stay here so you can keep fucking whoever it is that left you those flowers! Even if it means someone will take you,
probably torture and rape you, before killing you.”
His words have me completely speechless. I can’t believe any of that came out of his mouth. First he accuses me of fucking someone because of the flowers I thought were from him. Then he thinks that even if that were the case, that I’d put my life in jeopardy to get my rocks off. And then lastly, the part about someone taking me, torturing me, raping me, and then killing me. How could he even say that shit to me? Any of it?
I try to talk, to tell him that the flowers were supposed to be from him, that I’m not messing around on him—whether we are exclusive or not, I would never have sexual relationships with more than one person at a time—and then tell him that what he said about me dying and how it would happen was totally uncalled for. But I can’t get the words to come out. Not even a squeak pushes past my lips. Nothing.
“Oh fuck this shit. It ain’t worth it,” he says in a hate-filled voice before stomping off and out of the door.
I can do nothing but stare blankly after him. I don’t cry or get mad. I’m cold and numb on the inside. Not even Dani walking up to me and taking me into her arms penetrates through.
Dani tries her best to get me to talk about what just happened, but I still haven’t managed to even say one word. My mind is running a hundred miles a minute and I can’t get the look on Louie’s face out of my mind’s eye. He looked at me like he loathed me, like he couldn’t care less if all of those horrible things did in fact happen to me. There was no caring or compassion in his eyes. It was like the devil looking at me with rage and contempt. It makes me go back to a place I never wanted to go again. A place where I had no one and I didn’t matter. I hate that place.
About an hour later, Dani comes walking out of her office. I think I heard her mention that she was going to call all the appointments for the rest of the day and reschedule or something like that. Now, she’s just standing in front of my desk with what looks like pity in her eyes.
Defying Destiny (Forsaken Sinners MC #3) Page 13
