by Erin Osborne
“Yeah,” I bark into the phone, hating being interrupted when we just got done and aren’t even able to breathe right yet.
“Boy Scout and you need to get the fuck over here. Now!” Slim yells into the phone. “Sheds out behind the clubhouse and Allure just blew the fuck up.”
He hangs up without saying another word. I’m not sure where the fuck they are right now. Looking at the time, I’m thankful that the strip club is closed so there shouldn’t be anyone around. What I don’t know is how someone got onto the clubhouse property to rig the sheds out back with explosives.
We both jump up and get dressed, never once taking our eyes off of Jennifer as she lays in bed. She’s sated and ready to fall asleep, but her eyes are wide open and wild with seeing us up and getting ready to head out the way we are.
“We’ll be back as soon as we can, Spitfire,” I tell her, leaning over her body and kissing her before standing up and grabbing my cut off the back of the chair we just recently added to the bedroom.
Boy Scout gives her a quick kiss before he follows me. “Be safe and come back to me,” Jennifer murmurs before pulling the blankets up over her body.
“Always,” I call out, locking the door after setting the alarm on my way out.
Pulling up to the clubhouse, we can already see the lights of the fire department out back where our sheds are located. The parking lot is loaded with cops, and I can see them talking to my brothers in separate areas of the lot. We’re held back along with Killer and Hound. Apparently, none of us were around the club when this shit happened.
“Anyone know anythin’?” I asked as we all meet in the middle of the chaos.
“Nope. Been by Allure, and it’s a complete loss. Goldie was still inside for some reason. Didn’t make it,” Killer says, turning to head back toward his bike.
“Why the fuck would she still be in there? Everyone leaves at the same fuckin’ time?” I question, the three of us following Killer as we wait to talk to Slim and the rest of the guys.
“The girls thought she already left. It’s her car that’s in the back corner of the parkin’ lot though. If it’s not her in there, then there’s more at play here than we know. Whoever she was workin’ with fucked up and didn’t realize she was inside when they hit the detonator,” Hound answers, pulling out a smoke and lighting up as a group of cops walk past us.
They’re giving us the evil eye as they know that we won’t be pulled in for questioning because we weren’t here when anything happened. Right now, the guys with the police are trying to stay close to the house bunnies. Most of them are barely dressed or naked with the exception of one or two. The only clear thing we know right now is that this is a message. One that’s more than likely being sent by Snake’s Revenge. I’m not sure what the fuck is going to happen next, but I know a lockdown needs to be called. If that’s even a safe fucking move right now.
We’ve been waiting for hours for the cops to decide that we had nothing to do with the explosions that took place tonight. I’m sure they think we know who did it and aren’t saying a word about it, but they can kiss our asses if they think we’re gonna tell them that shit. We’ll take care of the fuckers our damn selves when we have all the facts in place and know why Snake’s Revenge is attacking us and no one else so far.
I called Renegade to let him know what was going on when Slim was able to get away from the cops for a few minutes. He knows to be on the lookout but has informed me that there hasn’t been anything on their end. Renegade also let me know that if we need them to let him know, and they’ll be here to have our backs and make sure that our club is whole.
It’s another hour before the cops, firefighters, and all the other people leave the clubhouse. The house bunnies go in and make their way to their quarters until they’re called upon by one of the men. Meanwhile, the rest of us make our way into the meeting room to have church just as the sun begins to crest over the hills in the distance.
“This has to be Snake’s Revenge. I don’t know what the fuck their problem is, but we’re gonna fuckin’ find them and make sure they all fuckin’ burn to the ground. I want their businesses torn apart, the club dismantled from the inside out, and I want their President left standin’ to witness all the destruction we’re about to rain down on them,” Slim says after banging the gavel down on the table. “I want all ol’ ladies, kids, employees, and anyone even associated with the club on a regular basis on lockdown. Now! Get Trin and Jennifer to go through everythin’ and make lists of what we need as soon as they get here. Wood, what did Renegade say?”
“Said they’d be on the lookout on their end. If we need them, they’ll be here. Other than that, they haven’t seen shit from anyone,” I tell the room as my brothers all look at me.
“Good. I’ll call him in a little while. Think I might call Grim and Gage too. They need to know what’s goin’ on just in case it touches them. We’re gonna have to look into addin’ on to the clubhouse or put a bunkhouse out back. It’s gonna be a tight fit boys. But, I’m not takin’ anymore fuckin’ chances. Yeah, we’re takin’ a bigger chance by havin’ all of us in one spot, but it’s more eyes on everyone in the club. Especially women and kids,” Slim says, banging the gavel again after telling us to go get everyone that needs to be brought in.
“Before we all head out, what about Goldie burnin’ in Allure?” Hound asks, standing up from his chair.
“We’re not doin’ anythin’ about her until we know why she was there that late and if she’s workin’ with someone on the outside,” Slim answers, standing up and making his way out of the room.
Boy Scout and I are walking toward the door when it suddenly opens and sunlight fills the common room. As soon as it closes, Shy is standing there. She’s in cut off shorts and a tank top, looking as good as she always has. I turn around and see Slim come to a stop in the middle of the room. He’s staring at her like she’s a tall glass of water and he’s been dying of thirst.
“Shy, nice of you to decide to come back,” he growls out, never taking his eyes off her.
“Fuck off, Slim. You know there are things going on with my family and they needed me,” she answers, smiling at everyone else before turning and heading toward her room.
“We’re on lockdown. You’ll be helpin’ Trin and Jennifer figure out what needs to be done and what we need. Jennifer will be here soon,” Slim growls out, making her steps falter. “And don’t ever fuckin’ talk to me like that again or you’re out on your fuckin’ ass.”
Before we can hear anything else, Boy Scout and I head out to our bikes so that we can go get our family from the house. I send her a message before we take off, followed by the rest of the guys that need to go get their family and loved ones. The rest of the guys will make phone calls to ensure anyone else that Slim wants here shows up. We’re not gonna leave them on their own in case Snake’s Revenge decide to go after them and take them out.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Boy Scout
WE’VE BEEN ON lockdown for a few weeks now. It’s been filled with tension as Shy makes it known that she’s back and not willing to deal with Slim’s shit. She’s great with Jennifer and the rest of the women in the place. There are way too many people in here trying to find places to sleep and fuck. Jennifer has been working behind the bar and in the kitchen when she’s not in school or at Phantom. Still working her ass off, day in and day out.
Every member of the club has taken turns going on in pairs or small groups searching for any sign of Snake’s Revenge. When J has to go to school or work at Phantom, almost every single member of the club is there. She has an entourage follow her to school and half of us stay at the campus.
It’s been cleared with the school and they understand what’s going on. They want J and the rest of the students protected as much as they can be. In order to keep Phantom open, we’ve all had to make appearances there. Slim refuses to let another building blow up or lose any money because of this bitch ass club. It’s been tight and wei
rd because we’re not supposed to leave the clubhouse on a lockdown. We’ve all done it though, and no one has gotten hurt-yet.
There have been so many times we’ve walked in our room to find someone else trying to take it over so they didn’t have to sleep on the floor or in a small ass room. I walked in one day with Wade in my arms to find one of the associates fucking in our room. To say that I threw a fucking fit is an understatement. Slim and the rest of the men that have rooms here made sure to let everyone know that they were off limits unless you were invited in. If another person was found in our rooms, they’d be out on their ass and left to defend themselves. There may not be many kids here, Caleb being the oldest at five, but they don’t need to be watching shit that goes on in the clubhouse.
Hell, we haven’t even let the women see the guys that still party and fuck around with the house bunnies. They know to keep it in their rooms, and the bunnies know that they’re to walk around here in modest clothing that keeps everything covered. There was grumbling and bitching about it, but this isn’t fucking party time.
It’s lockdown and there are families here, women that are being protected by members of the club such as Gwen, Sally, and Samantha. We’ll try to protect them from everything that they don’t need to see or know.
“Church in ten,” Slim says, walking through the common room of the clubhouse, completely avoiding Shy.
I look at J, who’s sitting on my lap while talking to Gwen and Kim. Kissing her on the head, I tap her thigh so she knows to get up before she takes the seat I’ve abandoned. Wood appears and I watch as he gives J a kiss. We all make our way into church and take our seats so that we can hear what the latest update is.
“Snakes have gone underground. There’s too many of us on the lookout for them. Renegade, Grim, and Gage have been on the lookout in their territories and haven’t seen anythin’ either. Basically, we have no clue where they’re at or what they’re next step is. For now, we’re done with lockdown. I want everyone to remain vigilant and make sure the girls have eyes on them at all times. As soon as we see them make another appearance, we meet again and figure out what we need to do from there. If anyone has any concerns, bring them to me and we’ll work somethin’ out. Jennifer has to have people on her at all times when she’s at the club or at school. Anyone got anythin’ to say?” Slim asks.
“How are we gonna work Phantom and Jennifer’s school schedule?” Killer asks.
“Killer, I want you to set up a schedule. Make sure the guys can still have time at work and get breaks. I want Alex and Zach at the house too. The more eyes the better. Jennifer’s schedule is the only one we have to worry about. With the exception of Gwen and Kim, everyone is at the apartment complex. That makes keepin’ eyes on them easy as hell. Let me know what’s set up for everyone, and make sure I’m on the schedule,” Slims says, looking around the room.
Killer nods his head before Slim slams the gavel down and we all make our way back out of the meeting room. J and the rest of the girls haven’t moved, and we walk over to them so they can hear the good news.
“Let’s go get Wade and pack up, babe,” I say, leaning down for a kiss.
“We can go home?” she asks, hope in her eyes that we can have our own space again.
“Yeah, Spitfire. You’ll have a protection detail on you at all times when you’re not home, but we can leave,” Wood answers, taking her hand and leading her up to the room where Wade is resting.
We’ve been home for a few hours when J walks in the living room and plops down on the couch. She’s been stressed out being at the clubhouse and around everyone. She still has a hard time in large crowds sometimes. We took care of Wade so that she could unwind in a hot bath and read for a while.
“Feel any better?” I ask, sitting down next to her while Wood finishes prepping dinner. “Dinner’s almost ready.”
“I feel a lot better. I’m just glad to be home,” she says, putting her head in my lap to relax while we wait for dinner.
“Wade still sleepin’?” I ask, knowing that I haven’t heard him since we walked in the door.
“Yeah. I think he’ll sleep through the night. He’s had a lot of excitement the last few weeks. Today he was playing hard with Caleb and Natalia, and then moving back home,” she says, looking up at me as I hear the sliding door in the kitchen close.
“Ready guys?” Wood calls out, setting the platter of meat on the table.
J and I make our way out to the table, and I watch as her eyes fill with tears. The table has been laid out with a table cloth, candles are standing in the middle of it that Wood lit before we made it out to the kitchen, there are flowers sitting at the end of the table, and flower petals spread out around the plates and glasses. When J turns around, she sees both of us on our knees in front of us.
“Babygirl, you’ve been to hell and back. You’ve fought and clawed your way to get where you are today. Wade is your main concern and priority, then comes school, and then comes work. We’re on that list, and we want to stay on that list for the rest of our lives. We love you and know that in time you’ll love us too. Jennifer, will you marry us, and become our ol’ lady?” Wood asks, looking up at her and waiting for her answer.
“You are higher up on my list than you think you are. Wood and Boy Scout, you come just after Wade. I love both of you. Yes, I’ll marry you and be your ol’ lady,” she says, bending down and wrapping her arms around both of us.
“You got a month or less to plan the weddin’, J. We want this shit done,” I tell her, pulling out the box that was sitting on the chair at the table and hand it to her.
J unties the bow and lifts the lid off before pulling the tissue paper out of the box. Inside rests a leather rag that she quickly pulls out as I take the box from her hands and set it to the side. Standing there, she looks at the back that has the property patch.
It’s our colors that says “Property of” at the top and “Wood and Boy Scout” at the bottom. On the front of the rag, J is on one flash, while Spitfire is showcased on a second one under that. She slides it on over her tank top, and I instantly get hard as she turns around and we see our names proudly displayed on her back. Once she’s facing us again, I see our ring sitting on her finger, and I know it’s going to take everything in me to not take her right now.
“I don’t need a month guys. As far as I’m concerned, we can go to Vegas and get married tomorrow,” she says, standing up and pulling out the chair that she usually sits at while we stare at her in shock.
“Are you for real?” Wood asks, taking his seat next to her while I park my ass at the seat at the head of the table.
“I don’t need to have a fancy dress or a ton of people around us. Being married to you is between us, and only us. The only people that matter in our lives are the men and women of the club. None of us have family left that we care about. If I had to have anyone there with me, I’d want Kim next to me. Other than that, just you two and Wade,” she tells us helping herself to the food on the table.
“If you’re serious, we’ll leave in the mornin’. I’m not sure what we’re gonna do about havin’ just Kim and Fox go. But, Slim might let it happen because we’re goin’ out of town and no one will know about it. If I have my way, we’ll be leavin’ in hours so no one really fuckin’ knows that we’ve cut out,” Wood says, standing up and pulling his phone out of his pocket to start making calls.
“Why don’t you call Kim and ask her and Fox to go, yeah?” I ask so that she can make sure that Kim wants to go with us and doesn’t have anything going on.
J nods her head, and I know that it’s just a matter of time before we’ll be pulling away from our home and heading to Vegas to get married. We’ll keep Alex and Zach here so that nothing looks out of place, pull our bikes in the garage, and make sure that the SUV is kept here.
Fox and Kim have an SUV they can pick us up in. As soon as everything is sorted out, we’ll be on our way. Now, we just have to convince her to get branded.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Jennifer
I’VE BEEN FALLING in love with Wood and Boy Scout for months now. We’ve never once said the words until tonight and it couldn’t have been more perfect. Kim agreed to go to Vegas with us, and Slim approved the trip too. So, Wood and Boy Scout have been making plans and setting things in motion while I’ve packed our bags and gotten Wade dressed. Everything seems to be happening at warp speed, but that’s just the way things happen with my men and the rest of the men in the Phantom Bastards.
On the way to Vegas, the guys talked to me about getting a tattoo that says their names. They call it a brand. I’ve never had a tattoo before and I’m worried about the pain, but it seems important to them, so I’ll do it. Wood tells me that most of the guys he knows with ol’ ladies don’t get ones for their women, but Boy Scout and he aren’t like that. The day that I go and get mine, they’ll get ones for me. I like that idea better than just me getting one for them.
We’ve just landed in Vegas, and I stretch my body as Wood takes Wade from my arms and settles him on his hip so that we can get our things and make our way to the hotel. I just follow the men as they circle around Kim and I while continuously surveying the area until we finally gather the bags and make our way to the car rental counter.
Fox has a blacked-out SUV reserved for us and has ensured that no one will ever figure out that anyone from the club has been here. I guess it’s all been done with the magic that he creates with his computer.
“Are you ready for this?” Kim asks, wrapping her arm around my shoulders as we’re led to the waiting SUV.
“I’m more than ready,” I reply, excitement lacing my voice as we all pile in.
“What’s the plan?” she questions as I play with Wade in his car seat.
“We’re checkin’ into the hotel, makin’ our way to the chapel, and then we have tonight. Tomorrow mornin’, we’re headin’ back home with everythin’ goin’ on. We can’t be away too long, and I don’t want Spitfire fallin’ behind in school,” Wood answers from the front seat.
