He studies me, then gives me a sharp chin lift. “I’ll round them up,” he replies.
Bomber and I go toward the room church is held in. He opens the heavy wooden door, and we walk in and sit in our usual spots on either side of Reaper’s chair.
The men filter in, taking their seats around the table. I feel their curious stares on us until Reaper takes a seat at the head of the table.
“Bomber and Viper, you have the floor.”
“Me and Bomber were at Sophie’s brother’s celebration party, and Garrett was there. He’s still pissed off with me for being married to his daughter.” There are chuckles around the table.
“He’s run out of patience and wants me out of her life. So far, he’s warned me there could be blowback on the club if Sophie stays married to me. He offered me ten grand to get a divorce at the party, but I turned him down. I don’t give a shit about the cash.” I run my hand down the back of my neck and let out a heavy breath. “I want to stay married to Sophie.”
I let out an uncomfortable chuckle. “As you can imagine, it didn’t go down well. He looked shocked when I didn’t accept it. He’s not someone who people say no to often. The conversation got heated because I wasn’t budging. So, it went from negotiation to threats.” I take a moment as nausea twists my stomach.
“Garrett’s made it clear that if me and Sophie don’t separate, the police will be at every fight we host, and he’ll ensure our shipment won’t make it out of town.”
Deep voices murmur around the table as the tension heightens. Everyone knows if Garrett gets the police to stop our shipment because we aren’t licensed, we could do time. Garrett could tell the police to raid our property at any time, and again, we could end up in jail for growing heaps of weed.
“You’re married now, which makes Sophie a part of the MC family. Did you give any thought to how you’re going to proceed?” Reaper asks.
“Sophie has three weeks to decide if she wants to stay married to me, so she might decide for us. If she chooses to leave, everything can go back to the way it was, but then I lose her. Either way, I’m screwed.”
I glance around the table once more, looking every man in the eye. “Know that I’d never put the club in this position for just anyone. I’ve fallen for her, and she’s the first woman I’ve wanted to stay with.”
Axle puts his hand on my shoulder. “We know.”
“Just get rid of her,” Demon says in an emotionless voice. I get it—I would think the same thing if it were anybody else.
“I can’t…” I say softly. “But I’ll come up with a plan to deal with Garrett.”
An evil smirk creeps onto Demon’s face.
“What?” I ask him curiously.
“I’ll thrive in jail, but I’m not sure how you’ll do.”
I puff out a breath of air. “I’d handle jail just fine.” Not that it will get that far… well, I hope not, anyway.
“With that face of yours”—Demon’s lips curve higher—“you’ll be an inmate’s bitch within a day!”
I shake my head at him. “Fuck off!”
“Ohhh… Demon’s got jokes,” Axle mocks.
“This is a serious threat,” Bomber says. “My uncle is not a patient man.”
“Just give me some time. I’ll think of something,” I say confidently, though doubt sits heavy on my chest.
After church, I do a sweep of the house but don’t see Sophie, so I briskly go upstairs. When I open the door to my room, she’s still on her laptop.
She glances at me. “Are you going to tell me yet?”
I let out a sigh and sit down beside her. I wonder whether I should tell her. Maybe she’ll be able to convince her father to change his mind.
“Your father threatened us that if I don’t end it with you, he’ll shut down the fights we run and stop our pot making it out of town.” She sucks in a breath, and I continue. “So, if he wants, we could all end up in jail or, at the very least, lose our buyer. We obviously need to earn an income somewhere, and they tide us over.”
“I’ll talk to him,” she says. “Why the fights and pot though?”
I chuckle. “We’re bikers. You won’t see us working in suits in nine-to-five jobs. We aren’t interested in going back to college or going into the civilian workforce. We didn’t want to do what other MCs are doing, like get involved in running guns or moving hard drugs. We also didn’t want to be involved in other activities like murder, loan sharking, prostitution, or moving stolen goods.”
