“Where is everyone else?” he asks as he scans the area.
“Not sure,” I tell him honestly.
What I don’t tell him is that as soon as I came out to do my part, a couple of the guys bounced, putting everything on me. I know they expect me to fail, but I won’t.
Too much is on the line for failure.
If I fail, that means walking away from Aspen, and I can’t do that. Not when she needs me.
Even if she’s not willing to admit that she does.
Yak and Prairie round the corner, laughing.
“Hey, where the fuck were you two?” Panther barks, making them freeze.
“Oh, decided to stop by the clubhouse to fuel up before we hit the road,” Yak says, trying to play it off.
“You were supposed to be loading shit,” Panther tells them as a couple of the other guys come out.
“The prospect had it handled,” Prairie says.
“Be that as it may, you guys know the rules. No man is left alone with the product,” Panther grits out.
“What, you don’t trust the cop anymore?” Yak smarts off.
“Yak…” Eagle warns.
“No, Eagle. Let him talk his shit. Get it all out in the open,” Panther says.
Yak scans the building crowd and rolls his shoulders back before staring down his president.
“I don’t like that he’s a cop. He never even should have been allowed to prospect,” Yak says confidently.
Panther shakes his head and laughs. “Trust me when I say that the prospect is no longer a cop and has more than proven himself to us. If I had any concerns about his loyalty, he wouldn’t be here. Meek more than did a deep dive on him, and he passed.”
Yak shifts. “Meek could have missed something.”
“Say that to my face. I dare you,” Meek says quietly as he steps forward.
Yak’s eyes widen when he sees the club’s computer genius.
“I meant no disrespect,” Yak says, trying to backpedal.
“Don’t lie. We all know you did,” Meek tells him.
“You know what gets me? Neither of you two trusts him, yet you left him alone with the product. You didn’t do anything to protect it. Which begs the question, is it your loyalty we should be questioning right now?” Eagle asks.
“No, you know we love this club,” Prairie says.
“Then fucking act like it,” Panther snaps. “Now, does everyone know where they need to be?”
“Yes” is murmured through the air.
Some of the guys break off to stay behind, while others load up.
I walk over to Panther. “I can stay behind if you think it will help.”
Before I even finish speaking, he’s shaking his head.
