Mack stands. “Viking Warriors, those in favor of Darin Worley claiming Christina Shaw, aka Nina Lowe, as his ole’ lady?”
A round of “Ayes” goes up.
Mack looks over to his nephew, the only brother to remain quiet. “Jay?”
Jay stands and practically pins me to the wall with his eyes. “I like you, Worley. I really do. You’re family. A man I’ll defend till the end. She’s more. You hurt my aunt in any way, the backyard won’t hold us. I’ll cut you into a million pieces and use a different blade with each slice. There won’t be anything left of you for the cops to find.”
If I flinch now, I’ll die right here. Every brother in the room knows it, too. I trust Jay with life, but that boy is scary.
“We got an understanding?” Jay asks.
“Aye, Jason McLeod. We have an understanding.”
Jay sits, tosses a hand up, and says, “Aye.”
Mack shakes my hand and slaps my back with his other one. “Congratulations, Worley Bird. Order your Ole’ lady’s cut. We’ll have a claiming ceremony after things calm down.” His grin widens. “You’ll always be my brother, but now, I officially welcome you to the McLeod family.”
A round of cheers goes up. I officially have an Ole’ lady.
“Thanks, man.” Hopefully, I can survive his insane nephew. Who, at the moment, is grinning like the cat who ate the canary.
Mack goes back to the table and taps the gavel. “Okay, brothers. Now, we need to discuss what brought us here.”
The room goes quiet. Our brothers wait for an explanation for the emergency SOS Church meeting.
Mack continues, “We have reason to believe that the Mountain Dew cans are connected to Sean Gilbert.”
“Wait.” Jay places his palms on the table and pushes to his feet. “Are you saying my aunt’s abuser, the man who left her for dead, is in Willow Creek?”
Mack chooses his words carefully. “We don’t have a sighting yet.”
Jay slams a fist into the table. “Worley! What did I just say about coming to me first?”
“Jay.” Mack steps between us. “He came to me. It was in the middle of a tornado-warned storm. Another is coming in an hour. I promise you, son. We surrounded that house and protected your aunt. Your mother needed you, but you’re right. We should have told you sooner.”
Ross pats his hand on the table. “I thought we determined the cans were linked to the Midnight Mavericks.”
“They’re being put out exactly like the Mavericks did with the paint and smoke bombs, late at night or early in the morning, except for the one on Jay’s truck. The vehicles don’t have tags, and they’re wearing black clothes and masks. I’ve watched everysecurity footage Nick can find. We can’t identify anyone,” Coty explains.
“I hate asking, but could we be wrong on this? How did we link the cans to Sean Gilbert?” Sandman asks.
Mack motions for me to take the floor.
“This morning, the storm woke Christina. With the power out and part of the security system down, I settled her on the couch, started a fire, and made sure the house was locked up. She had a moment where she wanted to talk. She asked about the soda cans. She wanted to know if they were all the same brand.” I glance at Jay from the corner of my eye. He’s not happy. That boy is going to kill me today. “She said Sean only drank Mountain Dew.” I pause. Here comes my death. “When he was angry, he’d throw them at her. They weren’t always empty.”
“I’m killing him!” Jay jumps completely over the table.
Hendrix springs to his feet and wraps him in a bear hug. “You can’t, Jay.”
“I will.”
Hendrix slowly shakes his head. “No, Jay.You can’t.Your mom needs you. If you kill him, you’ll go to prison.”
“Then I’ll go to prison!”
“Jay?” Jack moves closer to his cousin. A warning look from Hendrix backs him off.
“Jay,” Hendrix speaks calmly. “Think, man. What would happen if you went to prison?” Realization hits Jay. Hendrix nods. “You know it would.”
