“Done?” Holden’s eyebrows shot up. “Since when?”
“Since I grew the fuck up,” I said.
More brothers had gathered now, drawn by the smoke and the spectacle of their president committing arson in broad daylight. Colt stood with his arms crossed, a small smile playing at his lips like he understood exactly what this was about. Glitch looked concerned, probably calculating the fire hazard and potential legal ramifications while monitoring police and fire scanner frequencies on his phone in case someone called it in.
“So what’s the plan now?” Holden asked. “You getting a new mattress and moving back into the clubhouse?”
“Hell no.” I watched the last of the mattress collapse into ash. “I’ve got a house for a reason.”
The house I’d built thinking about a future with a woman who deserved better than sharing me with club girls. The house where Indira had packed her things and walked out of my life because I’d been too stupid to realize what I was throwing away.
“Now that I’m back,” I said, turning to face my brothers, “we need to have church. Things are going to be different around here.”
An hour later, I banged the gavel with more authority than I’d felt in months as the brothers gathered.
“Church is in session.” I looked around at the faces of men who’d watched me fall apart and somehow still welcomed me back. “First order of business—territory expansion. We’ve been talking about the Montana routes for months. Time to make a move.”
“The gun routes through there are solid,” Holden said, consulting his notes. “Good access to I-90, minimal law enforcement presence.”
“The Wolves have been sniffing around that territory too,” Colt added. “We wait much longer, we might have competition.”
I nodded, but noticed Colt seemed distracted, checking his phone and glancing toward the window. “You got somewhere else to be, brother?”
“Nah, just...” He shrugged. “Thought I saw someone I recognized earlier. Probably nothing.”
Glitch looked up from his laptop. “The financial projections for expansion look good. Security contracts in that area could cover the initial investment within six months.”
“Good. Put it to a vote. All in favor?”
Every hand went up. The Montana expansion was a go.
“Second order of business,” I said, my voice getting heavier. “Club policy changes.”
The room went dead quiet.
“From now on, no club girls in my office. No club girls in my house. No club girls in my bed.” I met each man’s eyes. “I’m done with that shit.”
“Dutch,” Handful started, “you sure about this? I mean, it’s been months. Maybe you just need to—”
“I’m sure.” I cut him off, my jaw tight. The room went quiet. I didn’t explain further.
Holden leaned forward. “What about the rest of us? This a new club rule, or just personal policy?”
“Personal policy. What you do is your business. But I’m done pretending that having a stable of club girls makes me some kind of alpha. All it made me was a cheating piece of shit.”
The silence stretched uncomfortably. Finally, Glitch spoke up.
“For what it’s worth, brother, I think you’re making the right call.”
“Thanks.” I cleared my throat. “Which brings me to the last thing.”
I got up and walked to the safe in the corner, spinning the combination I’d memorized years ago. Inside, beneath the emergency cash and important documents, was a box from Leather & Lace, the shop where we got all our club merchandise.
I pulled it out and set it on the table.
“What’s that?” Handful asked.
“Indira’s cut.” I looked around the room, eyeballing each of my brothers one by one. “Last time we spoke, before I went to visit my mom and that piece of shit I call my father, some of you didn’t seem to think I was serious about Indira so I wanted to show you this. I ordered it before...” I stopped, shook my head. “Before I fucked everything up.”
