“R-R-Rooster, I-I-I d-d-d-didn’t mean to,” Foxy says, the lie running off her lips as smooth as the rest of her lies.
“Yeah, ya fuckin’ did. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of you pullin’ shit like this before. All of you girls are becomin’ a damn problem and we’re all over it. Vote now. This vote is for Foxy bein’ removed from the club, you know what to do,” Rooster states, turning to face Carbon.
Every single man around the table says ‘yeah’ to remove her from the club. With every vote against her, Foxy’s cries and whimpers become louder and louder. Her make-up is running down her face making her look even more like a clown than before and her entire body is shaking because her worst fear is about to come true.
“Yeah,” Rooster casts the final vote when it comes back to him. “Foxy, you’re out of the Dirty Slayers clubhouse and are no longer allowed at any of our businesses. We will let every one of our allies know you’re out bad so they don’t take you in either. I suggest you leave town and move far the fuck away from here. Get the fuck outta our meetin’ room. Someone get a Prospect to make sure she packs her shit and leaves in the next five minutes.”
Omen steps away from my dad and leads a screaming Foxy from the room. Once the door is closed again, Rooster looks at me once more before turning to Brick. Our computer expert doesn’t miss a beat as he begins speaking.
“I’ve been lookin’ into Sheridan’s mother and the accident that caused her to have Leo early,” Brick begins, looking around the table. “The bitch who gave birth to Sheridan owes a ton ofmoney to a lot of people. I’m talkin’ the mafia, a few clubs we’ve come across in the past, and a pimp. She’s been known to whore herself out when she gets truly desperate. That’s why she’s been frantically tryin’ to get her hands on Sheridan’s money for the last several years.
“She’s also been in contact with Jess. The two of them have been workin’ together on and off for several years now. I’m guessin’ since your senior year of high school. They’re currently callin’ and messagin’ one another. I’m runnin’ a program now to crack their messages so I can read them and try to figure out what they’re plan is before they put it in motion. Jess was the one to help Sheridan’s mother arrange the fucker who ran into her the day of the accident. I’m still workin’ on figurin’ out who the driver was, but I’m really close. I’m gonna guess it’s someone Sheridan’s mother has been seein’. She’s got a line of losers who are drug addicts followin’ her with the promise of a huge payout.”
“I knew Jess had somethin’ to do with this shit,” I state, trying hard to remain in my seat despite the need to do something to expel the rage and extra energy coursing through me right now. “I’m firin’ her ass from the club. She’s fuckin’ done.”
“You do what you gotta do. We know she won’t go very far because she’s too damn obsessed with you, Tease. If you don’t want her around, then fuckin’ fire her. Take Knuckles and Omen with you when you deal with her. I don’t want her to have any room to say somethin’ happened that didn’t and cause even more shit than what she’s already done,” Rooster says, his voice cold with the revelations of today. “Brick, keep diggin’ into everythin’. I want names and I want them now. We need to know who the fuck we’re goin’ up against. Everyone else, you’re on guard duty. I want guys at the hospital around the clock untilLeo is discharged. Two guys need to be on Sheridan even when she’s at the house. I don’t trust a single fuckin’ person after shit we’ve seen in the past. Keep a Prospect on Sheridan when she leaves the compound if a member isn’t with her. Anythin’ else we need to talk about?”
When no one says a word, Rooster slams the gavel on the table to dismiss us all once again. I’m among the first out the door. Grabbing my things from Eric, I head outside. It’s time for Sheridan and I to go home. I want to spend the rest of the night home alone with her. We’ve been gone since early this morning and I know Sheridan has had about all she can today. Between not bringing Leo home with us and then the confrontation with Foxy has drained her and she won’t say a word about it. Sheridan will never complain about a damn thing and I refuse to have her burn herself out with everything we have going on in our lives right now. She won’t rest until Leo comes home with us. Neither will I if I’m being honest. It’s absolutely horrible to have him at the hospital where I can’t keep an eye on him. To know we have several hours every day that we’re not with him as parents should be.
Chapter Eighteen
Sheridan
TWO DAYS HAVE passed since the club had the party for us to celebrate the birth of Leo. It’s been a clusterfuck if you ask me. That girl who cornered me in the clubhouse was kicked out after the club voted her out. I don’t know many details, but I know all the guys were pissed as hell at what happened. The only thing Axel told me was that Hammer is pissed and went off on her. He said it was the first time in his life he ever saw his dad think about putting his hands on a woman. Jolene confirmed this when I talked to her about the situation. I hate that Hammer was that upset about a situation I was in. He’s normally such a sweet man and I’ve rarely ever heard him raise his voice for any reason. At least to Jolene and me he’s sweet. Then, he went to the strip club with a few guys and fired Jess. Apparently, she threw a huge tantrum and the cops ended up coming to drag her away. She spent the night in jail before being released. Knowing Axel had to deal with all of that shit because of me is not something I ever wanted to happen.
Axel has reassured me countless times over the last two days that he’s more than happy to deal with situations like that for me. It’s his responsibility as my man to handle the bullshit so none of it touches me. That’s not how I view things, but I’m not about to argue with him. Axel is stubborn as hell when he wants to be and I know this is a time he won’t budge for any reason. He was raised to believe in protecting his woman no matter whatsituation she’s in and will never back down from that for any reason. Now, when I go to the clubhouse, which I’ve only been there once to grab a few things from Jolene yesterday, the girls there for the single guys leave me alone. In a few of them, there’s a look of respect as they maintain the same distance they give all the ol’ ladies of the club.
My emotions are still all over the place. Not only from having Leo, but because he should be home with us. Though, we did get good news when we were visiting him yesterday. The doctors see him coming home in the next day or so. They’re happy with his progress and don’t believe he’ll continue to have any issues with his breathing. Leo’s oxygen levels have seemed to even out and there’s no drop in them at night as he falls asleep. I’ve been waiting on the call saying he’s getting discharged since we got the news. Axel is happy as hell. Hammer, Jolene, and my dad are the only other ones who know and their excitement was almost enough to alert everyone else what was going on. We just don’t want everyone to know we’ve got our hopes up and then have the doctors change their mind. The second we know we’re bringing him home for sure, we’ll tell everyone else.
Last night Axel had to go to the strip club after it closed. A few times a year he does inventory to ensure nothing is going on he’s not catching. It takes him all night long from what he said and one of the Prospects will be the only other person there. I trust him and know Jess is busy licking her wounds from being fired when she believed for so long she was untouchable. At least not yet. Once she’s gathered herself, I know she’ll come after me again. So, I spent the night tossing and turning while having nightmares about the accident and things ending up different for myself and Leo. It’s the same nightmare I’ve had since everything happened. Needless to say, sleep didn’t comeeasy last night and I spent more time awake than I did getting any rest.
I’ve already taken my shower and I’m finishing getting ready for the day to spend it with Leo and Axel when my phone rings on the counter in front of me.
“Hello?” I answer, not sure of who would be calling me right now.
“Is this Sheridan Russell?” a woman asks me as confusion fills me.
“Yes. Can I ask who’s calling?” I return, turning off the water and setting my toothbrush back in the cup on the counter.
“This is Louise from the NICU. I’m calling to let you know that your son Leo is being discharged today. He’s made it several nights in a row without his oxygen dropping and the doctors are confident there won’t be any more problems,” Louise informs me, her voice full of excitement as it begins to fill me.
“Are you serious? We get to bring our son home today for good?” I question, refusing to get my hopes up only to have them dashed once I show up.
“I’m serious. Once you get here, you can get him ready to bring home. The doctor will check on him one more time before you leave the hospital and make sure you have a follow-up appointment for him, but Leo is being freed,” she informs me, her voice a soothing balm to my overexcited nerves as I start to tremble in my excited state.
“Thank you so much! We’ll be there as soon as possible,” I say, hanging up the phone and calling Axel.
He answers on the first ring.
“What’s goin’ on, Little Fairy? Is Leo okay?” he asks, concern filling his voice as I pace the bathroom.
“Leo’s perfect. Axel, we get to bring him home today. He’ll be discharged as soon as we get there. The doctor will look him over one more time and give us a follow-up appointment but we can bring our son home today,” I tell him, my voice wavering as all of the emotions roaring through me threaten to overtake me.
“Seriously? Our boy is finally comin’ home?” he questions me, disbelief filling his voice and I know he’s feeling the same as me right now.
“I’m serious. I’m leaving the house now. Can you meet me there? Are you done with inventory?” I ask him, not sure what I’ll do if he can’t meet me there now and we have to wait.
“Of course I’ll meet you there now. Leo isn’t gonna wait any longer than he has to before we leave the hospital. I’m callin’ my dad and mom. He can ride my bike back to the compound while I drive you and Leo home. I’m sure the entire club will show up because there’s no way in hell my parents are about to keep this shit a secret,” he says and I can hear him moving around on his end of the call as I rush through the house and barely stop long enough to grab my purse, diaper bag, and keys. Thankfully, the car seat is already in the SUV and that’s one less thing we have to worry about when I can hardly think straight. “You need someone to drive you there, Little Fairy? I’m worried about you with this news.”
