"What good will that do?" I cut Prez off.
"I've personally spoken to Andrea; she believed leaving them behind was the best thing for them."
"What?" She chose to leave them behind?" I ask, anger bubbling inside of me.
"Ice, let me fucking finish. Andrea left, thinking that they would be safer with her aunt and uncle, she received death threats from an unknown source after the Coopers were killed, stating that if she didn't hand them over that they would kill the aunt and uncle and make Nova and Mason watch before killing them. She thought the entire family were in danger, she thought that they would be safer with the aunt and uncle." He leans back in his seat.
"Prez, I don't understand. How did she think they would be safer with them?" I ask.
"The threats stated that the kids should have been left with the aunt and uncle, that they were better off with them and that she wasn't fit to be their guardian. She tried taking them away, but it didn't matter where she ran, the letters seemed to find her. She had taken them to a remote part of Scotland, thinking that they would be safe, but there was a break in one night. Andrea was beaten unconscious; the kids were hurt too. When Andrea woke up in the hospital, the aunt and uncle were there, begging her to hand them over. They said that she couldn't protect them, that they would be safer with them. And at that point, she had no reason not to believe them." He watches me over the rim of his cup.
"This is fucking crazy. You know that, right?" Blades snaps.
"What the hell do you mean?" I ask.
"This. How much reach does her fucking uncle have? How does he have all of these resources?" he asks, and rightly so. I get it, this is fucking crazy. And her uncle does seem to have unlimited reach and power, but I'm not sure I like his tone.
"He's a fucking police officer, Blades," Nitro snaps at him. "He has been for decades, he has a lot of reach, and a lot of resources, most on the darker side of the line, including Tommy Larson. What is your fucking point?"
"Look." Blades shuffles in his seat, glancing at me and then focussing on Nitro. "I'm sorry, Prez. It's just that this seems a little risky, like if he has this kind of power, what kind of risk are we putting the club under?"
My head slowly turns toward him, I can't believe what I'm hearing right now. I don't have the chance to say anything though. Movement to my left catches my eye and I turn to see Nitro stand, his fists on the table as he leans forward, anger radiating from him.
"We have a twenty-year-old woman and nine-year-old boy who need our help. I understand that you're worried about the club, but we already voted on this, and if we don't help them, who will?" he asks, his tone low and cold.
"I'm not saying we don't help them; we should just think about it. Maybe we should talk about it first? I don’t think any of us realised the risks when we voted," Blades tries.
"Fine," Nitro snaps. "Let’s fucking hand her over then, let’s call up the cops right now and say we found them, let them walk right in here and take them both home."
"What the fuck?" I snap, standing up so fast my seat falls back.
He holds out his hand for me to stop talking. "Say we do that, Blades," Prez bites out. "We hand them over, what happens when we do that and see them on the news next week, what happens when we get the call that they are both in hospital, or worse, fucking dead? How will you feel then knowing that we sent them back to die?" he asks, his eyes fixed on Blades.
"Prez, I'm sorry. I get it. I want to help them too, but we have to think about the club. Helping them puts the club at risk, you have to see that, surely?" he asks, trying to justify his feelings. And maybe he’s right, maybe I'm not thinking clearly because I like her. I should be thinking about the risk to the club, but all that seems to be second to the worry I feel for her and Mason.
I see Wrath watching me, I think he's expecting me to lose it. I won't lie, I feel like I'm about to. I won't hand her over, I'll protect her, whatever it costs me. But the guilt I feel knowing that I'd help her over the risk to club is eating away at me. As Wrath and I eyeball each other, I'm aware of movement at the top of the table.
Tongue slowly pushes his chair away from him and he walks toward Blades. He stops right next to him and glances around the room. His eyes briefly stop on Nitro before turning to me. I see him swallow, then close his eyes for just a split second. Then, before any of us have a chance to react, he grabs Blades by the neck, pulling him up and slamming him face down onto the table.
We all race over to him, trying to pull him off, but he just shrugs us off like we're nothing.
"If we choose to do nothing, if we choose to hand them over, then we do not deserve to be part of this club," Tongue whispers angrily in his ear. "And if you choose this club over innocent people then you don't deserve to wear the kutte."
"Tongue. Let him go," Nitro bites out.
But he just turns to Prez. "Tell me I’m wrong?" Tongue states.
"You're right, and I would have delivered the same message, just a little less aggressively. Please let him go," Nitro says, placing a hand on Tongue's shoulder, trying to calm him down.
"I won't leave them to fend for themselves. You are all welcome to choose how we should handle this, but I will be helping them, and if I have to do this without the help of the club, then so be it," Tongue tells us. He tightens his grip on the back of Blades’ neck, yanking him up and then throwing him to the floor.
He goes to walk away, but Nitro grabs him and pulls him back. "Tongue, you won't be helping her alone." He turns to the rest of us. "Anyone else too fucking scared to take a risk to help two people who need it? Or are you all in?"
We don't go around the table for ‘yays’ or ‘nays’. The entire room erupts into one loud ‘yay’. None of us are prepared to let them fight them alone. I'm grateful knowing that they have her back. Except for Blades. He doesn't say anything, he just sits on the floor, looking down at his hands.
"Blades?" Nitro questions. "Choice is yours. You don't want to help, I'll happily ship you off to Manchester or Newcastle, or maybe Glasgow, they need men right now, all you have to do is give me the word and I’ll arrange it."
The room is silent, waiting for him to respond. He looks up at Prez then over to me. "I'm sorry, man. I didn't mean to be a selfish dick. I want to help her, and I will help. I just wanted to make sure that we were all aware of the risk."
