“Aye lad, I’ll be over the road. You take your time. I’m interested to find out what you think. I’ve got some of the crew stationed up the road just in case you get one of your feelings. Plus, your girls will be home soon, so I know you’re twitchy already.”
I loved my uncle; I never had to explain shit to him. He knew what I needed to feel better about a situation without me having to tell him.
“Appreciate it, Uncle. I won’t be long.”
Turning away from him, I hurry to the house next door where Wolfie was barking up a storm and let him out. I grin when he goes nuts seeing me then rushes up to Uncle Sean who loves on him while I lock up Moira’s home.
Unlocking my front door, I whistle for Wolfie who bounds up to me and into the house as I shake my head. You’d think he was still a puppy with the way he behaved. Taking a treat from the treat jar, I toss it at him before going to my bedroom, stripping as soon as I’m in the door. While I didn’t think I had anything on me, I always preferred to shower before I saw Moira and Mikayla. It made me feel better that even though my hands were covered in the blood of my enemies, I never wanted to touch them with any of that filth covering me.
It didn’t take me long to clean up, and I was rubbing beard oil into my beard when I heard the bikes coming. I take my handgun from the shelf above the key holder before I snag the keys for the house over the road from the hook by the door. Whistling softly for Wolfie when he looks at me, I give him the signal for heel. He’d understand that he’s working now. Most didn’t know that he was trained in protection. They saw a big, goofy dog, and didn’t realize that he was deadly if I wanted him to be. It’s why I preferred leaving him with Moira when I was gone, because I knew he’d protect them if he had to.
Standing in the doorway of my porch, I watch the bikes slow to a stop when Uncle Sean waves at them. I know they’ve seen me, but I make no move to leave my house as I take my handgun from the small of my back. My job is to observe, so I stay in place, watching how they interact with Uncle Sean.
I don’t see anything untoward. They are respectful and seem affable enough. I can immediately tell some are military trained from the way they stand. Not all of them, but some of them. I recognise them all from the information I’ve managed to pull on them. Surprisingly, all four of the Tin brothers are here. The only Tin missing is the father but then they aren’t a big club, so I assume they brought all brothers for a reason. Safety in numbers was my guess.
I watch for a bit longer, but from their body language I can tell that they’re not a threat in any way. They seem to be respectful while greeting Uncle Sean and when he gives the‘all’s okay’signal, I slip my handgun into the jeans at the small of my back before signalling for Wolfie to follow.
I’m well aware of what we look like as we walk towards them. We’re threatening, and the expression on my face is one I’ve cultivated over the years.
It’s my‘don’t fuck with me’face.I’ve found it’s served me well. I wait for Uncle Sean to introduce me as I covertly watch the brothers. I only shake the President's hand as a show of respect. It’s not that I don’t think the others are as deserving, but I’m not one to put myself or my uncle in a vulnerable position and get boxed in by the brothers milling about.
I’d just handed them the keys to the house and explained about the guns they’d asked Uncle Sean for when Moira drove into her driveway.
I see the way they look at her when she waves over at us with her usual sunny smile glowing bright on her face. Possessiveness fills me. “She’s off-limits to you.” I coldly state.
Uncle Sean chuckles low and I glare at him, but surprisingly the bikers are all nodding as if this is totally understandable to them. What do I know? Maybe it is.
That thought is confirmed when Coal, the President, nods and replies. “Got it, brother, the lady’s off limits. You don’t have to worry about us though. We’d never hurt a woman.”
I stare blankly at him, wondering at the term brother. It's been a long time since I’ve been a brother to anyone. I’m broken from my thoughts when Mikayla shouts my name “Butch, Butch, you back!” My heart nearly stops as she runs across the road.
Not that it’s a busy road, it isn’t, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get the odd car down here. My estimation of the brothers rises when two of them step into the road as if they’d stop a car with their bodies rather than let it run her down.
Moira’s pale, anxious face is the last thing I see as I swiftly rush forward and scoop Mikayla into my arms just as Moira shouts out her name. My heart is beating so fast I’m surprised nobody else can hear it. I’m aware that Moira is on her way to us, but I focus my attention on the girl in my arms. The one who stole my heart along with her mother a long time ago.
My disappointment in her comes through in my tone when I chide her. “Mikayla.” All it takes is that one word, and her little mouth turns down and she bows her head, resting it against my forehead.
“I sowwy Butch, but I missed you.” My heart melts as she apologises and if I hadn’t been so scared and didn’t know that she needed a lesson in road safety, I’d have hugged her there and then. But I couldn't have her running into the road no matter how little traffic we got.
With my heart now settled back into a steady rhythm. I fix her with the sternest look I can muster; it’s not often that I have to tell her off, so she knows I mean business when in a firm tone I tell her, “You say sorry to your mam, and promise me you won’t do that again. It’s dangerous, baby, and my heart will hurt if something happens to you, okay? Do you understand?”
I can see that she does, although I have a feeling that we’ll be re-enforcing this message a few times before she remembers. I’dneed to let the crew know to drive slowly along the road when they used it.
“I pwomise,” Mikayla nods just a Moira reaches us.
“And what do you say to your mam?”
I can see the worry mixed with exasperation that fades when Mikayla apologises, “I sowwy, Mammy.”
She sighs and shakes her head at her daughter. Uncle Sean is looking amused but he’s keeping quiet.
Thank fuck.
Then Moira does what she always does and turns that sunshine friendliness to the bikers, and I can see that they are genuine in their show of respect towards her when she invites them to the bakery. I’d put a crew member on her tomorrow to keep watch; make sure they kept being respectful. Although I had a feeling that they were genuine when it came to how they said they treated women.
Moira takes Mikayla from me, and I watch them leave and disappear into the house. I appreciate that the Wraiths wait until they’ve disappeared into the house before they start to laugh. I can’t help the tilt to my own lips. Mikayla was a ball of energy, and we had all just been swept up in it.
“How do you ever say no to that?” Copper the VP wants to know.
