My nostrils flared. “Yes.”
“You claimed her?”
“Yes.”
“Then where is she? She ain’t in your bed or on your bike. She sure as shit ain’t been around the club.”
As angry as I was, I forced myself to keep calm and not show it. Me blowing up at my president wasn’t going to get me anywhere. It certainly wasn’t going to help Penny.
“Why?” I asked him, leaning forward. “It’s got nothing to do with him; he sold that privilege to me.”
Hardy cocked his head at me before pulling out his gun and placing it on the table between us. “I’m your president and I’m asking you a question. You don’t reply with a fucking question back, you answer me.”
Rider reached into his cut and pulled out his gun before placing it on the table in front of him. “With all due respect, Prez, I’m inclined to ask the same question.”
Hardy turned his attention to Rider, his expression furious. “You’re my VP, Rider, but don’t think that means you get a Get Out of Jail Free card. If there’s a threat against me, I’ll be taking your fucking head as payment.”
The atmosphere in the room was charged, testosterone flowing between the men as people took their sides, their loyalties being tested.
“I claimed her,” I said, not wanting any more bloodshed in mine or Penny’s names. Especially not any of my brothers. “She’s mine. I’ve been busy hunting down Solomon and making him pay. I set her up in an apartment in town. She’s busy with college and I’m busy with the club. We don’t see much of each other, but she’s mine all the same. Penny’s been through a lot and I’ve been trying to give her some space while she readjusts to being a Highwaymen’s old lady. Things were different in the Vipers and she needed some time to sort through some shit.”
“Finally, a clear fucking answer.” Hardy looked back at me, his hard stare set on me. He dragged a hand over his short beard. “Razuuk wants her belly filled and our clubs united for the end of the month.”
I scowled. “No.”
“Our clubs either unite or they go to war. That’s your choice. He gave up Solomon to settle the score for you, and that was a big fucking ask. Now he’s showing his hand, and this is his ask.” Hardy stubbed out his cigar.
Gauge laughed. “No one gave up Solomon. We hunted him down like the dog he was after he got kicked out of the Vipers for stealing from them. Razuuk can suck my dick if he thinks he gets to call any shots around here.”
“What if I leave?” I asked, and almost every set of eyes turned to look at me. “What if I go nomad?”
Penny wasn’t ready to be a mother. She wasn’t ready to settle down yet. I hadn’t gone through the past five months to turn around and trap her back in a cage, forcing her to get pregnant and become a fulltime old lady in the club. She wanted freedom. She wanted to make her own choices, her own life, and that was what I wanted for her too. One day we’d have all that other shit, but not now. not like this.
Hardy sighed heavily. “Nothing’s ever fucking simple with you anymore.”
“We could make that work,” Rider said. “We could send you on the road, give you and Penny some space, some time to do whatever the fuck it is you’re trying to do for that woman. Razuuk can’t say shit about shit then. Got a club up in Miles City that’s lost a couple of guys recently to the DOC. They could do with another set of hands while they sort their club out.” Rider looked over at Gauge and Gauge nodded. Hardy looked pissed off, but he couldn’t argue with the logic of it all.
“I’m good with that,” I agreed. “I’ll set off as soon as you say, Prez.”
Hardy glared at me, his mouth pulled into a thin line. “All right, I’ll sort it out with Razuuk. You leave immediately.” He lit a cigar and blew out a mouth full of smoke. “It only puts this shit on pause though. Sooner or later you’re going to have to bring that woman to heel, whether she likes it or not.”
We sorted through the last of the club business and Hardy slammed the gavel down on the table. We all cleared out of church and headed into the main clubhouse to get a drink.
I looked around at my clubhouse, at my brothers, my family, wondering how long it would be before I came back. Regardless of how long it was, I knew it was the right thing to do. At least for Penny. My whole life I’d only had to think about myself, my club, my brothers. I was selfish and rotten to the core, but Penny brought out a side of me that made me want to be a better man.
“You really giving all this up for her?” Battle said, coming to stand next to me. He had Jesse and Axle in tow and neither man looked happy about the situation.
“It’s just for a few months,” I said with a sigh.
“Maybe,” Axle said. “But the last brother who went nomad still ain’t come back into the fold and that was four years ago. Going nomad is the ultimate freedom. Once you’ve done it, it’s hard to come back and settle.”
“We’ll see,” I replied, taking a sip of my beer. I knew I’d come back at some point. After all, it was where my old lady was, and one day we’d have our time together. “We’ll see,” I said again with a heavy sigh.
I looked down at my hands, still seeing Solomon’s blood on them. The sight made me smile.
“You’re gonna be missed,” Jesse said, tucking his long hair behind his ears. He was turning into Axle more and more every day. Axle had long hair normally tied back and he was one of the best fighters I’d ever known. I’d seen Jesse and him fighting a couple of times, and it was getting to the point that I wasn’t sure who I’d be putting my money on. Axle was good for Jesse in every way. Since Butch had been assigned road captain status a couple of months back, he hadn’t been around much. Jesse and Butch had been working on an old bike for years, but not much had gotten done on it in the past few months. Part of me thought it was a deliberate thing by Hardy to keep the brothers apart, his hate for Jesse still growing even after so many years. A normal man would grow dark with that sort of hate coming from his own blood, but Jesse turned it round and changed it into something else.
“Aaah, don’t go crying for me, brother, I’ll be back soon enough,” I joked.
