CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
SHORT
“Sit down,” Bullseye barks as soon as I enter his office. Without preamble, he gets right into it. “Doc came to visit with me yesterday evening.”
“Looking for Bronwyn and Trip?”
He nods. “Yeah, it was lucky we got them out of here.” He sighs, and his hand brushes back his hair. “He was ranting and raving, more about Trip rather than the girl. Going on about how she’d stolen his son from him.” He pauses and meets my eyes. “And he was blustering about you having the hots for his daughter. He kept referring to you carrying his bag?”
I stretch out my legs, crossing my hands on my stomach. “Yeah, I did that. Didn’t like him taking advantage of her.” I filter back through Prez’s words. “You said he concentrated on Trip? That makes me fucking suspicious, considering why Bronwyn got him out of there. Fuck, Prez, we can’t let him have him. Why isn’t he concerned about where Bronwyn is now?” I would have thought he’d be shitting himself about her revealing her secret. Or was he confident his threats to a child would still work on a woman?
Prez ignores my question, or at least he doesn’t respond by the time there’s a knock on the door, and he calls out permission to enter. Saint, Freak, and Tempest walk in. There is only one other chair, which the VP takes. I half-stand, offering my seat to Tempest.
“Think you’re best sitting down, Short,” Prez snaps.
Tempest waves me off and takes a stance against the wall alongside Freak, who, focusing on my still blackened eyes, smirks. I show him my middle finger.
As soon as Prez starts talking, it becomes clear he’s already filled the enforcer and sergeant-at-arms in. “Once Doc was satisfied we had no idea where his kids were, he asked to speak to me, ‘man-to-man’.” Prez puts those three words in air quotes. “He asked us to find them on his behalf, and rather than payment, threatened that if we didn’t, then it would be time he and the club parted ways.”
Freak links his hands behind his head and tosses out a question. “And what will the club do if Doc withdraws his services?”
“Other clubs survive. Bron will be qualified as a nurse practitioner in a year’s time. She also works at the hospital. Maybe she knows someone who wouldn’t mind turning a blind eye to treat us if the money is right.” I tell them.
“Short’s got a point,” Saint backs me up. “While it’s convenient to have him on call, Doc’s a fuckin’ pervert.”
Prez shrugs. “We’re not female. That doesn’t fuckin’ matter to us. What would hurt is Doc no longer treating us.”
“Only because we’ve got hair on our balls,” I rasp out. As various looks come my way, I explain, “Bron brought Trip here as she was certain Doc was going to do some kiddy fiddling with him the other night.”
Forming an unlikely alliance, Freak roars by my side. “Kid might be special, but he feels like anyone else. And no kiddeserves to be abused and defiled.” He slams one fist into his palm to punctuate his statement. Shooting him a grateful glance, I decide my revenge on him might not be as painful as I had originally planned.
“Come on, Prez,” Tempest states cautiously. “If what Short said about Bronwyn’s suspicions is right, you can’t seriously be saying you’d hand the kid back to a fuckin’ child molester?” He shakes his head. “I know we turn a blind eye to the law, but that’s something I’m not sure I, or other members of the club, would be able to stomach. As for losing what Doc does for us. If Bronwyn stays around, she’s good enough to patch us up for most of the shit that happens to us.”
“IfBronwyn stays. Who’s to say she won’t take off? It would make sense if she wanted to get away from a father who hits her,” Freak puts in.
Saint nods at me, and I know it’s time for me to step up. “She’ll stay. I’m claiming her as my ol’ lady.”
Apart from the VP who stays silent and gives me a smirk, there’s a chorus of “what the fucks?” sounding around me.
“Know you’re coming from a good place, Short, but did you hear yourself? Apart from the fact she’s been broken by a father who lays hands on her, and you’re not known for the loving and gentle shit, she’s not the type of woman to hang around the club. You really see her wearing your patch?” Tempest is obviously trying his best to let me down gently.
“You let me worry about the ins and outs?—”
“I think it’s the ins and outs that the sergeant-at-arms is talking about.” Freak makes a crude gesture by making a circle with one hand and pulsing a finger from the other through it.
Okay, now I’m really going to make my vengeance hurt.Ignoring him, I continue to plead my case. “She’s made of sterner stuff than you’re giving her credit for. I know what I’m getting into.” All of a sudden, I admit to myself she’s beendriving me crazy for months. “I want her, okay? And I know I’ll have to take it slow, but I believe we can make it work.” I realise I implied the opposite to her, but that was only to get her to trust me, to hopefully get her into a place where I could begin to make my advances.
“And what about the kid?” Tempest asks.
“I’ll claim him as well. He’ll be my son.”
Freak turns astonished eyes on me. “Look, I’m on the kid’s side, okay? Ace isn’t without his own issues, but that only means I know what you’ll be taking on with a kid who doesn’t even talk. How the hell are you going to handle that?”
“I’ll figure it out,” I say stubbornly. “All I know is that they need the club’s protection, and my stepping up will give it to them. Everything else can be sorted in time.”
Saint butts in. “Short, I didn’t get a chance to say much to Prez before this meeting. Might be best if you fill him, Tempest, and Freak in on the true situation.”
Raising my chin to the VP, I raise my hands and run them over my head. Suddenly, I’m glad I’m sitting down.
