“I’ll give my hand a fuckin’ workout when I rearrange your face,” I growl.
“Ooh.” He places his hand over his heart. “You wound me, Brother.”
I elbow him so hard he falls off his chair. “Leave me alone, Rat. Or you’ll really regret it.” I award him my best enforcer face.
“Shit, Bro, was only making conversation.”
“Stirring things up, more fuckin’ like.” Bullseye’s correctly read the tightening of my features and knows he’ll end up one member down if he doesn’t shut this shit down. “Haven’t you got somewhere you need to be, Rat?”
Rattler looks from me to Prez. Then he notices the glare Tempest is also giving him. “I can’t be assed with this.” He pushes his plate away and stands. “I was only talking, and you all pick on me.”
At that moment, Saint enters the room, one arm tightly around Pippa, who’s carrying Jade. They look like the perfect little family.
Rattler takes one look at them. “Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
Saint stiffens. “You got something to say, asshole?”
“He’s one step away from a beatdown,” I tell the VP.
“I’m out of here.” Rat turns heel and runs. Or, at least, he walks rather quickly to get out of the danger zone.
One day, he’s going to take it too far. And I’ll be the first in line to teach him a lesson.
Saint settles Pippa and Jade in Rat’s recently vacated seat. Now she’s someone I don’t mind talking to.
But I don’t get a chance, as while I’ve been dealing with my least favourite member, Bullseye’s emptied his plate. He stands, throws me a nod, and then disappears. Looking down at my mostly untouched breakfast, I reluctantly push back my chair and follow him out.
“I’m expecting a call,” he explains, as he goes around his desk and takes his seat behind it. “What do you want? I’ve probably got ten minutes. Is it trouble at the strip club?”
“Nah, it’s personal.” I remain standing. “I’m going back to Flagstaff this weekend.”
“No.”
“Yeah, Toni…” It takes a moment for my brain to catch up.Did he say no?Perhaps he needs more detail. “We’d planned that Ace was going at the start of the summer break, but Toni’s been assigned to some training course, so this weekend’s the only option for Ace to see his aunt again. If he missed that, he won’t see her for weeks.”
“Ain’t got a problem with that,” Bullseye states, leaning back and linking his hands behind his head. “But you going as well is out of the fuckin’ question.”
“Say what?” I take a step closer to the desk. “Prez, this is important to me. I’m hoping to persuade Toni to move down here to be with us. This isn’t casual. This is real.” It’s the first time I’ve admitted that out loud.
“If she’s the right woman, she’ll wait for you.” His hands come back down to rest on the desk. “The call I’m waiting on is from Pagan. Guns have started moving through the pipeline, and this weekend we’ll likely be shipping them over the border. You’ve already agreed, you and Tempest will accompany this first run.”
I had. And I’d had no objection. But at that time, I hadn’t realised it would interfere with me getting my dick wet.
My mouth opens and closes. The trial of our new route is important, vital to the club. I can’t abandon club business. Not only that, but if I refused a direct order from my prez, without having a fucking good excuse, then I’d be risking my patch, or at least be demoted. And I’d deserve the beatdown that would undoubtedly accompany either option.
Fuck. I turn around, take a step back to the door, and place my fist lightly on the wood.
“Freak, I’m sorry. But club comes first.”
“When’s the run?” I ask tersely, my back still turned toward him.
“That’s what the phone call is going to confirm. But early Saturday morning sounds likely, about two a.m.” He sighs heavily. “Look, Freak, I know you don’t want to disappoint your son, and you also have your own reasons for going north. But I need you here.” He pauses, and I hear his fingers drumming on the desk. “You already told Ace your plans?”
I raise my head, then lower it.
“Fuck.” He wipes his hand over his face. “Look, I know Ace doesn’t adapt well when shit changes. How did it go last weekend? Would you consider driving him there, then leaving him with his aunt?”
My fist hits the door again, then I repeat the action. “I trust her with him.” I huff a strangled laugh. “Think she loves him asmuch as I do. And Ace would be over the moon having his aunt to himself. But Prez…”
