“I’m not a fan of this, especially with our cartel problems as of late. We don’t know this kid, and I won’t allow drugs in the clubhouse,” Sabre chimed in as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“I won’t go back on my word, but when he’s stronger, I figured we could have a chat and see where his head’s at.” Grizz dropped his gaze, staring at the table.
“Scare him straight?” Sabre asked with a twisted smile.
“Something like that.” Grizz rapped the table with his knuckles. “I’m going to get him outside help. Scrub said he’d find a place.”
I normally kept to my own devices, but I couldn’t help but see the similarities. Grizz had unresolved guilt from not taking Buster to a professional, and he wouldn’t leave the kid to figure this out on his own. I’d done the same thing, staying by Liz’s side from the time she’d come to the clubhouse until now. Some days were better than others, and Grizz was going to need help the other brothers might not give him.
“You have responsibilities, VP. If you find somewhere, I’ll take him, so you’re free.” I was offering before I even knew what I was saying, but once the words were out, the decision felt right.
“That could work.” Grizz looked up, meeting my eyes. He nodded in my direction, and I let it go. We were family. I couldn’t replace him, but I could take a little responsibility off his plate.
“Does anyone have any issues with the kid staying as long as he checks out?” Sabre opened the conversation to the rest of the brothers.
“How do we know he’s not a plant?” Pretty was serious, still traumatized after being arrested.
“He’s not, and if he is, his method acting is incredible,” Twig popped in. “Dude is puking and shitting everywhere.” He waved his hand. “Keeps apologizing between rounds. I’m going to have to polish my boots.”
“I told you, you don’t have to worry about that,” Wreck said.
Pretty shook his head. “You say things like that, and they never turn out to be true.” He tapped his pen on the side of his notebook.
No one wanted to be the next asshole to interrupt their staring contest.
Sabre took over. “If something doesn’t check out, I’ll throw him out on his ass. For now, he can stay downstairs, if there are no objections.” He met each brother’seyes, waiting for confirmation until he moved on. “Alright. That’s settled.” Sabre sighed, his shoulders hunched over. “El Sombra Roja is at Diego Lopez’s office building downtown.”
The room exploded, and I sat back, trying to catch snippets of conversation. I didn’t think anyone would blame Liz for any of this, but a good soldier never went into battle unprepared.
“How the fuck do we know this?” How talked with his hands, waving them around.
“How the fuck did he take the building over?” Zook asked, staring across the table at his friend.
“What the fuck are we going to do about it?” Op said. I’d been thinking the same thing since Liz had hung up the phone.
Slate leaned over the table. “How’s Liz?” I raised my eyebrow at the question, but he held his hands up. “Don’t look at me like that. I backed down when she chose you.”
“Motherfucker called me directly.” My hand came up to roll the muscles in my neck. “It became a pissing contest, so she grabbed the phone, and you should have heard her. Told him to either show up or leave in smooth sentences.”
“Seriously? I would have paid to hear that.” Count’s spikes shook with his excitement.
“I’ve buried the highway patrol reports and all the medical records for Aunt E and Buster. No one’s accessed them, and Aunt E didn’t give him any reason to go looking.” Cyph smiled, locking his fingers together and putting them behind his head.
There was a low rumble as the brothers talked amongst themselves.
“What do you want to do, Prez?” Op was the first of the tactical brothers to get the meeting back on track.
“I’m not putting the women on lockdown, but Grace and JR are moving back into our rooms. Meredith and Aunt E don’t leave unless they have appointments, and Emily is not the target.” Sabre paused, gathering his thoughts. “You might beright, Cyph. He doesn’t know about the accident, but I think Alex is well aware of everything else.”
“Does he still find us lacking?’ Grizz asked, rolling his eyes. “I’ll never forget when Krait said that.”
“Yes,” I answered. “He said something about how he was making sure his girls had better choices in men.”
“He’s arranging marriages,” Wreck spoke up.
I was usually the loudest in the room, but the volume drowned me out. Each brother had a new question to add to the already gigantic pile of shit we were sitting on.
“What the fuck are you talking about? He’s offered for Liz.” My voice cut through the commotion, and the room went silent, waiting for Wreck to answer.
