30. Ethan
30
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As soon as Vincenzo and Matteo clear the building, Gabe called church.
“Sit your asses down. This needs to be quick. We’ve got shit to prepare for.” He slams the gavel.
“Cash, Xander, I’ll fill Eli and the others in when we’re done here. Eli and Walker are busy upping the security around your businesses in Mountain Heights. In case this fucker sent reinforcements to keep tabs on the club.”
“Hawk, I need you to get with Mack when we’re finished here and find out how Vincenzo Parisi was able to get into Garrison’s system and destroy the dash cam videos and phone records pertaining to George’s truck and cell phone.”
“The fuck do you mean he destroyed them? The system should’ve alerted me of there was a breech to the system.” Hawk’s pissed, tapping away on his laptop frantically.
“Is that why the smug fucker was here? To gloat? Jake asks.
“He needs to be checked! Coming up in here acting like he owns the fucking place, demanding a meeting with Pres.” Jameson chimes in. “Disrespectful bastard.”
“Listen up!” Gabe shouts. “I appreciate the sentiment, and I can assure you, Vincenzo’s disrespect will come at a cost at some point, but today is not that day. We have more important shit to talk about and the fact is the Italian fucker is the reason we have the information we need. For that reason, only, we will overlook his disrespect…for now.”
The room fills with grumbles and curses.
“So, what did the fancy fucker in a suit have to say?” Jake asks, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees.
“He confirmed a few things we already knew. Like George recognizing this Spider asshole as being a Devil and not wanting the club involved for fear of war. His business with Vincenzo and his concern for an impending war between clubs, combined with his fear for his daughter’s safety is what made George decide to sacrifice himself. The son of a bitch was trying to protect everyone by giving himself up.”
“Dumb fucking bastard.” Ghost mumbles. “We could’ve kept Skyler safe and helped him if his stubborn ass would’ve come to us. Getting caught up with Parisi is what signed his death warrant.”
“I think Spider already planned on killing George. Even before he stole their shipment.” Caleb says. “Spider knew Skyler killed his brother. She’s all George cared about in this world. He would’ve used George to draw Skyler out of hiding then held her prisoner to manipulate George into transporting the women. He could’ve used Skyler to make his club money while keeping George on a leash promising to keep her alive.”
“Over my dead fucking body.” I grit the words. “He’s not getting near Skyler again.”
“We need to catch the motherfucker and bring him in for questioning.” Gabe informs the room.
“We need to put a fucking bullet in his head!” Jameson answers, not liking Gabe’s plan. Hands slamming on the table tell of our agreement with Jameson’s plan.
Gabe’s hand goes up, silencing the room.
“Vincenzo seems to think Spider isn’t only working for the D.O. He hinted to there being someone else the Devil’s Order are working with. I agree with him. There’s got to be a bigger fish out there with a longer reach and financial pull.” Gabe looks around the room. Heads nod. Men grumble. He has a point, and that shit means a war with the Devils won’t be the end of it.
“We need to know who the fuck we’re dealing with before we go starting a war. We don’t know who we might find on our doorstep if we go looking to destroy the entire club.” Gabe looks to Hawk, wordlessly telling him to start digging.
“On it.” Hawk nods.
“For now, we focus on catching Spider and bringing his ass into the basement and keeping Skyler safe.”
“I’ll handle Skyler. She’s my responsibility now.” I don’t give anyone a chance to respond. “I appreciate Eli and Cash, all the guys for taking care of her for me and George, but Skyler’s mine and I’ll be seeing to her every need now.”
Cash smirks but doesn’t speak.
“Does that mean you’re officially claiming her, then Ethan?” It’s Caleb who asks, his amusement evident in his tone.
“Damn fucking straight.” I reply. “Skyler’s my ol’ lady.”
“Does she know that?” Cash asks with a mischievous smile.
Bring it on motherfucker.
“She knows.”
“And has she accepted your claim?”
I smile. “We’re working out the kinks in our relationship, but I can assure you she’ll be more than accepting once we get down to the nitty gritty of it all.”
Xander barks out in laughter. “If you survive the night we’ll have her answer.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
It’s Cash’s turn to laugh now. “If your plan is to manhandle Skyler into submission ---let me suggest you turn the cameras off on the new security system. We don’t want the cops to use it as evidence against her when she chokes the life out of you. We all know she can fight.” He’s still looking smug when he adds, “And she knows every one of your weaknesses. Just ask Kieran.”
I don’t give him the reaction I know he’s looking for. I’m not going to get mad at the jab. Hell, he’s probably right. Kieran has mentioned how she pointed out my weak spots during training. The same weak spots he’s been trying to get me to fix over the last few months.
Instead, I take the high road.
“She can fight me all she wants it’ll make for great foreplay. But once she’s stuffed full of my cock and her body will remind her heart of the truth. Me and Skyler were always meant to be. Other people and their shit got in the way.” I make eye contact with Ghost, then back to Cash. “Skyler knows she’s mine. She needs to learn to trust me again.”
“And can she?” Cash asks, his easy-going demeanor now gone. His facial expression now says fuck with her, and I’ll kill you.
“She can. And so should you, brother.”
His menacing scowl disappears as quick as it came, replaced with his cocky smile. “I never doubted Skyler would take you back. My concern was whether you could remove your head from your ass long enough to fix your fuckups. Because you have a lot of fuckups to fix, my brother.”
The room erupts in laughter, agreeing with Cash’s assessment of my assholeish-ness.
“Yeah. I know. I’m gonna need a few pointers from her best friend to help me out.”
Cash is still smiling, but nods.
Thank fuck!
With Cash in my corner. There’s no way Skyler will be able to hold her ground against me.
The gavel slams hard three consecutive times.
“I’m so glad we finally got Ethan’s love life figured out.” Gabe sneers sarcastically, “Can we get back to fucking business!”
Everyone quiets.
“We have reason to believe Spider will come for Skyler again. The sick fuck wants revenge for his brother’s death which evidently put Spider in jail and wiped out the Devil’s drug and whore distribution here in Oak Ridge.”
“I bet it cost him his position in the club too.” Ghost adds.
“He was wearing his colors at the Diner. So was the fuckwit we had downstairs.” Hawk says. “Maybe they were given a chance to fix his fuck-up.”
“Or maybe he’s decided to make amends by using Sky to recoup some cash and attempting to take out the club.” Gabe suggests. “Chase was a dumbfuck who messed with the wrong girl. Sky putting that fucker down was the right thing to do. If we hadn’t disposed of the body, maybe he would’ve let shit go. But he knows Sky is connected to the Kings. No doubt, he’s figured out we had a part to play in his brother’s disappearance.” He looks around the table.
“Spider’s beef should be with his dumbass bloodline, but he’s chosen to bring his bullshit to us.” Caleb says, looking right at me. “We don’t let anyone fuck with family. Those Devil bastards have taken enough of our blood. They won’t be taking anymore.”
Declan pipes up from his spot on the wall. “Pres are you saying you think he’s not only looking to settle the score with Skyler. The asshole is going to try to take out the club.”
“It would certainly earn him his spot back in his own club, but he’s dumber than shit if he thinks he’s got a shot in hell at taking us down.” Jameson chuckles. “He’s one man.”
Mack speaks up then. “He’s one man with nothing to lose. Don’t underestimate the guy. He’s desperate. He stabbed one of ours. He knows we’ve got his brother down in the basement. I’m sure he’s figured out we have Skyler holed up in the clubhouse. There’s no telling what kind of psycho we’re dealing with.”
“Actually, Skyler’s not holed up in the clubhouse.” I groan, scrubbing my hand down my face. When I look up, I’m met with looks of astonishment, confusion, and anger. Cash is smiling, looking like a proud big brother.
“Why do you look so fucking smug, Cash?”
He shrugs. “I’m proud is all.” He looks at Ghost, then back to me. “One thing you’ll learn about Skyler; she’s not the timid girl she was when she came to us. Following orders isn’t in her DNA.” Xander chuckles, shaking his head.
“She’ll do what you ask if it’s within reason and makes sense but make no mistake. If she doesn’t want to be somewhere, if she fears for her own safety, or the safety of those she cares about…she’s smart and crafty as fuck. She knows how to get out of most situations. We made sure of it.”
“How’d she get out anyway?” Xander questions.
“Parisi.” Caleb says it with a grin.
“You’re proud too?” I ask, stunned. I might be secretly proud of her too, but you catch me admitting it to these assholes.
Caleb shrugs. “Tell ya the truth, I’m worried for our prospects.”
Hawk nods. “She managed to get past Blake and Colt. They deserve a beat down, letting her go off without a brother.”
“You let me worry about the prospects.” Gabe growls. “All right. Ethan, you’ve got Skyler covered. If you can’t be with her, you get a prospect or a brother to stack with her. And you make sure she understands, if she pulls another stunt like she did today, she’ll deal with me. I don’t like outsiders coming into my clubhouse knowing our business and then sneaking off with our women. That shit won’t fly twice. Got me?”
“I got you, Pres.”
“Let’s sleep on this shit for now. We’ll meet back tomorrow and go over a plan to catch this fucker.” Everyone grunts their agreement. “Dismissed!”
As we start to clear out of the sanctuary, I get Cash’s attention. “Hawk, hold up. I need your help too.” Both men hang back.
“What’s up, brother?” Hawk asks.
“I’m going to need your help with something, Cash.”
“What do you need, man?”
“I need you to take a step back from Skyler.” He raises a brow, in question, not liking my request. “You’re the closest person to her, and I get you two have a strong bond, but I need her to come to me with her shit now. She needs to learn to trust me. To lean on me.” I clear my throat. “That’s not to say, I, um, I appreciate you being there and taking care of her when she, uh, lost the baby.”
Goddamn why is it so hard to say this?
Cash’s eyes widen.
“I didn’t know she was pregnant. I mean, I didn’t know a lot of things all those years ago and now that everything is coming to light, I wanted to say, thank you.”
Hawk is looking between me and Cash, confused and maybe a little unsure. Me and Cash haven’t exactly been the best of friends since he came on scene with Skyler in tow.
“I’m glad I could be there. I’ll always be there.” A growl rumbles up my chest. “I get what you’re saying. But you need to realize Me and Sky, we’ve bonded over the years and I’m not about to step all the way out of her life.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to. But with me claiming her as my ol’ lady, you will need to respect the boundaries of our relationship.” I’m thinking it may be something I have to worry more about Skyler not understanding than Cash. “She’s mine, Cash. But she’s never going to trust me if you don’t trust me. And the only way for you to trust me, is to let me step up and be her man. I know you’ve looked after her and took care of her when she was facing death and loss, and all the guilt and shit she’s been carrying. But I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere. So, I think it’s best we come to an agreement for Skyler’s sake.”
Cash stares at me apprehensively, but to my surprise he agrees. “I’ll go along with it, but if she ever calls to tell me you’ve done something to hurt her, they won’t find your body.”
“We have pigs on the other side of the farm.” Hawk, who’s been silent up til now, supplies.
“We good?”
“Yeah. We’re good.”
“Come on, then. Let’s grab a drink and give the prospect hell for letting our girl escape.” Hawk says jokingly. It doesn’t stop me from slapping his ass upside the head.
“Actually, Hawk. I need to borrow something from you.”
He looks at me suspiciously. “What do you need, brother?”
“Restraints.”
*********