9. Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven
Medusa
Smitty stayed the night with me because I was still jumpy. I couldn’t get the nightmares to stay away. They were always the same: Tommy killing my siblings right in front of me before turning the gun to me. The nightmares disappeared for a while, but now they’re back with a vengeance.
“You look like shit.” Bubbles put a large coffee cup in front of me. I take a deep inhale and let out a happy sigh. “Did you have trouble sleeping?”
“Nightmares again. The note brought it all back. We must ensure we’re being vigilant when we’re out there. If Tommy is back in town, there might be bodies dropping. I know his son is supposedly running the business while he was in Miami for something, even though I don’t even know who the fuck his son is. Joker’s been doing her thing, but he’s not on birth certificates. This can only mean one of two things: the mother or mother didn’t want anyone to know who the father was because they didn’t want people to know, or he didn’t want anyone to tie his children to him. An easy way to get to someone is through their loved ones.” I lean back in my chair as I sip my coffee. It makes sense. I groan out loud. I’m so frustrated. I want this man gone off this planet for good. He needs to be pushing up daisies.
There’s a knock on the door, and Derby walks in with a smile. Her hair is piled up on her head in a messy bun. She bumps her hip into Bubbles, making them both laugh.
“Did someone get laid last night?” I raise an eyebrow, and she blushes.
“Who?” Bubbles squeals.
“I’m not telling you. It might’ve been a one night thing, or it could be something more. If it’s something more, I’ll let you know.” She smiles at me. I hope she finds someone who treats her like a Queen. “This meeting you called. Do you want to give me a heads-up?”
“Tommy DeMarco is back in town.” My voice has no emotion at all. When it comes to this, I feel numb. The thoughts running through my thoughts are nothing but revenge. I hate this man with a passion and need him dead.
“Everyone is here.” Joker pokes her head into my office. I stand, and the four of us walk toward our meeting room. Joker lets out a loud whistle, “Church time.” Church is not where we play worship music and pray to God. It is a sacred place for us, and we have rules that we all obey. Anyone who disrespects it gets kicked out of it. I’ve even bumped members down to the prospect level for their behavior in this room. The rules are simple—no drinks, no sex, show everyone respect, even if you disagree with someone, no drugs, and no cell phones. We leave a prospect out at the door to let us know if there’s an emergency. I allow guns in here for protection in case we get attacked. We all have our permits to carry, so if the cops come calling, no one can get in trouble.
“Good morning, you beautiful people.” I smile. The women are standing around, talking and yawning.
“I wish for once you’d allow coffee in here if you’re going to demand an early morning meeting.” DaVinci whines. “I haven’t been to bed yet.” DaVinci runs our spa business but enjoys dancing on her nights off. I roll my eyes at her.
“No. Let’s sit down.” The table is long for us to have almost thirty people here. Once everyone is seated, Joker, our secretary, sits in her usual chair. She bought a gaming computer chair which is entirely pink. Everyone knows it is her chair, so we don’t mess with it because she can fuck us up. I know because she put my number on a fury website for six months. I didn’t see them dressing up as animals and rubbing up on each other. The voicemails I’d get. I shudder.
“Are you cold?” Bubbles asks me. I shake my head no. “Okay. So this meeting is starting. We’re not reviewing the minutes from last month, as this came up recently. It’s not normal club business, as we will still have our original meeting next week.” I look around at the table.
“Tommy DeMarco is back in town.” I got it out before anyone could start asking a bunch of questions. I sigh as you can hear the conversations from outside if you listen hard enough. When we redesigned this building, I wanted this room to be soundproof so no one could listen to what we were talking about, but we could hear what was happening outside these doors. I get a lot of “What the fuck,” “Jesus fucking Christ,” and “Where is he so we can kill him,” responses. I raise my hand to silence everyone. “I don’t know where he is. I received a note.” I go on to explain the notes from the past and now. “We need to be extra vigilant when we’re out. He knows about me and the Valkyries MC. I don’t think he’ll try to hurt any of you, but being on alert is better than getting complacent.”
“I have his picture, so you can let any of us know you’ve spotted him. I even added some gray to his hair in case he’s not coloring his hair. I’m still looking for any children he has, but I can’t find anything. I’ll keep digging, though.”
“Thanks for that, Joker. Please know I value every one of you. I can’t lose any of you. We will let the prospects know as well. We will find this fucker, and when we do, we will end him and his family. I promise you.” Everyone cheers, and we end the meeting. Joker sends out the photos.
“Are you going to be okay?” Duchess asks me as we walk out together.
“I’m always going to be okay. I have to be.” I smiled at her, not believing the words coming from my mouth. When it comes to Tommy DeMarco, I’m not constantly thinking right. I tend to run before checking out my surroundings.
“I need to head back to the body shop. The new guy started today. He was getting a crash course from TJ.” Derby laughs.
“Don’t tell TJ. I know you won’t because of the sanctity of the Church, but being friends with him and me tends to put you in the middle of things.” I look up to Derby because I'm five feet four inches without shoes and the shortest one here. Everyone towers over me, but my bark is not as bad as my bite. She shrugs. “What?”
“You need to tell him. I'm not telling Michelle since she’s all about herself and this guy Lucas.” We both roll our eyes at his name. “He was there with you and knows how this man makes you feel. Don’t put him in the dark.” I open my mouth. She holds up her hands. “Don’t shoot the messenger. I see it from both sides. I will always have your back. I promise.” She hugs me before leaving. I bite my lower lip, replaying Derby’s words. Should I tell TJ about the note? I check my cell phone to see that Smitty's classes run all day. I’ll head to him at the end of the day. I have some paperwork and places to visit today. I need to talk to him, so I put it in my cell phone calendar to remind him. He always has my back.