Chapter 21 BEAR
BEAR
Icrashed into church and tossed Balthazar’s cut on the table. There was no way the man I met could have fit into it, so it must have been an old one he’d abandoned in his car. Sloppy, but I wasn’t going to complain.
Mav stopped mid-sentence and everyone turned to look at me.
I swiped my hand through my beard, taking a second to run through everything that happened.
I already had a full report about the Diablos before the whole Lexie situation.
But now? Fuck. I needed one of Lexie’s binders to keep it all straight.
“That’s quite the souvenir from our newest ally.” Mav jerked his head toward the screen. “Can you see that, Sinner? He brought us Balthazar’s cut.”
Sinner laughed from the TV. “Can’t wait to hear how that happened.”
I took a deep breath. “When I got to Lexington, I went straight to their bar and took a seat wearing my cut. Balthazar didn’t have a choice but to show his face.
Although, I guess I understand now why he was keeping a low profile.
” I snorted. Maybe it shouldn’t have been funny, but this was the life we all chose.
“There was a bit of a mutiny in the bar, and the VP, Lucifer, shanked him and gave himself a promotion.”
Sinner shrugged. “Probably for the best.”
“Yeah. According to Lucifer, Balthazar had been slacking off for years. Their clubs are in disarray and he’ll be putting people to rights for the next several months.
There’s no sanctioned club operating in North Carolina.
The folks we’re dealing with are either a rogue club or some other group that knew the Diablos were descending into chaos and chose their name as a cover.
Either way, we have his blessing to use any means necessary to handle the threat. No retaliation on their end.”
“Nice work. What did you have to agree to?” Sinner asked.
“Um, well, nothing too bad. I got Balth out of his hidey hole, so in a way they owed us. But we can get into the specifics later.” I thought about Michael sitting on the other side of the closed door.
Fostering a teenage boy wasn’t that bad in the grand scheme of things.
“Something more important came up as I got back into town.”
“Yes.” Mav clapped his hands. “I am eager to hear more about how the caterer has somehow managed to get herself into the middle of our business. Again.”
“Mav.” I turned toward my VP. “I’d like to bring Lexie in here to share what went down tonight. I don’t even have the full story, but it involves the prospect, Jordan, and his involvement with the Diablos.”
“The fuck?” Mav jumped to his feet.
“Like I said, the only person who knows the full story right now is Lexie.”
“Malone!” a voice rang out behind Sinner.
“Ah fuck, give me a second, boys,” Sinner said and muted his side of the video.
Mav turned to me. “Bring her in.”
I stood up and opened the door. I turned to the couch, expecting to see Lexie and Michael, but was surprised.
“Where’s the kid?”
Lexie raised an eyebrow. “You mean Michael? The sixteen-year-old boy who’s been stuck in a car for ten hours? I sent him to find a shower and dinner.”
My brow furrowed. “I’m not sure if he should be in this clubhouse by himself.”
She rolled her eyes, looking way too cute while doing it. “Give me a little credit. I called Dan. He’ll keep an eye on Michael until we’re done.”
My hand clenched into a fist. Not that damn prospect again. If Lexie needed something, I was the one she should call. Not that I could have answered because I was in church, but still. Though a small part of me did appreciate that she was looking after the kid.
“Come on.” I jerked my head toward the conference room. “We need you to tell us what happened tonight.”
She sighed, her eyes welling. “I feel so bad for leaving Jordan.”
“Don’t. We’ll take care of him.” One way or another.
We stepped into church, and I realized that the only open seat was mine. I grinned. How fortunate.
I sat in the chair and pulled Lexie into my lap.
“Bear! I can stand.” She twisted to look at me.
“Nah, babe. I like you right here.”
“Sorry for the interruption.” Sinner’s video restarted. “I might as well be the fucking warden for all the bullshit I have to deal with in this place.”
Lexie stiffened and her eyes rounded in fear.
“Pixie,” I spoke softly while Mav and Sinner talked prison politics. “You’ve met the rest of the brothers, but our president is on the video screen, Sinner Malone. He’s currently, uh, indisposed as a resident of the state. But we’re able to bring him in on a video when we discuss major issues.”
Her back stiffened, and she buried her face in my neck.
“Hey, it’s okay. Don’t be nervous.” I rubbed my hand down her back, hoping to calm her nerves while she shook her head again.
Sinner might not be in the same room, but the man was intimidating.
As much as I didn’t want her to fear any of my brothers, I couldn’t help but love that she sought comfort in me.
Mav cleared his throat. “Okay, back to business. Lexie, tell us what happened.”
“You gotta be fucking kidding me.” Sinner leaned back in his chair. “I know I’m a bit out of the loop, but Mav, please tell me you haven’t allowed Bear to bring a piece of snatch into church.”
“Hey!” I shouted, my arms tightening around Lexie.
Red-hot anger burned through my veins. Nobody, not even my prez, would talk about her that way.
The corner of the screen showed that the camera had moved away from Maverick and zoomed into where I sat holding Lexie.
“Lexie is the caterer that saved Tracker’s life.
If it wasn’t for her, he’d probably still be laying behind that dumpster with the rats chewing on his body.
Tonight, she went into the Diablos clubhouse and will provide us with valuable intel we wouldn’t have otherwise.
Including their fucking location. She deserves our respect, and she’ll fucking get it.
From everyone.” I stared directly at the camera, hoping that was enough to let Sinner know where I stood.
His eyes softened, and his face zoomed in, like he’d physically moved closer to his laptop.
I felt a soft hand on my cheek and looked down to find Lexie staring up at me.
Her blue eyes watered, and my heart almost broke.
Had no one stood up for her before? We may have known each other for a short time, but I’d seen all I needed to.
This woman who wore her heart on her sleeve also had a hidden strength I couldn’t help but admire.
She was a heck of a woman, and I wanted, needed, her to be mine.
I would make it my life’s mission to be there for her. I kissed her forehead and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Can you do that, baby? Can you tell them what happened?” She nodded and sat up, brushing her hair out of her face.
Her blue eyes looked into mine as she gave me a small smile. “Sorry, you must think I’m such a wimp. I’m not usually so clingy, but this feels so nice I can’t help it. And things are about to get… complicated.”
“Sweetheart, these arms are yours anytime you need them. And I don’t mind complicated.”
She turned to face the rest of the group but didn’t try to leave my lap. Good.
“I, um.” Her words caught in her throat as she stared at Sinner’s giant face.
She blinked. And blinked again. “Oh.” Her eyes filled with tears and she cleared her throat.
She looked back at the screen and chewed her bottom lip.
“I, um, got a call about catering.” Her voice hitched and she brushed the tears that ran down her face.
My chest tightened and I rubbed my hands up and down her arms. What the fuck was going on? This was more than nerves.
“Alexandra?” Sinner’s voice cracked as he called her name. I mean, I guess that was her name. I thought back to the contract we’d both signed, but fuck, I hadn’t paid much attention to anything other than the veggie burgers.
She nodded, the tears falling faster.
Sinner stood up and banged his hands on the table.
“Fuck!” he shouted, and Lexie jerked. After several long seconds, he sat back down and stared into the camera with a look that could break the screen. “Bear, do you mind telling me what the hell you dragged my daughter into and why the fuck she’s sitting in your lap?”