Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
Parker (Spider)
Leaving Cassidy in Bandaid's office felt wrong. I'm a president of this club, so I can skip church without getting in trouble. The thing is this will probably be the last meeting before shit hits the fan with Victor, so we need everyone up to date.
Especially the four of us. We need to be on the same page for Cassidy. Meaning all of us need to be here even if every atom in our bodies is demanding we go back to our woman.
The low murmuring of brothers taking their seats around the large table serves as background noise for the thoughts running rampant in my mind. How in the hell did I not question all her wincing and odd stretches before bed?
Well, I did but she always had the perfect excuse—not used to riding on motorcycles or working on the ground in the garage. How fucking gullible am I? Worse, how could I take her health at face value? I should have dug deeper. Demanded she tell me why those things hurt her body so much.
"Are we all here?" Maddox stands at the head of the table, arms crossed, looking like he'd rather be somewhere else. Same. "Bandaid is busy for a bit, so don't mind his empty seat."
We intercepted our club doctor on the way to church and told him to check on Cassidy first. He wasn't given any details since we're sticklers on not being late to these meetings, so I must trust that Cassidy will tell him the truth.
Glancing around the table, I notice another empty seat. "Where's Jake?" As a fully patched-in member who has been climbing ranks rapidly since his prospecting days, he's required at church too.
Ripley's chair creaks in the silence. When I glance at him, I'm not shocked to see him staring at the table, avoiding eye contact. Poor fucker is so upset about Cassie being in pain.
"Nobody knows?" Koa chimes in, sounding annoyed that we're wasting time on Jake. "Fine. We'll deal with that later. For now, we need to go over security first and foremost."
After a tremendous amount of discussion with the club and Connor, we decided it would be in our best interest to take the killing shot.
Lure Victor out for a drug swap. Make him believe we've cooked something up and need his help to get it rolling.
Tell him we won't meet him here or on his property because nobody can know we're dabbling in the darker shit yet.
We want to bring proof back to the Shadows that this can change our lives for the better before telling them.
We need to figure out who's going as the faces of the plan, who's staying to guard our home and family, and what the story is.
"No matter what, our compound is on lockdown.
Nobody in and nobody out on the day we decide the swap will happen.
Guns loaded, guards positioned, eat on duty if you're starving, no leaving your stations.
No alcohol, no sex." I make the expectations very fucking clear, even if it pains me to put these limitations on our new relationship too.
My heart may be with Cassidy right now, but I can multitask. "Absolutely no distractions."
"If Victor so much as thinks we're lying, he'll come after our women and home," Maddox adds, making the large group of men growl and curse Victor to hell.
Koa clears his throat and leans his elbows on the table. To Maddox, he advises, "You can't be the one to do it, Shade. Victor would never believe you capable of making the drug. It has to look like someone wants to overthrow you."
"But has to have the means to pull one over on you," I add my input, finishing my statement by looking at Ripley. "Ripper, you up for it?"
Frowning, Ripley crosses his arms and leans back in his chair. "How am I the best candidate for this? Not that I won't, but is it smart considering I'm literally in Shade's bed?"
"Right, which means I trust you wholeheartedly and would never expect you to lie or betray me.
" Maddox paces, clearly thinking through options.
"You want to reinvent us. Just lean into Ripper mentality and get dark.
Coin will join you and tell Victor that this will fix our finances.
And Bash is your muscle beside you, making it clear you have some really good strength to pull this off. "
"Fine, but if he so much as comments on Cassidy, I don't know if I can control myself from killing him right then and there," Ripley admits.
A snort slips free from my mouth, but I own it. "You won't kill him because if her name comes out of his mouth, you'll torture him as long as his body can hold out."
The office door opens, and the last fucking person I want to see comes walking in. "I can keep him alive long enough to do maximum damage," Bandaid offers with a grin.
I'm out of my chair so fucking fast it doesn't stand a chance, and quite frankly, I don't give two shits about the dent it makes in the wall. "What the fuck are you doing here?!"
"Whoa, hey!" Bash gets in my face trying to calm me down, but there's no taming the beast now.
Shoving past him, I close in on Bandaid. "Where is she? You should be with Cassidy." Where the fuck is my sunshine?!
He's calm and collected when he tells me, "Starlight wasn't in my office when I got there. I assumed she went to your house to lie down or something. So I came back to tell you, Spider."
"If she's not with you, then where the fuck is she?!" Snarling, I barely refrain from shoulder checking him out of my way.
Koa follows me out of the office, my rage already drawing the attention of everyone in the clubhouse. "Parker, maybe Bandaid is right, and she's resting at home. We didn't really take into consideration that she might not want to be seen by him."
My head pounds, threatening to explode into panic and rage. "I don't fucking care what Cassidy wants. She's in pain, and we have a fucking doctor!"
Koa reaches for me, but Maddox is there to stop him from getting in the middle of my fear and my fists. I'm scared. Something feels wrong. I have to find her faster.
"We'll check the house and have everyone search for her," Maddox orders, tugging Koa along behind him to catch up to me. "No killing your family, Parker!"
Narrowing my eyes over my shoulder, I falter. Ripley is as still as a statue outside the office with Maddy's phone to his ear. I'm right—something's wrong. Then, to my complete horror, he flinches and cries out before sprinting to us like a man possessed.
I don't know what snaps him out of the trance, but I've already stopped moving so he's able to catch up to us in under five seconds. Yet it feels like too long. So much can happen in five seconds.
The words that come out of Ripley's mouth are my undoing.
"Cassie's gone."