MAESTRO
The anger that rode me at what had happened to Rosie had the pulse in my head beating in time with my heart. I’d never felt anger like this in my life.
Once I was assured the girls had gotten home safely, I could concentrate on what needed to be done to keep them that way.
Slamming open the clubhouse doors with the force of my anger got the attention of everyone who was waiting for me. Cash had sent out an emergency text earlier calling Church.
“Church,” I bellowed, stalking towards the room where we held Church and punching in the key code before storming to my seat and sitting down. Picking up the gavel, my hand clenched so hard around it my knuckles turned white.
Once everyone was seated, I slammed the gavel down on the table, “Church is in session—quiet down, fuckers.”
The entire room went silent. I wasn’t someone to lose my temper; in fact, I’d worked hard to keep a rein on it and that I was showing it had them paying attention.
“We have a situation. And I’ll understand if you don’t want to get involved as I haven’t formally made Stacey my Old Lady yet.”
Red snorted and rolled his eyes, “Son, we’ve all known she was yours for the last year and a bit. We’re just waiting for you to make it official. So, if that’s all that’s holding you back, then here.” He slapped a Property of Maestro cut on the table with Stacey stitched on the front. “Give this to her when you get home, and we’ll party later. I think we can all agree that she’s your Old Lady. Now, do you want to tell us what has you grinding your teeth?”
Taking a deep breath before answering, that cut sitting on the table in front of me changed much for how this would play out, “Rosie was attacked today at school and nearly raped. Some kid called Ford, Maura, and Opal got her out before she was. There were four of them, and I haven’t said anything to the girls other than I was proud of them, but I don’t think they’ve realised how bad it could have got if they hadn’t got away. Four football players against one guy and three girls who hardly weigh a thing.”
Wiping my hands down my face as nausea rose at the thought of anything like that happening to our girls.
“We’ve, as parents,” I waved my hand at Cash and Tinman, “agreed that they can’t go back to school until this is sorted because they will be targeted.”
“What’s the plan, Pres? We can’t beat up on kids,” Buck pointed out.
“No, we can’t,” I agreed. “But we can hit them where it hurts and that’s their pockets. Hard-Drive’s already done a quick dig, and their families don’t make their money legally. Their companies are fronts, but they deal in all sorts of things that we’d never have touched even when we were a one percent club.
“Their biggest earner is in the skin trade; anything goes—men, women, children, it doesn't matter to them. Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t want that in my backyard. So far, it seems they don’t shit where they eat, but I have a feeling that will change once they get a look at the girls, especially as the one boy seems to have a real hard-on for Rosie.
“We’ll be going on a soft lockdown for now. Tomorrow, I want to go and see this Ford kid to say thanks and see what his home situation is like. From what I understand from the girls, it’s not good.
“Once our families are safe behind these walls, we’ll start unravelling their businesses. We have contacts in some of the alphabet agencies that would love to get their hands on this.
“We’ll mostly be working behind the scenes for now, unless for some reason we can’t any longer. Once they’re behind bars, we can take care of them. And I want to make damn sure they know it was because their boys couldn’t take no for an answer that landed them in prison. This isn’t going to be quick, and it’s going to get ugly, so, like I say, I’ll understand if you don’t vote for this.”
“What you going to do if the vote doesn’t go your way?” Duke, a quiet brother, asked curiously.
Staring at the men around the table, I’d known most of them my entire life. I’d been in shootouts with enemy MCs and had pulled some of them out of dangerous situations, and they’d done the same for me. They were my brothers, my family; the MC was my life, but Stacey and Rosie were my heart.
“I’ll be handing in my cut, resigning as President, and going after them myself.”
You could have heard a pin drop at the silence in the room.
“I’ll be going with him,” Cash replied, getting up from his chair and standing shoulder to shoulder with me.
That Cash would do that for me had me swallowing hard at the emotion that welled up. We were close—closer than I’d ever been to my blood brother, Chains. Chains had the same close relationship with Tinman. But I’d never have expected Cash to leave the brotherhood for me. I don’t think he realised the impact it made on me that he was willing to.
A cry went up at his words. Dad caught my eye, and he nodded and pointed to the gavel.
Picking it up, I banged it down on the table several times until there was silence again.
“Buck, start the vote on whether we go after these fuckers as a club or not.”
“It’s an aye from me,” Buck stated, pointing to the next brother as Cash recorded the votes in his black book.
When it was done, we waited. “Majority rules,” Cash stated, throwing his book down. “We’ll be going after these fuckers.”
The cheer could have lifted the rafters; it seemed that the brothers were getting bored not being shot at. Although most would be done online and with the Feds, I hoped we’d get some action.
The rest of Church was taken up with making plans, strategies, and backup plans.
It was well into the early morning hours by the time we’d finished, but I had one more call to make, and while I hated that I’d have to wake him up, I knew he’d want to know what had happened to his sister. It seemed the type of man he was. How Grudge had managed to make such amazing kids boggled my mind, although I had a feeling it was more down to Stacey than anything else.
Putting the phone to my ear, I listened to it ring, wondering if it was going to ring out, but eventually a groggy voice answered, “Lo.”
“Kyle, it’s Maestro.”
The sleep was completely gone from his voice when he demanded, “What’s wrong? Are Mom and Rosie okay?”
“Are you alone?” I asked.
“Hang on,” he muttered. I listened as sheets rustled and there was a decidedly feminine groan before I heard his feet on the floor, then the sound of a door opening and closing.
“Okay, I’m alone. What’s happened? My jack-off sperm donor better not be fucking things up for them.”
Even with all the seriousness of the day, I couldn’t help but chuckle at his words. Kyle wasn’t as much of a stranger to me as Rosie had been because he’d worked in our garage on weekends and during school holidays. I’d always liked him, and the more I heard about him from his mother and sister, the more I liked him.
“No, it’s not him, but Rosie had some trouble at school today, and I thought you should know.” I went on to fill him in on what had happened and that I was dealing with it.
“Those fuckers,” he hissed. “I thought I’d made it clear before I left that they’d better leave her alone. I had more than one run-in with them, even if they were younger than me. Give me until the morning; I’ll pack and come home.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I assured him. “You being in school is important to your mom.”
“That may be so, but I can transfer closer. I only went here because it was away from the dickhead and Mom insisted because she was scared I was going to kill him. I’ll be home, and then I’ll deal with the shitheads. You can’t because of their ages.”
“Neither can you,” I pointed out.
“True,” he agreed. “But I know kids their age who would love to have a chance at them. They’ve hurt more than you know.”
“I’ve never asked your mom but what are you at college for?”
Kyle chuckled, “I’m pre-law, Maestro. I figured even if the MC was mostly legit, you could always do with a lawyer.”
“Fuck, you’re not wrong. I won’t say anything to your mom and sister about you coming home. Let me know when you get to town and come straight to the clubhouse; we’re on a soft lockdown.”
“Will do,” Kyle agreed. “One last thing, Maestro, did you say it was a kid called Ford that helped them out?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Interesting. He’s a good guy, but there’s always been something familiar about him, and I think I now know what it is. You need to bring him in.”
“You’re not going to tell me what you think it is that’s familiar about him?”
“No, because I’m not a hundred percent sure. I’ll wait and see what you think.”
“Okay, boy. Drive safe and let me know when you get in.”
“Will do. One more thing before I go. I wanted to tell you I’m glad Mom’s finally with the right man.” With those parting words, he put the phone down.
“Little fucker,” I grinned, happy to have his approval, even though I didn’t need it.
“All good?” Cash asked.
“Yeah, he’s coming home.”
Cash snorted and shook his head, saying what I’d been thinking, “Those kids are a testament to your woman, Maestro. It’s hard to believe Grudge had anything to do with the making of them. By the way, you have a houseful of tipsy women and tired girls. Lizzie sent you photos. In case you didn’t know, your sister is stoked that you finally have an Old Lady, and she’s one who is liked.”
With a smile, I opened up the pictures Lizzie sent; my breath caught at the sheer beauty that filled the frame, their beautiful faces the exact image of each other, cheeks pressed up together as they smiled at the camera. While there were still shadows in their eyes, they also looked happy. My heart, while full of love for the two of them, also beat with vengeance that anyone would dare touch what was mine. I’d do whatever it took to make sure that they’d never had another moment of worry from here on out. There was no doubt in my mind, Rosie may not have come from me, but she was my daughter just the same.
“Happy for you, brother,” Cash clapped my shoulder on his way to the bar.
It was late when Cash, Buck, and Tinman followed me into my home after they’d received messages telling them where their Old Ladies and daughters had ended up.
Stopping in the doorway, my eyes wandered around my living room, full of sleeping teenage girls, and in the background, the happy sound of laughing women.
For once, my house felt like a home. It was like it had been waiting patiently for the one person to make it into a home filled with love and laughter.
Not wasting any time, I found Stacey and kissed the hell out of her. I would probably have carried on if I hadn’t been reminded that we had an audience by the amount of heckling we got. Not that I minded. Not with the way Stacey was looking at me with soft, happy eyes and a smile playing over her lips.
It had been a shit day, but I was going to bed happy and content that I had her in my arms and safe under my roof.