Chapter Eleven
R aven sat in his office , the door open so he could hear if Taylynn had any trouble and glared at the doorway. He wanted to be out there. He wanted to stay where he could see her, where he could make sure she was okay, but having him hover over her all the time was doing no good. Sure, it kept his brothers from getting anywhere near her and that was what she had needed for a while, but now that she was mostly healed, at least physically, it was time she learned that not everyone was like the men she had encountered with the Iron Demons
Whether she chose to stay around the Fallen Angels or not, she needed to be able to deal with men. Who better to help her get used to that than men he trusted not to touch her, if only because they knew she was his. Men who knew he would kick the ass of anyone who dared try anything with her.
Once she felt more at home, more comfortable around them all, he planned to teach her to defend herself, both with and without weapons, so she could know she had options, no matter what happened to her. She would have the ability to fight back. But that had to wait until she’d healed. Until firing a pistol wouldn’t send more pain through her body than triumph. Until then, he would do everything he could to protect her. Even if it was to sit in another room, forcing himself to let her do what she felt the need to do. He made himself stop glaring at the door and turn his attention to the club concerns that needed him.
He didn’t know how much time had passed, though it seemed like days since he’d had to force himself to stay put and not go check on Taylynn a dozen times. A knock sounded on his open door, making him look up. Dagger, the club treasurer, stood in the doorway.
“You got a minute?” Dagger asked.
Raven motioned to the chairs on the far side of the desk, then leaned back in his own chair, rolling his shoulders to relieve some of the ache he’d just noticed there.
“Sure, what’s up?” he asked once Dagger sat.
“We’ve got that run to Bozeman in a couple of days and I wanted to see if we could nail down who was going.”
Raven narrowed his eyes. “Why are you coming to me with this instead of Diesel?” Diesel was the road captain. It was his job to plan their runs and make sure things went as smoothly as possible. If Dagger had a concern, it should go to Diesel first, then, if there was a problem, Diesel would bring it to Raven. At least that was how it was supposed to work. That was why there was a chain of command, so he wasn’t bothered with every petty concern of every brother in the club.
Now he sat, glaring across his desk at his treasurer and wondered where things had gone wrong. Dagger met his gaze then looked away, looking as if now that he was here, he was having second thoughts.
“Tell me.”
“He’s making plans for you not to go with us. I said he should check with you before he counts you out. He says you won’t want to leave the girl, so there’s no point. I insisted that it still needs to be cleared that you’re not riding along.” Dagger took a deep breath then continued. “He finally gave in and said fine, but I had to do the checking. He wasn’t going to waste time or bother you with something he knew the answer to.”
He stared at the man sitting across the desk, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. He wondered if Dagger was aware of how childish he sounded? Raven wasn’t saying he was wrong. He wasn’t, but the explanation had sounded like a pair of preschoolers wanting daddy’s attention. But as badly as he may want to, and as cranky as he was today, he knew better than to say it. It would only cause hurt feelings and more shit that he didn’t want to deal with. Raven sighed. And let his head fall back for a moment. Then spoke.
“You’re both right. I need to talk to you both about this. Go get him.” Raven didn’t lift his head as he heard Dagger stand and move to the door.
“Diesel, in here!”
Raven lifted his head and shot the treasurer a less than thrilled look. “I could have done that.”
Dagger didn’t respond, just lifted one shoulder and let it fall before resuming his seat. A moment later Diesel appeared in the doorway.
“Yes?”
“Have a seat,” Raven looked between the two of them for a moment, waiting to see if either had anything more to say. After a full minute passed and neither said anything, he took a deep breath and pinned Diesel with a look that said he wasn’t thrilled to have to deal with this.
“Dagger came to me with a concern, and I wanted to talk to you both about it.” Raven paused, waiting to see if either wanted to jump in and say something, not that he would let them, but knowing if they wanted to would tell him more about the situation—whether it was a power play or if it was just the road captain doing what he thought was best. “You were both right.” He took a moment, watching them before continuing. “I’m going to have to bow out of the next run. I don’t feel like I can leave Taylynn alone yet and she’s just not up to the trip, at least not yet. But I need you to check with me and be sure before planning for that.” Raven focused on Diesel. “I understand you were trying to make things easier, to anticipate what I would want and what I would do. I appreciate that. But for the sake of clarity, and avoiding crossed wires, check with me.” He moved his gaze over to Dagger. “That said, I will not be making this run. If, on the run you have something you need input on, and you have time to call about it, call. If you can’t reach me or if there’s not time to try, Jersey will make any decisions that need to be dealt with.” He looked back and forth between the two of them several times, waiting for either to argue or speak up.
He was still waiting when the sound of a crash, glass breaking and an interrupted scream came from the main room. Raven was on his feet before he thought about it. That had been Taylynn’s voice. Was she hurt? What had happened? He needed to get to her. That was all that mattered. Making sure she was okay.
“Pres?” Shotgun called from the main room. “We need you out here.”
Raven was in the hallway before his enforcer finished calling for him.