Chapter 7MarxPops
Marx
A fter catching up with some of the brothers I head for the back porch, thinking about all the roads that led us to this place.
I knew each time we patched in a brother, they were loyal to a fault.
All the single brothers I’ve spoken with this afternoon have all echoed the same sentiment.
They want revenge, but they won’t make a move until the brothers with Ol Ladies and families decide what they want to do.
At the end of the day the safety of the DRMC is paramount, whether we want revenge or not.
I make my way to a large swing seat that overlooks the backyard, the mobile homes all parked neatly in a row.
“Mind if I take a seat, sweetheart?” I quietly ask, Sage’s dark eyes staring at me from the other end of the porch swing.
“Yeah, of course, Uncle Marx.” She tucks her feet beneath her, leaving me space to settle my bulk into the soft cushions.
I raise a brow and she gives me a small smile. Pushing off with one foot, I let the sway soothe the thoughts bouncing around in my mind. I’m sure it’s doing the same for Sage as well.
“I just want to say thank you, Sage, for what you did for Fox. I know it was scary, but you did the right thing.”
Her bottom lip trembles and a lone tear runs down her cheek as she nods, quickly swiping at it.
“I’ve been doing classes at the community college, you know?
I want to be a nurse, to help people, but -” she blows out a breath, “that was a lot scarier than I thought it would be.” She finishes in a small voice.
“Hey, hey, look at me, Sage. What happened that day is not something that would or should ever happen to you. That day, shit, it was more like being in combat.” I run a hand down my face, ignoring where my mind went that day.
I can still feel the cold sweat down my back when my mind took me back to deployment.
“Your life, Sagey-girl, your future, will be within the walls of whatever hospital you wish it to be. Although if you wanted, I know damn well that after seeing you with my own eyes, you could handle being out in the field, working on the wounded. Shit, what are you? 19 years old?” she nods at me, eyes wide, “At 19 you handled shit a lot better than well-trained, fully grown men. Whatever you wish to do, sweetheart, you’ll fucking do it and do it well. ”
She stares up at me, eyes identical to her aunt’s, then she launches at me, arms around my bulk as she bursts into tears. I pat her back and wait it out.
“Thank you, Uncle Marx.”
“Anytime, sweetheart, anytime.”
A rustling sound catches my attention, and Blanche stands leaning against the corner of the porch, a sheen to her eyes.
It’s not often I catch that woman looking so emotional, so I must have done something right.
She mouths the words “thank you” at me and I give her a simple nod.
It’s my role as Pres to look after everyone in the club.
Blanche makes her way to the swing pulling Sage from me and taking my place on the seat.
I move to leave them in peace but Blanche stops me with a hand on my wrist. “You’re a good Pres, Marx. Whatever you decide, I’ll stand by your decision.”
I tip my chin as she releases my wrist and I can’t help but rub my chest. Having Blanche at my back means a lot.
I’ve seen the woman in action. If people think Chewy is scary, she has nothing on Blanche’s pure unadulterated rage.
I stood by her as she brought down a cult full of men, the same that Lovely escaped from.
I know for a fact if I were to command it, she would lead the DRMC women in an all out assault.
Scrap that, Chewy and Remy would lead them from behind their screens, Blanche would lead the rest on the ground.
I freeze in place, realizing that without knowing it the DRMC women work as one, much like a special ops team.
Fucking hell, our enemies won’t know what hit them if we let the women loose.
Shaking my head I follow the veranda around the house, stepping over Chomper, who is sunning himself on the back porch. Laney is sitting next to him wearing denim overalls and rain boots on the wrong feet, with Mad Dog on the steps below her.
“Should we be worried about how much my granddaughter loves that gator?” he asks me, eyes never moving from the pair.
“If Rhodie married a waitress in town, then yeah, we should be worried. Instead he has Chewy as his Ol Lady so I think this is normal.”
Mad Dog lets out a snort, bending a little to ruffle Laney’s hair. She looks up at him and gives him a huge smile. I watch the old man melt and I wonder what he would be like with Bee and the rest of my kids, when I have them. I’m pretty sure mine won’t be obsessed with alligators. Hopefully.
“What’s the consensus so far?”
“The single brothers want to wait to hear what the brothers with families say. But the ones I’ve spoken to are all in favor of clapping back.”
“And the women?” Mad Dog raises a brow, in the exact same way I know Rhodie and myself do.
“The women want blood. Their babies were put at risk. Chewy has some ideas for payback, Blanche, Nat and Vi want to storm their homes and Mira is in it for the storyline. Remy and Ana are happy to go along with what the others are proposing.” I give my father a look and we both chuckle.
“Best thing that ever happened to us was when the women joined.” Mad Dog shakes his head, a smile on his face.
“Kinda like the old days, huh?”
He grins at me before turning as the sound of crunching gravel gains our attention.
A slick, black saloon car makes its way down the drive toward the house.
I stand to my full height, arms crossed over my chest as Rhodie and Gus make their way to the bottom of the steps, each of them flanking Mad Dog as he stands.
The car slows to a stop, the engine dying before Sasha exits the drivers side. The large blonde makes his way to the back passenger side, eyes scanning our surroundings, as if determining whether it’s safe or not.
“Don’t you ever get sick of opening his door for him?” Rhodie smarts, a smirk on his face.
“Do you ever get sick of making sure Chewy is safe and sound?”
Rhodie lets out a huff, “Touché Sasha.”
Sasha steps back from the open door, allowing Roman to emerge.
“My friends, it’s good to see you all in one piece.
I’m sure you all remember Dima?” I nod at the other large blonde man.
His piercing blue eyes cut straight to me, before looking past me at the house.
I stand my ground, not taking my eyes off him until Roman interrupts.
“Let’s chat, shall we?” he says in such a jovial manner that it irritates me.
I grunt in response then turn to the door. Everyone knows this meeting is happening so they’ve all made themselves scarce. Vic Landry waits just inside the dining room for us, greeting Dima in a much friendlier manner than I did. I guess they’re used to seeing all sorts of weird shit in Louisiana.
“So, what do you know?”
Pops
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Ana asks, looking sceptical.
I don’t bother to answer. Of course it’s a good idea. They’re all in my dining room learning important shit, and I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m a nosy fucker.
“You know that Marx will just tell us what happens next anyway,” Nat says in a bored tone.
“If he doesn’t then I’ll just get it out of Gus and then tell you all,” Ana shrugs.
“Yeah because we can’t rely on Chewy,” Mira adds.
“Wait, why can’t you rely on me?” Dayz asks, affronted that Mira would even suggest she was unreliable.
“You-” Mira jabs a finger in her direction, “are an unreliable witness. You can be in the same room as the men and still have no idea about any of the juicy stuff.”
Dayz’s brows pinch. “Why would I? I’m there to dazzle them with my superior brain, not listen to gossip.” She taps some buttons on her phone, then gives me a thumbs up.
“Do you think you could go any faster, Pops? You’re a lot heavier than you look,” Remy grunts.
I should have grabbed the ladder, but with all the excitement around here getting everyone settled, the ladder is trapped in the back shed with a trailer in the way. “Sorry ladies, a little longer.”
“Ow, he’s on my boob!” Nat whisper yells, and I can hear the other women snorting.
“Those boobs are huge, surely they can cushion an old man for a little bit longer,” Mira teases.
I finish securing the camera to the upper window frame, angled just right to get the picture and sound feedback from inside the dining room.
“You people own a security company, surely you have some fancy gadget that can do all this, not an old man on a pyramid of women,” Ana says through clenched teeth.
“Nope,” Dayz answers, tapping more damn buttons. “We’re in, ladies and man. You can let Pops down now.”
“What are you doing?”
I spin from my place at the top of the pyramid at the same time Ana and Nat do, causing us to wobble wildly.
“Someone grab him!”
Mira lunges from her spot next to Dayz, using her height to wrap her arms around my waist, holding me off the ground. Gasps sound out along with a shrieking belly laugh I recognize.
“You better not tell any-”
“Oh I won’t have to tell anyone, I’ll show them.” Rider wanders off, staring at the phone in his hand before he bursts into giggles.
“We’re getting that back, right?” Mira asks, but because she’s still holding me like a wayward toddler, she breathes the words into my ear, creeping me the hell out. “Oh sorry, let me just put you right…there.” She dumps me unceremoniously on the ground.
I take a good look around, checking if there are other brothers lurking out there, and thankfully I see nothing. But you can never assume shit when the DRMC is around. Dusting myself off I notice Lovely and Vi staring at us.
“So, are you gonna tell us what this was all about?” Vi asks, circling her finger in the air at us.
“Pops just put a bug at the top of the window frame so he can spy on Marx’s meeting,” Chewy says, matter of factly.