Chapter 15 Grifter
As I walk down the hall, the clubhouse feels colder tonight.
Of course, that could be because I just left my woman’s arms and the warmth of her laughter.
This damn place feels dismal as hell, too.
I need to talk to the men about fixing it up some.
We just have other, more pressing needs and until I can get our businesses bringing in more money, I need to tackle the most important shit first and let others fall through the cracks.
As I open the door to the meeting room where we have church, I feel gazes shift to me.
I concentrate on the concrete floors, cinderblock walls, and the echo of my boots as I cross the room.
The air seems thick with oil, leather, and the faint stench of old beer.
The TV hanging on the far wall is turned off, but the lighting in the room hums low and shines brighter around the red flag on the opposite wall.
It hangs behind where I sit, and I take a second to glance at it before I sit down.
Kings of Anarchy is stitched bold and proud across it in block lettering.
Kings Of is arched at the top, Anarchy is curved below.
Our club emblem is in the middle of the lettering.
It’s a wicked looking skull wearing a crooked gold crown and wearing a silver-and-black bandana.
There’s an anarchy symbol carved into the skull’s forehead.
It’s the kind of emblem that delivers a message.
It’s one that warns outsiders not to fuck with us and I need to make sure that message is delivered loudly now that I’m the leader.
There’s no furniture in this room, save one massive, sleek, black oval conference table and ten expensive, black leather chairs surrounding it. It’s clean, simple, and cold—exactly how this room should feel. This is for business only—no bullshit.
My men are already seated when I walk in.
Not one of them, except for C and Scorpion, look happy to see me.
That doesn’t bother me in the least. I don’t need smiles.
I need loyalty. C sits to my left, my second-in-command, my anchor.
Scorpion’s to my right—Enforcer, muscle, and the closest thing I’ve got to a brother in this club.
The rest fill the other chairs. Cowboy, Savage, Sidetrack, Hellfire, Hades, and Skeeter.
That’s the club essentially. The prospects aren’t here—they haven’t earned the right to be a member, to wear our patch and have a vote. Some probably never will.
I take the head seat, lean back slightly, and let my eyes sweep the table. One by one. Measuring. Weighing. No one meets my gaze too long. The gavel waits in front of me. I pick it up, bang it once on the table, the sound sharp as gunfire.
“Church in session.” The room goes silent.
I can feel the tension vibrating in the air, the weight of everything I’m about to say pressing down on all of us.
“I’ve claimed Georgia Cutter as my old lady.
” My voice comes out rough, steady. “That’s not going to change.
I’ve said it before, but tonight it’s official.
” A few glances shift, but no one says a damn thing.
I keep going. “She’s been shown disrespect tonight—from a prospect and from Daisy.
That ends now. I came here to take this club back to a place of strength and power.
You voted me in, and I’m here to lead. But I’ll tell you this—if any of you think I’ll stand by while my woman’s disrespected, you’re dead wrong.
” I lean forward, elbows on the table, stare them all down.
“If a man’s got a woman that he cares enough about to ink her name into his skin and claim her under the club’s colors, she deserves respect.
That’s how it’s going to be under my watch.
No exceptions. No bullshit.” My tone drops low.
“If that’s a problem for anyone, there’s the door. Walk now and save us all the time.”
There’s a long pause before Hades shifts in his seat, rubbing the back of his neck. “Shit,” he mutters.
I cock a brow. “Something you want to share, Hades? Or are you just scared that tiny little girl in there is going to hex you and make your dick go limp for life?”
The room cracks with a few snickers, but Hades isn’t laughing. He leans forward, voice serious. “Damn it, Prez, don’t joke about that. You don’t know the voodoo that chick’s done. It’s creepy.”
I fight my anger and just give him a look. “What’s she done that has you acting like a kid worried there’s a monster under his bed?”
“She dreamed a barn burned down—and it did.”
That earns him a few nods from the others. My jaw tightens. “What else?”
He hesitates, then looks at me carefully. “You know Alex was sweet on her once?”
That gets my attention. “The prospect tonight that disrespected her. That Alex?”
Every man at the table nods.
“Is that why he spewed his nonsense at her tonight?” I ask, my anger leaking out into my voice.
“Probably,” Hades admits. “He asked her out a few times. She actually said yes once but canceled the very next day. He demanded a reason, but she just said she didn’t think it was a good idea.
” I grit my teeth. The idea of Georgia even agreeing to go out with that idiot makes my skin crawl.
Hades keeps talking. “Alex didn’t take it well.
He cornered her one day and demanded she explain why she said yes then backed out like a tease.
They were in the middle of the diner. She told him she had a dream—said he was taking bets with his buddies on how long it’d take him to nail the town freak.
He laughed, said it was stupid to turn him down over a dream.
That’s when she screamed at him. Told him it took a fucking loser to take bets on stealing a woman’s virginity, especially when he was already sleeping with someone else.
When he tried to call her a liar, She gave the name of one of the guys that was placing a bet in her dream.
He was in the diner, and she asked him point blank to man up and tell the truth.
When he didn’t say anything, Georgia laughed and told him if he didn’t tell the truth, she’d cast a spell on him so he’d have to answer truthfully to any question she asked and she’d make sure to ask them in front of his wife.
Scared the hell out of him. The guy confessed to everything.
Alex was so stupid he even handed out markers when taking the bets. The guy showed it to everyone.”
My hands curl into fists under the table. My blood’s pounding, but I keep my face neutral. Barely. I’ll deal with Alex later. Alone. “So that’s what this was about,” I say, keeping my tone cool.
“Yeah,” Hades answers. “He was pissed. Guess he figured if he couldn’t have her, he’d humiliate her.”
I stare him down for a beat, then look around the table. “Anyone here got a problem with me claiming Georgia?”
“I don’t think Alex is going to let it go easily, Prez,” C answers.
“I don’t give a fuck. There’s a good chance after tomorrow we’ll be down one prospect,” I growl. “Anyone else?”
Cowboy clears his throat. “You think that dream stuff’s real?”
“Could be,” I answer plainly. “I’ve heard of people like her before. What I don’t get is why the town treats it like a curse. If someone can warn you when bad shit’s coming, seems like a gift to me.” I look at C. “Did Bo Ridley lose anything when his barn burned?”
C nods. “The man made a mint raising and selling horses. His two prized mares died in that fire. One was pregnant. His ranch went belly up after that. It’s one reason he was so mad at Georgia.”
“Seems to me, that could’ve been avoided if he’d listened to Georgia.
Other than her dreams, have any of you really seen her hex any-fucking-body in this damn town?
” Silence greets my question and a couple of the men take my question in and realize what I’m getting at.
“I didn’t think so. Now, here’s how this is going to go—if Georgia has another dream that touches the club or one of us, we’ll listen.
We’ll adjust. We’ll treat it as a heads-up, not a curse. ”
“Sounds logical to me,” Scorpion murmurs, and no one argues. Which is exactly what I wanted.
“Next,” I say, voice sharp again, “Daisy. That fucking whore is gone. No vote. My word is law here. She came at me naked, while I was holding my woman and started running her mouth about Georgia. That’s a lack of respect that us men would kill someone if they did it to us.
I won’t tolerate it towards any of the women we claim either. Am I clear?”
The table stays quiet, but Hades finally pipes up. “Most of us don’t like the cunt to be honest. She caused trouble between Savage and his old lady. It ended up breaking them up and everyone liked Callie a hell of a lot.”
I look at Savage, my Sergeant-at-Arms. “That true?”
He shrugs, but I can tell he’s still bothered about it all. “Yeah. I was drunk and screwed Daisy. I was fucking stupid. Daisy shouldn’t have rubbed it in Callie’s face, but I made my bed. I got what I deserved.”
I nod. “Fair enough. But Daisy’s still out.
” I glance around the table again. “Now, security. I was going to wait until tomorrow but screw it—we’ll handle it now.
We need a gate, better fences, and a guard shed.
I don’t like how loose things are here when it comes to security.
We just got through a turf war where our allies had to save our asses.
We still have that same rival club sniffing around.
Not to mention, someone took shots at me and could have got my woman in the crossfire.
We need to be proactive and not invite them to get closer. ”
Scorpion grunts. “How much will this set us back?”
“Not sure yet. Savage—you’re on it. Get quotes, talk to Sidetrack, he does our books and knows what we can afford.
Don’t cheap out. If we need extra cash, I’ll chip in myself.
We have to make this place safe.” That earns a few raised brows.
Doesn’t matter. My job here is to pick this club up and put it on my back.
They’ll find out soon that I don’t half-ass when it comes to that task.
“Everyone agree?” There are nods all around.
I grab the gavel and bring it down hard.
I push back my chair, standing. “If that’s all, I’ve got a woman waiting on me—and she’s a hell of a lot prettier than any of you bastards. Church adjourned.”
The room breaks with laughter, a few chuckles chasing me out the door.
I don’t look back. My mind’s already left the room.
Business is handled. The club’s squared away.
Now I just want Georgia. The woman who brings me calm, even with all this chaos.
She’s mine and if anyone tries to hurt her in anyway, they’ll learn really quick just how far I’m willing to go to protect what’s mine.