Rooster
“Well, hello there, fellas.” Grant took a step back, opening his front door wide as he gave us all a welcoming smile. “I’ve been wondering when you were going to stop by.”
Wrath glanced over at Prez, but neither of them said a word. None of us did. We just stood there a bit stunned as he motioned us all inside. “Come on in and make yourselves comfortable.”
Wrath went in first, then Torch, Cotton and I followed Prez and Savage through the front door. Prez kept his cool as he asked, “So, you know why we’re here?”
“Of course, I do.” He continued into the living room as he said, “I just need the code, and I’ll fill you in on everything.”
None of us replied.
We were too busy trying to make sense of what this guy was saying.
Clearly bothered by our silence, his smile vanished, and he turned to Prez with a grimace. “I assumed that Bruton had given it to you. If that’s not the case, then...”
“2... 4... 7.”
“Yes! Yes! Wonderful.” Grant inhaled a quick breath of relief, then ushered us forward. “Come. Come... We have much to discuss.”
As we continued further into the house, I couldn’t help but notice that everything in the house was either white or black—the walls, the sofa, the chairs were all crisp, bright white with a black coffee table and end tables.
Hell, even the paintings on the walls had variations of white with black or grey background, and the theme continued throughout the entire house with the white kitchen cabinets and black countertops and the black kitchen table with white chairs.
It was all nice stuff, but the color scheme was a little over the top.
Grant walked through the living room and over to a wall of shelves.
He pulled down one of the books, and without warning, the wall started to slide back, revealing a secret room filled with glass cases of weapons, video surveillance of not only his house but the entire city, and a large round table in the center with at least ten office chairs.
It reminded me of Bones’ computer room, but it was much more than that. As we followed him inside, I leaned over to Wrath and whispered, “What the hell is all this?”
Grant smiled as he answered, “This is where all the fun happens.”
“Enough of the bullshit.” Prez stopped and crossed his arms, taking it all in. “It’s time you started talking.”
“I understand your urgency, especially during such an unsettling time... Bruton used to call me his Alfred.” Grant sat down in one of the office chairs and waited as we all did the same.
Once we were all settled, he went on to explain, “Bruton was quite the businessman. He had connections all over the world, and when you have that many irons in the fire, you need a little help to make sure things don’t go awry.
That’s where I came in. I took care of problems. I still do. ”
“What kind of problems are we talking about?”
“Ones like the Stingers.” The hairs on the back of my neck prickled against my skin when he said, “They came sniffing around, causing you problems, and I took care of it.”
“Holy shit. That was you?”
“The one and only. I must admit, taking out that entire block wasn’t one of my finer moments.” He scratched the back of his neck and winced. “I’m not a fan of innocents getting caught in the crossfire, but sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do.”
“Never okay to pull a stunt like that,” Prez snipped.
Grant’s confident demeanor didn’t falter as he replied, “Bruton informed me about your feelings on the matter, and I will take them into account in the future.”
“We partnered with Bruton,” Wrath snarled. “Not you.”
“This is true.” Grant retrieved a file from the center of the table and pushed it over to Prez. “But in this game we’ve been playing, you have obligations to fulfill, and it would be in everyone’s best interest to fulfill those obligations. I’m here to help you do that.”
With Wrath leaning over for a better look, Prez opened the file and quickly scanned what was inside.
I didn’t have to read it to know that it was bad.
Hell, it was written all over their faces.
Grant’s tone turned serious as he said, “As I’m sure you already know, the Angotti clan has made quite a name for themselves.
They can be pretty ruthless when things don’t go their way. ”
“We’re aware.”
“So, you understand the urgency behind getting them the goods they’ve ordered.”
“And how many others are out there expecting similar deliveries?”
“There are a few.” Grant motioned his hand toward the stack of files remaining on the table. “But it’s nothing you fellas can’t handle.”
“When is the Angotti shipment due?”
“Everything you need to know, including shipment, location, and dates and times, is included in the files, and of course, I’m here if you have any questions or concerns.”
“Say we continue down this road...” Prez leaned forward with a fierce expression. “Who’s going to take Bruton’s place?”
“We haven’t decided on anyone yet, but we’re looking into it.”
“Don’t bother.” Cotton glanced over at Maverick, then added, “I’m taking it.”
“Well, I don’t know how that...”
“It’s not up for discussion,” Cotton interrupted. “We went into business with Bruton. He’s gone, so now the business is ours. You either work with me, or you’re gone, too. That’s the only choice to be made.”
Grant inhaled a quick breath, then replied, “When you were President of Fury, you made quite a name for yourself. You were respected by your boys and your community. That’s not an easy thing to do in our line of work. That being said, I would be honored to work for you.”
“That will mean doing things my way. No questions asked.”
“Understood.” Grant seemed surprisingly agreeable. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. “And where will you have your headquarters?”
“We’re still sorting out the details on that.”
“Of course. Just let me know what you decide, and I’ll make sure you have everything you need.”
“Well, to start...” Prez motioned his hand over to the stack of files on the table. “I’m going to need to have a look at those.”
“Of course.” Grant eased the rest of the stack over to Prez. “Anything you need.”
“We need the details on Friday’s run.”
“Of course.” Grant pulled out one of the files and offered it to Prez. “Mr. Cardelli will be expecting his shipment on Friday at three. The location is in the file, along with his order.”
“And where will we be picking up his order.”
“That’s already been handled,” Grant answered. “It will be ready for you on Friday.”
There was a brief lull, and Prez used it as an opportunity to stand and say, “I think that should do for now. We won’t take up any more of your time.”
“Of course.” Grant stood and smiled, “I’ve truly enjoyed our little meet and greet, and if there is anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask.”
We were all slow to move, and justifiably so.
We’d just had a crap-ton of information laid in our lap, but as soon as Prez started out of the room, we were quick to follow.
None of us spoke as we made our way out of his house and down the steps.
Before he shut the door, Grant stuck his head out and said, “Until next time. You boys have a good one.”
Without saying anything more, he closed the door and left us to our own devices. Prez immediately turned to Wrath and ordered, “Call everyone into church. We have a lot to go over.”
Wrath nodded, then took out his phone and started sending messages.
He was still at it as he followed me over to my SUV and got inside.
I waited until everyone else was in their own vehicle, then led the way back to the clubhouse.
As I started down the road, I couldn’t help but glance over at Maggie’s place.
I’d hoped to get a quick glance at her, but it was almost nine, and she’d be gone for the day.
I quickly turned my focus back to the road ahead, but it wasn’t long before I found myself thinking about the night before when Maggie had asked me to dinner.
I was hoping that she would’ve messaged me, letting me know which night, but I hadn’t heard a word from her.
I won’t deny that I was more than a little concerned, but I’d put the ball in her court—again.
Like it or not, I’d have to wait and see if she made a move. It wasn’t going to be easy. I wasn’t a patient man, especially when it came to something I really wanted, and I really wanted her. I was thinking of a way I could get around the whole waiting thing when Wrath asked, “You okay over there?”
“Yeah, I’m good. Just got some stuff on my mind.”
“Stuff, huh?” Wrath scoffed. “What’s her name?”
“Ah, it’s not some chick. I just...”
“What’s her name, Roost?”
“Maggie.” I glanced over at him as I admitted, “I ran into her a couple of times, but I don’t know if anything’s gonna come of it.”
“You like her?”
“Yeah, you could say that.”
“Then, make something come of it.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Of course, it is.” Wrath gave me one of his looks. “If I can make something come of me and Mia, you can make something come of you and this Maggie chick.”
He had a point. Mia was Stitch’s daughter, and he was one brother you didn’t want to piss off.
Hell, most men wouldn’t dare to even glance in her direction, much less try to claim her, but Wrath would’ve walked through fire for her.
There was some back and forth, but in the end, he won her over and her father, too.
That should’ve been enough to inspire me, but I’d been down this road before. I wasn’t looking to get burned, so I told him, “Yeah, yeah. We’ll see.”
“We’ll see. Hmph.” Wrath gave his beard a quick scratch. “That doesn’t sound like the Rooster I know.”
“The ball is in her court.”
“Well, if she doesn’t make a play soon, you might wanna give that ball a little nudge. That is if you think this is a game worth playing.”
“That’s just it. I’m not sure.”
“That’s something you’re gonna have to figure out later.” Wrath’s attention was drawn back to the road ahead, and as we pulled through the clubhouse gate, he ordered, “Right now, we need your focus on things here. Once we get shit settled, you can figure things out with your girlfriend.”
I gave him a nod, then parked and followed him inside to the conference room.
It didn’t take long for it to fill up with the rest of the brothers, and Prez wasted no time filling them in on everything that had happened.
While they all had concerns about working with Grant, they were more concerned about Cotton stepping into Bruton’s role, especially Savage.
I got it.
Cotton was his father.
During his time as president, he’d been in some tight spots, and there were times when we all feared for his life.
When Cotton stepped down, Savage thought the days of him being in danger were over, but now there was a chance he was going to be taking on an even more dangerous role—a role none of us were sure he should take.
I could tell by his clenched jaw that my brother was on the verge of losing it.
His eyes were locked on his father as he said, “I’m not sure about this. ”
“We’ve gone over this, son.” Cotton glanced over at Prez as he said, “With me in this position, we would have access to it all—the who, the when, the where. I would be the one running the show, and while I’m running it, I would be looking out for the club’s best interest at every turn.”
“But you don’t even know what you’d be getting into. It could be dangerous... really dangerous.”
“Gun running is gun running, son. It’s all dangerous,” Cotton argued. “Me taking Bruton’s place isn’t going to change that.”
“Your father is right,” Prez interjected. “This could give us a real advantage, and in this business, that’s hard to come by.”
“And we’d have some extra help from our new friend.”
“But we don’t know anything about this guy.”
“We will soon enough.”
Savage was struggling. I could see it in his eyes, but he didn’t argue.
He simply gave his father a nod and let it go.
I understood his concern. There were a lot of unknowns with all this, but it wasn’t anything Cotton couldn’t handle.
And even if he found himself in a tight spot, we’d be there to help out.
It’s what we’d always done and always would.
We’re brothers, and we were going to need each other more now than we ever had before.