Chapter 13
13
Steal
“So the accounts are looking good right now, an increase of ten percent despite the problems with the Killers,” Piston says as he looks over the paperwork in front of him.
And by problems, he means them trying to intercept our vans, thinking we’d be stupid enough not to have decoys, and them trying to attack the women working at our strip club.
Anchor nods beside me and says, “Good. And where are we at about building our own garage?”
I grin. It’s the same question he asks at every meeting, and the fact that the brothers are trying to hold their laughter makes my grin widen.
Piston moves his paperwork around as his shoulders shake with silent laughter and I sit back in my chair at the head of the oval table, my eyes going to the carved emblem of a tree with the sword going through it.
I fucking love my position; I love that these brothers have trust in me despite the older generation questioning my loyalty to the club when I got with Cass instead of Faith, but if I have to leave it all behind, then I will, and I know my dad would stand beside me.
Cassidy needs to come first, she needs to know I’ll do anything for her.
“We can start building next month, with the way the figures are going, the brothers won’t lose their portion of the income, and neither will the club’s account. Also, it’ll provide more jobs for the brothers,” Piston reports, and I nod and look around the table.
“Shall we put it in for a vote?” I ask the table, and the brothers nod.
My VP says ‘Aye’ first with a massive grin on his face, and I shake my head at him; the fucker has wanted a garage for years, hating the one we use in town. Cannon, my sergeant-at-arms, is next to agree, along with my enforcer, Pitbull.
Acid, my road captain, says ‘Aye’, along with Piston, my treasurer and tech guru, before my newly appointed secretary, Shotgun, nods and says ‘Aye.’
I lean forward, bang the gavel, and state, “Then it’s settled. Over the next month, Shotgun and Piston will come up with a building plan and budget, and then we’ll get the rest of the brothers involved.” As I speak, I write down the plan, then look around the table again and ask, “And where are we with finding the Killers?”
Piston grunts, anger instantly taking over his features as he growls, “Most of the fuckers are hiding, and honestly, with the beatings Acid and I took when we were kids, I never realized Aiden Mathews was such a fucking weasel.”
Anchor speaks up, “Cannon and I have tortured three of the men we found in our territory, but none of them know where he’s hiding out.”
I sigh. “We need to double down and find the fucker, soon, and once we kill the bastard, we’ll kill off the rest of the vermin.”
Piston jumps in, “Nat is terrified to walk out the fucking house so I’m in on that plan.”
I nod, not surprised, especially when she’s already lost one baby because of that fucker, Aiden. So far, the pregnancy is looking good, but with Aiden still at large Nat is worried. We’re all worried.
I look over the paperwork again, then look up and ask, “And where are we with Axe?”
The brothers all tense and I don’t blame them. We as a brotherhood trust each other with our lives, yet that fucker….
Axe is Piston’s and Acid’s blood cousin on Aiden's side. I only patched him in because he showed loyalty to his cousins, but since both Piston and Acid have earned an officer’s patch and a seat at the table, Axe ha changed.
I’ve seen a side of him I don’t fucking like, and the fact his old lady, a woman who didn’t even want his patch, has disappeared, along with Aurora, a girl I’ve known since the day she was born, has put him on our shit list.
Axe was the last person to see them both, and though his old lady went missing around the same time, I think she ran while Aurora, I think he had something to do with her disappearance, but we need proof.
“The fucker is squeaky clean so far. I’ve been tracking him and the only place he goes is to the apartment his mom left him,” Piston states.
I hum, then ask, “Has it been inspected?”
Acid says, “You think that’s where he’s got Rory?”
I clear my throat and lean forward, “Most likely not now. She’s been gone for a while, but yeah, I think that is where he held her. Don’t ask me how I know, it’s more gut instinct, but Aurora disappears, and so does his old lady a few hours later, and instead of helping to find the girls, he fucks the clubwhores before disappearing for nearly twenty-four hours….”
Pitbull speaks up, “Is this why you’ve taken him off the cash pickups from the businesses?”
I nod. “And giving him the decoy information as we did with Skinny before he was killed. Until we get the evidence we need, just like Faith and Brute regarding Cass, I can’t kick him out of the club without cause. The older generation still believe they have a say within the brotherhood….”
Cannon speaks up, scoffing, “More like cause more trouble than everyone else within the club. They know they'd get their own way if they cause a lot of talk, and I think it’s time we change it. You’ve only kept them in the club out of respect for your father, and we all know your dad would agree to kick them out.”
The brothers nod in agreement as Shotgun asks, “Is there a chance we could put it to a club vote without them knowing so they’re only here during club parties and family days?”
I sigh and lean back in my chair and admit, “We can, but it means possibly causing shit with them, so if we all want to do this, then we need to really dive into it and discuss it. Some of them do have homes on club land and that’s something we can’t take from them, something I won’t take from them, so maybe, instead of cutting them from the clubhouse full time, we discuss them no longer having a say in club business. They’re still getting money from the club when they do fuck all, so they can’t really complain….”
The brothers all nod in agreement, and I state, “Alright, we’ll discuss it at the next meeting and bring the other brothers in without the older generation.” I look around the brothers. “Now, if that’s all,” I bang the gavel, “I have somewhere to be.”
The brothers chuckle while Acid says, “Do me a favor, Prez, before you piss her off, find out where Perrie is staying, will ya?”
The brothers laugh harder, and I chuckle before standing then walking out of church, patting brothers on the back as I go.
I grab my phone from Killian, who is standing guard outside of church, and head for the front door but stop when I hear “Prez?” shouted.
I grit my teeth before turning toward Bull, who raises a bushy black brow at me and says, “Faith called; her car has fucked up again.”
I raise my brow back and ask, “And?”
He flinches back a little before he composes himself and clears his throat, stating, "Well, you need to go and pick her up and maybe look into buying her a new car.”
The room quiets at Bull’s fucked up words because what the actual fuck . Anger shoots through me, but despite it, I smirk and ask, “When exactly did she become my old lady, Bull?” His face reddens, but I continue, “Last time I checked, I’m the motherfucking president of this club, and I have been for over four years, and last time I checked,” I look around the room, “haven’t I proven myself to everyone?”
They all nod, and I look back at Bull and snap, “Faith is not my problem. I fucked her eight years ago, that’s it, and to this day, she continues to fuck several other men while trying to get my patch, being the patch chaser that she claimed Cassidy was.”
A vein pops out in Bull’s forehead, and I silently encourage him to escalate this, and he doesn’t disappoint as he stands and shouts, “You do not mention that bitch’s name in this clubhouse again; she killed my brother!”
The older generation looks at the old man like he lost the plot to shout at his president, and I stand taller. Every brother turns toward him, standing by me, making him flinch back.
“I’m only going to say this once,” I say coldly, causing him to pale, “I am the president of this club, and if you don’t like it, then allow Cannon to burn your club tattoo and get the fuck outta my club!” His eyes widen. “Now, as to the Cassidy situation, not only has she been gone for four years and no one, I mean fucking no one other than the woman plotting against Cass for four years, saw what had happened. The brotherhood, encouraged by the older generation, who wanted to see Faith as my old lady, despite knowing I had a cut made for Cass , took her word for it when she’s known for lying.”
Slowly, I spin around the room to see every brother looking my way before turning back to a shocked bull.
“My father entrusted me with his legacy, not yours. You didn’t even join the club until fifteen years ago. You were never an officer of the club, and yet you stand there and demand I keep the name of the woman I love, who I treated like shit in favor of this club, out of my mouth? Faith and I are never going to fucking happen, and your opinion does not matter within this club, and after this outburst, I think it’s time the club discusses the older generations involvement regarding the club.”
The men all glare at Bull, and I sneer, “Don’t ever fucking tell me what to do again. Faith is not my old lady, she’s not my problem, and let’s face it, she sucks your dick more than she did mine over the years I was fucking her, so why don’t you go and collect her!”
The brother's mouths all drop in shock while the counsel brothers try and hide their smirks at what I did. I turn and leave, not giving the fucker another minute of my time.
This, right now, makes me real fucking happy that fucker never got an officer patch, meaning he never got a house on club land.
I think it’s time we clean house….
Half an hour later, I lean against the wall opposite the double doors, waiting for Cass to walk out. When she does, all my anger from the showdown at the clubhouse disappears, and all I see is her.
“Give up, Steal,” she says, exasperation in her voice, without even looking my way, and my heart flutters knowing she felt me before seeing me.
I lick my bottom lip and whisper, “Do you really want me to give up, Cass? I haven’t stopped looking for you in four years. Now I’ve found you again, I’m not walking away….” My eyes go over her features as she looks out into the parking lot before I say, “I just want five minutes of your time, that’s all I’m asking for, to get everything out in the open….”
She turns her head my way, her hazel eyes locking with my gray ones, and she says, “Sure, and while you talk about why you treated me like shit for four years, I’ll hold a gun to your head the whole time….”
I grit my teeth at the defiance in her eyes while willing my cock to deflate because the fucker loves her defiance, before she turns and walks back inside the hospital, and I slump back down on the wall.
She’s stubborn, and yeah, I deserve this treatment, but if she thinks I’m giving up just because she’s finally sticking up for herself, then she has another think coming.
With a smirk and a plan forming, I push off the wall and head to my bike. When I climb on, I look at the double doors and lock eyes with Cassidy, and I smirk before kissing my fingers and pointing them her way.
We are not over. We’ll never be over.