Chapter 27
Worley
“You need to calm down.” Mack leads the way into Church. Our brothers are already here.
“Not happening.” I’m not even going to try to calm down. I lock the door and stand against the wall behind my chair. I can’t sit.
He’s insane. How can any man remain calm when there’s a threat against his woman? Now, I understand Mack’s madness over the years. He’s far from calm when threats come against his wife and family.
A fist pounds on the Church doors. Seconds later, a key fumbles in the lock. Only six men have a key to that door. I glance down the table. Oh no. The door bursts open and one very, and I mean very, pissed off Jay McLeod storms into the room, slamming the door behind him.
His eyes search for their prey and harden when they land on me. “Worley Bird, if you ever lock me out of another meeting where my family’s in danger, you and I are slugging it out in the yard.”
“You have a key,” I point out.
“Don’t matter. Locked door. Family in danger. Not a good combo.” He stands toe to toe with me.
“Blade.” I don’t have Jay McLeod in front of me right now. Oh, no. I have the most unhinged biker in the entire Viking Warriors MC Charter.
“No.” His eyes darken like something from a horror movie. “Just because you’re sleeping with my aunt doesn’t give you rights. When my aunt’s in danger, you come to me first.”
“I’m not just sleeping with her!” Yeah, we might need to slug this out in the backyard.
“Really?: He pushes his chest into mine. “What is it then, Worley? It’s only been a week.”
“I love her!” I shove him away. Now, I’m beyond pissed, too.
Shocked gasps go around the room. Mack and Jack glance at each other, trying to decide if they need to intervene. They don’t.
Jay takes three steps back. It’s nowhere near a safe distance. There are at least a dozen knives hidden on him. His hands are balled into fists at his sides. Trust me, that’s a good thing.
“What are you saying, Worley?” He shakes his head. “Lovers don’t get rights. You know that.”
He’s right. They don’t. Casually dating a woman doesn’t get her full club protection either. Nina is family. Our first angel. She’ll always have club protection no matter what. I have no rights. As it stands at the moment, Jay is the head of their little family.
“It’s more than that. I have rights.”
“I haven’t released any rights to you, nor has this club.” His eyes don’t soften.
“I have rights!” I yell at the top of my lungs.
Jay crosses his arms. “You claiming my aunt, Worley Bird?”
“Yes!” Can’t the idiot see it?
“I vote no.” He tilts his head.
I close the distance between us and get in his face. “Then meet me in the yard.”
Jay lifts his chin. This fool will never back down from a fight. “We can do that. Or…if you really want my aunt, man up and say the words to make it official.”
“I’m claiming Christina Shaw!”
Jay grins and steps back. Our brothers breathe easy again. A few snicker. Jack doubles over laughing.
“Prez.” Jay stops in front of Mack. “Now, we need an official vote.” He takes his seat at the table like nothing just happened.
That little punk tricked me. Come to think of it, he did this to Jack and Coty, too.
Jack walks up and tosses an arm over my shoulders. “And that realization right there? Priceless, man.” He leans close and whispers, “You’ll thank him for it later.”
“Worley?” Mack questions.
I nod. “Yeah. Take the vote.”
Mack stands. “Viking Warriors, those in favor of Darin Worley claiming Christina Shaw, aka Nina Lowe, as his ole’ lady?”
A round of “Ayes” goes up.
Mack looks over to his nephew, the only brother to remain quiet. “Jay?”
Jay stands and practically pins me to the wall with his eyes.
“I like you, Worley. I really do. You’re family.
A man I’ll defend till the end. She’s more.
You hurt my aunt in any way, the backyard won’t hold us.
I’ll cut you into a million pieces and use a different blade with each slice.
There won’t be anything left of you for the cops to find. ”
If I flinch now, I’ll die right here. Every brother in the room knows it, too. I trust Jay with life, but that boy is scary.
“We got an understanding?” Jay asks.
“Aye, Jason McLeod. We have an understanding.”
Jay sits, tosses a hand up, and says, “Aye.”
Mack shakes my hand and slaps my back with his other one. “Congratulations, Worley Bird. Order your Ole’ lady’s cut. We’ll have a claiming ceremony after things calm down.” His grin widens. “You’ll always be my brother, but now, I officially welcome you to the McLeod family.”
A round of cheers goes up. I officially have an Ole’ lady.
“Thanks, man.” Hopefully, I can survive his insane nephew. Who, at the moment, is grinning like the cat who ate the canary.
Mack goes back to the table and taps the gavel. “Okay, brothers. Now, we need to discuss what brought us here.”
The room goes quiet. Our brothers wait for an explanation for the emergency SOS Church meeting.
Mack continues, “We have reason to believe that the Mountain Dew cans are connected to Sean Gilbert.”
“Wait.” Jay places his palms on the table and pushes to his feet. “Are you saying my aunt’s abuser, the man who left her for dead, is in Willow Creek?”
Mack chooses his words carefully. “We don’t have a sighting yet.”
Jay slams a fist into the table. “Worley! What did I just say about coming to me first?”
“Jay.” Mack steps between us. “He came to me. It was in the middle of a tornado-warned storm. Another is coming in an hour. I promise you, son. We surrounded that house and protected your aunt. Your mother needed you, but you’re right. We should have told you sooner.”
Ross pats his hand on the table. “I thought we determined the cans were linked to the Midnight Mavericks.”
“They’re being put out exactly like the Mavericks did with the paint and smoke bombs, late at night or early in the morning, except for the one on Jay’s truck.
The vehicles don’t have tags, and they’re wearing black clothes and masks.
I’ve watched every security footage Nick can find.
We can’t identify anyone,” Coty explains.
“I hate asking, but could we be wrong on this? How did we link the cans to Sean Gilbert?” Sandman asks.
Mack motions for me to take the floor.
“This morning, the storm woke Christina. With the power out and part of the security system down, I settled her on the couch, started a fire, and made sure the house was locked up. She had a moment where she wanted to talk. She asked about the soda cans. She wanted to know if they were all the same brand.” I glance at Jay from the corner of my eye.
He’s not happy. That boy is going to kill me today.
“She said Sean only drank Mountain Dew.” I pause.
Here comes my death. “When he was angry, he’d throw them at her. They weren’t always empty.”
“I’m killing him!” Jay jumps completely over the table.
Hendrix springs to his feet and wraps him in a bear hug. “You can’t, Jay.”
“I will.”
Hendrix slowly shakes his head. “No, Jay. You can’t. Your mom needs you. If you kill him, you’ll go to prison.”
“Then I’ll go to prison!”
“Jay?” Jack moves closer to his cousin. A warning look from Hendrix backs him off.
“Jay,” Hendrix speaks calmly. “Think, man. What would happen if you went to prison?” Realization hits Jay. Hendrix nods. “You know it would.”
“But that’s my aunt.”
“It is, and every man in this room will make sure she gets the justice she deserves.” Hendrix releases Jay when he nods that he understands.
Mack, Jack, and I look at each other. We have no idea what that was.
“Maybe somebody is copying the Mavericks,” Big Papa suggests.
“Maybe.” Jack thinks for a moment. “Or…” His head falls back. “No, no, no.”
Mack grabs his arm. “What, son?”
Jack glances at Jay and back to his dad. “Could the Mavericks have been hiding Sean Gilbert all this time?”
I roar and storm toward the door. Mack’s there blocking my exit.
“Where you going, Worley Bird?”
“Chattanooga,” I bit out.
“I’m right beside you.” Jay is literally standing on my left.
“No. Neither of you is allowed to leave club property,” Mack orders. “If Sean Gilbert is here, we’ll draw him out. If we can connect the Mavericks to this, we’ll deal with them, too.”
“You locking us down, Prez?” I ask.
“I am. I’m not losing my best friend or my nephew.” He waits until I nod.
Once he steps aside, I jerk the door open. My sight is set on the front door of the Den. No lockdown is keeping me from protecting my woman.
I’m halfway across the room when a small body slams into me. Her arms wrap around my waist. I close my eyes and sigh. When I open them, I’m staring into her tear-filled brown eyes. It’s not a sight I like seeing.
“Don’t, Darin. Whatever it is you’re about to do, please don’t.” Her sniffle cuts through my soul.
“Don’t you do it either, Jason.”
I glance to my right. Lauren holds Jay the same way Christina holds me.
Hendrix is on Jay’s other side. “Seriously, man. You know what will happen.”
“Please,” Christina begs.
She wins.
“Okay, love. I won’t.” I hold her tight and let as much of my anger as I can go.