Chapter 11 #2
I didn’t like knowing that another Chapter’s Tech was doing what mine couldn’t.
“Figure it out,” I snapped. “Do it with him if you have to. I don’t want to hear again that you don’t know how to do something that we need done and you’re not making strides to learn how to do it yourself in the future. ”
Neo’s eyes cast downward. “Sorry,” they mumbled.
Saga reached over from where he was sitting and patted Neo comfortingly on the knee. Fuck, I’d just kicked the puppy. My gut twisted as my instincts warred with my nature.
“Neo,” I grumbled out through clenched teeth. They looked up, their eyes wide with so much hope and sadness that I actually had to plant my feet so I didn’t cross the room to comfort them myself. Goddammit, how the fuck did they do that?
“I’m not mad at you,” I finally said. The words tasted like ash in my mouth, despite the truth of them.
“I don’t know how the Dark Web works any more than I know how to make beer.
” I gestured towards Hops. “I rely on you for these sorts of things, and in the future, we might not have time for you to reach out to others to learn something.”
Neo nodded, their eyes less sad. That clenching feeling in my gut lessened slightly. “I’ll learn, I promise.”
I inclined my head stiffly at them, feeling like a trail of ants was running up and down my spine.
A snort to my left had me snapping my head toward Tangaloa. I narrowed my eyes at my brother.
Tangaloa shook his head as he poured himself yet another glass. “You better fucking pray you don’t have a daughter. Lu’s already got you pussy whipped.”
My back stiffened, the conversation I’d just had with Lu about the gender of our baby still fresh in my head. “Watch it,” I snapped. “I will shove that bottle so far up your ass you chew glass for a week.”
Tangaloa knocked something metal across the wood countertop, and I saw it was the cap from the bottle. “I’d like to see you try,” he grumbled.
I started forward. Tangaloa might be my oldest friend and brother, and there was a lot I would let him get away with that the others couldn’t, but I would not stand for disrespect in front of my club.
Bacon, however, stepped between us. Bold move, but then the fucker had never lacked a pair of laho. He held something out to me. I snatched the piece of paper from his hand as he explained, “Your sister came by an hour ago.”
Fuck. I told her not to come here. I looked down at the legal documents Bacon had handed me. “She didn’t sign them.”
Our parents had left both of us the farm, though Kalea had made it clear a long time ago that she wanted nothing to do with it.
With the club taking over the property, I needed Kalea to sign over her rights.
Since I’d been generous enough to give her a cut of the farm’s profits over the years, even though I was the one who labored and took care of the business and kept her horses without charging her board, I was asking her to sign over her rights without monetary exchange.
Her horses were still welcome to stay at no cost.
I thought it was a more than fair offer, but Kalea was fighting me on it. She wanted a buyout. I wasn’t happy about it, since the club was already starting so far into the red, but I made her a small offer. This was the second time she’d rejected it.
If she’d stopped by while Lu and I were out riding, and Tangaloa had seen her… Fuck. No wonder he was more than halfway to Drunksville. I was a bit surprised he wasn’t baked too.
Drunk or not, heartbroken or not, I still couldn’t let the disrespect slide. I just wouldn’t beat his ass in front of the others.
“Get him out of here,” I ordered Bacon. “I’ll deal with him when he’s sober.”
Bacon gave me a look that said he understood.
Turning, he walked over to Tangaloa and clasped him on the shoulder.
My brother glared at me, but didn’t argue at my dismissal.
He stumbled as he got to his feet, and I noticed Bacon made no move to support him.
The glass bottle scraped against the wet bar as Tangaloa dragged it with him.
The room was deadly silent as the front door closed behind the second and third highest ranking members of the club.
I faced the room again. Holding the unsigned contract out to Tick, I said, “We need to figure something else out. If she’s not going to sign without a cash payout then I need to find some other motivation.”
Tick took down the contract. “We might be able to backdate the cost of care for her horses. Feed, vet bills… Anything the farm has taken care of for her over the past sixteen years. I’ll look into the legality of it.”
I nodded my appreciation. If it was anyone other than my sister, this wouldn’t even be an issue.
Either they signed or they took a swim, but it was my sister, and as satisfying as it might be some days, I couldn’t turn her into living chum.
Regardless of what she’d done to Tangaloa, she was still the mother of my niece, and I couldn’t do that to Pualani.
Spirit was sitting by Tommy on the couch. He was playing with a hair scrunchy with tiny bells on it. I had no idea why or what the damn thing was for, but I saw a bowl of them on the end table by a lamp. Like decoration? Haoles were fucking weird.
“Rory reported yesterday that there are Bloody Scorpions on Mauī. Take someone with you and find out why. Only one escaped the laundromat, and we haven’t heard from them since.”
“Are we engaging?” Spirit asked, tossing the scrunchy back into the bowl.
“Find out what they’re up to first. If need be, bring one back here for questioning.”
Spirit nodded and then looked to his left. “I’ll take Tommy.”
I didn’t have an issue with his selection, and Tommy was the most logical. Especially with Tangaloa out of commission. “Fine.” To everyone, I said, “We need to start recruiting. I want us to have at least five prospects by this time next week.”
“My cousin’s interested,” Mako said, speaking up for the first time. “I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to sponsor him since he’s family.”
I shrugged. “His mistakes are on you. Question is if you can keep him in line because he’s family or if you need someone else to take him on.”
Mako shrugged. “He’s a good kid. Just young and impulsive. I have no problem keeping an eye on him.”
“Then bring him in,” I said.
“What about Kayl?” Tommy asked.
I shook my head. “I need him on the outside. He’s no use to us if his superiors suspect his loyalties are compromised.”
“One of Yooko’s workers was talking to me the other night about joining,” Saga said.
“Big guy, but I don’t know if you know him.
Goes by Mouse. Gotta say, he looks intimidating, but a total marshmallow.
Not sure he has the stomach for…” Saga paused, and I had a feeling he was remembering last night.
“Some of the grittier work we do,” the man hedged carefully.
“Bring him around anyway,” I told him. “Man either makes the cut or he doesn’t. He’ll have to earn his rockers the same as the rest of us.”
Saga nodded his agreement.
“I want the bunkhouse finished ASAP. Lu’s going to be making an appointment at her OB for some time this week, and I’ve been neglecting the surf shop. Can anyone think of any other business we need to cover?”
“Bacon’s busy, so I’ll remind everyone,” Tommy called out loudly. “Party at Yooko’s tonight. He’ll need all hands on deck.”
Another reason we needed the bunkhouse finished sooner than later.
I did not want to keep having to travel to Yooko’s every time we wanted to throw a party.
I had no use for the Club Cunts who hung around, but it was amusing watching that much pussy flock to the others like the leather cuts we now wore were laced with catnip.
Once the bunkhouse was finished, the guys wanted to move a couple in for easy access.
I had no issue with it, but they weren’t going to live and eat here with free room and board without doing more than spreading their legs and sucking cock.
The twins wanted to put them in a uniform of a thong and mini cut while making them clean the stalls. One of them had also mentioned a horse’s tail butt plug.
Whatever floated their boat. I was not their priest.
Speaking of which, I turned to Lucifer. “How’s the youth center?”
“Good,” the man answered with a prideful smile. “It does a lot of good when the kids see us. I wanted to ask if anyone had a problem bringing their bike over to have the kids help either clean it or give it a tune up.”
“We’ll all do it,” I declared. “Name a day and we’ll be there.”
Lucifer smiled his appreciation. “Thanks, Prez. I’ll get back to you.”
Since there wasn’t anything else, I dismissed the meeting. I had my pregnant woman to take care of and a best friend whose drunk ass was in a severe need of a kicking. What happened with my sister was fucked up, but it was also two years ago.
The man needed to get over it and move on or find a way to forgive her.
A lifetime of friendship was the only reason I allowed Tangaloa to sleep it off. The fact that I was pissed at him was the reason “Stupid Hoe” by Nikki Minaj was the song I chose when I grew too impatient for him to wake on his own.
Tangaloa jumped off his pillow, grabbing his head. I let the song continue even as I held up a trash bin for him to vomit into. He heaved, his body jolting violently on the bed. I sat relaxed in the chair I’d dragged into his room earlier with my feet raised by his knees.
“You’re a fucking asshole.” His voice was echoed by the plastic bucket of puke.
I turned the music off. “I left the shades closed.”
He glared at me as he slowly lifted his head. He was ashen in the face and his eyes were bloodshot. “What the fuck do you want?”
Tangaloa tried to push the bucket away from him, but I was not about to have vomit splattered all over me, so I gently lowered it back down to the floor. The pungent smell was laced with so much alcohol it was likely a fire hazard.
“We need to talk.”