Chapter 51
Falcon
The next day, I got dressed on my own, but Petrov insisted his doctor check me out again before I left. After a tongue lashing in Russian about tearing a couple of the stitches, he gave his blessing for us to leave since I had the truck. He told Daisy she needed to drive, and Petrov wouldn’t let me in the driver’s seat. She preened at being able to drive, so even though I didn’t see what difference it made if I rode or drove, I agreed.
She went on about how I always took care of her so the least she could do was drive me home. Rooster, Eagle, and Lacy had left yesterday, and Linx took off around the same time with Pitty, driving the loaner back. I hadn’t seen him at the restaurant, but I thought I heard them talking about him waiting with the bikes at our normal drop point with Rooster.
Petrov’s crew had made sure the bikes were moved quickly away from Romano’s, swept the scene, and had patched up the woman who had been drugged up and scared. There hadn’t been any mention of Romano or what happened until we made it back to our clubhouse. Even then, it was a quick story on the news, shoved between the weather and sports according to Eagle.
It was right around dinner time when we finally made it back and we got a warm welcome as we pulled in. Once everyone realized Daisy was driving, the jokes poured in.
“You get your cock shot off, Falcon?”
“Daisy, you gonna put a property patch on this fucker?”
She was eating it up. But she still stayed hugged close as we walked toward the clubhouse. “You want to sit out here or go inside?”
“You need a tampon, Falcon?” Jackal said as he walked over with a beer. I put my hand out, but he smirked at me and passed it to Daisy.
“Thank you,” she said as she looked over and took a sip.
I leaned to her ear. “You’re gonna get it later.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
“Daisy! Falcon!” I looked over and Mama Hen was running toward us, Jeannie not far behind.
They flew to her and looked her over. “Honey, are you alright? Look at your face!” Mama Hen said as she gave her an inspection. Jeannie was right next to her, gripping Daisy’s shoulder with a look of shock on her face .
“Hey, I was shot,” I whined as I stood there watching them fall all over her.
Mama Hen grabbed my hand. “How many times is that now, hon? I thought it was a flesh wound?”
I just laughed. It was the fourth time, and it was mostly a flesh wound. The doc dug out the bullet and stitched me up. A few inches over and it would have pierced my heart, but I got lucky. For us, shit like that was pretty normal. And Daisy was eating up the attention. Knowing they cared about her was a good feeling. She was part of the club, part of the family.
A loud whistle halted everyone. The women stopped their chatter and everyone craned their necks to see what it was. I grinned when I saw Eagle and Hawk walking over.
Hawk put his arm out for a hearty shake and I smacked my hand into his and he pulled me in, patting me on the back. “Good to see ya standing, brother.” He let me go and looked over Daisy. “You alright?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Thanks to all of you. And the guys in Bristol. I didn’t get to see Pitty again, but I asked Linx to send a message to them.”
“They’re good guys. And Knox said you’re definitely old lady material.”
My eyes whipped to him, then to Daisy as I pulled her back to my side.
She tucked her lip between her teeth and Hawk said, “I don’t think he meant for him. Apparently, her attitude doesn’t dampen even as a guest.”
I kissed her temple. “I’d expect nothing less from my woman.”
Hawk crossed his arms but didn’t look mad. “Hate to break this up, but I need you all in church.”
Daisy turned so she was standing in front of me. “Go, I’m gonna catch up with the girls and find Lacy.” She stood on her toes and gave me a peck.
“Don’t go far.”
“We got her. Just go, shoo,” Mama Hen said as they dragged her toward the kegs and food.
We headed inside and found several of the guys already there. I was greeted heartily as I entered, some giving me handshakes and some pats. I gave Rooster a good pat to the back as he pulled me in. I winced a little because my stitches pulled some with all the bro hugs and handshakes.
“Looking good, brother,” Butch said as he pulled me in.
“It’s been a long few days, man.”
We all took our seats and Hawk knocked on the table. “May as well get this out of the way since we’re all here now. We have a rat. We haven’t identified them yet, but when we do, there’s no second chances. Even if they weren’t the one pulling the trigger, they assisted in killing Raven—our President, my father, and your brother. They may as well have done it themselves.”
We all banged on the table and I glanced around the room. I already had Keys checking something for me, and I think Hawk did, too. “We’re close. We already suspected it. Romano just confirmed it.”
Hawk leaned back in his chair. “He also confirmed we’re dealing with a big organization. We still don’t know much, but we do know they’re trafficking. If they were using Romano and his existing business, they may be identifying others like it. So that’s a start.”
“How do we know Romano wasn’t lying?” Butch asked.
Eagle jumped in. “Keys checked. What he told us checked out. He had that house less than a year and there was no trace of how he paid for it, but it was in his name. They have some savvy hackers. Keys is good, but if they have better resources, they may be a few steps ahead.”
“Plus, he knew he was going to die anyway,” I said. I stared across at Butch waiting for more objections.
“Then why didn’t he just tell you who it was?”
“He didn’t know.”
Butch scoffed. “Well, that’s fucking convenient.”
“You gotta problem?” I asked.
Butch stood up. “Do you want one? Watch your attitude, Falcon.”
I moved to my feet, as did Hawk. “Knock it off,” he ordered. “I had three orders of business and am just putting it out there that when we figure out who here is the rat, they’re dead. We’ll be hitting the street again with a little more info now. And we’re gonna find this shadow organization, too. Keys has the phone they lifted from Romano to see if he can trace anything. I’ve already got a few nomads who agreed to stay around until we get this addressed.”
Putting my hackles down at Hawk’s order, I asked, “What’s the other business, Prez?”
He picked up two boxes from the floor and put them on the table. He opened one and pulled out a banner. “Pops is now memorialized with the others. Butch, help me hang this next to the other one.”
We all stood and watched as they hung the banner with the names of our fallen brothers. When they were done, we all knocked on the table and had a moment of silence.
After a minute passed, Hawk pushed the other box down the table to me. I pulled the lid off and smiled as I looked down. A small cut with our patch on the back sat in front of me. Over the top of our patch was “Property of” and below it was “Falcon.”
I picked it up and turned it over. A small rectangle patch said “Daisy” and there was a small, embroidered flower next to it, similar to the one on her ass. It was stiff and smelled like new leather. I turned it over again and stared at the back.
Eagle said, “Good looking cut. You thinking about giving it to her, or you gonna throw it on?”
Everyone laughed and I grinned. “Aren’t we supposed to vote?”
Hawk said, “Anyone opposed to Daisy patching in as Falcon’s old lady, speak now.”
I looked around the room and everyone crossed their arms. Hawk knocked on the table. “Let’s go give it to her. ”
We all knocked on the table and walked outside. Hawk whistled again and when everyone quieted, he yelled out, “Daisy, come on up.”
Daisy looked at Mama Hen and she gave her a nod in our direction. Lacy patted her back. She walked over quickly, but her face showed her confusion. She looked at me and scrunched her face, but I just smiled.
Hawk walked over. “Daisy, you’ve proven to be loyal and dedicated to Falcon and to us. We voted, and it was agreed that you will be patched in as property of Falcon, becoming his old lady. Do you promise to always stay true to our destiny, follow, and enforce our bylaws?”
She glanced over at me, obviously not knowing the bylaws but I nodded so she said, “Yes. I promise.”
“Do you promise to always stay true to Falcon and support him and the club?”
“I promise.”
“Falcon, present her patch,” Hawk said.
I walked toward her and looked down. “Daisy, I promise to stay true to you, and always protect and support you. Will you be my old lady?”
Her face reddened and she licked her lips as a tear rolled down her cheek. “I will,” she whispered.
I walked behind her and helped her put the new cut on. I grabbed her shoulders and turned her around. “I love you, Daisy. Goddamn, that looks so good on you.”
“Kiss me, dammit!”
I pulled her close and grabbed her face, kissing her deep and hard. Hoots and hollers erupted around us. It was so loud I don’t think anyone but me heard her say, “Maybe I’ll wear just this for you later.”
I lifted her over my shoulder and started heading inside. I couldn’t wait.
“Falcon, your stitches,” she squealed as we headed upstairs.
“Don’t worry, that’s my other side. I need to consummate this shit, and you’ll be wearing that.”
She was mine now. All mine. For tonight at least, I wasn’t going to think about anything but her and that new patch.