Chapter 8 — Holt #2
"You're okay with that?"
"Yes. I'm okay with all of it."
We sit on the couch until almost midnight just talking quietly and kissing and being together.
Eventually we go upstairs and get in my bed and she falls asleep in my arms and I lie awake for a while just listening to her breathe.
I love her. She loves me. Louis is safe upstairs. This is my life now.
It's perfect.
Sunday morning I wake to my phone buzzing on the nightstand. Six-thirty. Katherine is still asleep next to me, one arm thrown across my chest. I grab the phone and see Cain's name.
I ease out of bed and go into the hallway and close the door before answering. "Yeah."
"We got movement. Marrow. Source says they're planning retaliation for the warehouse. Details are thin but it's happening soon. Clint's calling emergency church for nine."
My jaw tightens. "I'll be there."
"Your woman and kid covered?"
"Yeah."
"Good. See you at nine."
He hangs up and I stand in the hallway for a minute just breathing. Then I go back into the bedroom. Katherine is awake now, sitting up with the sheet pulled around her. The morning light is just starting to come through the window.
"What's wrong?" she asks.
"Emergency church. Marrow's planning something. I need to go."
"When?"
"Meeting's at nine. I need to leave by eight-thirty."
She checks the clock. Six-thirty-five. "Okay. What do you need me to do?"
"Stay with Louis. He'll wake up around seven-thirty. Make him breakfast. Keep him here. I'll call you when I know more."
"Okay."
I walk to the bed and sit on the edge. Take her hand. "Katherine."
"Yes?"
"I love you. And I need you to know that you're protected. The club is watching this house. They're watching the school. If Marrow tries anything, they go through twenty armed men first."
"Okay."
"You're not scared?"
"I'm a little scared. But mostly I just trust you."
I lean forward and kiss her. Slow and deliberate. When I pull back she's looking at me with those warm brown eyes and I feel it in my chest.
"I love you," I say again.
"I love you too. Go. Do what you need to do. We'll be here."
I shower and dress in jeans and my cut and boots.
Go downstairs and make coffee. Katherine comes down at seven in my t-shirt and yoga pants with her hair pulled back.
We drink coffee together and don't talk much because there's not much to say.
This is the reality now. The club calls and I go and she stays with Louis.
At seven-thirty Louis wakes up and comes downstairs. Sees me dressed and ready to leave.
"Where are you going?" he asks.
"Work. I'll be back this afternoon."
"Is Katherine staying?"
"Yeah. She's making you breakfast."
He looks at Katherine and smiles. "Pancakes?"
"If you want," she says.
"I want."
I walk Katherine into the kitchen away from where Louis can hear. Cup her face in my hands.
"Lock the doors after I leave. Don't open them for anyone except me or another brother. You have my number and Clint's number and Tate's number in your phone. Anything feels wrong, you call."
"I will."
"I love you."
"I love you too. Be careful."
I kiss her once more and then I leave. Get on my bike and the morning air is cool against my face.
The sun is fully up. The road is quiet. I think about Katherine making pancakes in my kitchen with Louis.
About the fact that she didn't hesitate when I said I needed her to stay.
About the way she said I love you like she meant it with everything she has.
The clubhouse comes into view twenty minutes later. Eight bikes already there. I park and walk inside and the main room is filling up. Clint is at the head of the table. Cain is to his right with his laptop open. Tate is near the bar. Everyone looks up when I walk in.
"Holt," Clint says. "Your woman covered?"
"She's at my house with Louis. Doors locked. She knows to call if anything feels wrong."
"Good. Tate's got eyes on your street starting at ten. No one gets near your house without us knowing."
"Appreciated."
Clint looks around the room. "Everyone's here. Let's do this."
We take our seats around the table. Twelve brothers present. Clint stands at the head and the room goes quiet.
"Cain's got intel," Clint says. "Marrow's planning retaliation for the warehouse burn. Tell them."
Cain looks up from his laptop. "Source inside Marrow reached out last night. Said Victor Crane's planning to hit us in Bloomfield proper. Not the outskirts. Town itself. He wants to make a statement that Vigil can't protect the town."
"When?" Tate asks.
"Next seventy-two hours. Maybe sooner. Source couldn't get exact timing."
"What kind of hit?" I ask.
"Unclear. Could be property damage. Could be targeting someone visible. Source says Crane's focused on making Bloomfield feel unsafe."
The room is quiet for a moment. Then one of the younger brothers speaks up. "We got specific targets?"
"The Anchor," Cain says. "Maybe the school. Anywhere that's visible and would get attention."
My hands tighten on the table. "The school."
"It's on the list," Cain confirms. "Not confirmed but possible."
Clint looks at me. "Your kid's there five days a week."
"And Katherine works there."
"We're putting two brothers on rotation near the school starting Monday. One in the parking lot. One on the street. Subtle but present. Anyone from Marrow shows up, we know immediately."
I nod. "What else."
"The Anchor's getting similar coverage," Clint continues. "Walt knows to call if anything feels wrong. We're also putting eyes on the main roads in and out of town. Marrow rides through Bloomfield, we track them. They stop anywhere, we're on them."
"What about Crane himself?" Tate asks. "We taking this to him directly?"
Clint is quiet for a moment. Then he says, "Not yet. Right now he's planning. Once he makes a move, we respond. Hard. But we're not starting a war in Bloomfield streets if we can avoid it."
"He already started it," another brother says.
"No," Clint says flatly. "He's testing. Once he commits, once he actually does something, then we end it. Until then we watch and we wait and we make sure our people are covered."
He looks around the table. "Everyone clear on assignments?"
Heads nod.
"Tate, you're coordinating street coverage. Cain, you keep working your source. I want updates every twelve hours. Holt, you keep your woman and kid close. Everyone else, you see anything that doesn't feel right, you call it in immediately. Questions?"
No one speaks.
"Good. Church is dismissed. Stay ready."