Predator Chapter 11
So much had happened last night, outside the shit with Marshall and Jess, that I was still in a good mood well into the next day. I was back in the office at Salvation today. It was around eleven o'clock when Outlaw came up to me.
“Can we talk?” he asked.
His tone told me it wasn’t about work. I tensed. “Sure.”
I followed him to the office, where we shut ourselves in. I took a seat across his desk.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I don’t know if anything is wrong, other than the fact that Webb hasn’t returned home. I’ve been checking. I know that Jess Crane showed up and got his ass kicked out yesterday. I can’t believe what he said. I’ve been thinking about it all night,” Outlaw admitted.
“I’ve tried not to, but I know it’s on all our minds.
Even if Daya and Breezy act like they aren’t replaying it in their minds or hurt by it, I know they are.
They adore their brother, and to have him practically say he wants to give his old friend the benefit of the doubt is unforgivable, in my book. ”
“I agree. And it got me thinking. When Stryder first met with Jess, and you and Stalker accompanied him to that bar, you guys said Jess was on board for eliminating Webb. Now, he sounds like he’s wavering. I want to know why. It doesn’t sound right.”
“I agree. But what can we do if Jess is unwilling to talk to his sisters and explain?” I asked.
“I’d like to know if you want me to go digging into Jess’s life? I hate to suggest it, but my gut keeps telling me there’s something wrong. However, I don’t want to hurt Daya, Breezy, or Stryder any further. This is their family. What if it’s nothing?”
“Outlaw, I don’t want to hurt them either, but if there’s something we need to know, then there’s no other way to find out. We need to know if he’ll rat us out if something happens to Webb. Hang on a second. Let me see if I can get Stalker on the phone, and we’ll ask him.”
At his nod, I hurried to call my best friend. He answered on the third ring.
“Hey, sorry, I couldn’t get to my phone. What’s up?” Stalker asked.
“Are you in a place where you can talk? I’ve got Outlaw with me, and we want to ask you something.” I rushed to say.
There was the slightest pause before, Stalker replied. “Give me two shakes.”
A few moments of silence, then he was back. “Okay, hit me.”
I gestured for Outlaw to tell Stalker what he had told me.
When Outlaw was finished, I tacked onto it. “I agree that we have to know, even if it might be painful. Jess won’t tell us. And, strangely, he seems to have altered his tune.”
“It’s been bothering the hell out of me that he acted the way he did yesterday, and said what he did about Webb.
And he’s all rolled up in his own feelings that asking him won’t get the truth, I don’t believe.
I say, do it. Suppose we find nothing, then good.
But if we do, we’ll tell Daya and Stryder, let them decide how to handle it, and what to tell Breezy.
We might get an ass-chewing from Daya and Stryder for not saying something sooner, but we’ll deal with it,” Stalker replied.
“Sounds good. We’ll let you go. See you at home,” I told him.
Stalker told us goodbye before ending the call.
“Sorry that I ruined your great mood. What was it about? Other than Daya?” Outlaw shifted gears.
“We needed to do this. As for my mood, yeah, it was because of Daya. We’re asking the club to vote next week at church to make her our old lady officially. She’s ready, and so are we. Our relationship has moved into solid territory.”
“Ahh, so you two finally got Daya in bed, I take it.” Outlaw grinned.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but yes. And we not only love her and she loves us, but we’ll be asking her to marry us after we resolve this Marshall Webb business.”
“Congratulations, brother. That’s two more down. That leaves eight brothers single. Damn, we’re catching up to Dublin Falls.”
“I don’t know if we’ll ever do that on the kid front, but I think we’ll have to do the Black Mountain chapter soon.
We’re at twenty-five members, and Bull agrees with the thirty-member cap like Terror did.
Dublin Falls has fed prospects for a while to Louisville and Gastonia, but we seem to get more requests to be in our chapters than those two. ”
Outlaw and I chatted about the idea of a new Warrior chapter that had been hinted at for a long time.
When we were finished, I got back to work and left him to his own devices.
However, the rest of the day, I thought on and off about Jess and what Outlaw might find.
I prayed there was nothing there. A betrayal would devastate three people we cared about.
At the end of the day, I hastily said goodbye to those in the office. We had staff who kept an eye on things around the clock. It was for clients who used our security systems and wanted us to monitor those systems. Outlaw and I rode home together.
At the compound, we split off. He went home to Tarin and their daughter, Melody. I headed to the townhome. When I parked, I noticed that Stalker’s bike was there. It made sense when he worked a couple of miles down the road. I was eager to see my woman.
However, when I entered the house, I found it in an uproar. Daya was pacing around the living room with a scowl on her face. Breezy was on the couch, looking upset. Stalker was in the chair, wearing a thunderous expression.
“What the hell is going on?” I asked.
Daya rushed over to me as Stalker stood up.
“I’m going to kill him. I swear, I’m going to strangle him with my own two hands,” she ranted.
I wrapped her in my arms and brought her against me. She stopped talking. I leaned down and kissed her. The tension in her body eased after a few moments. I took my time with the taste before letting her mouth go.
“Now that I’ve had my kiss, tell me who you’re strangling,” I asked.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come at you like a lunatic. Welcome home. I missed you,” Daya said in a much calmer voice.
“I missed you, too. Okay, tell me what happened.”
“It’s Jess. He’s lost his mind,” Breezy said. She sat on the couch, shaking her head.
I groaned. “What did he do? Come here demanding to see you again? You don’t have to let him in,” I informed them. Stalker had come to rest next to Daya and me.
“No, it was worse than that. It seems that he went to the police station and reported to the police that we’re holding his sisters here against their will.
Scarelli called Bull two minutes ago and gave him a heads-up.
He’s holding back his guys until we have time to get home, but he can’t have them ignore the report altogether.
They’ll be here by six o’clock,” Stalker explained.
Curse words fell from my lips. Fury filled my gut. It took strength to cut it off. Jess was still their brother.
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
“No need to be sorry. You didn’t hear the words I said. I don’t know what’s gotten into him, but this is ridiculous. What do we do?” Daya asked.
There was a knock on the front door. Stalker yelled for whoever it was to come in. Through it stomped Stryder. His anger was apparent.
“I can’t believe it! Bull just told me we’re going to have guests because of Jess. What the hell is wrong with him? He’s too young to be having a midlife crisis. Maybe he has a brain tumor,” he snapped.
Breezy went to him, and he wrapped her in his arms.
“Hell if we know,” Stalker muttered.
“Bull wanted me to tell you that he thinks the best move is to have everyone at the clubhouse. That way, they’ll see both women interacting with the club.
It’ll be clear that they’re here of their own free will.
Jocelyn and Brae will be able to help navigate the questions.
They’re our legal counsel. It’s great to have lawyers in the family,” Stryder said.
Bull was right on those points. And Jocelyn and Brae, as our lawyers, were another benefit.
When Jocelyn and Bull met, she was a paralegal.
However, he’d encouraged her to return to school to earn her law degree.
She did it with his support and despite having twins soon after they met.
And Brae, Loki’s old lady, had been an assistant DA before she moved here to live with him.
Both were sharp, and nothing got past them.
“That sounds like a good idea. Although when we’re done, do you think the cops will suspect me if Jess turns up beaten black and blue?” Daya growled.
We all chuckled, though we knew she half meant it. We had about an hour before they got here. I wanted us to be there and fully involved, so it would cut our time to just over thirty minutes.
“We’ll get tidied up and then head to the clubhouse. We’ll want to be there early. Let Jocelyn and Brae take the lead when the cops get here. They'll tell you what to answer,” I instructed.
That was how, less than an hour after arriving home, we found ourselves at the clubhouse with the majority of the club joining us to act as support. Stalker and I let Brae and Jocelyn talk to Breezy and Daya to prep them while we stood off to the side, muttering to our brothers about Jess.