Fourteen
FOURTEEN
CHAOS
Vanessa. I repeat the enigma’s name in my head over and fucking over, tongue tingling as it twitches inside my mouth, itching to speak the word aloud. I didn’t plan to stop at the cafe. But Selena gave that much fucking hell getting her ass to school that a part of me longed for a glimpse at her-who-makes-me-feel-good—if only for a second.
I parked up, intent on stealing a single look at our soon-to-be neighbor through the window before fucking off further down the street. But there she was, doubled over as though in pain, and there was no goddamn way I could leave her like that.
I had to know. I needed to see.
I wondered what she’d do.
“What you got there?” Jinx nods toward the journal that may as well be glued to my hand.
I slap it face down on the meeting table. “Research.”
He tilts his head, attempting to read the cover.
I twist it away, concealing my woman’s secrets beneath my arm.
“You know you make me not trust you when you do shit like that.” My VP sighs, tugging out a seat near the head of the table.
As though on cue, Circus leads Darko and Highway into the room. The road captain, secretary, and tail gunner take their respective spots at the table, terse silence hanging thick in the air.
Darko sets his iPad on the table, then lifts his flip knife from his pocket to fidget with the blade. “What did we miss?” His shrewd gaze shifts from me to Jinx.
Whereas any of the other men wouldn’t think to ask the question—foul moods between brothers being nothing unusual around here—Darko effortlessly catches the vibe of the room with a sick hunger for conflict.
I lifted the kid off the streets after he bit some guy’s ear off.
It’s fair to say he thirsts for blood.
“You didn’t miss anything.” Jinx glances at the book beneath my arm as I slide it free and close the pages. “I’m sure Chaos will share anything relevant to the club once church is in session.”
Fang’s booming laugh precedes the sergeant at arms entering the square room with Loki and Crow. The final three committee members take their seats, Crow closing the door behind him before he does, canceling most of the noise from the heart of the clubhouse.
“Ready?” I tip my chin at Darko.
He pockets his knife and wakes the iPad. “Sure.” As secretary, it’s his job to take minutes.
Truth be told, he got the job because he’s three times as fast on the fucking thing as any of us, and none of us wanted the role. Yet again, his youth serves us well. At twenty years old, he may as well have been born with the fucking thing in his hand. I’m only nine years his senior, but even I feel like a fucking grandpa compared to him when it comes to learning new tricks with technology.
“Order of business for the day is exactly that—the business.” I slide the journal under my leg and recline in my seat. “We got word this morning that the bank approved our loan.”
“Fuck yeah.” Fang thrusts his hands in the air. “Housewarming party.”
“Fuck me.” Jinx buries his face in his hand. “I’ve got a hangover just thinking about it.”
Circus grins, silver crown shining.
“And as of ten minutes ago, the final council report came through.” I retrieve my phone from the tabletop and open the mail app. “The only issue we face is limits on development of the land. It’s zoned rural, so we’d be restricted should we want to subdivide it or put multiple houses on the property. But given that we’re moving to the fucking place to get away from people, I can’t see us wanting to go down that road. Regardless.” I set my phone down and hold out my hands. “It’s a decision for all of us to make, not just me. So, the first order is voting on if this news is a deal-breaker or if we go ahead with buying the place.”
“How much do we lose if we back out of the deal?” Highway asks.
“A few thousand in conveyancing fees and what we’ve paid for reports,” Crow says.
Several heads nod around the table.
“All those in favor?” I raise my hand.
Seven more follow.
“Unanimous,” Darko states, tapping away at the tablet.
“I’ve only got one question,” Fang grins. “When can we move in?”
“Possession has been agreed for a week from now.”
A murmur sweeps the room.
“It doesn’t mean we need to rush the transition,” I assure them. “The lease runs out on this place in three months. We’ve got a shit ton of wiggle room to get things right, which leads me to my next point.” I tap the side of my phone on the table. “The house is suitable for accommodation for single officers, but there’s not much else on the land for when we have parties or guests.”
“You just said we can’t build houses,” Jinx points out.
“I know.” I set the device down and flex my hand. “Which is why I propose we build a concrete floor barn.”
“A barn.” Loki scoffs. “Do we draw short straws for a bed in the hay?”
“It wouldn’t be an actual barn, you fuckwit.” I scowl at the guy. “We’d outfit it for large groups. A full bath down the back, kitchen facilities, and insulated walls for warmth in the main area. We could put up temporary beds when the occasion calls for it or use the fucking place as a giant beer hall. Whatever we goddamn want. But it would be classed as a farm building and easily permitted.”
“Who’s gonna build it?” Highway poses the question on everyone’s mind. “Sanderson and his crew refuse to do work for us. It’d cost a fortune to bring in out-of-town contractors.”
“That’s why I propose we ask the Amish if they’d like the job.”
The idea came to me as I rode back this morning. Casting my eye over their sunflower fields, I caught sight of the barn in the distance—a massive structure beautifully engineered. We’ve never seen the solution before because, like the people living in the suburbs of Temperance, we’d never bothered to look outside our backyard.
“The Amish are known for their craftsmanship, and I’m pretty sure we could strike a deal that suits them and us regarding cost.”
“What are you suggesting?” Crow asks.
“We offer them partial use of the land for their crops.”
Jinx leans back in his seat with a sigh, Highway glancing to Circus and Darko as though gauging how our most heathen members react to the idea of Amish working in close proximity.
“Anyone see a problem?” I ask, inflecting a tone that reflects my expectation for there to be none.
“Are they gonna complain about what we do?” Darko finally asks.
“Maybe.” I shrug. “But doesn’t everyone?”
“True that,” Fang mutters.
“They keep to themselves,” Circus rasps, shocking the fuck out of everyone. “Same as we do.”
“Got a point there, brother.” Loki nods. “Do you know yet if our other neighbor will be the same?”
My neck prickles at her sudden inclusion into the conversation. “I’m working on finding that out.”
“Bet you are,” Jinx mumbles, raising his voice for the rest of the table when he asks, “What have you found so far?” His gaze flicks to my leg, propped on the journal.
“She seems like she prefers to stay out of trouble, but I want eyes on her.”
“Constant?” Loki asks, raising his brow.
I nod. “I want to learn her patterns. See who she interacts with. Who comes and goes. I want to know what we’re dealing with.”
“All those in favor of getting the Amish to build us a barn?” Jinx asks.
Four hands go up: mine, Circus, Loki, and Highway. I didn’t expect anything different from Darko or Crow—they’ve got their reasons for their beef with God. But Fang and Jinx surprised me. Fucking vote is hung.
“What’s your grief?” I ask, looking at my vice.
Jinx shrugs. “I ain’t got an issue with them building the barn. It’s the using the land shit I’m not sure about.”
“Why?”
He huffs a laugh as though finding it fucking hilarious that I don’t understand. “We like burying things, Chaos, in case you forgot.”
How could I? I walk over my father’s grave every time I visit my mom.
“So we don’t bury anything in the fields they use.” I lean toward him, enunciating each word slowly. “Easy. What about you?” I swing my gaze to Fang.
“I’ve got, uh, history with them.” He rubs a hand over his head. “They might not want to work with us once they know I’m involved.”
“Fuck me,” I mutter, sliding down my seat and hanging my head over the back. “What did you do?”
“I’m gonna guess he stuck his dick somewhere he shouldn’t.” I don’t need to look at Highway to know he finds the situation hilarious.
“Hey,” Fang argues. “She thought it belonged there. It was her brother who had the issue.”
“That fucking thing between your legs will get you killed one day,” Loki admonishes. “Pussy for days around here, and you have to go searching out the forbidden fruit elsewhere.”
“You wouldn’t be bitching if you’d seen her,” Fang snaps. “Fuckin’ hell, man. It’s not as though you ain’t ever screwed up.”
“That’s different.” Our enforcer drops his tone; gaze hard on Fang in a warning. “I wasn’t only thinking of myself when that happened.”
“Sure,” Fang mutters. “Whatever.”
“You kids finished?” I lift an eyebrow.
Fang jerks a shrug.
“Sure.” Loki sets a hand atop the table, tapping his thumb rapidly.
“Let’s try this again,” Jinx says. “All those in favor of the Amish building a fucking barn in trade for land to farm?”
Five hands go up, including mine—Fang swaying the vote.
I glare at my VP. Asshole has given me way too much grief lately. He’s always been a catty asshole, worse than the bunnies when it comes to bitchiness. But lately, his attitude rivals Selena.
If he keeps it up, he may find us voting on his goddamn seat.
“Passed,” Darko mutters, tappity-tapping on his second brain.
“Now,” Jinx announces, holding my eye. “All those in favor of putting surveillance on the neighbor?”
Seven hands shoot into the air.
I wet my bottom lip and sneer at my VP as I slowly add mine to the vote.
“Unanimous.” Darko records the result.
“Who gets to analyze the footage?” Fang jiggles his leg, tugging on one of his snakebite piercings with his eye tooth. “I’ll send you fuckers screenshots of the good shit.”
“Like we’d let you do it,” Loki scoffs. “You’d give us another fucking problem within a week.”
“A week?” Asshole laughs. “You think it takes me that long to get in a woman’s bed?”
“It ain’t taking you anything,” I growl, turning to Darko. “I want the login details to stay between you and me.”
“What the fuck for?” Jinx scowls. “She’s a fucking single woman that’d blow away in a stiff breeze. You can’t be serious about her being a threat. Watching her ain’t anything but a bit of fun for everyone, so where’s the harm in letting us all see?”
I swallow, fingers tracing the edges of my phone while I give my rage a minute to get in check. “Thinking she ain’t anything but a bit of fun is your first mistake.” I glare at him out of the corner of my eye. “Your second would be thinking she’s weak and helpless.”
“You know something we don’t?” Highway prompts.
I look to each of my men in turn. “Next time you fuckers underestimate the value of a woman, I want you to put the bottle down and do something useful with your spare time, like read up on history. Joan of Arc, Queen Elizabeth the First, Maya Angelou, fuck, start with Malala Yousafzai.”
“If I can even spell her name,” Fang laughs.
“She won a fucking Nobel Peace Prize, you ignorant cunt.” My chest heaves—I need to get the fuck out of here before I hurt someone. “None of you assholes would even be here if it weren’t for a goddamn woman: your mother.” I shove my seat from the table and stand. “Do me a favor and fucking call her when you leave. If she’s dead, then pay her grave a visit and fucking apologize.”
“The fuck, man?” Highway leans back in his seat, concern apparent on his face.
Yeah, I’m having a fucking breakdown, but so what. “I’m fucking sick of how we treat women around here. And I’m not talking about what you do with their consent. I’m talking the small shit,” I growl. “The snide comments about how useless they are. The weaponized incompetence when you leave a fucking mess wherever you go or refuse to do anything that would make their life easier. Sure, we provide them with safety and a place to live,” I snarl. “But this club wouldn’t be shit without them here either. Best we start fucking showing our gratitude for that.” The officers sit in stunned silence as I snatch up my phone and the journal and stride for the door. “Meeting’s fucking adjourned.”