Chapter 8
CLUTCH - THE SEED
The clubhouse used to feel like a living breathing thing. Music bleeding through the walls. Engines coming and going. Girls laughing too loud at jokes that weren’t funny.
Now it feels like a held breath.
I notice it the second I step through the front doors, the tension that has been building. A pressure valve with no release. Two brothers posted near the bar, Ledger sitting with a notebook open but not writing anything. Cypher hunched over a laptop he’s been staring at for almost a week straight.
Even the club girls are quieter… They are whispering and watching.
Something in my gut tightens. This place used to feel like home, now it feels like a loaded gun sitting on the table.
I hear Bex’s name before I even reach the stairs. It comes from the back corner booth where a couple of the girls are sitting. They keep their voices low, but not low enough.
“…I’m just saying it’s weird.”
My boots slow.
“Four gets arrested and suddenly they’re saying he was sleeping with an informant,” another one says. “And now I hear that it is a nurse.”
What the fuck?
“A nurse at the hospital.” The voice is pitchy, but the intention is heavy. “And who works at the hospital again?”
A small laugh follows. It sounds like nails on a chalkboard, a chalkboard I want to rip off the wall.
“I mean… I’m just saying. Dani hasn’t even looked at Bex since the arrest.”
Fuck, Bex hasn’t said anything…
I turn slowly and the girls freeze when they see me standing there. Fear flashes across their faces when they realize what I must have heard.
“You got something you want to say to me?” I ask.
I am met with silence.
The brunette closest to the table drops her gaze immediately. But then whines saying, “We were just talking…”
“No,” I cut in. “You were spreading lies..”
I step closer slamming my hands down on their table. They all jump and I let the enforcer in me show through when I ask, “You think my wife had anything to do with Four getting picked up?”
“No,” the blonde, I think her name is Lacey, says quickly. “We didn’t say that.”
“You implied it.” I reply, staring at her until she drops her eyes to her lap.
I lean down slightly so they can hear every word.
“If you ever imply something like that again, you won’t be sitting in this room. She is my ol’ lady, my wife. You are just the party favour that gets passed around and can easily be replaced.”
Fear replaces curiosity instantly. I straighten and walk away before they can respond. But I know the damage is already done. The rumour exists and rumours spread faster than truth here.
Church gets called fifteen minutes later, boots scraping across the rough floor as the brothers file in. Angel takes the head of the table, his face is carved from stone. I don’t think he has slept much, and you can feel the energy coiling off of him into the space around us.
Four’s empty chair sits to his left.
Cypher sits next to it, laptop open.
“We’ve got nothing on the source yet,” he says. “Whoever fed the task force covered their tracks. I have never seen anything this layered.”
Ledger taps the table once.
“Cartel money diversion isn’t a small accusation and I looked into Four’s accounts, there's nothing out of the ordinary there.”
“No shit,” Axel mutters.
The room shifts. You can hear the leather groan, the chair legs creak, a pin could drop and you'd hear it in this space. Everyone knows what’s at stake. Our Vice President was arrested and it is under federal review. That doesn't just bring heat for Four, it brings it down on the whole club.
And somewhere in the middle of it all… An informant. A snake dressed in a leather cut that we’ve been calling Brother.
Angel folds his arms, saying, “I am hearing that Four was meeting with someone at the hospital.”
My head lifts slightly.
Cypher nods. “That’s the story that’s being pushed.”
I hear the whisper ripple around the room.
Hospital.
Nurse.
Informant.
The rumour from the booth is already working its way through the club. But that also means there are men in this room who think that Four could be guilty. Because that rumour holds no weight unless the source of it is true.
Before I can speak, Razor leans back in his chair.
“You ever think it’s weird Mara disappears right after being seen at the hospital?”
My gaze snaps to him. “What are you implying?”
He shrugs like it’s casual, but his blue eyes are lit up. “I’m not implying anything.”
Bullshit.
“And what is even more weird… coincidental, even… is that at the same time Preacher’s been sniffing around hospital territory…” Razor continues.
His eyes trail across every brother in the room, stopping at me.
“That’s where your wife works, right?”
My chair scrapes against the floor as I stand. My hands landed hard on the wood table sending a rumble through the room.
“Careful.” I warn.
Razor’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “Why? I didn’t accuse her of anything.”
“You didn’t have to.”
A few brothers shift, some are watching me worried about how I will handle this. Some are watching Razor, gauging the truth in his words.
Angel raises a hand. “Sit down, Clutch.”
I don’t sit, instead I step closer to the table, standing to my full height.
“You done?” I ask Razor.
He tilts his head slightly, reminding me of an animal. “I’m just talking out loud, asking questions.”
“No,” I say. “You’re planting bullshit.”
His smile fades and the light in his eyes dim.
“Four’s being accused of sleeping with a nurse informant with ties to the cartel,” Razor says. “Mara disappears after being seen at the hospital. Preacher’s crew starts sniffing around that same territory.”
He spreads his hands slightly, like he’s presenting evidence.
I growl low, “So you are saying there is truth in what is being said about Four. You think he is guilty of stealing cartel money and working against us?”
A murmur goes through the room, everyone sitting up a little taller.
“I am just saying if it’s all just a coincidence… that’s a lot of coincidence.” Razor shrugs, feigning indifference.
My temper spikes.
“You want to talk about coincidence?” I ask.
His brow lifts.
“Why were you watching the hospital?” I push.
Razor’s smile thins, but he replies with a steady voice, “I wasn’t watching.”
“The Hospital isn’t on your usual route.” I add.
His chair shifts.
“Are you tracking my rides now?” He grinds out.
“I track threats,” I say evenly.
Angel interrupts before the room turns into a brawl. “That’s enough.”
Razor leans back again, saying, “I’m not accusing anyone.” But his eyes flick toward me. “I’m suggesting we tighten security. Look at the information we have in front of us.”
I let out a harsh breath. “You don’t tighten security by throwing suspicion at my wife.”
“How much do you really know about your wife’s past, Clutch?” He jabs.
The words explode through the room and I'm over the table before I realize I moved. My fists hit the wood in front of him hard enough to rattle the room.
“You want to repeat that?” I demand.
Razor doesn’t flinch as I lean into his space.
Angel’s voice cuts through the tension. “We do not turn on each other.”
His stare moves between us.
“You want to fight someone, take it outside the gates. We have plenty of enemies out there.”
Silence falls again. But, I can already feel it, the divide in this room.
I look at Angel. “Do you trust me?”
His answer is immediate. “With my life.”
I nod once, saying, “Then you know I wouldn’t bring someone into this house who’d compromise it.”
Angel studies me, then he nods slowly. “I know that.”
I look back at Razor.
“I trust my wife.”
The words hang in the room, clear and final. So there is no misinterpreting them. But even as I sit back down, I can feel it, the room isn’t united anymore. Because the seed he planted is already taking root.
Angel exhales slowly. “We’re not fracturing this club over speculation.” His eyes sweep the room as he continues. “We tighten ranks.”
He pauses, then adds. “Which is why we’re reminding everyone what this house stands for.”
The silence stretches, until he says. “Mandatory gathering tomorrow night.”
A few brothers glance up.
“Everyone attends.” His voice leaves no room for misunderstanding.
No exceptions.
I already know what it is. A show of unity.
But as the meeting breaks and men start moving again, something settles uneasily in my gut. Because unity only works…When everyone believes it.