Chapter 14
BEX - PERFECTLY CLEAR
“Quiet!”
Angel’s voice cracked through the room like a gunshot.
The chaos dies slowly. Voices drop from shouting to murmurs. Chairs scrape angrily, and someone knocks a bottle off the bar, and it shatters on the floor, the sound explosive in the quiet.
Angel and Cypher are bent over the laptop, talking fast and low. I can’t hear what they’re saying. I am still standing out here all alone, while the entire room is watching them.
But I haven’t moved and neither has Clutch.
My eyes are still on him. He hasn’t looked up yet. He’s still staring at the cut lying at his feet. The leather is twisted slightly where it landed, with the blood from my split lip smeared across the Dawnbreakers crest.
His crest.
His club.
His patch.
His claim.
Angel straightens. He looks around the room, taking in the tension, the scattered arguments still brewing under people’s breath.
“Four is being released.”
The words ripple through the clubhouse immediately.
“What?”
“No way…”
“When?”
“How?”
Angel lifts a hand.
“He is being released on house arrest,” he says over the noise. “Pending further investigation.”
Dani is already moving, she crosses the room before he even finishes speaking. Her eyes flick toward me for half a second as she passes, then back to Angel.
“But,” Angel continues, his voice hardening, “that’s not the problem.”
The room quiets again, everyone waiting to hear what comes next.
“There are multiple MCs currently gathering near the sheriff’s station.”
The tension spikes immediately.
“Devil’s Ride?”
“Who?”
“Is it Preacher?”
Angel waits until the shouting builds before slamming his hand down on the bar again.
“We’re bringing Four home.”
That shuts people up.
“We go in with presence,” he continues. “We show exactly who he belongs to.”
More murmurs, more shifting, but then Angel lifts his hand again.
“That’s not all.”
The room stills again.
“Preacher’s men have been spotted at the edge of our territory.”
The explosion of voices is immediate.
“That bastard…”
“It’s a setup!”
“We can’t let this slide.”
“He called for a meeting,” Angel finishes. “With me.”
Now the shouting really starts.
“That’s a trap.”
“No way you go alone.”
“This is bullshit.”
“Prez…”
Chaos rolls through the room like a storm. Through all of it… I haven’t moved, my eyes are still locked on him and he's still staring at the blood stained cut at his feet.
Angel leans toward Cypher and Ledger joins them, the three of them talk quickly. Then Angel suddenly slams his hand down again.
“Shut the fuck up!”
Silence crashes back into the room.
“We need to show force on all sides.”
His eyes sweep the room.
“That means we put this aside.”
His gaze flicks briefly toward me.
“For now.”
The emphasis is deliberate. Something bitter bubbles up in my chest and a laugh slips out before I can stop it. Twisted and ugly.
Clutch finally looks up, his eyes hit mine and then shift to Angel.
Then…
Slowly…
Like each movement hurts him, costs him something… He bends down. The entire room watches as he picks up the cut. His fingers pause on the blood smeared across the patch.
Just for a second.
Then he stands and walks toward Angel. They talk quietly, it's heated, but too low for me to hear. But I watch Clutch’s face carefully. The tension in his jaw. The tight line of his shoulders.
Then something shifts. I see it in real time Something cracks across his expression. I watch as his eyes squeeze shut, just for a second.
Then he turns his back on me, his shoulders hunching slightly. Angel slaps a hand on his shoulder, leans in and whispers something. But, Clutch doesn’t respond.
Angel turns back to the room.
“We need to split up to stay united.”
The room erupts again giving me whiplash.
“This is a trap.”
“What if Four’s the bait?”
“What about the informant?”
“What about what the fuck just happened?”
Angel ignores it.
“Clutch,” he yells over the crowd.“Will take Axel and Torch.”
He gestures toward two of the prospects lingering near the wall.
“And you two. Go bring Four home.”
Dani steps forward immediately.
“I’m going.”
Angel shakes his head, saying, “No.”
Her jaw tightens and fire lights her eyes when she asks, “Why not?”
Angel sighs. “I don’t think it’s safe.”
Her eyes flash, she looks at me quickly and then back to Angel, “But he…”
“I know,” Angel says quietly. “Not tonight.”
She hesitates, then nods slowly.
Someone mutters near the bar. “Is it even safe here?”
Angel ignores the question.
“I’ll meet Preacher.”
He glances down at Cypher’s screen.
“Neutral ground. Cypher’s sending coordinates now. With me I need Ledger, Cypher….”
He rattles off several more names, as brothers step forward.
“And the rest of you stay here,” Angel continues.
His tone turns colder.
“Treat this like a lockdown.”
His eyes sweep the women in the room.
“Ol’ ladies and girlfriends go to your rooms.The club girls can go to the shared bunk room or leave. You’ve got five minutes to decide.”
His gaze snaps to Razor.
“You.”
Razor glares at him and Angel’s voice hardens.
“You wait in your room until we deal with this.”
The tone is pure scolding. Like he’s speaking to a reckless child. Then Angel’s eyes land on me.
“We’ll be back tonight.” The room feels like it tilts slightly. “And we will deal with this.”
He doesn’t say what this is. He doesn’t have to.
Chaos erupts again and Angel raises his voice. “This isn’t optional! Everyone knows their assignments. Fucking Move.”
The clubhouse explodes into motion, brothers grabbing gear and checking weapons. Boots thudded across the floor, as women rushed to their men for quick kisses and reassuring words.
The machine of the club shifting into motion.
Clutch finally moves toward me and the room fades around us, he stops directly in front of me, but I refuse to look up. My eyes stay locked on his shoulder, on the leather of his cut, the worn and aged stitching I have trailed my finger across more than once.
My throat tightens as he says, “Please.”
The word barely makes it out of him, but my chest tightens painfully with everything we could have been. But I don’t look up.
“Bex…” His voice breaks slightly. “Baby… please.”
He sounds wrecked. Like he’s on the edge of something I’ve never seen from him before.
Men like Clutch don’t cry. They don’t break. But he sounds close.
If he thinks this changes anything, fixes any of what just happened…
I don’t move, or acknowledge him. He did this to me, to us.
After a minute he presses the cut against my chest, the leather hits me and I flinch.
Just a little.
But he sees it and a low growl rumbles out of him.
I instinctively step back.
He curses under his breath. “Fuck.” and then tries again, “Be…”
“Clutch!” Angel’s voice cuts across the room interrupting him and I almost laugh. “You need to move. Four could be out anytime now.”
Clutch doesn’t move. For a brief moment I think he might ignore the order.
Then…
He steps around me, his shoulder brushes mine and I hear him speaking to someone behind me. “Put this somewhere safe.” A pause. “And keep an eye on her.”
A younger voice answers, one of the prospects I think. “Yes, sir.”
Then the room starts clearing fast, with boots thundering toward the door and engines roaring to life outside.
Angel stops in front of me, saying, “We’ll be back tonight.”
His voice is calmer now, controlled. He is gearing up to face Preacher.
“And then we deal with this,” he promises.
I don’t answer or acknowledge him. I turn and walk away. Up the stairs, with the noise of the clubhouse fading behind me.
My hands are shaking slightly.
My face still throbs from Razor’s hit.
But my mind is perfectly clear.
I push open the bedroom door and start gathering the few things that matter.
I’m leaving.