20. Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty
Sunny
The ride back to the clubhouse is nowhere near long enough.
I want to be here, cheek pressed against the buttery soft leather of Elias’s cut, his large palm on my calf, forever.
Or at least for another twenty minutes or so.
The warm breeze on my face, the rumble of the engine beneath me, the way Elias’s big body gracefully glides this huge machine, it's hypnotic. Better than yoga.
Elias slows and I can’t help but pout a little as we pull into the long drive to the clubhouse. He slows even further, and I frown. My body glued to his, I follow his every lean. Weird. The drive is a straight shot and he’s weaving like a drunk. Curiosity gets the better of me and I lift my head.
“Holy crap balls!” I murmur. “One…two..three..” My counting drifts off as I snap my head in the other direction, getting a good look around.
The driveway is littered with at least five random meth heads. Some have dark patches from what looks like blood, others look like they were hit by a train.
“What the hell happened here?” I squeak, eyes wide.
“Pastor Richards and his F-100 happened here.”
I can't help the snort that flies out of me. Or the cackling as my head tips back. We pull into the members’ parking spaces, Elias backing into his spot while I lose it.
“Adrenaline crash?” Ledger asks Rev, ignoring me.
“No, I told her her dad ran over those Wolves.”
“It’s funny because while he was running over Wolves, I was running over Bubbles and Split.” I let out a happy sigh. Good times.
My gaze catches Elias’s and I’m struck dumb at the look he gives me. Sure there’s darkness in there, but there’s also, if you look closely, like really close, I can see a light that wasn’t there before.
Gallows’ whistle steals my attention. “Church! You too, Sunny.”
Before I can say anything Elias takes my hand, twining his large, rough, tattooed fingers in mine. “Come on, Sassy.” Elias gives me a little tug and I follow after him.
I’d follow this man to the depths of hell and back if it meant I get to be with him. In this life and the next. He was built for me, even if he took a little convincing.
Elias takes his seat, pulling me into his lap. This is the second time I’ve experienced Church from Elias’ firm, muscular thigh and I ain’t mad about it.
“Comfy there, Sunny?” Brake teases and I give him a wide grin.
“Jealous?”
“No way. You’re a little too -”
Elias starts growling and I pat his delicious pectoral in an effort to soothe him. And me. Petting Elias is my happy place.
“- spirited,” Brake finishes, grinning at Elias from across the table.
We have a three-way staredown until Gallows slams the gavel down, essentially making me wee a little.
“Fuck. Right. I’m sure we don’t need a recap, we were all there when Sunny was snatched and the Wolves descended. Fog, report,” Gallows snaps.
“Hollis and his men have been called in to help with disposal. Your mom has called in some of your family to check all off grid systems are running as they should. Turns out the prospect has some solid computer skills so he’s going to be doing a deep dive into the Sinister Wolves. Rattle some cages.”
“Good,” Gallows nods, looking slightly less wound up. “Tell him to give me a list of their membership and what numbers they’re working with. There can’t be that many of them left. And that’s a good fucking thing.”
“Why?” I ask before I can bite my tongue.
“The less men they have, the less likely they are to kill us in a shoot out,” Gallows answers in a clipped manner.
“What about an explosion?” Everyone turns to stare at me. “If I lost my MC brothers I would Kamikaze bomb the hell outta the baddies.”
Mercy snorts and that seems to break the stunned silence the brothers all sit in. “Just something to think about I guess.” I add, leaning back onto Elias’s shoulder. He presses a kiss to my crown and I feel warm. Tingly. Comfy. Home.
Gallows stares at me for a long while and I stare right back. “Noted.” His gaze shifts, taking in the large church table, everyone sitting to attention. “Amos Crowe. What do we know?”
“Millionaire verging on billionaire. On paper he’s a legit businessman. Owns casinos, collects rare art.”
“Slave shackles,” Sunny murmurs under her breath.
“So, he’s a legit businessman?” Hollow asks.
“On paper.” Fog replies. “But look a little deeper and he’s rotten to the fucking core. There’s a fuck ton of messed up shit in his private collection.” He shakes his head. “You don’t buy that shit if there ain’t something wrong with you.”
“He’s one bad motherfucker,” Coyote says. “Holler folk aren’t easily intimidated, but that bastard had some of ‘em running scared.”
Weird. Holler folk aren’t like that. They’re helpful. Friendly. Give the shirt off their backs type of people. They have good relationships with the Saints. Amos has somehow scared the bejeezus out of them.
“What the fuck?” Gallows says, brows pulled low.
“He has something over them,” I murmur to myself.
Every head turns my way.
“How do you know?”
“Because Amos Crowe is creepy. Not scary. They’re not scared of him. They’re scared of what would happen if they talked.” I bite my lip.
Gallows jaw tightens. “Leverage.”
Ledger stares at me, his gaze assessing. “What leverage does he have on you?” he asks me directly. “He must have something. You’re alive.”
My head starts shaking as soon as the words leave Ledger’s mouth. I look up at Elias, pressing a kiss to the underside of his jaw. “I think you know what my leverage is.” I lean further into Elias, his arms wrapping around me. “And he asked me to deliver a message.”
“A message?” Gallows frowns.
I nod. “Yeah. He said you need to know your enemy’s weaknesses. Elias’s weakness is me. Yours-” I nod to Gallows, “is the club. Jubilee’s is Mercy.”
Jubilee turns his head to Mercy.
“Don’t,” Mercy says, avoiding his gaze.
“He said that he knows every little thing about the club.”
Hollow snorts, “I fucking doubt that.”
“I looked him in his creepy ass face and told him he’d never destroy the club.” Elias looks down at me, his bright blue eyes on mine. “He laughed. Said he didn’t want to destroy the club.”
“Then what the fuck does he want? Our routes?” Ledger says.
“He said he wants what’s rightfully his.” I hold Gallows’ gaze.
Gallows stills, fists balled on the top of the wooden table.
“He’s a collector,” Gallows says slowly, as if rolling the words over in his mind.
“Fog, I need you and the prospect to go through everything we’ve moved in the past 6 months.
Any new clients? One off deliveries?” He looks around the table.
“We tighten security on our runs. It’s the only thing that makes sense. ” He pauses. “But this shit feels off.”
“Makes your balls all tingly.” I murmur. All heads turn toward me. Oh. I said that out loud. I only notice when Elias starts chuckling. I look around the table, lips rolled between my teeth. “Must just be me.”
Gallows shakes his head. “Yes Sunny, makes my balls tingly.” The brothers muffle their snorts. “Something ain’t adding up and until we can figure it out we watch our backs.”
“What do we do about the Wolves?” Hush asks.
Gallows looks around the room, jaw tense. “They keep coming for us? We wipe them out.”