Q
“Hate to interrupt,” Bones announced as he entered the conference room. “But I think we have a problem.”
“What kind of problem?” Cotton asked.
“Something’s up with our server.” Bones glanced over at Big, then continued, “I think someone’s got eyes on us.”
Big’s brows furrowed with disbelief. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Look for yourself.” Bones stepped over to him and placed his laptop down on the table. He pointed at the screen as he told him, “The coding on the firewall isn’t right.”
“You sure about that?” Big stared at the screen for several moments, then shook his head. “Oh, damn. He’s right. Something’s off, but not by much. Just a couple of digits here and there. How in the hell did you catch this?”
“I don’t know. I just knew it wasn’t right.”
Stitch’s eyes were narrowed as he looked up at Bones and asked, “I don’t get it. Why is this coding shit such a problem?”
“It could mean a variety of things, and none of them good.” Bones glanced over at Big, then continued, “It’s a sign that someone’s infiltrated our firewall. If that’s the case, they can see things they have no business seeing.”
“Like what?”
“Emails we’ve exchanged, files that were for our eyes only, and that’s just a start. If they know what they’re doing, they can even get into our security system.”
“How the hell did that happen?”
“Got no clue,” Bones answered. “We have the best security there is.”
“Looks like it wasn’t as good as you thought.”
“Yeah, it’s looking that way.”
Diesel sounded appalled as he asked, “So, you’re saying they could be watching us?”
“Afraid so.”
“Fuck,” Clutch growled. “Can’t you fix it? Put up another wall or add more security? Whatever it is you guys do.”
“We can, but we need to try and figure out who’s doing it first.” Big let out a breath of frustration, then looked up to Bones and asked, “This shit isn’t easy to catch. What made you decide to look over the coding?”
It was clear from his tone Big was bothered that Bones had found the issue and not him, but none of us cared which of them found it. We just wanted to know who the fuck was trying to get eyes on us and why. Bones motioned his head toward the door as he answered, “Savage had one of his feelings.”
Cotton looked to the doorway where Savage and Torch were standing and asked, “What kind of feeling?”
“Well, it wasn’t a good one.” Like his father, Savage had an uncanny ability to know when something was up, so we were all ears as we listened to him answer, “Just felt like something was up.”
Cotton’s eyes narrowed as he glared at his son. “And you didn’t think to mention that to me?”
“It was just a hunch, Dad. I had it for a couple of days but figured it was just my head fucking with me.”
“You gotta start listening to your gut, Malcomb. It hasn’t lied to you yet.”
“Yes, sir. You’re right.”
He nodded, then Cotton turned his attention back to Big. “Are you two gonna be able to find these guys?”
“Oh, yeah. We’ll find ‘em,” Big assured him. “It might take us a little time, but we’ll get em’.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear. We need this handled and handled fast, especially with the holidays rolling in. I don’t want to take any chances with our families in and out.” Cotton looked around the table as he asked, “Is everyone still coming in next week?”
“Not sure. We’re still waiting for the final word from Lexie,” Maverick answered. “Henley’s damned and determined that she’s coming, but I don’t have a good feeling about it.”
Cotton tugged at his goatee as he told us, “Darby and Susana will be coming in this weekend, but I’m not sure how long they're planning to stay. If I know them, their busy schedules will keep them from staying long.”
“Same with Addie.” Smokey sounded concerned as he added, “But now, with this going on, I’m thinking she should stay put.”
“I was thinking the same about Chelsea,” Two Bit agreed. “She might be safer to stay put.”
“You could be right about that. I know Hadley and her fella won’t be coming.
They’re going to visit his family, but Casey will be around.
I’ll have to keep an eye on her, which we all know she won’t like.
” Clutch chuckled under his breath, then shook his head.
“You know, the timing on this shit sucks.”
“Yeah, it definitely does.”
Unlike my brothers, I didn’t have family coming in.
Hell, I didn’t have any family, period. I had no siblings and hadn’t spoken to my ol’ man in years, and I didn’t see that changing any time soon.
So, it would just be me and Jules attending the club’s family feast, but I was just as concerned as the others about our onlookers and problems that might bring, especially with our loved ones in place.
Needless to say, I was pleased when Cotton said, “I agree. The timing couldn’t be worse, but I have no doubt Bones and Big will get this thing figured out.”
“Yeah, we’ll get on it now.” Big stood, and with Bones’ computer in hand, he and Bones headed out of the conference room. Once they were gone, Cotton turned his attention to his son. “The next time you get one of these feelings of yours, I want you to come straight to me. You got that?”
“Yes, sir. I got it.”
“Good.” Cotton’s expression softened as he asked him, “What’s your agenda for the day?”
“I was going to go down to the construction site and give the guys a hand, but now, I’m thinking I’ll hang with Big and Bones and see if there’s anything I can do to help them out.”
“Sounds good. I’ll check in on you boys in a bit.”
Savage nodded, then headed out of the room. As soon as the door closed behind him, Two Bit leaned forward and asked, “You got any idea who might be trying to make a move on us?”
“No, but I’ll ask around. Somebody knows something. Assholes dumb enough to pull a stunt like this will likely brag. I just gotta figure out who they’ve been bragging to, and then, maybe we can figure out who they are and what the fuck they’re up to.”
“And then, we will show them why you don’t fuck with Fury,” Maverick added.
“Damn right, we will,” Stitch agreed. “Looking forward to it.”
Maybe it was the fact that we were older and wiser or simply the fact that people around these parts were terrified, but it had been a while since the club had run into any kind of trouble. It had been a long while, and I was just fine with that.
As I sat there thinking about how Bones had been the one to catch the coding thing, I felt compelled to say, “I know this whole coding thing is concerning, but I gotta say. It's good to see the boys stepping up and showing they can handle things.”
Two Bit nodded as he said, “Yeah, it definitely is. One day, the club will be in good hands.”
“That day may be coming sooner than you think.” Cotton grimaced as he said, “Leading this club has been an honor. Hell, it’s meant everything to me, but I’ve been considering the notion of stepping down.”
“When?”
“Not today. Probably not tomorrow. But soon.”
“You’re not alone. I’ve been thinking the same,” Stitch announced. “Wrath and Chains have both shown a lot of promise. I think it’s time to let them step up and show what they can do.”
I’d always thought Stitch would be the club’s enforcer until the day he took his last breath, but it was clear he had put a great deal of thought into stepping down. Cotton must’ve thought the same because he sounded equally surprised when he said, “You sure about this, brother?”
“I’m not leaving the club, Prez. I’ll still be around.”
“We all will,” Two Bit added. “We’ll make sure things stay in order.”
“I know, and that means a great deal.”
“But for now, we have more pressing matters at hand.” Cotton’s expression grew fierce as he warned, “We don’t know what’s going on with this firewall thing. I don’t want to assume the worst, but until we know what’s going on, I want everyone on high alert.”
“Understood.”
With that, Cotton dismissed us from church and headed to check in with Big. When the rest of us started to disperse, Mav called out to me, “Hey, Q. Come on. We’re gonna grab a beer at the bar.”
“You guys go ahead. I’ve gotta get going. There’s snow moving in tonight, and I promised Jules that I’d pick her up from work.”
“You’ve been seeing a lot of her lately.”
“Yeah, I have.”
“See?” Mav turned to Stitch. “I was right from the start.”
Before either of them could say anything more, I announced, “I’m out.”
I gave them both a quick wave, then turned and walked out to my pickup. As much as I hated to take a cage, I didn’t have a choice. The weather had turned, and it was just too fucking cold and dangerous to take the bike. Once I’d gotten inside, I buckled up and headed out the front gate.
On the way out to Smokey’s place, I thought about Cotton and Stitch announcing that they were considering stepping down, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. It was tough because I knew once Cotton and Stitch made their move, Maverick and Clutch would soon follow after.
The four had been the force behind Fury since the day I patched in, and it would be hard to see them step down.
But at the same time, I had faith in my brothers.
I knew that, together, we could handle anything that came our way, so I decided not to dwell on the impending changes that were coming.
Instead, I would focus on the here and now.
And with Jules in the picture, the here and now was a good place to be.
When I got out to Smokey’s, she was finishing up in the barn with Caroline.
She wasn’t fixed up. She was just wearing typical jeans and a pullover for work, but she looked beautiful with her hair pulled back and her rosy-red cheeks.
She smiled, and her entire face lit up when she spotted me walking in her direction.
Damn.
There was nothing better than seeing that look on her face. I couldn’t help but smile right back at her as I said, “Hey there, beautiful. You ready to go?”
“Yeah, just a minute.” She rushed toward the back and shouted, “I’ve gotta grab my stuff.”
“Take your time.”