Chapter 32
Butcher
Stepping into the doorway of our bedroom, I watched as Isla packed up her clothes.
Murder was sitting on the floor next to her also watching what she was doing.
Anger had me narrowing my eyes. I turned around without a word and walked into the dining room area.
I wasn’t used to having so much space, but Priest had said that Lock was letting us keep this apartment.
Maybe Toxic’s stripper had done us a favor by pissing in my closet.
My woman wasn’t going to want to stay in a dorm style room forever.
This was so damn confusing. And stupid. I didn’t know what motivated people, but I was pretty sure that it wasn’t some damn deal with Lock that was making her do this.
I’d have to confirm with Toxic later, but I was guessing it had something to do with fear.
She was afraid to stay and let people in. Because we might disappoint her.
She’d said that I was the only one who had ever loved her. That was a clue. I was sure of it. Maybe she was afraid that I’d leave her? That the others would insist she go? She was cutting and bailing before we had a chance to do so first.
If that was what was going on here the only way I could prove it to her was one day at a time, showing up and being present. In order to do that, I needed to convince her to stay.
I grabbed one of the wooden chairs that was tucked into the dining room table and brought it with me. Isla turned as she heard me set the chair down inside the bedroom.
“What’re you doing?” she asked, cocking her head as I walked past her.
It only took me a moment to find what I needed inside the new, larger, closet. Her eyes widened when she saw what I was holding.
“Wait!” Realizing I wasn’t waiting, or stopping, she tried to bolt.
She was a kick ass assassin and possessed skills many men would die for, but I was still faster.
Ignoring the stab of pain in my side, I grabbed her and hauled her back against my body.
I still hadn’t spoken. I was too pissed.
And I needed to secure her first. Before she knew what was happening I had her tied back up on the chair.
“Seriously?” she asked.
“You’re trying to leave,” I growled. “Not happening.”
“Butcher-”
I turned and walked away, not bothering to listen to whatever stupid girly worries she’d made up in her mind. She needed reassurance that I loved her and wanted her to stay? That the others loved her and wanted her to stay? She was going to get them.
My luck held true as I stepped out into the hallway and saw Lockout walking toward me.
I didn’t explain, just grabbed my president by the cut and dragged him into my apartment.
It was a testament to his patience that he wasn’t bellowing at me right now.
I was too pissed and seeing red to explain much.
I shoved him in front of where I had Isla tied up. “The two of you need to talk.”
I left again, with both of their gazes boring into my back, but this was something she needed to talk over with him.
She had it in her head that Lock didn’t want her here.
That he wasn’t going to let her stay. Fucking stupid conclusion.
She’d helped save my life. Helped save theirs, more than once.
She’d helped make sure the threat to our families was gone.
And I fucking loved her. Lock wasn’t going to make her go anyway.
He just hadn’t extended the invitation to stay, because that was my job.
And I’d done it, but she understood hierarchy and until she heard it from the prez, she wasn’t going to trust it.
Once she accepted his invitation, then we could work on proving that she was loved by all of us. That we all would be hurt if she tried to leave.
Needing air, I stomped down the stairs into the lower section of the clubhouse.
“Hey, Butcher.”
I froze, glaring at Lockout as he stood there holding a coffee mug. “What the fuck?”
“What?” he asked, looking confused.
“Goddamn useless twin,” I muttered. “At least Ricochet had the decency to have a female twin.”
Lock’s frown deepened. “What the fuck did you just say to me?”
“Not you, Prez. Your twin,” I growled. “Come with me.” It wasn’t like I gave him much choice.
I was dragging him, much like I’d just dragged Idaho a few minutes ago.
Lockout seemed to realize that I was pissed and somehow pieced together what was happening enough to come along with me, even though he could have told me to fuck off.
When we walked into the apartment together, I heard Idaho’s voice coming from the bedroom.
“The whole point is to leverage other people’s money and other people’s time, freeing up your most valuable and creative hours to scale up and branch out.
When your time is bogged down in the admin, you’re stuck.
It’s not about how much you save, rather it’s how much more you can make when free from the bullshit.
With Randal gone there’s a vacuum in the whole industry, just ripe for expansion. ”
“You really think I could expand my business?” Isla was asking.
“I mean, I do spend more time cleaning up after a hit and clearing evidence than I spend on the hit itself. You’re saying if I can farm that out to someone that’s competent and trustworthy…
Hell, I could probably double the amount of hits I do.
What about finding backers? Do people back assassins?
I mean other than those who want someone dead? ”
“Not what I meant,” I snapped at Idaho as I walked into the room.
“What else am I supposed to talk to her about?”
“Nothing. You’re not the good twin. I don’t need you,” I told him. “Don’t even like you,” I muttered.
“Ouch.” Idaho looked far too amused for my liking, but I was on a mission. I glanced over at Lockout. “I need you to talk to her.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I waited.
Lock walked farther into the room. His intelligent hazel eyes noted the bag of clothes and belongings on the bed and Isla tied to a chair. “Going somewhere?” he asked, almost conversationally.
I couldn’t help the angry sound that forced its way out of my chest.
Everyone in the room looked my way, then Isla focused back on Lock. “The deal was that I stayed to help take care of the assassins and Randal.”
“It was,” Lock said in agreement. “And now you want to leave?”
She looked away and I saw the hurt all over her face. “She thinks you won’t let her stay,” I told him.
Her gaze flashed back to me and she admitted to us all, “I want to, but-”
“No buts,” I snarled. “You’re staying.”
We both looked over at Lockout and his brows shot up. “Oh, it’s my turn?”
I huffed out a breath and nodded, knowing he wanted me to shut the hell up so he could help fix this. I wasn’t above taking help. At least, not anymore. “You know all the words, use them.”
“Isla,” Lock said, his voice the epitome of calm and reasonableness in the face of our anger and despair. “I’m not sure why you think that you’re not welcome here, but you are.”
The hope in her eyes was like a knife to the fucking chest. I already knew what it felt like to take one in the side, so I knew it was an accurate description of what was happening inside me right now.
She wanted this so badly, but had been willing to walk away because of some imaginary deal she thought had been struck between her and the club. Women. I shook my head.
“But you-”
“I said whatever I needed to at the time to ensure that you joined forces with us,” Lockout told her, interrupting.
“Now that the threat has died down and you and this idiot have realized that you’re in love, we all want you to stay.
I’d never hear the end of it from the women and kids if I let you walk away.
Not to mention, we’d lose Butcher,” he told her.
“Makes it sound like you only want her to stay for the others, Bro,” Idaho pointed out before I could say anything.
Lock studied his twin and then sighed. “When the hell did you become so insightful?”
He shrugged. “I have an old lady. If I said that to her it would hurt her feelings.”
“Isn’t this your job?” Lock asked me.
“I already did this part. She needs your okay to stay here, too.”
Isla remained silent, looking back and forth between us as we spoke. But she still looked hopeful.
“Everyone loves and respects you,” Lock told her.
“I’m not telling you I love you because this asshole will attack me if I do, but I want you to stay as much as everyone else.
Not because of all the reasons I listed before, though they are a part of it, but because we, and I, want you to be a part of this family. ”
Isla sucked in a breath and her eyes began to tear up. “Thank you,” she managed to choke out without allowing the tears to fall.
Lockout nodded at her, then glared at me. “Can I go now? I’ve had my fill of uncomfortable conversations, thanks to you.”
I grinned. “Yeah. Thanks, Lock.”
He looked surprised, probably because I didn’t exactly express gratitude very often. Lock started to move toward the door, then grabbed his nosey twin—who’d stayed even though no one needed him—and dragged him out the door by the cut.
I studied her for another moment, then decided I had one more move to play. It was dirty, but I had to make sure she fully understood. I stepped out of the room and went down the hall, knocking on a door. “Come with me,” I said and turned back to my room.
Standing in the doorway of the apartment, I leaned against the frame.
A flood of children swarmed past me. Felt like six hundred of them.
I swear more of them showed up every day.
There were joyous screams as the kids flooded past me and into my bedroom.
“Aunt Isla! Ah ha ha, you’re tied up.” I wasn’t sure who was talking.
“I can get out of that, betcha I could.” That was Taylor, and I was betting she was right.