Chapter 12
Lines in the Sand
Thunder
No one spoke as we sat in our chairs, waiting. Only the executive team and the brothers with tactical experience were in the room. It wasn’t hard to figure out the topic of conversation.
“You know why you’re all here,” Sabre said, his arms crossed as he leaned over the table.
“Our businesses have always been neutral territory. As long as the cartel was spending money, we didn’t ask questions, nor did we give a shit.
It’s a different story now. We’ve been dealing with threats, but what I want to know is, how do we eliminate them? ”
“The threats are easy. You give them something or someone they can live with that doesn’t cost us too much.” Wreck shot a look at me.
“So, you’d rather sacrifice Liz to the cartel? That’s not fucking happening.”
“You couldn’t win her on your own, so you offered marriage because it was convenient. Then, knowing the risk, you took your bride away from protection when everyone told you it was a bad idea.”
I’d fucked up, but I’d never admit it. There was no way I could have given her a honeymoon in the clubhouse, but my decision had backfired, and the brothers hadn’t let me forget it. They rode my ass when the girls weren’t in earshot.
I closed my eyes, rubbing the backs of my eyelids.
Wreck never fought fair, so I didn’t dare challenge him.
I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to reveal.
This wasn’t my story to tell, but I wouldn’t let Wreck or anyone else in this room tell me I’d taken advantage.
If that were true, I wouldn’t have a severe case of blue balls.
“If you think I’m stupid enough to believe a marriage is going to end whatever arrangement Gerry agreed to, then you haven’t been paying attention, son. ”
“Not your son.” I’d used the word intentionally. If I couldn’t physically fight Wreck, then I was going to get under his skin. I still remembered the conversation at Christmas, when he’d asked me about the club girls to relieve his guilt.
“Then stop acting like a child who can’t think beyond his dick.” I didn’t back down from the glare he shot me from across the table. “When El Sombra Roja shows up—and he will—Liz will stand at the front, and I’m not about to let her do it alone.”
“So that’s what she meant.” Sabre shifted in his chair, folding his arms across his chest. “She said something similar to me before the wedding, but I thought she was talking about healthy relationships.” He blew out a breath. “I didn’t catch that she was already two steps ahead.”
“She probably was—ahead of you and Grizz. Liz is afraid the mounting pressure is going to break Flo and Buster, and she’ll do anything to avoid it.
I won’t let her,” I said, surveying the room.
The brothers who hadn’t experienced finding their person had blank faces, while the rest nodded their heads in camaraderie.
“So, what do we do with Gerry? He’s still in the cell downstairs.
” Twig tapped his fingers against the table.
Gerry constantly complained, but Twig was the only enforcer who actually listened.
Pint shut him down, and Berry did the opposite.
If Gerry asked for another blanket, Berry took the only one he had in the cell.
“Anyone want to weigh in?” Sabre opened it up to the rest of the room.
“What does Flo say?” Chef asked. He was sitting next to me, but I wasn’t the only one who turned to look at him. Chef was the strong, silent type, and we almost forgot he had a voice.
“She’s worried about the future. More so how this is going to affect the club than anything else.” Sabre sighed. “It’ll be hard on her, no matter what happens.” He turned to Grizz. “How’s Meredith holding up?”
I didn’t expect Grizz to laugh, but he threw his head back and let loose. The sound eerily settled around the room, but none of us thought this was funny.
“She flat-out asked if he was going to die.” His head tilted towards the ceiling. “She doesn’t understand why her blood father sacrifices them for his own gain, when we’d kill any motherfucker who thought about hurting Pumpkin.”
“I’d stand next to you if that ever happened,” Dead whispered. Grizz’s head tilted until they stared at each other. They weren’t friends, but they shared a mutual respect. Buster had done that.
The room fell silent. I didn’t know what to say, and as I watched the rest of the brothers, it was obvious they didn’t want to overstep.
This was their president’s family we were discussing.
This was also my family, but even as the oldest, I wasn’t the head of the household.
It was alright. I’d step up if the girls needed me, but my primary concern was my wife.
My wife. Those words felt right, even if I hadn’t voiced them.
“I haven’t decided, but I’m thinking about letting Gerry go. No tracking. He’s free to do whatever the fuck he wants,” Sabre threw out there.
“You know he’s going to run back to the cartel.” Grizz was only saying what we were all thinking.
“Hey, Cyph?” How chimed in. “Can you do, like, some probability shit on what Gerry’s next move is?” He was completely serious, and I watched Zook cover his face with his hand.
“Yeah, 100% he’s heading back to the cartel.” Cyph’s eyes widened. “Do you honestly believe he’s not?”
“No, but I was hoping he’d see the error of his ways.” How placed his elbow on the table, cradling his cheek in his hand.
“Gerry’s going to hook up with the cartel, but what happens when they show up at our door?” Count rubbed one of his spikes.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about that, which is why I brought all of you in.
Cyph upgraded the fence again. There was a group effort to reinforce the posts out there.
We can set up snipers on the roof, but what more?
What’s actually going to get them to stop?
” Sabre ran a hand through his hair, his forehead creased as he tried to find a solution.
“I’m not calling the cartel to ask what’s up. They don’t respond, and I’m done playing their little email games.” Cyph took a long pull from his energy drink. “If you order me to, I’ll reach out to Krait. See if I can speak snake long enough to get any info.”
“No. I want you to stay far away from him, but I think he was right. When we dropped off the warehouse drugs, he said we were getting a visitor—assuming Alex isn’t already floating around somewhere. Don’t give Krait a reason to come,” Sabre said to Cyph.
“He doesn’t want us. He wants Aunt E. What if we put it out there she’ll meet with him?” Wreck focused on me, waiting for my reaction.
I wanted to lash out at him, but it wouldn’t do any good.
If I called him out on his bullshit. He’d just clam up.
“I’m not offering her that option. She’ll take it, and who knows what happens from there.
Now, if he reaches out to her, I won’t stop it, but I will make damn sure she’s protected.
” I leaned forward, holding his gaze. “You’d do the same for Pretty. ”
Wreck opened his mouth, took one look at Pretty and quickly shut it. He did it one more time, but if he was going to say something, no one knew what it was. There was a knock on the door, interrupting the fish routine.
Sabre waved at Twig to answer, since his seat was the closest. He opened the door, and a prospect was standing on the other side. There were a few whispers back and forth before Twig turned to face the table, leaving the door open.
“Hey, VP? Some drugged-out kid is at the gate asking for the bun.”
“No shit? He’s here?” Grizz asked Twig.
“Prospect says so. C’s at the gate, so he left the kid on the other side and called D to tell us.
” D was still standing there, but he didn’t say a word.
Prospects only got invited to church after they received their patch, and he knew exactly where his place was.
Besides, no one wanted to clean the chrome on the brothers’ bikes with a toothbrush as punishment.
I’d done it one time and never made that mistake again.
“Has to be the kid from the holding cell,” Grizz said to Sabre before standing. He headed towards the door with Sabre at his heels. The rest of us followed them out to the front gate. Sure enough, there was a kid lying in the dirt, curled up into a ball.
Grizz stopped in the yard. “You backing my play on this?” he asked Sabre.
“Yeah, we’ll let him stay in a cell until Scrub has time to look at him. It’ll be easier to clean until we know what we’re dealing with.” Sabre’s head turned to the side. “Cyph, I want a full background check.”
“Got it, Prez.” Feet took off running towards the front door of the clubhouse.
Grizz walked through the shed, and when Sabre didn’t follow him, I did. Grizz had created this clusterfuck, but it didn’t sit right with me that no one had offered to help. He hadn’t been the only one in the holding cell who was currently standing out in the yard, and the kid didn’t look so good.
Grizz squatted in front of him. “Hey,” he mumbled. “You made it.”
The kid groaned, pulling his knees as close to his chest as he could. “You told me…you’d help.”
“Yeah, we are. When was your last hit?”
“Three days ago. I think.” The kid quickly shifted to his knees, throwing up in the dirt in front of him. Whatever he’d taken, there was nothing left, but it was clear the kid hadn’t eaten in just as long.
Grizz patted the kid’s back. “It’s alright. Get it out.”
Once it was over, the kid flopped back onto his side, worn-out.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Kyle,” he coughed.
“Well, Kyle, I’m Thunder, and the bun is Grizz. We’re going to lift you to your feet and get you to a bed. It won’t be the most comfortable, but you need to be there until this passes.”
“I should go.” He tried to stand, but his knees gave out.
“No, let me help you. Scrub is a doctor. He works nights, so as soon as he gets up, he’ll come check you out and give us a game plan,” Grizz chimed in.
“I don’t have any money.” Kyle’s eyes widened, and if he had had any strength, he probably would have taken off.
“I didn’t ask you for any,” Grizz chided.
We picked Kyle up, but it was like dragging dead weight.
He could barely stand, but Grizz and I stayed with him, giving him words of encouragement every time he wanted to collapse.
No matter where I looked, the kid was nothing but a stack of bones.
I wasn’t sure Kyle would make it through the night.