CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Brand
We’d been sitting around the common room shooting the shit when the front door opened. I raised my gaze to see who was coming in, then I got to my feet with a speed I didn’t even know I had. Using my body, I shielded Cami as best as I could.
Wasn’t every day that the leader of the D13 gang rolled up into your place and when he did, you bet your sweet ass it wasn’t for anything good.
I didn’t go for my gun seeing as they had strolled in casually and hadn’t pulled theirs, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t ready to draw if they so much as flinched.
“Chris,” I growled and said nothing else because I knew he’d get it.
Behind me, I could hear him getting to his feet.
“Cami, come with me,” he said calmly, and to my surprise, she didn’t bulk or ask questions, she simply got up. Then I heard their feet shuffle off towards the back and I assumed into the kitchen.
I fucking hated that she’d been here to see this. That she had possibly been put in the middle of something that had nothing to do with her. But I was proud of her for taking it like a pro and listening.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gwen making her way to follow Chris and Cami.
“Where he at?” Dion asked looking at Mouse and I could only guess that he was talking about Iron.
“I’m here,” Iron said coming out of nowhere. “Something I can do for you?” His tone as cool as ever but I could tell he was ready to go in the blink of an eye.
Dion made his way up to the bar, his entourage of three right behind him. I stepped up beside Iron while Knight took his other side. B-ry slid in on the right, keeping a good ten feet between them.
“I ain’t want problems between us. Figured I ought to fix shit before it got any more outta hand.” Dion flopped a shoebox down on the bar top.
“I’m gonna need more than a pair of shoes to make this thing alright.” Iron said.
“It ain’t about the shoes,” Dion said then flipped open the lid. I craned my neck to look. A pair of high-end sneakers with a little daily wear dirtying up the bottom soles. They were perfect white…you know, except for the rust-colored blood splatter that covered them. By that, I could tell that the blood wasn’t completely dry, and it left me to wonder if he’d driven straight over here after it’d been done. “It’s about the dead motherfucka that used to be wearin’ ‘em.”
Iron took in the scene in front of him, not a single thing was given away on his face.
“’Case that ain’t enough for you,” he tossed his phone in front of Iron.
On the screen was proof that whoever had been wearing those shoes was now dead, hole in the head and I imagined the one to the knee was to prove a point before he got the final sendoff. And by the bodies that lay around him, he wasn’t the only one dead.
“Ain’t tryin’ to have no beef with you. Kid disrespected me, went behind my back to start some shit, and paid the fuckin’ price. I sure as fuck don’t want to be on your bad side, or any of you fucks.” I could only guess he was talking about the other crime factions that ran the underbelly of the city. “Next time you got a problem with my side, you shout, you hear? Don’t send some punk ass to sneak around my place. Next time, he won’t walk away lookin’ so good.”
“Understood,” Iron said, not bowing down but showing respect and agreeing that they were on the same page.
“We good?” Dion asked.
“We’re good.” Iron said with a nod.
“Good. Imma get the fuck up on outta this place now. Smells like grease and leather.”
Then he went out the way he came in, taking the box with him. And I was pretty sure that we all breathed a little sigh of relief after the door closed.
“Did that just fucking happen?” B-ry said what I was sure we all were thinking.
“Yep,” Iron said as he stared at the closed front door. “Church.” He looked at Knight and then me. “Five minutes.”
I gave him an appreciative head nod because he was giving me a minute to check on my girl.
I respected Iron in every way. He was a good man and he knew that sometimes there needed to be a little balance between club life and personal.
Knowing that he meant five minutes and not a second longer, I scurried off to get Cami and Chris.
I found them and Gwen hunkered down in the back of the laundry room. Smart. I had an idea that was Gwen’s doing, no doubt Knight had made a point to give her direction where to go if something went down in the clubhouse and she couldn’t get out.
It hit me then, I was going to have to start thinking of things like that. I wanted to kick myself that I hadn’t before, but I didn’t have a second to dwell on that right now. I had to make sure Cami was alright. I knew Chris was fine, probably not as cool as me, but the guy knew the deal and had been around long enough to know how shit sometimes went sideways when you least expected it to.
“I’m fine,” she said waving her hand at me before I even had the chance to open my mouth and ask her. “I don’t want to know, okay? But I’m good.”
I pulled her in for a hug and ran my hand over her silky hair. She wasn’t shaking and her breaths were pretty even. I could tell that she was rattled, but not enough where she was going to freak out on me. This was good. It made me have hope that maybe she could handle this life, on her terms of course. The ones where we didn’t talk about any of it and she stayed in the dark as much as possible. I had been so afraid that this part of me would taint her. But it was clear she wasn’t going to allow it to.
A quick kiss, an apology, and one word to let her know I had to get upstairs, then I was off.
I only felt okay leaving her because Chris was here. He’d look after her until I was done.
“Alright,” Iron said starting the meeting the moment my ass hit the chair. “That was…some shit, that’s for sure.”
I think all of us would have agreed.
“I want to believe him. I don’t think he’d kill and then not only bring evidence, but show pictures of what he’d done if he didn’t mean all that. So I’m going to trust him but I don’t want us to walk away thinking everything is over. Got me? And not to mention, we still don’t know if Detective Mullins is watching us. I’m gonna assume that he is, he didn’t seem like one to let go so easily. Pain in my fuckin’ ass.”
“Should we get Cable to put security on his place, watch him and all?” Knight suggested.
“Might not be a bad idea. Maybe see if we can bug his phone. I’m not sure how smart he is, or paranoid, but I don’t want him to find out we’re watching him.” Iron paused for a moment, thinking. “If I find out he tries to pull anything like he did before, I won’t be so forgiving the next time we pay him a visit.”
I may have felt sorry for what the man had gone through, but that didn’t mean that I liked him. Far from it. Especially if he was going to cause more trouble for the club. He was definitely a hard-ass. Stupid as fuck, too, because Iron was not someone I would ever want to have on my bad side. The man may have appeared cool on the outside most of the time, but sometimes I got a glimpse of the darkness in his eyes. He took his position seriously, he cared for each and every one of us, and I wouldn’t doubt for a second that he would go all killer if someone came after us.
“Now, about this Cami thing,” Iron said knowing full well about everything that was going on, from the threat that her parents tossed at her, to the fact that she’d and her sister had pretty much been disowned by them.
I was a smart enough man to know better than to keep things from my prez, no matter how small something seemed. The threat, I wasn’t scared of, I had a feeling her mother was just throwing around weight trying to come out on top. I’d known women like her before. High and mighty types that couldn’t stand it when they didn’t get their way or someone tried to knock them back a peg or two. And that was what Cami had done, she broke out of her obedient shell and stood up for herself. Personally, I was proud of her and I’d stand by her through anything.
Iron being the cautious man he was, didn’t take the threat lightly, or if he did, he didn’t completely sweep it under the rug. He kept it in the back of his mind and an open ear to the ground.
“I think they are more worried about cleaning up the mess that Cami’s older sister is in right now,” I said as delicately as I could. I liked Laurel, and I felt really bad about what she was going through.
“Laurel, right?” I gave Iron a not of confirmation. “Yeah, that’s a shit show for sure.”
“You want us to pay a visit to the parents? Maybe make them piss themselves a little, let them know they shouldn’t fuck with us?” B-ry asked, his face a mask of stone.
“No, not just yet. Let’s wait and see if they make the first move. I’d rather not push them if they’ve let it go. And Brand, you and Cami should lay low until the local press move on to something else.”
Another nod from me letting him know I understood. Truth was, we had been trying our best to stay hidden. Cami didn’t want to be part of the chaos that surrounded Laurel and she didn’t want to drag me or the club into it either. This meant she didn’t see Laurel as much as she wanted to, but then again it could also have to do with the fact that Laurel had been distant as well.
“Next,” Iron went on. I could tell he wanted to make this as quick as possible but at the same time be thorough. “I want to fix things with the Russians and Irish. I’m going to start things back up again, I’m sure the next month is going to be a bit heavy run-wise. Got one coming for Moon Hill next week. I want Brand, B-ry, Knight, Charming, and Tripp on this one. Knight, you’ll be in charge, and you can pick a prospect to take with you. B-ry, we’ll grab a couple of guys and head out tomorrow to clean up this mess with the Russians and Irish. Anyone got anything else to add?”
No one made a move to say anything. With that, he let us go.
I found Cami in our room. Yes, ours, because that was how I saw it. I know we hadn’t said anything to make it official but I was afraid to say something and have her get spooked. Or, you know, realize that this was pretty much her home now and in that, see that maybe it wasn’t everything she’d always wanted. Yeah, I needed to fix a few things in my life, and soon.
Chris and Cami were sitting on the bed, watching reruns of some old comedy show. When he saw me, he gave Cami a quick kiss on the head and stood.
“I’m good to head out?” he asked, the look in his eyes telling me all he needed to know was that shit was safe.
“You’re good. Thanks, man.” We did the hug, back-clap thing and then he was out the door.
“You okay?” Cami asked, her eyes shining with concern.
“Yes, beautiful,” I said then kissed the hell out of her. My heart warmed as I gave in and did the only thing I’d wanted to do for the last hour. I held her and got lost in her mouth on mine.
I was torn as she clawed at my shirt. I knew I should talk to her, tell her about the run at least. She needed to know I’d be gone for a few days next week. And my head was screaming at me to pull away and open my mouth, but parts of my body were currently throbbing with need.
“Wait,” I said using every ounce of my will to pull myself away from her. “I’ve got to tell you that I have a run for the club coming up next week. We are heading up to Moon Hill. I will probably be gone three days taking care of stuff.”
I didn’t say what kind of stuff because I knew she didn’t want to know, and even if she did, I couldn’t share club business with her. So I talked about it as vaguely as I could and tried to reassure her that I’d be fine. I could see the questions in her eyes, the ones she wouldn’t ask, but it was just human nature to want to know.
While I could tell she was hesitant, and who would expect her to be strong all the time, she told me she understood. It was clear she was worried for me. I could only imagine what she was thinking. But I assured her that I wasn’t a bit worried about it. The honesty I held in my voice seemed to set her at ease. Which was good because, like the conversation never happened, she picked up where we’d left off.
I had no doubt that I loved this woman more than I loved life. She was perfect for me.
Sometimes she was awkward. Sometimes she was a little different. Sometimes she seemed lost in her head. But not only did I understand all of that, I found it charming and adorable as well. She lit up my life when I didn’t even know it had been dimmed. I wasn’t going to take that for granted or abuse it, ever. Hell, I knew what kind of lucky fucker I was and you could bet your sweet ass I was going to give this woman any and everything she ever wanted just because I was so damn grateful.