Listening to Harmony laugh and sing with my Brothers was music to my ears. I knew she would be perfect. She fit like she had always been here.
“Prez?”
One of the prospects, Aiken, came toward us, his face screwed up in a frown. The kid was reasonably new with only nine months in, but he was respectful, smart and thought well on his feet. We’d gotten pretty close and I could see him patching in pretty fast.
I tapped Harmony on the leg twice and she stood up, letting me get to my feet. I gave her a quick peck on the cheek. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
She nodded and took my place on the couch, I followed the prospect away from the fire. He obviously had something to say that he wasn’t sure was for the other ears. Smart boy.
I stood with my legs apart and folded my arms across my chest. “What is it?”
“I just got a call from Glow. Missy said there was a guy show up there with an entourage asking to speak to you,” he explained. Missy operated the business for us. She was gorgeous and firm, just the person you wanted running a place like Glow.
“This guy give a name?”
“Daniel Ashley. He told Missy to tell you that he would be there for another hour if you would be interested in meeting with him.”
My blood boiled and burned at my skin. Mother-fucker had the balls to smack my woman around and then come to one of the club’s business and request to meet me? The asshole was cocky, I’d give him that!
“Get on your bike. I’ll check to see who’s sober enough to ride with me.” I pointed at him with a glare. “Keep the fucker there.”
“Yes, sir.” He took off at a run and I heard his bike start behind me and roar out of the gates before I’d even made it back to the party. My Brothers watched me walk toward them, reading my face and quickly standing to attention. Harmony looked around, confused by the sudden change of atmosphere. I flicked my head, and they all moved toward me.
“Harm!” I called for her and she quickly did the same. I took her face in my hands. “I gotta take a few of the boys for a little bit. Gotta handle some shit down town.”
She nodded. “Okay.” My girl knew the score. When I say I’ve got to handle something, she knows not to argue.
I pressed a light kiss to her mouth. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
She smiled, I knew it was a little forced but a smile none the less. “Be safe.”
When she was out of earshot, I looked at all my Brothers. “Who’s sober enough to drive?” We had strict rules about drinking and driving. We’d lost too many Brothers to the road because of alcohol.
A few nodded.
“Okay, Wreck, Rifle, Loose and Candy, grab your bikes and your pieces. I’m not sure how messy this is going to get if shit turns bad.” I pointed to each of them and they quickly turned, shooting back into the clubhouse to grab their things. “The rest of you, keep a close eye on the place and my girl. I’m not sure if this is just a ploy to get me away.”
With everything sorted at the club, I knew my Brothers would lay down their lives to protect the place and safeguard Harmony, even though she hadn’t been officially patched as an Old Lady yet. I had faith in them.
We made the short ride to town, the grip on my handlebars was tight. My hands were itching to lay into this little prick.
Glow was one of the two strip joints that the club owned in the city. It was a classy place. There was a hard no drugs policy and the girls were tested monthly. It was also a very private place, tucked away in a busy part of town and inconspicuous which attracted men with money who wanted to do their dirty business away from prying eyes.
Aiken met us at the front door, leading us through the building to Missy’s office. She sat on her desk, legs crossed and anger in her eyes. Missy was gorgeous with thick black hair and golden eyes and she was young, only in her late twenties. Some would say that was too young to have her doing what she was, trusting her to keep things running, but the woman had life experiences that far exceeded her age.
“Hey, Miss.” I kissed both her cheeks and stepped back.
“Hey, Kit. Sorry to drag you down here, but this guy wasn’t taking no for an answer,” she said with venom in her words.
“He cause any trouble?”
“He propositioned a couple of my girls. Telling them he had rich men that would pay a lot of money to have them come live with them.” She scoffed. “Luckily my girls know better.”
I growled deep in my throat. Yeah, what he failed to tell them is that they weren’t the ones who would get the money and they would be dragged through hell, so men like Daniel Ashley could get a paycheck. “Where is he?”
“Meeting room down the hall. He’s got one guy in there with him, a few others are scattered around the main room watching the show.”
“Anything happens, you get the girls out quick smart,” I told her seriously.
Her eyes widened a little. “Who is this dude, Kit?”
“A guy that messed with the wrong girl.”
I turned, my Brothers stepping to the sides to let me through before falling into step behind me. Not that I was afraid to face this fuckhead on my own, but having my Brothers at my back made me feel like the world couldn’t tear me down.
My Brothers, my fucking family. They would follow me to hell and back and see it as an honor. That was Brotherhood.
I slammed open the door to the small meeting room. It flew back, crashing against the wall and giving me the first look at the man who’d been tormenting my woman. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it sure as hell wasn’t the man sitting at the end of the table.
He had on a suit, his typical attire from what I’d gathered. But he was older than I’d imagined, maybe close to fifty. Shorter too. His hair was dark brown scattered with a pinch of gray and slicked back with so much gel I bet I could snap it off, strand by strand and stab him with it. The idea wasn’t a bad one as far as I was concerned. He looked like your typical businessman, a lawyer maybe. There was a buff dude seated next to him, his head shaved and dark glasses covering his eyes like we weren’t inside a fucking building – at night.
Kerry, one of the girls was serving them drinks. Her eyes shot up at the loud bang and when she saw me she quickly fled the room. Aiken closed the door behind us and stood in front of it, his arms crossed over his chest.
I slammed my hands on the table, anger flowing freely through my veins. I knew I needed to rein it in before I let it consume me. “You’ve got balls, coming here, to my place of business.”
He smiled gently, unwearied by my anger. “Donovan Cranshaw. It’s nice to finally meet you.” He leaned back lazily in his chair. “Or should I call you, Kit?”
“You can call me freaking Tinkerbell if it tickles your fancy. Shit doesn’t matter. What matters is that you are messing with the wrong people.”
“Yes, it is unfortunate that the Brothers by Blood have a particular interest in this little issue.” He folded his hands in his lap, real proper and shit. “I was advised by my boss to come and speak with you.” I saw the disgust that flickered in his eyes as he relayed that little bit of information. It was obvious he didn’t want to approach us, but someone higher up had warned him that crossing us may not be such a good idea. Someone who obviously had more brains than he did.
“Say what you’ve gotta say, I don’t have all night. I have a woman to get home to.”
“Ah yes, and there lies the problem.” He sat forward again, resting his hands on the table and clearing his throat. “I don’t doubt you already know of the business I’m in. People who run on the wrong side of the law such as us, don’t have any issue finding out that kind of information. Unlike the idiot police and federal agencies who think they run this country.”
“Spit it out, asshole.”
He chuckled and I tightened my grip on the edge of the table, ready to pick it up and beat him bloody with it.
“Harmony Jones. It seems she is running with your club?” He gestured to us. “Unfortunately, I have a client that has a very particular interest in Miss Jones. A lot of money is involved.”
“Harmony belongs to me,” I ground out, barely able to contain my fury.
“I’m a reasonable man, Mr. Cranshaw. I’m willing to offer part of that money to you in exchange for her.”
“Like I said—”
He cut me off. “How does three million sound?”