Chapter 17

 

 

 

Banshee

 

Stomping back into Church after watching my world leave, I flop back into my chair. Glowering at Reggie who’s been unable to gain his color back after hearing the normally sweet Bellamy tell him she was going to bury his ass, I point. “You need to explain why you attached yourself to Bellamy.”

 

“Because she was security. She knew the ins and outs of what was going on with Victor. I’m lost, and she made the situation brighter. I didn’t think that they’d come after her. She should have never been on their radar.”

 

“That’s right. She shouldn’t have, but now their on her radar. I can tell you from firsthand experience that Breese’s don’t lay down and die when they are threatened. They come out fighting stronger than their enemy. I served with Bellamy in the Marines. She’s not going to slow down until every one of those motherfuckers has a matching bullet between their eyes.”

 

Brute bangs the gavel stopping my tirade. “Banshee.” He muses. “What’s she up to?”

 

Mauve interrupts. “She’s getting revenge. She’s doing what everyone else at this table would do if someone fucked with their family.”

 

“I got that.” Brute sulks. “I need the big picture.”

 

Maggie sniggers. “Holy shit! You don’t know her military background.” Brute shakes his head, and Maggie laughs. Even Mauve and Tasha are wearing smug smiles. “She was a sniper in the Marines. She would’ve probably made a career out of it if she hadn’t been hurt when an IED took out their convoy. She had accommodations out of the ying-yang, but she didn’t want them.”

 

“That doesn’t include growing up with a hick for a father who taught her everything there is to know about a slew of guns. She’s been hunting since she was able to stand in a tree stand without making a peep for hours.”

 

“And she thinks she can accomplish all of this by herself.” Brute says haughtily.

 

“She’s not alone.” Rose quips as she plucks on her laptop. “She left here with her brothers who in their own right are just as good as she is with guns. Mitchell and Travis were both Navy Seals. When Bellamy got hurt it wasn’t long after that, they came home for good. She’s their hero, and she pushed them to strive to do everything better than the person beside them. None of them needed to go in the military. They could have stayed at home and helped out on their family farm, but when Bellamy got it set in her head to join, Mitchell and Travis weren’t far behind her.”

 

“Well fuck.” Brute sighs. “I’m not comfortable with sitting back with my feet propped up and waiting.”

 

“We don’t have to.” Rose spins her laptop, and a group picture of nine men is searing my brain. “This is who we need to be on the lookout for. I’ll run facial recognition and start invading their privacy. Einstein can hack into the cameras surrounding Moe’s when the shootout took place and find out what kind of vehicles they are driving.”

 

“Where are the Chaotic’s in this?” Poison cuts in.

 

“They’re not, and I have no intention of including them. Rudy didn’t want any part of this from the very beginning, so there’s no sense in it.” Brute growls disappointedly.

 

Mauve slaps the table a couple of times and stands followed by the rest of the Pinks. “We’ll be on our way back to Canton. If we get word from Bellamy or anything on the Jackals, we’ll be in touch.”

 

Poison follows the Pinks out mumbling incoherently to Mauve who just shakes her head and quickens her steps.

 

Brute leans back in his chair and rubs his hand down his face. “Banshee, I know you’re worried about Bellamy. Why don’t you get out of here and find her?”

 

“Nope.” I shake my head vigorously. “I have no intention of stepping on her toes. If she wanted me there, she would’ve asked. I know how her brain works when it comes to a mission and I’m not about to interfere. The only reason her brothers are with her is because her daddy wouldn’t let her do it on her own without them at her back. They are tight, and when one is in pain, they all are in pain.”

 

“That shit would piss me off.” Taz puffs.

 

“I’m not mad at her for taking care of her business. If we were married or more secure in our relationship, I’d be right there. Pushing Bellamy won’t get me anywhere but with a sore dick from her knee and a cold bed. She can handle her own, and if she needs me, she’ll reach out.”

 

“Independent, stubborn ass women.” Poison comes in grumbling planting his ass back in his chair. He looks pointedly at me. “I don’t know how you handle this I don’t need you bullshit. I’m ‘bout to lock Mauve up and handcuff her to my bed, so I know for damn sure her ass isn’t in the middle of all this shit. But nooooo…she wants to sit in the front row with her movie theater popcorn and soda.”

 

I can’t help but laugh at his helpless ass. No wonder she won’t commit to his ass. He doesn’t trust her any further than he can throw her ass. “You better recognize, because you keep on flaunting your alpha-ness in front of her she’s never going to come to heel. You think I wanted Bellamy to step out on me. Hell fucking no, but I knew that if I tried to trump her, I’d lose her.”

 

“I’m not made like that. I was a fucking bastard kid with a drug-addict for a mother before Debra and Frankie took me in. Then I had a spitfire little girl telling me what to do and making sure I was taken care of. We were best friends. I’d never let anyone near her that could possibly hurt her. Then the bitch of it is she grew up to be gorgeous, headstrong and even more of a Spitfire that she could make my blood boil and cool in a matter of minutes. Now it’s like I’m in a bad version of Groundhog Day. I wake up every day to the same conclusion. Mauve will fuck me into oblivion and then squash me over and over because she doesn’t want to relinquish one ounce of control to me.”

 

“That’s what you need to fix. You need to stop wanting to control her and become her friend/partner again. She’s not gonna give you one iota of respect or any more of her trust than she’s already given you.”

 

“Hmmm. Maybe you’re right.”

 

“Ain’t no maybe about it. I’ve got my own fiercely independent woman, who struggles to give up control, but I respect the hell out of her, and I don’t want to change her.” I leave him to stew on his own.

 

I’m not blasé to this situation, but I have faith in Bellamy that if she’s in trouble that she’ll let me in. That’s all I have to hold on to…faith.