BRANDON
Carter sat at the head of his table rambling about an upcoming drop. It was to be a big one, twice the load than we’ve done before. I wasn't even listening. In my head played images of ripping his fucking throat out. How many times, I wondered, had that fat prick snuck his way into Hannah’s room?
I had kept my temper while she told me everything she needed to tell me, because I didn't want to scare her, but my blood boiled. Watching that asshole laugh and make merry as he went about usual business made me want to puke on his fucking table. Shark had finally shown up and kept nudging me to bring my mind back to business at hand. If he knew what I knew, would he have sat so idly by?
“The pickup is fifteen miles south, closer to the border controls than I like, but doable…”
Hannah was right. If I offered to pay off her debt, Carter would be suspicious. It wouldn’t be a fair deal and he’d probably take insult to it. He seemed to have some weird obsession with her. Even if he ok’d the buy, what the fuck would I do with her then? She had nowhere to go; she’d need somewhere. The clubhouse seemed an obvious place. She could stay with me, get a job, and go to school. Hell, we could get a place outside the clubhouse. Buy a house.
“Brandon, you and Bear there will meet up with my guys at the drop point.”
“Shark.” Shark corrected him.
“Bear, Shark, whatever.” Carter laughed. “Same shit. You two meet up with my guys, the four of you will finish the ride up to San Marcos and make the handoff.”
“Why the second pick up? The four of us should go down for the pickup and head straight. No stops.” I pointed out.
“Too long of a haul. Need to break it up,” Carter said with a sideways grin. He gave off the vibe that he wasn’t giving us the full plan. I looked to Shark, who was shaking his head.
“Not that long of a haul. We’ll be there for the initial pick up.” He jammed his finger into the table. “Last thing we need is to keep pulling off the highway with that shit in the truck. One shot straight through.”
“I’m telling you how this is gonna run. Not The other way around.” Carter’s voice hardened. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hannah walking around the bar.
A patched member stopped her and began chatting her up. The conversation seemed casual enough; he stepped back as she talked. I turned back to Shark. “We’ll run it by Nathan. If he’s not okay with it, we’ll be back to hash out a new plan.”
“Fine. You do that.” Carter smiled like we’d just given him some gift. Fallen into a trap?
I looked back over at Hannah. The guy was closer, touching her arm with his fingertips. She shook her head, but he pointed over her shoulder. Her shoulders sagged and she nodded. Defeated. My fists clenched instinctively.
Shark kicked me under the table, bringing my attention back to the room. I scooted my chair back, folding my hands behind my head trying to give a causal appearance while getting a better look at what was unfolding outside the room. Carter continued to ramble on about the drop–a simple endeavor that he was trying to fuck up with all of his relay shit. From the corner of my eye, I saw the asshole grab Hannah and pull her back toward the main hallway. The hallway that led to her bedroom.
My hands fisted again, my muscles clenched. I couldn't do a fucking thing. If I barreled into her room, I’d be putting her and myself in danger. My club would lose the alliance and the deal with the cartel. Instead, I sat in the room listening to Carter's bullshit.
Once he was finally done, I jumped up from my seat and stalked out into the lounge. She wasn’t there. Carly was though and she saw me right away. “Brandon.” She called after me as I walked toward the hall. “Brandon!” Her voice carried, but I ignored her.
When I got to Hannah’s room, I took a deep breath. Just as I gripped the handle, Carter called me. “Hey, Brandon.” I turned and he stood in the entrance way with two beers in his hands. “Come have a beer. She’s got a customer. You’ll have the second round.” He waved me over with the bottle.
Before I managed to come up with an excuse or to act, the door flew open and the asshole I’d seen before glared at me. I moved out of his way as he stalked out of the room, eyes wild and his face red with anger. Carter noticed it, too, and asked him what the fuck happened.
“Bitch got her period.” I heard him growl and almost burst out laughing.
Carter did laugh and slapped the guy on the back. “Not your thing, huh?”
Hannah got up from where she sat on her bed. A knowing smile on her face as she walked to the opened door. She gave me a quick wink and pushed the door closed. If Carter hadn’t been right there, I would have gone in anyway. But he called me again. There’d be plenty of time to finish our conversation later. And we would be finishing the conversation.