The prison guard walked Chief to the table in the all-white visiting room. He shuffled his chained feet and took the plastic chair pulled out for him. Holding his handcuffed arms in front of him, he waited until the guard locked him into the metal table and stepped away before raising his gaze to his visitor.

"Keeffe, it's good to see you," he said, keeping his voice low.

"You called. I came." Keeffe braced his forearms on the edge of the table to keep from leaning forward, crossing the halfway barrier that would get a guard's attention. "How are the others?"

"Surviving. Jett's staying strong from what I hear. They've separated us onto different blocks, but I do see Leetch and Graham when I'm allowed to go out in the yard. Make sure you tell their women, they're doing fine. " Chief fisted his hands, needing the information he wanted. "How is she?"

Keeffe looked away. Chief pulled against the chain holding him in place. The last six months, away from Johanna, threatened to sink him into a depression. It wasn't living behind bars that tested his strength. He could still run Brikken from a prison cell.

The reports he received about Johanna worried him. She'd cut herself off from her friends, stayed away from the clubhouse, and rebelled against him by keeping her job.

"She's pissed, Chief. None of us can ask her a damn thing without her getting upset and storming into another room. We've all tried to get her to come to the clubhouse. Olin and Thorn even threatened to haul her ass over, but she caused a scene at work when they confronted her." Keeffe looked at him. "She's still working at the coffee house."

"Keep after her." His head pounded. "She's staying at the house though?"

Keeffe nodded. "We rotate two men to ride security through the night. The days she's working, we all take turns stopping in and getting coffee. She knows what we're doing."

"Good." He cleared his throat. "Good."

"Look, Chief, she wants to see you. Practically knocked my motorcycle over in her anger to make me take her every time she hears I'm coming in on visitation day." Keeffe ran his hand over his jaw. "She's forty minutes away from the prison. It's killing her."

If he allowed her to come, she'd rely on him, and his absence in her life would be harder to accept. By herself, she'd continue hurting for a while, but eventually, she'd come to accept the situation. The same way his mother had accepted Rollo's life and came out stronger.

"I don't want her in here." His throat spasmed. "Does she still have weekends off work?"

"Yeah."

"Tell her I'll call on Saturdays and to accept the charges. You'll need to explain to her about the time limit they put on outgoing calls and what not to say over the phone." He exhaled loudly. "I'll try and get back in line for the phones afterward, but they put a thirty-minute wait between calls—it's almost impossible. That means my chance at communicating with you could be compromised. If you don't hear from me, expect a call on Thursdays, and I'll get your update on club business then. If I miss my fucking chance, I'll see if Leetch and Graham can make the call, so at least one of us is communicating with everyone each week."

"That'll work." Keeffe paused. "She'll be happy to hear that, Chief."

Saturday couldn't get here fast enough. If he thought it would help her to come see him during visitations, she'd be sitting across from him now. But, it wasn't going to do anything for her except make the time apart harder. He had to keep his cool in here.

His lawyer pressured him to toe the line while he worked on getting an early release. Instead of serving forty-eight months, he could get forty and probation. It sounded like a shit deal at the moment, but in three and a half years it would mean a big fucking deal.

"Do you need anything while I'm here?" asked Keeffe.

Johanna. He shrugged any concern about him away. "I've got enough money in my JPay account to get what I need in the commissary."

"Five minutes left to visit with the prisoners," announced the guard.

The tension in the other dozen prisoners and their visiting loved ones filled the room. Chief leaned his weight on his forearms. He hadn't been in prison since he was twenty-five years old and spent eighteen months behind bars for aggravated assault.

He understood what would happen to him next and the direction he'd need to move to make sure he and his men on the inside stayed safe. Members of other motorcycle clubs and gangs would start trying to divide the Brikken members onto sides.

They would not be separated.

His refusal would cause fighting and threats. He'd need to watch his back and those of his MC brothers. Most of all, he had to protect his son. He used his reputation to keep him safe, so far. But there would always be some dumb son of a bitch who believed taking out the son would get to him. He wouldn't let that happen.

Luckily, at the moment, he had a cell to himself. The authorities were trying to keep his influence away from the others.

A position he preferred.

"Push Johanna to take care of the women of Brikken." He shifted, and the chain hooking one ankle to the other pulled tight. "Tell the women that they need to look to her for support. She needs to step up as my woman and keep the women in line."

"She's young, Chief."

"She's seen how Brikken works practically her whole life. She can handle it. It'll give her something to believe in while I'm away." He lowered his voice. "Don't let down your guard, Keeffe. Komoon fucked us over. I want to know who is responsible for me sitting here."

Keeffe nodded.

"Wait two weeks and start up again. We've talked about what I want to happen if Komoon is taken out of the equation." He glanced at the clock. "I want to make them hurt."

"It'll put a target on your back." Keeffe blew out his cheeks. "They have too many connections here that are in contact with the incarcerated members down south."

"That's what I’m counting on." He dipped his chin. "Make sure Johanna answers my call on Saturday."

"Got it."

"Visiting time is over. Family and friends must stand up from the tables and line up at the door," announced the guard.

"Be safe, Chief," mumbled Keeffe.

"I plan on it. Make sure you keep my girl safe." He watched the crowd in the room dwindle down to the dozen prisoners chained to the tables.

He made eye contact, challenging anyone to start shit with him. Saturday would come in three days, and right now, the only thing that mattered was that he made it to the line waiting to make a phone call.