“Hey man, when you’re rolling with guys who are stacked and bad ass you have to step up. I got sick of being called the runt.”
“For sure they ain’t saying that now,” Echo drawls.
“Now you got a big little brother,” Shadow taunts.
“Fuck y’all.” Echo flips us off.
We all snicker.
“Alright, it looks like everyone is here. I want us all in Church,” Stone barks.
We all travel to the room like a herd of cattle. Its standing room only, which tells me he called in our local members.
“We know that one of our Old Ladies has an unfortunate lineage. But we never held it against her. Now this parasite is trying to come back and exploit her again. She and her family left him, and everything they knew behind over twenty years ago to start a new life. So, seeing him expose them so callously don’t’ sit right with me. Normally, I’d say we go in there and remind him of why it’s a bad idea to run his mouth about us. But in this case, there are toes I don’t want to step on. So while the right to handle this motherfucker should go to you…Skull. I’m going to have to ask you to forfeit.”
“The hell, Pres?”
“We’re going to call on Hell’s Dominion and see if they want first crack. That keeps our hands clean and them from feeling slighted. We don’t want to butt heads with them over this petty motherfucker.”
I ball my fists. Everything he says is on point. My need for revenge isn’t worth what could be a war. “It’s all what’s best for the club, Pres.”
“Good man. What’s your Old Lady say about it?” Stone asks.
“Not much. She’s hitting up her mom and sister this morning to see why he climbed out of the hole he’s been hiding in. Her mom is pissed we’re together.” I look at Stone. The baby news hasn’t come out yet. I want to keep it that way a while longer.
He nods to show me he understands.
“So what you plan on doing?” our VP, Scratch asks.
“I’m going to reach out to them, extend some southern hospitality and see what comes of it,” Stone explains. “If they give me the go ahead, we’ll proceed our way. If not, we’re going to get out shit ready for them to come through. I know for a fact they were pissed he slipped through their fingers. With all eyes on the beef, they never felt comfortable going for him again. It’d be too obvious. By now, he’s pissed off quite a few people over the years.”
“So it could be anyone,” Scratch concludes.
“Exactly. Before I reach out, I wanted to run this by everyone. It’s not a vote. I’m just getting a feel of the general consensus. All for contacting HD, say aye.”
“Aye,” a vast majority states.
“Against it, nay.”
“Nay,” a few call out.
“The Aye’s have it, so we’re all on board anyways. I’ll make calls. I want people keeping an eye out for Ruthie at all times. If he so much as says hi to her, I want to know. I want to try to keep this from the press. He was vague in the article, but someone doing their work could figure it out.” Stone looks over at me. “You got some place else you could post up until this blows over, just in case?”
I think about my grandparents’ home. “Yeah, I do.”
“Might want to take her there for a while,” Stone suggests.
I nod my head. “I can do that.” She likes the place. I might even get her to go without too much fuss.
“We all need to be vigilant,” Scratch advises. “The media and M.C.’s ain’t never been a good combination. Watch who you talk to, what you do, and who’s around.”
“That’s an understatement,” Stone says with a snort. “Listen up, this club’s been in the trenches recently, but we survived. We’re a stronger club, free of the elements that were rotting us from the inside out. I been thinking of taking on some prospects. So, keep your eyes and ears open. We need some fresh blood and reasons to celebrate again. I’ve had enough of this dark shit to last me a lifetime. We need to move on from the shit that happened.”
His words are permission to put Mouth’s betrayal and the fucked up by-laws behind us. We have a vision for the future we’re trying to put into effect. To create a place where the only thing a man is judged by is his merit, loyalty, and willingness to put the club above all. It’s hard enough these days to find those qualities without worrying about skin pigment.
I’ve always been proud to wear this cut and fly these colors. But in this moment…that feeling doubles.
Stone swings his eagle eyed gaze over all of us. “I know it’s early and for some of you, the night hasn’t ended yet. So, I’m dismissing you with another warning to be cautious and crafty. We’ve held up over time because we’re smart. It’s better to be quick and cunning than to use brute strength. If you see anything that doesn’t look or feel right, me and Scratch want to know about it immediately. Now get your asses out of here and get some rest.”