Lynch leans forward, steepling his fingers against his lips as he thinks. “I need him there.”
“You said you would never hold someone back just because they were an asset where they were,” Smalls reminds him, shocking everyone at the table since the man hardly ever speaks. “The kid actually emailed a fucking resume.”
Uneasy chuckles fill the room. It’s funny that anyone would do such a thing, but the tension still lingers from what happened last night.
Lynch nods before looking back at Boston. “Offer him another five percent.”
I know better than to speak up even though he just gave Parker an additional ten percent of the Detroit cut two days ago.
“If he still wants to join us, tell him he has to find and train his replacement before we’ll even consider it. Anything else?”
Lynch looks around the table, excusing everyone when no one speaks up. I stick close, just like I’ve done since he took over the gavel, even though every molecule in my body is urging me to make my way out with the rest of the guys.
“Want to tell me what’s really going on?”
“Huh?” Playing dumb has never been my style, and as much as I want to tell him everything, I know it’ll only damage our friendship more. Only in a perfect world would declaring my love for Molly end in a bro-hug and a simple threat to treat her right.
Our world is nowhere near perfect. Most days we’re just lucky to be alive, and as Lynch glares at me from the head of the table, I wonder just how many more days I’ve got left.
“TJ tells me Molly quit her job.”
Here we fucking go.
“What’s going on with her and the vet?” he asks when I don’t respond to his non-question like he expects me to.
“I think that’s over.”
“Did he hurt her?”
My blood boils, jaw clenching several times before I answer. “No.”
“I think I’m going to get Zoe to help her find a boyfriend,” he says almost absently, and I’m grateful that he’s pulled his eyes from me to look down at his phone. “I need to get her away from the clubhouse. The last fucking thing I need right now is her ending up with some fucking biker. Ronan told me that the new prospect behind the bar has been chomping at the fucking bit to get to her.”
“I’ll take care of it,” I assure him as I stand so abruptly the chair scrapes on the concrete floor.
“You’ll leave him alone. We can’t go around killing every fucking guy whose dick thinks about taking her for a ride.”
My nails dig into the already scarred tabletop.
“I need her out of this fucking place. Maybe someplace overseas,” he says absently as he continues to look at something on his phone.
“Where we can’t protect her?” I seethe. “She’s safest here.”
Now his eyes lift to mine. “Really? You’re so fucking distracted with something, you can’t even be bothered to think when a simple request comes across your phone, but you want me to think she’s protected?”
My lip twitches with the need to tell him she’s more protected than anyone else at this clubhouse, especially when she’s with me.
“We couldn’t even protect that fucking girl last night.” He stands, pounding his fist on the fucking table so hard his phone jumps from the vibration. “A woman got hurt here! I won’t fucking allow it to happen to my sister!”
“Molly is safe,” I vow, not even bothering to pull my eyes from him. Shit will come to blows right here and right fucking now before he sends her away. “And she isn’t fucking going anywhere.”
His eyes narrow with my challenge, but I make it out of the room and out the front door of the clubhouse without getting shot in the back. As I climb on my bike, I wonder if I’ll even be welcome if I return.Chapter 33Molly
Just like the first five times today, I ignore the knock on my bedroom door.
This time, whoever it is, doesn’t just walk away, and I turn to glare when my door is pushed open.
“Leave me alone,” I grumble when Zoe sticks her head in the crack.
“You’ve been up here alone all damn day. Care to tell me what’s eating you?”
Without being invited, she steps inside my room before closing the door behind her and joins me on my bed.
“What happened last night?”
“You know I don’t know.”
“You didn’t ask Lynch?”
“He told me it was club business, and wouldn’t say more, but whatever it is, it’s big. He was pissed. Like really pissed.” She sighs and leans back against my pillows. “Then he was really weird this morning when he got back from church. He told me I needed to find you a guy or—”
She stops, mouth clamped shut.
“Or what?” She doesn’t answer. “Tell me.”
“He mentioned sending you away. He said there was too much shit going down, and you weren’t safe here.”