Joy (Hell's Handlers MC 7)

Well, she’d never ignore a gut feeling from him either. Who knows what the hell would have happened had he not shown up? “Remind me to ask Holly to make your gut a special treat. Think he deserves it.”

The laugh that left him had her smiling and finally letting go of the tension. Took a lot to make her man laugh. He’d seen too many of life’s horrors to be overly jovial. But every time he did it, his face relaxed and his eyes lit.

And Chloe felt victorious.

Too bad the triumph wasn’t enough to drown out the undercurrent of fear Crank brought back into her life.

CHAPTER NINE

COPPER

Copper leaned back in his chair as he studied the men seated around his table. Men who put their trust in him. This time of year, the stress of leading his club in the right direction always sat a bit heavier on his shoulders. The Christmas season was meant for families, laughter, lightness, and love. That meant the club’s businesses needed to be profitable to support the men and their loved ones. It meant they needed to stay off the cops’ radar and keep any enemies at bay. A lot of pressure for one man.

Now, should he ask, each and every patched member of his club would inform him that the job wasn’t his alone, but as president, he disagreed. It was one hundred percent his job to make sure the men were taken care of, whether that be financial assistance, by being kept out of prison, or by staying safe in general.

Call him a fucking sap, but this year, with Shell and Beth in his life in a new way, he wanted each and every day to be filled with nothing but smiles and happiness.

Now, however, a dark cloud had settled over his clubhouse, and it was unacceptable.

The men talked and laughed as they waited for him to begin the meeting. None of them seemed overly concerned by the appearance of a rival MC in town, but then, they had yet to learn what went down with Chloe just over an hour ago. After getting his woman settled in his room upstairs, a furious Rocket had burst into Copper’s office with the story. Since hearing it, Copper couldn’t rid the sour sensation from his gut. The itch at the back of his neck telling him shit was about to get fucking real, fast.

“All right,” he finally said, straightening up. He’d take care of pleasant business first, before fucking up everyone’s day. “Let’s get rolling. Gonna start with Christmas. Dinner here at three in the afternoon. Gives you the morning to spend at home. Obviously, this isn’t mandatory club business, but if you’re sticking around town, our family will be here sharing a meal on Christmas Day.”

“Fuck yeah,” said Mav, who wore a holly green shirt with a Christmas nutcracker. Across the top, in block letters, it read, Put your nuts in my mouth. “Always a damn good time.”

Copper smiled. Beth sure thought so. His little princess had each and every club member wrapped around her skinny little fingers. On Christmas, the girl made out like a bandit.

“Mamma V all set to cook?” Zach asked Viper as he rubbed his stomach. “She’s got her work cut out for her if she wants to top last year.”

The VP’s face clouded, and he shook his head. “Uh, she’s actually passed the torch this year. The rest of the ol’ ladies banded together, and all claimed parts of the meal.” As he spoke, he stared down at his hands.

Copper frowned. Mamma V hadn’t missed cooking a Christmas dinner at the clubhouse once since Copper patched in. He made a mental note to check in with Viper following the meeting. Something had been off with the guy the past few weeks. He’d been missing phone calls, flaking on simple tasks, and generally in a subdued mood. He’d barely reacted to news of Chloe’s encounter with Crank.

“Sure as hell hope Izzy didn’t end up having to make part of the meal,” Jig grumbled under his breath.

The comment had the room chuckling. Izzy was known for and excelled at many things. Cooking wasn’t one of them.

“Nah,” said Viper with the first smile Copper could recall seeing from him in ages. “Cassie ain’t stupid. She’s off the hook in case she pops anyway.”

Jig made a show of wiping his brow in relief.

“Think Beth might be getting a little MC cousin before Christmas?” Copper asked Jig.

“Fuck if I know,” he said with a snort. “About ready to pull that baby out myself, just to get my woman back.”

“She has been a little…cranky,” Mav said with a smirk.

“Don’t let her hear you say that,” Screw piped in. “I told her she was grouchy yesterday and she ’bout ripped throat out.” He shuddered. “She was intense before, she’s downright scary as fuck now.”