Page 27 of Carver
“Maybe he needs it,” Slayer said cautiously.
“What do you mean?”
Slayer put his hands on his hips. “Look at it this way… You’re never going to hurt him. It’s not in you. If anything, you’ll make sure he’s safer than ever. It might do him well to see what having a caring person around is like. Plus, you know none of us would go against you on this. We trust you to know what’s best for everyone.”
“But that’s just it.” Carver groaned. He let his guard down with the other men for a moment as he admitted, “My chest hurts when I think about what he’s been through. I want to bring every one of those fuckers back from the dead so I can torture them.”
Slayer grinned and Trix tilted his head. It reminded him of the boy’s movements, which only furthered the ache inside him.
Slash was the one to speak up. “It sounds like the decision to keep him here is already made. I think there is more at play here than any of us understand.”
“What do you mean? What else could there be?” Carver felt frantic. His mind and body weren’t acting right. It was beyond frustrating.
He hated not being in control.
“I think he’s trying to say there might be other emotions involved,” Fury said, speaking up for the first time. “We aren’t going to try to make sense of it right now. The only thing we need to worry about is whether or not he has everything he needs. Physical needs like food, clothing, and shelter. Once he has that, we work on the emotions.”
Carver sighed. “Ok. I can do that.”
Having a plan soothed him. Fury knew him well enough to understand this. Carver was thankful he’d stepped in. He’d been seconds away from flipping his desk with the way his turbulent emotions were.
“Let’s go over club business now. I think we’ve covered everything we can about our newest guest,” Carver announced.
Trix settled into one of the chairs across from the desk as Fury moved to the door. “Should I go relieve Hex so he can be here?”
“That would be great, yes.”
At Carver’s instruction, the other man left the office. Slash and Slayer posted up on the walls, arms crossed, and shoulders pressed into the sheetrock. They were twin images across the space from each other. It made Carver crack a genuine smile at the group.
“First things first, Royce reported things are good with everyone we sent. I got a text from them last night with further confirmation all was well. Now we need to decide what comes after this. We’d been researching that operation for a long ass time. I don’t know what else is in the pipeline.”
Carver looked to Trix for the answer to his question. As the tech guru, he kept his ear to the ground on any and all problematic people. If they were close enough for the Angels to handle, they did so. If it was a bigger issue outside of their territory, then they gathered the evidence and sent it to some friends. On rare occasions, they’d build a case and drop the files to someone in law enforcement.
Trix leaned back in the chair in the way that said only two of the legs remained on the ground. He smirked and shook his head. “There’s nothing in the pipeline, Boss. It’s all quiet right now. Since the Gilded Ones incident took priority, I handed off all other projects. For the first time we’re all clear.”
Slayer chuckled at the news. “Except for the fact that we have a new visitor and probies to keep track of. What the hell will everyone do without a project to keep up with?”
“I think Trix means there isn’t anything involving violence. We can always volunteer and shit. We can offer protection to people who can’t afford it and even do those visits to nursing homes like we used to. That shit was fun as hell.”
Slash’s suggestion reminded Carver of the last time they all took a trip to the local care facility nearby. The staff was hesitant at first, but Hex charmed them as usual. By the time they left, it was to a happy group asking when they’d be back.
How long had that been?Since Carver couldn’t answer off the top of his head, he knew the answer was far too long for his liking.
“Good idea, Slash. Let’s get a list together of places to hit up. Trix can create a schedule and signup sheet or some shit. Whatever it takes to give the men something to work on.”
“A few of them have businesses to check on too,” Slayer added. “Like construction and automotive stuff. I know they have managers handling it all, but maybe it would be good to let some of them go work on that too.”
Carver waved his hand around. “I agree. Give them the green light to move around on a regular zero-threat level. We don’t let people on the grounds, yet we’re not saying Angels aren’t free to come and go as they like.”
Hex slipped into the room as Carver spoke the words. His brows rose. “Sounds like I missed a lot. Sorry it took so long. Fury wanted to talk for a second.”
“What did he want to talk about? Did something happen? Dammit, you were supposed to call me!”
“Easy, Boss. It wasn’t like that,” Hex replied, his tone soft. “Fury wanted to make sure I wasn’t too flirty with him or anything. He said we shouldn’t be mean or anything, but tonot be the complete opposite either. We need to make him comfortable with a baseline rather than swinging to extremes.”
Carver settled back in his chair as he forced himself to calm down. He’d gotten far too worked up over an assumption. What the fuck was wrong with him?
Hex’s snort made him realize he’d asked the last bit out loud. “I think maybe you’ll figure it out with time, yeah? Now then, can someone tell me what decisions were made.”