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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Declan

Gabe agreed to the terms of Parisi’s deal and sent him on his way so the club could discuss our next move. Church was suspended while we all escort Parisi and his men through the clubhouse.

Vincenzo stops next to Violet and whispers to her. I watched from the sanctuary doors. She doesn’t seem uncomfortable, and I figure she needs to hear about her friend. The chances of Vincenzo saying anything discussed in church are slim to none. He won’t risk Violet going off half-cocked to rescue her friend again in the dark.

Matteo walks over to Sadie, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and kissing her on the forehead. It’s an almost brotherly gesture. She leans into his hug and smiles sweetly up at him. Something doesn’t feel right about it, and I’m not the only one who thinks so because Hawk has stormed across the room and stopped right in front of them looking pissed as hell.

“Shit.” Jake takes off after Hawk. “I don’t want to have to fight that big Italian bastard tonight.” I chuckle but follow behind him.

“The fuck is this?” Hawk asks between gritted teeth. “Since when did you two become so close?”

Sadie’s eyes are full of fire and challenge. “What business is it of yours? I’m nobody’s ol’ lady. I’m too out of control and stubborn. Isn’t that what you told the prospect?”

Hawk flinches at her using his own words against him, but it doesn’t stop him from being an ass. “And you think fucking a foot soldier is the next best thing? Is that it?”

Matteo looks amused at their argument. “A foot soldier would be a step down for Miss Jenkins. You’re right. He would be similar to your prospect. Low man on the totem pole, so to speak,” Matteo explains smoothly. “However, I’m what you would call the underboss. It would be the equivalent to what your club calls a VP. Therefore, yes, I am the next best thing. If Sadie were my woman, she would be treated as royalty. But she’s right. The choice is hers.”

Hawk takes a step forward, but Jake is there to pull him back. “Don’t you fucking dare. I know you’re pissed about your dad, but starting a fucking war in the clubhouse isn’t the way to go about making yourself feel better.”

Sadie’s face is filled with concern as she looks between Hawk and Jake, then back up to Matteo. He gives her a subtle shake of his head, and Sadie quickly drops her chin, squeezing her eyes shut.

What the hell is that about?

Matteo kisses Sadie’s forehead once more. “I’ll reach out later, Dolcezza. Answer your phone.” Sadie nods, but her eyes are now locked on Hawk, who is headed toward the bar shouting at the prospect to pour him a double shot of whiskey.

Violet sidles up to Sadie, offering her a side hug. “You look like you could use a hug.” Sadie accepts the comfort.

“How’d you know?” she asks.

Violet shrugs. “I’m a mom. It’s one of our superpowers.”

“I wouldn’t know. Mine’s certifiably insane.” The way Sadie says it, you’d think she just told Violet the color of her car. Expressionless face, emotionless tone. It’s just a fact.

“I thought I was the only one Matteo called Dolcezza. It doesn’t feel so special now. No offense,” she tells Sadie, who gives a half smile in response.

“I think it’s his endearment for females he cares about, but it’s a brotherly type of endearment for him. Like how the guys in the club call us all sweetheart,” Sadie explains. “They reserve their special nicknames for their ol’ ladies. The rest of us are sweetheart or babe.” She shrugs.

“Yeah, it took me a minute to get used to hearing Jake call Avery Angel,” Violet admits.

“Really? Why?” Sadie questions.

“Angel is a code name—” Violet catches herself and changes the subject. “I think those drinks are catching up to me. Do you know if there’s a sandwich or something around here I can eat?”

Sadie chuckles. “Nice save. And yeah, I’ll go see if there’s anything in the kitchen. Be right back.”

Violet finds her way to me, looking sheepish. I wrap my arms around her and plant a kiss on her pouty lips. “You almost dug a hole there, huh?”

Violet bites her bottom lip. “It’s their fault.” She points at Skyler and Avery sitting over on the couch. “They gave me some slushy thingy.”

“Taming of the Shrew?”

“That’s it,” she says, her face scrunched. “It’s really good and sneaks up on you. Holy crap.”

“Good to know,” I tease.

“I need the officers back in church,” Gabe calls out to the room. “Let’s get this shit over with.”

“Gotta go, baby.” I kiss her one more time. “I’ll come get you when we’re done. Or you can ask one of the girls to take you up to my room. We’ll be staying here tonight.”

“What about Carter?”

I look down at my watch and see it’s past dinnertime for the kid. “Liz probably already took him back up to the house to feed him and let him get ready for bed. He’ll be fine with them for one more night. We can pick him up in the morning.”

“Yeah, okay,” she says reluctantly.

Leaning close to her ear, I nip her lobe and whisper, “It also means I get you all to myself again tonight, and I have plans to strip you down and eat that pretty pussy of yours until you scream my name loud enough for the whole clubhouse to hear.” She shivers in my arms, and I smile against her neck. “See you soon, baby.”

The guys all pile back into the sanctuary. Everyone’s already taken their seats, and I’m the last one in. I close the door. When I turn to take my seat, I’m thrown back by a fist to the face.

“What the fuck?” A second punch hits me in the gut. I’m about to throw back when it becomes clear who’s doing the punching, and I don’t have a fucking death wish.

“You ever try to tell me how to run this club, I’ll put a bullet in your ass and rip that cut off your back,” Gabe growls, standing so damn close I can smell the whiskey on his breath. “I’ll be goddamned if I let anyone come up into my club, disrespect me or my men, and make fucking demands.” He turns, addressing the room. “Any of you fuckers have a problem with that then drop your cut at the door on your way out.”

“All good, Pres.”

“No issue here.”

“Agree, Pres.”

We all answer, talking over each other.

“Now that we’ve got that shit cleared up.” He moves to take his seat at the head of the table. “You’re right,” he says, looking at me. “We shouldn’t be pulling our guns on each other around the women. Now,” He raises a hand, pausing the chatter among the men. “There are stipulations in which I will say, if some fucker comes in here looking to hurt our people or fuck shit up—shoot first and apologize to the ladies later. But, if it’s a pissing contest, as Declan put it, we should be more mindful of the girls and the kids and where they are in the clubhouse.”

“No disrespect was intended, Pres. I know there could be times we won’t have a choice but to raise our weapons, but Vincenzo just likes to talk shit and get a rise out of everyone,” I state. “I don’t believe he would do anything that would harm the women or children. It goes against his personal code. Maybe we just try not to piss each other off enough to need to pull the guns, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Gabe grumbles. “My daughter said the same shit when I walked out to the bar, in not so many words.”

“I believe her words were, Are you fucking kidding me? I’ve already been shot by one mafia asshole. Let’s not make it two,” Caleb supplies, laughing. “Girl’s got a point.”

“She’s still getting used to shooting her own gun,” Jake says. “After taking a bullet, she wanted to be better prepared, but sometimes it brings the nightmares back. We’re working through it.”

The chatter slows, and Gabe addresses the elephant in the room. “What do you all think about what Parisi had to say?” he asks, opening the floor for discussion.

“We need to get someone into Baron’s Edge to get us intel on the Devil’s Order. They have to have a clubhouse or someplace they’re holed up,” Mack suggests. “But who are we going to send?”

My hand goes up. “I have a suggestion that won’t cost us any men.”

“I’m listening,” Gabe replies.

“Let me reach out to Trident. Kayce’s crew has already been working on locating the bastards who attacked the doctor. Maybe he’s got something we can use. I don’t want to lose men to a witch hunt. Especially with my woman having a possible stalker and a psycho ass husband on the loose.”

“What do you think our chances are of catching that son of a bitch?” Caleb asks.

“I’m not sure.” I look up and see Hawk nursing a glass of whiskey. He looks like he’s checked out of the conversation. “Hawk.”

“Hm?”

“You think you can do some digging on the cop? Maybe find a way to track his location. A way to alert us if he comes anywhere near Oakridge?” I’d much rather go to his town, search him out, and end his sorry fucking life, but I can’t leave Violet or the kid.

“Yeah. It should be easy enough. I’ll get on it when we’re done here.” He doesn’t look up from his glass. His laptop is laying closed on the table beside him.

“How are you doing with what Parisi said about your dad, Hawk? You going to be okay with him being brought here to the basement to pay for his sins?” Gabe asks. We’re all keeping a close watch on Hawk. He’s been deadly silent since Matteo and Sadie jumped his shit for being all up in her business. As usual. Between that and the mention of his father still being alive and fucking around somewhere, he’s not himself.

Hawk shrugs, downing the last of his drink and setting the glass down on the table with a loud thud. “As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have a father. We share a name and DNA, but he wasn’t a father. He was just some asshole who cheated on my ma, and then beat the shit out of us to help ease his guilt.” He lets out a long, deep breath. “If he comes here, the only thing I ask is that you let me kill him.”

Gabe rubs his scruff, nodding. “All right. But if at any time this becomes too much for you to handle, you come to me. I mean it, damn it. We don’t need any more gunshot wounds, or worse, funerals. That goes for all of you. Let’s all try to keep a level head with this shit.”

“I want everyone patrolling town in groups of two. Declan, you’re taking Violet wherever she needs to go. The kid too. I don’t want her driving anywhere alone, and not in her car. Take it to the shop and I’ll put it into the computer as a customer vehicle.” He turns to Hawk again.

“I need you to find a way to track Swanson, and I want to know what Parisi is up to. Find a way to access his cameras somehow. I need to know what he’s really up to.”

“You think he’s fucking with us?” Jameson asks.

“Not necessarily, but I do believe he’s sending us on an errand that if it should go to shit, he will cut all ties linking him to the club. He’s about his own agenda. Nothing wrong with it, so long as it doesn’t fuck the club over.”

“Makes sense,” Ethan agrees. “I think Violet should come to work tomorrow and Carter definitely needs to go back to school. I know he’s only got one day left for the week, but he’s missed a few days. The school will start getting nosy soon.”

“Yeah, I’ll drop the kid off, then bring Violet into the gym after,” I agree.

“All right. What about this Trident crew and the Devils? How do you want to handle that?” Mack directs his question to me.

“I’ll reach out to Kayce. Hawk, can you and Wyatt still get into their system? Maybe see if there’s a file with information we may need? In case Kayce doesn’t want to be helpful.” Hawk nods, pulling his phone out, tapping out a message, I assume.

“Mack, prepare the basement,” Gabe says. “I want the cells reinforced. New keypad locks and a sensor on all entrances and exits. Hawk, I want the cameras and the alarms back up and running. Let’s make sure they can’t be shut off without our knowing this time, yeah?”

“On it, Pres.”

“All right. If there’s nothing else tonight.” Gabe slams the gavel. “Get the fuck out.”

We all head back out to the common area, most head to the bar. The girls are all sitting around the couches, snacking and talking.

“Yo, Candi,” Hawk calls out to the pretty little blonde club whore. She’s a sweet girl, but she doesn’t do anything for me. Candi hops up from her stool and saunters over to where Hawk’s standing. Sadie and the others are watching their exchange.

“I need to work off a little extra stress.” Hawk slaps her ass, and she giggles. “You think you can handle that for me?”

She leans into his chest, kissing his neck. “Absolutely.”

Sadie and Jayde glare daggers his way. Instead of acting on her obvious anger toward him, Sadie picks up her drink, which looks to be a Taming of the Shrew. Violet said they had already had a couple. Sadie tosses hers back, slamming the glass down and grabbing another, repeating the process again.

Hawk takes off down the hall, tossing a squealing Candi over his shoulder, and Sadie stands up with her keys in hand.

“Oh, fuck no you don’t,” Mack shouts, hustling over to take her keys. “You can walk your ass upstairs or I can drive you home, but you are not getting behind the wheel of a car buzzed on booze and pissed as fuck. Not happening.”

“Fucking fine.” She growls. “Take me home to my place, then. I’m not staying here to listen to that. Them. Whatever.” Her words are already slurring together.

“How much did she have?” I ask Violet, who is watching everything unfold with her worried-mama face. I’ve seen the same look whenever Carter gets in the ring to spar with one of us. She doesn’t stop it, but she can’t keep the worry and the fear from showing on her face.

“Uh, four, I think.”

“Since Vincenzo was here, or since he left?” I ask, surprised. Sadie doesn’t like to get wasted when she’s here. She’ll have a beer or a cocktail once in a while, but she rarely drinks enough to actually get drunk. She says it’s because she doesn’t trust us not to take advantage of her drunken state and use it to learn all her secrets. But I think she doesn’t do it because she doesn’t trust herself around Hawk.

“Since Vincenzo left. That was her third and forth.”

“Fuck. Mack,” I call to get his attention. Sadie’s already swaying next to him. “She’s going to need a bucket, some meds, and some water. That was her fourth drink in less than an hour.”

“Shit,” he hisses. “Let’s go, sweetheart. Jayde, grab your stuff. You’re going to stay with her tonight.”

“Why do I have to go? I have class in the morning,” Jayde complains.

“How much have you had to drink?” Mack questions her, watching her movements, probably gauging if she can drive.

“I had one drink over three hours ago. I’ve been drinking water since.”

“She had two. But they were both over three hours ago. She should be good. I can follow behind her if you want,” Blake tells Mack. If she had a superpower, Jayde would burn holes into the side of Blake’s head right now.

“Yeah, all right. Let’s do that. Come on, Jayde. Let’s go.”

“Fucking hell,” Jayde whines, grabbing her purse and fishing for her keys. “Asshole.” She mumbles as she passes with Blake hot on her heels.

“Is it just me, or is this place full of sexual tension?” Violet asks, not the least bit concerned about who hears her. “My god. I half expect everyone to get naked and fuck it out.”

“Nah, that only happens on Saturday nights,” Skyler teases. Violet’s eyes go wide as she turns to me.

“She’s not serious, is she?”

“Depends on the Saturday night and who’s here,” I taunt.

“Oh, fuck no. We ain’t doing that. And you better not bring my son around it, either,” she sasses. “Sadie told me about the club girls and how they walk around in near undress and suck cock like it’s a fucking competition.”

I can’t hold back my laughter. Sadie is a crack up. When it comes to the club girls, she is not a fan.

Pulling Violet into my chest, I lean down and nuzzle her neck. “How about you and me go up to my room and work off some of our own sexual tension? I’ve got a few kinks I could use your help working out.”