Page 21 of Georgie (Sons of Hell MC #10)

Josie

“Alright, everyone!”

I smirked near the back of the ballroom as the wedding planner tried to get everyone’s attention. I could have told her she’d have better luck herding a room full of cats, but she said she had everything under control. Looking around the ballroom at who all was present, I wasn’t so sure.

When no one paid her any attention, my soon-to-be new mom placed her thumb and index finger in her mouth and whistled so loudly, even the damn Yankees looked up and paid attention.

Yeah, say what you want, but a Southern woman vying for attention is no joke!

“Listen up, children.” LeeAnn glowered at everyone in the room. “If any of you mess up my wedding, there will be hell to pay. Do you hear me?”

“Isn’t this?” I vaguely heard Gunner whisper to Banks. “What, like her fifteenth wedding?”

Banks snickered.

“BOYS!” LeeAnn snapped at the two men, who both had the good grace God gave them to snap to and shut the hell up.

King chuckled, leaning close to LeeAnn. “Remind me to patch you into the club after this is all over.”

As soon as everyone calmed down, the wedding planner jumped in and took over. “It’s two weeks before the wedding and we have a lot to cover today. So let’s get started.”

Tuning everyone out, I opened my folder to go over some last-minute reservations when I noticed Devlyn slide next to me.

“This is going to be pure chaos.”

“Yep,” I agreed wholeheartedly.

“Where are the brats?”

“Granny took them for the day so they wouldn’t be underfoot. They will be back before dinner,” I said, jotting down a few notes before asking, “Why aren’t you over with the others paying attention?”

“Because I’m not in the wedding. I’m just here for the laughs.”

I chuckled. “Well, there’s guaranteed to be plenty of those.”

“I still can’t believe LeeAnn got King to walk her down the aisle.”

“She got everyone. Kids included.”

“Good God,” Devlyn groaned. “It’s going to be a three-ringed circus.”

“Nope. Just a true Southern wedding. Everyone takes part.”

“So who’s the hottie talking to Jack?” Devlyn asked.

Looking up, I scanned the room and found my dad talking with Rome and smirked. “My cousin.”

“He’s yummy.”

“He’s taken.”

“I don’t see a ring.”

I chuckled. “Best leave that one alone, Dev. Trust me.”

“Oh well.” The woman shrugged. “Heard Trip is going to be released in a few days. Still can’t believe that idiot finally woke up. Should have known he’d never miss a party. So how did the talk go with George?”

Snapping my folder closed, I sighed. “It didn’t.”

“What do you mean? I thought you went to the barbeque.”

“I did go.”

“Then what happened?”

I just looked at Dev, giving her a minute to think, when she rolled her eyes and sighed. “Craaap.”

“Yeah,” I muttered. “I got there and managed to say hi before all hell broke loose. I haven’t seen him since.”

“You will see him tonight,” a wispy, soft voice said.

Turning around, I found myself staring at a beautiful, whimsical woman with long, dark wavy hair and the brightest amber eyes I’d ever seen in my life. She was stunningly beautiful.

“Oh crap!” Devlyn gasped, looking around the room. If I didn’t know any better, I would say Devlyn was looking for the nearest escape exit. “Athena? What the hell are you doing here?”

“The planets are merging,” the woman replied, as if that clarified everything.

“Uh-huh,” Dev whispered, backing away from the woman. “Cool. I need to go. I’ve something to do.”

The beautiful woman smirked. “Run all you want, Devlyn. He’s coming for you.”

“The hell he is!” Devlyn snapped, running from the ballroom as if her ass were on fire.

By the time I turned back to the beautiful woman, she was gone.

Vanished. As if she wasn’t even there.

Looking around the ballroom for her, I couldn’t find her anywhere.

“You okay, cuz?” Rome asked, walking over to me. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

“Ever get the feeling that shit’s about to hit the fan and there is nothing you can do to stop it?”

Rome chuckled. “All the fucking time, cuz. All the time.”

I should have known that once I put those words out into the universe, that fate would rear her ugly head, because no sooner had Rome laughed, a woman I’d never seen before walked right over to me and snapped, “Are you Josephine Hennessey?”

Smiling at the woman, I replied, “Yes, I am. How can I help you?”

“For starters, you can stay the hell away from my fiancé!”

Blinking, I took a step back as the woman stepped closer, seething with rage. “I don’t know what game you are playing, but he is mine! And I’m not gonna let some uppity bitch slide in and take what’s mine.”

“I’m sorry, but I think you have the wrong person,” I said, barely able to get a word in edge wise. The woman was royally pissed as she continued to stalk toward me.

“You think you are so fucking high and mighty, with your fancy lodge and money! You’re nothing but some washed-up hag who can’t even satisfy a man!”

Before I could respond, a sudden silence swept across the ballroom. Conversations halted, and every pair of eyes turned toward the scene unraveling between us. My pulse quickened as the weight of the scrutiny pressed down on me.

Rome stepped forward instinctively, placing himself subtly between me and the woman. “Lady, I think you need to calm down,” he said, his tone firm but measured, the kind of voice that could command a crowd.

“I’m not done!” she barked, pointing a trembling finger in my direction. Her cheeks were flushed, her breathing erratic as though she was about to combust. “You don’t get to hide behind another one of your lovers. You stay the hell away from what’s mine!”

“Ma’am, I really don’t know who you are or who your fiancé is,” I said, my voice steady despite the storm brewing before me. “But I’d appreciate it if you’d stop making a scene.”

“A scene? Oh, bitch, this is nothing compared to what I’ll do if you don’t back off. Hunter told me everything—”

Hunter?

The name hit me like a slap to the face, and my eyes narrowed. I didn’t know anyone named Hunter, but I sure as hell knew a fucking Freddie and according to George, Freddie was Hunter. Which meant this cunt in front of me was the one and only... Emily.

The very fucking bitch that slept with George’s former best friend. Who also just happened to be my con-artist soon-to-be ex-husband. The very bitch who was now parading around a kid, claiming it was George’s.

Shoving Rome to the side, I walked right over to the woman and got in her face.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here, Emily.

Yeah, I fucking know who you are. George told me everything.

He also told me he threw out the trash before he left Florida.

So why don’t you take your skanky, lying, cheating ass back to that trailer park swamp hovel you dug yourself out of? ”

I vaguely heard several people chuckle.

Emily’s face contorted, her mouth opening and closing as though she were grasping for a retort that wouldn’t come. The color in her cheeks deepened to a vivid crimson, and for a fleeting moment, the entire ballroom seemed to hold its breath in anticipation of her next move.

“You think you can talk to me like that?” she finally hissed, her voice low but venomous. “You think you’re untouchable?”

I tilted my head, a humorless smile playing on my lips. “Untouchable? No. But I’m done letting people like you think they can walk all over me. So go ahead, Emily. Try me.”

The woman sputtered, her mouth working soundlessly as she struggled to form a response.

The room stilled, the silence thick with anticipation.

I stood my ground, refusing to back down from this bitch. A muscle ticked in Emily’s jaw, her eyes narrowing to slits as she glared at me. Finally, she spoke, her voice shaking with rage.

“You have no idea who you’re dealing with. I will not be threatened by some little girl playing in a man’s world.”

I laughed. “Little girl? Take a good look, Emily. I’m a woman, and I suggest you remember that.

This ‘little girl’ runs a multi-million-dollar business and has more money than your trailer park family will ever see.

As for Freddie, or should I say, Hunter?

Tell him to run. The authorities are closing in fast. Conning the wrong woman was a big mistake. ”

Emily’s face contorted with fury, her hands balling into fists at her sides. “You think you’re so smart, don’t ya? Well, I have news for you, bitch. You’ve messed with the wrong person.”

With that, Emily spun on her heel and stormed out of the ballroom, leaving a trail of shocked whispers and murmurs in her wake.

I released a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, my heart pounding in my chest. Rome placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. His eyes filled with concern.

“You okay, cuz?”

I nodded, my mind racing as I processed the encounter. “Yeah, I’m fine. But I have a feeling that woman isn’t done yet. She’s trouble, Rome. Big trouble.”

“Say the word, Josie, and me and my girls will put a beatdown on that tramp like she’s never seen,” Bailey offered as Laurel nodded, standing beside her.

“No one is putting a beatdown on anyone,” King groaned, glaring at his wife as he walked over with everyone else. “The club will deal with her if she tries anything.”

“King’s right, sweet girl,” LeeAnn said soothingly, wrapping me in a hug. “You let the boys handle her. We’ve got enough chaos without adding more.”

“LeeAnn’s right, baby girl,” my dad said, kissing the top of my head. “Screw the tart.”