"We don’t have much of a choice. If I don’t go to the eting, he’ll retaliate against one of our families. Hell, maybe all of them. For now, Warlock didn’t co to us the sa way he ca at Daryl. That, along with letting us choose the venue, shows enough good faith that all he wants to do is talk."
"You an threaten," Mack said.
I nodded. "Most likely. And he’s welco to do it, too. What the fuck do I care?"
Mack scowled. "What do you an?"
"Look. If Warlock feels he needs to rattle his saber in order to keep us out of his way, fine. I don’t want our club anywhere near the Spiders any more than he does."
"But what about fucking with our parts suppliers and the other shit?" Ace bit out.
"That’s what I do care about. But again, so of that could be him trying to intimidate us. If he feels like we’ve gotten the ssage, he should leave us the fuck alone. However, if he thinks we’re gonna cause trouble, then we will definitely be in his crosshairs."
"So, what are you thinking, brother?" Booker asked.
"You, , Mack and Flea will et with Warlock and his guys at the Zoo. There’s a picnic area near the entrance we can use. We’ll see what Warlock has to say and take it from there. We’ll make sure every mber and our families are on lock down either at the club or in their hos during the eting."
"The Zoo?" Flea asked.
"It’s a public place on neutral ground, and tactically there’s no way they could arrange any type of ambush. Besides, Tenley lost the stuffed giraffe I gave her on her birthday. It was her favorite, so I need to swing by the gift shop and get her another one while we’re there."
Booker sighed. "Has anyone ever told you that for a biker, you’re awfully soft?"
"I’ll tell you this. If Warlock agrees to play nice and leave the Dogs out of whatever criminal bullshit he’s planning on doing, then I’ll be a sweet old grandpa and hand out stuffed giraffes to everyone. But if he thinks he’s gonna hold a knife up to my granddaughter’s neck, I’ll cut his fucking heart out and eat it in front of him. This eting is the least of my concerns, but we need to be prepared for what may co after it. I need to know right now, who of you is prepared to defend the family mbers of this club with your lives. Because, if Warlock and the Spiders end up re-igniting a war between the Portland clubs, there’s gonna be blood on the streets and I don’t want any of it to be ours."
I watched my brothers mumble in agreent.
"Anything else?" I asked.
No one said a goddamn thing, so I nodded. "Class dismissed."
The room emptied, but I stayed put for a minute. I needed that ti to gather my thoughts and that’s when my woman walked in.
"Are you alright, darling?"
I looked up and smiled. Jesus, she was beautiful. My sunshine in a sotis dark world. I held my hand out to her. "Co here, beautiful."
She maneuvered her way around the chairs and headed my way. I pulled her onto my lap the second she was close. She let out a quiet giggle and tugged on my beard. "The chair’s not going to hold us both, love."
"’Course it will," I countered, kissing her gently.
"You look like the world’s on your shoulders." She looped her arms around my neck. "What’s going on?"
"Spiders are fuckin’ with our shit, Sunshine, but we’re gonna fix it."
She sighed. "Right, well, I’ve got your back, so you just let know what you need to do."
"No freak out?"
She smiled. "I’ve been your old lady long enough to know you’re gonna figure it out and you’ll move heaven and earth to protect and the children."
"Jesus, woman, I love you."
"Love you back," she said, stroking the back of my neck. "You still worried about Cash and Teagan?"
"Only if they’re on the radar of the Spiders."
"Sounds like we all are."
"For now, we’re gettin’ ready for a lock down to be safe. I want you to gather the won, get our house ready, and get lists together for the prospects to pick up. Okay?"
"Okay, love. Just make sure I’m not stuck sowhere without you."
"Never, Sunshine." He cocked his head. "Poppy and Devon have that trip planned to London to see your family next month?"
Maisie nodded.
"I’m thinking we move that up and extend it. Flash, Tate, and kids also go, so does Jamie."
"Is it that serious?"
"I think it is, baby."
"Okay, I’ll get Beckett to send the big plane."
What a lot of people didn’t know was that Maisie might have sold her company back in the day for millions, but her brother Beckett was loaded. A billionaire who owned several planes. Their sister Kenna wasn’t as well-off, but she was comfortable. Maisie had co from money, married into money, and all that money hadn’t been able to save her first husband from cancer. We’d had so tension about her wealth at the beginning of our relationship because I’d felt like she was slummin’ it for , but I soon ca to realize that underneath her millions, she was as salt of the earth as they ca, and she loved like crazy, so I got over myself pretty fuckin’ quickly.
She smiled again, leaning down to kiss . "Co on, the girls and I have cooked up a storm and it’s ready."
"No ti for a quickie, huh?"
Maisie laughed. "I will always make ti for you, darling."
I grabbed her hand and tugged her out of the conference room and upstairs. We took a hell of a lot longer than a ’quickie,’ but luckily, no one ca looking for us.
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