Page 65 of Condemned Soul

“What d’ya wanna do about the Russians? We got their supply stored in Fork River for now, but we’re gonna have to organize a way to get it to the buyer.” Thorne asks, I can see he doesn’t wanna put the pressure on but business has to keep running.

“How many d’ya need?” Jessie turns his focus to our Road Captain, Brax.

“Minimum of five,” he growls.

“Storm, Hayden, Skid, and Thorne, you leave with Brax in the mornin’,” Jessie tells ‘em, refusing to look at the empty space where Prez should be sitting.

“You want me to start contactin’ our people on the inside?” I ask, knowing it ain’t something Jessie wants to face, but something has to be put in place to protect him if we can’t find another way outta this. Jessie shakes his head without hesitation.

“So how does this work, is it like a draw straws kinda thing?” Squealer asks the question that’s on everyone’s minds and even though he’s trying to sound lighthearted, I can see the worry on his face. “Our Prez ain’t goin’ to jail without at least one of us in there to have his back,” he adds.

“No!” Jess looks across the table at him. “No one’s drawin’ any fuckin’ straws. Consuela tells me that part of the deal he’s made prevents any of us sharin’ a prison with him, anyway.” He tosses the cigarette he was about to put in his mouth on the table.

“And you trust her?” Storm questions.

“Prez trusts her, so I have to,” Jessie answers weakly. “There’s a way outta this and I’ll find it, but for now we keep the club runnin’ until he comes home.”

“And what about Cliff? He’s still out there. I spoke to Tawk on the phone last night and he ain’t heard shit from Willow, either,” Troj informs him.

“Cliff ran into hidin’ like a pussy and he’ll stay low like one too. We can deal with him when all the ATF bullshit blows over.” Jessie tries to sound confident, but there's something vacant in his eyes. He’s lost and he’s hurting.

I know how Jessie operates, he’ll not have gotten any sleep since Prez got taken in by Consuela, and he’s in denial about how all this is shaping up.

“And what if it don’t blow over? Rogue says that Prez has got his mind made up.” Grimm speaks up which is unlike him.

“It’ll work itself out.” Jessie stands up and eyes the gavel that lays flat on the table, he still doesn’t lift it, and after staring at it for a long while he storms back out the door again.

“He ain’t takin’ this well, at all.” Troj is the first to speak up and every face around the table looks equally as concerned.

“He’s angry, he needs some time to get his head around it all.” I try my best to defend him.

“He’s also supposed to be leadin’ us. Times like this is when the predators start to prowl, we can’t show any weakness,” Thorne points out.

“Then I think it’s about time we remind him of who he is.” I get up from my seat and head out when an idea comes to my head.

* * *

“No, absolutely not.” Maddy shakes her head at me when I ask her for the names of the people Joanne was blackmailing.

“C’mon, Mads, you know as well as I do that Jessie needs this. He needs something to drain all that frustration outta him so he can start thinkin’ straight.”

“So you want me to give him a kill list?” She crosses her arms and looks at me like I’m an animal.

“No, I want you to give him the names of some pedophiles who deserve to die.” I put it to her the best way I can, knowing that Jessie needs a release. “Like it or not, you see the sense in what Prez is doin’. He’s protectin’ his club. Jessie’s lettin’ his emotions take over. A little outlet should get him thinkin’ straight again.”

“And what if his emotions make him sloppy, and he fucks up? These are high-powered men, Skid. Prez is doing what he’s doing to keep Jessie with me. I don’t want him locked up, or dead, over these men.”

“Maddy, you know that with or without all this ATF crap, we’re gonna eventually be dealin’ with those men, anyway. Men like them deserve to be dead. Jessie’s the guy who makes that happen.”

“You're supposed to be the sensible one.” She scowls at me.

“I am being the sensible one, Maddy, your man is lost and we need him to get us through this.”

“Fine.” She releases a long, frustrated breath. “I’ll get the names, you can give them to him tonight.”

“You need to do it,” I tell her, watching her eyes double in size. “Jessie loves you, he tries to be a better man for you. He’s gonna need your acceptance so he can really let loose.”

“Skid, do you really think this is gonna work?” I can see she doesn’t like the idea, but she knows Jessie as well as I do.

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