Page 65 of Stone

I leaned my face closer to Seth’s and snarled, “Seems to me you saw an easy target and thought you’d try and make yourself look like the big man. I’d have been impressed if ya’d took on a Sinner, even a man of the law, but puttin’ a gun to a little girl’s skull—an ol’ lady of this club—is un-fuckin’-acceptable, Seth.”

His shoulders slumped.

“Your punishment is that I’m gonna let John do what he will to ya. However hard he beats your ass, there’ll be no intervention from anyone. You can fight back, but that’s all you get.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. “I’ll fight John any day. He’s no better than me.” His tone was full of false bravado.

Abe barked a laugh.

Leaning back in my chair, I shrugged nonchalantly. “There won’t be a problem then, will there?” I jerked my head toward the door, a silent command for him to get the fuck out.

I watched as Seth stood and exited the room. The second his footsteps faded, I turned to Abe, rubbing my temple. “God fuckin’ help us all. We’ve got the Thorn Birds, AKA John and Elise, trying to navigate a fuckin relationship against the backdrop of war. Seth, AKA Peewee Herman, who thinks he’s Al-fuckin’-Capone. Now, my Queenie’s on the warpath, who’s so dang tough she actuallycouldbe Al-fuckin’-Capone. And to top it all, the Sinners are givin’ me shit and wanting a slice of the pie that feeds us.” I scraped a frustrated hand down my face. “You couldn’t make this shit up, Abe.”

My brother’s lips twitched. “What can I do, Prez?”

“Nothin’ anyone can do,” I replied thoughtfully. “We just gotta deal as everythin’ plays out. It’s probably better that Elise doesn’t come around for a while, though. John’s gonna flip already. If anybody else gives her shit, there’ll be hell to pay. I'm already gonna have to stop him from beating Seth to death. There’ll be no brothers left at this rate.”

“Seth shouldn’t underestimate young Stone,” Abe smirked. “He’s already a machine. With Marine hand-to-hand combat training, he’ll be like the damned Terminator. There won’t be many men in this club who can best him.”

I contemplated Abe’s words for a minute. He made a good point, and God help me if I didn’t want to puff my damned chest out at the notion.

“He’s also got a mean streak,” Abe continued. “Don’t get me wrong, he’ll need it if he’s gonna be Prez one day, but it doesn’t bode well for Seth. You’ve raised Stone believing that losin’ ain’t an option, which means he’ll do anything to win, including fighting dirty.”

“MC Presidents can’t lose, brother,” I pointed out. “If they do, they won’t be MC Presidents for long. I’ve encouraged his mean streak because one day, he’ll need it. John’s a fair man; he won’t abuse his position, but it’s a given he’ll have to defend it. There’ll be times when he’s challenged and times when rules are broken. If he doesn’t make an example of the men, the brothers won’t respect him, and if he loses respect, he loses the gavel.”

“Still,” Abe added. “Someone will have to pull John off Seth. I know what you said, Prez, but Stone could do some damage. Seth’s got some good buds in the brothers. We don’t want the club’s loyalties split, especially when we need to work as a team to deal with the Sinners.”

I waved a hand flippantly. ‘Those pissants won’t last. We control the runs in Wyoming and North Colorado. Nobody will give ‘em work or face upsetting the Demons. They’ll move on soon enough if they’ve got no scratch to sustain them.”

Abe rubbed at the stubble on his chin. “To be fair, I thought they’d be long gone by now. The stubborn fuckers are diggin’ their heels in.”

I nodded. “Word.”

Abe wound his neck back. “Word? What the fuck does ‘word’ mean?”

“Doncha know, Abe. I’m down with the kids.” I grinned.

“Christ,” he muttered, getting to his feet. “I need to get back to Iris. You send me doolally with your ‘down with the kids’ talk. I dunno what the fuck you’re sayin’ half the time.”

My heart thudded against my ribs as I remembered what I had to do next. “I gotta go square my shit up with Connie, too,” I said, standing from my chair.

Abe’s eyes bugged out. “Good luck with that, Prez.”

“Thanks, brother,” I rasped, following him to the door. “Think I’m gonna need it.”

The farmhouse was in darkness, except for a soft light coming from the rear, so I quietly let myself in through the back door, making sure to lock it behind me.

I turned and halted when I saw Connie sitting quietly at the table, reading a book.

“You happy with yourself?” she drawled, her cold stare hitting mine.

“Busted,” I muttered, going to the fridge and grabbing a beer. “Thought you’d be in bed by now, sweetheart.”

“No, you didn’t,” she challenged. “You knew I’d wait up to give you a piece of my mind. You know me well enough after thirty years of marriage, Don Stone.”

My face split into a grin. I popped the cap off the bottle, pulled out the chair opposite Connie, and parked my ass. “And they said it wouldn’t last.”

“It probably only lasted because you were in the military for the first ten of those years,” she said dryly. “It gave me time to grow up and learn some much-needed patience.” She closed her book and placed it on the table. “You need to forgive Elise, Don.”

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