Page 85 of Hendrix

Dad’s elbows hit the table, and he rubbed at his temples. “Don’t want Anna stressed. It’s bad for the baby. She’s not trained, she’s not sneaky, and she’s not duplicitous.”

“Noted,” I replied, my stare sliding toward Diablo. “Your turn.”

“I like Anna,” he began. “But it’s against the bylaws for ol’ ladies to get involved in club business. Not fair on her if it goes ass-up.”

My eyes turned to Colt. “Well?”

He cocked a brow in challenge. “We get Freya involved in our shit all the time. Hell, Ciara knows what’s goin’ on before half the brothers do.” He turned to our SAA. “Remember the time Ace gave you that GSW? You didn’t mind my ol’ lady gettin’ involved in club business when she had you down on that operating table saving your ass. I get we’ve got bylaws, and we need to stick to them, but I trust my ol’ lady as much as—and in some cases even more than—my brothers. If Anna’s eventually gonna take on Prez, she needs to learn how it works around here. We just need to do our jobs and brief her properly. She’s smart, she’s resourceful, and she knows her strengths and her weaknesses. She won’t fuck up.”

Diablo thought for a moment, then jerked a nod. “I’ll change my vote to aye.”

My eyes shifted to Dad again. “I get your concerns about the baby; I feel it too, but a few weeks ago, I had a convo with Anna and she chewed me out for not bein’ honest. The things I kept from her had an impact, Pop, and it broke her trust in me. In the name of doin’ right by her, I reckon we should pull Anna in and ask her what she wants to do. If she’s not up to the job, we cook up another plan. If she’s willing, we brief her, then put her in a room with Freya and Bones there as her doctors and let her make the call.”

He nodded. “Okay, Son, but if it goes sideways, I don’t want her blamed in any way. What we’re asking of her is on us, not her.”

“Goes without sayin',” I agreed, looking around the room. “I’ll ask again. Those in favor, say aye.”

Every man raised a hand and barked, “Aye.”

My heart gave a nervous thud, but I breathed through it, glancing at Blade. “Looks like you better go get Anna.”

—————

“You sure you wanna do this?” I murmured, tucking the sheet tightly around Anna’s hips.

She laid her hand on my arm and squeezed. “I’ll be fine. I’ve got Bones and Freya with me, and you’ll be watching with Colt. You’ve gone over everything thirty-seven times, and then Blade went through it another fifty-four times. I’m good.”

I glanced up at my club’s doctor and Freya, catching them throwing each other knowing looks. “You sure her blood pressure’s okay for this?”

Bones’ lips twitched. “Anna’s blood pressure wasslightlyelevated for about ten minutes once, three weeks ago. She’s fine.”

“You can’t be too careful,” I grumbled.

“Says who?” Freya threw back.

Anna shook her head at me in exasperation, but she did it with a smile.

I stroked her hair back from her forehead and dropped a kiss on it. “Remember, if things get uncomfortable, Bones will deal. All you need to do is play along.”

“I’ll be fine,” she insisted gently. “I’ll do what you’ve all advised and stick to the truth as much as I can. That way, I won’t slip up on the small details.”

“That’s my girl,” I murmured, watching Anna’s eyes go soft.

“Are we done?” she sassed in an attempt to cover her emotions.

I leaned forward, rested my forehead on hers, and whispered, “Never.”

She inhaled a sharp breath, and her eyes melted.

“The call’s about to come in,” Colt said, his attention on his cell phone. “Let’s go.”

With one last kiss on her forehead, I stood and followed Colt to the door and turned in the direction of my office. “We’re not fucking up here, are we?” I asked.

“We don’t gotta choice,” he answered. “And you gotta let some of that control go, Drix. We’ve all proved ourselves to you tenfold. Now it’s time to give Anna the same chance.”

I let us into my office, holding the door for Colt to precede me. “I’m not a control freak.”

“Not now,” he concurred. “But it took a while to get you there. Though to be fair, I can’t blame you for being antsy after what went on with Ace.”

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