Page 10 of Brood

Chapter Six

I stand and watch as Cammy’s car drives away from the clubhouse with my son sitting happily in the back seat. My mind only drifts back to the woman inside when the taillights disappear around the corner. Jordyn intrigued me far beyond what I was willing to admit. Her car, parked by the clubhouse, was fixed. It was done just hours after I received the parts needed to get the thing running again. Only instead of telling her she was good to go– to get back on the road and far from here– I parked it. Then I had one of the boys run the plates. The car came up as reported stolen two weeks ago, then marked recovered three days after the reported stolen date. It seemed strange considering the vehicle belongs to a seventy-year-old woman in South Carolina, and Jordyn is far from seventy. Maybe it belonged to her grandmother or something? Either way, I kept on digging.

“You ask her about it yet?” Eagle, my President, comes to my side as I stand there, still staring in the direction of Jordyn’s car.

“Not my business.”

“And yet you still haven’t told her the car is fixed, and she is free to go,” Eagle argues in a light chuckle. I glance back to my Pres. He has got on in years, his once long black hair is now almost entirely gray, still in the single braid from the nape of his neck down to the middle of his back. The stoic Native American features have since developed wrinkles over time, but he still holds that don’t fuck with me edge.

“I think Iris would be pissed if I did. She has practically adopted her.”

“She has grown quite fond of her,” he agrees as his gaze drops from mine to drift up to the stars in the sky. “My time as President is coming to an end.” The statement comes from out of nowhere, and I find myself not able to respond. So, I just stand there almost like a fish out of water, gaping at my Pres. “Our grandchildren are growing up, and we’re not around to witness it. It break’s Iris’ heart every time she gets a new photo of the kids. She wouldn’t tell me this, but I can see it in her face.

“I’ll be stepping down and taking my woman to Cental, where we will live out the rest of our years, surrounded by our children and grandchildren. I’m hoping you’ll be the one to take my place.”

“Shit.” It’s the only word that comes to mind. Is he really passing the gavel to me? I’m sure Eagle would have wanted his son to be next in line, only the smart as a whip kid took a different route and became a lawyer in Seattle.

“You are like a son to me Brood. I hope that means yes because I already brought it to the club. We just need to vote on it.” There are no words. Really. To have this man tell me I’m like a son to him? I was a teenager when I found myself in the care of Iris and Eagle. They took me in and raised me as one of their own. Hell, I think of their kids as my own siblings. To know he feels the same way…

“Fuck.” My hand rubs at the tightening in my chest, and I force myself to expel a breath. “It’d be an honor.”

“We vote on it tomorrow. As for the girl, you are going to be the President now. The decision of what to do with her is now yours.”

“Glad to know that,” I mumble under my breath. “She ain’t safe out there alone, but I’m not going to make her stay. I have a feeling that’s happened to her more than enough.”

“There you are.” Iris’ sweet motherly voice comes after the clanging on the metal doors shutting behind her.

“Wife.”

“Husband.” The two come together in an embrace that makes me look away until they are done. A love like theirs, I never would have thought possible if I hadn’t witnessed it myself. “Jordyn is in there with Roman still. It might be wise to rescue her,” she tells me, pulling Eagle’s arm away from the clubhouse. “Good night Brood.”

“Night Iris. Pres.”

I don’t watch the couple walk away down the sidewalk toward Eagle’s truck. Instead, I take a deep breath and force myself to go back inside. If I’m going to come to any decision on what to do with Jordyn, I’m going to have to find out why she is running and driving a once stolen vehicle.

The cafeteria has been completely cleared, the shouting coming from the right side of the building lets me know what the brothers are up to tonight. Through another set of doors is the old gym. Right in the middle of the floor sets an MMA style caged octagon where two of the brothers are sparing, causing the crowd of onlookers to roar with excitement and jibing insults.

When I spot Jordyn standing next to Roman, his arm around her shoulders, I force myself to walk slower, my teeth grinding together with each step I take.

“See. That fucker doesn’t have a chance in hell.” Roman’s voice reaches my ears the closer I get. “Show would kick my ass even.”

“You fight too?” Jordyn’s soft voice is barely noticeable over the roar of the boys hooting and hollering. The place is packed. Every other weekend we host a fight and take bets. It makes the club a decent chunk of change. People come from the surrounding towns to participate or to just brag to their friends that they attended a fight at a biker clubhouse.

“Hell, yes. Undefeated baby,” Roman boasts.

“Telling the girl lies, Roman?” I come up to the side of Jordyn, who immediately tries to pull herself out from under Roman’s arm; only he keeps her there. The move is so subtle I doubt he even felt her try to pull away. I saw it, and it irritates the piss out of me.

“Hey brother, you were gone so long I was beginning to think you went home with Cammy and the kids.” It’s a jab I won’t acknowledge. Instead, I glance toward the ring then back to Roman, challenge etched all over my face.

“Let’s see if you can keep that undefeated streak going.”

“You calling me out, brother?” His arm drops from Jordyn’s shoulders this time as he moves to get face to face with me.

“I am. You up for it?” I prod, already knowing the answer. You don’t turn down a challenge in the ring and belong to this club. You either fight or you’re done.

“Let’s fucking do this.”

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