Page 86 of Jackal

“Coop, c’mere.” I waved him over. “Angie, where’s the bridal suite?”

“It’s upstairs, in the loft,” she said, her eyes darting between all of us.

“Is there a basement?” I asked.

She grabbed my arm and pulled me over to her office, pushing me inside and shutting the door. “Look, my employees are like family.Whatis happening?”

“Just some precautions. Is there a basement?”

“Yes, it’s mostly storage and we have some coolers down there. Why?”

“Can your crew fit comfortably?”

Tears filled her eyes and her lips trembled, but she rubbedthem together then cleared her throat. “Yes. But what am I supposed to tell them?”

As if on cue, thunder rolled outside. “Tell ‘em there’s a bad storm.”

“They’ve all lived here their whole lives. It’s just a thunderstorm. We’re in Georgia. They’re not going to buy this–”

“Angie, I’m trying to be as polite as possible, but I’m gonna need you to get your crew and go to the basement with Coop until we tell him you can come up. You get me?” I hated to be an asshole, but I didn’t have time to argue with this woman.

She scowled, but grabbed a sweater from the back of her chair then flung the door open. Coop was waiting outside.

“Follow them downstairs and keep your phone handy. Nobody out until we give the clear. And by ‘we’ I mean me, Eagle., or Hawk.”

Coop nodded. “Got it, Jackal.” He looked Angie over and grinned.

Angie shivered, then said, “They’re in the kitchen.”

Once they were out of sight, I made my way back to the guys.

“Whoever’s out there is hanging back. They’re spread out, though,” Hawk said after he ended the call.

“Still just a few?” Eagle asked.

“Yep. So far, no readings of activity at the clubhouse.”

Falcon shrugged. “So they send a handful of guys out here and that’s it? For what?”

“Maybe they sent them to scout and they really were gonna come in like the red wedding once the party was underway,” Eagle said.

Glancing out the window, I looked over the parking area. The officers didn’t have their Harleys. Just the limos from Petrov.

Hawk’s phone buzzed again. “Yeah. What? I’ll tell Knox.” He ended the call and went to make another. “Knox? Yeah. They’re moving on you. But we got a situation over here. Just remember,if you see Butch, keep him alive if you can.” He ended the call and took the tux jacket off, laying it over a chair. “There’s a substantial group moving in on the clubhouse, but Keys said more are coming up here.”

Thunder roared, followed by a bolt of lightning that illuminated the already well-lit space.

We all pulled our jackets off, exposing our holsters. There were extra clips in our pockets. I rolled up my sleeves, and they began to do the same. The members even came in dress shirts, but they at least had jeans or Dickeys. I’d never had to do club business in a tux before.

“Keep an eye out for Butch. You,” he barked at a group of the members from our chapter as he rolled up his sleeves, “keep an eye out here so nobody gets to those people downstairs. The rest of you, outside. I’ll make sure one of them is alive, so kill everyone that’s not Butch,” Hawk said before he turned and walked through the side door.

We all followed, fanning out as we approached the tree line. Rooster, the other Enforcer, stayed with Eagle, while I went with Hawk. A few more guys weren’t far from us. I had to be sure nothing happened to Hawk, so I wasn’t leaving his side. The rain was heavy and blowing sideways, pelting us as we hustled toward the woods.

Once we passed the tree line, the rain wasn’t as hard, but still coming down. Even with the storm, there was just enough light to see. That meant they could see us, too. And they had the advantage, since they were already out there.

But Hawk moved like he was invincible, and I kept stride with him, ready to block or push him out of the way. He was the future of the club and Raven’s only son. I had to protect him.

A brief flash of Shivana telling me she’d kill me if I died today entered my mind, but I blinked it away. I couldn’t be distracted, or I wouldn’t be able to keep my promise to her. In that moment,I could only focus on keeping Hawk safe.

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