Page 8 of Providence

Cain

We sat around the table at Church, every face wary. An emergency Church meeting was a big deal, especially when Judas pulled in everyone. The room was at capacity, patched members of all types leaned against the walls, slouched in chairs, fidgeted in the corners. Both Goliath and Solomon were twitchy, each anxious to get back upstairs. Hell, I was twitchy. We’d left Dippy and the baby under the protection of Marco. The man was a cold blooded murderer, but you only had to look at him to know he loved Serendipity, even if he couldn’t admit it to himself. Even Sammie knew. He’d brought the kids into the room, and those four walls held everything he’d ever loved in the world. He would guard it like Cerberus at the gates of Hell.

She’d been asleep too long now, and I was ready to call Lucifer and make him drag the Archangel Raphael back to fix her properly.

Judas pounded the gavel and I forced my body to still. “Brothers. Thanks for coming on such short notice.” He took a deep breath. “Damnation MC was built on the foundation of Brothers-In-Arms. About building those bonds through trust and close quarters. That you would always have a home here at the Clubhouse. Now, I have to ask you all to fall back on those bonds as I tell you that until further notice, the Clubhouse is closed. I cannot tell you why, but I promise each and every one of you that it’s temporary.”

“This is about her again, isn’t it?” I forced myself not to glare at the owner of that voice. This is what Church was for. We could air our grievances, ask questions. Outside this room you were a soldier for the MC, but inside Church you were allowed to question.

Judas nodded tightly. “Yes.” He didn’t elaborate, he didn’t prevaricate.

There were some grumbled murmurs around the room, but once they met Goliath’s cold, dead gaze they all shut up.

“I am still here for you, still reachable. I am still your President, and I will make hard decisions. Your welfare is important to me, to this Club. Your wives and girlfriends will be safer. It’s because of this, that you cannot return to the Clubhouse until I say so.” He sighed, but his gaze was unwavering. “I put you all in a difficult position once, and I will not do it again. We will keep a skeleton crew here to protect the Clubhouse and the Brothers inside. The rest of you will continue to work toward the Club's interests from outside these walls. Damnation MC isn’t a building. It isn’t Church, or Club rides, or even the patch that identifies you as Damnation. It's you all and your commitment to this Brotherhood.”

There was more argument, but Judas stood. “I am your President. When you Patched into this Club, you vowed to follow my lead. If anyone would like to challenge for President, now would be the time. Otherwise, shut the fuck up and stop whining like children. You will have to get your booze and pussy from somewhere else for a few weeks. Hell, maybe spend time with your fucking wives. I’m not asking you to chop off your dicks.”

The temperature in the room dropped considerably, but no one argued anymore. There were several nods, but even more clenched jaws.

Fuck them.

Judas nodded. “Trigger will talk to those who need to stay. The rest of you check in regularly with one of us. You have problems, I want to know about it. You want me to console your Old Lady, I can do that too. This is temporary. Think of it as a vacation from Goliath’s ugly mug.” There were a few chuckles as he banged the gavel again. “Have a drink on the house, guys. Gotta drain the keg. No point wasting good booze. And Sweetie is cooking up a feast.”

With that, the mood of the group changed. Honestly, guys were not all that hard to understand. Food, booze, pussy. They were pretty content with that. Some like to create a bit of discontent because they were fucking whiners, but generally they were simple guys with simple needs that we tried to meet.

As much as I wanted to race upstairs after we were done, to check on Sera and the baby, I forced myself to walk around and talk to the guys, have a beer, soothe worries and re-enforce those fucking bonds that Judas had been preaching about. Goliath didn’t bother, he’d never been the most personable of us, but he sat downstairs, a silent gargoyle at the end of the bar.

I got a drink from Shots, avoiding his enquiring looks. However, when Sweetie came out with plates of meat, pastries, and wings, the bar converged. I wondered how many of them were sad about not coming to the Clubhouse, and how many were sad that Sweetie wouldn’t be here to cook them all food.

However, when she’d laid down the last platter, slapping away grabbing hands until she’d put out napkins, she met my eyes and held me to the spot with a stern look.

Shit. I briefly wondered if it was too late to run. “You. We need to talk.” She indicated the kitchen with a tilt of her head, and I sighed. Sweetie was one person you didn’t say no to, even if you were the Vice President of a fucking criminal organization.

She turned around, brandishing a spatula like a weapon as she flipped cookies off a baking sheet. “Talk. Where is she? What the hell is going on? Don’t give me any of that crap you fed the men. They aren’t the brightest bulbs, my dear Shots not excluded. Start talking.”

I grimaced. I wanted to storm out of here, probably after putting her in her place, but honestly, I loved Sweetie and she loved us. I knew her forthrightness came from a place of concern.

“She’s upstairs. She, uh, had the baby, but there's complications that I can’t explain to you. She’ll be fine.”I hope.

Sweetie narrowed her eyes at me. “You’re not telling me something.” Her face softened. “Does she need anything? Is the baby okay?”

“No, Sweetie, we’ve got her covered. And the baby? He’s perfect.” I probably sounded a little awed, but it was understandable in my fucking opinion.

“You’re taking care of her, right? I’ll kick your ass if you’ve stuck her in a room with no support and a brand new baby, Cain. You mark my words.”

I wrapped my arms around Sweetie’s shoulders, hugging her tight. “I’m treating her as if she’s the love of my life. Trust me. Trust us. We only want what's best for Sera.” I pulled away. “I’m sure she’d love to see you when she’s feeling up to it.”

Sweetie gave a single nod. “I hope so. You let me know if you need anything. Shots says you guys are closing the Clubhouse, but I can make food at home and drop it here if you need it.”

Honestly, how men thought they were the superior gender was beyond me. The capacity women had for both caring and violence in a single interaction was nothing short of awe inspiring.

“We should be good, but I’ll keep it in mind if everyone gets sick of frozen pizza and takeout.”

When she frowned, I raised my hands. “I’m kidding, Sweetie. We can cook, you know. It’s just you do it better.”

She kicked me out of the kitchen after that, and Judas looked across the room and raised a single brow. I flipped him the bird. Fucker threw me to the wolves, now he was gloating about it.

Trigger flitted from group to group, pulling people to the side and giving them their orders. I was surprised when he pulled aside Bear and Goose, who’d only been Prospects up until a couple of weeks ago. But I trusted Trig’s judgement as much as my own.

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