Page 48 of Hounds Ascend
I scan the room, gauging everyone’s reactions. They all seem okay with the terms. I sigh internally, grateful that they’re on board. A few of the guys make their way into the office to see what Snapper has planned for them while the rest remain at the bar and continue their conversations.
“Cass!” Micah calls after me.
I turn to see Micah approaching.
“Hey, do you want me to send the guys in there with Snapper too? I didn’t know if it was just a Hound thing or…” he trails off.
“Yeah, man. Hell yeah. Y’all are family and that’s why you showed up, isn’t it?”
“Fucking right that’s why we’re here. I’ll send them in.” Micah grins and immediately returns to his guys. They were all so willing to come stand behind my club becauseof him. Not because of our name or the fact that we are well respected, but because I’ve built a relationship with the Sinners and they are standup fucking men, as well as brothers. Once Micah and the Sinners are out of sight, I make my rounds, greeting everyone that showed up here on our behalf.
I’m seeing members that I’ve never met, and only heard of. The Hounds out of Nashville are all older, around Clayton’s age, while the ones that came from Tampa Bay are barely in their mid-twenties. There’s such a variety in age, yet everyone came together for their brothers. Evidently, we all have one thing in common: Nobody fucks with a Hound.
I shake the hand of every single patch personally. In the midst of saying hello and thanking everyone, my sponsor from when I prospected catches my attention.
“Bear? Man, it’s good to see you,” I say, shaking his hand while half hugging him.
Bear stands tall, well over six feet, with a brown and grey beard that he keeps trimmed short. His dark blue eyes carry years of being a patched member in them and his voice is deep, but not just any deep, a Sam Elliott deep.
“You too, Caine. It’s been a long time. I see you ain’t done too bad down here, after all.” His booming voice is proud and the smile on his face mirrored that.
Bear hadn’t thought that me coming down to Louisiana was a good idea, so his approval, whether it’d been years since we’d seen one another or not, was important to me in a way. When my mother passed, I lost a piece of who I was. She waslike the glue that held me together and when she was gone, it didn’t matter who I had in Oklahoma City. I had lost that spark I’d always had. Didn’t have that fire burning behind my eyes anymore, the same fire I got straight from her. Bear had even told me once that Mom took my fire with her when she went. Sometimes I think he’s right.
About a year after I left, Bear did too. He went to the nationals and petitioned to be a Nomad. Roaming without a charter. The only family he had was the Oklahoma City Hounds and he had grown tired of the constant headache of being around anyone after he spent the better half of twenty years with them. Rumors flew around that Bear had been in love with my mom, but I’m not sure I believe that. Bear was always respectful of Clayton and Adelaide’s relationship. All of the men were. At least from what I had seen. I’d heard stories of how Bear had disapproved at first and he and Mom didn’t get along well when she first came around after Uncle Wyatt’s death.
“Yeah, well. I had a great sponsor to teach me how to be a good brother, and an even better president.”
“I don’t know if I did much right when I was president, but from what I can see, son, you’re doing a damn good fucking job.”
“Thanks, Bear.”
I hug him one more time before I continue to make my way through the slowly dwindling crowd of patches. I get the same basic response from the majority of those that are here. They’re all here to support a brother because they hope, had it beenthem in my shoes, everyone would show up for them also.
When I’m done talking and thanking everyone, I grab a drink at the bar. Shorty hands me whatever beer is closest to him which ends up being a Budweiser, my new favorite conveniently. The cool beer quenches my thirst with ease, as it always does, and I take a moment to sit down and breathe. I haven’t stopped all night, and this is just the beginning. We have a long fucking way to go.
Downing the rest of my beer, I set the can on the bar and head upstairs to my room while everyone is occupied downstairs. I have a few things tucked away inside my closet that we’ll need tonight, especially if Scott comes through with the information I need.
I lock the door and step into the closet. Below the shelves and hanging racks near the floor, is a cut-out in the wall that can’t be seen if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Behind that piece of sheetrock is a safe planted into the wall. I press my code into it and it chimes, happily unlocking for me and revealing its contents. A First Wave MIA is broken down inside, my most prized sniper rifle, also known as my other woman, Suzie. One that I don’t let on that I still have. As far as anyone knows, she’s been gone for years. I could never part with her though and she’s a handy little thing to have access to.
Double-checking to make sure all of the pieces were still inside, I shut the safe. I’ll grab it later when I’m ready for it. For now, though, there are other things to handle. I unlock my phone and dial Linc’s number, putting him on speaker, andpacing around the room while I wait for an answer.
He doesn’t pick up, sending a panic coursing through my veins. I dial him again with no luck. I search through my contacts for Digger’s number and dial him next. It rings twice before he answers.
“Hey, what’s up man?” Digger asks.
“I tried calling Linc and he didn’t answer. I was just checking in. Everything cool on y’all’s end? How are the ladies?”
“Linc was passed out when I left. I went on a store run. You don’t have shit to eat in that damn place. So, I’m picking food up for everyone. The girls are fine. They’re holed up in your bedroom with your ol’ lady. Probably sitting around playing some board game or some shit.”
I laugh. He’s probably right. Lilly probably has that damned Disney trivial pursuit out, kicking everyone’s ass at it. “Alright, man. It was odd for Linc not to answer, so I figured I’d check in and make sure everything was okay.”
“No problem. I’ll give you a call when I get back if you want.”
“Nah. It’s all good. I’ll catch up with ya later.”
“Alright. Later.”
The call ends and I shove it back into the front pocket of my jeans where I like to keep it. I run a hand through my hair at how silly it was of me to get worked up over Linc not answering. Of course he’s resting considering he’s been living in a hospital room for a few days now without much sleep. Not to mention all the running I’ve had him doing for me in the midst of it all.
