Page 40 of B-ry
The fact that Mason and Iron had known each other was a positive in my book. They seemed to have a way with one another. I thought that if Mason had the VP slot then they would balance each other out perfectly.
And that was what I said when it was my turn, ya know, in fewer words.
The vote was unanimous.
We finally had a Vice President.
Thank fuck!
“I want to bring Lake and Ky to the table. I think they deserve spots here. They know the club well enough. They both have different backgrounds. We got a lot going on here and I think the more hands and heads we have to help out, the better. For Lake?”
No one objected.
I didn’t think they would.
“Ky?” Iron said and went around the room again. Another round ofayesand it was settled. “Well, that was easy.” Iron said with a little chuckle.
Next, we moved on to the prospects. Since we didn’t have anyone that we thought was quite ready to move up, we started talking about guys that had expressed interest in the club. There was a new batch of guys that had wanted in. I only cared for two of them with a third that I would maybe give a chance. Though I didn’t see him lasting long. Then again, I thought the same thing about Blade and he had surprised the shit out of me. The rest of the ones that were brought to the table, I voted to cut loose. I wasn’t the only one.
So it was settled, we had three new prospects to break in. I tried not to smile. Sure I could go hard on them sometimes and maybe I got a little enjoyment out of it, but everyone had to do their time. I did. It didn’t matter that I’d grown up in the club and that my pops had a patch. I still took the shit and proved I was worthy of it. It was the only way to know that you really wanted it.
“It’s settled then. Fitz, you take care of the new prospects. Make sure you tell them what we expect from them. It isn’t going to be an easy ride,” Iron said. “Mouse and B-ry, you get to let Ky and Lake know what we decided. Since I hadn’t really talked to them about it, see if they are interested first. If not, no harm. But I’m pretty sure they both want in. I wouldn’t have brought it up otherwise. I’ll hold back on Mase until we can throw a party. Think he’s earned it.”
We all were in agreement.
“Now.” Iron’s tone turned dark and serious. I knew this meeting was far from over. “Cable says there’s been nothing on this Keften guy. There hasn’t been any unusual activity around here. No kind of suspicious peak in abductions or missing kids in the city or surrounding areas. Cable said Bocca hasn’t found anything either. While I don’t want to let our guard down on this, I also don’t want to keep pouring all of our energy into it. I don’t want us to start slipping up because our sole focus is on one thing. We got a lot going on and since there hasn’t been a single thing that makes me feel like we need to look out, then I want to pull back. I’m not saying that I’m going to tell Cable to end his search, I’m just saying to put it in the background. Maybe this fuck realized it just wasn’t worth it. Or hell, maybe he moved to another country. Anyone object?”
Most of us shook our heads. There hadn’t been any leads on the guy, least of all any that put him near here. So Prez was right to pull back some. We had a shit ton of other stuff to worry with.
“Alright,” he said.
We moved on to what was coming in and what was to go out in the next couple of weeks. Things were getting heavy but nothing we couldn’t handle. Iron explained that the Irish had found another buyer and wanted to up their intake. It wasn’t much, so Iron had made the decision to go ahead with it. Other than that, things were going pretty smoothly.
The meeting broke and a few of us stuck around to talk party stuff. Since it was almost the weekend, we figured Saturday would be good. Then a few of us headed over to the store to stock up on meats and beer. And of course, I grabbed some of those bean patty things that Cami liked. At the last minute, I snatched up a few bags of salad and a couple of different dressings. Yeah, that was for Cami too. Or so I told myself. It wasn’t that inside I hoped she’d bring Laurel. I knew bagged salad wasn’t up to her standards, but it was the best I could do without raising suspicion. Not that the girl couldn’t use a damn burger or two.
Yeah, I’d noticed the weight loss. It killed me but I didn’t want to say anything. I knew it was more than likely due to lack of money and maybe stress rather than her starving herself on purpose. That was the only reason I’d held back. The last thing I wanted to do was make her feel worse about her situation.
And to be honest, she probably wouldn’t say anything about bagged salad. I wasn’t being fair in thinking that. The Laurel I knew now wasn’t the same one that I’d first met. Maybe sometimes it was hard for me to see past that rich girl that I’d been introduced to. Or it could have been that it was who she was when I first got a taste of her. Maybe I didn’t want to forget that snobby woman that gave me hell from the moment she laid eyes on me.
Ky eyed the salad as I put it on the belt at the register. He looked up at me, his eyes narrowed and his mouth twitching like he was trying his damnedest not to say anything. I held his gaze, refusing to back down or give anything away.
“Yeah, okay,” he said and shook his head.
I knew Ky was onto me, had been for months now. Though I knew he had no clue who I’d been spending my time with so I wasn’t worried.
But honestly, it wasn’t like I cared if he knew or not. If I had it my way, Laurel would be coming to this thing. And she’d be doing it because I invited her. Oh, I, for damn sure, would be making sure that everyone knew she was off limits. It was the fear of losing what little I did have of her that kept me from outing the whole thing.
Well, fuck.
I had my answer.
I would regret it if I walked away.
I’d regret it so damn much.
Maybe it made me a pathetic pussy, but as long as no one knew about it, I guessed it was okay.
