Page 29 of Property of Grifter
Every man at the table nods.
“Is that why he spewed his nonsense at her tonight?”I ask, my anger leaking out into my voice.“Probably,” Hades admits.“He asked her out a few times.She actually said yes once but canceled the very next day.He demanded a reason, but she just said she didn’t think it was a good idea.”I grit my teeth.The idea of Georgia even agreeing to go out with that idiot makes my skin crawl.Hades keeps talking.“Alex didn’t take it well.He cornered her one day and demanded she explain why she said yes then backed out like a tease.They were in the middle of the diner.She told him she had a dream—said he was taking bets with his buddies on how long it’d take him to nail the town freak.He laughed, said it was stupid to turn him down over a dream.That’s when she screamed at him.Told him it took a fucking loser to take bets on stealing a woman’s virginity, especially when he was already sleeping with someone else.When he tried to call her a liar, She gave the name of one of the guys that was placing a bet in her dream.He was in the diner, and she asked him point blank to man up and tell the truth.When he didn’t say anything, Georgia laughed and told him if he didn’t tell the truth, she’d cast a spell on him so he’d have to answer truthfully to any question she asked and she’d make sure to ask them in front of his wife.Scared the hell out of him.The guy confessed to everything.Alex was so stupid he even handed out markers when taking the bets.The guy showed it to everyone.”
My hands curl into fists under the table.My blood’s pounding, but I keep my face neutral.Barely.I’ll deal with Alex later.Alone.“So that’s what this was about,” I say, keeping my tone cool.
“Yeah,” Hades answers.“He was pissed.Guess he figured if he couldn’t have her, he’d humiliate her.”
I stare him down for a beat, then look around the table.“Anyone here got a problem with me claiming Georgia?”
“I don’t think Alex is going to let it go easily, Prez,” C answers.
“I don’t give a fuck.There’s a good chance after tomorrow we’ll be down one prospect,” I growl.“Anyone else?”
Cowboy clears his throat.“You think that dream stuff’s real?”
“Could be,” I answer plainly.“I’ve heard of people like her before.What I don’t get is why the town treats it like a curse.If someone can warn you when bad shit’s coming, seems like a gift to me.”I look at C.“Did Bo Ridley lose anything when his barn burned?”
C nods.“The man made a mint raising and selling horses.His two prized mares died in that fire.One was pregnant.His ranch went belly up after that.It’s one reason he was so mad at Georgia.”
“Seems to me, that could’ve been avoided if he’d listened to Georgia.Other than her dreams, have any of you really seen her hex any-fucking-body in this damn town?”Silence greets my question and a couple of the men take my question in and realize what I’m getting at.“I didn’t think so.Now, here’s how this is going to go—if Georgia has another dream that touches the club or one of us, we’ll listen.We’ll adjust.We’ll treat it as a heads-up, not a curse.”
“Sounds logical to me,” Scorpion murmurs, and no one argues.Which is exactly what I wanted.
“Next,” I say, voice sharp again, “Daisy.That fucking whore is gone.No vote.My word is law here.She came at me naked, while I was holding my woman and started running her mouth about Georgia.That’s a lack of respect that us men would kill someone if they did it to us.I won’t tolerate it towards any of the women we claim either.Am I clear?”
The table stays quiet, but Hades finally pipes up.“Most of us don’t like the cunt to be honest.She caused trouble between Savage and his old lady.It ended up breaking them up and everyone liked Callie a hell of a lot.”
I look at Savage, my Sergeant-at-Arms.“That true?”
He shrugs, but I can tell he’s still bothered about it all.“Yeah.I was drunk and screwed Daisy.I was fucking stupid.Daisy shouldn’t have rubbed it in Callie’s face, but I made my bed.I got what I deserved.”
I nod.“Fair enough.But Daisy’s still out.”I glance around the table again.“Now, security.I was going to wait until tomorrow but screw it—we’ll handle it now.We need a gate, better fences, and a guard shed.I don’t like how loose things are here when it comes to security.We just got through a turf war where our allies had to save our asses.We still have that same rival club sniffing around.Not to mention, someone took shots at me and could have got my woman in the crossfire.We need to be proactive and not invite them to get closer.”
Scorpion grunts.“How much will this set us back?”
“Not sure yet.Savage—you’re on it.Get quotes, talk to Sidetrack, he does our books and knows what we can afford.Don’t cheap out.If we need extra cash, I’ll chip in myself.We have to make this place safe.”That earns a few raised brows.Doesn’t matter.My job here is to pick this club up and put it on my back.They’ll find out soon that I don’t half-ass when it comes to that task.“Everyone agree?”There are nods all around.I grab the gavel and bring it down hard.I push back my chair, standing.“If that’s all, I’ve got a woman waiting on me—and she’s a hell of a lot prettier than any of you bastards.Church adjourned.”
The room breaks with laughter, a few chuckles chasing me out the door.I don’t look back.My mind’s already left the room.Business is handled.The club’s squared away.Now I just want Georgia.The woman who brings me calm, even with all this chaos.She’s mine and if anyone tries to hurt her in anyway, they’ll learn really quick just how far I’m willing to go to protect what’s mine.
16GEORGIA
When the door opens,I glance up from the bed and my breath catches.Griffin stands there, one hand still on the knob, his broad frame filling the doorway.His eyes lock on me, and for a long, heavy moment, he doesn’t move.The air shifts.It feels thick, charged.He doesn’t say a word—just watches me.It unnerves me.I don’t know what to make of his intensity.
I sit up a little, tugging nervously at the hem of the T-shirt I stole from his closet.It hangs halfway down my thighs, swallowing me whole.“Uh,” I begin, my voice too soft, too unsure.“Nana didn’t pack anything but underwear and a toothbrush.”I’m kind of lying.There’s no way I’m going to tell him that Nana packed a cherry flavored edible bra and panty set to sleep in.The outfit for tomorrow was the skirt my mom left and the see-through shirt I put the brakes on before.“Um, so, I got in your closet and found one of your shirts.It kind of swallowed me, so I figured I could sleep in it, but if you’d rather I?—”
“You have no idea how much I love seeing you in my shirt, baby,” he interrupts, his voice dark and hungry.
I blink, heat creeping up my neck.“I wasn’t sure, because you just kept staring at me and not talking.”
“That’s because you took my breath away,” he murmurs.“I couldn’t talk if I tried.I’m currently trying to figure out how to fix it so that you only wear my clothes from here out.”
I laugh, blushing even more.“That might get a little embarrassing when I’m climbing ladders and painting—not to mention when I go to church.”
He grins then, the tension between us softening as he crosses the room.He flops down on the bed beside me, using his toes to kick his boots off, then slides an arm around my waist and pulls me against him.
“God, I missed you, sweetheart,” he says, his breath warm against my temple.
“Did everything go okay?”I ask, resting a hand on his chest.The heat from his skin warms me all over.
