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Chapter Three
I lose my job.I’m not surprised, considering the number of absences I’ve had lately, but I am devastated. I loved that place. I had a great set up and I enjoyed being independent.
Jem didn’t lie when he said the Club would sort me out if I got fired, though.
I have a position waiting for me in their construction business once the lockdown is lifted. It’s desperation that forces me to take it. I can’t keep worrying if I still have a job every time I’m pushed into a lockdown scenario. It’s too stressful.
And since this current one shows no sign of abating, it’s probably wise to work for the Club, even if I don’t like it.
It’s been three days since Jem stopped me at the side of the road and demanded my presence.
Three days since the police burst into the clubhouse.
Three days since my independent life was put on hold.
No one has been allowed to leave the building in case something else happens. After being in the line of fire, I understand the need for caution, but everyone is going stir-crazy, myself included. The boys rode out on the second day, leaving us with the prospects, Wade and newly patched in Charlie—why, I don’t know but I can guess. Good old-fashioned retribution against the Reapers for their attack on us. I don’t know what happened while they were gone, but they came back grim-faced and irritable.
Since then we’ve barely seen any of the guys, but I can’t escape everyone else. The problem with having such a big family is in these situations you don’t have much privacy.
The clubhouse has a number of rooms that are available for use, but they went mostly to families in the Club, which means I’m stuck sharing a room with Sofia. She doesn’t know the meaning of the word tidy—or quiet. It’s like bedding down at a teenage girl’s sleepover.
I came downstairs to find a moment’s peace, but all the recreation rooms are full of Sammy’s family. Her grandmother, Jeanne, did invite me to join them, but I declined. I need some alone time, which may be impossible to achieve.
I head down to the common room and find that is just as busy, but at least there are quiet corners of the room I can get lost in for a time.
Glancing around, I see Liv is sitting near the pool table, feeding Danny while Beth and Paige sit with her. There are a couple of prospects lingering by the bar and Weed and Wade are sitting together, deep in conversation.
The girls signal for me to join, but I shake my head and move to a quiet corner of the bar area. As soon as I sink down at the table, I pull a battered paperback out of my bag and start to read it.
I just need to disappear somewhere else for a little while. I’m used to being around people—my family, blood and otherwise, is huge—but I’m not usually subjected to them for so long and without reprieve. These last few lockdowns have been hard to deal with.
I have no idea when we can leave, but I hope they sort this thing out quickly. I need to get back to my own flat and my own space. I haven’t shared a room with Sofia for a long time, and it’s not bringing back happy memories of a misspent youth. I’m remembering all her bad habits—and there are plenty.
I’m skimming through the paperback I brought down, my attention is too diverted by things going on around me. Even so, it’s nice to just have some time without having to converse or be social.
When the common room doors are pushed open, I glance up, wondering if my peace is about to be destroyed when I see Derek enter.
Slade, his vice president, follows on his heels, looking, as usual, like he’s tasting something unpleasant.
Both men are in their fifties, with barely a year between them, but Derek looks older—the weight of leadership, maybe, or the despair of losing the love of his life years ago, I’m not sure, but Slade’s dark hair is only just starting to show signs of greying.
Maybe he dyes it. I’m not about to ask his old lady, Clara, if he does.
I start to lower my gaze back to my book when a familiar face pushes through the door behind Slade—one I haven’t seen since Beth and Logan’s wedding.
Dax, president of the Devil’s Dogs MC.
His kutte is that same beat up leather my brothers wear, but the insignia on his back is different and instead of the word Kingsley, Manchester is written across the bottom rocker.
The Devils are an allied club, but unlike the Saxons they have chapters scattered around the country. We’re closest with their Manchester chapter, although the London one kept an eye on Beth while she was down there. Manchester visit us often and the boys head down their way a lot too. So, Dax being here isn’t that unusual, except for the fact we were targeted only a few days ago by the Reapers.
Is his visit coincidence, or is Derek seeking to shore up the Club’s alliances?
And are the Devils willing to support us when we need them most?
That would see the Devils wade into a war that is not of their making. It’s a big ask, even for friends.
I peer around Dax’s huge frame, expecting him to be with his president. Where Dax goes, so goes Dane. Even though I expect it, it still takes me by surprise when he moves into the room, deep in conversation with my oldest brother.
