“By now, you all know Claire is back,” Mayhem said as he looked around the table at all of them. The anger came off him in waves. “And I know you’ve all seen that fucking bullshit she has on her face from that motherfucker, too.”
The guys started shifting on their feet, their murmurs low, the tension in the room thick.
“I’m going to kill him,” Big said, not giving a shit who heard or the amount of anger in his voice he didn’t bother hiding. He was seething with rage, wanting to rip the guy’s throat out with his bare hands for even thinking he had the right to look at her, let alone touch her.
“I think it’s safe to say we all want a piece of that bastard,” Fury said, his jaw clenched tight, his dark hair and eyes and the sheer size of him making him seem like the very devil himself.
“When are we going after the asshole?” Stone asked.
“Yeah, let’s go fuck him up,” Dirty said, with Dealer grunting in approval.
“Let’s see what Mayhem wants to do. He’s her brother,” Fury said, pushing away from the wall and walking toward the table.
“Fuck that,” Big said, staring at Fury.
“Calm down, man,” Fury said, his voice tight.
“I know you’re pissed, but I am, too, brother. We all are,” Mayhem said and stood straighter. “Believe me, that piece of shit motherfucker will get what’s coming to him tenfold.”
Another round of murmured agreement filled the room.
“How do you want to handle this, Mayhem?” Fury asked. He might be the president, but this was a blood situation, and Mayhem had the upper hand when it came to dishing out retribution to that prick because it had been his sister who had been affected.
Claire might be family to them all, but Mayhem’s relationship trumped anything any of them might have had to say.
Mayhem was silent for a moment but then looked up at Big. They held gazes for a moment. “You talk with Claire?” Mayhem asked.
Big shook his head. “No, and before you say anything, her not telling me doesn’t mean what we had back in the day didn’t mean shit. I want a piece of that bastard as much as you do, and I think I have a right to it.”
Mayhem nodded once and went back to looking at the table. “Big and I can hunt down the motherfucker.”
Fury nodded, and the other guys grunted their acceptance of the situation. “We’re here if you need extra muscle or if you need a cleanup.”
“I want any and all info on that piece of shit dug up,” Mayhem ground out through clenched teeth.
“We’re on it.” Dirty was the one to respond. “Give us a few days to get all of it together.”
Mayhem nodded once. “Thanks, brothers,” he said, but he was staring at Big when he spoke. Silent communication was being passed between them, both men saying without words they wouldn’t ease up on the bastard who hurt Claire, and that they’d go after him and make him bleed and hurt until he pissed himself like a little bitch.
Big looked at each of the club members: Fury, Mayhem, Dirty, Dealer, Shorty, Ash, Stone, and Woods. All of these men were his family, bound by blood and brotherhood, violence and menace.
This was the life they led, they’d accepted, grew stronger from, and this was just the gasoline they needed to make their fire burn brighter.
That was the way of the club, of what the patches did for each other. Fuck with one and you fucked with all. Big was going to get off on hurting that asshole, on making him bleed and breaking bones.
He’d said he would stay away from Claire and give her space and time, but after this, after what had been decided, Big didn’t want to stay away.
He needed to talk to her, to let her know he still wanted her, and he’d make sure she knew that he wasn’t going to let her walk away again.
He’d been an idiot and an asshole for screwing shit up with her, for not going after her. It had taken this bullshit situation, her getting hurt by some prick, for Big to realize how special she really was to him.
He loved her. Fucking hell, did he love her, and even if it took the rest of his miserable life to prove it to her, to make amends for letting her walk away, he’d do it begging on his knees.
It was fucked up he’d allowed two years to pass between them, his stubborn ass not seeing what was right in front of him until it was gone. But he’d make it right. He had to make it right, had to make her his no matter what.
7
Two days later
It had only been a couple of days since Claire had shown up at the club in the middle of the night. She was in one of the back rooms of the clubhouse that Mayhem had designated as hers.