Page 55 of Triple the Danger

“No,” Code snarled angrily.

“Then we better get this shit sorted out fast,” Simba returned tightly. He looked at Savage, who appeared ready to lose his shit. Jax glanced at Saylor, who was watching the whole exchange with interest.

“When they are on these grounds, they are Old Ladies, end of story,” Savage returned tightly. “They are not members of your MC, which means they stay out of this room and its business. Women can’t be part of an MC anyway, so the point is moot.”

“They may not be able to be members of your MC in an official capacity,” Jag corrected. “But we do not have that same mandate. In fact, I believe there are several all-female MCs around this country. Now, as far as I see it, Karissa and Glitch are right, they have been keeping up their end of the bargain. Actually, they’ve gone above and beyond that. Before this, in the months since Glitch and Code got together, have they involved themselves in club business?”

Savage was silent, refusing to respond.

“The answer is no,” Karissa said calmly and quietly. Savage shot her a glare, but she held it.

“But you’ve been taking advantage of them being a part of ours, right?” Jag continued, staring at Savage. “You ask Glitch to assist you with your security and help out when Code is occupied with something else. When you need someone to guard your women and children, you ask Karissa. And at those times, do you tell either of them why you need help? Or do you expect them to obey and comply without so much as a thank you?”

“Let’s also not forget that with one word from me, that all stops,” Simba added pointedly. “Whether you like it or not, they are full-fledged members of the Predators MC, and they should be shown the same respect that your men get, with or without their cuts. They wear yours because they have accepted you as their new reality and have fallen for two of your own. But we are their family. We have been with them far longer than any of you, and we will not sit back and watch our family disrespected. End of story.”

“So what do you want?” Savage demanded furiously.

“I think the better question is what do Karissa and Glitch want,” Saylor pointed out. She didn’t cower under the furious glare Savage aimed at her.

“And this is why we don’t let women in this fucking room and into club business,” Ink huffed. “It’s a fucking mess. We have a rule about this shit.”

“Alright, that’s enough,” Glitch snapped, standing. “I’m done with going around this over and over again.” She turned to Savage. “This is what we want. First, we want an apology for treating us like we are nothing more than an easy convenience for you and your club. For wanting to use our skills but not giving us any acknowledgement in return. Second, when Karissa and I are on these grounds, we are Razor and Code’s Old Ladies. We will continue to operate under that title and stay out of this room and whatever happens in it. We will not stick our noses in or give our opinions. We will follow your direction. But the moment we leave these grounds, or our MC is on them, we are no longer Old Ladies. We are then patched members of the Predators MC.”

“And that means,” Karissa continued, standing as well, “that when the Predators MC are on these grounds and are invited into this room, we are included. Because again, in that moment, we are not Old Ladies. And to avoid any confusion, Code and Razor will sit at one end of the table, and we will be at the other. We will wear our Predators MC cuts, not our Property cuts. If you really don’t want us in this room, you don’t invite the Predators MC inside. Simple as that. And if you come to the Predators MC clubhouse, you will also respect our positions there.”

“And just so we’re clear,” Glitch added. “We will never leave any of the women or kids alone or unprotected. We do that of our own free will because they are our family and our friends.”

“If I don’t agree?” Savage asked.

Karissa and Glitch shared a look before they replied, “Then we leave, and we permanently reside at the Predators MC clubhouse. We will only be back to assist when you call on our MC as an ally. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“The ball is in your court, Savage,” Simba said as he stood, as did the rest of his team. Then he and the rest of the Predators, including Karissa and Glitch, walked out of the room. Saylor followed them, shutting the door behind her, her stance on the issue obvious.

The room was silent, the tension high.

“You know they’re right,” Jax said quietly, his gaze moving around the room. “Karissa and Glitch are a part of their club, and we knew that from the minute the Predators showed up here. They are also right that they have stayed out of shit. Up until today, I can’t think of another time when they’ve ever tried to get into this room or asked about club business. And they don’t ask the other women either.”

“I’m just going to be very clear,” Razor added darkly. “If my woman leaves these grounds, I’m going with her. I’ll go nomad if it causes a problem, but I won’t be apart from her, and I won’t have her thinking I don’t respect her.”

“Me too,” Code agreed firmly. “Glitch is right. We expect her and Karissa to use their skills to help us all the time, and they do it without complaint. Hell, we asked Glitch to bail us out with that issue with our suppliers a few weeks ago. We gave her no information on why we needed her help, but she used her skills to do it, and she fixed our problem. She didn’t get one thank you, and even then, she didn’t try to stick her nose into why we needed the info. She did it, and then she went about her day. You say they shouldn’t be involved in club business, but yet they are.”

“You would really leave the club over this?” Savage asked Razor and Code. Both men nodded, not even hesitating. Savage let out an aggravated sigh and then scrubbed a hand over his face. “Any other opinions?” he asked, looking around the room.

“I think we need to acknowledge that those two women have done an awful lot for our club,” Fury said after a moment. “I’m all for the women staying out, but when it comes to these two, it’s not a normal situation. Karissa helped save Esme and Gabe. She fought off that asshole Slicer when he was after the girls. Then when it came time to deal with the Ghost team, they were the ones that took them out, not us. It’s a blow to the ego, sure, knowing that those two women, who are half our size, are able to protect themselves without us, but at the same time, I know that if Karissa leaves, Esme will never forgive me. So, I say we make some clear rules, and we stick to them.”

“Namely?” Rogue asked.

“Just like they said,” Fury continued. “They stay out of club business, and we don’t ask them to assist in any way unless we’re ready for them to be fully involved. No more asking Glitch for help with anything tech related. Code, that is your job, and it should only be you doing it. Karissa continues to manage the bar as she has been. If we need them to help with protecting the women, then we ask them, we don’t order them. Though, from what they’ve said, they don’t need to be asked or ordered, but we make sure that they understand that this is us respecting their position with the Predators.”

“And when their MC is here, they need to wear their Predators cuts,” Jax agreed. “Because they’re right, when they’re here, they are not just Old Ladies, and we need to see that distinction. It’s not like the Predators are here a lot, so they won’t be in this room with them often. When the Predators or any other MC are in here, they are only here to observe, not necessarily participate. Even still, they wouldn’t necessarily be saying anything. But we need to at least acknowledge that’s who they are.”

“And we need to apologize for not respecting their position earlier,” Razor added firmly. “They had every right to be pissed. If we left out members of another MC because we didn’t respect or like them or some shit, it would be seen as a declaration of war.”

That hung heavy in the air. Because Jax knew that if shit went down that road, there was no way they would win against the Predators.

Savage gave a heavy sigh. “Tell them to come back in here,” he told Ice, who was closest to the door. He opened the door and called out, then stood aside as the Predators, including Karissa and Glitch, walked back in and filed to the end of the table. None sat down, but stood silently waiting. That’s when Jax noted that Karissa and Glitch were wearing Predators MC cuts, their names proudly embossed on the front. Savage stood silent for a moment, and then looked directly at Karissa and Glitch. “I’m going to start with an apology for the disrespect of not including you in our meeting earlier. And I’m going to continue with an acknowledgement that you are both members of another club, and any other time that would be grounds for our alliance to be broken and even to declare war. So, I’m sorry, and you have my word that it won’t happen again.”

“Thank you,” Karissa said softly. Glitch echoed that as well, but neither of them moved.

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