Page 47 of Sheltering Hollis

“Colombia was … successful and humid.” I winked at him. Whitney wasn’t super active in our clandestine activities anymore. His old lady, Amber, kept him home from a lot of the more dangerous activities, but he was still someone who had his ear to the ground regarding the club. There was no way he didn’t know what I was doing there.

As I walked further into the room, the buzz of activity surrounded me. The club was alive, the hum of conversations and laughter mingling with the clinking of glasses and the occasional burst of music. I spotted Jillian near the bar, her eyes lighting up as she saw me.

“Dimitri! You’re back!” she exclaimed with a welcoming smile. Jillian was one of the club bunnies for the Iron Brotherhood, but unlike a few we’d had, she wasn’t looking to be someone’s old lady. I wasn’t sure what she was running from, but there was a reason she was hiding out here. Maddox hadn’t given me much information on the deal he’d cut with her; he just said she was taking the place of one of the last bunnies. We typically let two or three women stay on-site, women the brothers liked but who weren’t too clingy. That was the last thing we wanted — drama.

"Good to see you, Jills,” I said, smiling. "How have things been here?"

"Same old, same old," she replied, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “I hear you brought a lady back from Columba. When are you bringing her by so we can meet her?”

Helena must have blabbed. I sighed and rubbed a hand over my head. The feeling of the stubble comforted me. “Well, I’ll have to set something up to introduce them to all this. Hollis isn’t used to the club life and has a daughter.” I wasn’t sure how that was going to go. “Maybe we could have a club barbeque or something?” Bring the families. Lots of the men had families, so occasionally, we went all out with bouncy houses, barbeques, horseshoes—the whole nine yards.

“Barbeque? We could do that. Welcome them to the family.” Her eyes lit up. It was as if she’d read my mind.

“That sounds amazing, Jillian. I’ll talk to Maddox about it, but maybe you can help Helena?” I asked, hoping to avoid stressing Helena now that she was pregnant.

“I’d love to. Maddox is waiting for you. He's at one of the tables, preparing to meet with Pike. It’s good you’re back. It’s been busy here, and now that thing over in Morinrock.” She shook her head, but I didn’t bother commenting. Jillian was great, but adding to gossip wasn’t a good idea at this point. “You want anything before you head over?” she said finally.

“Nah,” I nodded, giving her a quick wink before entering the bustling room. Maddox sat at a corner table, papers spread out in front of him, and his face showed focused determination. I handed out greetings and took backslaps as I went. Fuck, I loved it here.

"Dimitri," he greeted, glancing up as I approached. "Glad you're here. You get Hollis all situated?”

“Yeah, Tiny showed up with the car this morning.”

He chuckled, “How’d that go?” The smirk on his face told me that he knew how it went.

“Hmm, not that great,” I admitted. “She was a little pissed off. Fuck man, I just want her to be safe. Who doesn’t want a car? It’s nice,” I grumbled.

“It’s a tank. Helena would have been pissed. She’s still struggling to let me buy her things.” Like almost all the men here, Maddox was dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and his Iron Brotherhood cut. His vest had the all-important president patch affixed to it. He’d done the role justice, expanded the club, contacted other clubs, and strengthened bonds with our charters. I was proud to be sergeant. The last VP quit when Maddox brought me on as an officer. The position had remained vacant since then, but Maddox had always told me I was his right hand and he didn’t need anyone else. This absence of mine had been a stretch, though, and I could tell he had been stressed that I wouldn’t return. It had put him and the club in a bind.

“Well, I showed her that I had plenty of money. Put her on all the accounts. That made her feel better that she wouldn’t put me in the poor house.” It seemed to anyway, I thought to myself. Maybe I was pushing too hard. I couldn’t seem to help myself.

“I’m happy for you brother.” The grin on his face showed me that he was. “She seems like a good fit for you, and Olive is adorable.”

Another man would caution me about going too fast or be worried that Hollis would take advantage of me. They might ask me if I was sure. Another man might question my judgment, but Maddox knew me and what my background was. No world existed where I didn’t know my own mind. I was dead sure.

“I was thinking we could do a welcome barbeque. Maybe get them acquainted with the club?”

“That’s a great idea. Let me shoot Helena a text.” Maddox typed something out quickly. “We have a few new prospects too. They can help set up. We haven’t done a barbeque yet this spring, so it’s a good time to have one to get the families together. Pike should be here soon. Ready to get down to the nitty-gritty?”

“Yeah, let’s do it.” Leaning back against the booth’s cushions, I settled in. This shit wasn’t going to be pretty. “What do we know?”

“Not much more than before, honestly. I hope Pike can shed some light on this, but I can’t believe he’d be this sloppy. He keeps things tight. We know the guy’s name was Michael Porter, but we don’t know much else.” Maddox lifted a hand in greeting towards the door, signaling. “Pike’s here,” he said needlessly.

A few minutes later, Pike sat in the booth holding a beer. He looked exhausted.

“Thanks for coming,” Maddox gave him a nod. “Before we start, Helena and I are getting married. I wanted to invite you to the wedding.”

Pike’s face lit up. “That’s amazing. I’m so happy for you two.” He clapped an arm around Maddox, squeezing his shoulders. “When’s the big day?”

“A couple of months. Just a small ceremony for friends.” Maddox looked over at him thoughtfully. “I was hoping you’d come.”

“Wouldn't miss it," he replied, pulling out a chair and sitting down. “I suppose we need to talk about the body?” he said wearily.

Maddox leaned back, crossing his arms. “You know we do. Cops are all over that shit.” Examining Pike and how he nervously bounced his fingers on the table, I wasn’t sure what to think.

“The guy that was killed,” he began, shifting his weight on the bench seat of the booth. “Porter.” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, sweat beading his brow. I’d literally never seen him this nervous; even Maddox stared at him wide-eyed.

“Yeah?” Maddox prompted.

---