Page 30 of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

“Where exactly are we going to be meeting them?”

“I’m looking for a neutral location somewhere between us and them at the moment. I’ll update when everything’s set. Be prepared to get moving as soon as the others get here though. I want a chance to get there and take a look around before the KDs swarm in too.”

“Probably be easier to do if you knew where ‘there’ was,” Rabbit stated from over my shoulder. Shameless popped him the stomach and then shook out his hand.

“Damn, kid, you got metal plates in there?”

Rabbit’s wide grin expanded. “Abs of steel, brother.”

“Fuckin’ hell,” Spinner announced, exasperated with his brother as usual.

“Told you not to knock those workouts,” Rabbit scolded as he turned a little so we could all see his backside. “Check it out, buns of steel too.”

“For Christ sake, are we done here?” Spinner asked as he started heading for the office door.

“Yeah, we’re done here for now. Tango, stick around.”

I waited for the others to clear out of the space that seemed much too small only moments ago, but now seemed cavernous with the large-bodied men missing from it. “What’s up, Prez?”

“What’s up with this Amy situation? She gonna be a problem here?”

I sighed and then took the seat opposite of where Iceman sat on the other side of the desk. “I wish I could tell you, but the people to talk to would be Whisky and Fox.”

“Whiskey and Fox have their heads up her ass, and didn’t see this shit storm brewing sooner so I’m asking you.”

“Honestly, I had my head up my own ass and didn’t see it coming either. I don’t know if she was always a bit touched and we just never noticed it.” I shook my head. “I wasn’t around her as much as the other guys, so I can’t say for sure. Maybe it’s the hormones. Either way, the guys have informed her that she isn’t welcome here right now and definitely not until she gets her shit together again.”

Iceman nodded. “How’s Liza with all the drama that went down? I saw the video of that confrontation in the back room.”

“She was just fine until I got called down here for the updates,” I ground out a little harshly thinking back to how on fire she was for me upstairs only a little bit ago.

Iceman chuckled at that. “Sorry about that. Never thought I’d be the one cock-blocking you.” His chuckling subsided, and he leveled me with a serious look. “You claiming her?”

“I am,” I stated without a moment’s hesitation.

“Thought as much.” Iceman stood and came around the desk then. “She’s in for a tough road ahead. Things aren’t looking good for her brother. We have eyes on the sister-n-law, and are ready to pull her out and send her somewhere else if need be, so you need to be prepared for that. We can’t take a pregnant woman on here, especially with the KDs bringing trouble so close to our doorstep, but that means your woman might feel inclined to go too.”

“Where are you going to send her?”

“Hopefully,” he sighed and parked his ass against the desk. “Nowhere. Realistically, it’s probably going to come down to sending her to Tallahassee. Crusher already agreed to it, and they’re ready for her if need be. Ready for Liza too, if that becomes a reality.” Crusher was the President of the Tallahassee Chapter, and all around good guy, even if his good guy persona was hidden under layers of rough edges, and darker things. The Tallahassee Chapter was one of the few in Aces High still involved in the gun trade after a few strings of bad luck when attempts to seed legit businesses into profitable ventures failed. From what I heard he had been working with the women of Sierra High Evermore MC to develop a realistic business model that the guys in Tallahassee could use to get themselves out of the gun trade now that most of them were settling down with their women and starting families.

“Shit,” I hissed out. I hadn’t even thought about the possibility of Liza not sticking around.

“They’re ready for you too, if you need a place there.”

My head whipped up instantly, and my eyes met with Iceman’s crystalline ones. He was dead serious. “I can’t transfer there. Whiskey and Fox are about to be dads, Amy’s crazy, and I have a feeling they’re going to need me around. Besides, this is home.”

“That’s a decision for you to make, brother. I’m just letting you know, the choice is there if you need it.” I nodded my head at him then.

“I appreciate that.”

“All right, I do believe you left your woman waiting and wanting. Better go remedy that before she gets pissed and comes hunting you down.”

“She’d never do that,” I told him.

“I know it. That’s why I’m bending over backwards to make sure we have our ducks in a row for that one. She’s been through enough at the hands of a piece of shit MC. The least we can do is make sure she sees the other side of our world for what it is too.”

When I got back to the room Liza was out cold lying across the bed. I covered her, and then just sat and watched the woman I was falling for as she slept. She seemed at peace, unlike when she first got here and was always so on edge it took a miracle, and supreme exhaustion to get her to pass out at night. I’d like to think the change meant that she had grown to trust me, and was comfortable enough here that she new she was safe. I didn’t dare ask though, as if just putting the words out there would break the spell she was under and send her back to that restless space she’d once occupied.

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