Page 36 of Arrow

As the footage concluded with Mills' blatant lie about hitting a deer, Arrow sat back, his breathing ragged. The urge to protect Emilee, to shelter her from this cruel reality, overwhelmed him. But he knew she deserved the truth, no matter how painful.

With trembling fingers, he dialed her number. He needed to hear her voice. He knew she was okay, but he was desperate anyway. When she answered, her voice light and teasing, he struggled to keep his own steady.

“Hey, baby girl. Just checking in. I had an unexpected meeting come up at the clubhouse. Are you okay waiting for me to come home or do you want to join us here?”

“I’m good, Daddy. I have a paper due in my online class tomorrow, remember?”

“That’s right. I’m going to order a pizza for you. Make sure you call me if you decide to leave the house for any reason, okay?”

“Of course, Daddy. Can the pizza have extra pepperoni?”

“You’ve got it.” Arrow hung up the phone and quickly ordered a pizza for delivery for his girl. Then, he sent out a group text, demanding Dax, Phantom, Lucky, Mace, Luke and Jay come to a meeting. His tone must have conveyed the urgency because every man he texted said they’d be there within an hour.

Arrow paced the length of the Watchmen clubhouse, his jaw clenched tight as he awaited the arrival of the others. The usually comforting smell of leather and motor oil did little to calm his frayed nerves.

“You okay, brother?” Savage asked him.

“No. Not in a fucking long shot,” Arrow responded.

“Want me to get you a drink?”

“Thanks, brother, but not. I need to be completely level headed for the meeting I just called.” Arrow would love an Irish whiskey on the rocks right about now, but he wouldn’t drink, not until after he brought everyone together.

As the door swung open, Arrow's steely gaze locked onto Mace. Without preamble, he strode forward, his voice low and dangerous.

“We need to discuss your little girl's behavior, Mace. Mia's treatment of Emilee at Day & Night was unacceptable.”

Mace's brow furrowed. “What are you talking about, Arrow?”

Arrow's nostrils flared. “I'm talking about Mia treating Emilee like she was less than dirt. She has been behaving like a mean girl towards her and that stops now, you hear me? I won't have anyone speaking to my girl that way again. You won’t like what happens if there’s a next time.”

“I had no idea Mia acted that way. She would never dare to behave in such a manner around me,” Mace frowned. “Believe me, Arrow, if she?—”

“There is no if. I was there. Trinity was there. And Day & Night is outfitted with security cameras that Jay installed. If you need me to ask him to pull up the footage for you to see yourself how your little brat has been behaving?—”

“There’s no need for name calling. You know how littles can be. I don’t need to see the security footage, Arrow. I believe you. Trust me, I have zero tolerance for Mia acting like a bully. I will express to her my extreme displeasure of her behavior, and she will write an apology letter to Emilee.” Mace shook his head. “There has to be more to her behavior than her defending Catie. I’ll get to the bottom of it. I promise, she won’t even look at Catie sideways when I’m done with her.”

Arrow felt some of the tension leave his body with the other man’s words. Good. He’d take Emilee to task too for being a mean girl. She’d bully another person exactly one time before he came down on her. Then, she’d be grounded indefinitely until she could prove he could trust her to be out of his sight. Mia wasn’t his, though, and as long as Mace addressed her behavior and made sure she never disrespected Emilee again, he’d leave it alone.

As the others settled into chairs around the room, Arrow's mind raced. The footage of Emilee's accident played on a loop in his head, each replay stoking his fury. He had irrefutable, undeniable proof that she wasn’t lying.

“Listen up,” he growled, moving to the projector he’d set up. “There's something you all need to see. It's about that night— the night Catie was kidnapped and Emilee was hit.”

Arrow's fingers hovered over the play button, his heart hammering. He thought of Emilee's resilience, her sharp witmasking such vulnerability. She deserved justice, and by God, he was going to make sure she got it.

“Prepare yourselves,” he warned, meeting each man's gaze in turn. “This isn't going to be easy to watch.” With a deep breath, Arrow pressed play, steeling himself to relive the horror once more.

The room fell into a stunned silence as the footage played out, the only sound the muffled curses and sharp intakes of breath from the gathered men. Arrow's fists clenched at his sides; his jaw tight as he watched their reactions.

As the video ended, Lucky slammed his hand on the table. “That bastard! He deliberately ran her down!”

Phantom, usually stoic, had a dangerous glint in his eye. “We won’t let this stand. Both Emilee and Catie deserve justice. Emilee for being run over and Catie for the delay in finding her and what she suffered at the hands of the cartel.”

Arrow nodded, his voice rough with emotion. “Damn straight. Emilee deserves more than this cover-up bullshit. She’s been treated like a lying leper for far too long.”

Dax cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. “I've got some good news on that front, boys. I've already reached out to the state inspector general. Sent them everything we've got. They are serving an arrest warrant for Mills tomorrow.”

“How'd you even get this?” Zach asked.

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