Page 26 of Iron Will

“I’ll do everything I can to help you, Bethany,” I say fiercely. “I promise. In the meantime, you just focus on doing what’s best for Paisley.”

11

Rourke

Bear gets out of the hospital two days later. From the looks on the faces of the hospital staff when I get there to help spring him out, there’s going to be one hell of a celebration once he’s gone.

The nurses don’t look as scared now when they pass one of the Lords as they did the first day. Instead, they look irritated. Like seeing one of us reminds them of the surly motherfucker in room two-seventeen.

Bear refused Axel’s offer to bring him back to the clubhouse from the hospital. A couple of the brothers are taking him to his house instead. Since he’s still recovering from the stab wound, one of the prospects is gonna be his errand boy for a few days, until he gets back on his feet.

I can’t help but shake my head at the thought of it. That prospect is gonna hate his life for a while, that’s for certain.

Axel and I are standing out in the hallway the morning Bear gets discharged. We’re leaning against a wall, watching the three ring circus of nurses trying to get Bear to ride out of this place in a wheelchair. I’m getting a pretty good laugh out of the whole damn thing. Even Axel, who’s usually pretty stone-faced and stoic, is cracking a smile.

“You good with keeping a few brothers here at the hospital during visiting hours for a few days, prez?” I ask as we observe the scene in front of us. “I wanna keep an eye on Paisley’s room.”

“Yeah, I’m fine with it.”

Axel knows the story by now. Paisley’s become kind of an unofficial mascot of the club. That kid’s gotten more stuffed animals, toys, and candy in the last few days than she probably got for her last damn birthday. And she sure ain’t hurting for visitors, either, even when her mom’s not here.

“Hospital staff still givin’ you grief about the Lords standing guard for her?” Axel asks.

“Don’t matter. I think they’re gettin’ used to it. They don’t like the mom’s boyfriend, either. When the MC’s around, at least he knows he’s on notice. Saves them the trouble of keepin’ an eye on him themselves.” I pause. “I don’t think they’re gonna keep her here much longer, though. Paisley’s doin’ good, healing up okay. And from what I can gather, her mom doesn’t have insurance.”

“You can’t protect that kid forever, Rourke.” Axel eyes me with a frown.

“The hell I can’t.”

“What’re you gonna do?”

“I dunno yet, exactly.”

I’m not gonna lie, I’ve considered takin’ Mickey outside and beating the motherfucker within an inch of his life. Not sure why I haven’t yet, to be honest.

Axel doesn’t reply. After a couple seconds, he says, “Hey, I need you to go on a run with me. Down to talk to Chaco.”

“Down to Louisville?” I frown. “What’s up?”

“Dos Santos got fucked, is what. A bunch of his guys got busted at a roadhouse just outside their territory. The cops arrested them all for drunk and disorderly. Trumped up charges, but Chaco thinks it’s sending a signal. The Dos Santos cartel is being targeted, and the cops are in on it.”

“Turf war,” I groan.

“And our shipments are right in the middle of it.”

“Fuck me. This is bad.”

“Damn right it is,” Axel says grimly. “Chaco wants to renegotiate terms. Wants to do it in person. I’m guessing he’s gonna tell us he can’t get as much product for us as we agreed on. But that ain’t gonna fly with the Tanner Springs charter. Angel’s got some thirsty buyers who ain’t gonna be happy with the club if the supply starts to dry up.”

I nod, thinking about the president of the Tanner Springs Lords of Carnage. Angel’s an ambitious motherfucker. He’s working on building our club into one of the major players in the region.

“Angel know about this yet?”

Axel shakes his head. “I’m gonna wait until I know what the score is before I call him. But I need my VP there with me to be eyes and ears with Chaco. You in?”

“‘Course. You takin’ anyone else?”

“Yeah. Mal and Dante,” he grunts. “Any more than that attracts too much attention on the road.”

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