Page 47 of Jack

“Lily!” Kayla calls out and waves from behind the bar.

Lily hurries over and climbs up on one of the stools. “I’m glad you’re here.”

I’m glad she’s made a friend in the club and one that I trust.

“Can I get you a drink?”

“Just water, please.” Lily folds her hands together on the bar. She turns her head toward the old timer on her right.

He grins. “Hello, princess.”

I step behind her until her back touches my chest. Not the best idea I’ve had today. Now, I want to wrap my arms around her.

“Lily, this is Pops.” I glare at him, warning him to act right.

She gasps. “Your grandfather.”

Pops looks mortified. Kayla and I burst out laughing.

“No, angel.” I point to the old timer at the end of the bar. “That’s Granddad.”

Granddad smiles and waves. He gives me a nod of approval and a thumbs up.

“Pops is Worley Bird’s father.” Kayla sets a bottle of water in front of Lily. “He was our first club treasurer.”

“Yeah, thought my son would follow in my footsteps. He traded up for VP,” Pops grumbles. He’s not really upset. He’s proud of his son.

“Vikings!” Worley Bird shouts from outside the double wooden doors. “Church! Now!”

I lean down, allowing my cheek to touch her hair. The sweet scent of coconut hits me. It’s her shampoo. I saw the bottle in her bathroom when I searched the guest house.

“Stay here, angel. If the crowd gets too much, go to the kitchen. Mom and Nana are in there.”

She blinks up at me and slightly nods. Kayla dips her chin once, assuring me she’ll watch over Lily.

“Pops, you behave yourself.” I slap him on the back and walk away.

“Can’t. Got a pretty girl next to me.” The old man props his elbow on the bar and grins at Lily.

I turn around to scold the old-timer.

“Jack! Let’s go!” Worley Bird shouts, saving his old man.

Pops is harmless, so I leave him be and go to Church. Worley Bird closes the double doors behind us. He takes his place next to Dad at the officers’ table down front. Jay and Cloudy stand against the wall on the right side of the room. My cousin motions for me to join them.

“Vikings! Settle down!” Dad stands and slams the gavel down. Church has officially begun.

The room goes quiet, and everyone finds a seat. The only ones left standing are the three of us and Dad.

Dad tosses the brick on the table and points at it. “This was stupid. It shouldn’t have happened. It also can’t be ignored.” He turns to the three of us. “Cloudy Daze isn’t an official patched member, but he’s one of us. Cloudy was there, and you need to hear what he saw. Boys, tell ‘em what happened.”

Cloudy steps forward first. One by one, each of us shares what happened. Jay tells them about the races in The Valley back in the summer. I include the run-in with Trace at the bakery three weeks ago. Someone in the rows near me growls at the mention of Emily Powell. Everybody’s mad, so I don’t know who it was. Several members are on their feet complaining. The entire club likes Emily. I’m not sure what that growl was about, though. Does someone not like Emily?

“Settle down, brothers.” Worley Bird’s voice booms above the noise. Once again, the room goes quiet. “Of course, we’ll protect Emily and the bakery. We’ll set up a security detail for her until we know what’s going on. Rodeo will put a sign-up sheet for volunteers at the bar. If there’s not enough volunteers, we’ll recruit you.”

From the amount of heads nodding, we’ll have enough volunteers to watch the bakery. It eases my mind a little, knowing eyes will be on Lily, too, while she’s working.

“Alright, brothers. I agree with my son. There’s more to this than losing some cash. Have any of you had a run-in with a Maverick that we don’t know about?”

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