Page 34 of Rebel

“The club officers will be waiting in Storm’s office.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. As soon as the screen went black, I looked at Lacey. She asked curiously, “What was that all about?”

“Our IT guy just called me into a meeting with our club officers. He said to drop everything and get to the clubhouse. I don’t know what’s going on but I’m going to go see. Sorry I can’t stay longer.”

I had noticed that during my call, the smile had fallen off her face and her expression had turned worried. “Alright, if that’s what you think is best, get to the clubhouse and find outwhat’s going on. We can take that nice long ride you mentioned anytime.”

“Great, I’ll call you later when I’ve taken care of whatever just popped off.”

I leaned down and gave her a quick kiss before rushing out and getting on my bike.

All the way to the clubhouse, I worried about what the big emergency was. Thoughts ran through my head wondering if a new club or gang was infringing on our territory, whether one of us had been jumped, or if we’d received negative attention from the law in some way. My worry motivated me to get there in record time. I parked up my bike and stalked back to Storm’s office, ready for anything.

Sure enough, all the club officers were there. There was Storm, Breaker, Grit, and Celt. I jerked my chin at Storm. “What’s up, boss? Do we have another gang trying to move into Griffinsford?”

“No, but that’s a good guess. We need to stay vigilant in that regard, especially with the break-ins. The reason we called you here is because Hacker dug up some information on Lacey that might be important.”

I dropped down in the free seat in front of his desk. “You got an idea who broke into the office? I’d love to get my hands on whatever punk did that.”

It was Hacker who spoke up, “Nope, but I found a couple of things, both pretty bad but one you’re gonna want to handle face-to-face.”

I gestured with one hand, “Lay it on me. I’m in a mood to kick some ass.”

“The first thing I discovered was some beef with Lacey’s mom. Her best friend is totally off her rocker. She’s been spreading vicious rumors and from the sound of it she’s got the hots for Lacey’s old man.”

I rubbed my chin as I turned his words over in my mind. “Is this the big emergency? I can’t see an elderly lady breaking into her parents’ office, much less engaging in that much destruction of property.”

Hacker frowned at me. “She talks about her grandson making people sit up and pay attention when she talks. He’s a petty criminal with delusions of grandeur and a history of fire starting.”

I bolted forward in my chair. “Okay, I get it. What you’re saying is she might have gotten him to do her dirty work for her and we need to suss out what’s going on, before he decides to torch the place.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much what I’m saying. The best friend seems like a nasty piece of work, who is way too used to getting her own way.”

“You said there were two situations. What’s the other one.”

Storm spoke up. “This is the one you’re gonna want to investigate immediately. And the one we’re gonna have to hold you back from turning into a vegetable. Seems she’s got an asshole ex.”

I sighed, “Just tell it to me straight, Prez.”

He glanced over at Hacker who said, “Take a look for yourself brother, just sending you the info now.”

I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the stuff he sent me, getting angrier with everything that I saw. The piece of shit had been posting naked photos of her in a group chat and saying all kinds of crap. Granted this had happened a few years ago, but the asshole’s days were numbered.

Hacker explained, “After we found this shit, we started to get concerned that if he was capable of something like this, he might be pissed that she came back to Griffinsford and instead of looking him up, she’s been seen around town with you. Also, from other aspects of his life this man seems like a grudge holder. It’s a bad combination if you ask me.”

By the time I got to the last page, I was vibrating with rage. “Who in the fuck does this little prick think he is?”

Hacker responded, “You know as well as I, that some people are just garbage.”

“Well, this one is soon-to-be-dead garbage,” I told him.

Storm snorted a laugh. “No way. He deserves to suck his food through a fucking straw and walk with a limp, but no fuckin’ killing him.”

I came to my feet. “The day’s still young. We’ll have to see.”

Celt jumped up, “I say we pulverize the feckin’ bastard.”

Everybody knew the Irishman was overly protective of women because his old lady’s ex was a domestic abuser. I jerked my chin in agreement, knowing if there was one man in this room that thought a dirt nap was a good idea, it was Celt.