Page 35 of Steal

My VP says ‘Aye’ first with a massive grin on his face, and I shake my head at him; the fucker has wanted a garage for years, hating the one we use in town. Cannon, my sergeant-at-arms, is next to agree, along with my enforcer, Pitbull.

Acid, my road captain, says ‘Aye’, along with Piston, my treasurer and tech guru, before my newly appointed secretary, Shotgun, nods and says ‘Aye.’

I lean forward, bang the gavel, and state, “Then it’s settled. Over the next month, Shotgun and Piston will come up with a building plan and budget, and then we’ll get the rest of the brothers involved.” As I speak, I write down the plan, then look around the table again and ask, “And where are we with finding the Killers?”

Piston grunts, anger instantly taking over his features as he growls, “Most of the fuckers are hiding, and honestly, with thebeatings Acid and I took when we were kids, I never realized Aiden Mathews was such a fucking weasel.”

Anchor speaks up, “Cannon and I have tortured three of the men we found in our territory, but none of them know where he’s hiding out.”

I sigh. “We need to double down and find the fucker, soon, and once we kill the bastard, we’ll kill off the rest of the vermin.”

Piston jumps in, “Nat is terrified to walk out the fucking house so I’m in on that plan.”

I nod, not surprised, especially when she’s already lost one baby because of that fucker, Aiden. So far, the pregnancy is looking good, but with Aiden still at large Nat is worried. We’re all worried.

I look over the paperwork again, then look up and ask, “And where are we with Axe?”

The brothers all tense and I don’t blame them. We as a brotherhood trust each other with our lives, yet that fucker….

Axe is Piston’s and Acid’s blood cousin on Aiden's side. I only patched him in because he showed loyalty to his cousins, but since both Piston and Acid have earned an officer’s patch and a seat at the table, Axe ha changed.

I’ve seen a side of him I don’t fucking like, and the fact his old lady, a woman who didn’t even want his patch, has disappeared, along with Aurora, a girl I’ve known since the day she was born, has put him on our shit list.

Axe was the last person to see them both, and though his old lady went missing around the same time, I think she ran whileAurora, I think he had something to do with her disappearance, but we need proof.

“The fucker is squeaky clean so far. I’ve been tracking him and the only place he goes is to the apartment his mom left him,” Piston states.

I hum, then ask, “Has it been inspected?”

Acid says, “You think that’s where he’s got Rory?”

I clear my throat and lean forward, “Most likely not now. She’s been gone for a while, but yeah, I think that is where he held her. Don’t ask me how I know, it’s more gut instinct, but Aurora disappears, and so does his old lady a few hours later, and instead of helping to find the girls, he fucks the clubwhores before disappearing for nearly twenty-four hours….”

Pitbull speaks up, “Is this why you’ve taken him off the cash pickups from the businesses?”

I nod. “And giving him the decoy information as we did with Skinny before he was killed. Until we get the evidence we need, just like Faith and Brute regarding Cass, I can’t kick him out of the club without cause. The older generation still believe they have a say within the brotherhood….”

Cannon speaks up, scoffing, “More like cause more trouble than everyone else within the club. They know they'd get their own way if they cause a lot of talk, and I think it’s time we change it. You’ve only kept them in the club out of respect for your father, and we all know your dad would agree to kick them out.”

The brothers nod in agreement as Shotgun asks, “Is there a chance we could put it to a club vote without them knowing so they’re only here during club parties and family days?”

I sigh and lean back in my chair and admit, “We can, but it means possibly causing shit with them, so if we all want to do this, then we need to really dive into it and discuss it. Some of them do have homes on club land and that’s something we can’t take from them, something I won’t take from them, so maybe, instead of cutting them from the clubhouse full time, we discuss them no longer having a say in club business. They’re still getting money from the club when they do fuck all, so they can’t really complain….”

The brothers all nod in agreement, and I state, “Alright, we’ll discuss it at the next meeting and bring the other brothers in without the older generation.” I look around the brothers. “Now, if that’s all,” I bang the gavel, “I have somewhere to be.”

The brothers chuckle while Acid says, “Do me a favor, Prez, before you piss her off, find out where Perrie is staying, will ya?”

The brothers laugh harder, and I chuckle before standing then walking out of church, patting brothers on the back as I go.

I grab my phone from Killian, who is standing guard outside of church, and head for the front door but stop when I hear “Prez?” shouted.

I grit my teeth before turning toward Bull, who raises a bushy black brow at me and says, “Faith called; her car has fucked up again.”

I raise my brow back and ask, “And?”

He flinches back a little before he composes himself and clears his throat, stating, "Well, you need to go and pick her up and maybe look into buying her a new car.”

The room quiets at Bull’s fucked up words becausewhat the actual fuck. Anger shoots through me, but despite it, I smirk and ask, “When exactly did she become my old lady, Bull?” His face reddens, but I continue, “Last time I checked, I’m the motherfucking president of this club, and I have been for over four years, and last time I checked,” I look around the room, “haven’t I proven myself to everyone?”

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