Page 1 of Patching Over

Chapter 1

Big Timber

“Are you sure about this?” Declan asks Joey, his eyes steadily searching her face as she considers her answer.

“They need to pay for what they’ve done. Dad,” her voice catches on the word, not over the fact that she’s sealing her mother’s fate. “He didn’t get to be my dad, not like he wanted to be. Jayne took me from him, then she … Actually, she and Percy took him from all of us.”

Axel reaches over and pulls Joey from where she’s seated, easily lifting her into his arms before turning to carry her from the room.

“What would you have done if she said no?” Diesel asks Declan.

“The same thing we’re going to do, regardless.”

The answer doesn’t surprise me in the least. This has gone on far too long as it is. I suppose that this way, Joey can feel like she was involved in avenging her dad.

“And Ransom?” I ask, knowing that Joey’s brother is the more impulsive of the pair.

“Tin’s going to keep him occupied,” Declan responds, looking annoyed at the question.

“Timber’s right to ask,” Wolfman says with a shrug. “Ransom’s going to be pissed at being edged out.”

Looking around the room, I wonder what I’m missing. There’s something else in play here, but I’m not sure if it will affect themissionat hand.

Declan mutters under his breath before speaking up. “We don’t know for certain if they’re going to agree. I gave them until the first night of the patch over party to give me an answer.”

“Can you rewind a bit?” I push him.

“Tin doesn’t want to run the Grave Knights, Ransom isn’t ready yet, and Red said, ‘Fuck no’.”

“Ransom wouldn’t be the youngest guy to run an MC,” I add with a shrug, not really knowing the guy but willing to give him the benefit of the doubt based on his sister.

“His world has changed a bit since meeting Joey,” Diesel says. “Turns out he has a trust fund and he wants to see the world a bit.”

“Tin and I discussed bringing them into our club. Loosely, that is,” Declan says, shrugging his shoulders. “They’ll stay where they are, run their shit through us, pay dues, all that. Then, down the road a bit, they’ll decide if they want to split back off or stay with us. There’s only ten of them, so it’s not like it affects us much anyway.”

I nod, knowing he didn’t have to explain anything to me in the first place and now isn’t the time for the questions firing off in my mind.

“Alright, now if question time is over …” Declan grunts, before swinging his gaze over to Diesel.

“Good,” Diesel replies before outlining the plan. “The Brookhavens’ fly private, so we’ll have to be flexible with the timing, but once they take off we’ll have a better idea of where best to pick them up. Once we have them, we’ll cancel their motel room, and …”

Wolfman lets out a snort. “It’s not a motel, you cretin. The spa and resort they booked comes with a butler and is probably a few grand a night.”

“To-may-to, to-mah-to,” Diesel says, flipping him off. “It’ll be easier to pick them off on their way there than on the return. That way, people won’t be looking for them for a week.”

“And their driver?” I ask, wondering about collateral damage.

“They travel with him regularly. He’s in some of the footage online.” Diesel’s words seal the man’s fate.

My nostrils flare in disgust and I nod, signaling that I have no issue with killing the driver.

“Alright, Wolfman and Timber, you two handle the additional details. Coordinate with Diesel about your timeline and anything you’ll need.”

Knowing Declan, the abrupt end of his sentence is our queue to leave, so we do without hesitation.

“Which one do you want?” Wolfman asks me as we’re heading down to his office. “I'm happy to take Jayne.”

“I imagine Jayne would be more willing to talk than Percy—what are your thoughts?” I ask him. Not that I have any qualms about torturing and killing a woman like her, but we won't have a lot of time nor anyone to watch our backs.

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