Page 21 of Coty

Finley is the only member of her family who knows how to love unconditionally. Half this town could take lessons from her on kindness. After ensuring every Viking is out of the fellowship hall, I nod to Finley and leave.

Chapter 10

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Coty

Is it possible to have a quiet uproar? Maybe quiet chaos is a better word. I don’t know, but the atmosphere at the Den is all out of sorts tonight. It’s not half as loud as it usually is here on the weekend. It’s the reason I consider the word quiet. The Den is nowhere near as quiet as the church was. There’s just an odd kind of energy flowing through the clubhouse tonight. No one here thinks twice or cuts their eyes because the younger kids are restless. Most are too young to understand what today means.

Every adult knows what happened tonight. Everyone’s outraged. Thankfully, all the ole’ ladies jumped in and took over handling the candlelight vigil. Hundreds of calls have come in apologizing for what happened. A larger television news channel in Nashville picked up the local station’s video and plastered it on all of their social media sites. The entire state of Tennessee and half the country will know what happened by morning.

Sadly, the clip going around is where Jack’s mother threw the candle at the Pastor’s wife. The viewers are split on who they sympathize with. The story of Ariel’s death has sprung to life again. Nick tries to keep as much as possible off the internet so Jack’s family won’t see it. He had to call in help from his fellow computer geeks. They’re efforts are pointless tonight.

“Prez called a meeting.” Worley slaps me on the back as he walks by. He disappears down the hallway and not into Church. Our Church is nothing like the one we just left.

“You good here?” Kayla’s behind the bar. I want to keep her in my sight, but duty calls.

“Yeah. I’ll help Lil Mama and Deanna watch things out here.” Any other night, she’d have something snappy to say. Deanna is Ross’s wife. She steps in every time the club needs her.

“Thanks. Keep an eye on Emily, too.” I motion with my head to where Emily sits at the bar next to Pops. It’s off not seeing Granddad with him.

Kayla huffs out a breath. “All y’all need to stop worrying about Emily. She belongs here.”

She’s not wrong. Emily has been a friend of the club since she was a teenager. Her parents are another story. They disowned her right out of high school because she repeatedly stood up for club members. I pause in the doorway and glance over my shoulder. Kayla’s father and brother hate us, too. Makes me wonder about some things.

“Let’s go, Rodeo.” Bankz hurries past me.

“Feel your pain, man.” Hendrix is right behind him—no clue what he means.

“She’s safe. No one here will touch her,” Jay assures me.

That’s true. Only club members and our local friends are here tonight. This is the safest atmosphere Kayla and Emily could be in. Knowing it doesn’t make leaving her easy, though. Jack’s family needs me, so I turn and follow Jay to Mack’s office.

Worley’s waiting for us at the door. His lips press together to the point they almost turn white. His eyes narrow as he glances up and down the hall. We all know enough not to speak. The big guy is beyond pissed. Nick’s at the desk on his laptop. He jumps to his feet when Mack storms through the door.

“How bad?” Mack asks Nick before he reaches the desk.

Nick quickly slides his computer to the side of the desk and pulls up a straightback chair. “Sorry, Prez. It’s going to be a rough few days. We’re taking down as much as we can as fast as we can.” He sighs and shakes his head. “There’s not a lot we can do with the news channels without a court order.”

Worley moves behind Mack’s chair and places his hand on his shoulder. “What do you need?”

Mack runs a hand through his hair. His eyes bounce around, not settling on anything or anyone. “My daughter back. My wife’s mind clear. Her pain gone.” He tosses his hands up. “I don’t know anymore.”

Jack sucks a breath in through his nose and swipes the back of his hand across it. Jay and I move to his side. My friend is tough. Seeing his mom fall to pieces brings us all to our knees.

“What’s our next step?” Jack asks.

Next steps are how we move forward. It usually involves an angel. Those steps aren’t so clear when our families are involved. They don’t help with our sanity, for darn sure. Our sanity is completely gone in moments like this. The room stays quiet for a long moment.

“You still want Church tomorrow?” Nick breaks the silence.

Mack leans back and nods. “Yeah. Move it to two. I wanna make sure the kids, Ev, and the rest of my family are okay before I leave them.”

“Where’s everyone staying tonight. We’ll set up guards outside the houses,” Hendrix offers.

Mack looks across the desk at Jack. “My house.” He leaves no room for defiance.

“Yeah, Dad. Lily and I’ll be there.” Jack’s learning to trust his father’s judgement, whether he agrees with him or not.

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