Page 12 of Puma's Pride

“That’s messed up.” Showtime says, and I nod in agreement.

“Yeah it is.”

“You said Puma is working with Juan’s father.” Corinne states. “How does that work?”

Showtime and I share a look. “I think you need to ask Puma that question.” I tell her. “It’s club business. A term you will hear ad nauseam. It can be a little frustrating for those of us who hear it, but it helps to keep in mind that they aren’t keeping secrets to feed their egos. Although, sometimes I think their egos play a bigger part than they’ll admit.” I amend, causing Showtime to snort and Max to shake his head. “Mostly, it’s for our protection and theirs. As you spend more time with Puma, you’re likely to learn more about the club. They’ll protect you with their lives, but that means you have a responsibility to them as well. You need to protect them, and the best way to do that is to limit how much you know so the authorities can’t use you against them.”

Corinne nods as we pull up to her condo. Upon entering, my first impression is that Corinne created a lovely home for her and her son. I could imagine her and Mal eating at the small bistro table or snuggling on the brightly colored couch. The whole space is bright and cheery. The hardwood floors are a warm, honey color and the walls a soft coral. I can’t help but smile when I enter Mal’s Spiderman-themed bedroom. The room has more clutter than the rest of the space, but I have to admit, it’s neater than Elina’s room. Elina can’t seem to play unless she has multiple projects in play. She likes to bounce between dolls, Legos, drawing and reading. While Mal looks like he focuses on one activity at a time.

“How much should I pack?” Corinne asks.

“I’d say a week’s worth. Just to be safe.” Showtime says. “We can always come back and get more. If you need anything, one of us prospects can run to the store or even come back here to get it.”

“What about toys?” Corinne asks me.

“Bring Mal’s favorites, but believe me, we have plenty of toys for kids. Puma buys Elina at least one new thing a week. He spoils her rotten. So I imagine he’ll want to do the same for Mal. What does he like to do the most?”

“He loves to read and play with Legos.” Corinne says, pulling a few books off his shelf and putting them in a satchel. She eyes the stack of Lego sets and sets aside a few to take with us.

“Brilliant.” I tell her. “Puma loves to read to Elina. He’s going to be thrilled to have another kid to read to.”

“We have a ton of children’s books at the clubhouse.” Showtime adds. “We didn’t have a single one until Elina showed up. Now we all buy books whenever we see one we think she’ll like. I know I’ve yet to read the same book twice.”

“Do you watch Elina often?” Corinne asks.

Showtime nods. “I do.”

“Because you’re a woman?” Corinne pries, but her question makes Showtime laugh.

“Not at all. Elina is our princess. Protecting her is the most important job in the club. I have to fight off the other prospects.”

CHAPTER SEVEN: PUMA

I have to pull my thoughts away from Corinne and Mal and focus on my brothers. My club. I can’t decide how I feel about Corinne and her keeping Mal away from me all this time. I go over her story in my head and I can’t find fault with how she handled things. No matter how much I want to. The truth is, I played fast and loose on and off the court. While I was just looking for a good time, a chance to blow off some steam, some of those women had been looking for a meal ticket. I had people who protected me from them. People who knew every trick and story that the women might use to get past my defenses.

I never considered how they’d keep me from learning about my son.

“Ok, everyone shut up.” I call out as I slam the gavel down. I don’t have to yell. Not only are the guys ready to hear what I have to say, but my voice carries. Sometimes it’s a blessing, sometimes a curse. Hell, what am I saying? I like I don’t have to yell to get attention. “As most of you know, I disappeared for a while today. The story is long and convoluted, so shut the fuck up and listen. I don’t want to repeat myself.”

I look every member in the eye before I start with what I think is the most important piece of information. “It turns out I have a son. His name is Mal. He’s five. You’ll recognize him because he has my eyes.” I smile when I hear snickers flow into the room. “He and his mother will stay with us for a while. Her name is Corinne. I want everyone to know that she didn’t keep Mal’s existence from me on purpose. I met her when I played ball. It was a one-night stand. When she reached out to tell me she was pregnant, my manager intercepted her. She tried again after my accident and she met with the same wall. I don’t want anyone here giving her a hard time. Got it?” I look at every patched member and wait for their nod of agreement. The only one who hesitates is Chill. Which isn’t a surprise. “Chill?”

She doesn’t hide her displeasure, which is one reason I made her my SOA. The other is that she doesn’t trust anybody unless they’re wearing a Demon Dawgs’ kutte. “You already know I don’t like her.” Chill says with no remorse or hesitation. “She set you up.”

“She did.” I agree, which has everyone shifting in their chairs before I scowl at them. “But she had no choice. A man broke into her apartment and threatened their lives. She did what had to do, to protect her child. To protect my son. She escaped and put herself in a position to stop me from walking into a trap.” I glance at Chill, who shrugs, which is as close to an apology as I’m likely to get. “She also got a photo of the man who broke in.” I nod at Spark, who hits his keyboard to display Juan’s photo. “For those who haven’t heard the rumor that I’m certain is flying around the clubhouse, this is Juan Gutierrez, Sal’s youngest son, the man who’s after Alisa and Elina.”

“He also goes by the name of John Spada.” Spark adds. “He worked for a time as Diego’s head of security.”

“Should we get Diego in here?” Wildcard asks, and I nod. I want to hear what he knows about the man obsessed with my woman.

“Hold on, VP.” Spark says before glancing at me. “Alisa and Diego brought this to my attention, so I’ve been doing some digging. I think I have all the information we need. We can bring Diego in if you have questions I can’t answer.”

I frown at Spark, unsure of why he’s hesitating to bring Diego into Church, but I nod in agreement. I can find out later. “What do you have?”

“Ok. First, John Spada exists, but this isn’t him.” Spark says, hitting a key to split the screen in order to display a second image. Both men are similar enough that I can see how easy it would have been for Juan to pretend to be him. “John was in the military. He was a marine who worked in logistics. He left the Marines three years ago after a mistake lead to the death of one of their own. Matteo Luna.”

“Alisa’s husband and Elina’s father.” I state. “I know Scar and Laser looked into Matteo’s death because Laser figured out someone intentionally stationed away him from the action.” Laser was a Marine sharpshooter who often looked out after the men on the ground by taking out threats. But during the attack that left Matteo dead, he’d been on top of the wrong building. They originally thought it had been an oversight, a mistake. But when Laser returned to the town where the attack took place, he realized that the assigned location of his nest was not just away from the action but as far away as he could get and still be in the same town, plus obstacles stood between him and Matteo’s location. It couldn’t have been a coincidence.

“They didn’t uncover who made the mistake?”

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