Page 23 of Property of Mercy
Pres’s face turns bright red, and he seems to vibrate with anger when he nearly shouts, “She is not your plaything, Mercy!”
Seeing a place of vulnerability, my monster strikes.“Pres, is there something that you need to tell us?Do you know something we don’t know about our little lamb?We’re a brotherhood and family.We don't keep secrets.Isn’t that right?”
Pres narrows his eyes at me, “Don’t taunt me boy.I’m the President of this club and my word is law.I’ll put you and Blender out on your asses.”
Cocking an eyebrow, I don’t say a word.Letting my lack of response speak for itself.I’m not afraid of this asshole and would gladly remind him of this if he wants to continue to push the matter.We stare each other down, neither willing to give on the matter.
“Mercy, that’s enough,” Raider barks, causing me to shift my focus.
When our eyes meet, he gives me a very subtle shake of the head, telling me to let this go.Interesting, that means Raider truly believes we’ve got a serious issue from the inside and not just with anyone—but with our Pres.Settling back in my chair, I replay everything that’s been going on as of late, trying to pick out exactly what Raider is seeing.I tune out most of the ongoing conversation about how our businesses are going.Our three major, mostly legit businesses are doing well.
We have a construction company, Gold Wings Construction, that assists with making sure things are never found, and Tender Touch Butcher & Slaughter makes sure that no parts of our messes are found as well as making sure the good people of our area have good fresh meat.Finally, we have the one that makes us the most money and gives us what we need for the not so legal side of business, The Petty Cleanup Crew.These guys are cleaners of all things, from simple messes to the biohazard and extremely discreet cleanup.
I tune into the conversation when we get to theverynot legal side of things, as that’s where my strengths come into play.Token goes over who has paid and who hasn’t.Then he passes a list of men that seem to not want to pay up or stick to their end of things to Terro so he can look it over and give Blender and I our assignments.
“Hermes, have you found anything on our little lamb?”Rhino asks.
Hermes looks up from his ever-present laptop.“That’s just it.I know what I’ve found isn’t right, but the only thing I’ve been able to find that really makes me wonder are a few photos that were hit.They could be her, but then again, it could just be facial rec reaching.I’m still digging and should know something for sure soon.”
I notice he cuts his eyes to Raider, who once again gives a head lift in return before speaking, “Well then, that leaves us getting the information the old fashion way then.We need to know what she knows and why she was there.Her story sounds true enough, but knowing what we do, she is in fact hiding something.”
“We all know Mercy is good with the brutality and beating answers from someone,” Pope starts, always the diplomate, “Maybe we should loosen the reins just a little.Let her move around the compound a little.Give her a sense that she’s not a prisoner, but here for her protection?”
My hackles immediately are raised.Not only do we have a club too fucking close to our boarders, but we also have a goddamn rat in our club, and someone running a motherfucking sex ring snatching girls off the street.Additionally, there are always club bunnies hanging around and brothers constantly coming and going.I don’t want her near any of them until I know who I can trust.At this very moment, that’s only about half of the men in this room.
“Absolutely not,” Blender snaps.
“It wouldn’t be without rules.She’d have a prospect on her at all times.Making her comfortable could go a long way in wanting to trust us and tell us what she knows,” Pope continues, as if Blender didn’t speak at all.
Opening my mouth to agree with Blender, Raider cuts me off.“As much as I think your idea has merit, I don’t know if I want someone who might have ill will talking closely with the bunnies and brothers that aren’t officers.”
“We assign her an Ol’ Lady of someone to be friendly with.That way, it’s someone that we all know and trust not to be swayed or give out information willingly or unwillingly,” Pope states again, as if he’s been giving this a lot of thought over the last twelve hours.
I swallow back the retort that is clawing to slice out and cut him down for trying to take my little lamb.My body coils, ready to fight all of them if I have to make sure she stays right where I want her.Close, so that—unlike my sister Jenny—I can actually protect her.What the fuck?
Keep her close?Fucking protect her?Where the fuck is all of that coming from?
I shake my head, trying to get it fucking right.She is a job and that is all.I do not want anything from her but fucking answers and maybe a taste of her sweet pussy.
“There isn’t a single man in this club that will let his Ol’ Lady anywhere near someone that we don’t trust,” Terro states matter-of-factly.
“This is my motherfucking club, and a brother will do whatever I damn well tell them to do,” Pres hisses, leaning his arms on the table and locking eyes with everyone in the room.
We all give him a reluctant nod.“Now I do not disagree with Pope.We should have one of the women we trust to buddy up with her so maybe she’ll give us the information.If we find that between Mercy and this that we still don’t have what we need, then we’ll move to more drastic measures to get the answers.”
The tone and the way he says it nearly send me over the fucking edge.I know I can’t just take him out, though the need to do it is like an itch I can’t scratch.This man is now, and has always been, exactly what I knew he was—a fucking rat.
“Who do you suggest we use to get close to her?”Raider inquiries, seeming completely relaxed.
“Charlie,” he smirks, eyeing Blitz on the far end of the table.
Blitz explodes, coming to his feet.“Fuck you, motherfucker.That bitch isn’t getting anywhere near Charlie.”
I don’t know that his words fully register before I’m exploding out of my chair and launching myself at Blitz.Blender wraps an arm around my chest, squeezing my bruised ribs.I struggle against his hold in a complete haze, done with the complete disrespect toward my little lamb.When Blender's hold gets tight enough for the pain to break through, I realize that he’s talking to me.
“Look brother, that asshole is enjoying this.Get it straight until we have answers.”His words do the job.
I shake him off and reach down to sit my seat back up and sit in it.Focusing all my built-up rage on the man, I make sure that there is no way for him to miss the fact I’m coming for him.
