Page 44 of Panther's Magpie
They all look at me oddly.
Rain is the one that asks the question. “You have money?”
I nod slowly. “Yeah. My parents gave me a large lump-sum trust fund when I turned eighteen, and they continue to put money in it each year to cover my expenses.”
“Wow. Why are you here then?” Rain says bluntly.
“Rain Mist Jones, you watch your mouth,” Kim chastises her.
“What? I’m just saying she could hire the best security. I didn’t mean anything by it.” She gives me a small smile.
“It’s okay. I guess I never really liked spending my money. I use it for school and to pay for the apartment and food, but I try not to spend too much of it. As for why I’m here, this is where Aspen wanted to go. I don’t want to leave without her.”
Rain gives me a sad look. “You don’t have to spend your money on this. We can raise the money.”
I shake my head. “I never felt like the money was mine. It always felt like hush money from my parents to keep me quiet and away from them. I don’t want to spend the money on myself, but I have no problem giving it to those who need it. If I can help, I want to.”
“All right then. We will keep that in our back pocket. For now, let’s go through our contacts. Rain, you call Mr. Hansen about pouring the concrete. Kim, you contact Mrs. Clancy down at the grocery store about donating food for right now. Maggiecan help me do research on lumber and how much we will need,” Lisa tells me.
“Shouldn’t we call someone about that too?” I ask.
She smiles sweetly at me. “Honey, the Mountain River MC owns the lumberyard. We will get it for free.”
My eyes widen.
Yeah, there is much more to this MC than I realized.
PANTHER
I didn’t want to leave Maggie by herself, but I still have to run this club. I feel like everything is slipping through my fingers. Ever since Aspen was taken, I’ve been off-kilter. I have always felt like I didn’t belong as president, but the feeling is more prevalent now.
How can I put the club first when my sister is in danger?
I hope I never have to choose between the two because I already know what I will choose. Aspen means the world to me. So does the club, but they can survive without me. Aspen can’t.
Or at least I didn’t think she could.
I think back to Maggie. Aspen has slowly been building herself safety nets in her life. It makes me realize that maybe she was traumatized more than she let on when she was a kid.
The perfect facade.
That’s what Aspen’s whole personality is.
Does anyone even truly know the real her?
“Hey, brother,” Eagle says as he takes his seat next to me. Talon and Meek slip in behind him.
My phone rings, drawing my attention away from the door.
Ava.
I wince at her name.
She has been calling me nonstop since she saw me and Maggie together at the run. She should have never been there, but it was a charity event. I couldn’t kick her out.
“Here, let me solve this for you.” Eagle swipes my phone before he answers it. “No one ordered any sexually transmitted diseases. You can fuck right off now, skank.”
He hangs up the phone, then does something before handing it back.
