Page 54 of Axe
“You think that I would have let her in here, around them, if I didn’t feel like it was okay?” I barked back. “I couldn’t fuckin’ tell you because I was here to tell it to Cal. You don’t think he needed to know that shit first. I wouldneverdo anything to put the club in danger.”
We were now both standing, chest to chest, toe to toe. Our breaths came out in heavy, angry pants. His hands curled at his sides and I just stood there waiting. I couldn’t believe we had come to this, but I shouldn’t have been surprised.
“With all the shit that has happened, I can’t fuckin’ believe you.” he snarled. “My fuckin’ woman, Axe. And my kid. You let her in here without so much as a warning. We’re so fucking close to ending that sick fuck and you could have just fucked it all up.”
I knew it was coming, but even as his fist crashed into my jaw, I couldn’t believe he’d actually done it. My head whipped to the side from his blow. I didn’t move. I didn’t raise my fists. I didn’t make any move towards him. I jerked my head back to look at him, the pulsing pain from his blow caused my jaw to tick.
Everyone jumped up, but it was Brand who was there first. His hand firmly placed on Diesel’s shoulder, not exactly trying to hold him back, but more to capture his attention. Brand’s body slid halfway between Diesel and myself.
“You really think he would ever put them in danger, Diesel?” Brand said low beside Diesel’s ear. We all heard it and the amount of calm Brand held was pretty amazing. “Think about it, man. Think about who you’re talking to. We don’t need to go down this road. This club needs to stay strong. He wouldn’t have brought her here if he didn’t have even a sliver of doubt that it was safe for the club.”
Brand’s words seemed to calm Diesel down, but he didn’t change his tune, not that I expected him to. I got that I fucked up, but I had no idea that Ellie would be there when I’d showed up. And even still, I knew Allison wasn’t a threat. One hundred fucking percent.
My eyes cut to Cal as Diesel and I took our seats. Cal’s eyes were narrowed in a pensive way, following Brand as he made it back to his spot. It was clear that Cal was impressed. And if I was being honest, I was too.
“Aye,” I said as I held my chin out in a challenging way.
This wasn’t going well. I was sure Seven was going to vote no and I was on the fence about Cal. With Loch out, we had the potential to tie.
Then it suddenly clicked. That was why Brand was there. Loch must have appointed him to stand in for his vote. Well, shit. This day was just full of surprises.
There had been a thick tension between Loch and Brand for a while now. I knew it had to do with Reagan, but I wasn’t clear on the details, nor did I really care. Brand had been nothing but respectful of Loch and the club, and even Reagan, as far as I had seen. So, the fact that Loch had sent Brand in his place had me scratching my head. I also had no idea how Brand would sway the vote if it came to that.
“Ney,” Seven said with a little, sad shake of his head.
All eyes turned to Cal. He rubbed his hand over his beard for a long while.
“Aye,” he finally said.
It looked like it was up to Brand. I eyed him as he stepped forward from his corner and it was clear that he knew what he was there for.
His mouth opened but before he could vote, I jumped up out of my seat. I didn’t want to know the outcome, because if it was negative there would be nothing further I could do. So before it was set in stone, crazy words spewed out of my mouth.
“She’s mine,” I all but yelled. I mean, it probably could have been considered yelling for me. “I’m claiming her.”
Those words earned me a mix of looks. Icy glares, shocked eyes, angry exhaled breaths, and puffed out chests. I got them all aimed in my direction. I also got a small smirk out of Tank, and that was probably the only thing that kept me from lashing out.
“You can’t claim another man’s woman.” Crow’s words came out slow and controlled.
“I can if he’s dead,” I replied back hotly. “You all say we are going to kill him, we are gearing up to go to war to take him down. So he’s as good as dead in our eyes, right?”
See, I had them there. I had a good idea that none of them would argue about that. It would not only show doubt and weakness, but it would also show lack of faith in the club.
“Well, that’s settled then,” Cal said banging his meaty fist on the table. “She’s part of the club now and we protect our own.” His fist banged two more times making it official.
The meeting broke with a mix of emotions floating around. Diesel was the first out of the door, his boots beating angrily against the floor. Tank gave my back a friendly clap as he passed. My eyes caught Brand’s and his face held a laughing smile as he shook his head. I wanted to hate that guy right then.
“Don’t even say it,” I barked semi-jokingly.
“Aye,” he whispered as he darted around me and out the door.
Fucker!
The room was clear save for Cal and me. Once the door was shut, I collapsed back into my chair.
What had I just done? It started to hit me hard. It wasn’t that I had a problem claiming her as my own because I meant that shit. It was more of how would she feel about it. After being owned by Savage, would she hate me for doing this? Would she see me the same as him? That fucking gutted me. There was no way that I could keep this from her, not that I wanted to, but what would it cost me in the end?
“Sure this is what you want?” Cal asked, effectively bringing me out of my head.
“Should have done it sooner. I knew from the first moment I laid eyes on her.” I had to bite back a smile remembering that very moment.
We stood and he patted me on the back, then without warning, he pulled me in for a rare hug.
“Never regretted savin’ you, boy. Not even now.” His words were soft for such a gruff old man. “Let’s go drink. Take a bit before you go rushin’ off.”
I nodded. I knew I’d been scarce and I had to make my presence known, especially after such a big declaration.
