Page 44 of Brand
“For fuck’s sake, Brand. She’s a Benson. Do you have any clue about that?” Iron asked with clear aggravation in his voice.
I felt like a little kid getting slapped upside the head for my stupidity. But I still didn’t have a clue what he was talking about.
“The rich that run this town, dumbass. Ever stop to look around? Ever see that name plastered all over shit here?” They weren’t really questions he expected answers to.
And as my mind worked to put the pieces together, I actually winced.
“Shit,” I mumbled.
“Yeah, shit,” Iron all but mocked me. “Upstanding citizens, with upstanding businesses and more money than they know what to do with. Charities out the ass and the best lawyers money can buy. And enough power and influence to make things hard on us if we piss them off in any sort of way.”
“I don’t think it’s like that,” I said practically tripping over my words. “I just mean, Cami seems a bit distant with her family. She doesn’t really talk about them and…”
Everything stopped around me. There were things I knew about Cami, things I had figured out simply from watching her, but there was a big void of knowledge when it came to her family life. I knew she had a sister because she’d mentioned stuff about the wedding her sister was planning a few times, and there was that day she showed me those terrible dresses. But I didn’t know anything else. Did she have more siblings? I didn’t have a clue what her parents did or even who her sister was engaged to.
“I think she likes to distance herself from her family. I kind of get the impression that she doesn’t feel like she fits in with them,” I said. “I can’t imagine that they even know that she works at the shop. Or about me.”
Cami didn’t seem like the type to run to mommy and daddy every time the littlest of things went wrong. I got the feeling like she wanted to stand on her own.
“I didn’t say anything before because I thought her working at the shop was just that, and I had hoped it might be temporary. But I’m guessing not so much, huh?”
“Yeah. I’m keeping her. Not even going to try and tell you otherwise.” I smiled despite the world crumbling around me. And the low chuckles that surrounded me gave me a clue that my tension breaker had worked.
I didn’t give a fuck who her family was, but I did care if they caused trouble for either her or the club. Mostly for her. I had no doubt a family with roots that deep in this city could cause a big hassle for us if they wanted. It wasn’t something that we couldn’t handle, we just preferred not to, and I knew Iron thought the same.
“It might not be a bad idea to keep her close for a bit. I’m sure last night was a fluke and I highly doubt they would go after her simply because of who she is. They may be dumb enough to fuck with us, but I couldn’t imagine they’d be fucking idiots to mess with that. She’s more of a kidnap and demand ransom kinda thing.”
Though he was trying to joke, I didn’t find it funny. The thought alone sent a fire through my veins and I had the sudden urge to call her just to hear her voice. I figured the chances of something like that happening were slim, but the idea was there now and I couldn’t seem to shake it.
“Alright, Brand, you and Blade take care of the shop today. Get it cleaned up and let me know how long you think you’ll be shut down. I’m sending some guys out to ride the streets, see if they hear anything. Anyone object to me sending Mase out with them?”
No one said anything and so Iron gave a nod and carried on, letting us know that we’d meet back tonight and go over everything. It was going to be a busy day for the club all around.
Before I headed to the shop, I called Cami. Her voicemail picked up and I hung up then immediately called again. Maybe she was in the shower. Something I didn’t need to think about right then, because I most definitely didn’t have the time to deal with getting my dick to go down.
So, I sent her a text, keeping it simple and telling her not to come to the shop and that I hoped I would see her tonight. Sure it sounded sweet, but there was no hoping about it, the moment I got her on the phone, I was going to demand it. Okay, or beg and plead until she gave in because it had only been a few hours since we parted ways, but I was already itching for my next Cami fix. Yep, wouldn’t even try to play it off like some macho bullshit, I was just a little bit that guy that wouldn’t be an asshole and could admit to Cami, and anyone else, how much I wanted to be around her.
