Page 116 of Banshee
“You should go. I’ll help Tiffany and Brandy with breakfast,” I said.
“Cash called over to the diner. Joellen is putting together an order for the prospects to pick up,” Banshee said, his eyes dark. I knew he was thinking about Hash. “King wants you there, too.”
“Okay.”
We stepped back into the clubhouse, and men were milling about. My mother and sister were on the couch, both holding a baby. I assumed they were Sam’s twins until I saw Mimic and Romeo on opposite sides of the room, each with a baby in their arms.
I searched the room, and Beck, Sam, and Ellie were all seated at a table talking and laughing, their arms empty. We had fournew babies in the clubhouse. Four babies that could have been seriously hurt in the attack. Not to mention Charlie, Chrissy, and Tabby.
I looked up at my father. “How did you do it?”
“Do what, Sugar?”
“Keep the children safe in the clubhouse?”
My father got a look in his eye that I didn’t recognize. “It wasn’t easy. And it didn’t always work. But we worked together and made the old ladies and the kids the priority. And when one of them was hurt... we hurt the bastards responsible, ten times worse.”
We lost five people in the attack, but Skinner lost dozens. None of his men made it out alive. Here or at the bar, according to what Banshee told me. His arms slid around my waist and he whispered, “What are you thinking so hard about, baby girl?”
I covered his arms with mine and leaned back into him. “Just thinking about how thankful I am that the attack wasn’t worse than it was. We could have lost so many more. And now, we will hurt them ten times worse.”
“Fuck yeah, we will.” Banshee pulled away and took my hand. “Come on, let’s go to church.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Banshee
We shuffled into church, and when I found my seat, I pulled Aspen onto my lap. Cash and Kronos did the same with their old ladies, while Mimic stood behind Indie, his hands on her shoulders.
King was the last to enter. As he walked to his chair, he looked around the room. Settling his gaze on Zeus, he asked, “Where is Eros?”
“Gone.”
“Gone where?” he asked.
I turned my attention to Zeus, and he simply shrugged. “I didn’t ask.”
King focused his angry gaze on Nav, a silent question flashing in his eyes. Nav shook his head slightly, and King blew out a frustrated breath. “No one should be out alone,” he said, directing hard eyes my way.
“Eros can take care of himself,” Zeus said.
“Something you want to say to me, asshole? Why don’t I take you out on the fucking plains and see if you can find a place to hide with no fucking trees.”
“Banshee, please,” Aspen whispered.
“Enough!” King growled. “When I left the hospital, I stopped to check on Maureen. She’s taking Hash’s death hard, and she’s due to have that baby anytime now. She wants to come to the clubhouse and cook. I tried to tell her no, and so did Dec, but you all know Maureen. She's stubborn as hell.”
Snickers rang out around the room. Maureen was more stubborn than King.
“I also talked to Dec. Grace wasn’t scheduled to work at the bar when it was attacked. Mary Ann called and said her mother had taken a fall. She asked Grace to cover her shift. Dec went over to talk to Mary Ann and found her body.”
Low whispers of “Shit” and “Fuck” came from the brothers. We all knew what that meant. Grace had been targeted. The question was, why?
“Banshee, tell us what the hell happened.”
“When we got to the bar, a truck pulled out from behind the building. I thought maybe whoever was in it had something to do with the shooting, so I followed.”
“Without backup,” Cash pointed out.
