Page 58 of Q: Satan's Fury MC

“I’m not leaving the club, Prez. I’ll still be around.”

“We all will,” Two Bit added. “We’ll make sure things stay in order.”

“I know, and that means a great deal.”

“But for now, we have more pressing matters at hand.” Cotton’s expression grew fierce as he warned, “We don’t know what’s going on with this firewall thing. I don’t want to assume the worst, but until we know what’s going on, I want everyone on high alert.”

“Understood.”

With that, Cotton dismissed us from church and headed to check in with Big. When the rest of us started to disperse, Mav called out to me, “Hey, Q. Come on. We’re gonna grab a beer at the bar.”

“You guys go ahead. I’ve gotta get going. There’s snow moving in tonight, and I promised Jules that I’d pick her up from work.”

“You’ve been seeing a lot of her lately.”

“Yeah, I have.”

“See?” Mav turned to Stitch. “I was right from the start.”

Before either of them could say anything more, I announced, “I’m out.”

I gave them both a quick wave, then turned and walked out to my pickup. As much as I hated to take a cage, I didn’t have a choice. The weather had turned, and it was just too fucking cold and dangerous to take the bike. Once I’d gotten inside, I buckled up and headed out the front gate.

On the way out to Smokey’s place, I thought about Cotton and Stitch announcing that they were considering stepping down, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. It was tough because I knew once Cotton and Stitch made their move, Maverick and Clutch would soon follow after.

The four had been the force behind Fury since the day I patched in, and it would be hard to see them step down. But at the same time, I had faith in my brothers. I knew that, together, we could handle anything that came our way, so I decided not to dwell on the impending changes that were coming. Instead, I would focus on the here and now.

And with Jules in the picture, the here and now was a good place to be. When I got out to Smokey’s, she was finishing up in the barn with Caroline. She wasn’t fixed up. She was just wearing typical jeans and a pullover for work, but she looked beautiful with her hair pulled back and her rosy-red cheeks. She smiled, and her entire face lit up when she spotted me walking in her direction.

Damn.

There was nothing better than seeing that look on her face. I couldn’t help but smile right back at her as I said, “Hey there, beautiful. You ready to go?”

“Yeah, just a minute.” She rushed toward the back and shouted, “I’ve gotta grab my stuff.”

“Take your time.”

Once she was out of earshot, Caroline stepped over to me and asked, “Hey... Have you talked to Hayes?”

“Well, yeah. I’ve talked to him.”

“I know I shouldn’t ask, but has he said anything about me?”

“Afraid not.” I gave her a shrug. “But that doesn’t mean anything.”

“It means plenty. At least now I know he’s not interested, and I can quit thinking about it.”

“I don’t know if...”

“It’s fine, Q. I’m a big girl. I can handle it.” She feigned a smile as she told me, “I just thought he was... Never mind. I’m over it.”

“Over what?” Jules continued towards us, and the second she saw Caroline’s face, she grimaced. “Oh, you’re talking about Hayes.”

“We were talking about him, but not anymore.” Caroline flicked her hand in the air. “I’m over it and moving on. Besides, there was nothing to it.”

“You sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, silly. I’m fine.” She waved us on as she said, “Now, you guys get out of here and go have a good time.”

---