Page 57 of Q: Satan's Fury MC

“You gotta start listening to your gut, Malcomb. It hasn’t lied to you yet.”

“Yes, sir. You’re right.”

He nodded, then Cotton turned his attention back to Big. “Are you two gonna be able to find these guys?”

“Oh, yeah. We’ll find ‘em,” Big assured him. “It might take us a little time, but we’ll get em’.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear. We need this handled and handled fast, especially with the holidays rolling in. I don’t want to take any chances with our families in and out.” Cotton looked around the table as he asked, “Is everyone still coming in next week?”

“Not sure. We’re still waiting for the final word from Lexie,” Maverick answered. “Henley’s damned and determined that she’s coming, but I don’t have a good feeling about it.”

Cotton tugged at his goatee as he told us, “Darby and Susana will be coming in this weekend, but I’m not sure how long they're planning to stay. If I know them, their busy schedules will keep them from staying long.”

“Same with Addie.” Smokey sounded concerned as he added, “But now, with this going on, I’m thinking she should stay put.”

“I was thinking the same about Chelsea,” Two Bit agreed. “She might be safer to stay put.”

“You could be right about that. I know Hadley and her fella won’t be coming. They’re going to visit his family, but Casey will be around. I’ll have to keep an eye on her, which we all know she won’t like.” Clutch chuckled under his breath, then shook his head. “You know, the timing on this shit sucks.”

“Yeah, it definitely does.”

Unlike my brothers, I didn’t have family coming in. Hell, I didn’t have any family, period. I had no siblings and hadn’t spoken to my ol’ man in years, and I didn’t see that changing any time soon. So, it would just be me and Jules attending the club’s family feast, but I was just as concerned as the others about our onlookers and problems that might bring, especially with our loved ones in place.

Needless to say, I was pleased when Cotton said, “I agree. The timing couldn’t be worse, but I have no doubt Bones and Big will get this thing figured out.”

“Yeah, we’ll get on it now.” Big stood, and with Bones’ computer in hand, he and Bones headed out of the conference room. Once they were gone, Cotton turned his attention to his son. “The next time you get one of these feelings of yours, I want you to come straight to me. You got that?”

“Yes, sir. I got it.”

“Good.” Cotton’s expression softened as he asked him, “What’s your agenda for the day?”

“I was going to go down to the construction site and give the guys a hand, but now, I’m thinking I’ll hang with Big and Bones and see if there’s anything I can do to help them out.”

“Sounds good. I’ll check in on you boys in a bit.”

Savage nodded, then headed out of the room. As soon as the door closed behind him, Two Bit leaned forward and asked, “You got any idea who might be trying to make a move on us?”

“No, but I’ll ask around. Somebody knows something. Assholes dumb enough to pull a stunt like this will likely brag. I just gotta figure out who they’ve been bragging to, and then, maybe we can figure out who they are and what the fuck they’re up to.”

“And then, we will show them why you don’t fuck with Fury,” Maverick added.

“Damn right, we will,” Stitch agreed. “Looking forward to it.”

Maybe it was the fact that we were older and wiser or simply the fact that people around these parts were terrified, but it had been a while since the club had run into any kind of trouble. It had been a long while, and I was just fine with that.

As I sat there thinking about how Bones had been the one to catch the coding thing, I felt compelled to say, “I know this whole coding thing is concerning, but I gotta say. It's good to see the boys stepping up and showing they can handle things.”

Two Bit nodded as he said, “Yeah, it definitely is. One day, the club will be in good hands.”

“That day may be coming sooner than you think.” Cotton grimaced as he said, “Leading this club has been an honor. Hell, it’s meant everything to me, but I’ve been considering the notion of stepping down.”

“When?”

“Not today. Probably not tomorrow. But soon.”

“You’re not alone. I’ve been thinking the same,” Stitch announced. “Wrath and Chains have both shown a lot of promise. I think it’s time to let them step up and show what they can do.”

I’d always thought Stitch would be the club’s enforcer until the day he took his last breath, but it was clear he had put a great deal of thought into stepping down. Cotton must’ve thought the same because he sounded equally surprised when he said, “You sure about this, brother?”