POWERHOUSE

“What’s up, man? It’s fucking three in the morning, asshole. There better be blood and someone better be dying for this early wake up call.” Gunner drones as he drowsily picks up the phone.

“Sicily,” I say.

“What about her?” Gunner wonders.

“Salem said something that got my gears turning. Oakley’s the only living, breathing link she has to her daughter. She’s the only culprit that makes a lick of sense, Gun. She wants Oakley and will do whatever it takes to get her.”

“Damn,” he whistles. “I knew the bitch had some brass balls but after we ran her out of town, I didn’t figure she’d ever come back.”

“Think about it. She ran, we didn’t lift a finger. She’s been biding her time. Waiting on us to become lax before she made a move. Who else would want Oakley delivered to them unharmed?”

“And who else would be bold enough to give the order for whomever she’s with to be eliminated?” Gunner adds.

“Yep,” I concur.

“Fucking hell. I’m calling in an emergency session, meet me at church in forty-five. Bring Salem. I’m not convinced she was the intended mark, but Sicily is off her rocker and I’m ordering no woman to be left alone.”

“See you then,” I reply, hanging up the phone.

Walking inside, I’m caught off-guard when I notice Salem dressed for going out, her purse in hand and keys dangling from the tips of her fingers.

“I figured we’d be needing to head out, so I went ahead and got dressed,” she supplies.

“Damn, woman. You filet me. I didn’t think I’d ever meet my perfect match then you waltzed into my life and threw me for a loop.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” she inquires.

“It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” I admit, walking toward her and pulling her into my arms. “The very best thing.” I lay my lips on hers and dominate them, forcing them to split open so I can delve my tongue into the hot cavern of her mouth. As her tongue touches mine, a spark of need hits me like a freight train. “Fuck. We’ve gotta go,” I state, coming to my senses and backing away even if that’s the last thing I want to be doing.

“I know. We’ll revisit this later,” she breathlessly states.

“Fucking right we will, Salem. Tonight, you’re mine. I’m going to put you in my bed and claim you. You good with that?”

“I’m onboard with that, Cole. I’m ready to be yours in every way I can be.”

“Damn fucking right you are.” With that declaration, I lace my fingers with hers and lead her out the door, lock up her house nice and tight, and haul her to my bike.

I know this business needs to be talked about, but I hope like hell it’s a quick meeting because my balls are aching, and my dick is stiff enough to drill holes through a sheet of metal.

* * *

“Coffee’s on,” Gunner says as we congregate in church.

“Got any whiskey? I’ve got a feeling I’m gonna need it to hear what you’ve gotta say,” Texas asks, his eyes laden with sleep.

“Yeah. I’ve even got some of that Irish whiskey you fuckface pussies like too,” Gunner states, pointing at the fridge off in the corner.

“Good man,” Kruger booms his appreciation, heading over and pulling the container out and adding it to his cup of joe.

“Fucking hell,” Gunner grunts. “Damn needy assholes, the lot of you.”

“I take my shit black, asshole,” Master contests, dropping into his seat. His face is droopy as exhaustion plagues him.

“Didn’t catch any z’s?” Shamus asks, looking as if he too needs some shut eye.

“Fuck no. Aspen’s blaming herself for what happened to Salem today. She was pacing the fucking house and I was right behind her. Damn woman’s been having those Braxton Hicks things all damn day, yet she can’t seem to sit the fuck down and stay still.”

Looking down at my wristwatch, I notice that it’s too damn early, going on four o’clock in the morning. “This is important.”

“Better fucking be. I left a warm bed with my arms wrapped around my woman. Do you know how fucked up it is to wake a sleeping bear and gather kids and all the shit that has to tag along with them?” Kruger asks.

“I get it,” Gunner snaps. “I’ve got a kid and woman too, ya know. Stop being a shithead, Kruger. Something’s been brought to my attention, and I didn’t think it could wait until you got your eight hours of beauty sleep.”

“I don’t need sleep to look like this,” Kruger jokes, rubbing his hands over his sternum.

“Gag,” Texas chokes out. “Of course, you could sleep for a week straight and it wouldn’t help a lot, so there’s that for you to consider.”

“Fuck off, Texas,” Kruger replies, adding a middle finger for emphasis which has Texas smirking.

“Can we act our fucking ages and get on with this?” Gunner snarls.

“Suppose so. I’d like to know why I was dragged out of bed,” Malice states, his eyes glued to our president.

“I’m gonna let Powerhouse tell you what he told me earlier. Then you’ll understand why I thought this couldn’t wait. The floor’s yours,” Gunner says, addressing me.

I lay all the cards on the table. Word for word I relay my conversation with Salem. There’s growling, hissing, cursing, shouting, and promises of retribution tossed around the room as I go through the list of suspects which are nixed until I land on Sicily.

“Sonofabitch!” Master thunders, barely holding onto his temper, slamming his double fists down on the table making everything sitting on top of it rattle and shake. “That fucking cunt. She’s always been a goddamn thorn in my side.”

“Why didn’t we put those pieces together?” Malice asks, running his hands through his hair before grabbing it and pulling the ends in frustration.

“Because we were all in shock about what Pops and Luca shared. None of us considered that a woman would be ballsy enough to put a hit out on us and a kidnap order on one of our kids,” I state, nodding my head in agreement with the groups’ summarization of the events.

“That female is mental,” Shamus concludes.

Master snorts. “Ya think?”

“So how do you want to handle this, pres?” Malice asks.

“I wanna take the bitch down,” Gunner substantiates. “The more painful, the better.”

“A-motherfucking-men.” Texas supports. “When?”

“I’ve placed a call to Pops. We’re on standby until I speak to him. As soon as I hear back from him, we’ll head on out,” Gunner sustains.

“Why are we waiting on Pops?” Master asks.

“Because he’s got a motherfucking hit out on the person, Sicily, if our intuitions are right, and I’m not taking my men into the middle of a gunfight if I can prevent it,” Gunner huffs. “I’d rather us be the ones to take her out, but we’ve got families, and we need to do this the right way, Master.”

“So, we twiddle our thumbs while we wait for him to do what? End the contract, give us permission to engage? What’s the deal here, Gun?” Master sneers.

“Listen here, asshole. I’m about out of shits to give. You talk to me like that again and I’m gonna fine your ass a thousand bucks before I rearrange your face,” Gunner seethes, jamming the palms of his hands into the edge of the table.

“She’s going down one way or another, Master, but you’ve got to pull yourself together or we’ll leave you behind on babysitting duty,” Kruger orders, using the tone of voice he only vocalizes out when he’s in VP mode. “As our Sergeant at Arms you know better.”

Master hangs his head, getting himself together as he inhales a deep breath before exhaling. His hands are jittery as he fidgets relentlessly in his seat. When he’s composed himself, he releases a muted, “Sorry. I’m good.”

“Now, do we know where she’d be hiding out?” Malice inquires. “What burrow would she sequester herself in so she could keep an eye on things without us knowing she’s around? Who would she know that’d be stupid enough to squirrel her away in their hidey-hole?”

“Not many will be willing to keep her secluded in their house once word gets out that she’s a DreamCatcher fugitive, who’s on the run, and that we’re leaving no stone unturned to find her,” Texas supplies.

“We need to get the word out on the streets as soon as possible that anyone caught housing her is an assumed enemy of the club and we won’t hesitate to make them pay the same price Sicily will,” Romeo advocates.

“We’ll make sure no one has any chance to claim plausible deniability,” I insert.

“Exactly,” Master says, pointing his finger at me.

“We need to make sure it’s not a hypothetical outlook as well. If they have her, they’re our enemy, end of fucking story,” Bull points out. I take a good look at Bull, he sounds worn the fuck out, and the fifty-year-old man suddenly looks to have aged ten years overnight. The ordeal with my woman has ripened him. It’s hard for hardcore men to see women used as someone’s target practice when they’ve been tasked with watching over her.

“I’ll let it be known that she’s wanted alive, but we’ll also accept her dead corpse as proof of their loyalty to us,” Polo states.

“If we get her alive, I want to cut a piece out of her hide,” Master advocates.

“Her hide is yours, brother,” Gunner confirms. “Anything else?”

“I think that’s it,” Kruger advises, running his hands down his face. We’re all wearing down and are sick and damn tired of dealing with unprovoked threats toward our women and children.

“As soon as I hear from Pops, we’ll meet again. Until then, this meeting is over. Go get some tail, booze, and sleep,” Gunner suggests, banging his gavel on the table.

* * *

Wound up from the meeting, I decide to hit up the bar and get myself a beer to loosen up and decompress. Master has the same idea as I do. Joining him, I sit on the stool beside him and watch as he peels the label off his beer. Does it matter to any of us that it’s closer to breakfast? Not at all and while most of my brothers now have old ladies and children, at the end of the day, they’re still bikers and bikers will throw back a cold one no matter what the clock says.

“This shit sucks,” he finally mutters, taking a long pull from his beer.

“It does,” I agree.

“She’s acutely aware that no judge in his right mind would willingly hand my daughter over to that sociopath so she’s going to basically put a hit out on my family, on me in order to get Oakley. She needs to go down, Powerhouse.”

“She will, Master. I swear this to you as your brother. Even if I have to go rogue and take her out my damn self,” I vow, making this promise to my brother without any iota of remorse.

I feel nothing toward this feminine stain on society. Her very actions, which, while we don’t have any confirmation are actually hers speak volumes, should get her banned from all womankind. And I’m just the fucker to ensure that happens if I get my shot.

I’d never shed a tear over her casket as it’s lowered into the ground.

Ending her life will be no skin off my back.

She’s comparable to road rash or a cold sore… annoying, a pain in the ass, and something that needs to be gotten rid of A. S. motherfucking. P.

“You’re a good man, Powerhouse. I appreciate your support. Swear to hell and back that Sicily needs to get gone yesterday. Fuck, I’m so sick of this bitch causing havoc in my life,” he hisses, bristling over the thought of anything happening to those he loves the most. “First, she helped her cunt of a daughter drain me dry, then she helped her hide my kid from me, and now she’s trying to take everything away from me. I’m not going to sit back and let this stand.”

“No one expects you to,” I tell him.

“Thanks. I need to go check on Aspen. Catch ya, later.”

“See ya. Get some rest, man,” I suggest.

“I’ll try,” Master says, tapping me on the shoulder as he heads toward his room.

Damn, I’d hate to have my feet in his shoes.