“I’ll see you on Wednesday,” I said, stepping away from Jade. “Thank you for your help.”
Nodding, Jade crossed her buff arms and smiled knowingly. Aaron watched me go. He was still watching when I glanced back before crossing the parking lot to catch my bus. Even if we barely exchanged words, I felt like the visit couldn’t have gone better. Wednesday was going to be amazing as long as I could ditch Dylan.
Chapter Six - Aaron
For most of my teens, the Johanssons were like a second family. I spent most weekends at their place where we fished, hunted, played sports, and acted like two unsupervised pubescent boys. Cooper was the brother I never had, but brothers grew apart over time.
The Johansson family business was something I kept at a distance as we grew up. Years earlier, Cooper asked me to join the club and get my hands dirty. While I was his friend and would keep his secrets, the life his family led wasn’t for me. For one thing, I was just a natural born outsider. I got along with everyone, but I liked being my own man. This was something Cooper would never enjoy. He wasn’t merely a husband, friend, or college student. He was the heir to a business built in blood.
Normally, I didn’t think about Cooper as anything more than the showoff smartass man I knew since he was a showoff smartass kid. Today, he seemed bothered in a way that wasn’t about college or marriage. Farah giggled nearby with Tawny as they struggled to make pigtails in seven year old Sawyer’s long wavy hair. Laughing at their attempts, Jodi Johansson smiled at Bailey who rested against her mother’s shoulder. The family appeared relaxed, but I noticed Cooper wasn’t the only grumpy one. As Kirk worked the grill, his jaw was tight and eyes unfocused.
“What’s up?” I finally asked Cooper as we walked over to the corner of the deck.
“Business shit.”
“Don’t get pouty. Just fucking tell me.”
Cooper grinned. “You’re an asshole. How’s your love life, Romeo?”
“Don’t change the subject. What’s making you grumpy? Marriage problems?”
“Fuck you,” Cooper growled, really trying to out alpha me and everyone in a ten mile radius.
“Spill.”
Exhaling hard, Cooper glared at the sky. “The Devils hit another of our suppliers.”
“I thought you got the mole.”
“We did. The people they hit were out in the open. In a way, it’s worse. They’re mocking us,” Cooper said then glanced at Vaughn. “They want Harlow now too.”
“Why?”
“It’s a bargaining chip. They really just want Vaughn, but having him know they’re after the girl will make him edgier. A tense Outlaw makes mistakes.”
“They won’t come here though.”
“No. I don’t think so. It’s hard to know why they’re pushing so hard on this, but I think it’s ego. They couldn’t have cared about Playboy that fucking much. It’s about Vaughn making them look weak or maybe they’re fucking nuts. Who knows, but they said they want the girl now. If we give her and Vaughn to them, they’ll back off. Oh, and they promise to kill her quick. Vaughn needs to bleed though.”
“Fuckers.”
“Those fuckers wouldn’t kill her either. She’s a pretty girl and they’d make her work. Sick bastards can’t be trusted. Even if I was willing to hand over the girl and let Vaughn die, I can’t give into the Devils without looking weak.”
“What can do you?”
“I need to hit them back,” Cooper said, his voice dropping. “I think it’s what Pop would do. He’s keeping quiet on the issues. If I can’t get it handled, he’ll take over and that shit can’t happen. I will never get respect if I need him to fix my problems.”
“Hit them back how?”
“Two ways. I could send my top guys, but I don’t want to rely on Pop’s guys. The old timers aren’t loyal to me like Judd and Vaughn. Of course, I can’t send my guys because Vaughn can’t be trusted to go without losing his shit. I also can’t send Judd.”
We both looked at where the enforcer stared out at the woods. Whatever he was thinking about had put him in a dark mood. However, Tawny laughed at Sawyer’s hair and the sound brought Judd out from his gloom.
“If he died,” Cooper said in nearly a whisper, “it would end Tawny. She’s a tough broad, but she wouldn’t survive without her man. As the boss, I shouldn’t care. I should focus on what’s good for the business and club, but…”
Cooper didn’t finish and he didn’t need to. We both understood how his heart belonged to Farah. Like a domino effect, Judd’s death would destroy Tawny which would destroy Farah which would weaken Cooper. Losing Judd wasn’t an option.
“The only other choice is calling in help from Memphis,” Cooper said, glancing at Farah who was watching him in that weird mating way they looked at each other lately. It was obnoxious. “I can get a big gun to take care of my problem, but it also might make me look like I can’t handle things on my own.”