I’d only been home a couple of hours when Cotton called everyone into church. He didn’t need to explain why we’d been called in, but I knew it had something to do with whatever was on that fuckin’ laptop I’d dropped off earlier. When I walked into the clubhouse, I went straight down the hall and headed into church. All eyes looked towards me, and I quickly realized that I was the last one to get there. My brothers were already gathered around the table, grumbling curses under their breath. They were all anxiously waiting to see what the huge pile of folders Big Mike had was all about. I took my seat, and Prez welcomed me with a nod as he hit the gavel.
The room silenced immediately as Cotton cleared his throat and said, “Looks like our friends up North have been busy. As we expected, everyone sitting at this table has a similar file – background checks, medical records, personal history. Big Mike has folders for each of you with everything they’ve been able to uncover,” he informed us, with a chin lift towards Mike, letting him know it was time to deliver the news. The room crackled with tension as the brothers impatiently watched Big Mike pass out the folders to all of us.
When he approached Maverick, Big Mike gave him a troubled look as he handed him the file, letting me know the information inside wouldn’t be good. Maverick’s eyes momentarily roamed over the letters of his name, then he eased the folder open, quickly scanning the papers inside. His calm demeanor instantly changed, his face twisting in anger as he carefully flipped through the pages; the anger literally vibrated off of him as he looked over to me, telling me without words how bad it really was. I was the last to receive my folder. Big Mike placed it on the table in front of me, stepping to the side as soon as it was delivered.
“Fuck,” I grumbled under my breath as I looked at the thick folder of information. We all knew they had shit on us, that was no surprise, but the magnitude of information before me was not expected.
“It’s one thing for them to come after us, trying to end our charter, but coming after our families… that’s a death sentence,” Cotton growled as I opened my file.
I flipped my folder open, and an all-consuming rage instantly coursed through my veins when I saw Emerson’s face staring back at me. My breath quickened to a doglike pant as I sifted through the endless pictures of my sister. Every last detail of her life was in the file. They knew what she fucking drove; they had her fucking address, her class schedule – everything down to her work time sheet. The motherfuckers even had the police report of my parents’ car accident and endless information on my grandparents. I didn’t bother looking at what they had on me. They knew who I was, what I could do. They had to know that I would be coming for them. I had to fight the urge to get up and leave that instant. I wanted to find and mangle each and every one of the motherfuckers who had been watching us.
“They’ve gone to a lot of trouble to get this much intel. They’re not going to give this thing up without a fight,” Cotton explained. He glanced down at his folder and ordered, “Clutch, I want you watching over Cass. Don’t let her out of your sight.” Cotton didn’t have an Old Lady or any kin that I knew of, but he did have Cassidy. When she rolled into the club looking for a bartending job, none of us missed the way he looked at her. He’d had that same lustful eye since, and even though he’d never claimed her as his own, we all knew she was off limits to the rest of us. He never said the words, but I had no doubt that his folder included pictures of Cassidy.
“What the fuck? They even have Henley’s birth certificate. What the hell were they planning to do with all this shit?” Maverick roared.
“Mike is still working on that. There’s more. Turns out we aren’t the only ones the Python’s have been looking into,” Cotton said as he tossed a stack of files on the table. “They got the same intel on all the brothers of the Forsaken Saints.”
“Does Rip know?” Maverick questioned. Rip was the president of the Forsaken Saints and Lily’s father. Even though we hadn’t had many dealings with them, we’d always considered them to be an ally.
“Put a call into him earlier,” Cotton answered. We all knew Maverick wanted to know if Lily and John Warren were included in Rip’s file, but he managed to show restraint and didn’t push for more information. Even though Maverick’s brother, Gavin, had been declared John Warren’s father, Maverick would still want to make sure he was safe.
“Doc, you need to get the med room fully stocked and prepared for anything. We need to be war ready. Stitch, have Q and Two Bit go through all the guns and ammunition with you. I want a full inventory of whatever either of you need ASAP,” Guardrail ordered, pointing to the four of us.
“I stay ready, but I’ll go through and make sure we’ve got whatever the women and children might need as well,” Doc responded.
“I keep the armory war ready, just plan on Q and Two Bit being unavailable until we’ve cleaned and rechecked all our ammo,” I responded. “I’ll get you a full report and a list of anything we might need to Guardrail, as soon as possible,” I assured him.
“It’s going to take some time to put a plan into action, so until we do, consider everyone on high alert… eyes on the women and children at all times,” Cotton ordered the table as he hit the gavel, ending the meeting.