I’m not one to be taken by surprise – ever – but seeing Wyatt’s mother sitting in my bar… that got me. I should’ve seen it coming. I saw the way she looked at me at that movie theatre, all wide-eyed and totally freaked out. There was no way she was going to let that shit go and that was on me. If I was going to keep my promise to Wyatt, then I’d have to remember that he had a mother that actually gave a damn about him, and she’d do whatever it took to protect him – even if that meant coming to my clubhouse to bust my balls for trying to help.
I hadn’t realized just how beautiful she was, though. Maybe it was the way she looked at me… I don’t know. I just knew she was a knock-out in a totally out of my league, untouchable sort of way. Her hair was pulled up away from her face, exposing the soft curves of her face, and her clothes were classy, but sexy at the same time. With her hands on her hips, she stood there staring at me with those coal black eyes, giving me hell for trailing her kid. I liked that she didn’t back down from me. I couldn’t think of a time that a woman had gotten to me the way she did, and I was finding it more and more difficult to ignore the strange pull I felt towards her. The woman was tough, but there was a delicate, almost fragile side to her – a side I felt an overwhelming need to protect. It’d been three days since she’d paid her little visit to the club. Three days since she pressed her beautiful full lips against my cheek, and I still couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Emerson stepped out into the hall, blocking my path to the backdoor and asked, “Where are you running off to now?”
She’d only been at the clubhouse for a couple of days, but she was already adjusting. She’d finally gotten the chance to meet Cass and Henley, and she spent most of her time hanging out with them. She seemed to be getting along pretty well, but that didn’t mean she was happy about how little I’d been around. Unfortunately, it couldn’t be helped. When I wasn’t busy handling club business, I was gone seeing about Wyatt and his mom. My time was limited and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon.
“I’ll be back in a couple of hours,” I responded without really giving her an answer. Discussions about the club or Wyatt were off limits. Period.
“Look… I know you’ve got shit to do and all that, but I’d like to spend some time with my brother.”
“I hear ya.”
“So, tomorrow? Can you spare some time to hang with your sis for a little while?” she asked with more than a hint of sarcasm.
“Yeah. I can do that,” I promised. “You settling in okay?”
“Yeah. It’s actually pretty cool here. Everyone has been really nice, and Cassidy and Henley have been really great. I see why you love it here so much,” she smiled. “I’m really happy that you have this – the club, your brothers. It’s good to see you doing so well.”
“You got something to keep you busy while I’m gone?” I asked her.
Emerson looked over her shoulder towards the back of the bar and smiled when she saw Henley playing that old Pac-Man arcade game. She was wearing one of her classic, old t-shirts and jeans with her hair pulled back into a pony tail, and we both smiled as we watched her body jolt from side to side as she tried to beat the game.
Laughing, Emerson shook her head and said, “Yeah, I’ve got some studying to do, and Henley and I are about to finish up a Pac-Man battle. I think she’s kind of obsessed with it.” She leaned in closer and with her hand covering her mouth, she whispered, “I beat her high score last night, and let’s just say that she didn’t take it very well.”
“Let’s go, chica!” Henley shouted. “It’s your turn. Let’s see if you can beat that!” Henley danced around excitedly as she waited for Emerson to take her turn.
“Give her hell,” I told Emerson as she gave me a quick hug and headed over to Henley.
“You’re going down, Vintage!” Emerson mocked, just before taking over the controller. It was good to see her happy here. It made it a little easier to leave her knowing that she had something to keep her occupied.
The parking lot was busy tonight. Some of the brothers were making a fire and having a few beers to let off some steam. I was just about to get on my bike when Cotton called out to me.
“Got a minute?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“It’s about the warehouse,” he started. “We now know that’s where they wanted to set up their deliveries. They’ll be looking for an alternate location, and there are several warehouses in that area for them to choose from. I want us there first.”
“We’ll check the area, see if we see anything suspicious, and get the surveillance set up. If they show, we’ll know about it.”
“I got Big Mike on it. I told him I want the best he’s got,” Cotton informed me. Cotton was the kind of man that wanted things done right the first time and accepted no excuses for anything less.”
“You got it. Has he gotten back to you with anything?”
“He’s still gathering intel on the King Pythons Syndicate and any club that they might be affiliated with,” he explained. Their club has the numbers, but not the kind to pull off a hostile takeover like this.”
“Yeah, they’ve got some help. We’re going to need to pull in some resources,” I suggested.
“Won’t be a problem. We’ve got our allies for a reason. They’ll back us,” he assured me.