Page 38 of Blade
“I’m not sure. I’m going to discuss it with Hawk when he gets here to get a feel for it. We would need to have a joint meeting and then I’m sure they would want to meet privately to vote on it,” Raptor said with a slight shrug.
“It would be nice to have more help,” Torque mused. There were several grunts of agreement from around the table.
“Yeah. We’re stretched thin with the car washes, the cleaning company, and the strip club. Having extra hands would help and we’ve been having trouble getting prospects thanks to the fucking Demon Runners.” Gator’s lip curled. Then he muttered, “Little pricks.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Ever since the run-in they’d had with Fallon’s brother’s old club, the Demon Runners had been trying to sabotage us left and right. Fallon had been relieved when Mav left that club, but it had also been causing trouble at her and Mav’s bar. We had actually tried to talk Mav into prospecting with us, but he said he was done with MC life for a while.
With more numbers, we could stand up to the Demon Runners a helluva lot better. Right now, our small chapter was barely keeping up with what we had.
“So, you’re not opposed to the idea—if they decide to stay? If we don’t agree on it, I won’t even bring it up to them.” Raptor waited patiently for our reply.
I gave a chin lift and said, “I’m not opposed.”
“Me either,” added Ares.
Raptor let out a received sigh that he tried to cover with a cough. “All in favor of looking into the potential for buying the land next to us?”
Each one of us raised our hand and then each member rang out with a chorus of “Aye.”
“Then it’s unanimous. I’ll talk to Hawk and then reach out to that realtor that Gator has been seeing,” Raptor announced with a grin.
It might have been a trick of the light, but I was pretty sure Gator’s face went red. He also seemed to fidget in his chair.
Raptor ended the meeting, then the brothers started to file out.
“Blade?” I glanced over my shoulder at my president. “A minute?” Raptor asked.
“Sure. What’s up?” I asked as I returned to my seat where I rested my hands on the wooden back.
“What’s going on with you and Eliska?”
As I contemplated my reply, I popped my jaw and wet my lower lip. “Why?”
He sighed. “Blade, this is me as a friend, not your president. She was sent here for us to protect. You aren’t exactly relationship material as it is and she kind of needs kid gloves.”
Though I knew he was one hundred percent right, to hear it out loud stung. I knew damn well I was no good for her, but it was too late to give her up now. My fingers hurt, I was clutching the chair back so tight. “She’s mine.”
The look of shock on his face was quickly wiped away. “Yours? As in you’reclaimingher?”
“Yes.”
“Blade….”
“It’s not up for discussion.”
He dragged both of his hands down his face. “Christ, Blade. She’s been through a lot. You like things… fuck, brother, I’ve known you since you were a kid. Over thirteen years. I’m not gonna beat around the bush. You have some pretty twisted thoughts and needs. I don’t think that’s a good combo with her trauma.”
“She’s a lot tougher than you think,” I stubbornly insisted. Yeah, she’d had a breakdown earlier, but I would be patient with her. For her, I could force myself to figure out how.
“I hope you’re right. Sage is worried.”
“About who? Me or Eliska?”
“Both of you. She likes Eliska and she loves you.” He quickly clarified “like a brother” as he shot me a disgruntled look.
I rolled my eyes, but truthfully, that stung. If anyone knew the sick twisted shit I’d done and yet also knew, I’d never hurt a woman like Eliska had been hurt. Just because I had intrusive thoughts at times, I was willing to reign them in and never act on them unless she wanted. I wasn’t a complete animal.