Bounty:Fury Riders MC(26)

A cold chill ran through me again, just like it had in the shower. I rubbed my arms.



"You okay?" Tyler noticed me and placed a hand on my back.



"Yeah. Goosebumps, out of nowhere." I shrugged it off with a smile.  There was no way to tell her that I'd gotten a bad feeling. Whenever I  thought of a future for the club, I had that same sense of foreboding.  It wasn't just me and Vince. It was anyone sitting in the dining room  with me. I felt that way every time. Like there was no future.



Something was coming. I wished I knew what, so I could warn them.





Chapter Eighteen





Vince





We were just finishing up dinner when my phone rang. When I saw it was  Randy calling, my heart jumped. I sent him out to get a feel for the  word on the street. I hoped we could get our hands on Erica's attacker  by the end of the day.



I got up from the table and hurried out into the office before I picked up. "What's going on?"



"Vince? I heard something," he said.



"Tell me."



"There are three Wolves hanging out in front of one of their safe  houses, on the other side of town from our place. One of my buddies out  here saw them. He went by twice to make sure it wasn't a fluke. They  were still there. He said they looked like they mean business."



"Like they're guarding something?"



"Or someone. They're not just hanging out. Too tense, too aware of what's goin' on around them."



I scribbled down the address Randy gave me. "Good job. I'll let you know when we head out."



"What're you gonna do?"



"I'm not totally sure yet," I admitted. "I have to get in to talk with  the guy they're guarding, though. That much I know." I hung up with him  and took a minute to get my thoughts together.



Now that I knew where to find the fucker, I was practically jumping out  of my skin. I wanted to go, I wanted to look him in the eye. I wanted  him to tell me what he had done and why. Most of all, I wanted to know  the deal Alexander made with Lance. What was it that was sweet enough  for him to go against all of us?



No matter how many times I told myself not to get wrapped up in why  Lance did what he did, I couldn't help needing to know. A small part of  it was personal, but mostly I wanted to be sure it never happened again.  I wanted to trust my crew, and I wanted to keep them happy in the club.  Dissention was what started all of this. What sort of bullshit deal was  Lance offered?



Had it been offered to anybody else?



I left the office, putting a plan together in my head. Flush out the  guards, get rid of them somehow. Send them on a wild goose chase. They'd  probably leave one guard behind. I could take him out on my own.



I went back to the dining room. The men were still eating, oblivious to  everything that was going on in my head. I tried to remember what that  was like, being able to live in a sort of bubble. I took orders, I  didn't make them. I could sit and eat and mind my business while the  president made plans. All I had to do was carry out his orders.



Back then, being president had seemed like the job I wanted. I still wanted it. It just wasn't the job I was expecting.



I saw Erica laughing with Samantha and Brett. I never counted on her  coming into my life either. Everything was less complicated before I met  her. God, was it only a day? It felt like we'd already been through so  much together, in twenty-four hours. Less than that. How was it  possible?



Now, every decision I made carried a little bit of her in it. I couldn't  rush into anything because her happiness or safety would be affected if  I was hurt, or if anything happened to the club. Now I remembered why I  stayed away from relationships for so long, but I couldn't have left  her alone if someone put a gun to my head.



She turned to me like she heard my thoughts, and her smile damn near  killed me. I remembered touching her just a little earlier, the way it  felt inside her. The prim princess turned into an animal. I stirred just  thinking about it.



Someone else saw me standing there, though, and when he came over to me,  I had to change my course of thought fast. "So? What happened?" Onyx  did his best to look casual when he spoke.



I backed up, into the lounge, and gave him a brief rundown. "I have to  take a handful of them with me," I said, jerking my thumb toward the  dining room.



He sighed, hooking his thumbs into the belt loops of his jeans. "Do you  think that maybe it's time to come clean with them? I mean, all this  secretive shit. People are starting to wonder what's really goin' on. If  you ask them to go with you, you have to tell them why."



"I didn't want to do it this way," I admitted.         

     



 



"I know. It would have been easier to put it out there later. After  everything blows over. But it didn't work out that way." He shrugged. "I  know you. You'll do what you've gotta do."



I knew what that was, even though the thought of it turned my stomach.



"Get everybody together," I muttered to Onyx. "Out here." I took a deep  breath and looked at Erica. She smiled at me, nodding her head. She was  the only thing giving me strength. I didn't know if I could do any of it  without her.



I thought about what she'd said earlier when we were in bed together.  How she felt responsible for everything. If it hadn't been for her, I  never would have known about the way Lance betrayed me. I wouldn't have  gotten the heads up that someone was going against me. I still didn't  know who the person was. I'd be watching the faces of everyone in the  room to see how they reacted when I dropped the bomb on them.



Soon, the whole club was in front of me. They sat on bar stools,  stretched out on couches and chairs. The girls stood in the back,  huddled together. I noticed the way Erica took her place with them. I  wondered if that was a deliberate choice, or if she just felt safer with  the girls than she did sitting in the middle of the guys.



I cleared my throat. All eyes were on me, and even after all the time as  head of the club, it was still unnerving. They looked to me as the  person with the answers. What would they think if they knew how lost I  was?



"So listen. You all know there's a lot of shit going on right now, and  there's been some close calls the last two days. I've been keeping as  much of it to myself as I could, not because I don't trust you, but I  just don't wanna put anybody in danger. Besides, I didn't know the full  story. I still don't, totally, but I plan on going out in a little while  to find out what I'm missing."



I glanced at Erica, who was nodding. I felt my spine stiffen. God, she'd  make a great old lady. I wondered how the name would make her feel, or  if she even wanted to be one. I knew it wasn't anything she'd planned on  but hoped her feelings for me would be enough to make her consider it.



"The one thing I never wanna do is put anybody in danger, but the fact  is, we're all sorta in danger right now." I heard a murmur go up from  the room. I had expected that. They were probably mumbling, "No shit"-it  wasn't a secret there was trouble. "I think if you're in danger, you  should at least know why."



This was where things would get sticky, and I took my time. "I know you  gossip like a bunch of women around here." Now there was another murmur,  this time laughter. "So you all have an idea how I met Erica last  night. She was taking pictures for an art exhibit, which are awesome by  the way and I think we should all go when she gets it up and running."  She blushed and shook her head.



"When she was doing that, she heard two men arguing and started snapping  pics. She saw something she shouldn't, and one of the two chased her  down. He had her on the ground and was probably gonna attack her, one  way or another." I forced back the flash of anger at the thought and  reminded myself I had to keep it together. Would I always have such a  strong reaction when I thought about Erica being in danger? It was hard  to think straight.



"What she saw was the man, the one who attacked her, stabbing another  guy." There were a few concerned mutters, and a few heads turned in  Erica's direction. She nodded to them, confirming the story.



"Who was it?" Joe turned from Erica back to me. "Who did she see?"



"That's the thing," I explained. "I got a look at the memory card this  morning. I know this is gonna seem unbelievable, and … " My voice caught. I  took a second to get myself back together. I had to be strong for them.  I knew they would feel as hurt and betrayed as I did. "Trust me, I  didn't believe it at first, but it's there in the pictures. The man he  stabbed was Lance."



At first, silence. More than one jaw dropped. Then, all at once, the  room erupted. Voices, screaming questions. A few guys jumped to their  feet.



"What the fuck are you saying?" I chose to answer that question and raised my voice over the others.