Page 33 of Smitty

Nobody disagreed. We were all thinking the same.

Walker comes to us with a threat. We deal with it, and all goes quiet. Weeks later, there’s a fire. Then, a wreck. And now, a hands-on attack. All three with the presidents of Fury. The pieces were starting to fit together, and none of us liked what we saw.

Skid turned to his father as he said, “What about the others? Were they really just accidents, or was it something more?”

“That’s the question of the hour.”

“It has to be something more. No way this is all just a fucking coincidence.”

Memphis shook his head. “But we were told the fire at the barn was because of the straw overheating.”

“You sure it wasn’t tampered with?”

“Fire marshal seemed pretty damn sure.”

Prez let out a sigh, letting us know he had his doubts, and the room went quiet again. Every brother felt it. They could feel it down to their bones. There was a good chance that somebody was making a move against Fury. It was impossible not to think that it might be the Coyotes, especially after the way we took out the entire Little Rock chapter and all their scouts.

“Doesn’t matter what the marshal thought,” Creed replied. “The timing’s too damn convenient.”

“He’s right.” Grim was done holding back. “We got you almost burned up in a barn fire, Maverick and his faulty wiring, and now, this with Gus. That’s a red fucking flag if I ever saw one.”

There was no denying it. Things were piling up, and they were becoming harder to blow off as a mere coincidence. Ghost looked to Grim as he asked, “Any way the Coyotes could be behind this?”

“It’s possible.”

“They might think that they could distract us by going after the presidents.” Preacher suggested. “But not sure they’ve got the means to pull off this kind of hit. Regardless, someone is making moves, and we need to be ready for whatever comes next.”

Prez’s response settled over the room like a dark cloud. If someone wanted Fury weakened, taking out our leadership was a damn good place to start. Grim turned to Prez as he said, “I’m gonna need you to stay here until this thing plays out.”

“Tabitha’s gonna love that,” he scoffed.

“She’ll need to be here, too.”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Grim nodded. “Jenna and I will stay here, too.”

“I’ll be here, too,” Memphis interjected.

Several others made offers, so I did the same. Once the room grew quiet again, Creed announced, “We’ll increase security, here and at the club.”

“Good.” Prez remained eerily calm as he said, “I’ll reach out to the other chapters and see what they’re hearing.”

With that, Prez turned and walked out of the bar. We hadn’t solved anything. Hell, we’d barely scratched the surface, but there wasn’t more to discuss until Prez heard back from the other presidents.

In the meantime, business still had to be handled, which is how I found myself following Goose and Memphis to the Vault. An hour ago, all I could think about was Brooke and the little girl who could be mine, and now, there was another problem sitting on top of the ever-growing pile.

I had to deal with one thing at a time, and that started with helping the brothers shut down the Vault for the night. Normally, I didn’t mind being at the bar. The music and the crowds helped to keep my mind occupied, but nothing about tonight was normal.

Every time I stopped moving, I saw Brooke.

Every time I blinked, I saw that little girl.

And every time I thought about the possibility of her being mine, my stomach twisted into knots. I tried to shake the feeling, but it kept gnawing at me. It didn’t help matters that the Vault wasn’t all that busy, but there were just enough people hanging around to make closing a pain in the ass.

Goose was behind the bar, sorting receipts and cashing out, while Memphis started stacking chairs. I was guiding folks through the door when I heard raised voices near the back corner. At first, I didn’t think much about it. Drunks were always mouthy, but they always seemed to be louder at closing time.

They usually died down on their way out, so I left it.