Page 21 of Truck

Asshole two quickly throws out a reply. “We don’t know his name. He approached us in Bayswater town. He said it was payback for something you did.”

Rides looks at me as he mumbles, “Bayswater,” and we all know this has to do with Byron Briggs and Maddog Hughes.

“You will lose a digit as punishment and a promise. You come back, you go in the pit. No second chances here. You tell your man to try it, and we’ll find him, and we’ll finish him,” I am nose-to-nose with the asshole closest to me. I give Finger a nod and turn to leave, smirking when I hear the assholes begging Finger.

Cap walks beside me. “Pres, do you want them let free?”

“Yeah, no fun getting rid of those two. They’ll run like the rats they are. Whoever sent them may finish them. It saves us from getting blood on our hands.”

Cap chuckles. “Okay, I’ll make sure nothing goes wrong.”

“You just want to watch them panic and squeal,” I throw out while laughing. “Organize church so we can get things discussed. Any that are working and cannot get away can miss this time, but we will fill them in later.”

“Okay, let’s get this meeting done. We all have things to do. First, I can tell you that the two men have been released, and they were easy to crack. Only took Finger showing them what the acid pit can do using a rat for his demonstration.” Chuckles flow around church, and a few comments, but I quickly get back to the report. “It was interesting to know that someone who has to have a link to Byron Briggs and Maddog Hughes wanted to get our attention.”

Ghost sits up in his chair. “I’ll speak to my contact again. I’ve had nothing that says something is wrong in Bayswater. I’ll report as soon as I know something. I’ll take a ride over if necessary and see what I can find out.”

“Okay, Ghost. If you take a ride over, let me know and take someone with you. I want everyone to be more aware of their surroundings and ride in twos if you are able for now. It’s not an outright order, just something you can do if you think you will be in a vulnerable area.” I look at Truck. “News about the gas station?”

“Everything is completing well. I think we may be at the stage to open the gas station in another two weeks. Xero and his two brothers are working hard, pulling things together quickly. It’ll be safer when the station is staffed 24/7, rather than closing up as we are at this point,” Truck replies.

Nodding to let Truck know I’m good with his reply, I turn to look at Bull. “What about you, Bull?”

Bull scowls. “Fuckin’ hell, Pres. The office we ordered was trashed in that multi-pile up, and now we are back to waiting for another to be sent to us. We are behind on using the place. I have it cleared out and gradually moving things over, but we need the system up and running before we take over full use of the place.”

“Okay, but don’t get bogged down with it. You can only move into the property when it’s ready.” I give him the look that says calm your ass, then I continue. “Coin, anything?”

“I’ve covered all payments for the construction of the suites on the sixth floor. We will have five suites on that floor. The plans are as we gave them to him, and there is no problem with what we wanted. Each suite will have a small kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom.” Shuffling his paperwork, Coin looks up again. “We will have twenty-five suites covering five floors. The first floor we haven’t spoken about yet. The plans for the sauna, gym, and pool Demon has the plans for. But I presume you will want this floor at a minimum freshened up?”

“Yes, we will freshen up and probably put in a new kitchen. I’ll speak with you about this at a later date,” turning to Demon as he speaks.

“I have plans for the sauna, gym, and pool. A new building that we can place behind the clubhouse but pushed to one side of the compound. It will shade the shed, so it’s not seen as anything worth taking a second look at. We will need a powerhouse for the pool, etcetera, and it was ideal to have it alongside the side, so it looks like one building.” Demon looks at me, waiting for a response.

“Okay, let me see the plans when you are happy with them,” I get a nod of agreement so turn and look at Books. “Anything, Books?”

“Nothing particular to report, Pres. I will have a word with you, Bull, when church is done. I have an idea for the vehicle recovery membership plan you mentioned previously.” Books flicks his notepad once Bull has given him a chin lift. “The club is on a good footing, Pres. There is nothing I’m needing to report.”

Knowing that is as much as we are going to get from Books, I turn to Keys. “Anything?”

Keys smirks. “Well, let’s see…I have all the cameras running at the gas station. I renewed the security cover at the tattoo studio after the two assholes tried to break into the gas station. I checked the cover at the roll-off/dumpster building and everything was good. Judge has seen nothing untoward, and they have a floor safe that is a classic. Probably would be good at Wells Fargo.” That comment has everyone laughing. “All security is covered, Pres.”

“Okay. Let’s call it done for today, unless anyone has anything to add?”

“Oh, I forgot to say that the charity run we mentioned I’ve put out to three clubs. We have some interest, but with it not being until next year the enthusiasm isn’t high yet,” Keys adds, and Books is nodding in agreement.

“Okay, meeting done, go back to work. Next church we’ll discuss the housing, the crew working on the housing, the tattoo studio and if Xero and his brothers are settling in to stay,” I look at Truck when I say the last and hit the gavel on the block to close the meeting.

I grab a late lunch from the kitchen, take it back to my office, and while I’m eating, I check the paperwork on my desk. Looking up when Cap walks into the office. “What’s up?” I ask because he has an odd look on his face.

“Cilla is here, and she’s talking to space again. Freaks me the fuck out, Pres.” Cap rubs the back of his neck as though he’s stressed, but I think it’s highly entertaining.

“Let’s go grab a baby,” I state as I jump from my seat chuckling. I pick up my plate and saunter through the common room to the kitchen. My eyes are on Cilla who is talking to a blank space, and I look at Cap who is following me along like a puppy. “Distract Cilla,” I whisper as I drop my plate onto a table before I reach the kitchen door. I’m ready to make my move when Cap wanders over to Cilla and asks her to check out his office. Some shit about his pens moving on his desk.

I rush forward, grab the stroller where Ayla is sleeping peacefully, and push her out of the clubhouse smartly. I’m not even trying to hold the smirk back as I head to the club's SUV and shout to Jet! “Get over here, Jet, and sit with Ayla in the back.”

We get Ayla into the child seat that I’ve insisted we have in every vehicle and place the stroller in the trunk. Slamming the door, I rush around to the driver's side and jump in, starting her up and getting out of the compound as fast as possible.

An hour later I’m strolling down Main Street, getting some peculiar looks from people. I give them a nasty scowl, which has them scuttling away. When I hear Cilla shouting my name, I can’t help but chuckle.