Chapter Five
Sleeping on the chair proved damn uncomfortable. Brick couldn’t even get a wink of decent sleep, so he contented himself by watching Rose. Asleep, with her eyes closed and her body curled protectively over Stefan, she looked peaceful. Innocent. Rose wasn’t naïve though. She possessed grit.
Close to sunrise, Brick rose and worked out the kinks in his neck and back. He decided to hit the gym, start the morning in a productive matter, so he headed to the bathroom and put on his workout clothes. Before exiting the room, he placed a kiss on Rose’s cheek. Brick quietly shut the door behind him. The outdoor gym was located in the yard at the back of the clubhouse.
The covered space only used to have a couple of dumbbells and weights. Over time, MC members added new equipment until the place finally resembled a gym. Brick did some laps around the yard. By the time he started working on his weights, a couple of MC brothers had joined him.
In his mid-forties, Brick wasn’t getting younger. He kept himself in shape because it was a necessity. It also didn’t hurt that Brick enjoyed working out. MC members who became lazy and slow had a tendency to end up dead. Brick finished his last reps when Vin, a prospect, approached him.
“King wants to see you in his office,” Vin said.
Brick wiped the sweat off his face with a clean rag. “King’s back from his trip early?” He asked.
The prospect nodded. “He and the others just arrived.”
Brick scoffed. He had a feeling he knew what King wanted to talk about. “Fine. I’ll talk to him soon.”
The prospect looked anxious. Brick expelled a breath. It would’ve been nice to take a shower first, but fine. If King was in an impatient mood, he might end up shouting and scaring off this prospect. Brick drank some water, then headed back inside the clubhouse. On his way to King’s office, he bumped into Prudence, King’s old lady. She carried Garth, their son, in her arms.
She beamed when she saw Brick. Brick knew King had taken them both along the trip. Neither Prudence nor Garth was in danger because the Ruthless Reapers MC had been allies with that group for a long time.
“Have a good trip?” Brick asked her.
A few months ago, Brick hadn’t been too thrilled when he learned King developed an obsession over the daughter of the president of a rival MC group. Thankfully, they managed to get that sorted out when Prudence gave birth to Garth, and Axel, the President of the Chaos Riders MC, became a grandfather and an ally.
“We did. The meeting ended early, so we had time to sight-see. This little fella certainly enjoyed himself,” Prudence said, nodding to Garth. Garth continued to snore softly on her shoulder.
“That reminds me. I need to ask you a favor,” Brick said. He told her about Rose’s situation. Prudence widened her eyes for a moment, then nodded.
“I’ll see what I can do,” she said. “I might have a spare cot for you and even a stroller. I’ll ask Grizzly to accompany me back to the house. We’ll see what else we can find.”
“Thanks, Prudence. You’re a lifesaver,” Brick said, meaning it.
He and Prudence might’ve gotten off a rocky start, but over time, they’d come to some kind of agreement. Brick never pictured King as the sort of man to ever settle down, but he could also see how Prudence had been a good influence on him.
With that errand taken care of, he entered King’s office. The other man was still wearing his cut. Judging by his crumpled clothes and the dust on him, King looked like he had just come from a ride. Brick had a feeling this would be a long conversation, so he took a seat in front of the desk.
“I heard you an interesting evening last night,” King began as he poured himself a glass of brandy.
“Too early to be drinking, don’t you think?” Brick asked. “What would your old lady think of that?”
“I need this drink because of your and Razor’s actions last night,” King said with a growl. He took a sip of his glass before narrowing his eyes at him. “What the fuck were you thinking, Brick?”
“Razor had nothing to do with this,” Brick began. “He just came along for the ride. Mostly, I think he was just worried I’d end up killing myself.”
King scoffed. “I find that hard to believe. Razor’s gotten into plenty of messes before.”
“I’m not joking.” Brick met King’s gaze.
King swore. “Then why the fuck would the two of you gun down three of Rat’s men without telling me about it first?”
“Dragon and his crew were the ones responsible for our stolen shipment four days ago. He’s the one who put a bullet in Trigger’s chest and left him to bleed on that dirty highway,” Brick said. Temper crept into his voice. He gripped the armrests of the chair.
King considered him for a few moments. “Then the two of you had a valid reason. What I don’t understand is why you didn’t run it by me first.”
“There wasn’t any time,” he said. “You already had plenty on your plate.”
“So my level-headed second-in-command decided to play vigilante because you thought you could handle this on your own?”
“It’s handled,” Brick said.
“What about the woman?”
Brick said nothing for a few moments. His MC brothers had seen Rose and Stefan last night. He couldn’t keep that a secret.
“Her brother stole from the Black Dogs MC. I got word Dragon and his crew would be at the Castle Falls Trailer Park that evening to collect a thief.” Brick told King everything, because no one hid secrets in the MC.
“Let me rephrase my earlier question,” King said, drumming his fingers on the desk. “Who is this woman to you?”
“Her name is Rose McCoy,” Brick said. “And I’ve taken her under my protection.”
“She’s trouble,” King finally said. “Your reasons for killing Dragon and his crew might be justified, but it’s probably better if we cut this woman loose.”
“No,” Brick said firmly. “Rose stays with me.”
“No?” King raised an eyebrow.
“Rose and Stefan have nowhere to go. Why should she and the kid suffer, because her brother’s a dick?” Brick said. “I said she’s my responsibility, and that’s that. She’s not leaving.”
“That’s your final decision?” King asked him.
“It is.” Brick nodded. King and he were partners. King couldn’t just order him around like a prospect or a newly patched member.
“Then we have nothing further to discuss. If Rat sends more men as retaliation, then you’re in charge, Brick. This is your mess. You clean it up. Take whoever’s willing to fight if it comes to that.”
“Understood. If we have nothing else to talk about, I’m going to take a shower, then check on Rose.”
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