Chapter Twenty-One
“Be good for Harmony.” Macy’s eyes watered as Harm extracted her from my arms and cuddled her close.
“I want Daddy.” She sniffles, reaching out for me.
I tightened my fists so that I wouldn’t reach out to her and cave. “Baby, I won’t be long, I promise.”
She was still shaken, and seeing her like that made me both angry and nauseous. I never wanted my baby girl to feel fear. I guess that was one of the reasons I had never moved from the clubhouse. She saw the strength and power in these men, they might be scary to others, but for her they were the teddy bears that would protect her from anything. I wanted Macy to grow up strong, I wouldn’t always be around to watch over her, so I needed to know that when it came down to it, she could stand up for herself.
Harmony gave me a soft smile and turned to walk outside. “Come on, Macy. Let’s swing.” I heard her say as they disappeared into the sunlight, my heart aching to run out after them and scoop Macy into my arms.
“Hey,” her soft voice instantly relaxed my body as I continued to stare out the patio doors. “How is she?”
“Scared,” I answered simply before pulling my attention away and focusing on Hadley. Her eyes were red. “You been crying?”
She shook her head and ducked around me, heading for the hallway to church. “Just tired.”
“Wish you’d stop lying to me,” I commented as I followed behind her.
She scoffed. “I’m not allowed to lie, remember. We have to tell the truth unless it pertains to another member.”
I reached out and grabbed her elbow, pulling her to a sudden stop. “What other member?” I growled. “Someone asking you to keep shit to yourself?”
Her eyes looked up at me, they were sad, drained. She had been crying, I wasn’t fucking stupid. I opened my mouth to call her out.
“Get in here, now,” Op called, from the meeting room door.
My eyes never left Hadley. “We will be discussing this later.”
She didn’t answer, instead just shaking me off and heading for the room.
Hadley stood up front behind Op, shifting from foot to foot as though she was eager to get this over. So was I.
The quicker I knew what the hell was going on, the quicker I could put a fucking stop to it.
The doors to the room are closed and a hush comes over the men.
“Kit has some information from Mansel that I think we all need to hear,” Op announced, his eyes moving to Hadley.
Kit stepped away from the wall and came to stand next to Op’s chair. “Mansel said he’s dealt with the Shadow Syndicate before. From what I can gather, they have aonce-you’re-in-there’s-no-getting-outkind of policy.”
This wasn’t new. A lot of gangs enforced this kind of thing in order to keep members and build their numbers. Gang members got in too deep but were too scared to leave for the fact that if they tried, they’d be killed. It’s a fear tactic. And it works.
The Brothers by Blood worked differently. We built brotherhood and loyalty. Members were free to leave whenever they felt they needed to, but it was rare. Gangs were all out, each member for themselves, fighting to survive, or to make money.
We backed our brothers and supported them, sharing income amongst us and protecting our family.
“So how does that effect, Hadley?” I asked.
Kit looked over at me, then to Hadley. “They’re still married. Which makes her tied to him.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I snapped.
Hadley took a step forward. “Wait! What does that mean?”
“It means you’re guilty by association,” Blizzard answered dryly.
Hadley frowned.