Minutes passed. Maybe even hours.
“You know, my dad is cooking up his favorite brisket,” Larissa said. “It was kind of strange as he said he felt like company would be coming. Would you like to come home with me for dinner?”
Raven was going to decline, but all too soon, the sunshine disappeared into the cloud that was fast approaching.
“Brisket sounds good.”
Chapter Fifteen
Smokey stared around at his men.
He’d called an unexpected church, and it wasn’t lost on any of them that Raven’s place was very much empty when it shouldn’t be. She was in town. Unlike other meetings when she’d been with Carlos, she had no reason to miss this meeting.
Smokey hadn’t been able to find her.
She’d taken off, and after, he and Carlos had gotten into a fight that Ava had been the one to break up. He’d tried looking for Raven, but he soon realized he didn’t have the first clue as to where to find her. He didn’t know where she hung out. What she did when she wasn’t at the club. He hadn’t even realized that she’d given up her apartment to live at the club permanently. He’d been so focused on Ava and Umberto the past few months that a lot had happened that he hadn’t been privy to.
This was on him.
“I’ve been cleaning up shop,” Smokey said. “The club whores who were there with Ava in the basement. They’re all gone. I was trying to protect my woman.”
“And Raven was next,” Kinky said.
“What about me and Kinky?” Brick asked. “Were we next on your list?”
Smokey had put off contacting Lewis and Verge when it came to Kinky and Brick. The truth was, with Raven gone, he hadn’t liked it. There had been many times in the past six weeks when he’d wanted to call Carlos, end the whole thing. Each time he spoke to Raven, she sounded happy. She didn’t seem to mind being with Carlos, and he figured he’d done the right thing.
Only, he hadn’t.
She’d looked so fucking brokenhearted.
“I made a deal with Carlos,” Smokey said. “He was going to take Raven away. Get her pregnant, and she wouldn’t be part of the club anymore.”
The men didn’t say anything. Their disapproval was heard and felt in their silence.
He had fucked up big time. No, bigger than big.
Kinky stood up, slamming his chair back. “You want me out, then fine. I’ll be out, but I’m not moving to any fucking club. I followed your fucking orders that day. I don’t question you, Smokey. You’re the one who didn’t have your head on straight.”
“Sit the fuck down!” Smokey got to his feet. “I know I fucked up. I made bad decisions, and guess what, I’m paying for them.” He looked at his men. “You can hate me, and I accept that. With Raven, I fucked up, but I might also remind each and every single one of you that when I brought her here, none of you liked that I patched her in. None of you had her back. I did.” Smokey slammed his palms against the table. “I … love messes you up. It fucks with your head, and when you hurt the one you love, that kills a part of your fucking soul. I messed up with Ava. I thought the lies of a single fucking photograph, and I know I’m going to be paying for that mistake for the rest of my life.” He took a breath. “I got rid of the pussy because every time I looked at them, I remembered my mistake. The same with Raven.”
“Where’s Raven?” Ugly Beast asked.
Smokey shook his head. “I don’t know. I want to make it right with her. She has proven time and time again that her place is right here. She has risked her life for each and every single one of us.” He looked at his men. All of them had scowls on their face, and he didn’t care. The moment he made that deal with Carlos, he’d messed up. He knew that, but a good leader didn’t lie. He didn’t bow down.
He learned from his mistakes, and he made sure he didn’t repeat them.
“Where could she be?” he asked.
Big Dick wasn’t part of the meeting, but he was on via phone.
“I’d go to Harlow,” Big Dick said. “I’m not there to figure shit out, but she is the next best person to ask. She knows so much shit about everyone.”
Smokey sighed. He didn’t mind Harlow, but she talked all the time. “Thanks, man.”
“I’ve got to go, but make it right. Tell Raven not to do anything stupid.”
“Before you go, I’ve got to tell you all … Raven is pregnant. Carlos is the dad.”
They all stood up, and his men hit their fist to the patch. Raven was one of them, and they didn’t care if she was pregnant or not. Her kid was part of the club, regardless of the father.