“Me too,” Raul muttered.
“Why’d he need all that money?” Lynx asked.
“To live off, maybe.” Storm shrugged. “Grizz couldn’t find anything on him. If he was working, he was paid under the table.”
“Jeez. And he thought he’d go legit.” Lynx shook his head.
It burned me up that Justin would choose to get in debt with a gang to keep Emilee and me apart. Didn’t he know me at all? I guessed I hadn’t given him a chance to know me. I had avoided him once Emilee and I got together.
Dammit, I should’ve come clean from the get-go.
Storm tapped his fingers on his beer bottle. “If we all contribute, we can pay the debt. Council members can afford to pay more because they got a larger payout. This isn’t only about paying the debt. It’s about protecting the baby.”
“Exactly.” Raul slammed his hand on the table. “Rat Brotherhood won’t stop until they get their money or the baby.”
“Unless we get the motherfuckers first!” I shouted. “Why are we just going to hand over all that money after what they did to Justin? He lost his hand because of them.”
“I agree,” Lynx said. “I bet if you asked Boxer and Hero, they’d choose war. Their money is tied up in building their homes on the property. We all have plans for our money. Let’s take the fuckers out.”
Storm sighed. “We won’t decide anything until Hero gets back and I talk to Boxer.”
Heads nodded around the table.
As a newly patched member, I only received half of what the council got. I was thrilled about it too. It was enough for Emilee and me to begin our life together. I had put some of it in a trust for Dante already.
If I could pay Justin’s debt myself, I would. But I didn’t have that kind of money.
I was sure my brothers would all contribute in the end.
21
Emilee
It’d been a week since I saw my dad. The doctors said he needed another five to seven days before he could go home. Home. Where would that be? I’d ask him what his plans were, but Danny and Storm didn’t want me in Fargo. It’d been utter chaos there, with Cobra’s club turning the town upside down, searching for Rat. They’d found several small cells and eliminated them. Those were Danny’s words. I knew it meant killing them.
But they hadn’t found the leader, Rat, which was a huge problem.
For his protection, Dad had around-the-clock guards. It made me feel a little better. After seeing him, I stopped calling him Justin. It was wrong when he was my dad. I hadn’t fully forgiven him, but I knew I would after we had a conversation. He needed to admit he’d overreacted. And an apology to Danny and me would be nice.
A rumble of motorcycles brought a smile to my face. I’d taken to sitting on a bench with Dante waiting for Danny to come home from work. He’d only started back at the gun shop a couple of days ago when I assured him I was okay. Of course, he called several times a day to check in on Dante and me. He was incredibly protective of his family.
My heart fluttered, watching him remove his shades and throw his leg back, getting off his Harley. He was oh so hot, training his eyes on me. His swagger wasn’t anything to sneeze at either.
“My two favorite people.” He moved in for a kiss. “Missed you, Em.” Then he dropped a kiss on Dante’s head. “You too, Little D.”
“We missed you too. Did you have a good day?”
“It wasn’t bad.” He sat beside me on the bench.
“Hey, Emilee,” Ryder said. “Hey, Little D. Check out your fancy high-tops.” He shook Dante’s foot before going inside the clubhouse.
Danny had bought Dante a pair of tiny Converses. He hadn’t admitted it, but I could tell he liked seeing them on Little D. It was so cute. He was so happy Little D’s first pair of shoes was from him. It made me want to put them on him all the time.
I liked Ryder. When he wasn’t working at the gun shop with Danny and Hero or doing the grunt work prospects did, he enjoyed playing guitar. He’d bought one with his first paycheck. The guy could sing really well too.
“What’d you do today?”
I looked at Danny. “Oh, not much. Just wedding planning stuff with Maddy and Tara.”