When I'm With You (Little Hollow Series, #2)(29)

“I’ve been down in Denlo on club business. Pres said to keep it under wraps until I got back for church today, so let’s get our asses inside and get this over with.”

I blow out a nervous breath. Today’s going to be interesting.

We all file inside the room and take our seats, I see my pop and Pres having a heated discussion in the corner and I wonder what the hell that’s about. My pop, Trent ‘Snake’ Kingsley, is the current sergeant-at-arms and he’s doing a shit job at controlling this lot, no wonder half the members never come to the clubhouse anymore with all the drugs going about, this shit needs taken care of, and it needs doing now.

Pres starts the meeting and we vote in a road captain, which always ends up being Smokey since he’s the only one that puts his name forward. He’s my best friend, but he’s a shitty road captain, he never organizes any rides for fun anymore.

Secretary, treasurer and sergeant-at-arms are voted in, of course my pop gets the majority vote for SAA the same as every year. Vice president is the next to be voted in, I see Taz put his name forward and he sits looking smug as no one else says anything... until I stand up.

“I’m putting my name forward too.”

I sit back down and look over at Taz who has a scowl on his ugly mug. He glares at me and I give him a smug grin as I can hear everyone talking between themselves. I’ve always been happy to stay on the sidelines, until now. I’m gonna clean this club up before the mother chapter has us eighty-sixed, we’ve already had our fair share of warnings.

“Well fuckin’ hell, look who’s stepped up. Got some competition on your hands brother,” Pres says.

Daryl ‘Tank’ Michaels has been President of the Crows for four years now and he’s always had his brother, Merl, or Taz as he’s nicknamed, by his side as VP. No one has ever gone up against him and I’m relishing in the fact that he’s about to be put in his place.

“Votes for Taz,” he says, looking around the room.

Three brothers throw up their hands and Taz starts staring daggers at me, I can tell he’s trying not to lose his shit. He knows he’s lost the vote already.

“Votes for Bear,” Pres says.

I fucking hate that road name, there’s not even a great story behind it unlike most people’s. I have a hairy chest and a grizzly fucking attitude to go with it, hence the name ‘Bear’. My pop knew I hated it so he kept on saying it, and it stuck.

I shake my head forgetting about the road name and look around the room as practically everyone’s hands are in the air. A wicked grin spreads across my face as my eyes meet Taz’s and he flies out of this chair and throws a punch at the wall.

“You can’t fuckin’ take this from me. He doesn’t know what the hell he’s doin’!” He screams at everyone.

“He’s gonna do a hell of a better job than you, sit the fuck down, Taz, before you really hurt yourself,” Smokey says, giving me a wink as all the brothers erupt in laughter.

Pres nearly puts the gavel through the table as he bangs it down. “Shut the fuck up all of you! What’s done is done.” Taz glares at his brother. “But what can be done, can be undone.”

He looks at me with a sneer on his face and everyone around me starts protesting.

I couldn’t give a shit what his crackpot ass thinks of me, I stopped respecting him the moment he eighty-sixed his own daughter right after his first year of being Pres. I knew this would happen just because Taz is his brother.

Smokey speaks up for me again. “Pres, come on, man. Bear won that vote by fuckin’ miles.”

I get out of my chair. “Don’t waste your breath, he’s made up his mind. Pres trumps all, right?” I walk past Taz keeping my eyes trained on his the whole time and he narrows them at me. “Better get your shit together, Taz. You know I’ll be contesting. One step out of line and I’ll know about it.”

I plan on being up his backside, metaphorically, until he finally fucks up, which he inevitably will. Him and Pres stopped caring about the actual club two years back, they’ve run it down into the ground ever since.

They brought in more broads than we could handle, the broads use more of our drugs than we distribute, and since then, it’s turned into one big fuckin’ party. Now I like a good drink and I’m not immune to the women, I am a man after all, but the drugs are a step too far for me, I’m sick of not getting my cut of the money all because some broad and some of the brother’s are using it to get their highs.

All this partying is taking away the fact that we’re all brothers in an MC, we should start acting like it instead of letting in any old riff-raff and letting addictions get in the way of business.

I’m lying on my bed when the door comes flying open and I know exactly who it is before I even look.

“Ever heard of knocking?” I say.

My pop stands there with a face like thunder. “What the fuck was that shit you just pulled?”

Tank, Pres, is his best friend, has been since they joined as prospects together thirty years ago. I stand up in front of him, rooting myself in place. I can’t believe I used to be scared of him.

Deciding to play dumb, I just look at him and shrug. “You wanna be in office? You fuckin’ talk to me about it first.”

All humor drains out my face and is replaced with anger, I step right up in his personal space. “Are you really that fucking blinded by your friendship that you can’t see you’re all running this charter into the ground? Denlo will cut us, most of our brothers have nowhere to go other than here. You want that on your conscience? Be my fuckin’ guest, but I’m contesting this shit whether it pleases you or Pres. I will be VP or even Pres if he doesn’t step his shit up,” I whisper-shout.