Ride Steady (Chaos, #3)(23)

She drew in breath.

Tack held her eyes and his silence.

She continued, “But she broke today, Tack. She is not a girl who gives a blowjob for legal services but she was going to do it. She loves her son. She’s running out of options. She’s running scared. And it’s taking everything she has to keep those pieces together so broken doesn’t become shattered.”

“I know one thing about this, Red, if they’re tight, her dad doesn’t want to be shielded. Got a baby girl. I’d wanna know. ’Spect he does too.”

“Her dad is in Nebraska looking after his mom, who’s far gone with Alzheimer’s, her grandfather has already passed, and her father doesn’t have the heart to put her in a home.”

Fuck.

“We gotta take her on,” Tack murmured.

“You don’t, Elvira’s in a snit. This guy, her ex, has been a dick for a long time. Carissa just put on her game face and ignored it. Her fail, as she calls it. Elvira doesn’t see it the same way. She’s ready to blow. And that means she’ll nag Hawk until he takes it on, and Hawk’s messy.”

Tack felt his lips curl up.

Elvira was Tyra’s girl and Hawk was Elvira’s boss. Hawk was a different kind of brother to Tack for a variety of reasons. And Hawk was a man who got things done and didn’t mind how he had to go about doing that.

Tack looked to the room.

“Boz, Hound, deal with the man who thinks coercin’ head for payment of legal fees is something he can do and convince him he’s wrong.”

Boz nodded.

Hound looked ecstatic.

Tack shook his head.

Tyra gave them the attorney’s name.

They took off.

He looked to Speck. “Go with them. Make sure Hound doesn’t kill anyone.”

Speck shot him a grin and took off.

Tack turned to Hop. “We need whatever we can get on her ex and his father.”

“They got judge friends, we got added problems to the ones we already got, Tack,” Hop warned.

“You watch that girl listen to her replacement tell her she couldn’t see her sick son?”

Hop’s jaw went hard.

“Worth it to you that doesn’t happen again?” Tack asked.

“Don’t ask that shit. You know it is. But it’s my job to point out where this Club is at,” Hop returned. “And, bottom line, brother, this shit is bigger than we think it is, it’s gotta go under the gavel.”

He was not wrong.

“I’ll find out,” Hop carried on. “Then we’ll know if we need a meet.”

Tack lifted his chin. Hop took off.

Tack looked to his wife. “Feel like talkin’ Big Petey into opening a daycare center?”

He heard her soft laughter. “He’s already got two hooligans at his informal one.”

“Pete likes babies.”

It was then, her eyes got soft and they stayed on him. “I’ll give him a call.”

She hopped off the table and he enjoyed the show. Then she bent into him to touch her mouth to his.

He liked that too, but would wait to get more later.

She strutted her ass out, and this time Tack took the time to appreciate it.

Shy moved to him and took the seat beside him to his left, where he sat at meetings, a position he’d earned fast because he was smart, loyal to his brothers, and loyal to the Chaos family.

“Tab’s friendly,” he said.

Tab was Tack’s daughter, the girl Shy had earned the hard way.

And Shy was right. Tabby was friendly and usually open to recruiting new sisters into her crew.

Tack looked at his brother and son-in-law.

“See if she’s recruiting.”

Shy nodded.

Tack looked at the door.

“Gone for her.”

That was Shy. He was talking about Joker.

He would know. He had the love of a good woman, gave that back.

Tack knew too. He had the same.

He looked back to Shy. “Before shit went down, he was set on icing her out.”

Shy held his eyes.

“Different cold wind blew, she got that call.”

Shy didn’t say a word.

“He doesn’t keep his shit, Shy, he’ll f*ck things for her. And he doesn’t open his eyes and see butterflies, he’ll f*ck things for him.”

“I’ll get on it with Rush.”

“Yeah.”

Shy nodded, pushed out of his chair and rounded the table behind Tack.

Tack watched the door close on him.

Then he let the thoughts in.

They didn’t need this shit.

They were at war. They were currently in détente, but that could change in a blink. Benito Valenzuela had a plan, he wanted Chaos turf, and he wasn’t going to sit on his hands for long.

They didn’t need his shit.

What’s it mean, get on your knees?

They were gonna take on this shit.

“Fuck,” he muttered, put his hands to the arms of his chair and folded out.

He had a woman and boys to feed, TV to watch, a wife to f*ck, and sleep to sleep.

That was where his head was at.

Tomorrow, he’d see.





Chapter Four