CHAPTER NINE

– HEATH –

"What the hell were you thinking?" I grit and want to punch the fucker a few times in the brain myself. "This is all your fault."

The disbelief, anger, and frustration were clearly written all over Bran's face. Then this asshole here added more aggravation by claiming her sister completely out of the blue, making my statement fall fucking flat.

He doesn't get it. At. All. Yes, I want to protect Bran and have been working around the clock to keep her safe while trying to fix everything that's going on, but there's also the longing to build a future with her. I know with the connection and chemistry we had it's a perfect possibility and I need for it to happen and he fucking blew it.

There's confusion on Hayden's face for about a fragment of a second and then it's replaced by annoyance. "My fault? I'm just following your lead."

"That's just fucking it," I snarl and drag him into the clubhouse to get some privacy for this discussion.

No one, especially not our club brothers, needs to witness two presidents having words.

Once we're in the office I tell him, "That's the whole point, asshole. You following my lead makes my claim fall flat."

"I don't see why, a claim is a claim. It's a technicality for us and the women don't get it anyway. I mean, they will at some point, once they've adapted to the club life." Hayden shrugs. "They're ours. We'll protect them from the shit that bled into our shit. We all benefit from this union. Hell, they should be glad they ended up in our town, employed by us, and become ours."

"Are you hearing yourself right now?" I grit, wondering if my brother has a brain injury no one's aware of because he isn't always this fucking stupid, oblivious, or whatever it is that causes his brain to short circuit.

He holds his arms away from his body. "What do you want me to say here, Heath? You got the nice twin and I'm stuck with the bitch? Well, I guess it suits since you're always meddling and I'm always fucking shit up."

I take a deep breath to calm down. This is what it all boils down to every damn time. If things don't go as planned, Hayden is the one to draw the blame to him while I fix shit. Balance. Everything is for the sake of balance.

"You didn't have to claim her," I state, my tone even. "Dee's my old lady's twin and would have been protected through Bran."

"What can I say? She got the fucking bonus plan." Hayden grins.

This is useless. I rub my temples and try one more time to have a sane conversation with my twin. "These past four days we've gathered enough information to know how this shit escalated. When we questioned Kent–"

Hayden cuts me off. "I know, thank fuck Archer was present and already thought he was familiar and then recognized the fucker's ink, tying him to Tar Lines, the MC that killed Bran and Dee's father. Even if their father was an innocent bystander, Dee's witness testimony ties two members to the murder, who happens to be the president and vice president. The MC has been hunting them and with Derek's sister dating Kent, swinging by for a visit…it all clicked that he got wind of Derek's shit and recognized one of the twins. That's why he tried to blow up the club. Not because of us, but to get rid of a witness that wants to bring his club down."

Hayden releases a sigh and drops down onto the couch. "I fucking know, okay? All this shit makes me itchy as fuck, Heath. I can't explain it any other than the fact that Dee scares the piss out of me."

"What?" I grunt and stare at my twin in disbelief after his admittance. "Why the hell would she scare you?"

I take a seat in the chair across from him when he says, "I don't want her to die." Slamming his fist against his chest he adds, "It pains me right here when I only think of something happening to her. How the fuck does that makes sense when I've never been scared of anything? Certainly not a woman who makes me want to wring her throat every damn time words spill from her sharp tongue."

The corner of my mouth twitches, understanding him completely. "Same for me, bro. Same. Fucking. Thing. Except, for me, it's Bran who raises those feelings. It's why I claimed her 'cause no other woman has provoked anything the way Bran raises something…other than my cock."

I throw the last words out to lighten the mood, and it works when Hayden grins at me.

"Right? Damn. We're really fucked, aren't we? In a good way, though. Something the older generation have and talk about. Something Dad found, lost, and found again." Hayden nods. "He had to work for it to get Ma to give him another chance. We might need to ask him for advice as to how we can get our old ladies to give us a first chance, 'cause we didn't even get the chance to fuck up a second time with the way they reacted to our first step by claiming them."

The door swings open and our father steps inside.

Hayden widens his eyes at me and mutters, "Did his ears itch? It's like he knew we were talking about him."

"Either of you know where your mother is?" our father asks. He has his phone in hand and adds, "Your uncle just called to tell me that he's in town because…and I fucking quote…Lynn needed to help Blue with something."

"Oh fuck," Hayden and I state at the same time. My twin's gaze hits mine and we share the same mindset when we both rush past our father.

"Wait. Where the hell are you going?" he asks while I burst into my room, Hayden in his.

"Bran," I roar.

"Dee," Hayden bellows.

When we step into the hallway it's our father who states, "Please don't tell me the old ladies are ganging up on us."

"We're fucked if Ma and Lynn are involved," I snap.

Dad cringes and mutters, "Bee might also be missing."

I throw my hands into the air. "Fucking great. Broken Deeds didn't think to throw out a red flag when Lynn was in town, giving us a heads-up she had plans that involved our mother?"

His phone gives a notification of an incoming message. Dad thumbs the screen and cringes.

"It gets worse," he states.

"How the hell can it get any worse?" Hayden grits.

Dad winces. "Archer texted that Bee took her bike and Lynn must have taken the vintage sidecar motorcycle he was restoring."

"I thought she wasn't allowed to ride anymore." I jab my fingers through my hair that's already standing on end.

"No." Hayden glances at me. "I think Uncle Deeds took her license because she needed glasses, but she didn't want them."

"She got them all right, though she doesn't wear them 'cause she's annoyed when they get smudged by her own damn fingerprints or get wet when it rains." Dad sighs.

"Can we focus? With what did Ma need Aunt Lynn's help with?" I ask my father.

He shrugs. "Hell if I know. We've all been focused on scoping out Derek's place, and finding that fucker along with Dash, all while making sure none of Tar Lines MC hit town."

"How long has it been since they were gone?" Hayden checks his phone for the time. "About an hour ago you were standing in the boxing ring. So, they couldn't have been missing for longer than that."

"Not missing, more like hijacked by old ladies," I grit. "Dammit, why did Ma have to call in Aunt Lynn and Bee? There are loads of old ladies in this MC, why Broken Deeds and not keep it inside Areion Fury?"

"That's something I've been questioning for years, son," Dad states. "Let me call Deeds. One thing good about those fuckers is the fact that they all have trackers in their ass. Well, not exactly their ass, but you know what I mean."

He turns to make the call and I glare at Hayden.

Agitation grows, and even if I know we're partly to blame as well, I can't help but state, "We need to have a discussion with both women when they get back. Not just about the definition of lockdown, but also about making us look like idiots when they leave right after we claimed them in front of the whole damn club."

"If you do, you dumbasses need to kick your own asses first," our father rumbles.

Hayden and I watch how our father shoves his phone back into his pocket before he continues. "From what I've seen and heard from your mother, neither of you have spent time with those women you claimed without so much as discussing it with them first. Hell, you know damn well that there are options when you have an old lady. Some function better if they stay oblivious, a few need to know some details, and most of those hard-ass women need to know every damn detail. Have either of you given it some thought about what kind of woman those two are? What they need if you bring them into this life? 'Cause you two already made that decision by putting them on lockdown in the clubhouse, then you claim them one by one in front of everyone just now."

"Fuck," I mutter, knowing what we did wrong and how we ended up in this very situation.

Hayden rubs his neck. "Did you get a location from Deeds?"

"They're still on the property." Dad chuckles. "Somewhere behind the building, past the trees and bushes in the old gazebo by the looks of it. You boys better head over and get your old ladies. I, on the other hand, am going to patiently wait till my wife gets home."

"Patiently wait?" I snicker. "You mean you're dodging facing Mom and Lynn together."

He shrugs. "I only came here to ask you two if you knew where your mother was. Now I know. Besides, I grew up with my sister and your mother wreaking havoc. My woman will return home to me no matter what. So, go and fix your own damn problems…like facing Aunt Lynn."

He turns but not before I catch the smug smile on his face.

"Well." Hayden swings his arms away from his body. "We also know where they are, maybe we should give them some quality time with those old ladies."

I place my hands on my hips and stare at him as if his hair is on fire. "Think, motherfucker. Have you not paid attention to all those stories the older generation told about what the fuck happens when our mother and Aunt Lynn are together?"

Hayden cringes. "Dee already has a mouth on her, she doesn't need to spend time with Aunt Lynn."

"Now you're rubbing brain cells together," I grumble. "Let's go."

We stomp through the hallway and the music from the main room is loud enough to know that most members have relocated to that part of the building. There are only a handful of members working. Class is keeping an eye on all the video feeds, a prospect is covering the back while two brothers are keeping an eye on the front of the clubhouse.

These past four days have been hectic as fuck with the flow of information Hayden and I needed to process. We thought Derek and his buddies were trying to worm their way into our town, and yet now we get the impression this was only a diversion.

With Derek's sister becoming an old lady of Tar Lines, they were going to be patched over and want to settle a chapter of Tar Lines right here in our territory. Throw Bran and Dee into the mix and Tar Lines thought they'd struck a lucky streak.

A clusterfuck that's what it is 'cause now we're facing a bigger club, and one of their members already tried to blow up our clubhouse. Thank fuck for our ties to Broken Deeds, at least Archer has agreed to work together and has put some brothers on it to keep an eye out.

Sure, we can handle our shit, but it's always nice to have family with enough pull to make illegal incidents legal enough to wipe them from the records. Not all and everything of course, so we need to watch our backs either way.

The backyard is empty and I don't hear any voices when we walk through the trees to get to the gazebo. There are tire tracks and I point at the two bikes and the sidecar motorcycle when I notice them parked behind the trees.

Hayden nods and points at the empty bottle of tequila. Fuck. It's never a good thing when our aunt whips out the booze. Glancing around, I try to see where the footsteps lead that might give us any indication of where the fuck they are now.

My twin smacks my chest with the back of his hand and points at the ground. We follow the tracks leading back and around the old building until it clicks inside my head.

"I should have known," I mutter realizing what they're up to, and jump into a run.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Hayden groans from behind me. "Please tell me they didn't go to the room where we're holding Kent."

When we arrive at the place where we're still holding Kent captive, I open the door and already hear voices from inside the room. There's a tinted window where those inside the room can't look through, but the people outside can witness what's going on without being seen. It's also why Hayden and I come to an abrupt stop in front of said window.

"Holy goddess. That right there is why I always follow your lead and thank fuck I did when you claimed your old lady 'cause mine is fucking awesome," Hayden whispers in awe.

The same awe flows through my veins when I whisper in return, "Not as awesome as mine."

Bran is holding a hammer and by the way Kent's hands and knees are all bruised and bloody I'd say they've been at it for more than a few minutes. Dee is holding Kent by the throat and is covering his mouth with her other hand. Our mother, aunt, and Bee are leaning against the wall, all of them are wearing appreciative looks.

"Answer my question and don't lie. I'll know if you are spewing bullshit so don't even try," Bran warns and flips the hammer, letting it rotate in the air before she catches it and points it at Kent. "Are you paying attention?"

Dee removes the hand covering the fucker's throat. "Answer her."

"Yes," Kent croaks.

We've gotten enough answers from that fucker already and were leaving him to rot for two days to see if he would spill anything else.

"Did you alert your buddies that we were here?" Bran questions.

We already know the answer to that question. Dad was right to mention the way information is dealt with when it comes to an old lady. I might just have claimed her, but if I gave her a little more details what was going on? I'm sure we wouldn't be standing here right now.

I can't even blame my mother for stepping up. When I first realized they were gone I thought they'd left the compound. Yet, the other old ladies in the room gave them something Hayden and I should have. Instead, we kept them blindfolded and on the sidelines while handling everything ourselves.

"Figo. Loco called him." Kent coughs. "We rode into town together."

Fuck. That's news. We thought Kent was the whistle-blower, letting his club brothers know he found Bran and Dee. All this time there was another Tar Lines biker in fucking town?

I'm about to step into the room when Hayden grabs my shoulder. "Wait."

"Loco," Dee snaps. "That's the older fucker, the one who killed our father. He was aiming for Figo, wasn't he?"

"Loco and Figo are father and son," Kent states. "They fight all the time, it didn't mean shit."

Dee takes a step back and slowly sucks air into her lungs. "Give me the hammer, Bran."

Hayden mutters a curse under his breath and jogs around me to enter the room. "Fun's over, darlin'."

All eyes land on us and I hold out my hand to Bran.

She points the hammer in my direction. "You should have told us that they are coming for us. You lied when you said we needed to stay put because you were going to take out the rest of Derek's Quest because they saw me shoot Ned."

I wrap my fingers around hers so we're both gripping the hammer. "I didn't lie. The info about Tar Lines came in later. I chose not to tell you because we were handling all of it."

She grinds her teeth and I know she's going to call bullshit. Meanwhile, Hayden and Dee are going head-to-head, and with this I mean their foreheads are plastered against one another while they are hissing out heated words.

My gaze shifts to where Aunt Lynn, my mother, and Bee are leaning against the wall. They have their arms crossed in front of their chest as if to say "You fucked-up, man," and I know I did.

"I should have handled it differently," I admit.

Her eyes narrow. "What? Locked the window and the door to keep me in place so we wouldn't find out?"

"No, let you in," I murmur.

She pulls her fingers away from mine so I'm now the one holding the hammer. "I'll give you one chance, so don't blow it."

Hope blooms inside my chest at the sudden turn of our conversation. I have no clue why she would give me this chance, but I'll be damned if I didn't take it with both hands.

The corner of my mouth twitches. "My father needed a second chance, but all I need is one."

My mother snorts and I hear Lynn mutter, "Oh, that's smooth."

Pointing at those old ladies I tell her, "They might have told you some shit, and I now realize that's a good thing. Especially when you fall into the same category as them when it comes to their men giving them full details. I'm ready to go all in if you are. I claimed you as my old lady, and Hayden claimed your sister. Both of you are a president's old lady. It comes with expectations, and in return you will get respect, protection, and loyalty. Come on, let's go to the office and I'll let you glance through all the information we have gathered over the past few days."

Her gaze shifts to Kent. "What about him?"

"Ma, can you tape his mouth shut and lock up? I'm going to take my old lady to the clubhouse." Pointing at Aunt Lynn, I add, "Don't tape his nose shut. We still need him breathing and alive…for now."

"You youngsters take all the fun out of torture," Aunt Lynn huffs.

I chuckle and tell her, "There's a new bottle of tequila behind the bar waiting for you. My old lady and Hayden's will join you as soon as we're done talking."

The three old ladies push away from the wall. Aunt Lynn pats my shoulder. "I knew my bestie raised you right. My sons hog all the good stuff while you two know how to share. I should have had twins. There's where I fucked up." She shrugs. "Whatever, I popped out four kids anyway for the sake of balance."

My mother and Bee chuckle while I shake my head and lead Bran out the door.