CHAPTER 23

REAPER

Opening up the clubhouse, I saw that the prospects had been in to clean up and stock up the bar. The seating area, pool tables, and darts area had all been set up. Pushing open the door to the meeting room, I was again taken aback at the dedication Sam had put into the table. It was fucking awesome. Closing and locking that door, I went into my office. This was going to be better than trying to run shit from the dining room at the house.

A couple of prospects, Skinny and Cairo, came in carrying boxes of shit for the kitchen.

I tipped my chin in to acknowledge them.

"Pres."

"Put some coffee on. I have a guy named Liam coming in. Irish, blond, and covered in tattoos. Bring him to the office when he arrives if the VP isn't with him."

"Will do, Pres," Skinny assured me as he unpacked the boxes they'd brought.

I left them to it.

Heading back to the office, I sat back and contemplated the large map of the area on the far wall with pins stuck in it at the different sites we had been to. We will be hitting them this Thursday. I just had to figure out how to do it and keep us out of the shit while doing it. I had an idea starting to form, but I would know more after I had spoken to Liam.

Not long after, there was a knock on the door, and I looked up as it opened to see Skinny in the doorway with Liam behind him.

"Pres, your visitor."

"Thanks, Skinny. Bring us some coffee before you head out."

"Will do, Pres."

I got up as Liam entered the room and held my hand out to him. I grinned when I saw him looking around at the old barn and our changes.

"Liam, it's good to see you."

"You too, Reaper. Fuck, you haven't changed at all. And this place is looking great. I hear you had a young lad do the woodwork. It looks fantastic," he said as he sat down.

"Thanks. We're happy with it. And it's not just any lad. He's my lad."

Liam's eyes widened as he looked at me in surprise.

"No shit. I didn't realise. Noni never said you had a kid."

"I don't, he's my woman's son, but as we're getting married, he's now mine."

He nodded his head in understanding.

"I get you. I wanted to come and apologise for last night. Andy has been sent to the family in Ireland to get his shit sorted out."

I shrugged before answering, "It's all good with us. Nobody was seriously hurt. Bull is tough, and Rea stitched him up, so there are no problems on our end. Appreciate the apology, though."

We sat and talked shit for a while, catching up on what had been happening in our town, what he had seen, and where his family was in the next town. We'd never had an issue with the Irish, even if we didn't always agree with their income methods. They were good people. I was curious as to what Liam wanted, though.

"So Liam, what is it I can do for you? The catch-up has been good, but I'm guessing this isn't a social call?"

He laughed and shook his head.

"Not much gets by you, does it?"

"Not if I can help it. It keeps me breathing longer if I know what I'm up against."

He rubbed his hand across his chin, looking up at the ceiling before sitting up straight in his chair and looking me straight in the eye.

"Not sure if you're aware that we have gone legit?"

I nodded. Noni had let us know.

"Noni mentioned it. Still not sure what I can do for you, though?"

He sighed, looking down at his feet.

"It's been harder than expected to keep everyone employed. The guns brought in lots of cash but going legit is taking time. I knew we needed to make changes when Rhett was put away for twenty years. There's been lots of opposition, not the least from my Da.

"The security side is doing well and growing. We've got a chance to buy into a couple of nightclubs in our town that we do security for. Unfortunately, we're strapped for cash, and I don't want to take a loan from the bank."

"You're looking for us to bankroll you?"

He nodded, "Either as a loan that we pay you back or as silent partners, the MC gets a percentage of the profits we make.

Tipping my chair back, I thought about this. I'd need to bring it to the table before making decisions.

Turning my attention back to Liam, I studied him. Being in charge of his crew showed the weariness I saw on his face.

"Bring me a business proposal and how much the buy-in is. Then, I need to take it to the table and speak to Bella about finances. Once I have all the information, we'll make a decision. It shouldn't take too long before you have your answer."

He grinned at me, "Thanks, man. I'll get the information to you this week for Bella to go over."

"Good. Now before you head out, I want to ask a favour. I'm guessing you know about us working to take out the ACES?"

He nodded at me.

"How many of your men do you think would be willing to wear our patches this Thursday at the Corvus Pub?"

Liam cocked his head to the side as he studied me, "How many do you need?"

"We need fourteen, one to cover each of us. They need to look similar to us from behind and be able to ride our bikes. We'll put you in the VIP section behind the bar, so people will see you but not who you are. Then as we each come in through the back, once we've done what we have to do, we exchange cuts, and your guys slip into the crowd. Hopefully, no one is the wiser."

He hummed as he thought it over before nodding.

"Yeah, I reckon we can make it work."

"Good," I replied. "I will also need to hire your company as bouncers on a permanent contract. I can't leave Avy unprotected, and there aren't enough of us to go around and take out the ACES."

He grinned at me, "Man, I didn't expect this when I came to apologise, and yes, of course, no problem. I'll have Adam contact Avy and sort out the contracts. When do you need us to start?"

"Is tomorrow night too soon?" I asked.

"No, it should be fine. I'll let Adam know. What's happening Thursday?" Liam asked.

"Best you don't know," I replied. "Although for you guys at the pub, it will be okay. Avy has booked a kick-ass band and is having drinks at half price as we've been shut so long. She is advertising it as opening night. It should be busy."

"Okay, no worries. Let me know if you need me to do anything and where you want to meet us to pick up your cuts and bikes," Liam said, standing up and offering me his hand.

"It's been good to see you, Reaper. Glad you boys all made it back safe and sound."

"Me too, man, me too."

We're just heading out into the main room when Cairo comes running up.

"Pres, you best come. I think Dragon is going to kill Onyx."

"For fuck's sake," I muttered as we hurriedly headed back towards the house. We hear them before we see them.

I got to say it's not often Dragon lost his temper, but when he did, it was something to see, and he was laying into Onyx, who seemed to have given up and was taking whatever was being handed to him.

The rest of the men were standing around watching. I noticed money was being passed around as bets were made. I shook my head, stopping next to Draco, tilting my head in query at the men fighting on the ground in front of us.

Onyx was getting his arse handed to him.

Draco shrugged before replying to my silent query.

"Dragon came back from dropping Rea home, grabbed Onyx by the back of his shirt, pulled him outside, and this is the result. Onyx initially fought back, but Dragon has been shouting at him the whole time, and we finally realise it's about what he did to Rea. Not sure what set Dragon off, but I'm guessing it's something he found out."

Sighing, I waded in and grabbed Dragon, pulling him off Onyx.

"Dragon, you need to calm your arse down. He's not even fighting back. You're going to kill him at this rate."

Dragon shook me off before advancing on Onyx again but stopped just before he got to him, pointed his finger in his face, and snarled at him.

"You didn't deserve her then, and you sure as shit don't deserve her now. I'm giving you this one warning, brother. She's been through enough. If you don't mean to do right by her this time, then you need to stay away."

Onyx swatted at Dragon's finger before sneering at him. "Why? Do you want her? You've always had a thing for her, haven't you?"

Dragon shook his head and looked sadly at him, "I don't want her, never like that. She's a sister like Avy, Noni, and Bella.

"Ask me what her daughter's name is, Onyx. Go on, ask me?" Dragon shouted.

"Fine, what's her daughter's name Dragon," Onyx yelled back at him.

"Mila."

It's like the air was sucked out from all of us that grew up in this village. Even Liam looked surprised.

"What's up with the name?" Navy asked.

"It's the female version of Onyx's legal name," Draco replied.

Dragon grabbed his phone from where it was lying on his Cut on the bench behind us. We all felt our phones vibrate as the pictures he took while he was with Rea came through.

I looked up to see tears running down Onyx's face as he looked at what we were seeing.

Dragon went to him and pulled him in close.

"You fucked up, brother, but we're going to fix this, I promise."

"Jesus, you guys really do have a shed load of drama in this small town of yours," Hawk muttered. "Think I've seen more action and fighting in the last three weeks here with you than in my last three months in Afghanistan."

We burst out laughing, and the whole mood changed. I walked Liam to his vehicle, and we arranged to get together Monday. The rest of us headed to church to sort out Thursday's last-minute changes.