Then, I knocked against the wall with my knuckles.
Before the scurrying started up quicker than ever.
“Damn it, there’s rodents in the walls,” I hissed.
I added a call to an exterminator on my long list of things to do to get this house in shape enough to sell.
There was no use in dwelling on old memories, especially with the paths we had taken in life. So, I lost myself in more cleaning as I went room to room upstairs. I tied a shirt around my mouth and nose to keep the bulk of the dust out and I vacuumed the carpet over four times before that nasty smell even thought about dissipating. I threw open every single window as I bounced from room to room, doing everything from stripping the beds of their sheets and throwing them away to cleaning the windows and washing the fucking popcorn ceilings.
“Those are gonna be a bitch to fix,” I grunted.
By the time I made my way back downstairs, I’d been upstairs for at least four hours. And I heard a dreaded sound that I knew would keep me occupied for a while. I rolled my eyes as I set everything down, including the vacuum cleaner, and I backtracked the sound of dripping water all the way into the kitchen.
And when I looked in the sink, I found the smell of the stale carpet that I thought was from the floors.
I gagged. “Holy shit.”
The water sitting in the sink was brown, and the drain smelled as if it were clogged with old hair and diapers. I tightened the shirt around my face and threw open the cabinet doors beneath the sink and rolled my eyes when I saw the rotting wood. I had no idea how long this sink had been dripping for or why Brooks hadn’t popped by to check on things after turning on the damn utilities for me, but I knew this job would take up the rest of my night.
So, I went digging around for Dad’s old toolbox so I could find a way to fix the leaky pipes.
And get rid of the damn clog in the kitchen drain pipe.
Nine
Porter
I watched Brooks clench his fists at his side. “You don’t seem too concerned with this meeting.”
Chops shrugged. “Had you not gone and caused so much trouble, maybe they wouldn’t want to meet.”
Brooks’ eyes narrowed. “You know damn good and well that if I hadn’t made some sort of move, they would’ve killed Raven. Flat out.”
Chops tucked his helmet beneath his arm. “And had you stood down and not attacked them, we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place.”
Brooks cocked his head. “Are you not hearing a fucking word I’m saying? They took Raven!”
“And instead of coming to me so we could come up with a plan, you went behind my back, over my head, and caused irreparable damage! So, as far as I’m concerned, this meeting is all your fault!”
Brooks growled. “You’re our president. You always back up our actions.”
H shrugged. “Hyde might have done things that way, but not me. You’re the one who went off on your own without informing me. You're the one who blew shit up in an attempt to rescue someone without my permission. So, as far as I’m concerned, this is your meeting and your issue. Not the club’s as a whole.”
I hated the fact that Chops had a point. Brooks did go off on his own to do this shit. And while we had a great reason as to why, it wasn’t as if we could tell Chops that. Holy fuck, he’d have our heads if he knew the real reason why we galivanted off like that.
Nevertheless, I had to stand up for my boy. “Chops, if Brooks hadn’t gone over there in the first place—even just to scout things out—something terrible would have happened to Raven and you know it.”
Cole piped up behind me. “Yeah, and we can’t let one of our own suffer like that when we know we can save them.”
Chops snickered. “One of our own? Raven hasn’t spoken to us since her husband died and Brooks went off to prison! How does that make her one of us?”
Brooks gnashed his teeth together. “She was married to one of our men for years. She’s now with me. That’s about as ‘one of us’ as it gets.”
Chops chuckled. “What? Because she likes to hop bunk beds with the guys, we’re supposed to protect her twenty-four-seven?”
Brooks lunged at the man and I had to wrap my arms around him to keep him from clawing Chops’ eyes out. And the slimy grin on our President’s face made my stomach flip over into knots. Was Chops insane? Did he really think this would somehow help his case?
But of course, Chops didn’t stop. “And do you want to know the real kicker?”
I whispered in Brooks’ ear. “Come outside. Just let it go.”
Brooks’ eye twitched. “What?”
Chops walked up to the man. “Every single one of us knows you’ve got Raven protected in ways Gage would have never wanted. Yet, you’re the one who constantly talks about honor and valor. Holding ourselves to a higher standard. I wonder how your best friend would feel about you fucking around with his widow, Mr. Upstanding Citizen.”
The second those words hit my ears, I let go of Brooks. My vision dripped with red as I pulled back my fist and connected it straight against the jawline of our bullshit, pathetic excuse for a leader. He stumbled back before someone grabbed at my leather cut, but all I did was slip my arms out of the sleeves.
Before hauling off and slamming my knuckles into Chops’ stomach.
“You’re a piece of shit, you know that?” I grunted.
Chops looked up at me through the tears in his eyes. “I’m gonna kill you for that.”
He lunged up and tried to punch me, but Archer and Tanner were quicker. Brooks picked me up and forcibly carried me to the other side of the room while Archer and Tanner held Chops’ fists back behind him. I wanted to rip his jugular out through his mouth. I wanted to pluck his teeth out with some pliers, one by one, until he begged for mercy.
“How dare you talk about her that way!” I roared.
Chops barked with laughter. “Looks like there’s another guy who wants to fuck her, yeah!?”
Brooks dropped me and I scrambled to grab his jeans. I stopped him in his tracks, taking him to the floor as Chops guffawed with laughter near the front door. I wanted to beat the man into the ground, but I knew Brooks would kill him.
Because it certainly wouldn't have been the first time my friend killed a man with his own two hands.
Chops’ voice boomed across the room. “This is your fucking mess, Brooks. So, you can get yourself out of it. I never once told you to cross town and start chucking grenades into a god damn warehouse. That was all you. You think you can lead better? Then, by all means, show us how you would lead now.”
And before any of us could respond, Chops slid his helmet back onto his head and walked out of the clubhouse.
Leaving during a meeting he called about a situation that required his attention.
“What the absolute fuck?” Finn asked.
I pushed myself up from the floor and offered my hand to Brooks. “Take it. Come on. We’ve got work to do.”
He glared up at me before his hand slapped against mine, and I hoisted him to his feet. I didn’t know what the hell we were going to do, but all eyes were on Brooks as Chops soared off into the distance on his bike. I licked my lips and turned around, searching for my leather jacket.