Keenan growled, pinning all the attention on Hank. "You touch her, and we'll all take turns killing you."
Pain crossed Hank's face, and he nodded. Keenan felt the other's studying him. They were unaware of Hank's past. A fact that would be shared with them all soon. As a club, they'd vote on whether they would keep Hank in the club or send him out. But now was not the time.
"I won't let them take Trina away from me. She's not my blood, but she's my fucking daughter. I've had her for the last three years. I'd kill anyone who even tries to take her from me." Speeder's nostrils flared. "She wants to stay with us."
Keenan looked at Trip. "What about Bonnie and the boys?"
"I checked in at the house tonight. The boys were asleep, and Bonnie's waiting for me to return." Trip's gaze softened and then grew pained. "She doesn't know what kind of man I am."
"There's no need to tell her shit." Prez banged the table with his fist. "We've all got a past. Let's keep them dead and buried."
Trip shook his head, regretting his past. Each of the men at the table struggled with who they were and what they'd become. They understood how dangerous having more knowledge of what they are capable of doing as an enhanced male as they went forth in life.
Keenan's hands shook. His past would always live inside of him. Born an addict, he'd die an addict. All he could do was try and stay clean.
He had a lot of reasons why he wanted to refrain from using. Grace was the number one priority in his life. She needed him, and he wanted to be the man she could depend on to love her.
Fuck.
He loved her.
Having never received love or given it, he was probably screwing everything up. He'd seen the upset in her eyes when he'd left the house earlier.
He had a lot to learn. He only hoped she could teach him.
"Johnny?" asked Prez. "Are you going to continue wearing the patch?"
Johnny stared at the president until tears rolled down his cheeks. He gruffly wiped the wetness away with his forearm and nodded. "I'm going to try."
The air inside the room thickened. They were all battling their past. While the secrets were enough to drive a wedge between them, they held on to what they all had in common. The club.
He had no idea what their future looked like, but it felt good to have these men beside him again.
"As far as I can see, we've got two options on how we're going to deal with those in control of the Alpha Bio Project." Prez raised one hand. "We dig out the cave and see what we can find that will help us discover if the project is over and done with."
"What's the other option?" asked Johnny.
"Like Trip warned us months ago, we tighten down security around the club and prepare to defend against anything that comes our way." Prez looked around the table. "Either way, we're done. I'll never let anyone control all aspects of my life again."
Several minutes passed, each of them going over the choices. Keenan had his own opinion. For him, he'd rather strengthen security, and if those in control of the Alpha Bio Project come after them, he'd start a fucking war.
"Everyone should know Grace was brought here by those controlling the project." He exhaled harshly. "Someone hired her, using my name—the name they gave me, to come to Avery Falls. We still haven't figured out why they'd involve Grace."
"They brought Laurel to me," said Speeder.
"You knew her in the past. I didn't know Grace. I hadn't met her until she found me at the cabin." Keenan shifted in the chair. "If there's any danger still around, I can't send her out there. She wouldn't stand a chance against them. Hell, none of us stood a chance."
"We haven't seen anyone since the implosion," said Johnny.
Keenan held up his finger. "You forget about Four. He broke into the house and attacked Grace. He would've killed her if I hadn't arrived home at that moment."
Speeder crossed his arms over his chest. "Okay, but who else was in the cave at that time? The controller. Two handlers. There were three men in cells—"
"No. There was only Four. The other two got switched—but I suspect they were killed. Their training was rushed. They weren't ready for their freedom yet," said Priest.
"That leaves the controller and the handlers," murmured Keenan.
Three men against the Avery Falls Motorcycle Club. They had the numbers to defend themselves. Now that they were all weaned off the drugs and had regained their memories and ability to think for themselves, they could act as one against them.
"Let's put it to vote." Prez sprawled his hand on the table. "Everyone who wants to dig out the cave, say aye."
Keenan looked around the table. Each man remained quiet.
Prez nodded and continued. "Everyone who wants to put more security around the club and prepare in case we go to war, say aye?"
"Aye."
"Aye."
"Aye."
"Aye."
"Aye." Keenan checked his watch. He needed to get home.
Prez slapped the table. "Vote counted. We prepare. Trip, since you initiated this from the start, I'm going to put you in charge of heightening security. Get a crew together and come up with a plan. The rest of you, we need men out running the town. Take those that have their head screwed on straight and set up a schedule. I'll stay back until each of our brothers can forget about the past—even if I must retrain them myself. Whatever we fucking do, make sure we watch what we say and do out in public. We need to act like we did before the switch. If any of them can't handle being around others yet, put them on a work crew here. We need to get Avery Falls back in shape before we lose the fucking town." Prez stood. "Meeting adjourned."
"Everyone, hang on." Keenan scooted the chair back and stood. "Law enforcement is investigating the disappearance of Grace Lambert. The only way to get the heat off my back is for Grace to contact her sister and convince her she's staying with me voluntarily. I don't want to risk doing it over the phone and have the cops show back up in Avery Falls, ready to haul my ass to prison. I'll be taking Grace to Oregon on Friday. If everything goes smoothly, I'll be back on Sunday, if not sooner."
Prez exhaled harshly. "Bad time to leave."
"I have no other choice. I need the cops off my back. Grace's sister is the only family she has. She's not going to settle here with me if things aren't right with her sister." He looked at Trip, being the only one of them who'd had a woman for two years. "I won't lose her."
"I'll take over your jobs," said Trip.
"'Preciate it, man." He bumped knuckles with Trip. "I'm going to get out of here. There's a lot to do in two days. We'll be taking my Harley. I don't want to chance letting Grace take her Jeep when every motherfucker is looking for it."
"Wait, brother. I need an hour from you." Prez motioned him over. "I want you to talk to the others and gauge their response. I need a headcount on those we need to keep an eye on."
His muscles tensed. Asking questions and testing seemed a lot like training. The men weren't going to like having to answer. Not when they've recently gained their freedom from the project.