Unveiled Wishes (Iron Shield MC #2)

16. Christmas Eve Church Vote

Chapter 16

Christmas Eve Church Vote

S abre

I sat at the head of the table, waiting for the rest of the brothers to appear. This was going to be our last church until after the new year, and I wanted to make sure that we had let nothing slip through the cracks. It was also a good time to check in with them to make sure that no one was struggling.

Grizz was the first one to walk in. Setting his coffee cup on the table, he took his seat to my right. “Bitch has to go. If you don’t take him out, you’re going to find him buried in the back for Santa.”

I tilted my head back in my chair and laughed. “What did fuckface say now?” I didn’t have to ask who had pissed in Grizz’s coffee. Gerry had been going around stirring as much shit as he could. Miraculously, he made sure that Grace and I never heard him.

“He cornered Meredith first thing this morning in the kitchen.” Raising the pitch of his voice, Grizz launched into a tirade. “ Don’t you speak anymore? You should be glad you’re not stuck with his kid. What happened to the rest of your clothes? ”

I couldn’t believe he’d been that stupid to let Grizz overhear him. No one truly understood why Grizz stayed with Meredith, but no one wanted to go against him, either. Me included. At least the bickering had simmered down for a while. “That was shitty of him, but she wears the same thing every day.”

“It’s her emotional support hoodie.” Grizz’s eyebrows raised over the edge of his coffee cup as he took a healthy swig.

“It’s yours. How does that help her?” I was trying not to get involved, but I didn’t know how much longer the club could handle them. I’d have to step in, and neither one of them would be happy.

“I wash it each night and wear it for an hour so that it smells like me when she goes to bed. If Meredith didn’t need me, she wouldn’t have such a strong attachment to it. It’s her way of being close without having to take part. When she joins the living, she takes the hoodie off.”

I didn’t realize Grizz had been paying that close attention to Meredith’s habits. It made sense, but I was afraid he was going to lose himself in her turmoil. “If How’s sister gets voted in today as an Old Lady, you going to be okay?”

“Yeah, I figured it was going to come quick. I am good, and I’ll vote with the group. Meredith isn’t ready for a club vote, but I am warning you. I am not leaving her, so it’s the vote or my patch.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” I was serious, but the thought had crossed my mind that I might have to put down my best friend one day.

The door opened, cutting off our conversation.

“Prez, he has to go,” Thunder exploded, storming down the left side of the table towards his chair. “That fucker threw his arm around Liz and squeezed her bad side until she whimpered. He wasn’t even paying attention and scared the living shit out of her. I had to threaten to cut off his hand before he removed it.”

“Now, you understand what I was talking about. All you motherfuckers told me he wasn’t that bad and to suck it up.” Twig sat down. “The man needs to go permanently.”

“You dig the plot, and I’ll make sure he shows up.” Grizz took another sip of his coffee. If I didn’t put a stop to this, Gerry was going to die in his sleep tonight. Merry Christmas.

“No one’s killing Gerry,” I stepped in.

“If we bury him alive, we won’t be killing him,” Thunder said under his breath. “I’ll help.”

The prospect closed the door precisely at nine. It was time to get this show on the road.

“Alright, rein it in. We all know Gerry’s a fucking piece of shit, but he’ll be gone soon. You all can survive until then.” I stared down each brother until I got an acknowledgement that they were going to follow my orders.

I didn’t believe that Gerry wouldn’t run back to the cartel or find himself in some other fucked up situation. It was only a matter of time. However, no one should be alone for Christmas, and his family was under the clubhouse’s roof.

“Do any of the managers have concerns over the club businesses? They should be alright since we shut them down last week.” I moved church along. I didn’t need the brothers focused on Gerry.

There were a few murmurs, but no one spoke up.

“I didn’t think so. Count and I finished up the year-end books, and everything looked good. Count?”

“We make a shit ton of money, and I am going to have to get creative. The end.” His blue spikes bounced as he raised his mug to his lips.

“Is there anything else you would like to say?” I prompted him. Count was brilliant, but sometimes he lacked common sense. He’d asked me if I thought Emily would take over the club’s legal business if she stayed. I’d told him to bring it up at church because I had wanted him to see this through.

“Oh, yeah.” He nodded, the spikes still moving. “Hey, Zook, what’s going on with your woman?”

I wouldn’t have phrased it like that, but Count got away with stupid shit because he was our treasurer. Zook had a way of making you forget how dangerous he could be. He was quiet, which people assumed made him weak. He wasn’t.

“What are you talking about?” he asked Count, shifting towards the front of his seat. If Count said anything bad about Emily, Zook was going to launch himself across the table and strangle the brother. That was assuming How didn’t move quicker.

“Is she staying?” Count tried again, not reading the room.

“I think so.” Zook’s face showed his unhappiness at being questioned.

“How do you not know? Don’t answer that.” Count set the mug down on the table. “I talked to Prez about our legal situation, and we think we have something that will help sway her to stay. As long as you approve, it should be good.”

“What about me?” How spoke up. “She’s my sister.”

“Old Lady trumps sister. You know that,” I chimed in.

How slouched in his chair, folded his arms across his chest and shot daggers from his eyes at anyone who thought about saying anything.

“You’ve been holding out.” Count pointed at How, wagging his finger. “I knew your background, but I didn’t put it together. Emily is the lead counsel for Nelson’s. I had Cyph pull up their last couple of deals, since it’s all public record. She’s ruthless. I’m impressed.” He sat back in his chair and cracked his knuckles, laying them across his stomach.

“Why does this matter?” Zook got the conversation back on track.

“I spend a lot of money on legal fees to the fuckhead in town. Cyph and I actually figure out the strategy and get the paperwork together. All fuckhead does is stamp his signature and charge us his hourly rate. If Emily’s staying, Prez and I thought she might want the job. There’s no doubt she’s good at what she does. It’s also safer for us because she’ll be an Old Lady.”

“I have the paperwork ready to start her licensing. All she has to do is sign it.” Cyph grabbed his energy drink off the table and chugged it like it was a beer.

“Is this a full-time gig?” Zook asked.

Count raised his eyebrow at the question.

This was a good deal for her, and I didn’t understand why Zook was asking questions.

“If she wants to take over our legal, I won’t stand in the way. She’s mine, and I am not afraid anyone here is going to take her away from me. You all have your own issues.” He paused, rubbing his eyes for a minute before continuing. “Emily has always wanted to defend the people who don’t have a voice.”

“You remember that,” How said.

“Yeah,” Zook directed at How. “You know she doesn’t need the money, and I am in a better position to provide. I want her to do what makes her happy, and it’s not contracts.”

How shook his head, staring at Zook.

“I look at it this way: you know she’s going to be an undeniable force for the fuckheads in town, all the while killing them with a smile. If she establishes connections, it might also strengthen our relationship with the community. Let me speak to her first, and if she agrees, then we can figure out the next steps.” Zook sat back in his chair. “Hey, Count?”

“Yeah,” Count said behind his coffee mug.

“Will you help her if she does the charity thing?”

Count’s eyes rolled back into his head as the coffee hit his tongue, evaluating the options. “Actually, I can do that. If she’s doesn’t want the club’s support, I’ll still give her a hand to get going. However, we could be her silent partners and use the projects as tax shelters. I like this. It would give me more places to put the money.” He stroked the top of his spike, thinking. “Actually, that would work out better than planned.”

Zook nodded his head in agreement. “There’s one more thing.” This time, he turned towards me. “Can anyone build a house on club land, or does it need to be voted on?”

“Oh, now he’s thinking with his noggin,” someone said.

“Zook’s growing up,” someone else commented.

I was busy focusing on Zook. “What are you thinking?”

“If Emily stays, it would be alright to live in the clubhouse for a while, provided everyone agrees, but I don’t want to raise a family here. It’s not a conducive environment for that. If I buy her a house in town, it just seems far, and she’s going to want to be close to How.” He turned towards How with a chuckle. “I don’t see you moving out soon.”

“Nope, I am going to stay here forever.” How smiled widely, causing the rest of the room to laugh hysterically.

I hadn’t seen that coming. “I don’t know, Zook,” I said. “Personally, I see nothing wrong. However, Pretty is going to need to check the bylaws and the club history to make sure there wasn’t a previous vote. As long as there’s nothing stopping us, we’ll open it for discussion.”

“I got ya, big daddy.” Pretty wrote something down. The room went silent. “What?” he said, looking up from his notepad.

“I am going to need more bleach.” How closed his eyes and stuck his fingers in his ears.

“Is Em going to clear the vote?” Zook whispered.

“She has my vote. That shit was hilarious the other night. Park Avenue Prince.” Op raised his hand.

Slowly, each brother raised their hands, until it was just How, Zook, Grizz, and me left.

“Don’t fuck this up,” How said to Zook, raising his hand.

“I am going to fuck up, but don’t fix my mistakes. I’ll correct them on my own because I know what it’s like to let her go. It won’t happen again.” Zook raised his hand as How nodded his approval.

Grizz raised his hand, and I raised mine.

The club had officially voted Emily in as Zook’s Old Lady.