“Bell okay now?” He watches me carefully as I add cream and sugar.
“As good as she can be.” I nod and pull a chair up next to him. He holds my stare for a minute before going back to the paper.
“You think it’s wise letting her in on it all?” he asks, keeping his eyes down.
I don’t reply straight away because I’m not sure it’s wise. “I can’t keep it from her, Beau. She’s a fuse ready to go off.”
“Well, Nix made the call to T. We got a meet tomorrow night.” He smiles more excited than he should be. He’s never liked the assholes and any sort of tension with them seems to get him going.
“Good. Hopefully we can walk away without getting into it with them.” I nod, feeling good about the club’s decision to move forward. Jackson might not be impressed, but there’s not much he can do about it. As long as we stay out of any illegal shit, we should be good.
“And if we don’t? You willing to put the club through this for her?” Beau asks, pulling me out of my head. I know what he’s getting at. But he’s the last person to be giving his opinion. He just fucked us all over by taking one of the Warriors’ women.
“You want me to answer that?”
“Yeah, I want to know what your motives are. I’d fucking die trying to save a woman from that sort of life, you know that. But you? You willing to bring bloodshed for her?”
“I’m not doing it for fucking pussy.” I straighten my shoulders ready to defend my actions and what Bell means to me if I have to. He stares me down before smirking and taking another sip of his coffee. Okay, that was easy.
“T and his men are the last of our concerns. Bates and the shit he’s into is where I’m concerned.”
“I know.” Shaking my head, I think about what the poor girl could be going through and it makes my stomach roll.
“It won’t be pretty. You need to prepare your woman for that.” I let his dig about Bell being my woman slide.
“She knows. Fuck does she know,” I answer. But deep down, I know that’s not the case. The truth is I don’t think any of us are prepared for what might come out of this.
“Remember, this is just a friendly visit. You keep your cool, Jesse, you got it?” Nix says the following night. We’re thirty minutes out of town, ready to meet the Warriors.
“I think I can handle it,” I reply, ignoring that jab.
“You told him seven?” Beau asks as we walk inside the small diner T told us to meet at.
“Yeah, take the back table.” Nix points to our normal table. Brooks and Hunter hang back, keeping an eye on the crowd, while Nix, Beau and I take a seat in the back.
We don’t meet with the Warriors often, but when we do, we keep it on neutral ground. Out of town. No guns, and no bullshit.
“Hey, there, can I get you anything to drink?” A cute waitress walks up eyeing each of us before landing and staying on Beau.
“Just a coffee for me, darlin’.” He looks up at her briefly, before diverting his gaze anywhere but on her.
“And what about you guys?” She barely looks our way before moving back to Beau. The man is clueless as he keeps an eye out for T and his men.
“Water,” I answer.
“Coffee will be good,” Nix orders.
“Okay, great. I’ll bring that right out.” She keeps her stare on Beau, but he’s still oblivious.
“Thanks,” I answer and watch her sway her ass as she moves away. “You fucking dick head, cute waitress flirting with you.” I knock the table to get his attention.
“Unlike you, brother, I’m not interested in bitches who want to flash their smiles and point their tits in my face while I’m trying to order a fucking coffee.”
“Maybe that’s why you’re cranky all the fucking time. Too busy saving pussy than getting your own.”
“Don’t fucking start you two.” Nix reaches for his phone when it vibrates in front of him. “Jesus fuck,” Nix says, slams his phone down and angles his head toward the door. “Fuck, Jesse, your woman just turned up.”
“What the fuck?” I spin in my seat to see Bell take a seat in the back booth and trying to hide behind a menu. I don’t have a minute to register how I feel about her being called my woman. I’m too caught up in knowing she just walked into something huge.
“Fucking hell,” I stand immediately and stalk over to her table. “What the fuck are you doing here, Bell?” I take her hand and pull her out of the booth. How the fuck did she know we were here?
“Jesse?” She looks up, shock and curiosity fills her eyes. “What are you doing here?” she answers back, looking from me to the booth where we were meant to be meeting T.
“Don’t fucking act dumb, Bell. This shit is fucking serious.” I follow her gaze and see my prez walk toward us.
“You gonna sort this shit out, Jesse, or do I need to fuckin’ intervene?” he grunts and I know he’s pissed but I’ve got this shit under control.
“Hunter,”—I turn to where he took a seat in the back—“take Bell back to the clubhouse, now.”
“I can’t leave now—” Bell starts but there is no way in hell I’m letting her stay here.
“Clubhouse now,” I cut her off, not in the mood to argue with her. I’ve already told her we have this shit covered.
“I’m not some child you can boss around, Jesse. Last time I checked, I’m an adult.” She pulls out of my grasp and goes to sit back down.
“Well start fucking acting like one,” I snap back and watch her body stiffen. “You fucking followed us here, Bell. I told you these men are not men you want to fuck with. I told you to let us sort it out. I don't have time to be worrying about your safety. Go with Hunter we’ll discuss this later.” I turn away from her and lift my chin to Hunter, letting him know he can take her.
“I’ve got my car here. I can drive.”
“Go with Hunter. We’ll sort your car out later,” I counter, but her head keeps shaking in defiance.
“I’m more than capable of taking my own car, Jesse.”
“Jesus fucking Christ. Don’t fucking argue with me, damn it.” Pressure builds in the side of my forehead. Jesus, this must be how Nix and Sy feel all the time. Fuck, I'm an ass for giving them shit.
Bell steps back at my outburst, but I can’t give two fucks if she is pissed at me or if the diner is watching this play out. I can’t even think what could have happened to her if we didn't turn up before the Warriors.
“Come on, Bell, I’ll take you back to the clubhouse.” Hunter steps in and takes her hand. I let out a sigh when she yields, and watch as he walks her to the door.
“Straight to the clubhouse, Hunter,” I order and get a short nod. He knows not to fuck up. I don't look at Bell again, too pissed to even get into it right now. I’ll deal with her later, when this shit with the Warriors is sorted.
Bell has no idea what type of man we are dealing with here, and she just fucking walked straight into his path. Fuck me.
“Looks like your woman is turning out to be more a pain in the ass than Nix and Sy’s combined,” Beau remarks as we walk back to the table.
“Shut the fuck up.” I flip him off, not in the mood for his shit.
“What? Not so fucking funny now, cocksucker?” He laughs like he’s the funniest fuck on the planet. I have to give it to him, getting his licks in while I'm pissed is ballsy, even if he is right.
“Both of you shut the fuck up. We deal with this asshole first, then we can deal with your woman, Jesse,” Nix speaks up reminding us why we’re here.
“Yeah, Beau, head in the fuckin’ game, brother.” I cover up my unease with a glossy grin and salute him with my middle finger one more time then put my game face on ready to find out the answers we need.
My interaction with Bell has put me on edge. I’m fucking about to let this frustration out on one of my brothers.
It might not be healthy, but better to let it out on these assholes than her.
“I’m not prepared to talk about club business with you, Nix,” T, the Warriors’ Prez lays it out straight fifteen minutes later. I knew he fucking wouldn’t play ball, but I’m not giving up yet.