“How? He’s the fuckin mayor, he’s got connections. He’ll bury us if this goes sideways.” Leave it to Gates to be the voice of reason. “We shouldn’t touch this with a 10-foot pole, Mako. Shoulda just told him ‘No’ man.” Gates leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms across his chest, waiting for a reply. He didn’t speak out often, but when he did, we listened. The man was just that damn smart. Like scary smart sometimes. He could do things with a computer that would baffle the best tech engineers, but he was all ours. Our brother, our info line, our hacker when needed. Plus, he had a heart of gold that was a well-guarded secret

  “With as much shit as we’ve got on him, I doubt he’d push too hard in our direction. One wrong step and we let the cat outta the bag in the right direction. The man will spend the rest of his miserable life in prison. His woman has zero standing other than being the greedy whore she is, and him and his son are as corrupt as they come. We can destroy the whole fuckin’ family. Remove the blight from our town.” Just thinking about this whole mess gave me a headache.

  “No one has seen this Theodore kid in over 5 years, man. No medical records, passport or ID on him. We know nothing about him other than what Hogg told you. Last time anyone lay eyes on him outside that house was the old man’s funeral. They pushed him from the car into the church and pushed him from the church to the car. That’s it. He might as well already be dead, brother.” I knew Gates had dug as far as he could on the computer. Now we were coming face to face with someone who might as well be a ghost. I wasn’t completely comfortable going into this, but there was no way in hell I was going to let that bastard kill someone, anyone, over fuckin money. Everyone has a line they won’t cross. Well, most people have one anyway. This was mine. Not everything I did was completely legal, but I’ve never done or let physical harm come to anyone over something I did. My grand dad didn’t, my father didn’t, I’d be damned if it started with me.

  Taking the envelope with the information Hogg gave me from my cut, I tossed it on the table towards Gates. “That’s him and the information. Get it done. Bring him here and put him in the guest room upstairs. We’ll explain everything to him and go from there. Meeting adjourned.” I was done with this shit for now. I needed a drink and maybe a blow job. Not necessarily in that order.

  I walked into the bar from the back of the clubhouse to find one prospect tending the bar for the night. “Beer”. He nodded his head. I waited for him to pop the top and set it down. I sat on my stool at the end of the bar. “Perks of being Prez.” my dad always said. No one sits in your seat.

  Trying to relax and ease my mind as I scanned the bar, I felt a familiar peace roll over me. This was home. These men (and women) were my family. It was my job to keep them safe. Bear sat next to me. “Beer, prospect.” More of a grumble than actual words. Then again, none of us had difficulty understanding him. It was just how he spoke.

  Bear stared at the wall covered with bottles behind the bar and huffed a laugh. “Lording over your kingdom again?”

  “Fuck you, man.” He could always make me smile when I needed it, and he always knew when the need was there.

  “Nah, I got no interest in being anybody’s alpha hole.” The laugh came from deep in his belly.

  “I got no interest in your smelly ass alpha hole, ya dumb fuck.” I couldn’t stop the laughter in my voice. He always knew when to start his shit with me.

  “Seriously, though, Eddie. You good man? It looked like you wanted to kill someone. You can’t let this shit get to you, brother.” There were times I felt like I hated this fucker, if for nothing else but how well he knew me. Friends for over 25 years could do that to people.

  “Yeah Nate, I’m good man. You know how it is. Just gets to me when some asshat alpha wanna be using his designation to bully and hurt people, especially those weaker than them. I mean, Jesus, you saw what Gates got. Fat fuck is worth 25 mill himself and he wants to off his kid just so he can pad his bank account with more money. His fuckin kid man. His omega kid. You shoulda seen his face when he had to admit his kid was an omega. You woulda thought the kid was a leper licking every donut on the tray.” So much for trying to relax.

  “I get it, man. I do. Women and omegas been at the bottom of the barrel for a long time. I’ll be the first to tell you they don’t deserve it. Some fucked up shit went down a lot of years ago and now we’re all paying for it. Shifters paid, women paid, hell brother… we’re all still paying. All we can do is the best we can and help those we can. Look around Eddie. Your Gramps built something great. A home, a SAFE place for everyone. Biology doesn’t dictate what goes on here. WE DO.” Not the first time I’d heard the speech, and it wouldn’t be the last. Once again, it was just what I needed to hear in the moment. He leaned over and elbowed me in the ribs. “Speaking of holes, man, Owen is checking you out again. You should hit it, man, hit it hard.” He knew that wouldn’t happen. I didn’t dip my dick in the pool where everyone else swam, but he pushed it anyway. Bastard.

  “Nah, head is one thing, ass is another. I ain’t going there and you know it.” I chuckled as I smiled in Owen’s direction. He was a cute kid. Been through hell but doing so much better since he showed up at our door a couple of years ago. No more being forced to do anything he didn’t want to do. Still, he apparently wanted to do it all. Better yet, wanted it all done to him.

  “I’m headed up to bed man, I got planning to do. Have a good night, brother.” Bear patted my shoulder and turned to leave.

  Bear leaving evidently gave Owen the green light to saunter on over to me. He stood on his tiptoes and lay his head on my shoulder. “Hey Mako. Want some company?”

  “I was thinking about it.” I turned to him and gave him my best smirk.

  “Yeah? How about you holler at Bear, you can tag team me. You two are the only ones here that haven’t gotten a piece of this.” Hope lit in his eyes. Everyone knew Owen wasn’t looking to be anyone’s ole lady or ole man. He was lonely and quite a few of the brothers had no problem easing that loneliness, even if it was just for a night. Owen was welcome to stay as long as he wanted to be here. He knew there were no strings attached. He could say no anytime and not one person here would think badly of him. If they did, I’d make sure they were out on their ass. I didn’t put up with that shit.

  I turned on my stool and looked at him. He looked so different from the night he showed up. The boy was so thin he was emaciated. Bones and joints sticking out all over his sallow skin. Dark circles under his pale green eyes from fear and lack of sleep. We thought he was going to die on our front stoop. It took weeks of feeding and caring for him to even leave the guest room. Fuck, the same room I was about to stick Hogg’s boy in. That thought killed it for me. No head for me tonight. “Sweetheart, I would gag you to death and Bear would break you in half. You’ve heard the stories.” Hell, we’d all heard the stories and seen the way guys limped and waddled out of Bear’s room the next morning. If the hang arounds and Bear himself were to be trusted, the man was hung like a fuckin horse and knew how to use it. We even had one guy at a party run from the back room with Bear chasing after him. The boy was screaming about how there was no way in hell that it was going to fit. Bear was laughing so hard, he doubled over and let the guy run right out the door. Never saw him back again. “Why don’t you get some rest sweetheart, you look kinda tired. We can think about it another night. OK?” I tried to let him down easy.

  “OK Prez, but if you change your mind, you know where to find me.” He leaned up and kissed my cheek and wandered off. It was difficult to explain, but I could look at Owen and go half hard, wanting to make the boy gag on my cock. Then he would speak. I would remember how he came to be here, and I’d go as soft as a baby blanket. I just couldn’t do that to him or to myself.

  With my night officially over, I headed up to my apartment on the top floor of the clubhouse. It wasn’t much, but it was my home. 2 bedrooms, kitchenette, living room and a bath. My bathroom was the nicest room in the whole clubhouse. Jacuzzi tub and shower that would fit at least 3 people. I had it redone in black-and-white marble tiles with a drain in the center of the room in case things got wet and wild. Not that they ever did. I didn’t bring anyone here. Ever. Bear was the only other person who had ever been in my bathroom, and that was because he was like my blood brother, the one I trusted above anyone else.

  After a quick shower and finishing up my nightly routine, I fell into my bed. I didn’t even bother to unwrap the towel from around my waist. Lights out for me.

  Chapter Four

  Mako

  Sitting in my office at noon on a Friday with the core members of my club drinking bourbon was usually a happy and chill occasion. Not today.

  Gates confirmed that tomorrow night was ‘GO’ time. This Gavin fucker would take Theo out for their bar crawl, and we planned to be in an alley on their route. No vehicles from what we understood. They would walk from bar to bar. I was pretty sure that Gavin would make sure Theo was drunk as a skunk to make things go easier. The less he fought, the faster they get away.

  “Alright boys, time to plan this out. Remember, it needs to go off without a hitch. Gates, Spuds, Bear, and one prospect will hide in this alley here, behind the dumpsters.” I pointed to the crudely drawn map of a few blocks downtown. Gates and Bear nodded. The prospects weren’t here, but they would follow direction. “Clip, you’ll be on your bike as a scout. Park it a block away in this direction.” I lay a finger on a side street. Clip nodded.

  Trash and the other two prospects would be on the other side of town, riding hard in and out of formation. Make their presence seen and heard. I set it up earlier with Trash. If he needed more men, he could grab them. “Yup, can let them know when the job is done and we’re back here, perfect cover. Make it look like we were across town when it goes down.” Bear said what I was thinking. That’s why he’s my number two.

  “OK men, we got this handled. Take tonight and tomorrow to think about your parts. If you come up with anything that may make it go smoother, grab Bear or me and we’ll talk it out. Let’s go spend a bit of time with family out there and let them remind us why we’re all here.” Same closing speech I gave after every planning meeting like this. Not that any of them ever needed to be reminded why we were here. Every one of us knew someone who got fucked over by the system. After several back slaps and half hugs, we filed from my office into the main room of the clubhouse.

  Sitting on my stool at the bar and ‘Lording over my kingdom’, as Bear liked to put it, gave me peace. A calmness that comes from the belief that what we’re doing is the right and just thing. Bear settled onto his stool beside me and took a long pull on his beer. After an audible swallow, he finally spoke what was on his mind. “You want Gates to put together papers for the boy so he can get out of here when it’s all said and done? He’s gonna need a place to go Eddie, cuz I can’t see him wanting to hang around the Pines.” He was right, and I knew it.

  “Yeah, maybe some preliminary stuff with a few options. He gets final decision, but if there’s anyone from his family left alive, he’s gonna have to run far from here, out of reach. Once we got him tucked safe away, we’re gonna have to decide what to do about the Mayor and his bunch.” I shook my head and took another sip. The Bourbon burned the back of my throat. Then again, nothing in life worth anything didn’t come with a small bite of pain. I raised my glass towards the pictures hanging over the bar, thinking ‘Thanks for that bit of knowledge.’ Pops and Gramps stared back at me with eternal smirks on their faces.

  “All good with you, Boss?” It was on the rare occasion Nate showed personal concern out loud. Usually, it was a look or touch on the shoulder. When he spoke, he meant business.

  “Yeah man, I guess everything’s going the way it’s supposed to. Just been thinking about Pops and Gramps a lot lately. Been wracking my brain for the last few days, since we met with Hogg, trying to figure out that weird smell. It’s like it got stuck in my brain like one of those shitty one hit wonder songs you can’t get rid of.” Bear grunted his acknowledgment while nodding his head. “Gramps and his damn garden, remember that?” Bear nodded again. “That’s the closest I can come to it. Fresh turned earth and wildflowers. Damn, I loved that smell when we were kids.”

  Bear chuckled, “Oh yeah, I remember getting my ass chewed out for laying in the dirt bed before he planted. ‘Why in the fuck would you wanna pack the damn dirt back down after I spent the afternoon loosening it up boy’. First time I actually feared he was gonna beat my ass, but nope, he handed me a hoe and told me to fix it. Damn, he loved that patch of earth.” Bear was closer to a brother than anyone else in my life. He had as many memories of Pops and Gramps as I did. It was always good to remember with him.

  “I don’t know, man, I just got this feeling that taking on Hogg and his fucktard family is gonna change everything for us. Just not sure if it’s good or bad yet. I’m thinking maybe when all’s said and done, I’ll ride my girl up Seattle way and maybe boat it out into the Pacific for a few days. White mating season is coming up, and it always relaxes me to watch em feed.” As fucked as it sounded to say out loud, I found inner peace watching sharks feed and swim. Maybe I saw it as the ultimate freedom, closest I could come would be riding my girl up and down the coast. Alone or just Bear and me, but I couldn’t have both of us gone at once. Someone has to stay here and wrangle the troops, so to speak.

  “Maybe find you a hot little omega to ride bitch on your bike, then ride hard on you while you’re gone.” Bear laughed at his own joke. “Ya gotta cut lose a little Eddie. It’s been years since that little fucker did you in and I’ve seen how lonely you’ve been. You never talk about any guy, rarely get head and NEVER get laid. Might be time to clean the pipes for clearer thinking, brother.”

  I just shook my head at him with a smile. “Brother, my pipes work just fine. No clogs, trust me. That’s just not something I’m interested in. You know, one of the last times Pops and I got hammered was just after the whole Pacey thing and he admitted that his mate was the club. He hadn’t fucked with a woman or an omega in over 15 years and he was the strongest man I knew. Not getting ‘your pipes cleared’ has little to no effect on what kind of leader and alpha you are.”

  Bear held up his hands. “Look Mako, I’m not saying it does. Goddess knows I don’t want the job of policing your sex life, or lack thereof, but since that all went down, it’s like you’re in a holding pattern at the airport. Never landing and never getting higher.” He was right, but I’d never admit it. “He cheated on you, lied to you, and when you wouldn’t give in and roll over, he damn near emotionally destroyed you. That ain’t easy to come back from. Hell, better men never could. I’m just saying it’s like you’re waiting for something that may never come, brother.”

  My anger got the better of me. “Fuck you Bear, goddess dammit. I don’t need this touchy feely shit right now. Couldn’t it wait until this fuckin job is finished?” I slammed my glass on the bar top so hard it cracked. Walking away, I turned and pointed at his face. “And for your information, I ain’t waiting on a fuckin thing. Except maybe some peace and damn quiet.” I stomped out of the clubhouse in true toddler fit fashion. I kept stomping, right over to my girl, lay my hands on her seat and took a deep breath.

  Between the roar and vibrations of my girl and the vibrations of my text alerts on my phone, I felt my anger dissipate. Just like I knew I would. Once the anger cleared, I felt like a shit person. I really had no reason to speak to Nate the way I had. He was only pointing out what was obvious to him. Yeah, with a clear head, I could admit to myself that the shit with Pacey fucked me up. Gramps preached from the pulpit of fated mates, Poppy was his fated and they loved one another so much. I remember a little about him. He died when I was five, but Gramps talked about him all the time. The greatness of their love overshadowed everything in his life except me, Pops, and his garden, in that order. Pops never spoke about any of that often. I know my mother wasn’t his fated.

  Gramps told me that my mother was friends with a hang around who came to the clubhouse for almost a year. From the stories I heard, she never hooked up with anyone but Pops. Neither one of them ever claimed to be in ‘love’, but they liked one another well enough from what I understand. Their thing went on for around four months and my mother stopped coming around. Pops never mentioned her again. Ten months after the last time they saw one another, my mother walked into the clubhouse during a party with a two-week-old baby in her arms. She handed me to my Pops and said, ‘Congratulations Prez, it’s a boy’ and walked out. No one ever saw her again.

  Gramps was pretty sure that she passed from a drug overdose up in TAC when I was three, but no one’s really sure. Honestly, I don’t even remember her name. I’m sure it’s on paperwork somewhere, but it’s not really worth my time or effort to know who she was. She didn’t bother with me, so why bother with her? DNA tests proved she was at least telling the truth and I belonged to Pops. I know he loved me the best he could, but he wasn’t prepared and had never considered having a kid, so he wasn’t always the most attentive parent. For Gramps, I was his world and for my formative years; he was mine. Pops was gone a lot running the club, so it was just Gramps, me, and his garden. I had a pretty good childhood, considering how it could have turned out.