Page 58 of Paco
Paco jabbed a finger in his direction. “You wanna start some shit?”
Muerto held up his hands. “I’m just saying. No one can say anything about this woman you brought into the club without you going ballistic.”
“He’s got a point,” Goldie added.
“I gotta side with them,” Shotgun said, and all the members nodded in agreement.
Paco ran his fingers through his hair.They’re fucking right. I’m outta control.
“But I gotta say that you push too hard when a brother’s interested in a woman. We took a few swings over the things you said about Hailey,” Goldie said to Army, who sat glaring with his jaw tight.
“And Raven,” Muerto added.
“And Breanna,” Steel said.
“None of you can take some ribbing? You all turn into pussies when you got a woman?” Army leaned his chair back against the wall.
“It’s the respect thing,” Paco said in a low voice. “Chelsea isn’t just ‘some stripper,’ she’s someone I care about.”
The brothers grew hushed, as if trying to comprehend what he’d just said.
After a long pause, Shotgun cleared his throat. “Do you really wanna get involved with a woman who’s got all that emotional baggage?”
“And who’s lied to you from the beginning?” Cueball added.
“Leave it the fuck alone. I don’t question your decisions, and I sure as hell don’t need to explain mine.”
“We’re just looking out for you, man,” Shotgun said.
“Last time I looked, I did just fine on my own. Look after yourself.”
Before Shotgun could reply, Steel rapped the gavel on the table. “We’ve gotten way off track here. Who Paco wants in his life is his own damn business. We need to figure out if we’re going to take out Victor Bustos as well.”
The anger in Paco still simmered; if another brother saidanythingabout Chelsea, he’d lose it. He’d told Steel earlier about Bobby being back in town. He’d also told him about taking Chelsea home to see her family once the problem in Silverado was taken care of.
“I’m calling a lockdown in two days, so if your women or the club girls want anything, today and tomorrow are the days to get it. A few of the brothers and the prospects will stay here when we head to Silverado. We’ll leave the day after tomorrow. Does anyone have anything else to add?” Steel waited for a few seconds. “Then church is over.”
When the gavel hit the table, the brothers stood up, the scraping of chair legs on the concrete floor blended with the clink of chains and thud of boots as the members walked out of the room.
Paco stayed back, along with Diablo, Rooster, Steel, and Goldie. “The plan we’ve been devising prepares us for winning the attacks,” he said.
Rooster nodded. “As they said often during my Iraq tours, ‘Attack is the secret defense, and defense is the planning of an attack.’”
“You got that right, brother.” Paco bumped fists with him.
“We’ll go to Silverado and hide in plain sight. Paco and I agree that we gotta hit the members who have captives hard,” Rooster said.
“Knuckles should have the addresses this afternoon. They’re gonna scope out the places and fill us in on it when we get there.” Diablo ran his hand over his shaven head.
“I’ve organized the weapons and vehicles on our end and coordinated it with Roughneck and Patriot,” Goldie added.
“Good.” Steel turned to Paco. “Is this Bobby fuck going to give us trouble?”
“Not with the West Avenue fucks. He’s embroiled in that crazy shit with Bustos. He won’t be a problem in Silverado, but he’s aiming for Chelsea. I just have to make sure she’s safe.”
“Does he know you’re a Night Rebel?” Goldie asked.
“I don’t think so. He didn’t know it that night at Satin Dolls or he wouldn’t have gotten in my face,” Paco answered. The other men chuckled. “Last night I didn’t see him, and I didn’t take my Harley. I think it was just a coincidence that he was in the restaurant at the same time we were.”
