a win-win.
So why wasn’t he pulling her forward to announce his game plan now? Everyone in the clubhouse stared at him as if he’d suddenly shifted to a big brown grizzly right in the foyer of the clubhouse. Silas blew out a breath, shoving a hand through his hair. Fuck, this seemed like a good plan before. He needed to get his damn head examined, because now that his mother was walking through the intimate crowd, he knew it was a dumb idea. The group parted for her as if she was their queen. Which, in a way, she was, and more so since the day Silas took over as president of the Beartooth Brotherhood after his father died. As widow of the past President and his mother, Cindy Corrigan was MC royalty now.
“Who’s the broad?” His mother’s head nodded toward Sabrina, and she put her hands on her hips. She pursed her lips for emphasis and added, “I don’t remember approving an expansion of our twisted claw ranks.”
How did he ever believe this would be easy?
Silas widened his stance and cracked his neck, ready to put his foot down. “She’s a friend who needs help. I’m letting her stay here for a few days. Any objections?” His gaze swept over the room, a reminder of who was boss around here. As far as he was concerned, there was enough alpha authority in his pinky finger to ensure he made himself clear and wasn’t changing his mind. Just as he expected, he had their respect. It felt like everyone’s breath went tight in their lungs. “I didn’t think so.”
Just to make sure the murmur from his mother wasn’t outright disagreement, he stepped towards her. “Ma?”
He locked eyes with her blue-green stare and noticed she’d done some weird wing thing with the liner around her eyes. Since when was she wearing this much makeup again?
“I think you know how I feel about it, sonny.”
Her lips tipped up in a fake smile, shut tight and hiding all her teeth. She was not on side, but he’d have to win her over in private. For now, he’d take the half hearted submission. Sabrina moved up a few steps and centered herself a bit more behind him. Smart girl. It was in her best interest to keep away from this shitstorm. The next couple of minutes were crucial as hell.
His mother looked up at him, eyes narrowed now. “Can I have a second of your precious time, Einstein?”
Without giving him a chance to say much of anything, his mother all but grabbed him by the junk and stalked them toward the clubhouse meeting room. She shut the door with a decisive slam. He knew exactly what she would say, but this was his club, so he had to let her know how this was going to go down. It was better to argue now than find Sabrina beat up and slumped over in a corner of the clubhouse later.
“What were you thinking, brainiac? Bringing a strange, unvetted human into our world…well…you just crossed the line. Have you gone deaf, dumb, and blind around here the past two weeks, or are you so married to the idea of following your cock?”
“That’s enough—”
“I don’t want to hear it. We’ve been up to our ears in enemies, Si. The panthers are up our asses after we pulled out of that Smith and Wesson deal, and you know they’re strong allies with the wolves. How do you think that’s going to go down for us when we’re walking targets? Now you have the bright idea to bring this plaything into the mix? Why? To liven things up a bit? And where the hell did you pick up a piece in a Dior gown to begin with?”
Silas couldn’t make heads or tails of what she’d said while she kept going on with her rant. This wasn’t going to end anytime soon, so he crossed his arms and let her continue.
“Answer me, Si.”
“I got done with our business tonight, and she needed help. I supplied the help. That’s as far as it goes, okay?”
“What’s her name?”
“Sabrina Temple. We’ll keep her here for a little while until I can release her and her Dior back into her natural habitat. No biggie.”
“Sure, if she