Page 13 of A 4th Full of Rage
“Look at those women now. Their eyes are dull; they creep about, don’t get in our faces, and keep the Hellions from getting under our feet. They try to solve everything themselves. When’s the last time Autumn or Carly confided a problem to you guys?” Calamity questioned Rock and Gunner.
“Fuck knows, all she talks about is how my day is and gives me an update on the kids. Shit, Alyssa smacked a girl in school for pulling Aria’s hair, and Autumn dealt with it herself and never told me. I found out because Alyssa was being grumpy,” Gunner admitted.
“Fuck. We have driven the idea of Venomous Fangs’ danger so deep into them they’re scared,” Axel boomed.
“No. We’ve taken their strengths from them,” Calamity disagreed.
Drake sat back. This is why Calamity held the title he did. He saw things differently from them.
“Even when there was a threat around them, they shopped in groups with guards. Now, they order online. The kids would attend activities with security, now they skip them, so pressure isn’t put on us. They’d meet at the bar with all of us present and tie one on. They have not done that since the prospect attack. The women are diminishing themselves, so they don’t distract us,” Calamity explained.
“And we’ve stopped celebrations,” Drake said. “Phoe pointed out everything has been cancelled: New Year, Easter, parties, cookouts, they’ve got no release. Everything they did that made them stronger has been taken away. Phoe is insisting on a 4th of July party.”
“Hell no! That’s too dangerous,” Texas exclaimed, backed up by the rest of them. Only Calamity stayed silent.
“You’re going to lose the women you love,” Calamity stated when the outcry stopped, which instantly started another. “Have you finished?” the kid asked with a bite in his tone, which made Drake chuckle. Jesus, he’d come a long way from the boy who’d thrown his wallet at him. He would be a fine president one day.
“What?” Manny demanded somewhat sulkily.
“The old ladies are already changing; can you honestly say that these are the women you fell in love with?” Calamity challenged, and Drake snorted.
“No, but once we’ve dealt with the Fangs, then things will go back to normal,” Apache stated firmly.
“Yeah, keep dreaming. Because there’ll be another threat and then another. Rage has set itself up as a target. The club who got clean and stayed clean. Same as Hellfire and the allies. We’re targets. Somewhere out there is a VP or enforcer looking at us and wondering if they can cleanse their MC of the shit. Even a president who desires a clean living. They observe Rage and see what we have and want it.
“But they’re a dark club. Some brothers prefer that and decide to kill the naysayer off like Bulldog did Drake. So, Rage, Hellfire, Riders of Vengeance, etc, have all become a beacon for an MC looking for a way out but with bad leadership. So, they watch Rage and make plans. Think the motherfuckers in charge are going to allow change to happen? Keep dreaming. So they’ll choose to take Rage and the rest of us out.
“That’ll show everyone we made the mistake of getting clean. Use us as an example of what weak looks like. Great, we’ll deal with the Fangs and win. Got no doubt in my mind. But what about the next club or gang that comes for us? I mean, we have it good. Legal businesses making money hands over fists, two billionaires and several other wealthy people are Rage. Think we ain’t a nice juicy target for some asshole with an ego problem?” Calamity asked.
“What’s your point, Calamity?” Rock demanded.
“That what happens after the Fangs get ended will send a warning through the MC communities. But that’ll fade quickly, and some fucker with illusions of grandeur will come for us. Widow Phoe and Vivie and force them to marry someone else. Rape our wives and turn them into whores for the club, rape and kidnap our daughters. Train our sons to become like them. That’s the threat Rage will always face.
“Rage is a tempting target. So, do we lock our women and children down every six months or so? Keep our families as the underdogs. Or do we let life return to Rage? Because at the moment, nobody is living. We are in survival mode. The question is, what do we do about it as a club?” Calamity asked.
“Shit,” Fish muttered and rubbed a hand over his face.
“The kid’s right,” Axel boomed.
“But we can’t let the women and children roam free without someone watching,” Rock denied.
“Who’s letting them roam free? They wanna go shopping, let them, and send prospects with them. Like we used to. Leave security on the kids; Phoe has them covered. But ease up on the older teens, or Serenity might slit someone’s throat soon,” Calamity stated.
Drake blanched. He’d no doubt Serenity was capable of doing just that.
“Allow the women to have their escorts to and from work, but once inside, leave them alone. The shops and businesses have top surveillance; Hawthorne installed it. Or don’t we trust them? As long as the ladies know to schedule events, there’s no reason they can’t do shit. Hell, Phoe’s security teams are shadows; get the prospects on them and the shadow teams. No one will get through that. And if they do? Anyone going to tell me our women won’t take a fucker out at the knees?” Calamity finished speaking and sat back.
“Love you, brother, but sometimes I fuckin’ hate you,” Gunner murmured.
Calamity grinned at them.
“So let Phoe organise her 4th of July party?” Drake asked.
“Gonna have to Drake,” Texas agreed.
“Ah, shit. It’s our urge to protect them, but we’re smothering them,” Drake muttered, scowling.
“You giving Phoe permission?” Manny chuckled.