Havoc

17 - To protect Wynter

Havoc

“That girl has a screw loose.”

I nod at Razor, Ghost’s eldest. There is definitely something wrong in Phoenix’s head. She seems to have gotten worse this past month.

Phoenix went from happy to murderous in the space of a couple of weeks. We all think it has something to do with her now ex-boyfriend joining the military. She won’t admit to it, but it’s pretty obvious.

In the past, what Tex did earlier would have had Phoenix giving him a mouthful. Today, she almost took his jaw clean off with one punch! A woman like Phoenix is not to be messed with on a good day.

A day like today?

The rest of us know to steer well clear.

Tex should have learned his lesson by now. Phoenix already threatened to cut his balls off a couple of days ago for asking if she’d gotten her period. Every man on the planet should know never to ask a woman such a question. It only leads to them flipping out and wanting to castrate you.

“What did you just say?” Wrench rounds on Razor. No one says anything about Phoenix without Wrench losing his shi.t.

“Don’t start, Wrench,” Jett tells him, causing Wrench to grit his teeth. “Sit down, all of you. We ain’t here to talk about Phoenix, not just yet.”

We each take a seat around the ever-growing table. I lean forward with my arms on the table and stretch out my back. I laugh when my spine pops, and half the men in the room grumble at how disgusting that is. Fuc.k them all; it is what it is.

We’d been sorting things to help Wynter before we heard the commotion outside. Jett had pointed out that he could get Trace on to it. He’ll check out Wynter’s past and see if there’s a link to her and those men.

As Hawk pointed out, John Anderson was a serial rapist, and any one of his victims or their families could want to hurt Wynter as payback. The thought hadn’t occurred to me before that moment in time.

John Anderson not only kidnapped Julianne, but he also raped over thirty women. He raped those women and never got caught.

How the hell did he manage that?

Sure, John went to prison for the things he’d done to Wynter’s mom and sister. He was sent there for the rest of his life because he also confessed to what he did to those other women. It’s well documented that Julianne and Spring died. However, Wynter was left behind, and any of John’s enemies could want her dead because of his sins. Though Trace told me that it was also documented that Wynter had died along with her family.

But if that’s the case, then how would any of John’s victims know Wynter was alive?

Gunner said it would be easier to draw those men out and bring them to us. If we do this on our terms and take the element of surprise from them, we’ll have the upper hand.

We hadn’t quite worked out the logistics when Lorraine, CueBall’s daughter, came knocking, telling us that Phoenix was torturing Tex. A bit of an over-exaggeration, but you never know with Phoenix how far she’ll take things.

Of course, we all laughed when she crushed his balls. Apparently, Tex had said something to Wynter that Phoenix didn’t like, and she forced him to apologize publicly. I would have dealt with him had I known what he had said before I came out of the office, but Phoenix saved me the job.

My eyes caught Wynter’s, and hers were wide with shock. She needs to get used to how we do things here, especially regarding Phoenix. The girl is not to be messed with because she’ll rip your throat out with her bare hands. And that is not an exaggeration.

“As we were saying before we were interrupted,” Tank points out. “We need to draw those men out into the open. Whatever they want with Wynter, we’ll find out soon enough.”

“How exactly do you suggest we draw them out?”

Jett shifts in his seat and looks at BlackJack. “I’ll put the word out that Wynter’s here with us. With any luck, it won’t be long before someone comes looking.”

“Wait,” It’s my turn to shift in my seat. “Are you suggesting we offer my wife up as bait?”

“If you want this shi.t sorted,” Jett hits me with a hard stare. “Then we do this my way, Havoc. Wynter will never be in any danger. We’ll make sure someone is with her at all times.”

I roll my neck. This doesn’t sit well with me, but Jett has a point.

Besides, how else are we meant to find out who those pricks are?

“I know what it’s like to want nothing more than to protect my wife, Havoc,” I look directly at Hammer as he speaks. “Every man in this room with a wife or girlfriend wants the same things. Half of us have had the women we loved taken from us, hurt or worse when we’ve found them.”

I shudder to think what Hammer, along with Hawk and some of the others, have been through. I remember ninety percent of the incidents involving the women of this club. Each time, I prayed that I’d never be in that situation.

What’s happening with Wynter is nothing like what happened to Willow, Brooke, or anyone else. But the fear that something terrible could happen to Wynter is still in the back of my mind.

“After Brooke was taken,” I note the shift in Hawk’s mood. The man hates talking about Brooke’s racist father. However, I know Hammer is only using Brooke as an example. “Shepard swore that no woman would be put in danger as long as we have breath left in our bodies. Wynter is part of this club now, Havoc, and that means she’s under our protection.”

I nod my head in thanks. If I know anything, I know my brothers will help me with whatever I need to keep Wynter safe.

“I know it’s easy for us to say, ‘Don’t worry,’ but everything will be all right, Havoc.” I nod at Ghost. “You’re my brother in every way that matters, and I would never lie to you.”

“I know. I just don’t want to lose her, Ghost.”

“You’re not going to lose her, Havoc.” Red draws my eyes to his. “I’m your dad, and I would stop the world turnin’ for you, you know that.” I chuckle under my breath. The man still speaks to me as if I were a scared five-year-old boy. “If each one of us has to shadow your wife every damn day of her life, we’ll do it, Havoc.”

“You can trust us, Havoc.” Hawk picks up. “There’s no one on this earth you could trust more than your family.”

I take a deep breath and let their words sink in. I look at each person around the table and nod my head. “Thank you,” Is all I offer up, which gets me a few nods and a wink from my dad.

“You never have to thank us, Havoc.” BlackJack looks at me while he speaks. “Wynter is as much my family as she is yours. If we stick together on this, she’ll be just fine.”

“BlackJack is right,” Jett slaps his hand on the table. Fuc.k knows why he does that, but I often wonder how he doesn’t break his damn hand. “I want to get this shi.t cleared up as quickly as possible. I don’t want no messin’ and no excuses. Wynter is not to be left alone, even when she thinks she is.”

My wife will never be alone; I’ll make sure of that!