Jumping to my feet, I clutched the papers tightly in my hand and pushed past Tiny into the hall. “Church! Now!” I bellowed.
“Prez?” Tiny questioned.
“Not now. Round up the officers, quickly,” I ordered, already heading to Church.
Not even five minutes later, every officer was seated at the table, all eyes focused on me. I held up the stack of papers. “These were delivered to the gate by a courier about ten minutes ago.” I tossed the papers on the table for the boys to see, but continued talking. “It’s a detailed list of every club member in the Devil Springs chapter. When I say detailed, I’m talking road name, full legal name, date of birth, picture, address, names of family members.”
“Do we know who sent it?” Bronze asked.
“I would guess the same fuckheads that destroyed part of our clubhouse last week. Other than that, no, I don’t know who sent it.”
Judge slammed his hand on the table and barked, “No one touch those papers. I’ll bag them and check for prints when we’re finished in here.”
“Thanks, brother. The envelope is in my office on my desk. I thought it was more shit from the insurance company and tore right into it.”
He shrugged, “Likely wouldn’t get much off the envelope anyway. If it was delivered via courier, it’s likely been handled by too many people to be of any help. Anyone else touch the papers besides you?”
I shook my head in answer, then said the word none of us wanted to hear. “Lockdown.”
I dropped back into my chair at the head of the table and rested my head in my hands for a few brief seconds. “I want everyone listed in those papers inside the gates before dark. No exceptions. Follow the plan in place for notifications. Send prospects out to pick up family members if they can’t or won’t get here. I’ll work on the accommodations in the meantime.”
With that, they dispersed and started notifying members and their families. I dreaded the next task on my to do list, but it had to be done. Picking up my phone, I tapped his name and waited.
“Phoenix Black.”
“Just put my entire club on lockdown,” I said wearily and proceeded to tell him about the envelope and its contents.
“I hate to say it, Copper, but there’s not much more you can do at this point. Work on making arrangements and getting everyone secured. Let me know if Judge finds anything. Or if anything else happens. Stay safe, cousin.”
“Thanks, Phoenix. I’ll do my best,” I replied.
“You always do. We’ll talk soon.”
I closed my eyes and tilted my head back. How was I going to find a place for everyone to sleep short of throwing sleeping bags on the floor and hoping people watched where they stepped? Our club wasn’t huge, but we had a decent number of members. Counting their immediate family members, the number of people easily tripled what we could accommodate prior to the attack. Other than pitching tents behind the clubhouse, I had no idea what to do. Then, I realized tents wouldn’t work because it was the end of February and way too cold.
Finally, it dawned on me. Bunk beds. The guys wouldn’t like it. Hell, no one would like it, but it would work. If I filled the largest shed out back with bunk beds and put two sets in most of the rooms inside the clubhouse, we would have enough beds for everyone. Feeling better about the plan, I reached for my phone to get the ball rolling.
I was interrupted by yet another knock at the door. “Come in,” I said distractedly.
Layla came through the door with a frightened look on her face. Once I took in her wide eyes and the way she was wringing her hands, I was on my feet and rounding the desk in an instant. Wrapping my arms around her, I asked, “Locks, what’s wrong?”
She pushed against me and raised her head to meet my eyes. “You tell me. Why is everyone running around like some sort of apocalypse is approaching?”
I wasn’t sure how she would handle it, but I decided to be completely honest with her. I told her about the delivery and all it entailed. Then, I explained how a lockdown at the clubhouse worked. The entire time I was talking, I was waiting for her to bolt, but she didn’t. She listened to every word I said, and then she floored me with the next words out of her mouth.
With a furrowed brow and a wrinkled nose, she said, “I don’t understand. If you think everyone listed is in danger, why would you lock them all in a place that has already been attacked? They could get everyone on that list in one go.”
I had no words. She was right. Fuck! I was playing right into their hands. I cupped her cheeks and pressed my lips to hers. “Baby, I’ll thank you later, but right now I’ve got to get busy. You, woman, may have just saved my whole damn club.”
She looked shocked, but I had to turn away from her. I didn’t want her to see the emotion I could feel welling up inside of me. I almost put all of my brothers and their families in a death trap. On the flip side, what in the hell was I going to do now?
I felt her small hand land on my back. “I’ll be out at the bar. Let me know if I can do anything to help,” she said softly before leaving the room.
Again, I turned to my older cousin for guidance. I was man enough to admit when I was in over my head and needed the help. I called and told him about the conversation I had with Layla. He was impressed by her observation and completely agreed. “I think I can help. Let me make a call, and I’ll get back to you in a few. Sit tight.”
The ten minutes it took for him to call back felt like ten hours. There was so much I needed to do, but I couldn’t move forward without a plan, and said plan was in Phoenix’s hands. I was never good at waiting or delegating. I was the kind of man who took charge and fixed the problem.
“I’ve got a secure location for you. You might not like it, but it is what it is. Boar has a rental house in Reedy Fork that’s currently vacant and sits on a shit ton of land. The house itself is huge, but there’s an even bigger house on the property that’s completely hidden. As in, you have to take an ATV to get to it. Now, you’re more than welcome to bring your club to Croftridge and stay on the farm, but I’m guessing you want to be closer to Devil Springs in order to get this sorted, right?”