“Didn’t we recently have a discussion about denial?”
“I’m not denying anything. I’m ignoring it. Big difference. Are you ready to go?”
I threw my head back and laughed. She was too cute sometimes. “Yeah, Locks, let’s roll.”
The drive to Reedy Fork took much longer than usual due to the vast amount of road closures, downed trees, and accidents. Judging by the amount of destruction I saw, it would be at least a few more days before power was restored to Devil Springs.
Hours later, when we finally made it to Boar’s rental house, I was greeted like I’d just been released from prison. The boys were on the front porch cheering and clapping. When I got closer, I was bombarded with handshakes and back slaps.
“It’s about time you showed up,” my pain in the ass brother said.
“Fuck off, Bronze. I got here as soon as I could. In case you missed it, a huge ass tree fell on my house. It took almost two days to get it cut up and moved so I could use my driveway.”
“I’m sure having fresh pussy available didn’t speed things up any,” he said while glaring at Layla.
I fisted his shirt and met him nose to nose. “The fuck is your problem?”
He tried to shove away from me, but my grip was not relenting. “It must be nice being the president. You get to stay home and play with new pussy all day while the rest of us are sent away to figure out how to handle your fucking problems!”
“My problems?! Last time I checked, this shit involved the whole club. I didn’t realize we’d started singling people out in ourbrotherhood.”
“That was back when you cared more about your brothers than a piece of gash.”
“Call her gash or pussy again, and I’ll put you on your ass,” I gritted out.
Bronze smirked and cast his eyes toward Layla, “How many times have you been bought and sold, sweetheart?”
A sob burst from Layla’s lips, and I snapped. I cocked my fist and launched it at his face, but it never made contact. Vise-like arms clamped around my shoulders and pulled me back. I fought hard against them to get to the dickhead being held back by Batta. Tiny stepped in front of me and placed his hands on my chest to help hold me back.
“Breathe, Prez. Something ain’t right with him. I should’ve said something, but I was waiting for you to get here,” Judge said low enough for only me and Tiny to hear. “I think it has something to do with his head injury. He’s been having major mood swings, angers easily, and he keeps forgetting things.”
As Judge spoke, he continued pulling me away from Bronze and away from the crowd. My eyes darted around frantically, “Where’s Layla?”
“Mom’s got her. They went inside.”
When he deemed we were far enough away, he released me, and I whirled around to face him. “Did you talk to Splint about it?”
“In a roundabout way. I asked about the lasting effects of a concussion and asked him to keep an eye on Bronze and the girls for any signs of trouble. If you didn’t come today, I was going to call and tell you. It seems to be getting worse, not better, and the last thing he needed was another blow to the head.”
“Good looking out, brother. Can you find Splint for me?” I pinched the bridge of my nose and took in a deep breath. “This is the last thing we need to deal with right now.”
Judge squeezed my shoulder. “We’ll get him sorted and get this other shit sorted.”
Fuck me. I should have known something was wrong with him. Bronze had never come at me with such hostility before. Sure, we got into fights and scrabbles when we were younger, but that’s to be expected from brothers, particularly brothers who are only seven months apart. Thanks to Mom’s fertility and Bronze’s premature birth, we grew up more like twins. We were even in the same grade throughout school.
“What’s going on, Prez?” Splint asked as he approached me with Judge following behind.
“I need to talk to you about Bronze,” I said warily. It felt wrong to talk to him about Bronze’s behavior before I talked to Bronze himself, but it was clear he was in no frame of mind to rationally discuss my concerns. I told Splint about Judge’s observations and about the encounter I just had with him. “What do you think we should do?”
“Honestly, Prez, this is out of my realm of knowledge. I agree that something isn’t right with him, but I don’t feel comfortable trying to take a guess as to what might be wrong. You could ask Patch,” he offered.
“Good idea,” I said and wasted no time making the call.
After I brought Patch up to speed and asked what we should do, his response was immediate and filled me with dread. “Get him to a hospital now, Copper. Right now! Don’t wait for an ambulance. Get him and go. I’ll call ahead and speak to one of the doctors working there tonight. Don’t wait another second, Copper. Now.”
“Got it. Thanks, Patch,” I said and ran toward the house with Judge and Splint on my heels. I didn’t have to tell them; they could clearly hear Patch screaming his orders into the phone.
“He may try to fight us. Protect his head and restrain him if you have to,” I ordered.