“I’m good with it.” Kid said quietly. “I’m sure everyone sitting at this table feels the same. They are a cancer in the club that has to be sliced out, quick and clean.”
“Are we going to bring our lieutenants in on the plan?” Jagger asked.
“I think we might have to involve them in some of it, not all of it.” Hawk said. “We’ll have to move Flash from his cell in the dungeon to a cell in the Sanctuary where we can control every facet of the plan. But first we fuck with him. We’ll work in two teams. The first team goes in, blindfolds him, puts a blackout bag over his head and brings him upstairs, load him up and drive around, then pretend to hand him over to team two and the Crow. He’s driven around some more to fuck with his sense of direction before bringing him into the Sanctuary via the tunnels. He’s never been a part of the inner circle after I took over, so he’s had no access to Sanctuary. And thank fuck for that.”
There were nods of agreement around the table and a few very sly smiles.
“Okay, we’re in agreement. I’ll talk to my old lady. We’ll meet again once I have her answer.” Hawk raised the hammer but before it came down Bulldog raised a hand.
“Before we end here, Prez. Have you heard from Wolf? When do they arrive? We’re going to need him when we start cleaning up the chapters.”
“I spoke to him the night before last.” Ice said. “He wanted to be sure there won’t be any problems with the container coming into the country. The Shadow Wraiths took care of getting it through customs on that side and I told him not to worry, Cape Town’s got it this side. According to him it’s a big ass container and loaded to the fucking roof with her shit. He will call to let us know their exact flight details once he has them.”
“That’s good, I miss having the fucker around.” Beast said with a grin.
“By the sound of the party that was going on in the background I doubt our brother has had time to miss us, Beast.” Ice grinned. “When I asked about it he laughed and said his old lady was fucking crazy and her and her posse partied fucking all the time. His words exactly. I think he’s letting her do her thing before she has to leave her family and friends behind. Must be damned tough for her.”
“We’ll make sure she knows she’s part of the family here.” Bulldog said. “Maybe we should throw them a welcome home party or something.”
“That’s a good idea. We’ll get Aunt Beryl and the old ladies on it.” Hawk said as he turned to Jagger. “Brother, will their cottage be ready for when they get home? I don’t think his old lady will be happy staying at that crappy flat of his and there’s only so long she’ll want to stay in his room here.”
“It will be ready, boss. We have the security system to install and then it’s done. I already sent Wolf a text to let him know his ass is moving to the cottages.” Jagger grinned.
“Good. Okay, is that it? Can we get out of here and get on with the day?”
When he got nods all around he whacked the hammer down on the steel then pointed it at Kahn.
“I almost forgot, brother. The team erecting your new home is arriving tomorrow. It will be ready in two, max three, weeks’ time. Get your old lady to start packing.”
Kahn laughed. “Been living in between fucking boxes for weeks now, brother. We’re ready, don’t worry.”
“Good, glad to hear. Can’t wait to have you and your family safely on Iron Dogz soil.”
“You and me both, Prez. You and me both.” Kahn said as they walked out.
CHAPTER FOUR
Chris
I woke early. Excitement about the day ahead fizzed in my head.
Today I’d be looking over the cottages with Jagger and I couldn’t wait.
I rushed through my morning routine, dragged my black one piece swim suit on. I pulled on yoga pants and my black Iron Dogz MC hoodie to cover up then slipped my feet into my worn but super comfy canvass slip-ons. My swim bag was already loaded with two towels, my swim cap, goggles and camera. I wanted to take early morning photos of the pool while the morning mist was still hanging around. I slipped the piece of paper with the code, which was too long to memorise, into the pocket of my hoodie. Checking one last time to make sure I had everything I unlocked my door and peeked out. Silence greeted me.
I silently slipped through the sleeping clubhouse. Avoiding the common room and the kitchen just in case there were early risers I used the side door to go outside. Being the bartender had some perks and a key to the side door was one. I gave a little shiver in the early morning chill as I walked down the path to the pool. Judging by the nip in the air summer was starting to slip ever so slowly towards autumn, but it wasn’t here yet. The days were still hot.
I knew I would be able to swim in total privacy as the eco pool was only ever made available to the club under Jagger’s watchful eye.
Keying in the code I couldn’t stop the grin when the gate clicked open. Making sure it locked behind me I started down the path overhung by trees and shrubs. It felt as if I was walking down a secret path through a forest. It even smelt like one. Emerging from the trees I stopped to stare at the absolutely stunning sight in front of me. The pool lay still and mysterious in the manmade forest clearing. Mist clung to the ferns and reeds at the edges and hung over the dark glassy surface. Setting my bag down I pulled my camera from the bag and started snapping furiously, wanting to capture the mystery and beauty of the early morning before the sun burned away the mist.
By the time I finished the sun had cleared the top of the rocky ridge and turned the pool into molten gold. I slipped out of my shoes and clothes, dropping my things on one of the roughhewn wooden picnic tables partly hidden between the trees. Slowly walking over the flat rocks to the edge of the pool I stood looking into the clear water for a few seconds. I knew it was going to be cold but that was part of the draw.
Stepping down into the pool I hissed out a breath as the cold water closed over my feet, then my calves and finally my thighs and hips. Giving a hard shiver I drew my goggles down over my eyes, drew in a deep breath and slipped under the cold water.
I swam for longer than I usually did. I had so much energy I didn’t want my swim to end. But I had kitchen duty and couldn’t stay. When I finally walked out of the pool my muscles ached, but it was a good ache.
Stripping the swim cap and goggles off I dropped them on the table, wrapped a towel around myself and used the other to dry my face and arms. Moving into a sunny spot I rubbed my cold body vigorously before pulling my clothes on over my now damp swim suit. Giving my cap and goggles a quick dry I dropped them back into the bag, dropping the wet towels on top of them. Slipping my feet into my shoes I left the magical pool. I knew I was late and I quickened my steps, almost running back to the clubhouse. Taking the same route as before I was lucky not to encounter anyone.
The clattering of pans in the kitchen told me Aunt B was already busy prepping for the breakfast rush. I silently slipped past to my room, quickly showered and dressed for the day then went to the kitchen to help as I did every morning. It was easy to slip into the routine without having to say a word.
As I worked I wondered who would be taking my place in the kitchen once I moved out. I hoped like hell I wouldn’t have to do kitchen duty when I no longer lived at the clubhouse. Shit, I’d have to talk to Aunt B about it. And there was no better time than the present, seeing how we were the only two in the kitchen right then.
“Aunt B, did Hawk talk to you about me by any chance?” I asked quietly as I concentrated on chopping the onions and not looking up.
“No, why would he? Is something wrong?” From the corner of my eye I saw her turning towards me. “And stop what you’re doing for a minute and look at me, Chris.”
I looked up and smiled. “Nothing is wrong, in actual fact it’s very right. I’ve decided to move out of the clubhouse and Hawk gave me permission to move into one of the cottages. Jagger is going to take me to have a look at one after breakfast.”
I drew in a deep breath to keep explaining but she clasped a hand over mine and I fell silent. I looked up to find her giving me a wide smile.
“That’s such good news, sweetheart. You deserve a place of your own away from the clubhouse. I’m so pleased for you. Is there anything I can help with?” She patted my hand and I had to blink away the tears that wanted to flood my eyes.
“Thank you for offering, Aunt B. I don’t have much, just my bedding, my clothes and my photographic stuff. Jagger said the cottage comes with a fridge/freezer, a microwave and a TV, so luckily I don’t have to buy those. But I’m going to need everything else.” I explained.
“Oh sweetheart, that’s so exciting. I have tons of household stuff sitting in the storage rooms behind the garage that I’ll never use again. We can have a scratch and see what we can find for you.”
Before I could object she clapped her hands in excitement. “This is going to be so much fun. Do you know if you want curtains or blinds and what about rods or rails? And do you have an idea of the size of your cottage?”
And just like that her excitement amped up my own by one hundred percent.
“I have no idea. Would you like to come with me? I could use the help. I’ve never had my own home and I don’t really know what to do.”
Aunt Beryl smiled a wide warm smile. “I’d love to. After breakfast is done we’ll drive over and look over your new home and if possible take some measurements. We need to know the size of the rooms before you can even think about furniture. Do you have an idea of the kind of furniture you want?”
“No, not really. I thought I’d go to the Centurion Lifestyle Centre, they have a huge Mr Price Home plus a Pick and Pay Hypermarket and several other stores for household stuff, and have a look around.”
“Perfect! And they all do deliveries.”
I shook my head and grinned.
“I won’t need to have it delivered. Jagger said he’ll send the prospects with a truck to load up whatever I buy.”
“Even better and look at this, I just googled the Centre and they have a Sheet Street as well. We will definitely get everything you need in one place.”
“I’m so glad you’re coming with me.”
“Me too, baby girl, me too. We are going to have so much fun. Let’s get this breakfast out of the way so we can get on the road. When we get back we can have a scratch through the stuff I have in the storage room.” She said with a big grin.
I returned her grin with one of my own and went back to prepping for breakfast.
I couldn’t wait to be done so we could hit the road.
Two hours later Aunt B and I stood outside the half completed cottage that in a few weeks would be my home. It was in an absolutely perfect position, set against a ridge of huge rocky boulders with wild aloes and acacia trees scattered all around. When they flowered it would be a spectacular sight.
We were still standing in the road staring at the cottage when Jagger pulled up next to my little car and got off his bike. I called him to tell him Aunt B was coming with me and he immediately said he would follow on his bike.
He grinned the minute he looked at me, the expression on my face must have showed how freaking excited I was.
“Hey, Aunt B, have you come to take a look at our girl’s new home?” He asked as he hugged her before pulling me into his side, keeping his arm firmly around my shoulders. He ignored the men who kept glancing our way.
“I did indeed and it’s going to be an absolutely darling little home for her.”
“I agree.” He pointed to a cottage that was visible through the trees and bush. “Dizzy will be moving into the cottage over there and Leo and Wolf are going to be your neighbours on the other side. Come on, let me walk you through the cottage and show you what I have planned.” He gave me a quick side hug before letting me go. “As we walk through feel free to let me know about any changes or ideas you have. At this stage of the build we can still handle a few changes.”
I was speechless and could only nod. Aunt B grinned and grabbed my hand as we walked up the cobble stone paved drive to the cottage.
Jagger started explaining as we approached. “What we’ve done here is raise the walls to give us a double volume living area and it means we have a good sized loft area over the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. I’ve got both crews working on getting the beams up today because I want to get the thatch guys in as soon as we can.”
“Would it be possible to extend the roof over the front to give her a covered stoep? (veranda)” Aunt B suddenly asked.
“Ja, we have a wooden deck on the plans but I can change it if you’d prefer a proper stoep (veranda), Chrissie. At this stage it’s easy to add the beams for it.”
Suddenly the little house I had seen on Pinterest last night and had loved came to mind. Pulling my phone from my pocket I quickly searched for the picture I had saved.
“Can you do something like this?” I asked as I handed him my phone.
He studied the picture then swiped his thumb to look at the others I had saved.
Nodding his head he looked at the pictures then looked up at the cottage with narrowed eyes as if he could see the changes in his mind’s eye.
“It will be easy.” He said and pointed at the cottage while explaining. “We extend the outer wall on this side, put in one of the reclaimed windows for some added light.” He nodded as if it was a done deal. “Okay, so this is how I see it. We use the same rock we used for the driveways and extend the wall from the house. We insert the window in the wall as a feature and for added light. We can do the same on the other side if you want. It will give you an enclosed stoep (veranda) that you could use even if it’s raining or cold as fuck.” He tilted his head to the side and stood with narrowed eyes before he nodded. “And we might be able to fit in a small fireplace for you.”
My eyes were wide as I stared at him. He took my idea, ran with it and made it even more perfect.
“Let’s have a quick look inside before we decide on anymore changes.” Aunt B said quietly.
We followed Jagger into the dusty building and I came to a stop as I looked up at the beams set high up against the very blue sky. I started taking photos with my phone of the beams and the large empty space that was going to be the open plan living area and kitchen.
“This is so perfect. I can’t believe it’s going to be my home. I really can’t.” I whispered as I slipped my phone back into the back pocket of my jeans.
“Let’s have a look at the bedroom and bathroom area. I want to run something by you.”
I followed Jagger into the large bedroom and turned in a circle shaking my head. Unbelievable.
“So this is what we planned here.” Jagger swung his hand towards the large hole in the front wall. “I have a beautiful reclaimed set of wooden French doors that we’ll install instead of windows. They open inward so it won’t impact any furniture you have out there. We are using reclaimed slate tiles in all the cottages and I thought a pale silver grey would be perfect for you. But if you don’t like it there’s black or a sort of greenish black and yellow available as well. There will be cupboards against this wall made out of reclaimed wood. I have guy who does woodwork and he’s busy working on it already.”
He moved into the bathroom and pointed to an enclosed cubicle at one end. “That is the toilet and it will have a door to give you some privacy, especially when you have guests. There’s a big claw footed tub if you want it, it will eat into the space but we can work with it. You’ll have a shower and basin in here as well. We put in deep windowsills here and in the kitchen for any shit you want to display or for plants or whatever.”
The more he spoke the more I could see the bathroom in my head. Old fashioned but modern at the same time.
“Can I have one of those big old fashioned shower heads? And yes to the tub, absolutely.”
“Sure, babe, anything else?”
“I don’t want those horrible vanity things that
basins are usually set into. Can it be free standing?”
“Yip, what else?”
“A glassed in shower?” I asked nervously and he grinned at me and nodded.
Now I was getting super excited and looked around the space then turned to look at the bedroom.
“Am I going to have a wall or something here or is it going to be open to the bedroom?
Aunt B was the one who answered.
“What about a rock wall or a wall clad to look like rock?”
I liked that idea. I just needed to find a distressed chest of drawers to set against the rock. It would look stunning. Almost like something out of a magazine. I nodded almost wildly in agreement.
“Good, that will be easy. Now, let’s move onto the kitchen. As I said, we have a guy off site building the cupboards for all the cottages. You tell me how you want the kitchen set up and he will design something for you. Once we’ve looked at the size of the kitchen we can walk over to Dizzy’s cottage so you can have a look at what his kitchen looks like. All the kitchens come fitted with granite work tops. If you choose the pale grey slate tiles I suggest we go black with silver flecks for the kitchen. As I said, you’ll have a fridge/freezer, a gas/electric range and a microwave installed before you move in.”
“As long as I can cook and wash dishes I’m happy. I don’t need a huge space because there’s only me, so a small kitchen is fine.”
Jagger and Aunt B laughed and I looked at them in confusion.
“Babe, forget about being only one person, you’re going to have visitors once you move in. Prepare yourself, sweetheart, we’re going to be hanging out with you all the time.” He warned with a wide smile.
I think my mouth hanging open in shock let them both know I hadn’t expected to have visitors. But I quickly recovered and grinned.
“Any time. You can hang out here any time, you’ll always be welcome.”
“Cool, I look forward to sitting on the stoep (veranda) drinking beer while the prospects handle the braai.”
Mark Of A Scarred Warrior (Iron Dogz MC Book 5) Page 6