Free Black Wings MC: The Novel (Motorcycle Club Romance) by Kendra Payne

our baby—what mother doesn’t? Still, I wondered why he was being so tight-lipped about it. It’s like he was deliberately avoiding the question. Then the thought occurred to me that maybe he has a lot of money. Maybe he was afraid that it was the money that I was after. I can assure you that I never thought he had money and even if I was after the money, I would have never gone through the explosion and risked my life—or the baby’s—for a little cash.

 
    Chapter Eleven
    Meeting Barbara

 
    I helped Shadow slip into some clean clothes as we waited for the van. Animal, Skull and Doom were attending the meeting with Derek and Barbara. I was still quite curious about the mystery woman who knew so much and had so much power, but I was also intimidated by her. She seemed way beyond her years, and she was an older woman. I suppose she came across that way due to her education, background and appearance. If I had to bet money on it, I’d say that even some of the guys are intimidated by her.
     
    Barbara agreed to let the MC come to her house for their meeting. We arrived at her house around noon. It was a huge Victorian home with white pillars that lined the front porch. Her yard was immaculately landscaped. A large two-seated rocking swing occupied the corner of the wraparound porch, overlooking a small coy pond on the side of the house. Animal rang the door bell, which could be heard outside.
     
    When Barbara opened the door, she only cracked it just enough to peer her face outside. While she knew all of the MC guys, she was leery about letting me inside. Sensing Barbara’s anticipation about me, Shadow explained that I was with him and that I was ok. Barbara glanced at me again, this time looking me up and down. It was almost as if she had a disapproving sneer on her face but she did reluctantly let me in with the others.
     
    Once inside, we all took seats in Barbara’s great room. You could see your reflection in the white marble floors. The antique furniture complimented the lacy drapes. As we took our seats, Barbara offered me a glass of tea. I thanked her but declined. Shadow and Barbara made small talk before getting down to business.
     
    “ So what kind of deal do they want to make?” Shadow asked Barbara.
     
    “ You know that bit of information is going to cost you.” She said with a wry smile on her face.
     
    “ I’ve heard. Is your price negotiable?”
     
    “ Not if you want to know what I already know.” She replied.
     
    “ Fair enough. Let’s do this in the other room.”
     
    I don’t know why but I almost felt betrayed, or as if Shadow didn’t trust me enough to talk business in front of me. If we were going to become a family, he needed to learn that he could trust me. And that he had to trust me. I sat with the rest of the MC club, in the great room, awaiting the two of them to return.
     
    “ Well, it was good doing business with you again, Barbara.” Shadow said as he kissed the retired woman on the cheek.
     
    She clasped his hand into hers, “And likewise with you. Would you like for me to show you and your company out?”
     
    No thanks. We’ve been here enough times; we know the way.
     
    When we were back in the van, Shadow began to tell everyone what he and Barbara had discussed in her kitchen. It all boiled down to shipments and prices. The cartel didn’t want to lose business but they also didn’t want to pay the steep price that the Black Wings had requested. The proposed deal was to increase the amount of shipments for the same price as before, but since there would be more shipments, there would be more money. The cartel also wanted to cut out the middle man—La Familia, which would also increase the money that the Black Wings would receive. The guys decided that they would have to discuss matters with the cartel directly.
     
    We were on our way to the headquarters when the guys started discussing going back to Mexico. Barbara explained to Shadow that while