Returning Home.

Chapter 37

Xaviers POV

Pacing the floor of the clubhouse, Knuckles all but threw a bar mat at me for 'wearing out his floor boards'.

I can feel myself getting angry, frustrated and just couldn't seem to think clearly. Pacing was the best way that I found that I could process things but for some reason no matter how much I tried, all I can think about was how much of a shit storm this was all becoming.

Holden was hunkered down with Stella in his office, getting a crash course on how to tap into the towns cctv system while the rest of the team was scattered around town checking in with their various contacts.

I didn't want to admit to it but with everything that had been happening lately, had led me back to my conversation with Ariel a little while ago about the fact that one of my inner circle was possibly double crossing the club.

"What the fuck is going on with this thing" I heard Stella swear and then the door to the office swings open with Stella coming out holding onto a laptop. She props the laptop on the bar and moves to sit on one of the bar stools.

"The internet is playing up again in the office." She says as she moves the mouse around the screen.  Holden is on the phone as he comes out closely behind her. He does not look impressed with whoever he is speaking too and I wonder if there is more to this then what he has told us so far.

I still don't fully trust the guy but I've never trusted the law in this town anyhow but he did eventually bring us into the fold with what he was doing int this town. I know that the majority of my dislike came from his involvements around Amelia.

I feel myself tense up when I think back to the first time Holden and I had had a little chat, it was when I saw them both having a date. It was like my primal instincts had taken over and all I wanted to do was drag her out of there at the same time as running him out of town.

But now as I watch him as he ends his call and look around for where Stella has gone, I notice his features change as he heads straight over to where she is sitting.

"How are you going there Princess." He says as he goes to pull out the stool next to her. She stops what she is doing and turns to face him.

"Call me Princess again, I dare you." She hisses out at him but he seems to just smile at her as if he would take anything that she would throw at him.

She shakes her head and the focuses back on the laptop to which she seems to hit the mark as she says "Yes, now we are back in business." Holden shuffles around so that he is closer to her, creating a sort of cocoon around her that made me think for a split second on whether I should intervene as I know that Cole would not be impressed to see a bloke that close to his sister.

As I was contemplate my next move by watching the two of them interacting around the laptop, I didn't hear the door to the bar open and Amelia come in until Knuckles said something.

"Amelia, how is he?" Knuckles says as he makes his way to the fridge and pulls out some bottles of water. He slips them onto the bar, offering them to everyone.

I instantly make my way over to her, meeting her part way across the room. It was like I'm working on instinct as I wrap my arms around her and pull her into me, running my eyes over her to make sure that everything is ok. It is hard because even though I know that she is ok, I still felt that I had to do a complete once over of her to feel secure that she was ok.

She nuzzles into me and says "He is going to be ok Xavier, he just needs some time to recuperate." She lifts her head up and looks up at me and I am gone. She could practically tell me to do anything and I would do it without even thinking twice about it. I bend down towards her and lightly peck her on the lips. 

As much as this shit storm seems to not be stopping anytime soon, I can't help but want to just pick her up, throw her over my shoulder and head off to my room so that I can just forget about the world and what is going on for a little while.

"Oh Bloody hell" Stella grumbles "What the heck is happening here, its like there is something going on with the wifi in this place." It breaks me out of my Lia trance and I look over towards Stella to see what is going on.

Holden moves to go hit the side of the laptop. Stella grabs his hand, "Seriously" She says "You think hitting it will make it work better?"  She gives him a look that has him sit back in his seat and watch her.

Stella moves around again but something on her screen catches her eye. She partially stops moving but picks her laptop up and waves it around certain sections of the bar.

Without letting go of Amelia, I move closer towards Stella to try and work out what she is doing. Stella is now moving up and down the bar, waving her laptop over other sections. Knuckles seems to pick up on what she is doing as he comes around to the same side as her and begins feeling around the underside.

Curious, I say "What the" I don't get out anything else cause Stella swings around and holds her hand up over her mouth, sending me a signal to be silent.

Knuckles and Stella seem to be having a silent conversation as he pulls out his keys and turns on a torch while squatting down to look under the bar.

Knuckles begins talking randomly "I've been meaning to fix this step for a while, just been so busy that I kept forgetting" he continues to move his hand gently along the underside of the bar and then suddenly stops.

"Found something" he mouths which has Stella and Holden move as far away from the bar as they can. She closes her laptop and leaves it on top of the bar, looking over at me and nodding her head towards the clubhouse doors.

We all just look at her and follow as she says "I'm going to try using it over by the tables, maybe the wifi is better there." She then calmly makes her way out towards the clubhouse doors and down the steps.

We all, except for Knuckles, follow her outside and see her standing over by Amelia's car in the car. I'm lost at what the heck is going on but Amelia seems to be switched on as she makes her way over to her.

"What the fuck is going on Stella?" I say as I see the concern on  her face. She starts chewing her bottom lip and I find my mind running an assortment of issues that this could mean.

"The clubhouse has been compromised hasn't it?" Amelia says and I am now completely lost as to what why are talking about.

I just look between the two of them, trying to catch my mind up to the level that these two woman were already at.

Stella nods and the says "Yes, when my laptop was playing up, it was like something else electrical was interfering with it. It wasn't until I was moving it around that I realised that there was something near the bar." The look on Stella's face is like she is about to throw up.

Knuckles comes up behind us and is holding a small piece of plastic that looked like a guitar pick and some mini wires in his hand.

"I think this is only a start. I found another near the office. I know a guy who might be able to help, I'll give him a call." Knuckles says as he pulls his phone out and starts scrolling.

I move away from the small group as they co tiniest to discuss the matter and find that I just can't hold it in anymore "FUCK!" I yell into the open carpark. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

I begin to pace back and forward, trying to stop an oncoming pounding in my head while I try to think bout what to do next. It is like my mind is coming up blank and I can't stop myself from getting more frustrated over this.

I now wonder how the heck did wires get inside the club and for how long have they been there. We used to keep a tight ship at the clubhouse but we had been branching out with a few open house nights but generally we didn't draw a crowd due to how the town seemed to not want to associate with us a lot.

As much as I am internally freaking out about all of this, the one clear thought that comes to mind is Amelia. I quickly remember that she was with us and I stop my pacing and look over at her to see what she is thinking.

Amelia looks like she is in deep thought and I wonder what she could possibly be thinking about. She seems to feel my eyes watching cause her head snaps up as if she is having a light bulb moment.

"I have an idea on how we can try and get ahead of this." Amelia says "but first I need to make a phone call."