AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Tanner, where are you going?”
I ignored Greyson and headed back into the office where I had left Tommy’s body. But once I entered the room and saw that it was completely empty, I laughed. “Wow. That was fast.”
Greyson clapped my shoulder. “I know people. Your club wasn’t as trusting of Tommy as he led you to believe.”
“Why?” I asked, when a few of the guys I had grown up in the biker life with, started coming toward us from down the hall.
“Where the hell have you been?”
“It’s been way too fucking long, brother.”
The words started blending together, coming from each and every one of them.
“Tommy said you died,” Bud Nolk, a long-time member of Devil’s Rejects, added. His rough voice sounded like he had just gargled with shards of broken glass.
“I guess I did in a way,” I answered. And I was reborn when I met Busy.
“Where have you been?” Donny Waver, another member who had been with me in the club ever since I took over, cupped my shoulders. “We need answers, Tanner.”
“I had to hide. I thought or Tommy made me believe anyway, that if I stuck around, I’d end up dead. By all of you. I couldn’t take the chance, so I disappeared.”
“Do you not know us at all?” Donny flinched like I had just smacked the beard off his face. “We’ve been with you since the beginning. Long before Tommy came around. You were a shithead kid who forced his way into our lives, and we had no choice but to let you in. Fuck.” He walked away and began pacing.
“I…” I swallowed hard.
“He’s right.” Bud leaned a shoulder against the wall. “But I get it. Tommy had a way of making people do things for him. Things they didn’t want to do either. Sure, some of the guys might have done it because they wanted to follow him and not you, but I can guarantee you that Donny and I are not like that. And Bear and Kid who you just met? They have their moments, but you can trust them too.”
“I don’t know what’s going on right now,” I mumbled.
Bud pushed away from the wall and came toward me. “We’re family, Tanner. Where you go, we go. Hell, if you don’t even actually want to be president anymore, that’s fine too. But we do need a leader.”
“Who’s the vice-president now?” I asked.
“I am.”
I turned at the new voice.
A stocky guy came toward us. He was shorter than my six-three but wide around the middle. He was built like a wall and I knew then that I did not want to meet him in the middle of a dark alley.
“Heard you had a run-in with my boys. They killed your dog and left you for dead.” He grimaced. “I’ve done a lot of shit but hurting an animal just to prove a point? Nope. Not my thing.” He stuck his hand out. “The name’s Sky. Sky Paiva. And yes, that’s my real name.” He walked past me. “Seems I’ve become president without even wanting it.”
“But you’re vice—”
“I am.” He lifted a hand. “Your VP was killed by the way.”
My chest tightened.
“He was given a funeral. You know, so Tommy could cover his tracks and all.” Sky shook his head. “I don’t get it. I probably never will.”
“I don’t want to be president,” I said, voicing something that had been weighing on my mind for quite some time.
“You know you can’t just give up that role, right? You either retire or you’re killed. You know too much.” Donny came back toward me, staring me down. “You do know that. You made the fucking rule, remember?”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, I remember. Thank you for the heads-up. But I don’t want to be president. So you,” I nodded toward Sky, “get to be it instead. It’s your lucky day.”
Sky reached into the inside of his leather cut and pulled out a pack of smokes before sticking one between his lips. He lit it, puffed a couple of times, and inhaled. Letting out a deep breath, the spicy scent of his smoke billowing around us. A grin suddenly spread on his face. “I did always like being in control.”
Bee
