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“Pull me up a chair. Alannah will kill you all if I fall and she finds out.”
Slade drags a chair over as I unclip my gun.
Sitting slowly, I inhale deeply and settle in, not caring that I’ll be splattered with his blood being this close.
“I’ve had a while to think this over, and I’m not going to sit here and question your actions or why you chose my club. The facts are that you approached my club, intending to bring us down. I couldn’t give a fuck if you think your intentions were for good, because they weren’t good for us, and so you’ve been around us long enough to know what happens next.”
Releasing the safety catch, I run my fingers over the barrel and tilt my head, allowing the peace it brings to wash over me.
“I’m going to make this quick. I’m not angry with you anymore, I’m angry at myself for not seeing through you. I could care less what you think of us, as we know we’re good people, and our opinions are the only ones that count. Your life is literally worthless now, isn’t it? You got your parents killed. You have no home. You have nothing. And soon enough, you won’t exist. Yet we’ll go on living and fighting to see another day. We’ll wake up every morning with our families, and we’ll forget you. You’ll just be another body buried in an unmarked grave, no one knowing where you are. Not that you have anyone left to look for you.”
His lips part and his chest rises, as if he’s ready to speak, but I’m done. I’m so fucking done with everything that isn’t for the benefit of my club. Lifting my hand, I aim my gun at his stomach and unload the clip.
No one says a word. Time drags on as the asshole bleeds out in front of me, taking his time dying. We all watch in silence as he gargles through his last breath.
“We will never forget him. To forget him would be lazy and arrogant. He will be a reminder to us that anything or anyone can be a threat to us. That if we become too complacent, we can be crippled.”
The tense silence eases, and I stand, slowly turning to face my brothers.
“Everything we once were, everything we thought we knew, is going to change. We will never allow another opportunity for someone to creep in and take us down. We will not allow it.”
“No, we fucking won’t,” Pope calls out.
All the brothers nod their agreement.
“It’s time our bylaws were reviewed. It’s time to modernise them, make them real fucking clear, and it’s time our sons put their brains, as well as their blood, into the bones of this club. But for now, I have to get home before my wife hunts me down. Mason, Myles—”
“Yeah, we know. Bury the rat,” Mason interjects, a wicked smirk on his face.
Turning to Pope, Sparky hands me an unlit cigarette to fuck about with. “Anyone heard anything on the fed?”
Pope’s frustration shows when he shakes his head. “No. It’s like he disappeared.”
“Perhaps Bert and his men buried him?” Sparky offers.
If they did, it wouldn’t have been to help us out. It would’ve been because no one wants to be found with a dead fed in their company.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Pope
Two weeks later
You never know when your life is about to change irrevocably. You wake up in the morning, knowing death is a possibility. But most days, you wake up knowing this day will be basically the same as the day before. You run through your routines, and if you’re lucky, a curveball will be thrown into the mix to deal with, like a good old fight. But most days, the club is quiet and peaceful.
From where I sit, I have a clear view of everyone. Sparky and Ricky stand at the barbeque, grilling sliders and steaks. Cas sits with Alannah, Slade, and Kristen. He’s still taking it easy, but he’s healing, and it’s good to have him home where he belongs. Zachery and his old lady, Nina, are huddled together with their son on the picnic bench, while JJ and Harper disappear around the back of the clubhouse. No guesses needed as to why they want to be out of sight. Dex and Libby arrive, joining Cas. Dex’s bruises are nearly healed, and he keeps his arm around his woman, wanting her close.
Then there are my boys, Mason and Myles, with their women, and little Penelope, my great-granddaughter, sitting on the grass close to Leo and Rayna, the girl Ethan brought around sitting off to the side. And my granddaughter, Victoria, finally smiling, sits with her mom and Bonnie. Every person here is my family, and the reason I don’t let the aches and pains of old age bring me down. The only one missing is my Sal. It’s been too long without her now, and I grow heavier with grief not having her at my side. I wasted so many years keeping her in a different world, and I hate myself for not making her the centre of my universe twenty years earlier.
“Food’s up!” Sparky hollers. I remain in my seat, letting everyone get their food first.
Victoria grabs a paper plate as Luca cosies up to her, but she ignores the shit out of him when he tries talking to her. Not that she can fucking hear him.
I rest my hand on my gun. I have no intention of shooting him, but I could still scare the shit out of the little fucker if he doesn’t leave my granddaughter alone. I’ve seen him more and more, trying to get her attention, but she never gives him a single word in return.
Moving on, she makes her way toward me. Leaning to the side, I see Luca Jackson narrowing his eyes at her back. Sitting at my table, she places the plate filled with sliders in the middle and points to them, and then at me.
I sign “Thank you,” and pick one up. Taking a bite, I set it back down and wipe my hands on my jeans.
