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My nose tickles with frustration, flaring as I try to calm my bubbling emotions. “Taking him out opened a big can of worms. It was needed, but likely more than we were anticipating,” I admit.
Fiona stops by the table, dropping off two hot mugs and some creamer before carrying on her way. Ryker doesn’t say anything until he’s made up his drink and gulped half of it
“I think Axel was right.”
My eyebrows furrow at Ryker’s statement. “About what?”
“He was right to take him out. Imagine if I had, just as I had wanted to, then dived straight into handling all of this carnage. It would have been far more fucked up than it already is.”
Relief rushes through me. I’ve kept my mouth shut on the situation the entire time because it’s not really for me to interfere. Moves were made around me and I was as clueless as Ryker, but it wasn’t my revenge that was taken. Truthfully though, as surprising as Axel and Shift’s confession was, once I got over the initial shock, I knew they were right.
“Your silence tells me you already came to that conclusion.”
I offer him a tight smile. “We’re in the thick of the storm, chaos swirling around us. You taking action and convincing the club that you had their best interests at heart would have been impossible. I’m not sure if we would even still be standing right now,” I admit, taking a sip of my own drink.
“Please don’t tell him yet. We’ve had limited conversations since his confession, but I need to talk it out with him properly.” I nod, more than happy to keep out of it. “It’s hard,” he continues, glancing down at his mug. “I loved my dad, I loved my mom, but their decisions were never in my best interests, so feeling that from Axel still feels odd. I know we commit ourselves to the club, to our brotherhood, but what Axel, Emmett, you, and I have is a different level of trust.”
“Always,” I breathe, feeling just as close to them as I do my own flesh and blood, possibly even more.
“In the past, a move like that would have felt like a betrayal. Ma left when Dad refused to give up the club and put her first. Not me, notusas a family,her.That’s selfish as shit, and I couldn’t see past that mindset when it came to the fact someone took Banner’s blood from me.” His knuckles whiten around the handle of his coffee mug. “If only we all had a Maggie, huh?” he adds with a smile.
“She was born to be a queen, Ryker, she was born for this life. A caregiver, a supporter, a badass woman who doesn’t take bullshit. Not everyone is made like that, hell, I’m not sure if she was like that before my old man died, but it’s the only way I ever remember her being.”
“She’s a blessing.”
“Agreed,” I say, just as our plates are brought over.
Murmuring my thanks, I dive in, appreciating the warmth. We only have my mom now, Ryker’s is long gone with no interest in coming back, or so I assume. Axel’s mom died at his hands, rightfully so, he never knew his father, and Emmett’s parents are both gone too.
This life isn’t for the fainthearted, motorcycle club or not; death is always chasing you.
I clear my plate in minutes, Ryker acting a little less like an animal than me. Wiping my mouth with a napkin, I finish the rest of my coffee and brace my arms on the table.
“We need a game plan, a serious one. Ideally, we have several backups too. So we can put an end to this madness and get our feet back on solid ground,” I state, determination fighting past the exhaustion threatening to take hold of me.
“Did I fuck us over by not caving to them in the first place?”
“No, never. If we could go back in time to when Banner agreed, I’d shoot his brains out and decline from that point on,” I bite, and he nods.
“You’re right. We’re winging it too much so we don’t fuck it all up, but we’re leaving ourselves open for attack due to this. We need more allies, because it seems the ones we currently have are more likely to be enemies.”
I can agree to that. “What were you thinking? Or who were you considering?”
His eyes cast over my shoulder at the other bikers in here. “They haven’t stopped glancing my way the entire time, and my gut’s not burning with the need to make an example out of them, so I’m hoping it’s in a positive light and they’re not picturing my head on a spike.”
“Do you want me to go over there and put on a show for them? Lure them to the dark side with my charm, wit, and perky tits?” I offer, and his head falls back with a laugh. The tension that was sinking its claws into him earlier dissolves at my joke. Mission accomplished. It’s not like us to get deep and raw, sharing our thoughts and shit, but it’s our only form of therapy.
“Can you shake your ass for them too? Just in case they’re into heavy trunks,” he replies with a smirk, and I give him the finger again.
“Little shit,” I grunt, making him snicker again.
“That’s President shit to you.” My eyes narrow at his shit joke, but it doesn’t erase the smile on his face. “It’s as if they heard our conversation because they’re on their way over,” he says. I have to fight the urge to turn and check for myself, but that would only make us look like gossiping school girls in the corner.
“Ryker, Gray, I wasn’t expecting to see you in here,” Paisley says in greeting before extending his hand to Ryker. His VP shakes my hand first before we switch, the remainder of the members holding back a little.
“We were out and about and decided to eat before heading home,” Ryker vaguely explains.
“I feel that. No one wants to be waking the whores up at this time to cook for us, do we? They’d purposely burn it all to fuck with us,” Paisley replies with a chuckle, and I force one of my own.
