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Yet, I worry our intel isn’t solid. What if Giselle’s father paid our spies to feed us false information?
That’s why I’ve hesitated to greenlight the attack. I keep imagining our people walking into an ambush in Texas.
Luca’s impatience finally pushes me to make a decision. The tall, platinum blonde walks up to me one day and announces, “I’m trying to have a kid.”
By then, she’s a patched member of the Born Villains. The process went so quickly from her arrival at the Sanctuary to Luca wearing our vest and becoming Ghost’s old lady.
“Then we should wait,” I reply as my gaze focuses on my three girls playing nearby.
“Look, I’m glad you’re scared,” Luca says, winning a frown from me. “You should be. We all might die in Texas. Afterward, those rich fucks could hire an army to roll in here and burn down the Sanctuary. A lot of maybes are in play, but you need to hear what I’m saying.”
“I hear you fine.”
Luca’s an impressive woman. A former professional athlete, she has stellar gun and fighting skills. Though I respect the hell out of her talents, I always sense she’s struggling against an urge to talk down to me.
“No, youdon’thear me. Why else would you think I can do this after I have a kid? That’s why I’m explaining how once I get a positive pregnancy test, I’m hanging up my guns for a while, maybe forever. I already struggle to stay focused when I’m worried about Ghost getting hurt. Having a kid will mess with my head. So, if you want to do this Texas shit, you need to pull the trigger already.”
I consider explaining my reasons for waiting. Some are quite solid. Yet, in reality, my main reason comes down to “I’m not sure I can handle the consequences if things go wrong.”
“Fine, then, I’ll paint you a picture,” Luca says and glances at Scout, Evie, and Zoey dancing around nearby. “Those Texas fuckers are going to hire a team to sneak onto the Sanctuary. In the dark of night, they’ll move through the houses, searching for Giselle. Everyone will be expendable. If they hit your house before hers, your kids and Jules are dead. Same if they hit my house. It’s not like I walk around heavily armed in my PJs.”
“I get it.”
“Do you?” she asks, inching closer. “Let’s say someone sounds the alarm. Your people flood out of their homes, HQ, back from town. They don’t know what’s happening. It’ll be a bloodbath. If you thought war with the Horned Angels crossed lines, trying battling against mercenaries.”
“I get it,” I grumble and flash a pained look at my girls.
“Then, let me round up my group for one last practice run. We’ve got a plan. Even if it doesn’t work, waiting isn’t a better option.”
Luca’s plain talk seals the deal for me. She understands what happens when a person hesitates.
That’s why Luca, Ghost, and a handful of Born Villains members are heading south tomorrow.
As worries weigh me down, I’m joined by Jules on the porch of our southwest-style home. Her presence in my life has been a godsend. I was spiraling when she returned to the Sanctuary. My girls—blonde Evie and brunette Zoey—were struggling after their mothers’ deaths. I hadn’t known how to step up and be the father they needed.
With Jules at my side, I’ve gotten my shit in order. I’m done with the club girls and drinking. I’ve learned how to be a good father to my girls along with Anthony and Scout.
I wrap my arm around Jules’s shoulders. Her round face and golden eyes shine as she looks up at me. She’s finally gotten the life she deserves. People have grown to love and respect her at the Sanctuary.
“It’s going to be okay,” Jules promises me as we watch our kids play with their friends in the yard. Her golden-blonde hair feels soft against my fingertips. I find myself breathing easier under the power of her smile. “No matter what happens, you made the best decision.”
Becoming President had been my dream since I was a boy. I always wanted to be like my dad. With Jules’s help, I’ve accepted that’ll never happen.
Instead, I need to be my own man. Papa Bear ran things the way he did because that’s how he’s wired. I’ll never be him, but that doesn’t mean I’m failing.
Tomorrow, Papa Bear will drive with Sister Sass to pick up Jester from prison. My feelings are tangled over the relationship between my little sister and a man I’ve known my entire life. Though Jester isn’t my enemy, I do feel he’s a threat to Sister Sass’s future.
That’s why I’m not joining Papa Bear to pick up Jester. Normally, the club President is there to greet a club member when they’re released from prison.
Jester’s homecoming is a really big deal, too. He’s a founding member. Even though he rubs most people the wrong way, the other members and old ladies respect him. He was locked up for seven years after killing one of the men who raped and nearly killed Sister Sass and another club kid, Dire.
Jester deserves to have his ass kissed. So as a favor to him, I won’t spoil his first moments of freedom by reminding him how the world changed while he was gone.
