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“The club’s quiet at the moment. I already got him tied up in all there is. He’s got the studio. I've trusted him with the most precious things in my life and I ain't gonna be mad at him for taking his responsibilities seriously.” I shrug before picking my grandson up from the floor.
“There’s taking things seriously and taking them to the extreme.” Ella blows a strand of her hair out of her face as she flicks through another page of the magazine she’s got on her lap.
There’s a whole pile of them stacked on the coffee table and if Nyx thinks this is gonna keep my girl off her feet, he’s wrong. I’d caught her out on the deck painting one of the dining chairs that I’d sanded down for her last week when I arrived, and I know this little show she’s putting on will only last until I’ve left and she’ll be straight back onto it.
“I got to go down to the club,” I say when I'm reminded of the message I received on the way up here. I kiss the top of Dylan’s head and hand him over to his mama, just as Nyx comes through the door.
“You won’t believe what I had to tattoo on that weirdo from the scrap yards chest today.” He tosses his keys at the table before he realizes I’m here.
“Oh, s’up, Prez,” his chin tips at me, before he lifts Dylan up out of Ella’s arms and kisses her on the mouth right in front of me. I swear if the shit didn’t take such good care of her, I’d rip the lips right off his face.
“You smell like…” he takes her wrist and sniffs her fingers before his eyes drift out to the deck where the chair is propped up on the table.
“Ella,” he growls at her in frustration.
My daughter throws me a look that emphasises her point.
“I gotta get going,” I tell them both heading for the door.
“Brax and Grace are coming over for dinner tonight, you joining us?” Ella asks.
“Sure,” I nod back, unable to keep the smile off my face. I know how much having family around means to Ella. Her smile is infectious. And if me and her husband being overbearing are the only things she’s got to worry about, we're doing our job properly in my eyes.
I get on my bike and head toward the club, Maddy is waiting for me anxiously on the bench outside. I got her text half an hour ago, and the way she’s chewing at her nails has me concerned.
“Prez,” she jumps onto her feet as I park up. “Is there somewhere we can go privately?” Her eyes scan the yard like she’s nervous.
“Follow me,” I tip my head, and lead her into the members only bar with an apprehensive feeling growing in the pit of my stomach.
“I can’t do it anymore,” she blurts out when I’ve closed the door behind us, then heading behind the bar she helps herself to a glass and fills it with a generous measure of scotch.
“Slow down, darlin’. Can’t do what?” I try to catch up.
Shit… I don’t need this girl falling apart on me. Maddy has become a vital cog in the machine that keeps this place going.
“I can’t keep it from him anymore, Prez. He’s been spending time with Shaniya, getting to know her better by telling her all about their dad. I can’t take the guilt of knowing what happened to him when Jessie doesn’t. All this has scratched open old wounds for him. He wants answers, and it’s killing me that I’ve got them.”
Fuck…
“Maddy, I get how hard this must be for you—”
“With all due respect, Prez, you have no idea how hard this is for me. Me and Jess don’t keep things from each other. It’s eating me up inside.”
The girl in front of me is intelligent, possibly one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met. I trust her with a lot of things that non-members should never know. But nobody can know everything, and what she doesn’t know is that she’s not the only one with a secret. Jessie is keeping something from her too, and for the exact same reason. Protection.
“You realize what will happen if Jess finds out Chop killed his dad?” I put it to her, pouring a drink out for myself and topping up her glass.
“Of course I do.” She shakes her head as tears fill her eyes.
“Skid deserves that justice.” I swish the amber liquid around in my glass. “What Chop did to Carly was brutal, and the only thing that’s gonna get Skid even close to being the man he was, is making him pay for it.”
“I get that, Prez, but Jess—”
“Jessie is the best thing to ever happen to this club, Maddy. He’s fair and smart. And more importantly, he’s got his head screwed on right. But he’s got a switch inside of him, one that makes him the best at what he does. I ain’t gonna lie, it scares me what might happen if that switch goes off over this shit.”
“He loves Skid, he knows how much he’s suffered,” Maddy points out.
“Yeah, he does, but he loved his dad too. He used to follow that man around like he was his hero. For Jessie, the world starts and ends with the people he loves. Brain Donavon and Hayley were those people and he lost them. He’s unforgiving to anyone that would hurt them.” I’m reminded of what he did to Clunk, the real father Maddy will never know about. How he made him pay for what he did to Hayley.
