Chapter 27

CHAPTER

TWENTY-SEVEN

CLINK

“We’re done with this shit. I know I’m not the president, but we’re fucking done. And if I have to make myself known, I’ll do that,” Nash growls in response to Atomic explaining what happened and the situation.

I look down at my lap, not sure what the fuck to say. I mean, Nash is not wrong. This stuff has gotten completely out of hand. We need to be done, and I know I’m not the only one who thinks so, either.

The whole fucking club is feeling the same way.

They just won’t say it to Atomic. Nobody wants to piss him off. Not because they’re afraid of him but more because they respect him and his decisions. But if he’s not careful, people are going to retaliate.

This shit is fucking exhausting.

“What do we do?” Atomic asks. “What the fuck do you suggest?”

I growl, ready to say something, but surprisingly, it’s King who stands and then speaks. His voice is calm and cool. It’s clear he’s been thinking about this, and as the vice president, he knows a lot more of the inner workings than anyone else.

“We love you, Atomic. You’re our brother. Nobody here thinks that you’re doing a bad job as president. But at the same time, we’ve gone with your suggestions, with your contracts and deals, and they’ve been shit. Not by any fault of your own, but they’ve been shit.”

He’s not wrong. They have been out of this world horrific. And we’ve been nothing but betrayed by these bastards. Sure, we made a little money, but it wasn’t fucking worth what we’ve gone through in the process.

“Then I’m open to suggestions,” he says, but you can hear the defensiveness in his voice.

I’m sure that if I were in his shoes, I would be feeling the same way. Clearing my throat, I watch them. King rocks back on his heels. He already knows what he’s going to say, but he’s weighing his words and choosing them carefully. I don’t blame him, considering all eyes are on him right now.

“We need to end the Demon Guns and the Southern Mafia for good,” King announces.

I can hear the people around us murmur among one another, but I can’t make out any words. I am far too focused on King and Atomic. This is truly between them. They are the president and the vice president.

The men who are running this club.

Sure, we make decisions as a collective group, but they run shit. I know they haven’t seen eye to eye on a lot of this over the years, and since I was in prison most of the time this shit was being handled, I know I am nothing but an outsider looking in.

“How do you want to do that?” Atomic asks. “I’m open to suggestions. It’s clear that I don’t know everything. What do you, as a club, want to do? As fathers, as husbands?”

“That’s not fair,” I growl. “Throwing that shit in our faces. We are husbands, and some of us are fathers, but the club is the club, and they’re shitting on us and making us look weak as fuck. They don’t give a shit that we have kids. That we have old ladies. They just want what we’ve worked our asses off for.”

“Enough is enough,” Piston growls. “We fight and end this.”

“How?” Atomic asks.

Guts snorts and stands to his feet, slamming his palms down on the table. “What the fuck have we been building our numbers for?” he asks. “This is the goddamn time to use all these men we’ve brought into our fold from all over the state.”

A low roar rumbles through the room. He is not the only one who is thinking this. Who believes this. I don’t blame him. In fact, I agree wholeheartedly. They’ve been building this club for over three years. It’s fucking time.

“Then war it is,” Atomic snaps.

I can tell he wanted to solve this on paper, but he has got to realize that paper hasn’t been working. Not with these people. They need their goddamn dicks slapped is what they fucking need.

Atomic’s gaze flicks to Nash, and he arches his brow as if to ask him if the decision that’s been made is acceptable. Nash knows the expression itself is smart-assed, but he doesn’t give a fuck. None of us does.

We are all exhausted, sick of this shit, and ready to end it. Sure, war means that there will be a bit of a rough road, but it also means that when this is done, everyone is going to know just who the fuck we are and who the fuck has the biggest dicks in the South.

“Won’t be my first, won’t be my last. Let’s do this shit.”

Atomic jerks his chin, and then I watch as he lifts his gavel and slams it down hard.

“War.”

The room erupts in a roar of agreement. When the noise dies down, Atomic holds up his hands, palms facing us, to continue quieting everyone down. “But we aren’t done today yet. We still have Vixen and Blur to discuss.”

“Both of them gone,” Gnaw snaps. “Maybe that’s the start of war, maybe not. But both of them gone.”

“I have to agree,” I murmur.

Atomic’s eyes widen. I’m sure he’s surprised that I agreed to kill Vixen, especially since I was the one who was fighting to get her sister away from the Southern Mafia. But that was when I was under the impression that she wasn’t a betraying bitch.

Now I know.

So she can fucking go—and go, she will.

“Then let’s get it done. And let’s start planning this shit,” Atomic says.

As a group, a single unit, we all stand and follow behind him—in a single-file line. I’ve never felt more like a soldier in my life, but here we fucking are. One after the other and then another, marching straight for the metal warehouse.

All except Fate and Strings, who are in charge of bringing Blur and Vixen to us. A few moments later, we’re in the metal building, waiting for them as they’re being hauled inside. They don’t look any worse for wear, but the time has come.

The moment Vixen is brought to the hook in the middle of the room, tears roll down her cheeks. I’m sure they’re real, considering she knows exactly what is about to happen to her, but that doesn’t change anything.

“What about my daughter?” she whimpers.

Atomic shrugs a shoulder. “She was promised to Nash,” he says, jerking his chin toward Nash, who is standing a few feet away.

Vixen’s eyes swing over to him before she slides them back to meet Atomic’s. “Can't you just free her? She doesn’t know what she signed up for.”

Atomic snorts. “We promised protection, and that’s what she’ll get. But on our terms, not yours.”

Vixen closes her eyes slowly and keeps them that way. She dips her chin before she lifts it in the air. She’s ready to take what we dish out to her. And part of me feels guilty—but not that guilty.

DILLION

The crash course on the register wasn't enough. Because when the entire place gets busy… it gets fucking busy, and by the time it’s closing time, I am completely dead on my feet.

Dead.

Locking the door, I turn around and press my back against the glass and slowly sink down to my ass on the floor. Ryan walks out from the back, letting out a heavy sigh as she makes her way toward me, carrying a couple of things in her hands.

I watch as she sinks down beside me and hands me a chocolate cupcake. “Fresh out of the oven,” she whispers.

Reaching over, I take the cupcake from her grasp. Bringing it to my lips, I open my mouth and sink my teeth into the deliciously decadent chocolate. Then I close my eyes, and my head falls back against the door as I let out a moan.

“I figured you needed something to pick you up after that rush.”

“That was insane,” I whisper.

She laughs. “Since Shawn started going to the farmers’ markets, we can’t keep the shelves full. It’s been amazing but also exhausting.”

I swing my head toward her while opening my eyes, taking in her profile for a moment. She looks beyond exhausted. Then it hits me. She’s not just tired. She’s pregnant.

“You’re pregnant,” I state.

Her eyes widen, and her head whips around to meet mine as she sucks in a deep breath and holds it for a moment.

“You are,” I murmur.

“I just found out this morning. I haven’t even told Grover yet.”

Smiling, I take another bite of the chocolate cupcake. “I knew you would be. Just the way you gushed about your man, I knew it was happening again. It’s clear how much you love him.”

Her lips curve up into a grin. She takes another bite of her cupcake but doesn’t say anything. I can tell she’s deep in thought, happily dreaming about her new future. Family of five.

Watching her, I wonder what it feels like to be so in love with your man, with your life, that you want to fill the world with the evidence of that love. It’s beautiful. All the women love their men so much that it oozes out of them.

“Are you going to try for kids right away with Clink?” she asks.

I can’t help it. The bark of laughter that escapes is a little too high-pitched and a little too loud. Ryan reaches over and takes my hand in hers, but she doesn’t respond to my outburst.

“I think I’ll wait a while. Like forever,” I snort.

She hums but doesn’t respond immediately. Her hand squeezes mine, and she leans back against the door again.

“I left for six years and had Adam while I was away. I thought for sure that I would never see Grover again. And now I’m having my third baby with him. So don’t make any decisions yet.”

Ryan doesn’t understand. She has no clue what it’s like for me. Humble’s lies, his betrayal. She has no idea. I had no idea that her life hadn’t been all sunshine and roses. But at the same time, she has no idea what mine has been like, either.

I’m not going to compare traumas, though. It doesn’t matter. None of it does. This is a happy moment for her, and I’m not going to bring her buzz down. So, instead of telling her all about how much of an asshole Humble has been, I just give her a smile.

“I won’t make any,” I say.

But what I don’t say is that I’ve already made my decisions. I made them a while ago. My house is up for sale, and I’m leaving. I know that if I don’t, this man will suck me back into him every minute of every day. I can’t walk away from him, not willingly. So I’m going to have to just do it.

I’m going to have to pack my shit and walk away.

Run away.

Far, far away.

Once we finish our cupcakes, I stand and help Ryan to her feet. “If you tell me how to close up, I can do that so you can head home.”

She smiles, shaking her head a couple of times. “Grover is doing some stuff for the club. The sitter is still at the house. So no worries.”

It doesn’t take us long to clean the shop and lock up. It’s time to start my shift at Sal’s, so I wave to Ryan and head out to the bar. I try not to think about Humble and my predicament.

Because it is a predicament.

I have feelings for him, big and strong ones. But this man has done nothing but lie to me. The fact that I’m conflicted makes me the biggest fucking fool in the whole-ass world. Which means that I know what I need to do.

For self-preservation, it’s time for me to go. I’m just not sure if I can actually do it.