Chapter 19

19

GENESIS

I left Amity when Tinkerbell got back, but I really didn't want to go. I've got church tonight, and I know Blade would use it as another excuse to throw Amity in my face. I don't know what his fucking problem is, but I'm not putting up with it. I could understand if something shady had shown up in her background check, but it didn't. Even if it had, I doubt it would be enough to keep me away.

After making plans to meet her on set again tomorrow, I got on my bike and headed back to the compound.

Pulling into the warehouse, I park and pull off my helmet, nodding to Lil as she walks my way with a basket of clothes under her arm.

"Hey, G."

"Lil You need a hand with that?"

She glances down at the basket before looking back up at me and shaking her head. "No, I'm just putting it in the car."

"Something wrong with the machines here?"

"What? Oh, no, these aren't for washing. They're donations. There's a new homeless shelter in town that could really use them."

"Huh, I might have some shit if you want it. I was just going to toss it, but if you think they could use it, it's yours. It's nothing fancy, though—just some old jeans and shirts that don't fit anymore."

"Homeless people don't need anything fancy, trust me. They just need something to keep them warm."

"True. You need me to grab it now?"

"No. I'm not going until tomorrow, so you can just leave it outside my room."

"I'll do that."

"Thanks, G. Um… Do you think any of the other brothers will be interested in donating?"

"I don't think there's any harm in asking."

She nods, biting her lip.

Lil had always been confident and outgoing—she had to be as a club girl. She was ambitious and saw the club brothers as a way out of the poverty she grew up in. But after what went down with Bear and the club, she changed. I know she suffered at the hands of the traitors we killed, and yeah, she still plays her part, but you can see her heart isn't in it anymore. She survived, but a piece of her is still stuck in that barn where they locked up all the women.

"Ask them, Lil. The worst they can say is no."

"You're right. I'd better hurry up. Blade's been in a mood all afternoon, and I'm supposed to work behind the bar tonight. Do you think everything's alright with Conan?" She talks so fast, her words running together, that she barely stops to take a breath.

I almost shut her down. She's not an old lady, and she isn't entitled to info like that unless Blade says so. But this is Lil.

"I'm sure he's fine. We had words earlier, so if anything, he's probably just pissed at me."

She blinks, surprised I gave her that, but blows out a relieved breath. "Good. I wasn't sure, and… well, I was letting my anxiety get the better of me."

"Don't sweat it, Lil. It happens to all of us."

She lets out a small sigh but doesn't say anything else. She gives me a wave and heads to her car.

I watch her leave, thinking I might need to keep an eye on her. Hell, with both her and Legs having issues, I'm starting to wonder if there's anything going on with the rest of the club girls. None of them have said anything, but I'm not sure that they would. What happened that day broke their faith in us, and I'm not sure we've done enough to fix it.

I make it back to my room without anyone stopping me and take a shower, sadly having to wash the smell of Amity from my skin. As I do, my cock hardens as I picture her on her knees in front of me.

Groaning, I reach for my cock and start stroking it roughly. I look down and see the tip already dripping as I imagine Amity's wide eyes gazing up at me. I stroke faster, root to tip, squeezing the end a little, the bite of pain bringing me closer to the edge. I pump harder, faster, my eyes slipping closed. As soon as I picture Amity wrapping her lips around my cock, I erupt, covering my hand with cum that I wish was sliding down Amity's throat.

How the fuck I can keep getting hard with how much I've come lately, is a testament to the affect this woman has on me. And goddamn if I don't feel my softening cock start to throb all over again.

Shaking my head, I get out and dry off before getting dressed. I check the time and take a moment to straighten up my room before putting my cut on and heading to my office.

I sit down and log into my computer, pulling up the cameras to check for any issues. I see a few brothers at the gun range and a couple more at the store, but most are downstairs gathering for church. I bring up the emails and scan through them. Nothing seems urgent. I reply to the ones I need to, ignore the ones I don't, and forward Blade the ones he needs to deal with.

When I'm done, I head downstairs to the bar and grab a beer from Dice. I take a long pull just as Toot and Mac sit down on either side of me.

"Hey, haven't seen you in a couple days," Mac says before asking Dice for beers for him and Toot.

"Been busy."

"Work or play?" Toot asks with a knowing smirk.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I take another drink.

"The girl from the other night, Amity, right?" Mac asks.

I nod, not offering anything else. Mac's not usually a bad guy, but she did put him on his ass.

"You like her?"

"What is this, kindergarten?" Toot chuckles.

"Weren't you the one who told me about her being your new best friend?" Mac fires back.

"Touché. She seems like fun, though, and we could definitely use some fun around here."

I look at Toot. "You noticed it too?"

"Noticed what?" Mac looks between us both.

"The weird vibe around here. It's not like when Bear was making his move. Back then, there was some tension, but now it's more a sense of, I don't know, unease," Toot says. "People aren't on edge, just unsettled."

"I think it might have always been there and we just didn't pay enough attention to it. It's so subtle that it mostly flies under the radar. Nothing really changed with Conan giving up his VP patch and you taking over, because everyone knows and trusts you. But with Blade stepping down and a new president stepping in, one that's not even from the mother chapter… That's stirred things up, got people worried. The uncertainty of the situation is feeding the vibe.

"I have faith that Havoc will make a good president. A better one than me, for sure. People will come around eventually, but building trust takes time. And let's be honest, nobody likes change. What this club went through was fucked up. It's made us insulate ourselves against outsiders a little. People will worry, especially the club girls, that Havoc could turn out to be like Bear. But he's not, not even close. We just need to give him a chance. And honestly, maybe this kind of shake up is exactly what this club needs."

"Is that right?" Blade says from behind me. I don't flinch at his sarcastic tone. I didn't say anything I wouldn't say to his face.

I turn and lean back, my beer in hand, as I look at him. "Like you said, we're moving into a new era. With a younger generation coming through."

He looks like he's ready to call me out, but he doesn't because I'm right—he did say that. It was part of his reasons why I should be VP and Havoc should become president.

"Alright, assholes, church in five," Blade bellows before storming off.

Conan and Inigo walk over, frowning as they look at Blade's retreating back.

"What was that all about?" Inigo asks.

"Don't know. How are you doing, Conan?"

"Okay."

"I wasn't expecting to see you here today."

"I've got chemo tomorrow. Figured I'll probably miss a few church sessions when it kicks my ass, so I'd better make it to the ones I can."

"Got it."

"Where's Sunshine?" Toot asks.

Inigo grunts. "Back at Carnage with Alex and King. King's spending time with his grandkids, and Sunshine's there to make sure his sons don't kill him."

I grin. It's no secret that there's still some bad blood between King and Orion and Diesel. It was worse before they found out they have two half-sisters, Megan and Six. They seemed to have mellowed the guys somewhat, so their relationship is better now than it was, but it's far from perfect. The Kings of Carnage president and VP are friendly with their father for the most part, but with all the history and mistakes made between them, it doesn't take much to set them off.

"Besides, Luna's been threatening to crash Raven's nest if she doesn't get her Sunshine fix." Conan just shakes his head.

The old lady and resident queen of Carnage is certifiable. "Luna might have that sweet smile and those big blue eyes, but she'd gut you in a heartbeat if you hurt anyone she cared about."

"I wouldn't say she's completely crazy, though, more like your friendly neighborhood nutjob."

Mac rubs his face. "Sunshine's a handful on her own. We don't need Luna dropping in and adding to the chaos."

"I was just saying how fun Amity is. How she is what the club needs, but thinking about Amity, Sunshine, and Luna together, makes me second guess myself. I just know the little ninja will end up getting them into more trouble and they don't need any fucking help in that department, do they now?" Toot elbows me, making both Conan and Inigo look at me questioningly.

"Ninja?"

"Amity," I tell them before Toot does it for me.

"The girl who brought your drunk ass home?" Inigo asks.

I groan. "Definitely not one of my finer moments."

"No shit." Mac snorts as I glare at him.

"Like you're one to talk?" I tell Mac sarcastically. He was the one who ended up on his ass, after all.

He sighs. "I know."

I chuckle and slap his shoulder before standing when I notice everyone else starting to file into the room we use for church.

"Good. I'm not sure your pride can handle my girl kicking your ass again."

"Your girl? Fucking hell, why is it that every time we go to Carnage for a few days, we miss shit here? And when we're here, nothing ever fucking happens?" Inigo complains, making Toot laugh.

I grin as I walk into church, my smile dropping when I see Blade's pissed-off expression. I take my seat at the head of the table next to him as everyone else files in and takes their seats.

I don't say shit as we wait for them all to settle down, and then Blade starts talking. He goes over everything that needs dealing with and asks about any ongoing and new issues before bringing up the subject of Havoc.

"As most of you know by now, I'm interested in making Havoc the new president. G and I are heading out early tomorrow to see him. I've already spoken to him, so he knows what it's about."

I clench my fists under the table but keep my expression neutral.

"You got any issues with that?" He turns to me, daring me to say something. He knows he's being a dick by dropping this on me last minute, but I refuse to give him the reaction he's after.

"No, Prez." His eyes narrow because I rarely call him that. He's always been Blade to me. But right now, he's not acting like my friend. He's the one who drew the line, so I'm just following his lead. "I have a client scheduled for tomorrow morning, so I'll have to let them know I won't be available and need to reschedule."

I see something flicker in his eyes that looks a lot like guilt. Whether it's for fucking up my workday or him thinking I'd turn him down, I don't know—and I don't care. In all the years I've known him, he's been many things—stubborn, pigheaded, reckless, and dumb as hell. But he's never been a dick just for the sake of it. There's always a method to his madness, but this whole thing with Amity is really pissing me off.

Once church is over, I take off on my bike, needing the ride to clear my head. I try to figure out Blade's attitude. Am I missing something because of how badly I want her? No matter how I look at it, I don't get what Blade gains from keeping me away from her.

Yeah, she might leave, and I might not be able to do anything about it, but I'm a big boy. I'm not about to drink myself into a coma over it. He's not my father. I sure as hell don't need him to protect me. That's the only thing that makes sense. But if it's not that, then he must be doubting my ability to do my job. And if that's the case, then everything I thought about the man was one big fucking lie.

I feel naked not wearing my colors, but wearing your cut to prison is a not an option. At least riding in meant I didn't have to have to make small talk, which suits me just fine. I'm not in the mood for Blade and his brand of bullshit today.

We park our bikes in the prison parking lot and head inside, where I get frisked by a man that looks like he's enjoying himself a little too much.

"Fucking asshole could've at least bought me a drink first," I mutter, making Blade snort.

The handsy guard tells us to follow him and leads us to the visiting room next door. He shows us to a table in the corner that's bolted to the floor, along with each of the stools. We sit and wait for Havoc and the other prisoners to be brought in.

I look around the room and see a mix of people. There's a woman with a baby asleep on her shoulder, and it looks like she could really use a few more hours of sleep herself. She's at the table next to us, with an elderly couple beside her. A few tables over, a guy sits with a teenage boy who looks like his younger, moodier version of him. The rest of the visitors are women. Some of them are old, some of them younger.

When the door opens, I'm distracted from what I'm doing as the residents file in, and a mammoth of a man walks our way.

"Long time no see," Havoc says as he reaches the table.

"Jesus Christ, man. You've turned into a beast." Havoc was always big, but now the man is fucking huge.

"Not much else to do in here but work out."

Blade jumps right in. "Have you thought about my offer?"

"I figured I'd be going back home."

"A lot has happened since you've been in here."

He leans forward, staring coldly at Blade. "Considering I haven't been told anything, I don't doubt that. But what I want to know is why, all of a sudden, you want me to be president of the mother chapter? Somehow, I doubt it's because of my sparkling personality."

I look at Blade, who sighs with resignation. This is about to turn into a shitshow of epic proportions.