Library

19. Switch

19

SWITCH

I should have taken my wife shopping this morning instead of driving her around on my bike and fucking her senseless in my room at the clubhouse. If I had, she'd be comfortable in what she's wearing instead of feeling self-conscious in the red dress I married her in.

She shouldn't be standing in here at the party my club is throwing for us, constantly fiddling with the straps of the dress to cover the worst of her scars or tugging at the hem.

Even though she looks pretty as a fucking picture as she talks to Rae and Ari.

She's keeping her distance. I know I gave her a lot to think about, so I'm respecting that.

"She's still right where you left her," King tells me as we lean our backs on the bar.

"Just making sure she's comfortable. It's a big adjustment."

Rock music blasts. Everyone is here: Prospects. Hangarounds.

King chuckles. "She's fine. We couldn't keep your dad away from the clubhouse while he was back. Think he's missing the life."

"You think you'll be an Outlaw forever?" I ask King.

He eyes me carefully. "The code says we're Outlaws forever. There isn't a choice."

"I mean, Dad got out."

"On grounds of moving somewhere we don't have a chapter and four decades of incredible service to the club. Smart man only having one Outlaw tattoo. Lasering it off wasn't too painful." King studies me carefully. "Why? You thinking of leaving us?"

I shake my head. "Nah. I'm just wondering what life looks like when we're sixty. There was this whole older generation we looked up to when we were kids. Like that summer you were dating Sarah Shellis and we went to Sturgis with them. Your dad was this larger-than-life legend. Cue Ball was his infallible vice president. Now a whole new generation is in charge."

"It's how it's meant to be." King knocks back a large swig of his beer. "It's wild you remember Sarah Shellis's name but can't remember which clubhouse room is yours."

"Truth. What's with you and Niro now? It's like the two of you are brothers. The last I remember, you guys rubbed each other the wrong way."

King looks over to where Niro has his arm around Iris's shoulders. The two of them are teasing Spark, from the angry look on his face, while they laugh.

"It's fair to say we've come to terms."

A prospect rushes into the clubhouse. "Prez. You got a problem. Vincenzo Viscuso is outside with a shit ton of his snake house, armed to the teeth. Says he needs to speak to a mouthy Outlaw with a fucking scar." He looks over to Niro.

"Fuck." The word is out of my mouth and my eyes on Sophia before I can stop myself.

"You take one step towards your wife before telling me what you know about this, and I'll drop you where you stand."

"Prez. The Italians?" The prospect seems edgy. Nervous.

Scared.

Maybe he should be. But Outlaws never show fear. So, he's fucked. Doesn't know he just earned a high-speed ticket out of the prospect program.

"They're fucking Sicilians. And they can wait," King says.

"But they didn't seem too willing to?—"

He's stopped by the appearance of King's SIG pointing straight at him.

"I said they can wait. Go out and tell them we're discussing their request." He looks at me, then yells, "Church. Now."

There are groans.

Confused mutterings.

But I ignore them all and make my way to Sophia. I need to tell her what's happening before King tells me I can't.

"What's going on?" she asks.

"Your dad is standing outside our clubhouse, demanding to speak with Niro."

Her mouth opens. "What? My father is here? How?"

I take her hand. "Don't say anything unless directly asked. Let me lead. Trust me to know what's best for us. So far, he's only asked to speak to Niro."

Her fingers tighten around mine, and something about her drawing strength from me makes me feel like a giant. There's a galvanizing, of sorts. Of the person I used to be and who I am. A better man with all the wisdom I've learned along the way. Even if I don't remember it all.

"I can leave with him," she says. "I don't want you or the club to get into trouble or get hurt."

I pause and kiss her. Don't give a shit who sees it. Don't give a fuck if the whole club is waiting for me in church. "To be true and loyal. For better or worse. I'm not letting you leave with them."

Sophia looks up at me, a vulnerability etched in her features. "Then please keep me away from them. I'll run anywhere with you."

I nod, and we walk to the door to church together. "The windows are glass. Sit right here so I can see you at all times. Do not move. Don't let anybody tell you to. The only safe place is where I can see you."

"I promise I won't move," she says, and I lift her onto one of the long tables that sit outside.

I kiss the end of her nose. "Don't get any ideas about being a hero, either, Soph. If you run to them, I'll be forced to hurt people to get you back. We clear?"

As I say the words, I feel a settling in my own skin. I can't explain it.

As I enter, King is talking to Niro, who is sitting back in his chair without a care in the world. "You wanna tell me why there are Sicilians outside the door asking to speak to you?"

Niro shrugs. "Saw them at the rehab center. The twins. They were visiting someone. We were visiting someone. They said I could fuck them."

Catalina huffs. "They said, ‘Fuck you.'"

"Same thing," Niro says.

"Did you kill any of them?" King asks.

Niro screws up his face in disgust. "What kind of question is that?"

Spark places his elbows on the table. "You forgotten how many people you killed for no reason in the past?"

Niro pulls his phone out of his cut pocket and pretends to flip through it for something. "Thirty-eight who fucking deserved it. Nineteen who were dubious. Only one I think probably was innocent, but who knows. He could have grown up to be the next Hitler and I did the world a favor." Then he puts his phone down.

Halo hides his grin behind his hand.

"So why are they here asking for you?" Clutch asks.

Niro pauses for a second. I sense his conflict. He wants to be loyal to the club, but he also made a promise to me.

And given Sophia's father is outside the door, the truth is going to be revealed real soon.

King notices I've joined them. "This better not be about your fucking wife."

"My wife is Sophia Viscuso, Vincenzo's youngest daughter."

"Fuck me," King curses.

Saint rubs a hand over his jaw. "Is that why you insisted on keeping things informal at the wedding? Why you only used first names?"

I nod. "It was."

King forms a tight fist, then releases it. "So, this is just an internal family thing? Wait, why did he ask for Niro and not you or his daughter?"

"I asked Niro to help break us out of the center when we realized her father intended to marry her to the head of another family in Sicily, and given how I felt about her and she felt about me, we weren't prepared to let that happen," I say. "We overheard her brothers, the twins, discussing it. They were making plans to transport her via private jet to Sicily."

"You can't chase your wife all the way to Italy." King's volume increases with every word.

"I'll chase her to the ends of the goddamn earth if I have to." The words don't feel like a lie. They don't feel like an act. Now that trouble is at our door, that someone wants to take Sophia from me, I'm faced with the knowledge that I'll die to stop them.

King shakes his head. "We aren't getting involved with the fucking Cosa Nostra, Switch. Not for you nor the woman you barely know outside. If your fucking bitch brought trouble to our door, she needs to fix it herself," King says.

My hand automatically closes into a fist, but I rein in my temper. "Don't speak about my wife like that." I look around the room, and then I find my voice. "I'm guessing that at some point over the past ten years, I've earned the patch of medic. I'm guessing I've kept some of you alive either by my own hands or until we could get you to a hospital. Clutch?"

Clutch nods. "Bunch of times. Got shot when they came after Gwen, and you patched me up."

"Saved my fucking life when I came off my bike trying to get to Catalina," Niro says.

Vex sits, his arms folded. "Saved me twice. Thank you, brother."

I look at King. "And you?"

He folds his arms across his chest. "Stitched me up too many times to remember, but you saved my life when the fucking Brotherhood broke into my house and shot me."

Halo stands. "You saved Ari and Lola's life, and that's how we all ended up here."

"Well, then. I'm calling in those tickets. If I ever saved your life or the life of someone you loved and you said you'd pay me back one day, I'm claiming it now. I need Sophia. Can't fucking explain it. Feel like she's been put in my path to bring me back here. Seeing Catalina, Rae, and Saint here gives me faith that the club knows how to have a brother's back, even when the circumstances make no sense."

I glance over to Sophia outside the room. She's facing me, biting the side of her thumb, something I know she does when she's nervous.

"I've got your back," Halo says. "Without question."

"So do I," Niro says.

"We vote when I say we're fucking ready," King says. "There are real consequences. The five families might hate each other, but they hate the rest of us even more. We don't need even more heat."

Vex stands. "I'm going to stand with Switch too. Brothers first, before all things. Plus, it's really gonna piss the Sicilians off. I feel like that's a bonus."

Saint stands and looks at King. "Brother," he says. "We know a thing or two about finding love where you shouldn't."

"Don't fucking start with that shit," King says.

Saint smiles softly. "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins."

"Spark?" King says.

"As a brother, I get it. Switch has stitched me up a fair few times and came on the raid to get Iris back. But as sergeant at arms, I can't justify us getting into it with the Sicilians over pussy."

I stare at Spark for a moment, wanting to hate him for what he just said. But the truth is, I get it. "You call my wife ‘pussy' again and there won't be enough men is this room to stop me from getting to you."

He holds his hands up in the sign of surrender. "Poor choice of words, but you get the idea."

"Let me go out and talk with them," Niro says. "They're gonna ask if we saw her. We say no. They're likely going to demand to search the property, and we'll tell them to go fuck themselves with barbwire."

"I'm gonna take a vote, just so this can go down in history as the most collectively dumbass decision we ever made."

"Wait," I say. "Can we do a vote before that?"

King rolls his eyes. "What the fuck can you possibly want more than the club agreeing to stand with you on this?"

"I want you to do it because she's my old lady."

Clutch shakes his head. "Dude. You've known the bitch for like, half a heartbeat. You've married her, let it be enough."

A memory comes, but it's sharp around the edges. I wince at the ache that comes with it. "You were sneaking in and out of Camelot's room when your bitch was in there. You thought I didn't see you, but I put two and two together and kept it to myself. Did you let it be enough?"

"Fuck you talking about Gwen like that."

"So, you can refer to Sophia as a bitch, but you can't take it when I call Gwen one? Fuck you."

An arm comes around me. Halo's.

I hadn't realized I'd leaned across the table to Clutch.

I shake Halo off and stand up straight.

For the first time, I look out of the window into the bar and see all the old ladies and prospects watching us.

"Sophia already hurts because of her injuries. Don't make her hurt even more because you don't want her."

"Brother," Bates says. He's been quiet this whole time. "It's not that we don't want her. She's a lovely woman. But we don't know what she's done. Fuck, she could even be a plant for all you know. Bit convenient you overheard her brothers plotting some nasty shit and then you end up married to her. You gotta give us time to believe it."

"You know what, given her father is outside, clearly trying to track her down, even though she has told her family repeatedly that she is okay, I don't got fucking time, Bates. I already feel like I was on the outside because of the shit going on with my head. You know, because I got my brains knocked halfway across Jersey trying to protect someone else's old lady and kid. So, fuck you all. Fuck you all for not knowing me well enough to have my back fully." I look to King. "Your dad is one of the last real things…I remember. Camelot…would …" Words are escaping me again. I'm too wound up to manage my reactions. "He'd be fucking pissed…we're even…debating this. I'll go. Talk to her father alone. And then I'll be out of here after dark. I'll send you pictures of my…club ink removed within six months."

I walk toward the door, but Spark and Bates beat me to it. "Cool your heels, brother," Spark says.

Of course, the sergeant at arms and his enforcer would try to stop me.

My eyes meet Sophia's. I can see the fear in them. For me. For her. For what's outside the clubhouse. She stands, but I tip my chin back to the table, encouraging her to sit.

Iris and Briar are standing with her.

Bates nudges me back to my chair. "Sit the fuck down, Switch, before I'm forced to knock you down."

I shake my head. "Not sure I belong there anymore, Miles."

The use of his first name seems to have an overwhelming effect on everyone in the room.

"This is bullshit," Vex says. "No one who has sat at this table for so many years should feel unwelcome at it."

"It's not a fucking simple thing, though," Spark says. "No one is rejecting Switch. But we can't just invite a war with the fucking Cosa Nostra. They got fucking captains and armies. Their bench depth way exceeds ours."

King slaps his hand on the table. "Fine. We vote. Do we stand with Switch and Sophia?"

"Easy yes." Halo nods in my direction, but the word feels so loaded.

"No," Spark and Bates say at the same time.

"Too much trouble for the club," Spark says. "Sorry."

Vex nods. "Yes. We stand for each other over everything, or we don't stand for anything at all."

"I know what it means to be on the wrong side of something threatening," Saint says. "Yes."

Clutch squeezes King's shoulder. "Listen. It's a fight we were already in. We know they've been battling Cillian up at the docks. It's only a matter of time before they come for the New Jersey side too. Does this up the stakes a bit? Sure. But it's not like we weren't on their radar, given they've been on ours for months."

I take a breath. Then another. I stand because I can't stay seated any longer. Bates moves beside me again. And while I'm not about to storm out of here again, I shrug his hand off me.

Spark sighs. "Valid point. Change of vote. Yes."

"What Spark said," Bates says. "Yes."

Niro throws his arm over Catalina's shoulder. "We've always been a yes."

She nods. "We have. But I can answer for myself. Yes."

"Then we go out as one," King says. "Yes?"

I should be happy. I should feel a sense of relief.

But it feels like the club's uncertainty, their lack of immediacy in supporting me, just did more damage than my accident ever did.

Comments

0 Comments
Best Newest

Contents
Settings
  • T
  • T
  • T
  • T
Font

Welcome to FullEpub

Create or log into your account to access terrific novels and protect your data

Don’t Have an account?
Click above to create an account.

lf you continue, you are agreeing to the
Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy.