Vicious Chapter 13

Our next major hurdle to overcome was a meeting with the officers. Yesterday, after returning and talking to Micaela, Dragon reached out and asked Sin and the others if they would have time to meet with the three of us on a personal, important matter. Our president didn't take long to reply, saying yes and giving us a time. We'd stated that not all had to be present if not doable, but as many as possible would be great.

Our only hope was that Daredevil wouldn't beat us to their ears and set them against the idea. If he had, I'd be hard-pressed not to beat the hell out of him. I wouldn't be able to kill him, or Micaela would never forgive me, but a beating might do him some good.

It was early afternoon, and we'd left work early to meet at the clubhouse. We were gathered in the common room, waiting to be called wherever the officers wanted to meet, which was likely in church. Sin's office wasn't big enough.

"Daredevil glared fucking daggers at me all day. I waited for him to jump me or cause a scene, but he didn't. Probably doesn't want anyone to know his sister is with three men. Rampage asked me what was up with us. I told him it would be clear soon. He wasn't exactly happy with my answer, but he didn't push. He has to have an idea. I think everyone has seen us with her," Ashes muttered.

The other members were still at work, so we had the common room to ourselves, except for Colton and Cullen running in and out doing their duties. They gave us curious looks. We'd been here for about ten minutes. It was almost meeting time. Where the hell was Sin and the others?

The thought barely swam through my brain before the sound of boots came up the hallway. Glancing in that direction, I saw it was Sin, Executioner, Saint, and Phantom. The only one missing was Talon, our treasurer. Pres motioned for us to follow them. We got up and did so. I was ready to get this over with. I was right. We went into church.

Executioner was the one to close the door and lock it behind us. We took our usual seats around the table. As expected, Sin was at the head with Saint on his left and Ex on his right. All of them wore serious expressions. Fuck, this didn't bode well. More tension filled me. I fought not to glance at Dragon and Ashes. I knew if the club denied this, I'd have to leave. It would be a betrayal I didn't see myself getting over. My life had been void of love. Surely, the club wouldn't hurt me by denying this. They hadn't denied Bullet and Phalanx when they asked. Sin, clearing his throat, brought me back to what was happening in the room. I placed my eyes on him.

"Alright, you guys asked for this meeting. Talon is trying to get away, but he's unsure if he'll finish meeting with an auditor in time. He sends his apologies," Sin explained.

As treasurer, Talon did the books for all the businesses, which was more than a full-time job, considering how many we had. It was one reason he'd taken on an assistant. Desi was helping him. From her time working at Blossoms for Jackie and the classes she was taking at college, she had a head for numbers. It allowed her to work from home more and care for her son, Shane. She still helped Jackie, but mainly behind the scenes.

Ahead of time, it was decided Dragon would be the main one to speak since he tended to be a little more diplomatic than Ashes and way more so than me. He answered Sin.

"We appreciate as many of you could do this on such short notice. Thank you. We didn't want it to wait."

"Well, seeing as you bunch seem to be circling around Daredevil's sister, we thought it was worth it to prevent bloodshed," Saint stated solemnly.

"You guessed it. We are here about Micaela. Has Daredevil spoken to you?" Dragon asked.

"We're here to talk about what you have to say, not what Daredevil has or hasn't said. Although, I will say he has a right to be upset. I never thought any of you would be game players with a member of one of your brothers' families," Sin stated disapprovingly.

"That's not what this is about!" I angrily said before I was able to stop myself. Dragon and Ashes both gave me quelling looks.

"Oh, it's not? Then explain what it is. To the rest of us, it appears you're all sniffing around his sister. I don't know if she's sleeping with all of you or you're trying to get her to sleep with one of you, but it's not continuing. I'm ordering you to stay away from her," Sin demanded.

"Sin, that's not—" Dragon started to say, but I cut him off. Screw it. If Sin and the others were already on Daredevil's side, nothing we said would change that.

"You can't do that," I popped off.

"Oh, I can't? I think this cut says I'm the president of this club. I can and will do it."

"Shh," Dragon hissed to me.

"You're right. As the president of this club, you can order it. And as a member, I'd have to obey. However, there's one thing you didn't take into account."

"What's that?" Saint asked.

"If I'm not a member, then you have no say over what I do. We're wasting our time. They're siding with Daredevil. They don't care what we have to say." I went to rise.

Executioner's fist came down on the table. "Sit your ass down! Sin isn't done talking."

Gritting my teeth, I sank back into my chair.

"Sorry, but this is beyond important to us. Do you want to hear our side, or have you already decided to side with Daredevil?" Ashes quietly asked though I knew he was seething, too.

"Why don't you tell us what your side is? Then we'll go from there," Sin ordered.

"Yes, we've all been spending time with Micaela, and we've even taken her out on dates, each of us. We've been attracted to her from the moment we met her. Fortunately, she saw enough in us to be willing to get to know us. We kept it quiet to avoid putting pressure on her, but it was hard not to be seen with her. She's only here for a month. We didn't have time to sit back and wait," Dragon explained.

"So, as part of this getting to know each other, did it include more than dates? Are any of you sleeping with her?" Saint asked.

I was about to erupt again, but Ashes answered first. "No disrespect, but that's not really any of your business. I can't recall you asking other brothers if they'd slept with their women or not. And as far as I know, even before we patched in, none had to explain themselves like this to the club."

"That's true, and it was because none of them were family members to a member or was being mistreated," Sin stated.

I swear I would have a stroke before this fiasco was over if I kept my mouth shut. Trying to contain my rage, I clenched my fists underneath the table. I tried to distance myself from what they were yammering about. All I wanted was to get it over with.

"How have we mistreated her?" Dragon asked.

As their voices washed over me, for some reason, I began to think about my life growing up. The lack of love or even common decency was harshly apparent. It had almost destroyed me as a kid. I swore when I got out at eighteen, I'd never let anyone do it to me again. Just like that, images of those years began to crowd in on me. I tried to shove them down, but it was no use. My breathing sped up as I fell into them, and I broke out in a sweat.

That hated voice was screaming at me. The blows and kicks hurt. Memories of me begging and crying for it to stop bombarded me. The refusal to be believed when I told gutted me. I had to escape, was the refrain in my head. Arms and legs lashed out to gain my freedom. The next thing I knew, I was pinned to the wall, fighting for my life. Faces were crowding around me. I lashed out, and I hit the nearest blurry figure. There was shouting and hands on me. I struck again. Goddamn it, this time I would get away!

I was in a haze of punches and kicks. What finally registered was someone shouting to move back. When the bodies did, and I was able to clearly see who it was and where I was, I sagged against the wall at my back and then sank to my ass. I was gasping for air.

"Stay back. He's having a flashback," Ashes snapped.

"Hey, V, look at me. You're fine. You're safe and here with me and Ashes," Dragon added as he crouched nearby, making sure not to be within reach. He was talking softly and making sure to keep his distance.

As awareness of where I was, who they were, and what I'd just done filled me, embarrassment filled me. Son of a bitch, of all times to have one of these. It would have to be in the middle of a meeting with the officers. None of them knew about my PTSD. Dragon and Ashes did because we spent the most time together and shared shit we didn't with the other members. After I had one in front of them when we were prospects, I felt I had to explain why.

Being the friends they were, even early on, they'd kept it to themselves. I had control over it, except on rare occasions. My therapist at the VA told me I would likely never completely be free of them, although they would decrease over time. They had eased tremendously from what they were. I had been ashamed of them for so long. I felt weak. Why couldn't I forget that shit? Hell, the things I did in the military haunted me far less often than my childhood did. It should be the other way around.

"What the hell brought that on, brother?" Saint asked kindly, but with underlying worry, I think.

Glancing around at them, I saw concern and puzzlement. Ex had a red spot on his face. Shit, he must've been the one I hit. Phantom was the only one who didn't appear confused besides Dragon and Ashes. He was sympathetic-looking but not puzzled. Even though he'd never mentioned it, I had no doubt with his skills, he'd discovered what growing up for me had been like, hell.

I knew I owed them an explanation on top of what we were already in the middle of. Fucking great. Pushing up with my legs and hands, I stood up. I was shaky. They parted to allow me to retake my seat. I didn't even recall standing up. They slowly retook theirs.

"I checked out while you were talking to stop from getting more pissed off. I ended up thinking about growing up, and then I went down memory lane. The next thing I knew, hands were on me, and voices were yelling, and I struck out. Sorry, Ex, for hitting you and anyone else I did."

"No need to be sorry. We're sorry we triggered you. I gotta ask, why would this conversation make you think of growing up?" Saint asked.

"Because you intend to take my only chance at love and a family away. I swore no one would do it again."

"Obviously, we need to talk more about Micaela, but first, tell us what you mean by again," Sin said. I knew it was an order, not a request, but they deserved to know.

"My mom died when I was two. My dad was lost without her. When I was almost four, he remarried. My stepmother was a bitch, or at least she was to me. Around Dad, she acted sweet as pie and pretended she loved me. When he wasn't there, she was an abusive bitch. All she did was scream and berate me. I never knew when I'd be hit, kicked, beaten with a belt, or anything else she might pick up. Broken bones, bruises, and cuts were explained away as me just being a rambunctious boy."

They all grimaced and exchanged glances.

"That shit sucks, V. Don't take this wrong, but why didn't you tell your dad?" Sin asked.

"I did, more than once. He didn't believe me. She'd cry and bemoan how I hated her, and all she wanted was my love. Until the third time, when I went crying to him. He told me if I accused her of such an awful thing again, he'd send me off to where they would punish lying little boys, so I shut up. I knew no one would believe a kid against the woman who had been voted teacher of the year multiple times. Why would they if my own dad didn't? Her students and their parents loved her. She was a saint to them. I learned to endure until I was eighteen. As soon as I graduated, I left for the military. Unfortunately, I was left with issues from it. It's really fucked up when you think about it. Can you believe that those memories are a bigger trigger than all the shit I've done since, in the military and the club?" I paused to let it sink in, plus I was exhausted just telling them that much.

"Christ, why didn't you tell us? We could've gotten you help. I'm sure Adara would be glad to work with you. Hell, any of us are here if you need us, in whatever way you need," Executioner said.

"I do have help. I go to the VA and see a therapist there. It's better, believe it or not. I haven't had one in a long time."

"Until we triggered one. Fuck, I'm sorry, V. I wish I'd known. It appears these two knew," Sin pointed to my best friends.

"Yeah, he had an episode when we were prospects. He told us about his childhood. He's telling the truth. They happen way less often than when we first found out about them," Ashes admitted.

"And you're the only ones he's told?" Saint asked.

I glanced at Phantom, which made the others look at him. Phantom grimaced. "I knew from the background check I do on everyone who wants to join the club. I didn't mention it since it didn't affect his functioning in the club. I thought it was his place to share it if he wanted. We all have things we might not want made public knowledge, even to our brothers. It's not fun knowing shit I shouldn't know about my family."

"Hey, we get it. I hope when you were digging around, you found out someone finally outed the bitch. I doubt with Vicious gone, she stopped. V, have you seen them since you left for boot camp?" Sin asked.

"Nope. I don't have a clue what happened to them."

"I do. Do you want to know?" Phantom asked me. I had to take several moments to think about it before I nodded.

"It seems a few years after Vicious left, she was caught abusing a student. V's dad couldn't deny it was a case of lying that time. There was evidence. She was put on paid leave while they investigated. He confronted her with it. She admitted it and then admitted what she did to Vicious. It was big news. I found the articles which led me to the police reports. Apparently, his dad forced her to sign a confession of what she did to Vicious and other select kids over the years. He wrote out his regret about never believing his son and how much he hated himself for it. I'm sorry, Vicious. He killed her with a shot to the head, then he shot himself," Phantom confessed.

I had to admit, even as angry as I was to this day at my dad for his part in it, hearing he was gone saddened me. The knowledge she wasn't breathing anymore filled me with happiness. I hated the thought of those other kids she hurt.

"Damn. It's a goddamn travesty. Vicious, if you need anything, you let us know. You don't have to tell others if you don't want to, but we're here if you need us. I hate to add to your stress, but are you alright with continuing to discuss Micaela, or should we postpone this?" Sin asked hesitantly.

"No, Micaela is way more important than this. We need this decided today."

"Okay, so while you were lost in your head, these two were saying you weren't fooling around with her," Saint supplied.

"They're right. It's not. The bottom line is we all want to be with her and not temporarily. We're already half in love with her. Fortunately, she feels the same way about us. We've talked and want something similar to what Phalanx and Bullet have with Raine." I directed this to Saint since she was his sister-in-law, and then I continued.

"It's called a reverse harem of all things when it's more than two men involved. Anyway, yesterday, Daredevil confronted her about the fact people have been talking about seeing her leaving with us on our dates. He said some horrible things to her. He basically called her a whore, saying she was acting like a bunny or hang around. She was so hurt she packed her shit and went to a hotel in town. We found this out afterward when we asked to talk to her. One thing led to another, and we ended up talking to Daredevil about what he said. It didn't go well. Of course, if he already spoke to you, you know that."

"First, Daredevil hasn't said a word to us about it. Second, we knew you guys were hanging around her a lot. We heard whispers she'd been seen leaving with you guys. We were about to bring it up with you again when we got your request to talk to us. I can't say I ever thought we'd be faced with this kind of relationship. It sounds like one of your mom's books," Ex uttered to Sin, who rolled his eyes.

"No shit, it does. Maybe we need her to educate us on this topic. I want to make sure we have this straight. You three want to what? To make sure you all can handle having something permanent with her as a group? Or you're already positive about your feelings and want to request a vote immediately to make her your old lady?" Sin asked.

Without hesitation, I said, "A vote to make her our old lady. We don't see our feelings changing other than to get deeper."

"An old lady vote," Ashes tagged onto mine.

"Without a doubt, the vote," Dragon finished up.

"Well, shit. Okay, so first, it seems we need to talk to Daredevil. Now, before you go off, hear me out. He has the right to voice his concerns to us, just as you have. As soon as he has, we'll bring the whole club together and explain what is being requested. The vote will be taken. You know it doesn't have to be unanimous, just a majority. My question is, are you prepared for the fallout if Daredevil doesn't agree or the vote doesn't go your way?" was Sin's next question.

"We are." all three of us said at once.

"And how will you handle it? We can't have members fighting among each other," Executioner warned.

"In that case, we'll leave," I said firmly.

This caused them to get restless, and exchange looks that I couldn't quite fathom. "That's drastic, don't you think?" Phantom asked.

"Would you leave for Tamysin, Piper, Skye, or Lyric if the club refused to accept them as your old lady?" I fired back. I knew I had them. We all knew they'd do anything for their women. Why would we be any different with Micaela? One by one, they shook their heads before answering.

"I would pick my old lady even though I love the club and my family here," Saint answered.

"Without a doubt, it would have to be Skye and our kids," Executioner said.

"Tamysin will always be my priority," Phantom remarked.

"I created this club, and I put my heart, soul, blood, and tears into it, but if Lyric was denied her place at my side, then I'd walk," Sin finished their round of answers. Before we were able to say anything about their replies, Sin continued.

"However, there will be no more talk of leaving. I highly doubt the majority of our brothers will vote against her. What we can't allow to occur is fighting between you and Daredevil. Shit like that will tear a club apart."

"As long as he doesn't wage a campaign against her or us and leaves us alone to live our lives how we see fit, then we won't. But he won't be so lucky if he goes after her with the name-calling again or anything worse. We promised her not to touch him unless he hit us first yesterday. We were able to keep that promise, barely. We don't know why he's reacting so badly, but it's not gonna be tolerated. She almost got on a plane and called it quits before she knew we all felt the same way as she did," Dragon informed them.

"Here's what we'll do. We'll call church. We need time to talk to Daredevil first, so bear with us. As soon as we do, I'll have church called, and we'll tell the club. Is that agreeable?" Sin asked.

I looked at Ashes and Dragon. They nodded. "Yes, that works," I said back.

"Okay, let's table this for now. I think we all could use a drink. Let's go grab one at the bar and relax. The others will soon be coming in from work. I'll try to get him to sit down tonight. It might be a good idea for you guys to make yourself scarce while we do," Sin suggested.

"Way ahead of you. We've got to get back to town. Micaela is still at the hotel. We're trying to get her to come back and stay in one of the trailers or with us. She's afraid of running into her brother and there being more scenes," Ashes told them.

"God, alright, one drink, then you go. See if you can get her back. One of the three-bedroom trailers is available if you need it," Saint added.

"We'll let her know. Thanks," Dragon replied.

Sin rose up, signaling the meeting was over, so the rest of us stood and followed him out to the common room and over to the bar. Neither prospect was around, so Ex went behind the bar and started handing out beers. Dropping down on a barstool, I took a big swallow. I let their conversation wash over me as I contemplated our next steps. Before anything else, we had to convince Micaela to return to the compound. Daredevil be damned.