“And who is going to take my place? You?” Royal laughed. “I love you, Brother, but no way in hell are you leadership material. No way in hell you can handle dealing with The Millers, and they will not deal with you. They won't deal with any of you. Enough of this talking. Let's just vote on it.”
Danny wasn't sure how the vote would turn out, but that didn't sway him in his choice at all. Royal didn't deserve to wear the President patch. If the vote had been to take his patch away entirely, he'd have voted to do so. He'd violated so much of what Nightshade held sacred.
“All in favor of me being removed as President, raise your hands.” Royal rose to his feet and looked around the table. Danny's heart quickened once hands started to join his. Buster and Ace were no surprise. Neither was Rock. It came down to Train and Edge. Neither man raised their hands. Danny's stomach churned. “You needed a unanimous vote, Buster. I'd like to call for a vote of my own.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Buster leaned back in his chair. “Let me save you the trouble. All in favor of me losing my patch, raise your hands.” Danny was surprised when Edge raised his hand, but he was the only one besides Royal. “Well then, looks like that didn't work out for you, either.”
“No. It didn't.”
“The votes were called. The decision is the decision because we're all equals around here. We all make the decisions. You didn't do that tonight, Royal.” Ace cleared his throat. “Even the suggestion that Missy had something to do with what happened to Fiona and Taylor was enough to have you forgetting every promise that you made. Every promise. That isn't the club I signed up for.”
“It's not the one I signed up for either.” Train looked directly at Royal. “I didn't vote to take your patch. Maybe I should have. I'm not known for always making the right choices. All I do know is you told me that we had everyone's blessing to proceed tonight. To do the things that I did to Monroe.” Train spoke in an even and calm voice. Those who knew him knew that meant he was beyond furious. “We need to ask Missy some questions.”
“Wait. What? No. Absolutely not.” Royal got red in the face, his anger was back.
“Should we vote on it?” Buster questioned. Danny knew how the vote would go if they did and he realized that Royal knew it too.
“If any of you does anything to upset my wife, to put our child at risk, I won't call for a vote. I'll shoot you where you fucking stand. I'll talk to her.”
“And coach her what to say? I don't think so.” Train pulled out his phone. “I'm going to call her and tell her to come here and we'll all have a nice little talk.”
“I'm going to check on Monroe while we wait for her.” Danny got to his feet. Enough time had passed that he needed to call Amelia soon. And there was no way in hell he was calling her before he could tell her that Monroe was going to be just fine.
He found Jillian at the bar, a bottle of tequila in front of her. “Hey Doc, how is he?”
“I'm not a doctor.” She was quick to correct him. Even though she was Edge's sister, he didn't know much about her. To say that she wasn't around often was an understatement, Danny was pretty sure this was only the second or third time she'd been in the bar. “But I think that he's going to be okay. Nothing is broken, or at least not broken badly enough that I can tell without seeing an X-ray. He's deeply bruised over about eighty percent of his body. I imagine he'd be wishing he was dead if I didn't have him drugged to the gills.”
“Can I see him?”
“Sure. He probably won't be awake. The body needs sleep to heal. If there's someone who can sit with him and keep an eye on him, that would be great.”
Danny's first thought was Amelia, but bringing her to the bar now wasn't an option for any of them. It would be a stream of lighter fluid on the smoldering situation. “I can call Claire.”
“Great. I'd like to take off when she gets here if there's nothing else that you all need.”
“We'll make sure that you get home.” Danny replied. “And we really appreciate you coming out to help us. We won't forget it.”
“I don't expect anything in return. Eddie asked, I came.” She smiled nervously at him and he noticed she jumped as the basement door shut. She relaxed visibly at the sight of Ace which made sense, since she'd know him best because he'd sponsored Edge.
“She'll be here in half an hour,” Ace told Danny. “Apparently it takes a minimum of twenty minutes prep time before she can leave the house.”
“I'll leave the two of you to talk.” Jillian blurted out the words, turned and walked towards the stairs without a backwards glance. Of course she didn't need to look because Ace was looking hard enough for the both of them.
“She said Monroe will be okay. She did good.” Danny smirked. “Gonna give her a reward?”
“What? Wait? No.” Ace shook his head. “It's not like that with us.”
“So that's why you couldn't take your eyes off of her ass? It was a really nice ass.” Danny leaned against the bar, watched Ace try not to react. “You fucking her?”
“No. I said it's not like that. And it's not. It's...” Ace glared at him. “Don't we have bigger things to worry about right now? I need a drink. Maybe a bottle.”
“Pour me one. I've got a feeling that this is going to be a long ass night.”
<#<#<#
Missy was pissed to be there. It was obvious in the way that she stood. They were meeting in the bar, a concession to Royal's anger about the situation. “Go on. You've got questions. Ask 'em.” She tapped her foot against the floor impatiently.
“You heard her. Ask so that I can get her back home in bed where she belongs. Put this foolishness behind us.”
“Alright.” Buster cleared his throat. “Let's get down to it then. Did you have something to do with Fiona and Taylor Mason being killed?”
“Well, that's certainly direct.” Missy looked around the room and let her gaze settle on Royal. “Did I have something to do with it?” A smile crossed her lips. “Seems to me like I'd have been well within my rights if I had. After all, that cunt was fucking my Old Man and smiling in my face.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “She knew he was mine. Fucking bitch.”
“As interesting as all that is, it isn't an answer.” Buster's voice was deeper than normal. Danny risked a glance around the room and he saw that everyone was completely on edge as he was. “We're looking for more of a yes or no.”
Missy raised an eyebrow at that, her hands moved to rub over her stomach. “Yes. I killed them.” Danny wasn't sure that he'd heard her correctly at first. No one seemed to be. Even Royal's head snapped to attention. “And like I said before, I was well within my rights. And what do any of you care for? Only one who can judge me is my Old Man.”
Danny didn't realize he'd moved forward until someone grabbed his arms from behind. He fought against the hold but Ace didn't give in. “Easy, Brother, easy.”
“She's right. I am the only one who can judge her. She's mine.” Royal walked over to Missy. “You shouldn't have done that. Taylor was my daughter and Fiona...”
“Fiona was your whore!” Missy shouted the words. “I'm your wife. Your Old Lady. So fuck Fiona.”
“Get her out of here before I don't give a fuck that she's yours.” Danny snarled the words. “I don't want to see her near this bar. I'll call it to a vote right here and now.”
“And I'll second it. She's yours. She's your problem. She doesn't come near Nightshade. She reaps no benefit from Nightshade. All in favor?” Train stood as well. Everyone but Royal was in favor.
“Hold on,” Buster spoke up. “She's exiled, that's fine but we're not done with the questions. There's still the matter of the fires.”
“What fires?” Missy replied without missing a beat.
Danny didn't believe the reaction. It didn't look like anyone else did, either; skeptical looks were on every face. Every face except Royal's. He was calm. Too calm for his wife to have just admitted killing his other family. Was it shock or had he already known?
> “She just admitted to murder. Why would she lie about arson?” Royal questioned.
“There's a real good reason to lie.” Ace sighed. “See, under our rules Missy killing Fiona and Taylor was really an act against Royal, since they were also his, not the club. The arson of the Mason house was against Amelia, so technically that would be on Danny but the safe house fire, well the safe house fire was an act against Nightshade, which means Nightshade would make the decision. So if Missy does admit to the arson, she has to answer to both Danny and Nightshade.”
“I didn't set any fires.”
“What about the witness?” Danny felt like he was going to start foaming at the mouth.
“Where is this witness?” Missy smiled widely. “I thought so. Now, if we're done. I'd like to leave. I really am tired.”
“One more thing before you go.” Buster got to his feet, walked towards Missy. “There's no way that you took out two people, moved the bodies and cleaned up so well without help. Who helped you?”
“Allison.” Missy replied without hesitation. “She knocked on the door, got the bitch to answer. Helped me move them and picked the dump location. She's also how I got the knife, in case you were wondering.”
“Maybe you should ask her about the fires,” Royal suggested. “Now, if there's nothing else. I need to get my wife home.”
“One more thing. I want a vote on Amelia. On my Old Lady not being fucking exiled for speaking the truth about yours.” Danny was surprised that he could find words.
“We don't need to vote on that.” Buster spoke up quickly. “That was never a club decision. That was Royal talking out of his ass. Alright, we're done here. I don't know about the rest of you but I need a drink. A really big fucking drink.”
<#<#<#
“Tell me.” Amelia jerked the front door open before Danny could get his keys out of his pocket. “Just fucking tell me.”
“It was Missy. We called her, had her come down to the bar after the votes.” Danny watched her take the news. She didn't seem surprised. She stepped back from him.
“She just admitted it?”
“Pretty much. She spewed some bullshit at first about how she was within her rights because Royal was her Old Man. That Fiona got what was coming to her. She stopped short of admitting it, but when Buster pushed, she just let it spill out.”
“Is she dead?”
“No. She's Royal's Old Lady, it's on him what happens to her.”
“Which will be nothing at all, right? And she knew it. She knew that Royal wouldn't do a thing against her so she just fucking admitted it. That bitch.” Amelia moved even further back from him and he let her. She'd need the space to process what he was saying.
“She's insane.” It was the only explanation that Danny could come up with and he'd had time to think about it. Admitting that she'd killed a woman that Royal loved and his kid could have easily flipped him in a totally different direction. The fact that it hadn't was a pretty big disappointment to Danny. What kind of man didn't avenge the death of his child? It wasn't like Missy had killed her accidentally, it was most certainly on purpose.
“So if I kill her, it'll be up to you what happens to me?” Amelia questioned. “Because if that's the case, I'll go get my gun. If you really feel the urge to chastise me, I'll let you spank me later.”
“It's not that simple. The only person Royal has to answer to for what Missy has done is Royal, because Fiona and Taylor were his. If you kill Missy, I'll have to answer to him for what you did.” And there was no doubt in Danny's mind that he'd have him killed. He'd also have Amelia killed after. “We can do the spanking thing, though. I like the idea of that.” He hoped to distract her some from the current subject. It didn't work.
“So what do we do?” Amelia shouted. “All you've been promising me is that when we found the person, that person would die. We found the person! And she's just going to keep on living her fucking life. Prancing around the bar. Ordering the peasants to jump at her beck and call. And I'm supposed to be okay with that?”
“She won't be at the bar. She's been exiled. You're not. Screw what Royal said, you're part of Nightshade. And we might now have gotten Missy, but we know who helped her. It was Allison.”
“Are you kidding me? Let me guess, we can't touch her either.”
“No. That bitch is already dead, she just doesn't know it.”
“Missy gave her up without hesitation, right? Probably had the idea of it in her back pocket all along. Devious cunt.”
“Trust me, we're going to find Allison. We're looking for her now. We will find her.”
“I want in.”
Nothing that Amelia could have said would have surprised him more.
“Wait, what?” He cupped her face with his hands. “Amelia, think about what you're saying.”
“I am thinking about it. I. Want. In. She took my family away from me, Danny. I want to take something from her.”
Danny saw the fire in her eyes, knew that she believed it was what she had to do to find peace, but he feared that it would bring her the opposite. Amelia had never taken a life before. He had. It had changed him. It would change her. She didn't need any more change. All she needed was to finally be able to feel completely comfortable in her own skin again. “We'll see.” He pulled her to him, wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could while still letting her breathe.
“We'll see is just another way of saying no. Don't patronize me.” She pulled back from him so that she could meet his eyes.
“I don't think it's a good idea. I think that wanting to kill someone or see them die is one thing, actually doing it is a whole different thing.” Danny hoped she could understand. “I think you'll regret it. I don't want that for you.”
“I won't regret it. Trust me.”
“Trust me and let me handle this. Let me take care of it. Let me take care of you. Fuck, after all the times I've let you down, let me do this. Please.” Danny didn't know where any of that had come from but it was out there and she seemed to respond.
Her expression softened. “I love you.”
“That's good because I love you, too.” Danny pressed his lips to her forehead.
“Did you see James before you left?”
“He wasn't awake.” Danny sighed. “We need to talk about James.”
“What about him?”
“We can't tell him that it was Missy. If we do, he's going to go after her, and Royal will kill him. Let him think it was Allison. It's not like anyone is going to talk about it. It will stay within Nightshade.”
Amelia hesitated for a moment, and Danny was sure that some sort of protest was going to come from her lips but instead, she nodded. “You're right. I don't want to lose James. I don't want to lose anyone else.”
He didn't promise her that she wouldn't. He couldn't do that. The life that they'd chosen came with consequences. Each choice that they made could blow back upon them in any number of different ways. None of them held the delusion that they were untouchable. They could all be touched, killed or broken and they'd known it going in. Every single member of Nightshade, and the women who they loved, had signed on knowing the risks.
“I can take you to see him in the morning if you want,” Danny offered. “I'd say we go now but I'm going to pass out before we get there. I'm tired Amelia. So fucking tired.”
“Tomorrow is soon enough.” She reached out and took his hand. “All of this is going to affect Nightshade, isn't it?”
“That might be the understatement of the universe.” Danny hadn't even started to try to figure out what this meant for the future of the club. It was evident that most of them had lost their faith in Royal's ability to lead. If they'd taken the vote for his patch again, after Missy's admission and subsequent lack of consequences, he was sure that Royal would no longer be President. He wondered why Buster hadn't called for it.
“Enough talking. I think we can find a better way to pass the time until you can't keep your eyes open any longer.�
�� She squeezed his hand tight, pulled him with her as she started for the bedroom. For their bedroom. Even with everything that was going on, the reminder that it was their bedroom and that she was with him kept him going.
Chapter Sixteen
Amelia heard the sound of raised voices as she walked towards the room James now occupied on the second floor of the bar. In the week since his attack, there was no other word for it, he'd healed but not completely. From the sound of the fight, it seemed that he was tired of being in bed. He wanted to get up, move around and Jillian shot him down without hesitation.
At first Amelia had thought Jillian was quiet, reserved and frankly too meek for her own good, but James apparently figured out how to push her buttons. She knocked before she entered the room but didn't wait before she entered.
James looked relieved to see her. “Tell Nurse Ratched here that I don't need to be fucking coddled.” He shot Jillian a look that would have killed her if possible. It was all that Amelia could do not to laugh.
“Oh, really?” Jillian stepped forward and slapped James on the stomach. He winced and cursed. “Yeah, that's what I thought, Sunshine. It's for your own good. Now, I'll leave you to visit with Amelia, and I'll come back tomorrow. Maybe we can put you in the chair for a little while.”
“I can hardly fucking wait.” He huffed. Amelia shared an eye roll with Jillian. James was a horrible patient. “I saw that. I'm stuck in bed, not blind.”
Amelia sat down on the foot of the bed as Jillian left the room. “You know that you could be nicer to her. She's only trying to help.”
“Yeah, everyone is just trying to fucking help.” James shifted on the bed. “I can't stay here anymore. I have to get the fuck out of here. I'm going crazy.”
“You're healing.” Amelia set her hand on his leg. “And you'll be out of here soon.”
“Not that I have anywhere to go.” James flopped back against the pillow. “And the longer I sit here, not doing anything, the more I get to think about how my life has gone to fucking shit.”
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