“What happens if your dad is voted out tonight? Who’s going to take his place?”
“You’ll have to vote someone else in,” he says, shrugging.
Being out here alone with the kid isn’t good for him, it’s giving him too much time to think of this shit.
“Who would you say I should vote in?” I ask, looking down at him.
“It’s your choice?”
Nah, I’m not having this.
“Bullshit. You rile up this shit storm and now you’re pussying out at the last minute. Who would you vote in?”
He doesn’t answer me, and I can tell he’s not going to either.
“Your dad is the best guy for the job, and you know it. You should know I’m not voting against him.”
“Why would you not, his lie worked out for you. He didn’t break your trust.”
I’m glad the kid is here, if she wasn’t I would be knocking sense into her father.
“You need your head checking, he’s your fucking dad,” I yell.
“You need to leave, raise your voice again around my girl and I’ll make you fucking leave,” he says, hard and quiet.
“Sorry, alright, and I’m going. I just hope you think this over before tonight and change your mind. You’re a Lost Soul through and through, just like me, it’s in our bones, no one is going to let you go.”
Jumping to his feet, he gets in my face and pins me with his stare.
“I don’t give a fuck, they can try and stop me but what I choose to do, I will do. You get me?”
“Yeah, I got you.”
“Good, now fuck off.”
I don’t hang around to be told twice and pray something, anything, changes his mind in the next eight hours. I end up leaving angrier and confused then when I arrived and a dull ache forms in the back of my head. Breaking it down, Harper is good, Ellis is most definitely dead, and we have a heard of Crows who are all going to lose their lives very fucking soon. This vote needs to swing Cas’s way and life can go back to normal, I can’t take much more of this. Leo has to work through his demons and I can have my brother back.
Harper
“I want you at my mom’s tonight, I’ll drop you off and pick you up after the vote.”
Is the first thing I hear from JJ when he walks through the door and into the kitchen.
“Why?”
I was planning on staying home and figuring out what I’m going to do with my life. I need a job. It’s been a while since I’ve worked and living off JJ isn’t my idea of happiness. I like the routine of working; it sounds strange but it’s true.
“Because I’ll be happier knowing you’re not here alone.” Is all he says.
He’s tense and paces the kitchen while stroking his beard over and over.
There aren’t any marks on his knuckles and there aren’t any bruises on his face. He couldn’t have fought with Leo, but something has happened and I’m afraid to ask, so I carry on searching the local paper for anything that will get me out the house and wait for him to sort through whatever is running through his head.
He runs the faucet and fills a glass with water. He drinks the lot and leaves the glass in the sink, ready for Cinderella here to wash it up.
It doesn’t look like he’s going to say anything any time soon and I can’t stand the silence any longer, so I ask, “Are you going to tell me how it went with Leo?”
“He’s leaving.”
“The club?”
He nods. “After the vote, he’s laying his cut down like Slade did.”
“Why?”
“For Rayna. He was talking about getting a job, being there for her every night, it was bullshit. I’m hoping he’ll change his mind, or the brothers can because I failed.”
Nudging the chair next to mine with my foot, he sits down and hangs his head in his hand on the table.
“Everything is changing and it’s all happening so fast. First Slade, now Leo. What if Cas leaves tonight, who will take his place? I don’t think it’d be my dad, he knew everything and everyone knows he’s loyal to Cas.”
I run my nails through his hair and over his scalp and lick my lips.
“I guess it’s a matter of waiting for tonight and seeing what happens.”
A small moan escapes from him and I guess I’ve said the wrong thing?
“We should still leave, pack our things and go, that way I can dodge the vote, Leo can hate me from his cabin, and I won’t have to possibly watch Cas rip his president patch off.”
It’s unlike him to dwell on anything and I start to feel his anxiety.
“I’ll go to your mom’s tonight,” I tell him so it’s one thing off his mind.
“Thank you.”
The rest of the day is spent quietly moving around each other, not having anything to say because it’s all guesswork. This is the biggest event to happen to the club is recent years and my husband is not dealing with it so well, it’s getting to him and I pray Leo changes his mind, because I think he’s the reason Jay is so quiet.
They’re more than club brothers, they’re as close as real brothers.
I finish folding the clean laundry and put it away as JJ starts putting his boots on. I guess it’s time to leave. Wordlessly, we prepare to leave and Jay ditches his bike in favour of driving me to his mom’s place. All the way there he holds my hand and I remember how much I freaking love him.
Sparky and Bonnie are hugging on the porch when we pull up to their house and I wish JJ and me are like them in twenty-odd years’ time.
“I don’t know how long I’m going to be, please don’t leave until I come for you.”
“Hey, stop worrying. I’ll be here,” I promise him.
I can’t wait for this to be over. I don’t like seeing him under this pressure. Sparky kisses Bonnie goodbye and walks over to the car.
“Are you not riding?”
“Not until my bike is fixed up, I thought I’d fixed it up but something is wrong with it so dad said he’ll come with me,” he says with a small shrug.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Sparky in a car before. Whenever he and Bonnie go out together, she is either on the back of his bike or driving alone while he rides.
He opens my door for me, and I quickly lean over kiss JJ. “Good luck,” I whisper and hop out. Sparky jumps in my place and before I’ve stepped onto the porch, he’s throwing the car into gear and wheel spinning up the drive.
“He’s going to break my car one day,” I murmur and Bonnie chuckles.
“Come on, we’ve got a long night ahead of us and I need wine.”
I plan on drinking water but when I step into the kitchen and see Alannah feeding Rayna, I change my mind and accept a glass of white from Bonnie.
Alannah’s eyes are red rimmed and slightly puffy. I sit at the other end of the table to her and smile at the baby when she looks my way.
“Are you okay, Alannah?” I ask.
If she’s upset about tonight, maybe it’s going to go worse than I can imagine.
“Leo warned me this will be the last time I see Rayna. He heard from JJ that I knew what Cas did and he’s not in the forgiving or understanding mood.”
“But you didn’t agree with him, that’s not fair.”
“When are you going to learn, Harper. Fair doesn’t come into it, I may not have agreed with my husband’s actions, but I still didn’t tell Leo. He’s seeing it as a betrayal.”
I keep my mouth shut and drink half my wine. Leo said he has no issues with me, but now he’s not talking to his parents and his relationship with Jay is strained all because of me. Fuck, this is so out of control.
“Leo will come around, Lana, I’m sure of that, and after tonight, everyone will know where they stand.”
“Cas might not survive this if they go against him,” she murmurs and scrapes the bowl for one last spoonful of food for Rayna.
Neither Bonnie nor I say anything, and I finish my wine. Instead, Alannah changes the conversation.
“Have y
ou heard from your mom?” she asks me.
“Not lately, I haven’t seen her either.”
To be honest, I haven’t given her much thought. She wouldn’t have been much use to me, helping me with the emotional turmoil I’ve been going through. Lily likes life simple, easy to coast through. She doesn’t know how to handle the tough times; they would be the times when we moved on so we could start over.
“That’s strange, I heard her a couple of times on Cas’s ass to find you. Why would she leave not knowing you were home?” Bonnie wonders but I don’t think too much into it.
“It’s how she is,” I say, hoping they drop this line of conversation. “Is Luca allowed to vote?”
I’m not sure of all the rules the club has, but I do know the prospects aren’t given the same privileges the brothers are.
“No, prospects can’t vote. You have to be patched in to be allowed an opinion,” Bonnie answers and tops my glass up.
“Have you heard from Slade?” Alannah asks me.
“No, I don’t think I will do either. Kristen definitely won’t want me showing up at their door.”
I deserved her raw anger at the club but I won’t be putting myself in her orbit any time soon.
“It doesn’t shock me Kris gave him the ultimatum, but I am shocked Slade left the club. He’s always needed his brothers, and now he’s closed himself off from them,” Bonnie chimes in.
“It took her nearly twenty-five years, but she finally got him to leave. Don’t get me wrong, I feel for her, I really do, but let’s face it, she’s never wanted Slade at the club, and she certainly didn’t want Zachery joining.”
“That girl of his is pregnant, mark my words, they’ll be announcing it soon,” Bonnie adds, steering the conversation in yet another direction.
This must be what it’s like to have girlfriends, only these ones are nearly double my age.
JJ
“You didn’t say Alannah would be there too tonight?” I say to my dad as I park up at the club.
“I didn’t know,” he says and opens his door. He doesn’t make a move to climb out though.
“Cas is going to call for an open vote, he wants to know where each of us lie with him. I know you’re close to Leo no matter what’s going on between you two at the moment, where do you stand?”
“I’m not going against him.”
I was never in doubt, I just didn’t want to go against Leo.
“Good. Keep your head down tonight, it’ll soon be over.”
“Does Slade know about the vote?”
I have wondered tonight whether he’ll show for this.
“No one has made contact with him, but I imagine Zach has told him. Whether he’ll show his face I have no fucking idea.”
“Will you go talk to him at some point if he doesn’t?”
“Of course I will, I don’t care what he said. I’ve known the man most of my life, we’ve been through too much not to be there for him now.”
I realise their bond is the same as mine and Leo’s. No matter what he says and tries to do, I’m not giving up on him.
With nothing else to be said, we walk into the bar and it’s like someone has died. The atmosphere is suffocating with silence and awkward stares. This isn’t what the club needs, Ellis would love seeing us like this. The twins walk in after us and it looks like we’re all here. The twins perch themselves on the bar, settling in on the edge of the crowd. Ricky and Pope, Dex and Zachery sit at the table where the old timers usually sit at and dad walks over and joins them. I spot Leo sitting alone by the pool table and I choose to sit with him.
“Still wearing your cut, I see,” I point out as I fall onto the chair.
“For now,” he murmurs.
“Always, brother.”
He snorts and I’m preventing from going on when Cas walks out from his office and all eyes follow his movements as he crosses the bar and sits in the middle of the brothers. He doesn’t need to call for attention, he already has it.
“You were all here yesterday and heard what went down. My son has called for a vote of confidence. It would be unbiased of me to lead it, so Pope, as the longest serving brother, will lead the vote. But I will say this first,” he starts off and then continues. “You’re all right, I helped my daughter, but if you think I chose her over you all to the extent we’re here tonight holding this vote, you’re all fucking wrong. I have given my life to this patch and to you all. I’ve bled for this patch, I’ve killed for this patch, there is nothing I wouldn’t do for any one of you and this patch. There isn’t a brother here I haven’t been there for over the years. I shouldn’t have lied to you, and I’m sorry. I apologise now, in front of you all. Vote how you will but know that this patch is embedded in my soul, just as you all are.”
Pope stands and moves to the front of the bar. The old timer looks like he has more energy than me and he clears his throat.
“Before Cas was made president, he was a brother who went out of his way for this club. He never shied away from what needed to be done and when someone was in danger, he was the first one to help them. There wasn’t a single brother who disagreed he should be president the night we brought Alannah home from the clutches of Hunter Carson. He too was an enemy of the club, we’ve seen them come and we’ve seen them off, not always without casualties but we have taken them out.
Cas has led us through storms that should have destroyed us, but we’ve survived every time.”
A few brothers cheer and quickly quieten when Pope looks their way.
“We all understand the club way, eye for an eye, body for body, you come for us, we go for you. We live in a man’s world but this time an innocent woman was caught in the middle and was stolen from us. A brother’s daughter, another brother’s sister, another brother’s old lady, a mom. She was connected to this club as much as we are, and she should never have been done like that.
She wasn’t the only woman caught in our fight, Harper was a target of our enemy and she made choices that were out of her control. She was physically hurt by our enemy and she was emotionally wrung out, all because our enemy was a pussy and played the part well.”
He looks to Cas and a frown appears for a couple of seconds before being replaced with his stoned over usual face.
“I have followed this man for so long, I barely remember a different time. But, his actions around the death of Ellis wasn’t done the club way. We’re not about going behind backs and dealing with shit alone, we’re as one and we should have had our share of blood.”
I hear dad’s tut from across the bar and when I look over, his frustration is clear.
“This is bullshit, if we’re voting on taking his patch, you all should be voting on mine. I was there, I agreed to help, I dug his fucking grave and I didn’t say shit to you either,” he says, staring straight at Pope.
What the fuck is going on now? Two patches at stake.
“Sparks,” Cas mutters, shaking his head. “Continue, Pope.”
“We’re voting on trust tonight, it’s simple, do you still have trust in Cas as a president? On one hand, he took blood from us, from brothers who were owed the most, and on the other hand, he did it to protect his daughter. Ask yourself, what would you have done in his position? If you don’t trust him any longer, vote no, if you do, vote aye.”
This is it. Pope looks to my dad first and his answer is obvious.
“Aye.”
He looks to Dex and his cheeks balloon out as he exhales heavily.
“Aye.”
Ricky votes, “Aye.”
Leo’s leg begins to shake, and his agitation grows.
Pope turns to the twins, they look to each other say together, “Aye.”
He faces me next and Leo swings his head to watch me. I warned him earlier how I would vote, and I haven’t changed my mind.
“Aye.”
Six more ayes float around the bar before he turns to Zachery.
“I’d like to say something before I cast my vote,”
he says and stands up. “It was my sister Ellis killed, and it was my cousin he messed with. How my dad feels isn’t what I feel. He said if he still wore the patch, he would vote against. However, Cas has been good to me all my life and this changes nothing for me. The way I see it, Harper is connected to us as much as India was, she’s Cas’s daughter, Leo’s sister, Jay’s old lady, Sparky’s daughter-in-law, my dad’s niece. Cas had every right to protect her and do what he thought was best at the time. I’m glad he got her to return to town and I don’t care how he had to achieve it. I vote, aye.”
He takes his seat and Pope moves on to the rest of the brothers and not one no vote has been cast, well, until the vote sits with Leo.
“Looks like my vote doesn’t matter,” he mutters loud enough for all to hear and stands.
“Leo,” Cas calls and stands as well. “You’re hurting and I get that, but I didn’t do this out of malice just to fuck with you. I did it for your sister.”
“Whatever, I’m so done. I’ll never forgive you for lying to me, fuck you…fuck you. I don’t trust you, and I can’t be a part of something I don’t agree with.”
He bounces his shoulders and his cut falls down his arms. Cas darkens and moves closer to his son. I hope he fucking stops this because I’ll fight to keep my brother here.
“Put your cut back on, son.”
Leo stops but he doesn’t put it back on his shoulders.
“You’re doing this, we can get past this, you just have to give it time.”
“Time?” Leo spits out. “How much time do I have to give before India comes back to me? How much time shall I give you to lie to me again. Come on, how much fucking time do you want?”
“Son…”
“Stop calling me that, if I was really your son, you wouldn’t have kept shit from me. You want to know what I really think? I think we should have stormed the club when I first said, or at the least, made our presence known. All that bullshit about innocents being caught in the middle was you choosing the pussy way out until you had to act. You drummed it into me, only fight on the defensive, well guess what, dad, we should have been defending,” he roars and moves even closer to Cas. “We should have pushed him out and gave him no choice but to surrender to us.”
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