Telling Grandpa I need to use the restroom, I make my way through the club. Opening the door, I lock myself in a stall and sit down to take a breather. I should never have gotten involved with Luca Jackson. It’s my own fault I feel like shit now, believing I could change him, or I that I could make him love me if he just spent enough time with me. How wrong was I?
Taking three deep breaths, I wash my hands and head out. Everyone is taking their seats at the table that’s been arranged to seat everyone. Finding Gramps waving me over, I’m relieved to see he’s saved me a seat. Making small talk while the old ladies place bowls and plates of food on the table, I look up to find Luca glaring at me, and I quickly look away. I should be thankful we have nothing tying us together now. He’s an asshole, and always will be, so it doesn’t make sense that I want him with every fibre of my being.
He’s an asshole, but I want him to be my asshole. God, I’m screwed.
The place is awash with brothers chatting, drinking, and delving into the food once Alannah says for us to begin, then suddenly, silence falls over the table.
We all watch as Slade leads Kristen down the stairs, sets her in her seat, and begins fixing her a plate.
Gramps nudges my arm and jerks his chin at mine, his look telling me to stop staring and eat. Getting his message loud and clear, I turn my attention to my food.
The only one who wasn’t gawking was Luca, who’s already finished half of his potatoes.
“Who wants to go first and say what they’re thankful for?” Leo calls out. All eyes focus on him, but no one says a word. Clearing his throat, he picks up his beer and stands. “Well, then, I’ll start—”
“Before we get to that shit, I have something I want to say,” Cas calls out, interrupting his son.
With Cas at one end of the table, and Leo at the other, it’s like watching a tennis match.
The tension is so thick, not even the sharpest kitchen knife could cut through it.
Sitting back on his chair, Leo tips his head for Cas to carry on.
“The last few months have not only brought devastation to our lives, it’s brought us to our knees. I took something from you all when Ellis was killed, and I’ve been trying to make it up to you all ever since. At the Old Mill, there are twenty-nine Crow fucks waiting for you brothers.” He looks directly at Leo. “The three Crows who held you down, Leo, we have them, and they’re yours to deal with.”
Back on his feet, he snarls at his father, demanding, “Is that supposed to be enough? Our justice?”
“That’s not what I’m saying…”
“Then what are you saying, Dad? Because all I’m hearing is how you’re offering us scraps. You took it upon yourself to take him out, and I’ve been driving myself mad as to why you did it? I don’t get it, I really fucking don’t, so tell me, tell us all, why you killed him, and give us the truth.”
I’m shocked at hearing Leo talk to Cas like this. I haven’t heard anyone, ever, speak like this to Cas.
“I’ve already told you, I did it for the club.”
“I asked for the truth!” Leo roars.
I shrink back in my chair, trying to make myself as small as possible. The Jacksons all have a darkness in them, and when turning on each other, they’re so dark, there’s no light around them at all.
“Son, I—”
“No!” Leo yells, slamming both hands down on the table, the impact rattling the glasses and silverware around him. “Let’s have a show of hands. Who here believes their President?”
The sarcasm drips from his tone, and I dare to take a peek at the brothers around the table. A handful of them raise their hands, but it’s JJ Leo glares at when he raises his.
It’s the number of brothers who don’t raise their hands, the ones who don’t believe Cas, that speaks volumes.
“Looks like I’m not the only one who thinks you’re full of shit. Give us the fucking truth, or rip your patch off.”
Shock ripples through everyone, and Grampa tenses beside me. Alannah stands, clearing her throat. “Leo, you can’t do this.”
“Sit down, Mom. This is club business.”
I didn’t realise how serious shit was around here. I wish it would just go back to normal.
I tune out of the rest of the fighting and run through everything I have to do in order to revive my flowers, the one’s that nearly died while I was on lockdown.
It’s not until Harper stands and blurts out, “He did it because of me!” that I open my eyes.
“Harper? What are you talking about?” Leo asks, taken aback.
“Ellis made me choose. He twisted everything in my head till I couldn’t think…”
“What did you have to choose, darlin’?” Slade asks.
“He gave me an ultimatum.” Fisting her hands, she takes a deep a breath. “He made me choose who would die—India or Leo.”
Oh my God.
Ellis was the fucking devil on crack. Why would he do that to someone he confessed to being in love with? He was sick. I don’t care who killed him or how they did it. I’m just glad he’s dead.
“You chose her?” Slade’s voice is so loud, so forceful, you would think the God of Thunder was speaking through him.
Not wanting to see this play out, I lean into Gramps and whisper, “I don’t want to watch this.”
He puts his finger to his mouth, silencing me, and I sit back. This isn’t my business, and it doesn’t help with my inner peace knowing this shit. I’m a firm believer in staying out of other people’s business. Harper’s going to have everyone talking behind her back now.
Resting my head in my hands, I do my best to block out everything going on around me, but it’s nearly impossible to when Kristen screeches and lunges for Harper. I scoot my chair way back, trying to stay out of the fight.
This is getting out of hand now. Why hasn’t Cas put an end to it? My heart is breaking for Kristen. Her pain is so tangible, I could reach out and touch it.
“I’m taking my wife home. I’ll be back, and I’ll want answers,” Slade barks, taking Kristen from Sparky’s arms.
Once they leave, Gramps stands and announces,
“Old ladies should go home too. This is club business.”
I’m the first to push up out of my seat, followed by my mom. Whatever happens in this bar tonight is no business of mine. As soon as I step outside, I inhale the fresh air, hoping to clear the bad juju. If only it cleared all the shit stirring inside me.
It’s a day of revelations, and I think it’s time Luca knew the truth. I shouldn’t have lied to him about the abortion, and after listening to the old ladies go on and on about Harper and Cas’s actions, I realise mine will have long-term consequences.
I was wrong.
Luca rode out of the club a while ago, and I’m about to go wait in the house for him to return when he rides in with Leo.
I walk over as he parks his bike next to his brother’s. Leo tips his chin at me in greeting, but Luca acts like I’m not even here.
“Can we talk?” I ask as he continues to act like I don’t exist.
“I swear to God, I’ll lay our shit bare for all to hear if you don’t give me five minutes.”
Leo climbs off his bike and turns to his brother. “Give the girl the time she wants. We don’t need any more drama today.”
Turning away from Luca’s menacing glare, I head for the back of the club. I wouldn’t have said anything about us in front of anyone, but he doesn’t need to know that.
I hear his boots pound the gravel behind me, and before I can stop and face him, he’s pulling me back, slamming me into the wall.
“Never try calling the shots with me again. What part of you don’t exist to me do you not understand?” he growls in my face.
The Luca who slid a gun into Lily’s mouth is standing in front of me, and everything I wanted to say is stuck in my throat. No matter how hard I try to fight them, my tears break free and run down my cheeks.
“I need to—”
> “You need to keep your distance from me, that’s what you need to do.” His nostrils flare as he wipes one of my tears away.
“Don’t you dare cry in front of me. In the end, it was you who was so consumed with Sara, you couldn’t see anything else. I would’ve been there for you and our baby, no matter what.”
“Please, listen to what—”
“You have nothing to say I want to hear, Victoria. Fucking nothing. You’d do well to go home and stay there.”
Pushing away from me, he walks toward the bar and doesn’t look back. I slide down the wall and land on my ass with my head hanging in my hands.
Chapter Twenty-One
Luca
Being back in Mercy has soured my mood to new depths that even gets on my nerves. The fucking mountain comes into view, and my disgust for it is still as strong as the last time I was here.
I ride the narrow roads up the mountain behind Zachery, and in front of my mom’s car. The wind is bitterly cold, whipping against my face, and I pull my bandana up and over my nose. It takes the chill away, but I’m still too fucking cold.
Everyone pulls up to the cabin the Mercy chapter call a clubhouse, and we park in two arcs, with Mom and the other old ladies parking along the roadside.
By the time I climb off my bike and light a cigarette, I catch sight of Tor climbing out of her mom’s car, and sits her ass on the trunk. Dad calls me over, expecting me to greet these assholes and remind everyone I’m the son of the president.
The twins follow Tor as she skips off in between the trees, and I focus on Dad.
He’s looking so much better these days, and I’m glad for it. Once inside, I take a seat by the roaring fire and rub my hands together near the flames to warm up.
“Hey, I’m Rosie.”
A redhead slinks onto the chair at the next table. “You’re Luca, right? Cas’s son?”
Her eyes are so blue, they look like sunshine reflecting off of glass. Her button nose sits above her plump lips—lips made for sucking dick.
“You must be tired after your long journey?”
“Not really. Just cold.”
“Yes, well, the winters are hard here, but there are fun ways to keep warm.”
I hear the offer in her words, and I smirk.
“Yeah? I’ll keep that in mind.”
The bar soon fills up, and red-haired Rosie is beckoned over by Gabe. Turns out she’s his daughter, and fucking her would certainly piss him off. I got the hint last time we were here that he didn’t particularly like me, or the Willow’s Peak chapter.
It’s not long before Tor comes in with her brothers. She veers off toward her parents who are lingering by the bar.
I feel her eyes on me, but I refuse to look her way. I have no ties or loyalties to her now.
Rosie passes my table and I reach out, grabbing her wrist. Flicking my eyes over in Tor’s direction, making sure she’s still watching me, I smile up at Rosie with the red hair.
“I’ll see you around, yeah?”
Her smile grows. “Yeah, I’ll be around.”
It gets dark early here, and as I lean against the porch rail, I light a smoke and watch the twins park up, but they’re not alone. They have a girl with them. Mason and Myles throw shade my way as they pass. Turning around, I lean against the railing, getting a clear view inside the bar.
The Mercy chapter is throwing a party to welcome us, but the loud music doesn’t hide the tension.
Tor weaves through the guys and stops by her brothers. Her smile infuriates me. How can she be happy after what she’s done? She and the girl the twins brought around move to the bar, as Mason and Myles head over to my dad who’s sitting by the fire.
I keep my eyes on Tor while she chats it up with the girl. I’ve caught a couple of the Mercy brothers taking an interest. The brother I’ve seen who hasn’t taken his eyes off of her is named Angel.
When I see a guy bump into Tor, I straighten. With the guy quick to apologise, Tor smiles and turns back to her conversation.
The guy is arguing with a woman I assume is his old lady, and she shoves him again into Victoria, this time knocking her into the twins’ girl. Gritting her teeth, her cheeks redden with frustration.
The woman goes to throw her drink over the guy, but he sees it coming, and is quick to move out of the way.
The contents end up all over Tor, who stands there, frozen. When the guy puts his hand on her shoulder, she screams.
She screams so loud, she can be heard over the music. But it’s her fear that I hear the loudest.
My heart pounds as the girl goes to shove the guy’s hand away from Tor, but I’m already moving. I run at the guy, getting to him just as Mason knocks him to the floor. With Mason hovering over him, throwing his punches, I smash my boot into the side of the guy’s stomach, delivering kick after kick, while Mason delivers punch after punch.
But it’s over for Mason, who’s pulled away from the fight, but I continue to rain down blow after blow to the guy. I don’t give a shit that he doesn’t know the story behind Tor and whiskey. He should’ve kept his woman under control.
“Cas, call your boy off! We all wear the same here,” I faintly hear from somewhere behind me.
My assault doesn’t slow, and I feel every impact as much as he does. It feels so fucking good I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to.
I manage to throw one last punch before Sparky’s wrapping his arms around me and locking me in place.
The music is no longer playing. I can only hear my breath coming in short, sharp pants. I look over to Tor, wrapped in Myles’ arms as he murmurs in her ear, but she isn’t listening. She’s fucking terrified.
“Luca, no more,” Dad orders, and my shoulders sag. “And as for who wears the patch, we’ll see about that. Shit with the Lost Souls is changing. It’s long overdue, and if our women and children aren’t shown the upmost fucking respect, I’ll be forgetting who wears the patch.” Dad turns to the twins. “Mason, Myles, get your sister out of here.”
Shrugging out of Sparky’s hold, I storm over and grab her hand. I’ll get her out of here, and fuck what anyone thinks about it.
She takes it, as I knew she would, and I breathe in enough fresh air to cool me down when we step outside.
“What cabin are you staying in?”
She points off to one up the road, and I tighten my grip around her hand as I lead us away from the clubhouse.
Fuck whatever trouble I caused back there. It’s not like I was on my own. Mason was right there, kicking the shit out of him too.
The door is unlocked, and I quickly look around and take the stairs up to the bathroom. The smell of whiskey is strong, and her hand is still shaking in mine.
Turning the shower on, I finally let her go. Surprisingly, it doesn’t take long for the water to warm up with the pipes rattling in the walls.
“Get in and get washed. I’ll get you something clean and dry to wear.”
I go to leave the bathroom, but she doesn’t move. “All I could see was Ellis, him holding a lighter… hear his laugh…”
Her voice trembles, and I swallow thickly, turning around to look at her.
“He’s dead, Tor. Don’t keep him alive in your head.”
Urging her to lift her arms, I pull her sweater over her head, and of course, she isn’t wearing a bra. Her nipples harden in the chill of the room, but look down and away to remove her skirt. I can’t bring myself to take off her panties. “Wash it off. Wash away the memories.”
As if it’s the easiest thing to do, but nothing else is helping her.
Leaving the bathroom, I hear the shower curtain being drawn. I go through all the rooms until I find the bag I recognise as hers sitting at the bottom of the bed and rifle through it, pulling out her sweats and another sweater. I doubt she’ll be leaving the cabin tonight, and it’s too fucking cold for her to sleep naked.
I turn on the lamp next to the bed to shoo the darkness away for her, knowing the night haunts her the most.
Inspecting my knuckles, I press down on the open wounds. Hot pain shoots up into my wrists, and I hiss in delight.
We’re raised to believe pain equals bad, but I don’t find that to be the case. It’s not always a bad thing.
It can be a reminder of the power you can unleash.
Tor walks into the room, wrapped in a towel, with her hair snuggly wrapped in another towel.
I jerk my head at the sweats on the bed, and as usual, giving zero fucks, she bares her body and dresses in front of me.
Once she’s finished, she drops down onto the bed, and I see a little of the old Tor looking up at me.
“You beat that guy for me.”
“He was disrespectful. Don’t read anything into it.”
“Luca—”
“I’m still fucking angry. All I was doing was venting on someone because I can’t touch you.”
Her gasp feeds the monster in me, and I step closer to her.
“If I could do to you what you did to my kid, I would. But club politics has saved you.”
Leaving her as the tears begin to roll down her cheeks, I slam the door behind me and dig out my smokes.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Victoria
I don’t care what he said. No one beats someone like that if they don’t feel something for the person they claim to hate.
Luca was the only person I could see last night after that asshole’s girlfriend threw her drink on me. I saw the fury in his eyes, and the joy brimming the edges of his rage as he pummelled his fists into the guy’s face and body.
My phone ringing has me jumping off the couch to grab it off the table. Hoping it’s Luca, my shoulders sag when Mason’s name appears on the screen.
Accepting the call, I press it to my ear. “Hello?”
“Hey, how are you this morning?” he asks.
“I’m fine. It was nothing, and I’m over it.”
“You better be. We can still finish that guy off.”
His Twisted Heart : Sons of Lost Souls MC Series Book Nine Page 13