As I picked up my phone and dialed Reb, Seer walked over to the storage closet, unlocked it and pulled out two new cuts. Our prospects didn't wear the same cut that the Brothers did. They were given a patch with their name on it to sew on their prospect cut and, if they were patched in, they would remove that patch and sew it on their permanent cut. Seer handed the cuts to me as Reb answered the phone.
“Prez. Need us?” Reb asked.
“Yeah, you and Pred come to Church,” I stated.
“On our way.”
“Come in,” I said loudly when I heard the knock on the door. As the door opened, I commented, “Leave your phones in the basket and get in here.”
We all watched as they put their phones in the basket and stepped into the room. They were both looking at me puzzled, usually I would ask for something and they would be on their way. They knew I might call them in tonight for information, but me telling them to leave their phones had thrown them a little bit.
“I'd like to say something to both of you,” Karma spoke up. “I want you to know that if you ever need anything, it's yours. You saved Zoey's life. That I know for a fact. If you hadn't followed your instincts, Reb, no one would have ever known that Zoey had been taken. And Pred, if you hadn’t hung with that van, we could have lost her for good. So I repeat, anything, I don't care what it is, you name it and it's yours.”
Reb and Pred nodded at him and Reb said, “We were just doing what anyone else would do.”
“I beg to differ,” KJ took the floor now. “You both worked like a well-oiled machine. Not many your age would have thought to keep eyes on two places, then make sure you had backup by way of Jace, which allowed you, Reb, to follow Jade, and you, Pred to stick to that van like glue.
“By having Jace there, he was able to take Noah with him. It's possible that if Pred hadn't told him to grab Noah, that Jade might have gotten to him first. So ultimately, you saved two people.
“And how the fuck you managed to kill eight men with very minor injuries to yourself is a testament to the type of men you are. You stood up for this MC with only a prospect cut on your back and went above and beyond what was asked of you. I personally respect the hell out of that. I am also grateful that Viper taught both of you so many offensive and defensive skills.”
Hear! Hear! echoed around the room.
“I agree with both Karma and KJ. This club owes you and we're all fucking thankful that you have a pops like you do. I know y'all learned a lot in the Army, but as you stated, Reb, it was the skill set that Viper instilled in each of you that made what went down go as smoothly as it did.”
I paused for a moment and studied each young man in front of me. Neither of them looked like they thought what they did was exceptional in any way. That was Viper's doing, and in turn, two men stood before us that this club would be lucky and honored to have.
“All this being said, a vote was taken a few minutes ago, and we'd all personally like to welcome our newest Brothers into the MC,” I said as I slid their cuts across the table toward where they were standing.
Disbelief crossed their faces, then pure joy. Fuck, yes. These will definitely be good Brothers to have.
“You'll need to cut your name off the prospect cut, sew it onto your new cut and turn the prospect cut back in.”
Both men nodded at me smiling ear to ear.
“Will do, Prez,” They commented at the same time.
We watched as they took off their prospect cut and put on their new cut for the very first time. I glanced over at Viper to see a small smile on his lips and pride shining out of his eyes for his two sons.
“We'll have you a welcome party this Friday,” I told them, then watched as they looked at each other then back at me.
Pred cleared his throat and said, “Prez, if it's all the same to you, we'd rather not have a party if that's okay.”
Reb was nodding as Pred spoke.
I saw puzzled looks cross the men's faces and apparently, they did too.
“Let me just say that the party held the last time we were patched into an MC is the stuff that nightmares are made of, and we think about it way too often to have to think about it for a whole evening,” Reb informed his new Brothers.
As heads tilted his way, “If that's what you both want, then it's definitely fine with us. You both pull up a chair, we have something to discuss,” I uttered.
As the boys found a chair, I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could Possum declared, “Got something I need to say.”
He looked down at Trooper and Slaughter and I watched as they nodded at him. He cleared his throat and began, “Sorry to interrupt what we are here for, but since every active member but two is here at this meeting, now would be the best time for what I need to say.”
He paused for a moment. I think I knew what he was going to say but didn't know why he was choosing now. I thought he hadn't planned on doing this for another year or so.
“This is a hard thing for me to do, but I need to step down as the VP. I had originally wanted to wait a little while longer, however I received some news that will interfere with me doing my duties. And since you all know I have been thinking about this, anyway, now seems the time to go ahead and do it.”
“What's going on, Brother?” I inquired.
He sighed heavily, “I am going to have to have surgery, I have prostate cancer and depending upon the results of the surgery, may have to do chemo and radiation as well.”
I sat stunned listening to his news. He hadn't said a word of this to me at all. I saw the same look on everyone's faces except for his sons.
“Damn, Brother. I don't know what to say. I'm fucking sorry, Possum.”
“Nothing to really say, Prez. It's just one of life's kicks in the ass. At least it was caught fairly early, so that’s a positive. But I don't feel that I could perform my duties and I know you'd probably say that I could take the time off from VP, but I'd stress over that too much. So it's just best for me to go ahead and step down. Since we have everyone here right now, we could go ahead and vote in a new VP.”
He cleared his throat again and said, “I have a man I'd like to nominate to take my position. This man has shown an uncanny ability to survive the shit that life has thrown him. Shit that most of us would have crumbled under. And despite living in hell for years, he still managed to raise a wonderful family and over the last couple of days we've seen three of his sons’ shine, two exceptionally so.
“For a man to have gone through what he has gone through for years and still be a good man at the core, a man who I've seen everyone here come to respect, well, in my book that's saying he is a man of integrity, a man you can trust, a man who will always have your back.
“He's also a man who knows how to lead and teach other men. I know he hasn't been here long, but I believe he is the best man for the job. I nominate Viper as the new VP.”
I watched as shock flared across Viper's face. This had caught him completely off guard. I glanced around the room and it looked like everyone agreed with Possum as they were nodding their heads.
“I agree with Possum,” Hoss spoke out. “He has already proven how smart he is. I've watched as he has mentored some of the younger men here, even my sons, and I like what I’ve seen.”
Viper spoke up, “I haven't been here that long. Surely you want a man who you know inside and out, someone who has been here for a while and knows all the ins and outs of the club. You have men like Hoss, Trooper, Slaughter, Blood, Karma or Ranger who would make good VP's.”
I looked at each man as he spoke their name and each one was shaking his head. They didn't want this position and I knew they didn't. While four already held positions in the club, they had never indicated that they wanted to go any higher than they already were.
Beau cleared his throat and spoke, “I'd like to say something on this matter. I had the privilege of getting to know Reb and Pred during our time in the Army together. I was drawn to them because of their integrity. They
weren't just young men out for twenty minutes of fame or all the pussy they could get.
“They carried themselves with an honor and dignity that I personally was in awe of. They were constantly examining their surroundings, always aware of what was going on. Here were two young men who were younger than me, yet acted years older. It made me want to get to know them, and it made me reassess my outlook on life.”
He paused a second, took a breath and continued, “After getting to know them and learning their story, I could understand why they acted more mature, but that didn't explain to me how they were so much more situationally aware over men years older than them. I asked them about it and they both talked about their pops and the kind of man he is.
“They told me about a man who for seventeen years as VP ran interference for some of the Brothers in his club, trying with everything he was worth to keep those men out of doing things that they hadn't signed up to do when they joined their MC. He had not only his personal problems to deal with but club problems as well. Yet, he somehow managed to take on every problem and handle it with a dignity and grace that inspired his sons to want to be just like him.”
He looked at me and smiled, “I'm not knocking my old man here, because he's the best dad any kid could have wanted, and I hope I am half the man he is one day. What I guess I'm trying to say is it would have been so much easier on Viper if he had just gone to the dark side and not even worried about his family or his Brothers.
“But he didn't do that, and that stands as a testament to the type of man he is. He's a man to put his Brothers and family first, the very thing that ARMC stands for. I would personally be honored to call him my VP.”
Fuck. My son had just nailed Viper to a tee. He was all that and probably more. I smiled at my son and he smiled back at me. I was fucking proud of him. This proved to me that my son truly was a grown man now. While I was extremely proud of him, a part of me felt like I had lost something too. The little boy who had depended upon and needed his dad was no longer, but it would be a joy to become friends with the man he has become.
Viper was still sitting stunned. The man seriously had no clue that others already looked up to him that much.
Rogue cleared his throat and said, “I can attest to the type of man he is. He protected us to the best of his ability, often going out of his way to do it.”
I watched as everyone that had come to the club with Viper nodded their heads. “I never considered Devil my leader. It was always Viper. I would personally follow him to hell and back.”
“I’d like to say something as well,” Slade spoke up. “I’ve known Viper since I was little. I was six when his wife Mia started babysitting me. Viper knew through unfortunate circumstances my dad wasn’t in my life and he asked my mom if he could spend time with me each day.
“He was nineteen at the time. Nineteen. And he still thought about the needs of a young kid. Even after he had a family of his own, he still made time for me. I really never understood why he did that, not until I became grown and realized Vip has this deep capacity inside him to love.
“Don’t get me wrong, he can be a mean motherfucker, but that just makes those of us who are included inside his circle of ‘family’ privileged. He’s taught me so much in my life, from little things like mechanic work, helping me build my own bike, how to be a man of his word, but, most importantly, as I’ve watched him over the years, I’ve learned that a man needs to be there for others.
“My mom has always been my foundation, the ground I stand on. She’s raised me to be the man I am today, but Viper has been the rock under that foundation that has shown me how a real man should be. And I agree with Rogue, I’d follow him to hell and back.”
I watched as a myriad of emotions crossed Viper’s face. I believe the man truly didn’t know how he affected the people that were in his life. He nodded at Rogue, but as he turned to Slade, the love and pride he felt for Slade was shining out of his eyes.
To Viper, he was another son. I believed before his life was over with, he’d probably be a father to more ‘kids’ than any one man ever thought to have. He was definitely a man among men.
“Anyone have anything else to say or nominate?” I asked the men sitting around the table with me. Every head but one shook no.
“Yeah, Prez. I do. While my father situation was a little different than Slade’s, I was lucky enough to have a dad for the first twelve years of my life. But after my dad died, Viper stepped up. He was there for the many talks I needed, for the many questions I had about life, he helped me build my first bike too.
“Vip doesn’t tell you how things should be and then blindly expects you to follow his words of advice. He lives the words he preaches. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have him in my life and in my corner, and just like Rogue and Slade, I would follow him to hell and back,” Hatchet spoke those words to us all, but he looked at Viper the whole time.
An unsung hero, that’s what Viper was to these men, and today he was getting to hear the song. I watched as Viper struggled with his emotions, then he swallowed hard and smiled, the same love and pride for another one of his ‘kids’ shined out of his eyes as he lifted his chin at Hatchet.
I looked at all the men sitting around the table, then over to Viper. “I'll say one thing before we put this to a vote. Viper, I can tell by the look on your face that you didn't realize just how much you have impacted the lives of those you have come across. You are so humble that you haven't stepped back and looked at what you have accomplished the past twenty years or so.
“You have made an impression on every man here in a positive way. Brother, you've already become one of my best friends. I trust you implicitly. If you truly don't want to do this, we would all understand, but, know this, I agree with everything that has been spoken here today. I truly believe you would be the best man for the job.”
I watched as Viper one again swallowed hard, then inclined his head at me.
“All those in favor with Viper becoming our new VP, let me see a raise of hands.”
Every single hand raised. I watched as Viper looked around the room. A look of honor crossed his face.
“Welcome our Brother, Viper, as the new VP.”
Shouts and cheers thundered out for him. I gave it a few minutes to let everyone congratulate him, then cleared my throat, damned if this wasn’t emotional for me as well. Viper stood up and the room became silent instantly.
“Want to say something real quick, Prez.” I nodded. “It’s a great honor and privilege that you men have bestowed on me today. I sure wasn't looking for it, not in my wildest dreams. I promise I will do my very best not to let any of you down.” With that he sat down and proved this was why the man was our new VP.
“Well, this has certainly been an interesting Church so far,” I stated, and laughter rang out. “Is there anything else we need to address before we get to the matter at hand.”
Every man shook his head.
“Okay, let’s try this once again, first I want to ask how everything went at the barn, I need to tell you what happened a couple days ago and the information we've learned since then, Brother,” I said as I looked at KJ. “Then we need you to tell us what you think about it all.”
“Everything at the barn worked out like I thought it would. It’s now a non-issue, so Reb and Pred, you have nothing to worry about.”
I saw relief cross Reb, Pred, and Viper’s faces. Each looked like a weight had been taken off their shoulders.
I tilted my head at KJ, “That’s good to hear, Brother.”
I started telling everything we had learned from Ava and from Amy. When I got through, Sarge stood up shaking with rage and said, “You're telling me that fucking judge is dealing the drugs his son was probably using not counting all the alcohol he was consuming when Beth was killed and he is linked to the attorney that was responsible for that poor woman's husband and son's death?”
“Yeah, Sarge. Sadly, I am.”
“Mother. Fuck,” Sarg
e spit out.
“Yeah, Sarge, that's pretty much all of our opinions on the matter.” Looking at KJ, I asked, “KJ, what do you think?”
“What I think is Anson Miller and Joseph Courtway have been buying and distributing drugs for years and we've never been able to get even a glimmer of proof on them in all that time. We know they are because some of our snitches have mentioned it a time or two, trying to make deals for themselves but the information has never been enough to get warrants.
“We're talking about two men, both with law degrees, one a practicing attorney, the other a sitting judge and they know the law inside and out. I hate to say this, but I believe they have more than one law enforcement officer on their payroll.”
He grimaced then added, “What's bad is, I'm pretty sure the last couple of years they've gotten into trafficking young girls and boys as well.”
“Jesus. Is it possible that the men who took Zoey were involved in the same ring?” Karma asked, horror written all over his face.
“Yeah, Karma. I would say that probability is very high. We haven't been able to learn any of the key players other than them.”
“Wait, what the fuck are they talking about?” Sarge interrupted.
My dad still wanted to know every detail of the club. He might have stepped down as the Prez, but at heart, he would always be that.
“Hell, none of the other men know either Sarge. Karma, is it okay to let the men know about this?”
At Karma’s nod, I spent the next ten minutes explaining what had gone down today. Growls were heard among the furious and pissed exclamations of the other men in the room.
Karma turned to KJ and snarled, “Why the fuck haven't you tried to bug their conversations?”
KJ sighed, “Because, Karma, this is the part of the law that I absolutely despise. We must have probable cause and then once we have that, we have to get a warrant to be able to tap their phones or place any bugs. If I somehow managed to keep the probable cause quiet, I can almost guarantee by the time I walked out of the courtroom or judge's chamber with a warrant, Miller and Courtway would both know.
Mad Dog (Angel’s Rebellion MC: #2) (Angel's Rebellion MC) Page 25
