by Blair Grey
“Don’t you want to know who of your own hate you?” he asked.
“What are you talking about?” Jett called out.
“Look around you, there are two of your own who were more than happy to share what you were doing for a price. I believe you call them Gear and Axel!” The man coughed on his own blood, but there was another tone to Jett’s voice as he stopped shooting.
“What are you talking about?” I could hear the pain and anger in his voice. “What do you mean, they gave me up?”
“I mean they are the ones who told us all we needed to know about the girl, and they were set to tell us a lot more after we got the pills. Trust me, you think that you have such a strong MC, but you are only as strong as your weakest link, and it seems to me you are a lot weaker than you realize,” the man gurgled, and I heard him trying to laugh.
I sat back, my mind spinning. The sound of more gunfire ensued, but it was hard for me to think straight. I couldn’t believe Jett had been betrayed. I couldn’t believe that I myself had been the object of that betrayal. After all, he was the one who had to deal with it, but I was the one who could have been killed.
It was hard for me to think straight with the sound of the gunfire starting to subside on the other side of the car. I was still a distance from the fight itself, but it was hard for me to imagine someone would betray their leader like that. I was in love with Draven, but I also cared a lot for Jett.
To think that he was such a good leader to these men – to think that Draven would be so dedicated to him that he would do anything for him – then to think there were men who would betray him for the sake of money made me sick to my stomach.
I wanted to shoot those men myself, and I wondered what was going to happen to them now. I was glad I wasn’t the one who had to deal with that, and I was glad they had learned the truth. I didn’t want those men to be in the MC. I didn’t think Jett should have to deal with the men who would betray him, either.
But, I suddenly realized Draven was calling for me, and I rose from my hiding place. There were bodies on the ground, and the two men who had been called out by the dying man were on their knees with their hands over their heads. Ryder and Blade had their guns on them, and Jett was giving directions on what to do with them.
I could see the fury in his eyes, and part of me wondered if he was going to shoot them where they were. He could pass it off as them being killed in the firefight, but then, Jett wasn’t that sort of leader. He looked at them with disgust in his face, and then he said something to Blade I wasn’t able to hear.
Blade motioned to the two men, and they rose, walking ahead of him as they headed toward the bikes. But, I didn’t care. The only person I cared about seeing at that moment was Draven. I had been through Hell that morning, and I never wanted to go through it again. All I wanted was to be in his arms. All I wanted was for him to hold me close.
He pulled me into him, holding me and kissing me on the head. It was over. We had solved the issue with the other MC, and we had both made it through to the other side. Jett would take care of the traitors. I didn’t have to worry about that.
All I had to do was spend the rest of my life in happiness with Draven. And, after all I had gone through, I knew that would be a piece of cake. Hell, it would be more than that. It would be Heaven on Earth.
More than anything, that’s what I wanted.
I just needed him.
Chapter 22
Draven
Although I couldn’t have been more relieved with the way the morning had worked out, I had to admit, the news of the betrayal was one that rocked the entire MC to the core.
There was a shadow cast over the entire committee the entire day, and I knew it was going to last until we had this taken care of.
I wanted to just focus on Jade and the fact she was okay. I wanted to talk to her about the future and what it meant now that we could be together without worrying about her or her father. I wanted to talk to her about so much, but I knew we were going to have to deal with the task at hand first.
And, that was one serious task.
I had been part of the Steel Wings for over a decade. Hell, I had been part of the MC for nearly fifteen years. I joined when I nineteen, and I was thirty-two. And, in all that time, I had never witnessed two men defy the leader that way. Hell, I knew no one would have gone against Jett’s dad, Jimbo, and survived to tell the tale.
But the fact that not one, but two men had gone against Jett was enough to make everyone solemn. It was serious, and we knew it was going to be dealt with in a serious manner.
Jade was clearly torn. She didn’t know how to handle the situation, and though she was curious about how we were going to deal with it, she knew better than to ask too many questions. She knew we had a way of doing things, and we weren’t going to be bound by the law.
“Does that mean he could kill them if he wanted to?” she asked nervously.
“Jett has to propose what he thinks should be done to the committee, and then we will put that to a vote,” I told her. She seemed uneasy, and I knew she didn’t like the answer.
Of course, without saying so, I had told her all she needed to know. And, it was true. Jett wasn’t the sort of man to take this lightly, but he also wasn’t the sort of man to take death lightly, either. I knew he was going to handle this as best he could, but he had to take into consideration the message he sent as well.
The fact two men had come together and tried to betray him was sickening, and there was a part of me that would have been more than willing to pull the trigger myself if that was what was decided. I cared for human life, too. I respected it just as much as anyone else in the MC.
But, I wasn’t going to be brothers with someone who would betray our leader. The whole balance of the club rested in how much respect and trust we could have for each other, and if there were men in the ranks who would betray the leader, then there were men in the ranks who would betray any one of us.
It went so far beyond what they had done to Jade. It wasn’t just that they were willing to give us competition on the streets, or that they were putting her at risk of getting caught. The fact that they would betray something that was so secret to the club meant that they couldn’t be trusted with anything.
After all, the way Jett looked at it, if there was a price that could get someone to betray, then there was a price that could buy them out to do anything. That meant we couldn’t ever trust them not to betray us again.
For the right price, they could very well lead us into an ambush, or they could try to assassinate one of us. There were a number of things that could go wrong, and I didn’t want to even begin to think of the possibilities. But, to think of the message that would also be send throughout the ranks with how he would handle this was something to consider, as well.
Would he do something that others would take as a slap on the hand? Was this something that others would use to gauge how strong of a leader Jett was? Was this something that would define him as a man? There was a lot hanging in the balance, and a lot of questions to be considered along the way.
I knew how Jimbo would have handled it. Well, we all had our theories, anyway. But then, Jimbo was a lot harsher of a man than his son. Jett was no weak man by any means, but he also wasn’t as ruthless as his father. Jett would take so many more things into consideration, and he didn’t often look at life with the same black and white filter his father had.
There were times when I was sure this made him the better president, but then there were times when I questioned how far he would go if he didn’t do something like his father would have done. There were so many thoughts and questions running through my mind, I wanted to ask about them, too.
But, like Jade, I knew I was going to have to be patient. We had dealt with a lot that day, and with the stress of the battle in the air, there was still a lot of tension. I could sense it with the others, and I knew it was a day when we were going to have to all work to keep the peace between
us.
There was something about the betrayal that put us all on edge, and as much as I hated to admit it, I knew we were all thinking the same thing. Was this only restricted to the two men who were accused?
With the other MC all wiped out, there was no way we would be able to know with absolute certainty. Sure, we could talk to the men, we could bribe them, even, but we knew they weren’t to be trusted.
If they were willing to betray us for a price, then who was to say they weren’t willing to betray each other for that same price? There was no way to know if what came out of their mouths was true or not, and it was something to take into consideration when it came to the final judgment that would be passed down.
Finally, however, Jett made an announcement to try to put the rest of our minds t ease. We had made it through most of the day with only a spat here and there breaking out among the men, and the women knew better than to get involved in what we were talking about.
Of course, the old ladies to the men in the club were more than willing to listen and give their advice, but the sheep knew better than to say anything at all. They were there for the pleasure of the men; they weren’t there to ask questions.
And, even more importantly than that, they weren’t there to give their opinions. Even if they cared for the men who would be tried the next day, they were to sit through the discussion and keep their mouths shut. But, Jett could sense the tension in the room, and he wanted to keep the peace.
After all, his men had been through a lot that day, and he knew the value in keeping everyone on the same page. After all, he was dealing with what happened when people went off on their own, and he wasn’t going to risk that happening again. Not with the men in the bar, and especially not with the men on the committee.
He clicked his fork on the side of his glass to get our attention, standing so we would all turn and give him our full attention.
“As you know,” he said. “Today was a very successful day in the sense we were able to get rid of the Hell’s Crusaders once and for all.”
A cheer ran through the room, and he held up his hand to silence it after letting it go on for only a few seconds. “Yes, we are all relieved to finally have those assholes out of our hair. But, there has been another problem that has been brought to my attention, and I know you all are aware of that, as well.”
There was another murmur that ran through the room, and he let that go on for a few seconds as well before he silenced it with his hand. I had Jade around the waist sitting next to the bar, and I knew she was hanging onto Jett’s every word. She wanted to know how he was going to take care of this as much as I did, but she wasn’t going to interrupt.
“The men who are accused of betrayal have admitted to us that they did what they were accused of doing. Of course, this comes as a shock to all of us, and we are all very sad to hear that someone would go against the sanctity of our club. But, there are times when this happens, and when it does, we all need to deal with it quickly and effectively,” he said.
There was another murmur, and once again, he let it run through the room. I knew he wanted to give everyone the chance to digest what was going on before he continued with what he was saying. He knew that they had to take the news in small doses, and he wanted to give it to them that way, too.
This wasn’t easy on anyone. But, he was going to take care of it the way it had to be dealt with, and we all had to agree with him no matter what he wanted to do. He was our leader, after all.
“I’ve got the two men in one of the safe houses not far from here,” he said. “They are being guarded by prospects who are taking this seriously, and we are going to take the night off. I don’t want this to be a decision that is dealt with emotionally, and I know we are all charged with what happened today.”
There was another rush of conversation before he continued. “So, I am letting you all know that I’m going to sleep on it tonight, and then tomorrow I’m going to take this before the committee. As a club, and dedicated to the club, we are going to talk about the best way to take care of this issue. We are going to discuss the best way to handle these men, and we are going to take care of the problem accordingly.”
There was one final pause in the room before he finished with his speech. I knew the rest of the men in the group all wanted to hear what he was considering, but Jett wasn’t going to share that information with anyone but Blade, the vice president.
We would have to wait with the rest of the club for what he was going to suggest, and then we would have to see how the voting went. But tonight, Jett wanted to promote harmony.
“We are brothers in the MC, and we take care of each other. Let’s celebrate our victory tonight, and we can take care of the issues we have tomorrow!” he said as he lifted his glass. There was a cheer that ran through the club, and everyone drank their toast to his suggestion.
I lifted my beer to my lips, and Jade did the same with her drink. She didn’t say much, and I knew she was worried about what was going to happen to those men. But, like everyone else in the club, she was going to have to wait until the next day to learn the answer.
We had all made a promise to the club when we joined, and no one was above those rules. I knew there were times when it was hard on everyone, but those were the rules and they were in place for a reason.
I just had to rust Jett knew what he was doing, and things were fine with me and Jade. This was the reason I had to be happy, and I would be. She was the love of my life, and I was lucky enough to have her with me.
No matter what happened, she was mine, and nothing would pull us apart.
Chapter 23
Jade
“I always feel like an actual old woman whenever I offer tea to anyone who comes over,” Callie said with a smile as she heated up the kettle on the stove. Laughter broke out among the women gathered in the kitchen, and I joined in, though it felt rather forced for me.
I was dying to know what was going on in the other room, but I knew I wasn’t going to be allowed, and I didn’t want to suffer through the embarrassment of being told to get back in the kitchen. Of course, it wouldn’t be meant in the sexist way, but on the other hand, it sort of was.
I woke up that morning in Draven’s arms, but he was on edge all through breakfast. We had gone out to a diner, but he hardly touched his food, and he didn’t want to bring the coffee with him to go. Of course, I had done my best to calm him down as much as I could, but it seemed the more I talked, the more agitated be became.
I thought we were going to spend the day at the bar, but instead, he had brought the two of us to Jett’s house. It was the first time I had been at the president’s house, and I had to admit, I was surprised with how normal it looked. It was nice – nicer than my place, that was for sure – but it certainly wasn’t as nice as some of the safe houses I had seen so far.
“Jett likes to keep things rather simple,” Draven said when we got off the bike and headed for the door. “Now, you’re going to be spending the day with the other women in the kitchen. I know that sounds trite, but you’re going to want to stay out of the way, okay?”
“Okay,” I said uncertainly. I knew there wasn’t anything I could really say or do that would change his mind, and I didn’t want to add to the stress that was happening, but at the same time, I didn’t want to be pushed into the kitchen like I didn’t matter.
Still, I was confused. When I got in there, the other women were all gathered around the table and talking as though it was any other breakfast and we were all hanging out as friends. They laughed and welcomed me into the group, asking about the fight the day before.
“I heard that things got a little tense down there,” Callie said with a laugh. “I’m glad you got out of here without a scratch.”
“It was rough,” I said. “I thought I was going to die.”
“You poor thing!” Alexis said. “I know how that is. But you’re not going to be stuck in those situations very often. They do a good job of keeping us o
ut of trouble, you know.”
“Why are we waiting out here?” I knew I shouldn’t ask so many questions, but there were some things I just didn’t understand, and I felt comfortable with Callie. She seemed to have this whole thing figured out, and she was happy to tell me what was going on most of the time.
“Because we’re not part of the club,” she said simply.
“I thought we were,” I offered, but she shook her head. “I know it can be hard to figure out, but you and I are just the old ladies of the men who are in the club. Technically speaking, the club is for the men, and we are just tagalongs.”
“I’m still not getting it,” I said. “So the women who are at the bar are sheep, and we’re more than them, but we’re not in the club, either?”
“That’s right,” Alexis said with a smile. “Those are women who are pretty much just desperate to have sex. They hang out at the bar and sleep with anyone who’s in the MC. They aren’t really part of the club, but at the same time, they don’t go to the other bars and they don’t sleep with men who aren’t part of the Steel Wings. You and I, on the other hand, belong to the club in the sense we belong to the men who are in the club. Our men in particular, that is.”
“So, we get more perks. We get virtually all the perks of those who are in the club, if you ask me, and then we get even more. Because I mean, think about it, we don’t have to do anything with the club itself, we just get to hang out with our guys and let them make these hard decisions,” Callie said with a laugh.
I knew she was talking about the fight they were having in the other room, and I was struck with how little any of the women in the kitchen were bothered by what was going on. They didn’t even seem to notice the discussion was getting even more heated, just going along with our own conversation as though it was the most natural thing in the world.
