The Pope

by Jade Marshall

  “Let’s get this started. There is a lot to be done and we will need to be fast about it. This is Calum and he has some intel for us, so let’s listen to what he has to say.”

  I nod toward Calum, giving him the chance to speak. I look at his split lip again, and although I should feel bad, I don’t.

  “Riot and King are coming for you. For all of you. Loved ones, family, members. They are coming to wipe you from the face of the earth and they have done this before so they know what they are doing.”

  “We know they’re coming, boy,” Viking speaks up from his spot. “They have been coming since Hadley became one of us. What changed?”

  “Sparrow changed everything.” Calum takes a breath. “When he killed Mutt, he escalated everything.”

  “I don’t see what Mutt and the Mongrols have to do with any of this,” Sparrow says. “We put an end to their shitty club. And they deserved it.”

  “Yes, Sparrow, they did deserve it. Storm filled me in, gave me the whole picture on both Hadley and Kaiya, and I agree with you, but Mutt was also Riot’s little brother. And in his mind, blood will have blood. He will exact revenge for the death of his brother unless we stop him.”

  “Shit,” Wolf mutters and shakes his head.

  “Fine, I get the need for revenge,” Sparrow replies. “But to wipe out families and clubs just to get that done is ridiculous.”

  “It may be, but that is the way he does things. You are not the first to be targeted by him and if we don’t end this, you sure as shit won’t be the last.”

  Sparrow rises from his seat and stares at Calum.

  “Explain to me, boy. Who the fuck are you to walk into our lives, our club, and tell us how to take care of our business?”

  Tension is thick in the air as everyone waits for Calum to answer. I already know the answer, but I watch him closely. He is completely relaxed in his seat as he answers Sparrow.

  “First, I am not your boy. I may be younger than you and respect you for the patch and rank you wear, but do not think I am below you. I know how Riot’s mind works because I have seen it first-hand when he killed my mother and her entire family for something she didn’t even do. I am Calum Quince and I used to be a prospect for the Iron Disciples. They all know me as Bishop, but the one thing I am best known for is being a son to a sociopath. I am Riot’s son and I watched him kill my mother in cold blood when I was thirteen. So yes, I am uniquely qualified to give insight into how to take him out.”

  Silence reigns in the room as everyone takes into account what Calum has just told us. I knew the basics of who he was but not everything. And although there may be a chance that he is here to lead us into a trap, I have a gut feeling that isn’t the case.

  “So tell us, Bishop, how do we take care of your father?” I ask, staring straight at him.

  ****

  Four hours later, we all walk out of church with a plan. It is risky and the Iron Disciples have a hell of a lot more members than we do, but we have to take the shot. The club will remain on lockdown, protecting family and friends, and I even called in a few favors for an extra couple of hands. McLaughlin was willing to lend me a couple of guys to watch the compound while we take care of business. It will cost me a pretty penny when his next gun shipment comes in, but if this all works out, it will be worth it.

  Moving through the lower part of the clubhouse, I search the bar area, looking for Storm. If anything goes wrong today, I need to have cleared the air between us. I find her on a couch between Hadley and Kaiya, holding Ainsley.

  I watch from my spot, half-shrouded in shadows as she talks to the other woman and the tiny baby she is holding. She is a true beauty and seeing her this way, unguarded, has my protective instincts rearing up. I want to fix what I broke and put my family back together. Some day in the future, I hope to be able to see her holding our baby with a smile.

  Hadley is the first woman after Luna to have a baby with one of our members and I had forgotten how soft some of the guys could get around babies. And although none of them would admit it, Ainsley definitely has most of the guys wrapped around her little finger.

  I approach Storm slowly, making sure that she sees me. She hands Ainsley back to Hadley after kissing her on her forehead. She turns an expectant gaze toward me.

  “Can I have a moment with you?”

  She doesn’t say a word. She simply nods and starts to move toward the stairs. I follow behind her, but as we reach the top, I take her hand and lead her toward my private quarters. Closing the door behind us, I wait for her to turn around but she doesn’t stop until she is in my bedroom. I walk in to find her rummaging through my closet. Neither of us speaks as she starts to place items on my bed.

  Bulletproof vest, 9mm Beretta, knife. She places them all on my bed before removing a black shirt from my closet and handing it to me. She starts talking before I have the chance to apologize.

  “I know you love me, and I know that you pushed me and Brogan away because you thought you were protecting us. Bet you’re kicking your ass about that at the moment.” She smirks while saying this last part.

  Grabbing the hem of my shirt, she starts to lift and I help her by lifting my arms. I’m knocked on my ass by her words. I was fully prepared to apologize for my shitty behavior and thinking that I always know what is best for those around me, but she beat me to the punch.

  “What we are going to do is this.” She stares into my eyes, making sure that my focus is fully on her at the moment. Like it could be anywhere else. “You are going out with the guys to take care of business. You are going to take care of yourself and come back home. When all of this shit is said and done, you and I will sort us out. Until then, no talking about our relationship or what is going on with us at the moment. I will be here when you get back.”

  After getting my shirt on, she moves behind me and drapes my bulletproof vest over my shoulders and secures the straps. She pats me on the butt before making her way toward the door.

  “I love you. And it will all work out. Finish getting dressed and go kick some ass. I’ll see you later.”

  With that said, she leaves me alone with my thoughts. Fuck, I’m a lucky bastard.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Pope

  We have a plan that should work if everything goes according to plan, but first, I need to make a call. Raising my cell phone to my ear, I wait for the person on the other side to answer.

  “Who the fuck is this?”

  I remain silent for a moment, enjoying the upper hand before I answer.

  “Pope.”

  “Fucking hell. Where did you get this number?” Riot growls back at me.

  “From your son.”

  Silence reigns between us. Neither of us daring to be the first one to speak, both fearing the loss of the higher ground in this battle between us.

  “So, let me get this straight. First, your Vice President kills my brother and now you think that it is a good idea to kidnap my only child, to do what? Do you want to make peace? Or are you simply trying to prove a point?” His tone is deathly calm.

  “Neither. What I want to do is talk.”

  “So talk. You have two minutes or I will get my guys together and burn your entire world to ashes.”

  “I need this ended. Tonight. I will return your son to you unharmed, and Sparrow will give himself over to you on the condition that you will leave the rest of the Gypsy Bastards, their families, and friends alone. The debt will be paid.”

  For a moment, we move back to the silence.

  “Why should I trust you?”

  “Because I have honor. Your son is alive and well, right beside me. You are on speakerphone, so you can talk to him.” I remove the phone from my ear and set it to speakerphone.

  “Bishop?”

  “Riot.” Bishop doesn’t say much. His face is stoic, giving away no emotion.

  “Where are you? I’ll be there in five minutes.”

  “Don’t be stupid. Walking in here will get me k
illed and at least one or two of the guys that come here with you, too. Just take the deal and let’s move on from this shit show.”

  “I need to discuss it with King first. I will call you back.”

  He ends the call abruptly, no niceties between father and son. Bishop stares straight ahead. He has nothing to say because we can all see it. He doesn’t care for the man who is his father and has no regrets helping us.

  We wait in silence for what seems like forever but is actually closer to ten minutes before my cell phone rings. Slowly, I lift it from the table and answer.

  “Drive south out of town until you reach the old factory side. Bishop will know where to go from there. You have two hours. If I do not have my son and Sparrow at that time, I will be coming for you and yours first.”

  He doesn’t wait for me to agree, he simply ends the call. Turning toward Bishop, I wait for him to talk.

  “I need a pen and paper. I know the old abandoned warehouse and surrounding buildings well, and I have the perfect plan.”

  ****

  Bishop had split us into three groups before we made the initial call to Riot. He knows his father the best and assured us that the trade would take place at one of two places. We sent one group to the farm, one group to their warehouse location that Riot just chose as our meeting spot, and the third group is currently in the clubhouse around our table. Our group consists of myself, Sparrow, Wolf, Viking, and Bishop.

  We will head to the warehouse with the van including myself, Sparrow and Bishop tied up in the back, with Wolf and Viking accompanying us on their bikes. The plan is very simple but it is better to keep it that way instead of trying to overcomplicate things.

  Our team has already surrounded the warehouse and is hiding in wait. Mad Dog has gone ahead and scouted out the area for the best positions to set up as a sniper.

  Everyone is strapped and everything is in place as we all head out to our bikes. On the way through the clubhouse, Wolf and Viking stop to say goodbye to Hadley, with Viking sneaking in a chance to cuddle little Ainsley, and Sparrow speaks to Gage. Storm is nowhere to be seen, but Brogan is waiting for me by the door.

  “You are my father, and I’m grateful that I got to meet you. But Storm is all I have left of my mom and I don’t want to see her hurt. If you hurt her again, I will act my age and throw a tantrum so big that we will move back to Baton Rouge. You won’t see either of us again.” He says this without looking away from me.

  At that moment, I have so much pride that I feel like I could burst. The fact that he loves her enough to stand up to me, even though I know it must be scary, fills me with more pride than I thought possible.

  But I also realize that my son is a lot more mature than anyone gives him credit for and that he is smarter than people would think for his age. Knowing that he would most definitely be able to guilt Storm into moving back to Baton Rouge scares the shit out of me. I stare at him for a moment without saying a word before nodding. He nods in return and hugs me around my waist quickly, then walks away.

  “Some kid you got there.” Bishop watches Brogan as he walks deeper into the clubhouse. “And you are a good father. My dad would have knocked my ass out for saying something like that to him.”

  “I know that some would think he was being a disrespectful little shit, but knowing he loves her enough to come at me head-on fills me with pride. Besides, if he is like this at this age, I can’t wait to see what he’s like when he’s all grown up.”

  Bishop chuckles as he moves past me toward the van. I retrieve some zip ties from the back and loosely tie his hands in front of him. He needs to be able to get loose and get to his gun if shit breaks out. I help him get into the back as Wolf, Viking, and Sparrow come outside to join us.

  “I have a bad feeling about this, brother,” Wolf says to me. “No offense, Bishop, but I don’t know you for shit. Who says you aren’t leading us into a trap?”

  “Believe what you will, but I know the truth,” Bishop replies. “Riot likes to believe he is smarter than everyone else, and that no one would ever go against him. The fact that I am the one person he believes will never do that is going to be his downfall.”

  Viking nods his agreement. “I have seen it a million times. The people closest to you, the ones you least expect, are the people that often cause your downfall.”

  There’s something in his voice, something that niggles at me, and I know there’s a story. And even though I want to ask him what’s going on, now isn’t the time nor the place for that.

  “I don’t care if it’s a trap or not.” Sparrow scowls at all of us. “Let’s get this shit show on the road so that I can face the man who murdered my wife.”

  No one says anything against him. He has lost so much and deserves the chance to get some peace. The only problem is that I don’t know if this is going to make it better or worse. We all think we want revenge and some even make it their life’s mission to get it, but what then? What is left after you end the person who caused you more pain than any other person in your entire life? My greatest fear is that we will lose Sparrow after all of this is over.

  Without another word spoken, we all pile into the truck and head out.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Storm

  I told Pope the truth when I was standing in his room. I do love him and I know that he loves me. There’s no question about those two things in my mind. They are facts and can be taken as holy writ. But I do have my doubts about how far love can sustain us, as people. Because the truth is, you can love someone with your whole heart, with every fiber of your being, and sometimes it still doesn’t last. Sometimes, sadly, love just isn’t enough.

  I watch them from the window in Pope’s apartment as they load up and head out. I know what is happening. Bishop told me exactly what he was planning to do, and although it scares the shit out of me, I know it has to be done. From what Bishop has divulged to me about his father, Riot is a complete psycho who will not rest until he has what he feels is his revenge.

  My stress levels are through the roof and from previous experience, I know that I won’t be able to relax before all of the guys are back and I can see them with my own eyes. Previously, I would have to pretend to have the same level of care and worry for Pope as I do for the rest of the guys, but with our relationship out in the open, I can show my true worry. It’s not that I care less for the other guys, it is just a different type of caring.

  A soft knock on the door draws my attention. I know who it is, and although I don’t feel like talking to anyone, I open the door for Hadley and Kaiya to enter. I know they want to talk about what’s going on but I don’t have it in me. I don’t want to talk about something that is out of my control, something I can’t do anything about, and simply drive my stress up further.

  “I don’t want to talk about it. They have a plan, they went out, they will be back.” I level both of them with a hard glare.

  “Okay.” Hadley doesn’t look happy about it, but she doesn’t press the issue.

  I hold out my arms and she hands a sleeping Ainsley over tome. I cuddle her to my chest and breathe her in, calming my frazzled nerves a little bit. She smells of soap, sunshine, and love. Just like all babies should

  “I don’t care. Mad Dog told me to chill out, that they could handle themselves and that me stressing about it wasn’t going to help anything.” Kaiya rolls her eyes as she plops down on the couch. “Like him telling me not to think about something is just automatically going to stop me from doing it. Like my mind just jumps at his damn commands.”

  Even though I know she is being serious, I can’t stop myself from laughing. Kaiya has grown so much in the last year and I find it entertaining that she finally found her voice. It drives Mad Dog nuts that she’s learning to stand on her own and do things for herself. In the beginning, she was content to lean on him and have him there for support, but more recently, she has started wanting to do things for herself. She started talking to Irene, my sister’s best friend w
ho also happened to be a grief counselor, and since then has become more and more like a normal twenty-something.

  She is constantly changing the color of her hair, trying to find her way in the world, including getting a job and covering her scars with tattoos. She is blooming into a beautiful, willful woman and I am so proud to be here for her during this transition.

  “I mean, can you just sit here and not worry?” She stares at me with worry lining her face.

  Shaking my head, I answer her. “No. I wish I could just turn it off, but it doesn’t work that way. Still doesn’t mean I want to talk about it.”

  “I get that,” Hadley says softly as she takes a seat on the couch.

  Taking a seat beside her, I take her hand in mine while cradling Ainsley in the other and, in silence, waiting for the guys to return.

  ****

  Pope

  Pulling to a stop, I stare at the warehouse.

  “Deja-fucking-vu, brother. This looks identical to the place they trapped me and Justice previously.” Wolf speaks through the open driver’s side window from his perch on his bike.

  The place seems to be falling apart except for the fact that all the doors have recently been replaced. If you hadn’t been looking for somewhere someone would be hiding illicit activities, you would miss this place for sure.

  None of us says a word. The air is thick with the emotion and the adrenaline pumping through all of us. Anticipation thrums through my veins as I see Riot standing beside a pickup truck. Five bikes are parked beside him, riders straddling them.

  “Let’s get this show on the road,” Bishop says. “No time like the present.”

  Sparrow and I get out the front and move around the van to open the back door and help Bishop out while Wolf and Viking shut down their rides. Bishop turns to Sparrow and stares at him.

  “Remember the plan. Don’t let my dad goad you into going off track. If you want to lose your cool, push me down or something, but don’t deviate from the plan. We need him to fall for our charade.”