Then there’s what it's done to me too, and I barely had a taste of her.
My eyes skip to the side to find Laith with his eyes firmly on the small screen, and when Vic’s voice fills the room, his spine straightens.
“Brothers.”The sound of Vic's voice is like an accelerant on my already torn insides, and the way his voice cracks at the end of the word only adds flame to my anger. I’ve watched this video a hundred times and still, it impacts me as if this is the first time all over again.“There is something I’ve kept from you, something I thought I could fight on my own and recover without ever affecting the club. I was wrong. Cancer is a bitch and she has my balls in a vice grip. I’ve got a few months to get my shit in order and then I’m meeting my maker, whether he’s up or down. Fuck, maybe it’s a she. I think we can all admit a woman could better run anything, Claire is certainly more than capable of scaring the shit out of any man.”
The sound of my mother’s name has me gritting my teeth, and as my brothers all laugh at his fucking gibe, I just hear my mother screaming for me, begging themennot to hurt her son.
“Which brings me around to the favor I need to ask of all of you. I’m hoping my time as your President is something you’ll bear in mind as I know what I’m about to say will shock you. When I leave this world, I’ll need you guys to keep an eye on Claire, make sure she’s safe, and even though I know Jaeger will have that seemingly under control, he’ll need help.”
He was right about that, wasn’t he? I couldn’t protect my own mother and she lost her life because of it. My jaw pulses with the pressure and my fist curls into my thigh as my eyes begin to burn. I know the role I played in the death of my mother, but I wasn’t the only one.
“Genevieve is training hard, our brother, Chino, can attest to that. She’s been putting in the work to be worthy of the Steel Dragons. I’m begging you, brothers, to accept her with open arms and protect her with your lives. I will be passing along my Presidency to her.”
Mumbled curses pour from their mouths but they stare at the screen, riveted by the man who’s baring his tar-black soul.
“Jaeger will remain Vice because I know he will lay down his life for his sister and Vice will do anything in their power to protect their President. I know it’s not been done, having a woman lead us, but it’s the only way I will rest in peace, knowing she’s safe with the family I trust above everything. I don’t plan on living this life in pain any longer, and you definitely won’t find me in a bed, laying in my own shit.”
They laugh at the man whose words still have a lasting impact, even from his grave. Once again, I feel myself crumbling at the thought of filling his shoes. It was something I was sure I could accomplish with ease, but I’ve come to realize my feet still have some growing to do.
“She’s Varga, brothers. Her blood runs potent with the Varga legacy, and I need her to be completely protected and cared for. Don’t leave her to fend for herself, not with my enemies waiting with anticipation for the day I’m no longer in the picture.”
And then comes the last bit, the most honest part of his fucked-up video.
“I’m a coward, I resisted telling you all this for fear of a mutiny. I wanted you to accept her on her own terms, to grow to be as fond of her as you are of me, and I hope I’ve accomplished that. I love you, brothers, and I hope you understand everything I’ve done.”
The video ends there and I see a few of the older members wiping their eyes for the friend they’ve grown old with, ridden beside, and killed for. Everyone is quiet as they mourn the man and try to work through the pile of shit he left at our feet.
“Chino was training Genevieve how to shoot and fight.” I break the silence just as Quinton picks his chair off the floor and falls back into it. “He was ordered to keep silent about it, and he did so for his President.”
“Did you know, Chino?” Kennedy leans on the table, his eyes narrowed with accusation. “Did you know why you were training her?”
“No,” Quinton growls out.
“Let’s not point fingers, the man you need to feel any sort of betrayal from is dead,” I tell them. “He had planned for me to show you this video the day after he took his own life, but that’s not how it went down, as you all know. The night I went to the warehouse with him, he told me his plan and what he needed me to do. I also was sworn to secrecy, but I was fucking mad.” My fist hits the table, jarring everyone sitting around it. “He was going out the weak way and he was leaving me with a heavy conscience, especially when he expected me to babysit my sister for the rest of her life.”
“That’s what family is for,” Laith snarls and I quickly round on him.
“Is it, though? Are you doing that for Malik?”
His jaw works with my question but he’s smart enough not to fight back because he knows it’s true. Family can be your sole burden if you let it, and it’s usually your own blood who’ll drain you of everything you’re willing to give and more because they feel they deserve it.
Because you share blood.
I look away from Laith and back to the brothers in front of me. “Hell’s March approached me one day, Chino can attest to that, and spilled the beans that my father didn’t plan on killing himself. No, he asked them to do it and in doing so, he was willing to squash the long-standing beef with them. He was going to allow them to useourtown to run the cartel’s drugs and guns, to strike a treaty just so Genevieve would never be harmed. Barrett himself thought this was insane and decided to seek me out. This next part I’m ashamed to admit because I was angry and reeling from all the information floating around in my head. My father was no longer the man I thought he was, and he was cohorting with the enemy.”
“I’d be pissed too,” Cash snaps, his eyes flashing with anger.
“So, in retaliation, I made a deal with Bear and Malik.” My eyes skim to Laith who’s now looking more confused than angry. “I asked them to kidnap Genni, take her out of Arizona, and make sure she understood to never come back. I packed her a bag, stuffed fifty thousand dollars in there, and hoped to never see her again, but I was fucking wrong. She stayed with them, joined them, and now because of my rage and my sister’s cunning, they have the single most effective weapon against us.”
“She decided to join them? She wasn’t forced?” Laith leans forward, seeking clarification. He’s still looking unconvinced.
“What did she look like to you the day she blew our shit up? Or to you, Chino, the night you saw her at Glitz with Malik Charles?”
“She was at Glitz?” Chip stands, his voice shaking in anger.
“Yeah,” Chino answers quietly, his brows low in thought. “She looked happy.”
“I received a text message from Malik a few weeks after she was taken, showing her shopping with him.” I slide my phone across the table, my message screen already prepped. “She was happy, and then she was ecstatic to blow our shit up. Its meaning hasn’t been lost on me and my penchant for a good blaze.”
