“You can’t fucking challenge me!” Smitty’s bellow gains my attention again to find his face beet red as he glares at me. “I’m the President! I say what goes, and I demand everyone shoot this traitor now!”
He points at me, glancing around the room for support, yet no one budges.
“You know the bylaws, Nate,” I remind him. “A president can be challenged for the role in a public fight. Fists or knives. You know the fucking deal.”
Scoffing, he throws up his hands like I’m the dramatic one, doing a three-sixty to take in our club brothers, and clearly noticing some aren’t on his fucking side.
“This is ludicrous. Shoot him! He’s trying to destroy this club!”
“Not trying to destroy it. Only doing what’s right,” I explain, meeting the hard stares of some of the men. “If we don’t stick toour rules and morals, then we are no fucking better than those Rebel pricks.” I stab a finger in Panda’s direction, who is now deathly pale as he bleeds out. Moore hasn’t moved to help him, his own confusion written across his face.
Who does he take orders from? Nate or me?
He’s been working undercover for the Southern Sadists, which Smitty arranged, which leads me to believe he hasn’t always been working against us. But somewhere along the way, recently, Nate switched sides. For money. So maybe Moore has switched sides too.
“You think you can do better than me?” Nate scoffs. “Who secured this land so we could move out of the fucking burbs? Who has kept every fucker here sheltered and fed? Who has just made this club even richer?”
As guns lower, I start to pace before Nate, knowing my relaxed persona will piss him off.
“Actually, it was me and JD that secured this land for the club,” I remind him, making sure my voice is loud again so everyone can hear. “We negotiated with the Marx family to operate out of this area. We ensured the sale price was a fucking steal for only one hundred fucking grand since no one wanted to buy the land the house of horrors burnt down on.” Ignoring Nate’s scoff, I flick my gaze to Abbey to see Jols at her side, whispering in her ear. “The shipping container deal was secured by Mex and Vender. The containers have, and continue to be converted by the club brothers.” I gesture to the room. “Not you.”
“Semantics,” Smitty scoffs, basically digging his own grave given the glares that harden towards him from the club brothers scattered around the space.
“The money to feed everyone comes from the fucking kitty,” I continue. “And it’s the Doxies that source the food and cook for every fucker here. Not you.” My eyes meet Casey’s for a moment, and a flash of pride widens them. “The only thing you have done,” I turn back to Smitty, “is go against our fucking rules to secureyourself, not the club, a huge chunk of money. There’s no fucking way anyone here will get to see much of its spoils but you.”
Nate’s lip twitches as he glares at me, and I stop pacing to glare right fucking back.
“I challenge you!” I bark.
“Fine! Fists or knives?” he snaps, and this time, I smirk.
“Knives. We fight to the death.”
More gasps float through the room. Some, more manly, while others are clearly from the Doxies.
“Cam.” Abbey’s gentle voice comes from behind me, and I glance over my shoulder to see her wet eyes.
The sight nearly fucking breaks me. She knows what this means. We both do.
A life of service to the club for who knows how long. This sort of life isn’t for everyone, and fuck, the person she was just a few weeks back blended right in, but she was never meant to be that person. That killer. That ruthless, hardened shell of a human.
She is soft in the best fucking way, even despite how hard she tries to fight it.
It’s not a bad thing.
Fuck, it’s part of what drew me to her in the beginning. My pretty blonde Angel. Sweet. Innocent. Kind right down to her soul.
And now, with Bobbi… well, an MC is no place for a kid.
I swallow thickly, clearing my throat before I speak.
“This is how it has to be Angel. I’m sorry.”
Her lips part like she wants to say something, but Nate’s grating voice cuts through our moment.
“Stop fucking stalling,” he snaps, and I turn my glare on him to see him shedding his cut and shirt. “You wanna play king fucking dick, then let’s get this over and done with so I can piss on your corpse.”
“He’ll be pissing on your corpse!” Abbey yells from behind me, and I glance over as I tug off my cut to see Jols and JD holding her back as she snarls at Nate.
