“We can’t do nothing,” Pacino says. “Zep’s right. How do we just act like it’s okay?”
Finally, someone’s on my side. Two someone’s, actually.
“It’s not okay. And I’ll tell Misty that myself,” Jethro says. “But I have to be the voice of reason right now. Emotions are running high, and we’re all pissed. I know you don’t believe that, Zep—”
“You’re right. I don’t.”
He sighs and shakes his head. “We will do something. We just have to be strategic about it. If we go in all guns blazing, we’re fucking ourselves as well as Misty and Bernie. We should never go into battle knowing our loved ones will be collateral damage.”
Fuck. He has a point. I don’t like it, but he does.
“So whatarewe fucking doing, then?”I ask.
Pacino smirks. “First of all, I’m going to figure out which cops are on Butch’s payroll, and we’re going to take them out. Not quite as dramatically as you took out Vold’s house, though. We need a bit of subtlety.”
Remembering the fire makes me smile. “But it was fun.”
“Yeah, I bet,” he says with a chuckle. “Once the cops are taken care of, we’re going to make attacks that weaken them. When we finally go all in and kill Butch, we want to demolish the entire fucking club.”
“And hopefully get rid of Venom Dust while we’re at it,” Kannon says. “We just lost one of our new girls to that shit.”
That’s something. “What kind of timeframe are we looking at?”
All eyes shift to the table, walls, or ceiling. Anywhere but at me. “It’s going to take us some time,” Jethro says. “But we will make sure this happens.”
“I’ll see what Misty has to say. If she’s feels like we’re a bunch of pussies for it… I’m out.”
I never thought I’d say those words, but it’s the truth. If our actions mean I lose her respect, the patch means nothing. It used to stand for honor and courage. Everything that’s happened since Johnny’s death has changed that a bit for me.
“I can’t stop you,” Jethro says.
“But I think Misty will understand,” Rooster says. “She’ll understand the risk of diving in headfirst. And I think she’ll appreciate that her safety is a huge factor in this decision.”
He’s right. He’s scared of fucking birds, but he has common sense. Sometimes.
“Okay. Anything else we need to discuss?”
Epilogue
Zeppelin
Misty more than understood the decision of the club, and she doesn’t feel we’re failing her. Being around to protect her and Bernie is more important than taking out Butch.
I was convinced she was just playing cool while she planned her escape. But if she left, I was following her. My life will never be without her or Bernie. I wouldn’t survive.
She told me she wanted to talk one night, and I panicked. I was ready to tell her I was out and following her, but she surprised me. She asked me to move in with her and Bernie, and I damn near kissed her feet in relief.
By the next weekend, I was moved into her house with Bernie. And while we had our ups and downs in the beginning, it’s been smooth sailing ever since.
And the best time of my entire fucking life. I never realized how large of a yard Gloria had, and the first thing I convinced Misty to let me do was put in a pool. Bernie loves to swim, and I made sure there were privacy fences up high enough to allow us a little bit of fun when Bernie’s at sleepovers.
The entire club is here for the party, and a few of them have even changed into swim trunks and jumped into the pool withBernie. Not all, but some. Rooster damn near ripped off his clothes to get into the water.
“Looks like a great party,” Mama says, wrapping her arms around our waists.
Misty looks around at everyone and shakes her head. Quite a few of Bernie’s classmates are also here to celebrate her ninth birthday, and I know how much this means to her mama. All Misty’s ever wanted was people to see how great Bernie is, and it’s finally happening.
“It’s the best,” Misty says and hugs Mama. “Thank you for helping plan this.”
