“Remedy, I’m not even close to being able to handle your shit right now,” Raider’s glare could put Remedy in the ground.He cuts that two-toned glare at me.“Blitz, why don’t you fucking start from the goddamn beginning—do not leave out a single fucking detail.”
Every person in the room turns, eyeing me.I allow my eyes to slide closed so I can think through this shit that I’m still trying to figure out.
“Fucking today, asshole,” Raider grinds out.
“One night about ten years ago, I got a call from my closest friend for my entire childhood, Boston.He let me know he had gotten himself into a situation that could end up with him being put down.Boston asked if the marker I owed him from saving my life in the military was still good.I said yes.He told me that if I ever got a call from his woman, then she was the one who would cash it in.I had no idea until recently that my childhood friend was the former president of Lucifer's Knights.”I stop there so they can take the words in.
“Wait, you're telling us that your childhood bestie was the president of the Lucifer’s Knights and you owed him a fucking favor?”Token questions.
“Hold up, everyone.It was when he died that the Knights completely changed and we formally cut ties because of the shit they were getting into,” Terro comments leaning back in his chair thoughtfully.
“What does any of this have to do with the woman in that room or the fact that Charlie is currently in the cells?”Anvil’s tone is annoyed.
“After that phone call, I never heard from Boston—or Six, I guess—again.We got word that Lucifer’s Knights had a change of power, and I never thought about it again.Out of the blue a few years later, I got a call from a desperate woman saying that her husband told her if she ever needed anything to call and tell me she was calling in Boston’s marker.She said he told her I would know he was in trouble, or that something had happened to him.After I got her call and got permission from Relic to take a few days, I went after her.”I’m too keyed up to continue to just stand, so I pace.
“Wait, I remember that,” Rhino leans forward onto his forearms.“You were supposed to have gone with us on a run, but pulled out at the last second.Relic was so pissed because our Road Captain had to have some fucking time away.“
“Yeah, let's just say the ass whoopin’ that I got when we got back was sunshine and fucking rainbows,” I sneer.“Anyway, I found Charlie barely alive right outside the Knights' territory in some roach motel.It took me two days to get her well enough to even sit up and stay awake.The second she saw my cut, I got nearly the same response we just received from Nova.Complete shock and fear.It took me another day to convince her to come back with me.You all know everything else from there.”
“You’re expecting us to believe, as close as you both are, that you had no idea she was the widowed Ol’ Lady to those fucking assholes?”Mercy’s tone holds pure contempt.
I stop pacing, ready for the battle I know is going to come.“Y’all have fucking met and spent time with her.She is so closed off and the walls so goddamn high I don’t know that there is a way to get around them.Other than the fact she was Boston’s woman and whatever shit happened to her after he died, she’s given me nothing.Because of the way she acts and the things she has said, I’ve assumed there was some kind of connection to an MC of some kind.”
“I call bullshit,” Token snaps.“There is no fucking way that with the feelings the two of you have there is no pillow talk going on.”
“That’s just it.Nothing has happened.It wasn’t until recently that I decided to stop being honorable in the slightest.I was getting ready to lock her down when all hell broke loose.”I run my hands over my face, then fist my hair because this shit is about to explode.“Before these assholes dropped the woman on our front lawn, Charlie was arguing with a man out by the lake.He was making threats, and she looked scared.I was in the middle of talking to him when I heard the scream and bolted toward the clubhouse.”
Anvil slowly stands.“Are you—our Road Captain—standing here telling us that there was another club not only on the property but they made it all the way to the fucking lake and you are just now telling us about it?”
I watch the man in front of me turn into the killer that the military made him.It only gives me about thirty seconds of a pause considering I’ve been facing off with the psycho twins for fucking years.
“When exactly was I supposed to say something?I was literally nose to nose with the motherfucker that was coming after someone under club protection on club property.Then some woman starts screaming like she’s being murdered from the direction of the clubhouse.Where—and correct me if I’m wrong—every vulnerable person everyone in this room fucking cares about is.”I turn to Raider.I’m fucking done.Done with this bullshit.I finally see things for what they are.
“You know the fucked-up part?If I had stayed dealing with some random person instead of coming to aid with the scene here, I would still be accused of putting Charlie above the club.Because if I’m not mistaken, we were having an open to the public party.Nothing about the man giving shit to someone under the club’s—no, fuck that—myprotectionsaid he was part of a rival MC, so he was an afterthought when I needed to do my goddamn job.When Mercy put his little lamb above the club, it was okay because she had information.Same when you,” I point at Raider, “nearly started a war with the Cartel over a woman who was nothing more than history between you two.So, tell me how you can just fucking turn your back on Charlie and treat her like she's nothing when all she's ever done was exactly what was asked of her.”
“Because we’ve got a fucking traitor,” Terro states flatly.“At this point, if it's not her, then it’s one of you assholes.”
His words hit me.Shea.All of this is because of Shea.
“Hermes, how deep of a dive have done into everyone even remotely close to the club?”I ask.
Hermes’ head pops up and his hands pause for only a second, but it’s enough for me to know that he hasn’t just been digging to be sure.No, he’s been actively digging deep into everyone, convinced there is something to find.
A humorless laugh escapes me.“We’ve really lost what it means to be a fucking King if we’re letting the words of a woman who was known to do nothing but lie and manipulate people drive this kind of wedge between us.”
Raider scoffs.“That bitch didn’t do anything.This wedge started when we learned Relic was lying to everyone about everything.If we can’t trust the Pres, how the fuck do we trust anyone?”
“So that's what all this is?The club paying for the sins of your family?I admit it was wrong that I never once said anything about where Charlie came from.Yet at this point we have two options.Put her the fuck out and let the Knights have her, or figure out what she knows and use it to our advantage.And keep protecting her as we have been.”I’m beyond done.
“And if we decide to do just that … put her out on her ass because she is the Queen of Lucifer's Knights, how do we know we can trust you not to keep her close and feed her information?We’ve all seen how you look at her and how much you want her.”Raider's tone is mocking.A dare for me to back up what I just threw down.
“I can assure you if you do that, then the last thing I will do is feed her information.Because I will no longer have access to it.”My tone is flat and unwavering.
Rhino’s head snaps up, and he glares at me.“Blitz, you need to stop and think about what you're saying.”
Standing to my full height, I make sure he understands exactly what I’m saying and that I mean every fucking word.“I know that I’ve held secrets and not done what I should have when bringing Charlie here.No matter the reason, I did that.What I will not do is stand with anyone who will throw aside someone who never truly asked to be here, or for anything more than to be away from the place she currently was.Charlie has all supported and done exactly what was asked of her by everyone.So know this.If she's out, so am I.I will not stand here and let her be thrown to the wolves because a bunch of assholes got their egos bruised.”
Everyone stands there, not saying a word, looking as if they’ve been slapped.Mercy would lay the world to waste for Ainsley.Raider would sacrifice us all for Anastasia.That’s who they are, but for Charlie,I would lay down my life.I will make sure that when I’m done and the dust settles, she will have a life worth living.Even at the cost of my soul.
