“You do more than that, Nickel,” Bee admonishes. “You’ve not only doubled your club's earnings, but you've also helped Beau with investments for my family. I know you have your own investments and a portfolio set up for Opal, which means she’ll never have to work if she doesn’t want to. And there’s also one for your mom and dad, which means they can retire if they want.”
“There is?” Tinman looks at me with surprise.
“Mom knows about it,” I assure him.
“I’m sure she does.” He chuckles. “And Opal?”
“She knows.”
Coal frowns. “Is there a reason you haven’t told us?”
I shift uncomfortably in my chair, knowing that everyone is looking at me. “No. I just figured the club would want a stable company managing their investments rather than an untrained brother. As treasurer, I know what’s going on with our finances, so it seemed natural to talk to Beau. Cash showed me how to funnel money out for our operations.”
Coal shakes his head. “Fuck, Nickel. We’ve always known you were too smart to be a brother.”
Hurt flashes through me, and Nora straightens in the chair next to me.
“I’m a good brother, Pres.”
Coal holds up a hand. “You’re a fucking phenomenal brother, Nickel. That’s never been in question. But if you hadn’t been born into this life, you could be doing so many other things.”
I’m fucking confused. I hate not knowing what he means. Is he upset that I’m makingmoney for the club, or is he happy? People are so bloody frustrating.
“Son.”
I turn to Tinman.
“What our President is trying to say is that he feels you’re wasted in the brotherhood. That you could have gone to college, had a career, and that if you hadn’t joined the Queens Wraiths, you could be or do anything you wanted.”
“I like being a brother.” I turn back to Coal. “It was never a choice for me. All my family is Queens Wraiths. I’ve always wanted to be a brother, and I hope I’m a good one. I enjoy working with numbers because they make sense to me. I’m happy with the life I’ve chosen, Coal. I don’t want a career or a nine-to-five job. I’d be fucking bored. I love the life we live with my brothers and my family. Am I missingsomething?”
“No, brother, you’re not,” Copper says. “You’re a great brother, both in blood and in brotherhood. Always have been and always will be. I, for one, am glad to call you mine.”
“Same,” Bolt agrees.
“That goes for me too,” Iron adds. “Always happy to have you at my back. I may have to hit you up to take over my portfolio. The guy I use in the states is slacking.”
“You use Cash,” I say, confused.
“I know.” He grins. “But I’d rather use you, and he’ll be glad to have a bit more free time.”
“Okay, we’ve gone off track, and I’ve somehow fucked things up when I didn’t mean to. Bee, you're welcome to work with Nickel if he wants to join you. Everyone, we’re back here in two days. Hopefully, Sterling will have more information on Burres. We’ll go over the company books then. Church dismissed.” Coal slams the gavel on the table.
Nora and I stand as everyone files out.
“A minute, Nickel,” Coal says, stopping me before we can leave.
Nora tenses and slides in front of me, arms folded across her chest. She stares Coal down. “You’d better not say anything to make him feel bad about himself again. I don’t like it.”
Coal smiles, and his eyes meet mine over her head. I know he feels bad about what he said, and I may have taken it wrong. He’s my brother and would never intentionally hurt me, so I must’ve missed something. This is him wanting to clear the air.
“I only want to apologise to him, Nora.”
She turns slightly to look at me over her shoulder.
I squeeze her waist. “It’s all good, darlin’.”
“If you’re sure.”
