One by one, like dominoes on the downfall, the men gathered around hit their fists against the table. It’s a show of support, a show of brotherhood, and my chest feels tight. Too many emotions flood me and I have to lean back in my chair to keep myself under control.
This moment right here—it’s what Mom doesn’t understand. Doesn’t get that I’ve watched this type of solidarity my entire life and all I’ve craved is to be a part of it. To be more than Cyrus’s grandson, Eli’s nephew, James’s ghost in living flesh. More than just being a blood destiny. I’ve wanted to belong because of who I am, because I’m wanted...and now it’s happening.
I suck in a breath and can’t seem to find words to respond to their support, so instead I nod. It’s short, but it happened and Eli nods back.
“Don’t make us regret this decision,” Eli says. “We’re treating you like one of our own, so we expect you to act like it even though the cut isn’t on your back yet. What we talk about here, stays here.”
“Understood.” Noted and written in stone.
“The Riot voluntarily talked with the police and let us in when they did it.” Eli didn’t even bother with a pause. Just went balls to the wall. “They’re sticking with their story, claiming that the kidnapping was on Fiend, and they even went a step further.”
“How’s that?” I lean forward, arms on the table.
Eli mirrors my position. “Skull said after they dropped you two off and went home to clean house, he found out Fiend hadn’t misunderstood anything. Fiend was upset our clubs have been trying for peace since Emily’s visit and that he and a few other disgruntled members went after you to start a war between us.”
My blood runs cold. This past summer, Eli’s daughter—Skull’s granddaughter—visited Kentucky for the first time since her mother left the state running like she was on fire in order to keep her and Emily safe from our clubs. Emily’s mom didn’t trust the Riot and was scared the Terror couldn’t protect her and Emily. When Emily came to town because Eli’s mom, Olivia, was dying, it caused a pot of anger that had been simmering between our clubs for years to boil over. “You think it’s true?”
Eli gives a sloppy shrug. “Who knows, but I’ve been dealing with Skull since Meg told me she was pregnant with Emily. Bastard hates me. Have to say the emotion goes both ways. All the shit we’ve been through over the years, he never voluntarily walked into a police station and he’s never talked club business with us or the law.
“The police feel Skull should have called them when he found you and Violet and they find it suspicious he had his son drop the two of you off on the dirt road.”
“You don’t?” I ask.
“Not thrilled with it,” Eli responds, “but at the same time, police aren’t the Riot’s knee-jerk reaction and they did get you home quick after they found you.”
All a blur, but the moment Skull found us we were up the steps, Violet in the bathroom, and the phone call to Eli happened shortly after.
“The police said they could try to charge Skull and his son, but they said the charges could be tough to make stick. They’re leaving that up to us.” Eli settles his dark eyes straight on me. “And we’re leaving that up to you.”
I hear everything Eli’s saying and not saying. They’ll support me if I want to lock up Skull and his son, but it also sounds like we’re on the verge of harmony with a club that’s caused us problems since my birth. Arresting them could kill that fragile peace.
“Can I think about it?” I ask.
“Yeah. The decision will need to be made, but you have time.”
“What about Fiend and the others with him?” The temperature in the room drops thirty degrees and it’s all thanks to me. That son of a bitch needs to never see daylight again due to a cell or because he’s dead. Either option works for me and I’m fine being the one responsible for the punishment.
“He shot at Violet,” I remind them. “Point-blank shot at her. Would have killed her if Skull and his son hadn’t come in when they did. Plus the fucking asshole hit her. Multiple times. He made her bleed.” He needs to bleed.
The air in the room is so charged that electricity is practically crackling around us. Each man has that determined yet faraway expression on their face. Each of us imagining how to skewer the bastard and make him cry.
Eli drums his fingers against the table. “Fiend and the guys working with him are gone. Skull seems to have no idea where they’re at, but he says he’s looking. We told Skull if he values this peace, that if his club finds them before we or the police do, he’s to turn them over to the police. We will get justice for you and Violet. Those men will go to prison.”
My body pulsates. The people who hurt Violet are free and that’s not acceptable. “We’ve got to find them.”
“We will,” Cyrus says. “We’re looking, the police are looking and in theory the Riot are, as well. Got to be honest, though, we have to find them before the Riot does. What they did makes them traitors and traitors don’t survive in the Riot.”
“Whatever you or the police need, I’ll do it.” Anything to make Violet safe again.
Affirmations around the table. A promise from each man to see this through, to do anything to help me nail the bastards who did the unthinkable.
“I’ve got a question.” Pigpen flicks a paper clip he’d been messing with in my direction. “Did Skull mention what it was he wanted to talk to you about?”
All eyes on me and the high I’d been feeling from being a part of something bigger than myself plummets. I’d been able to avoid this at the hospital because of Mom being around, but there’s no dodging it now. But to be honest, it shouldn’t be evaded. What Skull told me is heavy, and if these men are truly my brothers, bringing it up won’t change a thing.
My grandfather’s watching me. Expectant. Waiting. Patient in his own way. He’s been a father to me. Doing all the crap dads are supposed to do. Taught me how to hook a worm so it won’t fall off, unhook a fish, how to gut it open and fry it. Taught me how to respect a girl, open doors, treat her right. Taught me to give my all and then how to dig deeper when I don’t think there’s anything left.
Another thing Cyrus taught me: to spill it instead of being a coward. “Skull told me my dad was a traitor. That he worked for the Riot while being patched in to the Terror. He said the detective in Louisville recently figured it out and it wouldn’t be long until he told you.”