“Yeah—I’ve got to run into the bar and handle a problem,” he grumbled. Trinity knew that he was struggling with relinquishing his position in his club and she felt bad for him, but he insisted that it was what he wanted. Ace said that he wanted to spend more time with Bella and her, so giving up being the club’s Prez was the only option—at least that was what he told her.
She sat down next to him on the sofa and he leaned in to kiss Bella’s little head. “Tell me more about this club of yours,” she said. “What do you have to do to get into it?” she asked.
“A bunch of shit,” he admitted. “Hell, most of the time the stuff we have the probies do is illegal. Maybe you shouldn’t know so much about the Bandits,” he insisted. “You know, as a lawyer and all.” She giggled and Bella squirmed against her body. Trinity patted her niece’s back and she settled right back down.
“I think I can handle hearing a bit about your illegal activities, Ace,” she insisted. “I’m not a prude.”
“No, you aren’t,” he said, bobbing his eyes at her. “But you’re a decent person and I know that you always try to do the right thing, Honey. I can’t claim the same.”
“I see,” she breathed. “Have you decided what you’re going to do?”
“I’m giving up being the Bandit’s Prez,” he said. “It’s not fair to the club to keep doing the half-ass job I’ve been doing for them. Club business isn’t getting done and between the casino, opening a second casino, Arabella and well, you—my plate is full.”
“But—” she breathed. He covered her mouth with his hand, stopping what she was about to say.
“No buts,” he insisted. “It’s what I want. I want to spend as much time with you and Bella as possible, and if I do that, I’ll neglect the Smokey Bandits. It’s not fair to them. They need a Prez who can be there every night and be a part of the daily ins and outs of running the club.”
“How will you choose a new Prez?” she asked. He chuckled at the way she said the word, “Prez” and she shrugged.
“All MC clubs do things differently,” he said. “Some will hold a fight between the guys who want the position. Some will even fight to the death.”
“Oh God,” Trinity breathed. “That sounds awful.”
“Yeah—well, the Bandits don’t do things that way. We’re a part of the Royal Bastards. Think of it like this—they’re the ones in charge, the head club, and the Bandits are part of smaller clubs that are under the Bastard's protection.”
“Okay,” she breathed. “So, do they have some sort of rules you’ll need to follow to pick a new club president?”
“Kind of,” he said. “I’ll let the guys know that I’m stepping down at our weekly church. Then, they can put their names in the hat, so to speak. The guys will stand up and declare that they plan on running for president and then, about a week later, we’ll hold a vote.”
“How very democratic of you all,” she teased. “Honestly, it sounds so much better than fighting to the death—much more civil.”
“It is,” he agreed. “Then, I’ll just have to help transition everything over to the new Prez.”
“Will you stay in the club—you know, like a regular member?” she asked.
“Yes—we’ll I’d like to. I guess that’s something that you and I will need to discuss. I won’t go every night like I used to. Hell, I spent all of my free time over at the bar. I even had a cot in my office so I wouldn’t have to go back to my apartment and Charity. I spent my time away from the casino at the bar, with the Bandits, and the rest of my time at work, building the casino.”
“That’s not much of a life,” she said.
“It wasn’t, but I was pretty miserable back then. It was easier for me to just avoid my problems than to hash them out, so I hid away at the clubhouse,” he said. “I’d like to go once a week if that works for you. I hate leaving you two here when I go.”
“Will you come back here to sleep or will you be staying at your clubhouse?” she asked. Trinity worried that he’d fall back into his old habits, as he had with her sister. What if he got sick of spending so much time with her and then started hiding away at the bar, to get away from her.
“I’ll be sleeping here, with you,” he said. “Things between us, well, they’re nothing like they were with Charity. I don’t want you to ever compare yourself with her. You can’t compare our relationship to what she and I had.”
“You had a daughter together, Ace. I can’t compete with that,” she insisted. “You two will always share a special bond through Bella.” If Trinity was being completely honest, she worried that her sister would show back up in Ace and Bella’s life once she was out of rehab and want them back. Her biggest fear was that Ace would take her back so that his daughter wouldn’t have to grow up without her mother. Trinity wouldn’t be able to blame him if he did take Charity back, but that would kill her. Losing Ace and Bella would break her.
“Look around, Trinity,” he ordered. She could hear the hint of anger in his voice. “Your sister isn’t here—you are. You’re the one taking care of my daughter with me. You are the one in my bed every night. Your sister was the fool who walked away from everything that we were building together, but worst of all, she walked away from her daughter. She left the one person who needed her most in this world. The only reason she came back for Bella was because Rooster dumped her ass. Charity has been gone for months now and in her place, for the last eight weeks, has been you. You’re the person that I want to spend time with. You’re the person that I look forward to coming home to every night. I just wish you could see that. I wish you believed in how I feel about you, Baby. I’ve fallen in love with you and your sister has no place in our relationship anymore.”
“Wait—what?” she questioned. Had he just announced that he was in love with her?
“Your sister can’t come between us—I won’t allow it, Trinity,” he said.
“No, not that part,” she breathed. “The other part—where you said you were falling in love with me.”
He smiled and nodded, “Actually, I didn’t say that I’m falling in love with you. I said that I’ve already fallen in love with you, Trinity. I’m completely head over ass in love with you, Baby.”
“Oh,” she breathed.