“Excuse me?”
“She has been blackmailing Matrix for the last two years. She kidnapped Matrix’s son and has been using him as leverage ever since to get what she wants.”
“What?” Savage asked.
“No way. He has a kid?” Viper replied.
Reaper sighed, shaking his head.
Over the years, there were many things that brothers would do to protect their loved ones, and they paid the price for it, but when it came to a kid. There wasn’t a brother around that wouldn’t protect a child. Everyone in the room had seen too much nasty, crazy shit to let a child get hurt in any way. As a parent myself, I knew I would turn my back on my brothers in a heartbeat to protect my daughter. No parent would do less.
“He’s small Reaper,” I said. “The kid can’t be no more than five years old. I saw him myself.”
“Why didn’t he just tell us?” Ghost said, looking about the room.
“That’s why we’re here. Matrix’s son is housed at the plantation. If we can get Matrix’s son out of there safely, then Caroline loses her moneyman. Matrix can then start the trace he put on all of her accounts. He may be many things Reaper, but he is not a traitor to this club.”
“He’s a dead man walking, Kitty. He should have come to me with this. We could have helped him. Instead, he did whatever that bitch wanted.”
“Are you going to sit there and tell me that if someone kidnapped your child and told you to go against the club or your kid dies, you wouldn’t do it?” Kitty challenged.
“That’s different.”
“Is it?” A gruff voice said from across the room. “Because from where I’m standing, all of you would do the same.”
We all turned to see Matrix standing there. It had been a while since I’d seen Matrix, and he hadn’t changed a bit. He was still tall but skinny. Covered in head-to-toe tattoos and piercings, I wasn’t sure there was a bare spot on him. Unlike my other brothers, Matrix wore Emo clothes, baggy black pants, and chains over his chest. Add that the freaky bastard had an affinity for cats. He wasn’t what I would call playing with a full deck. He preferred a solitary environment, and though he was a Golden Skull member, he didn’t really belong to a particular club. He only took orders from Reaper, and that was only when he felt like helping.
Reaper slowly stood. “You’ve got balls coming here after everything you’ve done.”
“My kid is sick, Reaper. He has Diabetes. He has to have a fucking insulin shot every day. He’s four. He shouldn’t have to deal with that shit. No kid should. Instead of being in a place where he is loved and cared for, your fucking mother has him.”
“I didn’t even know you had a kid.”
“Nobody knew.”
“His mother?”
“She died of an overdose a few days after giving birth.”
“You should have come to me.”
“Maybe I should have, but when your cunt of a mother put a fucking needle filled with bleach to my sons’ neck, I did what I had to. Besides, you admitted to me that the club wasn’t to be trusted. Even back then, you knew shit wasn’t right. That’s why you sent me to Denver. I never told anyone where I was. So, tell me, Reaper, how did your mother find me?”
“Shit,” Ghost cursed, shaking his head.
That was the crux of the matter.
Looking at all my brothers who were now staring at our President, I knew what Reaper would say. If he wanted to blame anyone for the leak, he only had to look at himself.
“This isn’t helping, anything,” I said, getting to my feet. “Reaper didn’t know his mother was working against the club, and yes, Matrix, you should have at least trusted someone in the club, but I get it. I do. If it were Hailey, I would do anything. We can’t keep fighting amongst ourselves. That won’t fix the problem. We need to find Caroline and kill her.”
“Bullseye’s right,” Savage said. “We need to cut the head off the snake and be done with this shit.”
“Agreed,” Shadow muttered. “I’m tired of burning brothers. Can we just table the ass whippings for later? I want to go home. This place gives me the creeps.”
“Depends on what else the Vault has stored away.”
Kitty looked up at Reaper.