“Come on, boss,” Ghost walked over to him. “This isn’t the time. You can beat Player’s ass later. We need him.”
Reaper said nothing, and when he stepped back and put his blade away, I reached up and felt the tiny drop of blood that trickled down my neck.
Moving away from Reaper, I sat back down on the bed next to my brother and said nothing. I knew Reaper was going to be pissed, but I didn’t imagine this.
I’ve always been scared of the President’s temper.
I’ve seen him in action when he has lost control.
It isn’t pretty.
I just never witnessed it firsthand on the receiving end.
I now know what his victims felt like when they looked into the eyes of death.
Unable to speak, my brother began. “Layla isn’t as broken as she led all of us to believe. Yes, she was traumatized and abused horribly, but she has somehow moved past it all and fast. She played the catatonic woman beautifully if I do say so myself. When we removed her from the clubhouse, she appeared fragile and weak. However, when the plane landed in New York, and she returned with Gio from their shopping trip, she was in better spirits. Since then, she has been normal. Honestly, Reaper, I don’t get it. She is acting as if nothing happened to her.”
“She’s blocking it,” Ghost said, looking at Reaper.
“What else?” Reaper asked, leaning against the far wall, arms crossed over his chest.
“She planned it all,” I carefully said as I looked up at Reaper. “She and Kitty planned it all. Layla sent the message to whoever, and that’s how the Vulture’s found her. She said so herself. She knew she was going to be taken. She planned it.”
“What?” Ghost said, leaning forward. “What are you saying, Player?”
“If you want my opinion. I think she and Kitty planned everything. They both knew what would happen. Honestly, Kitty may have been the brains, but I think Layla was the mastermind. That woman is smart, Reaper. Like wicked smart. I think she’s actually smarter than Bullseye.”
Massacre nodded and added, “Because she’s a woman, no one suspected anything. Hell man, she is only a hundred pounds soaking wet. She looks like a fragile woman. Someone who needs protecting. No one would suspect she was capable of taking care of herself.”
“What else?”
“She knew Kitty was heading back to the club. When she was taken, she learned things. When we got her to Chicago, she snuck into Gio’s private office the first night there. He had a feeling, so all of us were there waiting for her. When she showed up, she wasn’t surprised. In fact, I would say she was happy.”
Massacre nodded. “Reggie’s right boss. I watched her. She said she was there to save Gio. That our club needed his help. She said the club was caught in the middle of a war, and only with Gio’s help would everyone survive.”
“These fucking bitches are really starting to piss me off,” Reaper cursed. “Why can’t they just come out and say what needs to be said. Why the deception?”
“She also knows about the original seven. Layla and Kitty have known about them for years. When Layla and Kitty put their plan into action, it was to get Layla to Gio.” I stated.
“She couldn’t have known she’d make it to him,” Ghost said.
“She did. She knew. She knew what would happen to her. She knew Bullseye would eventually save her. She knew that Reaper would keep her safe.”
“But she couldn’t have known about your family relationship to Gio.”
“Honestly, Ghost, I think she did. When she was rescued, she was in Chaos’s care. Bullseye gave her to him to protect. However, she clung to me on the car ride back to the clubhouse. I didn’t think anything of it. But from then on out, she would only allow me near her. That’s why I looked after her. I thought it was because of my calming nature, but I am starting to believe she knew who I was and who I was related to.”
“She fucking played you,” Reaper growled.
I nodded. “And like she predicted, you asked me to take her away. To hide her somewhere safe, and I did. Right into the arms of my cousin, Gio.”
“FUCK! What the hell is going on?” Reaper shouted, punching a hole in the wall with his fist.
“She also knows about Diablo. That he’s a Capribella. Well, according to her, the Capribella’s have infiltrated the Valentinetti family and are backing the original seven. She said they want to eradicate the Golden Skulls and take down our family at the same time,” Massacre added.
Nodding my head, I added, “She said that because Dwayne and I joined the Golden Skulls, the Capribella Family believes that Gio is a part of everything. Basically, guilty by association. You wanted a link, well here it is. The Capribella Family believes that Gio’s father, Uncle Val, helped in the murder of Giovanna, Diablo’s mother, and her son's abduction to the Golden Skulls. This whole war, this crazy fucking mess, is nothing more than a family feud.”
“It makes sense, Reaper,” Ghost sighed. “Caroline, her ties to the Vultures, the Original Seven and Goldman’s ties to Kitty and Solomon, and Diablo, his family that now ties in the Valentinetti Family. It’s all one big fucking family feud.”