Prez moved down the line. Everybody voted, except for the three prospects who hadn't earned those rights yet. We'd all be checking up on them later, making absolutely sure they weren't putting a fuckin' dagger in our backs, feeding intel to the Deads.
“Unanimous.” Dust's gavel came down harder, and he blew a long chain of smoke through his lips. “Unless anybody else has anything, we're done here.”
He waited a minute. The gavel slapped the wood one more time, freeing brothers to get up, mill around, and go for their coffee. More than a couple guys would be taking something stronger in their black brew after this.
“Veep, hold up,” Dust said calmly, grabbing the back of my chair.
I waited 'til all the boys cleared out, Firefly going last, eyeballing both of us like a wolf waiting for its chance to strike. Well, fuck him, too.
“What's eating his ass?” Dust growled, soon as he was outta the room.
“You and his sis,” I said. “That fuckin' drama ain't my business. I've got plenty to worry about, so you'd better hash it out with Firefly privately. We gotta have every man behind our backs.”
“Yeah, I figured. I'm more worried about you.”
My eyebrows went up. “Don't bother. You think I can't handle this fuckin' girl and my own son?”
“I think you will, long as you keep a lid on your shit and make it home alive, after we're done with these devils in Georgia. You've swept through enough blood to know how it always goes down. One mistake,” he growled. “That's all it takes to put a bullet in a brother's brain, or get a blade in his spine, putting him off of anything except sucking shit through straws 'til he's gone. You can't let this shit get to you 'til the job's done.”
“You're bullshitting me, Prez,” I said, standing up, my blade in my hand.
“No,” he said quietly. “I ain't. You're the one standing there with that nervous fuckin' tick in your trigger finger.”
I looked down in horror. My knife was trembling again, incrementally, like something crawled up my wrist and gave me the shakes.
“Fuck!” It clattered to the floor, and I crouched down and picked it up, tucking it back into my belt.
“Yeah, boy. That's you coming back, after losing Piece put you in a fuckin' coma all these years.” Dust blew out the last embers in his pipe, before stuffing it into his pocket. “Whatever you're going through, it ain't gonna be easy. But I need you to listen, and listen fuckin' good – the club comes first. Your little family's already a part of it, whether you claim this chick or not. If you think you're less than a hundred percent before we're supposed to ride south, come to me, Joker. We'll fix it together like brothers do.”
“I'm solid, Prez. Same as always before a battle.”
Goddamn, why did I deny it? Why'd I fuckin' lie? I didn't even believe it myself, soon as the words were outta my mouth.
“Fuck you, don't lie to me.” He stood up, stepped forward, and slammed both his thick, calloused hands on my shoulders. Those crazy eyes in his head had seen plenty of shit, just like mine, and they always read every brothers' minds, including mine.
Didn't have a prayer of hiding shit. “Let go, Prez. I'm done lying.”
“Yeah, you are. 'Cause if you're still this fucked up in another week, I'll see it, clear as the summer sun dying behind the Smokies. And if I do, you ain't going anywhere. You're staying behind with the prospects to guard the clubhouse, and the rest of us'll bring you the cuts from the shitstains who killed Piece.”
Tore myself away from him, hard as I could. My guts were on fire, like I'd been chugging snake venom, full of piss and hate and betrayal.
I was gone before he dismissed me. Hell, I had to be, otherwise I would've spun around and clocked the Prez right in his fucking face, shattering his jaw.
Then he would've had plenty reason to fuck me up.
I couldn't let that happen. Couldn't get unhinged. Couldn't come undone when everything I'd been working for these last three fuckin' years was finally on the horizon.
The brothers were out in the bar, everybody except Firefly, Meg hanging on Skin's shoulder. They all went quiet when they saw me coming, and I didn't last long.
Just reached straight through Crawl and Sixty, grabbing a fresh bottle of Jack off the counter, and tore away the lid. I must've poured ten shots of that shit down my throat, dousing myself in sweet Tennessee fire before Skin wrestled the bottle away from me.
“What the fuck's gotten into you?!” he roared, startling Meg. “Whole fucking club's going to shit when we need every man firing on all cylinders, and you're boozing like the assholes are gonna ban it tomorrow! Goddammit, Veep. Sober the fuck up.”
Snarling, I walked away, heading for the little spot where I'd left my girl, my kid, my dog.
No, not your fuckin' girl, I thought. She's nothing but your bitch 'til you make her something else.
Something besides a lying whore, good for sucking your cock, and not a whole lot else.