Page 18 of Sweet Revenge

“There are a lot of holes in your story, man,” Luke pointed out.

“There are,” I agreed.

“And you have no contact with your father?”

“No.” I stated severely.

“You expect us to believe that, with a chapter of his club basically in your backyard?”

I looked at Brody when he asked what everyone had to be thinking. Brody and I were similar in that we didn’t speak until something important needed to be said. I wasn’t surprised he was the one to ask the question.

I gave him an honest answer. “He strangled my mother when I was fourteen. Made me watch. Told me it was what happened to women who tried to leave him without permission. So, no, I don’t have contact with the prick.”

“Jesus Christ.” Luke breathed out and ran his hand through his hair.

“Why was she trying to leave him?” Jax asked.

“She was trying to get me and her out of the club because she found out my father had just commissioned the sale of women. Not prostitution, they’d be in that for years, but actually selling women.”

“Out of the country?” Luke guessed correctly.

“Right on the first guess.”

“The prostitutes?”

“Two for two,” I answered sarcastically before I continued. “The prostitutes were the easy choice because they were addicts and they owed him. He’d been supplying their drugs for years, and in return, they’d been supplying their services.”

“Your mom found out,” Jax concluded, and I nodded. “What happened after that?”

I took a deep breath as visions of that day forced themselves back into my mind, and this time, I didn’t try to beat them back. “He had her tied up in an old shack out in the middle of fucking nowhere. He pulled me out of school and took me there. She knew she was going to die, and her last words to me were that she was sorry she couldn’t save me, but that I needed to save myself. Then he killed her, lit the place up, and drove away while every piece of her burned to ash.”

“Fuck, Gunner, man, I don’t even know what to say.” Jax admitted.

“There’s a first time for everything.” Bear teased sarcastically, breaking some of the unbearable tension in the room and even causing a few grins.

The weight in the room lifted some, and Jax pushed forward. “How did you finally get out?”

I put my hands on my hips and closed my eyes briefly, tamping down the nasty memories now at the forefront of my mind. “Several years ago, I watched my father make a series of deals with the Mexican drug cartel, promising them young girls and boys in exchange for their connections. He wanted to corner the market in Colorado for selling drugs, and this particular group was the way to do that. If they agreed to supply him and not the other clubs, he became the strongest leader in all of the clubs, putting the Widows and him on top. It was all business. Nothing I hadn’t seen before except the trade had never been kids. Apparently, the cartel could get top dollar for kids from the US, and they needed a partner across the border. My father was so fucking happy when the deal was made. They partied for days on end. I can’t even tell you how much booze, drugs, and women went through the place during that week.” I paused before continuing, needing to steady my mind. “After the celebrations ended, I went to him, told him I didn’t want any part of it, and he basically told me it was my duty, especially as the son of the president. What he didn’t know then was that I had recorded the meetings. After I established my plan, I went back to him.”

“What was the plan?” Pike asked.

“I planned to turn it all over to the police. I told him I had the video uploaded, and it would send to the department by a certain date whether I was alive or dead. I was the only one who could stop it from sending because I was the only one with the code.”

“And did you?” Pike pressed.

“I had to; he’d have known if I was bluffing. A part of me knew there was a very real chance he’d just kill me, and I wanted him to pay. If I couldn’t be around to personally take down the entire club, I was going to make damn sure I handed over enough information for the police to at least get him.”

Brody looked suspicious. “He just let you go?”

“Fuck, no. He beat the hell out of me, then had a few of the other club members do the same. Destroyed my computer, searched the entire clubhouse looking for the bugs. Trashed all the clubhouse computers, my phone, any damn thing he could find that might be where I was storing the videos. He knew those videos would be the first step in destroying the club and putting him away for a long time. He also knew if the information was leaked, the cartel would not be happy, and he’d have to answer to them, which was not something he wanted.”

Brody ran his hand along the back of his neck. “Fuck.”

“This shit went on the few days I gave him to make a decision. He thought I would back down, but I didn’t. I would die if I had to just to shut them down. I think he finally realized that and told me I could go with the stipulation that I left town and gave him all the files. I told him I would send him all but one, the one with the most incriminating evidence, which I would hold onto as assurance that I would continue living.”

“He agreed.” Jax stated.

“He didn’t have a choice. I’d planned this for a while and took in every consideration with my plan. Made sure I tied up every loose end because I knew if I didn’t, he’d find me and kill me. He’s ruthless and violent, but he isn’t stupid. And he knew I wasn’t either. I set up all the security and surveillance for that clubhouse and then some. He knew I knew my shit.”

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