Page 58 of Seizing Control: Part One

Together, they are my haven.

Which is why it kills me that a happily-ever-after is out of our reach.

7

SLASH

Once Nadia finishes filling my faction of the club in on the sordid details of her past, the chapel falls silent. My brothers shift awkwardly in their seats, their eyes darting everywhere but at Nadia. The men who line the walls fix their gaze on the floor. An air of dismay hangs heavy, the horror that the feisty blonde endured a heart-breaking indictment of humanity’s cruelty.

As much as it pains me to make Nadia expose one of her closely held secrets, I take immense satisfaction in knowing that I played a small part in her rescue. With Venom, I disposed of her mother’s body and put fear of meeting the reaper into her foster father. Afterward, we called in reinforcements—Toker, Hades, and Weston—then set to work dismantling the child sex ring Pastor Wilson and his evil wife were running from the basement of their church-provided residence. For every child involved, at least one body was fed to the pigs on Hades’ hobby farm. The docile animals were fat and content by the time we hit a brick wall in our search for the monsters at the head of the ring.

The trail went cold at the front gate to Joseph Kingsley’s estate on the outskirts of Inadale and at the entrance to the Perth brothels owned by the Maddison clan. The dens of iniquity are operated by Clara St. James—Hugh’s demented mother.

Those three facts were kept from Nadia since she was only fourteen years old at the time.

Stuck in Inadale with the Pastor until I found a better foster family for her, it was best that she remained ignorant to the depth of the depravity surrounding her. I was barely twenty-one, still grieving the loss of my son less than two years beforehand, and it felt like the right decision at the time. Tasking Sander and Cub with her immediate protection in the aftermath, Venom and I had worked hard to ensure that the system didn’t separate Nadia from the Mayberry siblings and we paid a pretty penny to her new parents so they could send her to the best therapists.

The Appletons are a morally upstanding couple. When I approached them, they didn’t hesitate to take her in. From the first day, they’ve done their best to make up for the shit start she had in life. They loved her properly, cherished the opportunity to raise a daughter, and enforced boundaries when she tried to rebel. Barely a year passed before they applied to adopt Nadia, and for the first time in her life, she had a real family. Nadia Wilson legally became known as Nadia Appleton, and once we had the Pastor permanently removed from Inadale, she was able to safely grow into the hellion we all know and love today.

Her family has been connected to the Black Shamrocks MC for two generations, their older adopted son, Atlas, is now the president of the Inadale chapter of the club. That makes Nadia family in more ways than one—yet she still refuses to believe that she’s one of us. It’s an argument we’ve all had with her more than once, and I can see by the crazy gleam in her eyes as she surveys the shocked bikers she’s just regaled with her story, that it’s an argument someone will need to have with her again.

Soon.

“Anyway, I didn’t find out until a few years ago that the Maddison clan was involved with the Pastor...” Trailing off, Nadia wrings her hands together, then spins on her heel to dash out of the room.

“I should—” Cherub says at the same time as I tell her, “Go.”

The door is propped opened by Doc, who holds it for my duchess to pass through before he wearily trudges inside the chapel. His heavy black bag is placed on the table, and he gestures for the men closest to Sander to step aside. Cub and Everett vacate their seats, but they don’t move far from their brother.

“Figure this’s my patient.” Doc addresses his question to my father. I push back to my feet, then place both hands, palm down, on the expanse of oak. The harried man shoots me a curious look. “You in charge now, Slash?”

Without waiting for permission from the old timers, I reply, “Yep.”

A slow nod is his sole outward response. “Seems ‘bout right.”

“Sander needs you to look him over.” Glancing at Hunter, I add. “He’s been pumped full of somethin’—”

“Crystal meth and something dirty—feels like fentanyl,” Sander interjects. When a murmur of disapproval erupts, he rushes to defend himself. “I didn’t do it—Dad had Logan shoot me up.”

The mention of Brutus and one of the brothers who fled the compound with him after Hades killed Joseph Kingsley creates a darker mood among the Shamrocks who’ve pledged their loyalty to the club and our constitution instead of the cult of Brutus. I exchange a look with Toker. In his eyes, I see the same outrage I’m feeling. The vow my duchess made to kill her father for what he’s done is going to face some stiff competition from the rest of us.

At this point, there’s a line around the block to put a bullet in Brutus’ head.

While Doc tends to Sander, I allow my gaze to travel around the chapel.

One by one, I meet my brothers’ inquiring eyes. The members of my inner circle—my younger brother, Cherub’s brothers and cousin, and Isaiah—appear mildly amused at the public claim I laid on my duchess. It’s the reproach in the older brothers that stops me in my tracks. I’ve felt it since I ordered Cherub to sit on my lap and declared I would be marrying her. After all that’s gone down today, I expected some blowback. What I never anticipated was the lack of trust in my ability to follow through on my initial audacity.

The old timers want details and assurances that I can’t provide… how long have I been coveting my best friend’s woman? What I plan to do when Venom gets out of prison and re-stakes his claim over her? Do I have the balls to hold on to Cherub’s heart and the presidency if he wants them both back?

It kills me to admit that the few answers I possess will only dampen their belief in me even further. The ashes of the love Venom and my duchess shared continue to smoulder. If the confrontation in the main bar was an accurate indication, it’s clear that embers remain burning underneath the damage Venom’s high-handed tactics have wreaked. Add in Bebe’s pregnancy, and I find myself on the backfoot without a plan.

Hence my decision to follow my gut.

I’m going to be selfish.

I’m going to pursue my duchess with the same singlemindedness that Venom exhibits.

If it’s acceptable for him, then it’s okay for me.

---