Page 42 of Wrath

“Jimmer must have suspected something, he asked me over and over if Cliff had hurt me and I denied it. I told him nothing because, even after you broke my heart, I still couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to you.”

“Eden.” My name comes out of his mouth feebly, as he shakes his head in disbelief.

“Stacey must have sensed something was up and she called Vex. She saved me.” I manage a smile.

“If she’d told your father what happened. Cliff would be dead, trust me.” He assures me.

“I guess she told him exactly what she thought she saw, a broken girl being shared by three bikers. She didn’t know my story, until years later. I lied to Jimmer and told him that I was there by choice. I pretended I had an addiction to drugs just like Stacey did and he bought it.”

“You shouldn’t have had to do that. You should have got the proper help ya needed.”

“I did get the help I needed. Jimmer must have known Cliff was dangerous because the new identity idea was his, he fixed me up with a family in Utah, got me a pass into college and I was free.”

“How could all this have happened without me knowing?” Aaron looks devastated.

“Because your father’s a clever man.” I shrug sadly.

“Why did ya come back? Beverly Hills ain’t far enough away, even with a new name. You could have seen.”

“I knew when I came to Beverly Hills I was taking a huge risk. I told myself it was because of the job and the Collards. But, now I’m realizing that was because of you. I missed you and just like I kept coming back here after that night in the warehouse, I didn’t care about the danger. I couldn’t stay away.” I try to close the gap between us but Aaron holds up his hands to stop me.

“I need to speak to Raze, does he know about this?”

“I made Stacey promise not to tell him. I didn’t want him blaming himself, and I needed to protect you.”

Aaron looks me up and down as if I’m crazy and when he reaches behind him for the door handle, I panic.

“Aaron, please don’t leave,” I beg him.

“Lock the door, okay?” He tries to hide the tremble in his voice as he opens the door.

“Aaron, don’t leave. I know what I've told you is hard to hear, but we can move on from it.”

“Lock the door.” He tries pulling it together, but he looks far too disturbed as he steps out onto the balcony.

“Aaron, don’t run away from me again.” I go to chase after him, but he slams the door, making it clear it’s not what he wants. I thought I’d grown stronger over the years we spent apart. I thought I had no heart left to break. I was wrong.

I’ve barely gotten to the balcony stairs before I throw up into one of the flower pots Polly’s been scattering around the place. My hands are shaking, my body is carrying too much anger to fuckin’ contain, and all I wanna do is find my father and make him pay. I balance myself against the wall and try to catch my breath but it feels as if someone’s choking me. All that time I thought the warehouse was the worst of it but it was just the start. The suffering she endured was all my fault. I thought me leaving here was gonna save her but I got it all so wrong. How can she even look at me?

The club’s dying down, almost everyone’s gone home or is settled in the motel, and as I make my way across the yard and into the barroom. Saint or Sinner is getting his cock sucked by Trinity, and I ignore them as head for the bar. Reaching all the way over it, I take a bottle of Jack and head into the meeting room where Raze holds church.

I walk straight to the top of the long table where we make all our decisions and sit myself in the president’s chair that used to be my father’s. Then taking the gavel in my hand, I remember the smug look on that cunt’s face when he called church the morning after myinitiation.

He looks pleased with himself, as he watches everyone take their seats and when I stand at the back of the room I let him see how much hate I got for him.

“I think you’ll all agree that my boy here has served his time and shown his loyalty.” He speaks to his brothers as if he knows what that word means.

“Well, his time has come, and I couldn't be prouder to present my son, and our new fully-patched member, with this.” Mac and Rex both snarl at me sarcastically as they clap their hands along with the others. Sasquatch stands up and shakes my shoulders proudly and Davy smiles as I step around the table, staring my father in his eyes and playing along with his fucked-up little game.

I let him hold it open for me and slide my arms inside it, all while looking between Mac and Rex. I notice that the fucker who wore the knuckle duster last night has joined us, and he’s got the nerve to be sitting in Raze’s fuckin’ seat! I eyeball him too and once my new cut is placed on my shoulders and my dad’s slapped my back, I glance across to Ruckus and hope he knows how sorry I am for what I’m about to do to him.

“Got any words?” The cunt in Raze’s chair rests back and crosses his arms, and I watch him and everyone else in the room change their expressions to shock when I shrug the cut back off my shoulders and lay it out on the table. Reaching around my belt, I take out my knife, slipping it under the stitches that bind the Long Beach patch onto my leather.

“Yeah, I got some words for ya.” I slide the knife back into my belt and turn my head so I can look my father in the eye.

“I’m not your son anymore and I’m not a member of this charter. I’m a nomad.” I toss his patch on the table and pick up my cut, placing it back on my shoulders and head for the door.

“You don’t get to leave boy.” He calls after me.

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