Page 32 of Devil's Queen

“We’ve been over this before, Rem. You can’t blame me for looking at you.” If looking is all she’s willing to give me, I’ll look at her every chance I get. Memories can only get me so far, and it has been a long, dry spell since Meredith. After my one-night stand with her and her resulting pregnancy, I’d sworn off club girls for the foreseeable future. The last thing I need is a repeat of what happened with her. I don’t regret Birdie, but I do regret that night with her egg donor.

“Come on,” she answers, ignoring my defense and ushers me into her office.

The space is a small, dimly lit room adorned with motorcycle memorabilia and tools scattered across a worn worktable. She sits behind her rusting metal desk, gesturing for me to do the same in front of her. I oblige, the leather creaking beneath me as I settle into the chair.

Rem leans back, crossing her legs and resting her hands on the desk. Her gaze meets mine, piercing and filled with curiosity and anticipation. The air between us crackles with tension, heavy with unspoken words.

She breaks the silence before I do. “You told me there’s more to what happened with my dad. I think it’s time you tell me everything you know. No more watered-down bullshit.”

I consider my words carefully. Rem absolutely deserves the whole truth, but giving it to her betrays my club. I take a deep breath, damning myself with what I am about to tell her.

“Your dad was in thick with some Columbians. They were bringing in uncut cocaine through the port. The Zulu Kings were helping them move it through their distribution network. A few days before your dad died, he made a deal to triple our apportionment, but before the shipment could arrive at its destination, our guys got jumped, and the load was stolen.”

My heart pounds in my chest, the revelation weighing heavily on me as I watch her expression change from curiosity to shock. Her eyes widen while her jaw clenches. Rem looks away for a moment, processing the information. My feelings of guilt and betrayal mix with the nervousness of what she might do with this knowledge.

“So, they killed him, staged it as a suicide because he lost their drugs,” Rem remarks with a sigh.

“That’s my working theory. Nothing else makes sense. I wasn’t privy to the information because I was still a prospect back then, but I’d overheard Rene talking to a couple of the guys about bringing in extra help. It wasn’t until Wolff took over and patched me in that lips became a little looser.”

“What I don’t understand is how they got the medical examiner to cover it up. What would be in it for them?”

“Money and corruption, Rem. New Orleans is thick with it.”

“So where does Wolff play into this?” she asks.

“That’s the part I’m not sure about. Wolff was more than ready to take the mantle of president. Too ready if you ask me. It’s like he expected it to be his.”

“Because he did,” she remarks. “Wolff was always gunning for my dad’s position within the club. He thought he could take the foundation that my dad built and turn it into a cash cow like Dad had done with the shop.” Rem pauses before she continues, “Wolff only saw the dollar signs.”

I shift in my seat. The leather groans with my movement. “He wanted what he couldn’t have. Your mom included.”

“What the hell?” she cries out, her expression showing genuine shock.

“You weren’t aware of that?”

She shakes her head.

“Wolff wanted to property patch your mom, but your dad beat him to it.”

“You mean my mom and Wolff were involved?” Rem slumps back in her chair, her face pale and her eyes filled with disbelief.

“Never happened. She wouldn’t give him the time of day after she laid eyes on Rene. She’d been hanging around the club for a few weeks before your dad claimed her. Not long after that, she was pregnant with you.”

My mom never said a word to me about this. Not a fucking peep.” I can see the wheels turning in her head. The expression on her face gives away her disgust at the mere idea of her mom and Wolff being together. “How do you know this?”

“Pike.” I shrug. “The old man is a wealth of knowledge. He’s been around long enough that he’s basically the club’s historian. I’ve learned a lot from him over the years.”

“And you can trust him?”

“With your family? Yes.” I nod, trying to reassure her. “Pike was and still is loyal to Rene’s memory. He fought to keep you both protected by the club, but we both know how that ended. Taking care of our club family comes first, and that’s the kind of loyalty that runs through your veins.”

Rem gazes into my eyes, her closed lips tight. I can tell she’s processing everything, trying to come to terms with a world she thought she knew but was entirely different. Silence fills the room, a heavyweight boxer refusing to budge.

“Why are you telling me this now?” she finally asks.

“Because you deserve the truth, Rem,” I say. “You deserve to know everything about the man who raised you. I know the two of you were close for a time before things spiraled out of control toward the end, but he was your dad.”

Her eyes flash with anger. “Did you think I couldn’t handle it?”

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