Page 11 of Denial

What pisses us all off the most is that this is the second time one of our girls has almost been drugged. Savannah was the first one with that stupid fuck she tried to date in her attempt to get over Valor. So, if anyone is to blame for this, it’s me. If I had been with her and already pulled my head out of my ass, Hope wouldn’t have had to accept the date with another guy because she’d already be mine. Instead, I’ve denied how I feel about her and now she’s the one to suffer. The same as Valor feels about the situation with Savannah. They were lucky enough to work things out and I’m not sure the same can be said for Hope and me.

“Church. Now!” Vault states, walking in the common room from his office.

Vault didn’t want to have King call Killer and fill him in on what happened even if it’s his uncle. As the President of the club, he stepped up to place the call knowing Killer is going to lose his mind the second he finds out someone tried to hurt his baby girl. King was prepared to make the call after Valor called Vault to let him know what happened. If it weren’t for Bronx warning Hope and Raptor, we wouldn’t have known that there was a possibility that she was in trouble and would need backup.

We all leave the common room and head for church. Deegan is standing there after getting off working the bar with a box for our phones and any weapons we might have. After handing over my phone and the brass knuckles I carry every single day, I make my way in to take my seat on Vault’s right. Devil, my brother, is directly on his left while Ghost is on my right. Vault and I will always have Devil and Ghost right next to us. Ghost will remain with me at all times and Devil with Vault. I can’t have my brother with me because we never put blood relatives together for any reason. And if guys are in a relationship with one woman, they will never be put together either. That’s how the club has always worked and I don’t see it changing in the future. It’s a good rule and one I hope we never have to experience for any reason.

Vault slams the gavel on the table in front of him the second we’re all in our seats.

“As most of you know, someone tried to drug Hope today. King was with her and managed to hit the cup away from her before she could take a sip. When Hope then gave the stupid fuck a piece of her mind, he tried to punch her. That’s when King lost his shit and beat the fuck outta the asshole. Valor and Jinx pulled him off so he didn’t kill the bitch with witnesses since they were in the middle of the sidewalk. King, I know you’ve been lookin’ into this asshole since we were told Hope was goin’ out with him. Keep diggin’ up everythin’ you can find. When you have more than what you’ve already filled us in on, I want to have a meetin’ with you, Jinx, Devil, Ghost, and Valor. For now, we’ll be the main ones dealin’ with this situation. I don’t want to overwhelm Hope when she already feels horrible and we know what this is gonna do to her. Valor, I want you to have Savannah talk to her about the situation she went through.

“We all know Becker’s got a long history of violence against others and that Mommy and Daddy don’t ever let him pay the consequences for his actions. They’re ultimately the ones to blame for this shit. That’s not why I called church tonight though. So, once we have more information on this Becker asshole and his family, we’ll meet again,” Vault says, looking around the table at everyone.

“So, if that’s the plan to move forward with, why did you call church?” Valor questions his brother as we look around at one another.

“Here’s the thing. I’m the one who called Killer to let him know what happened to Hope. I’m sure you can imagine that he’s pissed as fuck. He was already on his way here and now he’s even more determined to get here today. It will probably be later tonight, but he’s not stoppin’ and Gwen is on board with that plan. They both want to get here for Hope. I can’t blame them. You all know Killer so I suggest stayin’ out of his way when he gets here. King, he wants to talk to you before he goes to see Hope. Wants to hear your version of events before they see her. Tell him the truth of what you know. You know how to deal with your uncle. From what I understand Fox is on his way here too. I’m not sure if he’s comin’ for Hope or somethin’ else.

“Secondly, I want to talk to the table about bringin’ in Bronx. He is an employee of the club and didn’t have to warn Hope or Raptor about the situation with Becker. He has expressed an interest before in becomin’ a hang around. What I want to vote on tonight is makin’ him a Prospect without bein’ a hang around first. None of our current Prospects went through the hang around period. Movin’ forward, we won’t do the same thing for others, but Bronx isn’t like the rest of any future Prospects we might bring in,” Vault says as I lean back in my seat and think about his words.

I have no doubt Killer is gonna be on a warpath. Everyone and everything in his way will be forcibly removed until he can get to his daughter. We’ve all seen it before and I hate seeing him so filled with rage at the thought of something happening to one of his girls. Every single person around this table has seen Killer lash out. At one point or another, we’ve all witnessed our dads, and grandpa, lose their shit when something happens to their family members. Especially the girls. Until he sees Hope, I plan on staying out of Killer’s way.

Vault looks at me and I know he wants me to start the vote for Bronx since no one is speaking up to say anything against voting him in as a Prospect.

“Aye,” I say simply before Ghost and the rest of the guys copy me.

“With everyone in agreement, we’ll bring Bronx in to talk to him about becomin’ a Prospect. Raptor I know the store will be closed tomorrow so Hope can do inventory. There’s not a doubt in my mind that she’s still gonna do that shit so she doesn’t have to think about Becker and the clusterfuck of a day she had. Bring Bronx in to see me and we’ll talk to him. Jinx, I want you in that meetin’ with me. Raptor, you can be the other person with us since he works for you,” Vault says, slamming the gavel on the table. “Meetin’ adjourned.”

We all get out of our seats and head out of church. I take a seat at a table in the common room and King joins me. Zayden brings us both over a bottle of water before making his way back around the bar. Usually, I’d drink beer or alcohol, but with Killer showing up, I want to have a clear head.

“So, are you gonna talk to Killer while he’s here?” King asks me once Zayden disappears to serve the guys taking seats at the bar.

“I am. I’ve cleaned up my room, wasn’t in there when Morgan did my laundry and the vaccumin’, and I haven’t spent any time with Morgan since the last time you went off on her. She made me see how things looked to Hope. King, you have to know that there was nothin’ goin’ on with Morgan. The truth that you know from high school is still there. There’s only one person I’ll give that to and it’s not Morgan. I don’t know if Hope will ever forgive me, but I’m gonna talk to Killer so he knows my truth and hopefully I can get his blessin’ to move forward with her. If not, then at least I know I tried,” I tell my best friend as he looks at me to see the truth of my words.

“I had a feelin’ there wasn’t anythin’ goin’ on between the two of you. Morgan does want there to be somethin’ though. I can see it in her eyes and the way she touches you constantly. A woman who only wants to be friends with a guy doesn’t act the way she does with you. She certainly doesn’t treat the rest of us the same way. I’m glad you got your head out of your ass, Jinx. If anyone is good enough for my cousin, it’s you. And I know you struggle with seein’ that in yourself. We all know Killer is gonna make you fuckin’ spill your guts, but in the end, he’ll give you his blessin’ to be with Hope,” King states, his voice showing how determined he is for me to see the truth of his words.

“We’ll see what happens when he gets here,” I state, my voice barely above a whisper as I slump down in my seat and look around at everyone.

I spot Raptor and my brother arguing about something in the hallway as Devil looks around to make sure no one is close enough to overhear them. When he spots me watching them, Devil glares at me before leaving Raptor in the middle of whatever he’s saying. I watch as he slumps against the wall and looks completely defeated. Whatever the hell is going on there, Devil better fix it. Raptor has been his best friend their entire lives and I’d hate to see their friendship crumble for any reason. Raptor is the only one who can reach Devil at times and I know whatever is going on between the two of them now is killing him. It’s written in his body language and the deep hurt filling his eyes. I don’t even need to be standing next to him to see how hurt he is right now.

King and I remain at the table and don’t move as we wait for Killer and Gwen to show up. The second they walk through the door, King leaves the room with his uncle and Gwen sits down with me. We make small talk until her husband shows back up and whisks her away to take care of Hope. She’s their main concern right now and I have no problem waiting for Killer to show back up. He knows I’m waiting for him. As they were walking upstairs to Hope’s room, he looked back at me and gave me a slight nod. I’ll wait as long as it takes for him to make sure Hope is okay and fine to be left with her mom or on her own. Killer won’t leave her side until either of those happen and I’d never expect any less from him.

“Jinx, you didn’t have to wait up for me,” Killer says, pulling out the chair next to me and sitting down. “The sun is startin’ to come up. You should’ve gotten some sleep.”

“Is Hope sleepin’?” I return, looking at Killer while blinking the sleep from my eyes.

I didn’t go to bed, but I let my eyes slide closed a few minutes ago for a quick nap.

“She just fell asleep in her mom’s arms. I’m tellin’ you right now, I’m gonna gut that fucker. He made my baby girl question everythin’ about herself. Made her fuckin’ believe she did somethin’ to make him drug her,” Killer informs me as the rage builds once again and I clench my fists at my side while sitting up straighter in the chair.

“I’m sorry, Killer. This is my fault,” I finally say as Morgan enters the common room and heads straight for the kitchen without looking at us for more than a second.

“How the fuck is it your fault, Jinx?” he questions me, confusion filling him as he leans back in his seat and keeps his eyes locked on me.

“A lot of reasons. The first thing you need to know is that Hope has believed for the last several months that Morgan and I have been together. It’s not the truth at all. I was her friend and she was mine. Morgan has no one at all here in Pine View and kind of latched on to me after we saved her. I didn’t really see anythin’ wrong with it despite all the other guys bringin’ it up daily. Morgan and I had a long talk about everythin’ and I no longer hang out with her or anythin’. She’s still actually healin’ from the brutal beatdown her ex-boyfriend gave her. When she was healin’, I was with her every day to make sure nothin’ more happened to her,” I tell Killer honestly as he thinks over my words and watches me closely as Morgan moves back around the common room.

I don’t let my eyes go to her as I keep my full attention on Killer.

“I see. And why else would you say what happened to Hope is your fault?” he asks, not giving anything away.

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