Page 95 of Cash

“Why? You need to ask that? Because your club took everything from me!” Betty screams.

“You damaged my bike, Mom. Why would you come at me like that?” Axel tries again.

“You chose your father over me!”

“I didn’t choose him over you! You leftmewhen you left him! You left your own damn son!” Axel roars.

“You would’ve chosen the club over me just like your father did!” Betty insists loudly.

“Jesus, Betty. I made mistakes, I know that. I’ve never denied it. But you chose to divorce meandyour son. Own your own mistakes, woman,” Petey says with disgust.

“Fuck you, Pete! And fuck every one of you who wears the same cut! My life’s been a living hell for years because of that club! You get remarried, Axel has a baby and your lives are all roses! I hate everything you people stand for! For years, I took second place to an MC club! When I couldn’t take anymore and divorced your ass, Pete, I lost everything! You lost nothing! Your club scraped me off like I was nothing to them! I lost my family, my friends, my support! I even lost my fucking job because I worked for the club! I leave town and no one bothers to check to see how I’m doing! Nope, only club members count for shit! I come back to town and see your businesses, your new wife, new children and my hatred boils! So yeah, I took some back for me! I fucked with the only things that matter to you people! Do whatever you want to me. I don’t care anymore.”

Everyone stands in stunned silence at the venom spewed at us. I look at Livi’s face, and I know she’s physically felt the words spoken by Betty Lou. While Betty’s situation was completely different than mine and Livi’s, I know Livi’s got to be thinking of the similarities.

“Are you pressing charges or not?” Livi asks without looking my direction.

“That’s a club decision. We’ll need to vote on it,” Petey says.

“No, we don’t. It’s Axel’s mom, so I say the decision is his,” Gunner insists looking at each of us. Everyone nods in agreement.

Axel stands to the side, staring at the woman he thought of as his mother. Pain flashes across his face, but his back stays straight.

“I can’t have her arrested. Regardless of how she feels about me, she’s still my mom. If you guys choose to handle this differently, I’ll accept your decision,” he states before turning to his mom. “Nobody scraped you off. You left the area without so much as a backward glance. Don’t spew lies to justify your hatred. If you’re bitter about your life, then do something to change it. Just don’t do it around me or my daughter. You can’t walk out on her too if you’ve never been a part of her life to begin with.”

With that said, Axel straddles his bike, starts it and rides off without looking at his mother again.

“Take these fucking cuffs off, bitch!” Betty shouts at Livi.

“What’s the decision, Gunner?” Livi asks, still not looking my direction.

“We’re not pressing charges.”

“That’s your choice, and I get it. No charges will be brought against her for the vandalism,” Livi replies before pulling the still handcuffed Betty off the car, opening the back door and pushing her into the back seat again. Closing the door, Livi turns to face Gunner.

“Please let Axel know that I’ve chosen to arrest his mother on charges non-related to the club. I’m sorry if that’s hard for him, though.”

“She’s still under arrest?” Petey questions, shocked as much as the rest of our group.

“Yes, she is. My choice, not yours and James had nothing to do with it either. He also has no choice in my decision, so don’t take it out on him. Any of you have a problem with it, take it up with me or advise her to hire an attorney.”

“Can I ask what the charge is?” Gunner asks.

“Assault on a police officer and resisting arrest.”

“You threw your flashlight at me!” Betty screams.

“She should have stopped when I ordered her to,” Livi says with a shrug.

“You took me down in a flying tackle, and that’s not right! That’s police brutality!” Betty rants while Livi continues to ignore her and focuses solely on Gunner.

“I was trying to make the arrest of a suspect. I used only the force necessary to make that happen. The suspect continued to resist, kicking and striking and had to be assisted into the back seat of the patrol car. The end result is that she’s under arrest for those charges only. If she behaves from this point forward, those will be the only charges she’ll face. If she doesn’t, more can and will, be added to the list.”

“You’re a smokin’ little badass in uniform, Livi. Not sure if it’s proper or not, but I think one of those things is the cause of the stiffy I’m growing,” Pigeon says with a laugh.

Livi shoots him a small grin at the same time I scowl. Pigeon grins back at Livi then sends an insincere apologetic look my direction. I continue to glare at him until he takes a step back.

“We’re done here. Have a nice evening, gentleman,” Livi says in a cool, professional tone while turning back to her patrol car.

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