Page 52 of Victorious: Part I

The guys all chuckle under their breaths.

Maverick sits back in his chair, relaxing his shoulders, a faint smile crossing his lips. “Thanks, Pres. I mean it.”

I dip my head at him, then pick up my gavel, noticing South still on his cell, clearly deep in thought. Ignoring it again, I glance around the rest of the room. “Well then, we know what’s happening. Now we get our shit in order and come up with a game plan. Maverick, you do your thing with your girls, get that taken care of, and once they’ve hit the road, we can really start trying to make a move on our first steps. Montana, if you get any word from Val at all, I want it instantly. Don’t wait to tell me. No matter what’s going on.Understood?”

He nods, relief clearly flowing through his body. “Got it. Thanks, Alpha.”

“And I’ll do the same. I’ll call the warden and have a man-to-man chat with my old buddy. See if he knows what the fuck is going on in there and what we can do to rectify this bullshit.” Montana nods in agreement. “Get some rest, that’s an order. I need everyone at the top of their game, at all times, from here on out,” I demand, then slam my gavel on the table.

Everyone stands. A gentle chatter among the guys begins as they start to make their way out of the Chapel, but I rise, watching South with his head still buried in his cell, my stomach clenching with an uneasy feeling.

Something’s not right.

“South, stay behind,” I call out, my voice firm in tone as he glances up from his cell and quickly slides it into his jeans pocket. The other guys move past him and continue down the stairs.

South glances at me like he thinks he’s in trouble. I gesture for him to come back to the table. He moves, but I tilt my head to the door first. “Close the door, brother.”

He stops, hesitates, then moves for the door, clicking it shut, then heads back to the table, sitting in his position. Two seats away from me. I lean back in my seat and let out a long breath, seeing the clear dark circles beneath his eyes. I’ve been so caught up in my own shit that I’ve been neglecting the people I’m supposed to be in charge of.

The people I’m supposed to be taking care of.

“Pres, I know I’m not supposed to be on my cell—”

“South, stop. Take a breath,” I interrupt him. He exhales, his elbows moving to the table, and he rests his head in his hands, his clear exhaustion taking over. “I saw you with those texts the whole damn meeting. Kept my mouth shut. Figured whatever was in them was already fucking with your head. Talk to me, brother. What the hell’s going on?”

He sits back, trying to put on a brave face, and stiffens his posture. “Nah, brother. It’s fine. The club has too much happening right now—”

“Bullshit! I can take half an hour to talk to a brother when shit’s not going right for him. South, tell me what’s going on, or I’m going to have to call Ingrid up here and see what she has to say about all this.”

South clenches his eyes shut, pain flushing over his features. “Ingrid’s not here, Pres.”

Sitting forward, my pulse races faster. “As in, she’s left you? Or do we have to go rescue her?”

The corner of South’s lips turns up like I’m amusing him. “Is it crazy that I wish it were either of those options right now other than what it actually is? If it were one of those, we could fix it.” He shakes his head. “But I can’t fix this. I knew it was coming, but still…” He doesn’t finish his sentence, his eyes drifting off into the distance like he’s replaying a memory as it finally clicks in my mind.

My stomach flips, my chest squeezing at the thought. “Your sister, Bella?” I question, and he slowly turns back to look at me, gulping a lump down his throat.

“Ingrid and Louis are with her now. Bella’s been at the hospice for a number of weeks, and we’ve been going to see her as often as we can, but she’s been in a rapid decline for the last few days.”

“Fuck! South go! Spend time with your sister. Being with Bella is theentirereason you and Ingrid uprooted your lives in New Orleans and came to Los Angeles. Spend those final moments with your sister. Youcan’tget them back.”

South scrubs at his face, clear tension pulling him in two directions. “I’m just like Maverick, Pres. My duty is to my club. To my brothers. With Ingrid and Louis safe at the hospice, I can do what I need here and not worry about them being hurt in the crossfire. Ingrid will take care of Bella. My son will be safe, and I won’t have to bear the wrath of Hurricane if anything happens to his mother during this all-out war.”

Trying to fight back my chuckle at how scarily accurate he is with the Hurricane comment, I simply nod in understanding. “All right. But if at any time,any time at all,you need to leave because Bella’s getting to a point where she needs you, you go. You just fucking leave no matter what the hell is happening. That’s a fucking order that you cannotdisobey. Do. You. Understand. Me?”

South’s eyes glisten, only for a moment before he blinks them away rapidly, clearing his throat and sitting taller, puffing out his chest. “I understand you. And I will. Thank you, Pres.”

Sliding my chair back, I stand, South moves with me, and I walk over to him, looking him dead in the eyes. “Take it from someone who’s just gone through this but had no warning. When you see Bella, you tell her what she means to you. About all the great things she did for you in your life. About what anamazingperson she is, and how thankful you are to have had her in yours because once she’s gone, and that opportunity passes you by, well, the regret is a fucking heavy weight on your shoulders. So, make the time, South. Make the fucking time… Bella deserves it.”

South’s bottom lip trembles as he tries to keep himself together. He sniffles as I lean in, wrapping my arms around him, and pull him to me, slapping his back a couple of times. He lets out a stuttered breath as he slaps my back in return. Bikers aren’t known for emotional embraces, but manly back-slapping at moments like this is exactly what we both need right now.

We pull back, a silent nod to each other, and then we head for the door.

It feels like the club is losing a lot right now, and by the time this war is over, we may have lost even more. But if today has shown me anything, this is the family we all love. The family we’re all fighting for. If one of us hurts, we all hurt.

Andthatis why I’m risking it all to surge forward and take on this fight.

The odds are stacked against us, but no one ever thoughtDavidwould beatGoliath, either.

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