Chapter Twenty-One
Van
Pulling up at my house, my eyes land on a familiar black car sitting in my driveway, and the urge to scream nearly overwhelms me. I can’t believe this shit is happening right now. I’m gone for two fucking hours, and Mom just happens to show up. That’s too damn convenient to be a coincidence.
Anger fills my body as I cut the engine and climb off my bike. A second later, I’m stomping up the porch, wondering what the fuck my mother is doing here. As soon as I hit the front door, I can hear Ronni’s dog barking in a way that I have only heard once before. It sounds like Denver is ready to tear someone to fucking pieces, and I’m betting my bitch of a mom is that person. Just as the door swings open, the sound of the bitch’s voice reaches my ear, and I grind my teeth together in aggravation.
“This little bitch is keeping me away from my granddaughter,” Mom shouts, the sound causing my anger to rise to its boiling point.
“I suggest you get your ass out of here before Van gets back. If he walks in here and finds you here causing trouble, you’re gonna be in a world of hurt,” Taz warns her, an edge to his voice.
“Too late,” I say, as I walk into the kitchen and look at Taz. “What the fuck is the cunt doing in my house? Why would you even let her around my woman and kid?”
Before he can answer, I look around the room and spy Ronni standing by the fridge with Cline hiding behind her. My little girl has tears in her eyes, and her body is shaking with fear. Ronni, on the other hand, is scowling at my mother. Her body is tense as if she is ready to jump on the bitch at any second.
“You can’t talk to me like that, Van.” Mom shouts, her hands on her hips. “I’m your mom and your Pres’s old lady. I deserve your respect.”
“You don’t deserve any fucking thing from me, woman.” I look into her cold eyes and smirk. “You may have pushed me out, but you’ve never been my mom. You’re nothing but my fucking incubator.”
Until I saw Ronni around Cline, I never really knew what a true mother was. She may not have carried my little girl for nine months, didn’t give birth to her, but she’s a mom in every way that matters. Ronni loves Cline in a way that I don’t think even Regina loves her. Hopefully, she stays around to give my girl that love for the rest of her life.
“I can’t wait to hear what Tito has to say about the way you are talking to me,” Mom says, a smirk covering her face. “I’m betting you won’t be wearing that VP patch much longer, not after he finds out how you spoke to his old lady.”
I laugh, full on belly laugh, as soon as she finishes talking. It’s fucking hilarious that she still thinks she has any power to a man who refuses to even crawl in her bed. She’s either bluffing her ass off, or she is blind as fuck. I’m guessing it’s a little bit of both.
“Oh, the patch will still be on my chest,” I say, smiling at her before delivering a hit that will have her pissing her pants. “I just wonder if yours will. It’s a hell of a lot easier to replace an old lady than it is to get a new VP.”
Her hand instantly goes to her old lady’s cut, covering Tito’s property patch. By the look on her face, it appears she never considered he’d take her cut. The bitch wears the shit like armor. Where most of the old ladies only wear theirs during runs or at parties, my mother never takes hers off.
She takes a deep breath then pastes on one of her fake ass smiles “I didn’t mean to cause any problems.”
She does this shit, thinks one smile can fix everything. When I was little, I was hungry for her affection. I’d forgive her anything if she’d just say a few kind words and smile my way. That was before I learned how evil she was behind that smile. Now, just seeing her lips tip up causes my stomach to roll in disgust.
“Really?” I ask, my voice filled with anger. “Then, why the hell were you screaming your head off when I walked in the door.”
She looks over to Ronni, not even bothering to hide the hate in her eyes, then looks back at me. “I just wanted to see my granddaughter, but she wouldn’t let me. She refused to even let me give Cline a hug.”
“I can’t say I blame her, considering she knows all too well how you treat kids.” Taking a deep breath, I shake my head. “Why did you decide to come visit Cline now, since you never do. Fuck, I can’t even remember the last time you even asked about her.”
“That’s not true,” she states with a shake of her head. “I love Cline. You know how much I love her.”
Ignoring her response, I ask the question that I have been waiting to ask since I walked in the door. “How did you know Ronni was here?”
She can bullshit all she wants, but I know that is why she is here. If she didn’t know about Ronni, she’d never be here. That means someone must’ve fucking talked, and I want to know who. When I find out, they’re gonna pay.
She stares at me a second before answering. “It was the prospect, Jerimiah. I saw him today, and he told me that the Pres’ daughter had been to the clubhouse.”
I think about the prospect and get more pissed. I knew he was going to bring trouble, just knew it, and I tried to tell Tito, but he wouldn’t listen. No matter how much it pisses off Rio, his nephew will definitely have to go now. He should’ve known, new or not, to not go running his mouth about shit that happens at the clubhouse.
I walk past her, not trusting myself to say anything at the moment, and head straight to my girls. Lifting my chin to Ronni, I bend down and pull Cline into my arms. She immediately buries her face in my chest and starts to sob. Realizing how upset she is, it takes all my willpower not to pull out my piece and put a bullet deep in my mother’s head.
“It’s gonna be okay,” I whisper, holding her until her sobs start to quiet down. “Daddy’s here now.”
Finally, Cline pulls back just enough to look at me. “She called Ronni a bad name and said she was gonna make sure she went away and never came back. I don’t want to lose Ronni. I love her. Please, don’t make her go away.”
Ronni is bent down before the last word leaves Cline’s mouth. She pulls my daughter from me and starts whispering in her ear. I’m not sure what she is saying, but I know it’s the right thing when Cline starts smiling. That smile is enough to bring my anger down a notch.
Cline slowly turns to me with a smile on her face, and says, “Ronni’s staying. We’re gonna be friends forever.”
I nod, giving my daughter a smile in return. “That’s good, darlin’.”
I look over to Ronni and cock my brow. She doesn’t say anything, just continues to scowl at my mother. Her anger is so fucking thick; I can nearly taste it. There is no doubt in my mind, if Cline wasn’t here, Ronni’s fist would be flying. My mom’s a scrapper, been in more than a few fights at the club, but I doubt even she could take Ronni at this moment.
Knowing I need to get my mother out of here, I straighten up to my full height and look back to Mom. “I’ve told you more than once; I don’t want you here. If you so much as set foot in my house again, I’m gonna go have a talk with Dad.”
For some reason, just the mention of my father has always put Mom on edge. It’s like she is scared to death of him. That fear hasn’t lessened any in all the years he’s been behind bars. I have no fucking idea why. As far as I know, he has never so much as laid a hand on her. Still, she is freaked out by nothing more than the mention of his name.
She stares at me for a minute before turning on her heels and stomping out of the house. I watch her go, waiting until the door shuts behind her, then pull both Ronni and Cline into my arms. The entire time I hold them, I imagine burying the bitch six feet under.