The clubhouse was returned to it's former glory. Patrick did his part in cleaning the entire place until it was spotless. The dead were buried and remembered. Cash was a casualty of the Mexicans and Tank and Tater could never know what really happened to him.
The three of us sat around the meeting table that Tater had finally finished carving. A large devil was cut into the wood. The words Devil's Hellions MC were burned into the table. I looked up at the freshly framed photos of the recently deceased. Blaze's eyes stared back at me.
The first time I met him, I was a freshman in high school. He was so big and confident. I thought he had to be a senior because he looked so mature but he was the same age as me.
When I found out he was into motorcycles, I tried to learn as much about them as possible just so we would have something in common. I wanted to be just like him. He was our leader and the founder of the Devil's Hellions MC.
The seat at the head of the table was empty. We didn't dare go near it. “First thing we need to do is elect a new president,” I choked out.
Tater spoke up, “There's only one man that can lead us now.” Tank nodded in agreement, grinning at me like a son of a bitch.
I sighed and buried my head in my hands. I never wanted to be president. Blaze was always our leader. How could I ever fill his shoes? I stood up from my seat and was almost tempted to run for the door. I took the chair at the head of the table and sat down.
The view looked spectacular. I grabbed the wooden gavel that Blaze had held so many times before. The end was nicked and raw from being hammered down so much. Blaze made a lot of important decisions in this room. Not all of them I agreed with. But the MC wouldn't have gotten this far without him.
I slammed down the gavel. “I bring this meeting to order. All those in favor of Phoenix as the new President of the Devil's Hellions MC say aye.”
Tank and Tater began slowly pounding the table and then picking up speed until the booming was deafening. The Devil's Hellions MC had a new Prez.
I couldn't fully commit to President until I had taken care of one more thing.
Patrick sat at the bar, nursing an entire whiskey bottle. He had been through so much since the kidnapping. And he had stood by me. He was still here after everything I did to him.
But I couldn't let my heart govern this club. I needed to be focused one-hundred percent. I couldn't let a guy cloud my mind. Everything was on the line and I wouldn't sacrifice my club for a tight ass.
I admired him as he fiddled around on the bar stool. I could take him for a spin one last time—come inside him until my balls were bone dry. I'd love to feel those lips around my throbbing cock, sucking on me so hard. My jeans tightened at just the thought of having Patrick. But I couldn't anymore.
I had to be mature and responsible now. It was funny because I never would have considered Blaze “mature” or “responsible.” But he must have been to take the club this far.
I sat down at the bar next to Patrick and took a long drag on the bottle of Jack Daniels. I was going to need a lot of liquid courage. The alcohol warmed me on the way down, my head already feeling the buzz. Another couple swigs and I was looking as red as Patrick.
“I'm glad you got back safe,” Patrick said, facing straight ahead at the bar. “I was worried there for a moment. I didn't know what Byron was going to do to you after you took out the Mexicans. I'm glad he kept his word.”
“Me too,” I replied, grabbing for another bottle of whiskey behind the counter.
“He used to be really nice. My brother. We used to play in the backyard together and he'd protect me from monsters and dragons. But as we grew older, he took things a bit too literally. He was so possessive and demanding. I could never go back to that.”
I took a deep long breath that would hopefully instill me with bravery. “Patrick, I'm the new President of the Devil's Hellions now.”
Patrick turned to me and smiled. “You deserve it.” Behind her eyes, I could see the gears working. She knew where this conversation was heading.
“I don't know what we have between us but my MC needs me now. I won't have time for relationships. I can't do this with you anymore, Patrick.”
Patrick dropped his head and nodded. He knew what I was going to say before I even said it. Patrick raised his head and looked at me with tears in his eyes. He went to open his mouth to say something but couldn't form any words. My heart was breaking within my chest. I wanted to hold him and tell him everything was going to be all right.
But it would only make matters worse. I turned to walk away, my feet buried in cement. I couldn't let my emotions rule me. I stepped away and Patrick whispered my name before I shut the door on him forever. There'd be plenty of men to fill my bed and give me that much needed release with no strings attached.