Vince

 

We were just finishing up dinner when my phone rang. When I saw it was Randy calling, my heart jumped. I sent him out to get a feel for the word on the street. I hoped we could get our hands on Erica’s attacker by the end of the day.

 

I got up from the table and hurried out into the office before I picked up. “What’s going on?”

 

“Vince? I heard something,” he said.

 

“Tell me.”

 

“There are three Wolves hanging out in front of one of their safe houses, on the other side of town from our place. One of my buddies out here saw them. He went by twice to make sure it wasn’t a fluke. They were still there. He said they looked like they mean business.”

 

“Like they’re guarding something?”

 

“Or someone. They’re not just hanging out. Too tense, too aware of what’s goin’ on around them.”

 

I scribbled down the address Randy gave me. “Good job. I’ll let you know when we head out.”

 

“What’re you gonna do?”

 

“I’m not totally sure yet,” I admitted. “I have to get in to talk with the guy they’re guarding, though. That much I know.” I hung up with him and took a minute to get my thoughts together.

 

Now that I knew where to find the fucker, I was practically jumping out of my skin. I wanted to go, I wanted to look him in the eye. I wanted him to tell me what he had done and why. Most of all, I wanted to know the deal Alexander made with Lance. What was it that was sweet enough for him to go against all of us?

 

No matter how many times I told myself not to get wrapped up in why Lance did what he did, I couldn’t help needing to know. A small part of it was personal, but mostly I wanted to be sure it never happened again. I wanted to trust my crew, and I wanted to keep them happy in the club. Dissention was what started all of this. What sort of bullshit deal was Lance offered?

 

Had it been offered to anybody else?

 

I left the office, putting a plan together in my head. Flush out the guards, get rid of them somehow. Send them on a wild goose chase. They’d probably leave one guard behind. I could take him out on my own.

 

I went back to the dining room. The men were still eating, oblivious to everything that was going on in my head. I tried to remember what that was like, being able to live in a sort of bubble. I took orders, I didn’t make them. I could sit and eat and mind my business while the president made plans. All I had to do was carry out his orders.

 

Back then, being president had seemed like the job I wanted. I still wanted it. It just wasn’t the job I was expecting.

 

I saw Erica laughing with Samantha and Brett. I never counted on her coming into my life either. Everything was less complicated before I met her. God, was it only a day? It felt like we’d already been through so much together, in twenty-four hours. Less than that. How was it possible?

 

Now, every decision I made carried a little bit of her in it. I couldn’t rush into anything because her happiness or safety would be affected if I was hurt, or if anything happened to the club. Now I remembered why I stayed away from relationships for so long, but I couldn’t have left her alone if someone put a gun to my head.

 

She turned to me like she heard my thoughts, and her smile damn near killed me. I remembered touching her just a little earlier, the way it felt inside her. The prim princess turned into an animal. I stirred just thinking about it.

 

Someone else saw me standing there, though, and when he came over to me, I had to change my course of thought fast. “So? What happened?” Onyx did his best to look casual when he spoke.

 

I backed up, into the lounge, and gave him a brief rundown. “I have to take a handful of them with me,” I said, jerking my thumb toward the dining room.

 

He sighed, hooking his thumbs into the belt loops of his jeans. “Do you think that maybe it’s time to come clean with them? I mean, all this secretive shit. People are starting to wonder what’s really goin’ on. If you ask them to go with you, you have to tell them why.”

 

“I didn’t want to do it this way,” I admitted.

 

“I know. It would have been easier to put it out there later. After everything blows over. But it didn’t work out that way.” He shrugged. “I know you. You’ll do what you’ve gotta do.”

 

I knew what that was, even though the thought of it turned my stomach.

 

“Get everybody together,” I muttered to Onyx. “Out here.” I took a deep breath and looked at Erica. She smiled at me, nodding her head. She was the only thing giving me strength. I didn’t know if I could do any of it without her.

 

I thought about what she’d said earlier when we were in bed together. How she felt responsible for everything. If it hadn’t been for her, I never would have known about the way Lance betrayed me. I wouldn’t have gotten the heads up that someone was going against me. I still didn’t know who the person was. I’d be watching the faces of everyone in the room to see how they reacted when I dropped the bomb on them.

 

Soon, the whole club was in front of me. They sat on bar stools, stretched out on couches and chairs. The girls stood in the back, huddled together. I noticed the way Erica took her place with them. I wondered if that was a deliberate choice, or if she just felt safer with the girls than she did sitting in the middle of the guys.

 

I cleared my throat. All eyes were on me, and even after all the time as head of the club, it was still unnerving. They looked to me as the person with the answers. What would they think if they knew how lost I was?

 

“So listen. You all know there’s a lot of shit going on right now, and there’s been some close calls the last two days. I’ve been keeping as much of it to myself as I could, not because I don’t trust you, but I just don’t wanna put anybody in danger. Besides, I didn’t know the full story. I still don’t, totally, but I plan on going out in a little while to find out what I’m missing.”

 

I glanced at Erica, who was nodding. I felt my spine stiffen. God, she’d make a great old lady. I wondered how the name would make her feel, or if she even wanted to be one. I knew it wasn’t anything she’d planned on but hoped her feelings for me would be enough to make her consider it.

 

“The one thing I never wanna do is put anybody in danger, but the fact is, we’re all sorta in danger right now.” I heard a murmur go up from the room. I had expected that. They were probably mumbling, “No shit”—it wasn’t a secret there was trouble. “I think if you’re in danger, you should at least know why.”

 

This was where things would get sticky, and I took my time. “I know you gossip like a bunch of women around here.” Now there was another murmur, this time laughter. “So you all have an idea how I met Erica last night. She was taking pictures for an art exhibit, which are awesome by the way and I think we should all go when she gets it up and running.” She blushed and shook her head.

 

“When she was doing that, she heard two men arguing and started snapping pics. She saw something she shouldn’t, and one of the two chased her down. He had her on the ground and was probably gonna attack her, one way or another.” I forced back the flash of anger at the thought and reminded myself I had to keep it together. Would I always have such a strong reaction when I thought about Erica being in danger? It was hard to think straight.

 

“What she saw was the man, the one who attacked her, stabbing another guy.” There were a few concerned mutters, and a few heads turned in Erica’s direction. She nodded to them, confirming the story.

 

“Who was it?” Joe turned from Erica back to me. “Who did she see?”

 

“That’s the thing,” I explained. “I got a look at the memory card this morning. I know this is gonna seem unbelievable, and…” My voice caught. I took a second to get myself back together. I had to be strong for them. I knew they would feel as hurt and betrayed as I did. “Trust me, I didn’t believe it at first, but it’s there in the pictures. The man he stabbed was Lance.”

 

At first, silence. More than one jaw dropped. Then, all at once, the room erupted. Voices, screaming questions. A few guys jumped to their feet.

 

“What the fuck are you saying?” I chose to answer that question and raised my voice over the others.

 

“What I’m saying is Lance didn’t die in the explosion. He was in on the double cross.”

 

It took a while for everyone to calm down after that. I did my best to hold them together, but it was pointless. I had just told them that one of their brothers went against them. Someone they mourned. One of the girls was crying in the back. I saw Erica comforting her.

 

“So is he dead now?” Axel asked.

 

“Yeah. He’s dead.”

 

“Good,” Frankie said, spitting on the floor. “Bastard. Got what he deserved.”

 

I looked around the room. Either I was looking at a bunch of really gifted actors, or they were all as surprised as I had been. Not one of them seemed like he was putting on an act. Nobody acted any more hurt or upset than anybody else. I had told myself before I got started that the one who was in on it would overdo it to make up for their guilt. Nobody did that. I was still at square one.

 

“Where do we go from here?” Chip asked. “I mean, how’s it all come together?”

 

“Randy called me a little while ago. The Wolves are guarding someone in one of their safe houses on the other side of town. It has to be the guy we’re looking for.”

 

“I wanna shake his hand,” Frankie growled. “He took care of that traitorous—“

 

“Now just hang on a sec,” I said, holding my hands up. Everybody was getting worked up again. “Listen, I know how you feel. That fit I took in there today? The holes in the walls? Now you know why I did that. I wanted to kill Lance all over again.” My eyes met Erica’s from across the room. “But somebody reminded me that he was only doing what he thought was right. That’s all anybody can do, what they think is right. From what Erica heard in the alley and the way it looks in the pictures, Lance knew what he did was wrong. He was standing up for himself and saying he couldn’t go through with it anymore. That’s why he died.” I let that sink in for a minute.

 

“That doesn’t make up for what he did. He got Rick and Jake killed.” Everybody else agreed.

 

“I know, and now he’s dead, too. That’s over. We can’t do anything about it. All that’s left is finding out why they died, and how to protect ourselves now. I don’t want this happening again. And whatever’s left between the Wolves and us…” My voice tightened as rage flowed through me. “That’s gotta end. I want this over. I’ll do what it takes.”

 

“What’s that gonna be?”

 

“I’m going to the safe house and I’m talking to this guy. I’ll need help getting in and covering my back.”

 

Almost everybody stood up to volunteer. I was proud of them, sticking together. Still, I was suspicious. I couldn’t take the wrong person. I might end up getting my crew and me killed.

 

“Randy’s already out there. I want Chip, Frankie, Axel, and Onyx with me.”

 

Everybody nodded and broke up to get their things together. Onyx came up to me. “Are you sure it’s a good idea for me to go?”

 

I was shocked. Onyx never let me down before. He wasn’t the type to punk out. “I want you there. I don’t trust anybody more than you.”

 

“I think it might be a good idea to stay and keep an eye on other people.” His eyes shifted to where Erica was still standing with the girls.

 

“You think so?” I looked at her, wondering. “You don’t think she’ll try to get out again, do you? Not after what happened today.”

 

“No, but think about it. What if they’re just trying to lure you away from the clubhouse—not just from her? What if they want to flush us out so they can come in and do whatever they want?”

 

“Shit.” I hadn’t thought of that. “This is why you’re my VP. You think of things like that. Okay, I’ll take Joe. You stay here with the others and keep a lookout. Post a few guys around the perimeter of the building to watch. I’ll do what I can to stay in contact with you.”

 

Onyx nodded and went over to Joe, I assumed to tell him he was going with me. Erica saw the chance and came over.

 

“You did a great job,” she said.

 

I shook my head. “I don’t know. What’s a good job at a time like this? Telling them one of their brothers betrayed them, got two of them killed.”

 

“Nobody lost it. You kept them under control. That’s a good job in my book.”

 

I wished I had as much confidence as she did, and again I thought what a good old lady she would make one day. She had a way of making me feel stronger than I was when I needed her the most.

 

“Do me a favor,” I said, pulling her close. “Try to stay here this time. I don’t wanna go to the trouble of getting into that safe house and have to leave to save you from something. Okay?”

 

“Okay.” She didn’t fight me or talk back, though I knew she was dying to. It was her way. She didn’t like others telling her what to do any more than I did. I kissed her, short and sweet—anything else might have been hard to stop, and there were other things to think about.

 

I went into the office, calling the guys in who were going with me. We put together a plan, then went back to the lounge to leave.

 

“You’re going now?” Erica asked, putting her hands on my shoulders and squeezing. “Are you sure about this?”

 

I grinned. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

 

She shivered and shook her head. “I don’t know. I have a bad feeling. What if they’re just luring you in?”

 

“That’s why I’m not going alone. We have plenty of fire power. It’ll be all right.” She didn’t believe me, though I had to give her credit for trying to act like she did. “Remember: I’ve been doing this for a long time. It’s not my first rodeo. Just the first one you’ve been here for.” I kissed her forehead—again, I didn’t want to get too close to her, or else I wouldn’t be able to stop. She didn’t look convinced, but she nodded like she understood.

 

“Come back safe to me, okay?”

 

“I’ll do that if you make me a promise.”

 

“Anything.”

 

“Stay here this time.” I grinned and hugged her, then left. I couldn’t hang around anymore, or else I’d be tempted to stay. I didn’t tell her I had the same bad feeling she did, and that I wanted more than anything to be able to stay and protect her.

 

But that was why I was going. I had to do this to make us all safe in the long run.