Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
RYAN
NOW
T he pounding on the front door woke me up and I felt Lexi move off my arm as she kicked her foot at my leg whilst making a grunting sound.
“Who is it?” she said as she pulled the blankets up over her face, still wanting to sleep. She had been staying at my apartment the last few days and we spent the daytime at her house building the new furniture she ordered, which was making the house look more like her own now. She even bought some of the pillows and other home decor items that she had left over and started decorating some of my apartment too.
We tried to ignore the pounding but it started getting louder and more constant. I knew it wasn’t Haz because he had a key and would let himself in. Now thinking about it, I should have probably told him not to do it now that Lexi was here.
I pulled my arm out from under Lexi and looked around the room for some clothes. I spotted my gray track pants in the corner so I grabbed them and put them on before walking through the apartment. The person banged on my front door again as I entered the living room.
“Yeah, I get it. I’m coming,” I said as I reached down to open the door. The second I opened the door, I was pushed backwards until my back was firmly against the wall. I looked at my dad who I hadn’t seen since the meeting at the clubhouse a week ago. “I’ve been calling you, son. Ignoring your old man?” He let go of my chest and we stood at the same height so his eyes were burning into mine. I knew he was angry about the meeting and the fact that I wanted him out of the club, so this conversation was bound to happen, but I didn’t expect it at my apartment.
“I have nothing to say to you.”
“You think you’re so tough, Ryan. You want to be in charge of this club? Good luck to you. You have no idea what you are in for, what kind of shit you need to be involved in.”
“That’s how you run the club, not me. I won’t be making stupid decisions like working with the Horsemen or moving weight. You’ve lost sight of everything the Vipers are about. I’m going to run the club the way Scotty wanted it run."
He scoffed. "What do you know about what Scotty wanted for the club? Cause you were banging his daughter? Grow up.”
“I saw Scotty every week for the last five years. He told me everything about the club. Why you started it and what the original plan was. He would roll over in his grave if he knew you were even thinking of getting involved in drugs and you know it.”
“Well, it’s a good thing he’s dead then, isn’t it?”
I couldn’t stop my fist flying out and hitting him in the jaw. The force of the punch made his lip bleed instantly.
His hand flew to his face, but he made no other reaction. “The deal is already done, Ryan. If you pull out of this deal now, the Horsemen will not take the news well and you do remember what happened the last time we were at war with the Horsemen, don’t you?” He walked back towards the front door before turning around again and looking at me. “See you at the meeting, son.”
As he shut the door behind him, I slid down the wall and sat on the floor, running my hands through my hair. I’d always known there was a dark side to my dad. I'd seen him kill people in the past and he had no sense of remorse or guilt over it, but I didn’t know this side of him. He had completely changed into someone I didn’t recognize anymore, and if he had already made this deal behind the Vipers back, then the fallback was on him, not me.
“Ryan? What was he talking about?” I heard Lexi’s soft voice. I leaned my head against the wall behind me and looked up to see her standing in the hallway in one of my t-shirts.
“I’m sorry you had to hear that, Lex. I was going to tell you.”
“You can tell me now,” she said as she sat on the wooden floor in front of me and crossed her legs. She placed one hand on my knee and waited for me to start talking.
“My dad has lost it, Lex. He’s lost his damn mind. He’s made some deal with the Horsemen to work together to sell drugs throughout both our towns and he’s made this decision behind everyone's backs.”
“Drugs? Since when do Vipers deal drugs?”
“That’s just it. We don’t. He’s gone and made this deal hoping that everyone will agree with his decision but no one does. Billy’s called for a vote, we want him out.”
“Okay. So who would take over as President then?” I looked at her with an eyebrow raised and she took a second before realizing exactly who would become President. “If you become President and you void this deal, what’s going to happen?” She looked at me scared. She remembered what happened with the Horsemen last time and I’m terrified she’s going to run again.
“I don’t know, Lex. Hopefully he hasn’t got us in too deep and I can still get us out of it.”
* * *
I dropped Lexi back off at her house before I made my way to the clubhouse for the weekly meeting. Although, today wasn’t any usual weekly meeting; it was our vote meeting. If everything went to plan, there would be a new Blake in charge of the Vipers.
I walked into the clubhouse and straight to the meeting room already occupied with half the club. The rest were slowly making their way in and taking their seats. Haz walked in and winked at me before taking his seat next to me, and I met Cruz’s glare from across the table. My dad started the meeting by opening the table for any member to speak. I watched as Billy stood from his seat and addressed the group.
“The Vipers have always been about brotherhood and family. I’ve been here since the beginning and can honestly say the club is changing, but not in a good way. We have always had strict rules on what we would and would not get involved in and drugs have always been at the top of that list. Your President, Preston Blake, has made a move to involve the Vipers in the Horsemen drug run.” There was a loud murmur among the men who weren’t aware of the deal. My dad had only told select members, which were the members he thought he could sway.
“I’m calling for a club vote for a change of Presidency. It’s time this club moves into the future and I believe that we need a leader who knows what the Vipers stand for. Someone who will look out for this club and protect the club with his life. Someone who has already sacrificed himself for this club on multiple occasions and proven that he knows the right direction this club needs to go in. I nominate, Ryan Blake”
Haz put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it tightly as a few members nodded their heads in agreement with Billy.
“Time for the official vote. All in favor of Ryan Blake becoming the Viper President, please raise your hand,” Billy said. Slowly, one by one, members began raising their hands. Haz being the first followed by Ty and Billy. Soon enough, every hand in the room was raised apart from my dad and Cruz, which was more than enough to confirm the change.
“Alright boys, there you have it. Congratulations, Ryan.” Billy clapped his hands together and the rest of the club started cheering. My dad stood from his seat and pulled his knife from his back pocket to cut off the president patch on his cut. He threw the patch at me and stormed out of the room with Cruz right behind him. I slid the patch into my pocket and followed him out.
“Dad, wait a second,” I called out as he reached the bar. He picked up a beer and took a sip before facing me. “I’m sorry it ended like this. I still want you in the club.”
“It’s all yours, son. Don’t let it burn down in flames.” He took off his leather cut and hung it on the back of the bar stool before drinking the rest of his beer in one sip and walking out the door.
Cruz followed behind him as he usually did. Cruz’s title in the club was the President’s right-hand man, which meant he did anything the President asked, but he wouldn’t be keeping that position now. I’d already thought about the shift this change would have in the club and who would take on these titles under my direction. Chase would be my right-hand man; he’d been a Viper for three years and had always had my back no matter what.
Haz, on the other hand, would be my Vice President. I trusted his opinion more than anyone else and he was the person I wanted making decisions with me. We both wanted the same things for this club and I knew he would help me fix the issues my dad had made.