15. Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Fifteen
Griffin’s Beach Colt
L eaning back in his seat at the head of the table, Colt waits for everyone to filter into the room for Church. The almost-wedding from the other day has been cleaned up, but the tension in the clubhouse has been thick. Something has to change.
Speaking of change, Colt watches Brock and Beckett having a hushed conversation right outside of the Chapel. It’s been happening for a few days now, and he knows they’re planning something. And he knows it has to do with Shannon.
He stands to join them and find out what’s going on when Ky walks up and places a hand on his shoulder. “I got something to bring to the table tonight.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“Best if you’re as surprised as everyone else. Don’t want you to get accused of conspiring.”
Nodding, he sits back down and makes a mental note to talk to Brock and Beckett about those side conversations. Something feels off, but it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where that something is. It’s the entire clubhouse.
“Did you hear they found another body?” Venom asks as he sits to Colt’s right.
“Yeah, and the police department is getting annihilated by the press,” Ky says with a smirk. “Serves them right. You know, since they’re taking out the trash in town.”
Colt chuckles. It’s only a matter of time before the heads of the GBPD come crawling back to the club for help with the supposed serial killer they have. They can’t even identify the victims, so they’re going to struggle even more identifying the killer.
“How’s Lex?” Venom asks, changing subjects. “She okay?”
“Honestly, I think she’s more pissed than hurt. I mean, how many times can her father really break her heart before she becomes numb?”
He shakes his head. “Knowing her? A lot.”
“God, he’s just a shitty father,” Ky says. “How did we let him just do all this for so long without saying anything?”
“I don’t want to think about that” Colt says and turns back to Venom. It doesn’t feel right talking about Lex without her here. “So… How are things with the crazy girlfriend?”
He sighs as Ky leans forward like a giddy schoolgirl waiting to hear the latest gossip. “They’re… I mean… Hell, I’m getting laid. That about sums it up.”
“Are you scared to break up with her? Because I would be,” Ky says.
Laughing, he shakes his head. “The crazy doesn’t bother me. It’s a little fun, if you know what I mean. And I punish her when she acts up. I just hope it’ll teach her how to act right .”
“Punish?” Colt has to admit this has him intrigued.
“I get off, but she doesn’t. Kept her in line for a couple of days after she threatened Heidi, Shep, and Lex.”
“You’re shitting me!” Ky exclaims and lowers his voice when the others look at him. “Sorry.”
Venom shrugs. “It’s weird, but it’s the only thing I found that works for her. I’ve never been selfish in the bedroom, but I think it kind of tells me what I already suspected.”
“Which was…?”
“That Lex knew when she met Cinder.”
A knowing smirk appears on Colt’s face. His wife is almost always right, especially when it comes to other people. “Do tell.”
“Cinder’s a good-time-for-now type, not a forever type. If I left someone I truly cared about unsatisfied after I got off, I’d feel sick. I simply feel… nothing.”
The comment makes Colt nauseous. He’s done that. To Lex. He’d been so dark in his own mind that he hadn’t even noticed, and he certainly didn’t care.
“What’s the point of sticking with her?” Ky asks. “I mean, she’s a fucking nuisance.”
“Because he wants to get over someone else,” Colt answers. “Someone who just returned to make that even harder to achieve, maybe?”
Groaning, Venom leans back. “Yeah, pretty much.”
The doors shut, and the clock shows eight-ten. Everyone but Zane sits in their seats. Shocker.
“I guess everyone who plans to show up is here. Let’s get started,” Colt says and bangs his gavel on the table.
“I got something,” Ky says.
“Floor’s yours.”
“Zane’s patch. I want to vote on it. After the bullshit he’s pulled the past however many months, it’s clear he doesn’t respect the club anymore. Besides, smacking Lucas around and damn-near killing Lex shows there’s no respect for his daughter, either.”
Venom slaps his hands on the table and stands, his chair flying back against the wall. “What did you just say? About Lucas and Lex.”
“Wait, that’s what happened to her?” Undertaker asks. “The ribs and the face… Motherfucker.”
Giving Ky a disapproving look, Colt nearly growls, “Lex didn’t want this at the table.”
“Why are we keeping it a secret? To protect him? I think VP’s done that enough for seven lifetimes,” Ky challenges.
Venom slaps the table again, his eyes darting between Colt and Ky and back again. “What the fuck happened? He tried to kill her?”
“He wasn’t going to kill her,” VP says. “This is getting blown completely out of proportion.”
“Considering your reaction to the little show your crotch goblin put on the other day at your own fucking wedding, I think we can all agree you have no fucking clue what color the goddamn sky is at this point,” Venom growls. “What. The. Fuck. Happened?”
Clenching his fists so tightly that the gavel snaps, Colt recounts what happened the day he got the frantic call from Noah to get home. How he knew his uncle was hurting his mom.
“We showed up, and she was on the ground, Zane on her chest. His hands were wrapped around her throat as she tried to claw and hit and fight him. He threatened to kill her,” Colt finishes. “And I almost killed him for it.”
“All because she wouldn’t let him take his daughter on his bike because he was drunk as shit,” Ky says.
Undertaker waves a hand in the air. “He also hit Lucas?”
“Twice,” Colt says. “Cut his cheek and busted his lip. Said some fucked-up shit to him, too.”
“I think we can all agree that the only person in this room who believes Zane wouldn’t kill his own sister is the delusional asshole who fathered him,” Diesel says.
Face red, VP shakes in his seat. “Zane’s lost his way, and I’m not denying that. But I know for a fact he isn’t capable of killing his sister.”
“You weren’t fucking there!” Colt screams and jumps up.
“You didn’t see the look on his face. The way his eyes glazed over.
The way Lex rolled with us when I tackled him because of how fucking tight his hands gripped her throat.
And you sure as fuck didn’t hear the loud gasps of air she took when she could finally fucking breathe again. ”
Sitting back down, he decides it best not to contribute more to the conversation. He knew he couldn’t be the one to bring this to the table without looking like he had an agenda, but the truth is, anyone who agrees with VP will be on the short list of men Colt can no longer trust.
“Look, he was wrong, okay? Again, I’m not arguing that, but he has a lot of shit going on. He just lost his wife. How many of you think you’d be perfectly fine after losing your woman?”
“I’m pretty fucking confident I wouldn’t try and drive my kids home while drunk,” Ky says. “But, you know, that’s just me.”
“That asshole has been given every excuse you can pull out of your ass, and he always has a lot going on, Nash,” TK says.
“His mom died when he was kid, so that automatically gives him the right to destroy our clubhouse because you were going to get married over thirty years later? Come on, even you can’t defend that. ”
He looks at Colt’s father with such betrayal it nearly makes Colt laugh.
His mouth hangs open slightly, and he lets out a short breath of air in disbelief.
“Weren’t you the guy who got drunk and spent days on end fucking two blonde women after your wife cheated on you?
That was after we stopped you from killing Rush, but you’re different, right? ”
“Uh, correct me if I’m wrong here,” Diesel says, “but TK didn’t go on a rampage and smash the clubhouse to pieces with every minor frustration. You’re kind of comparing apples to oranges.”
“He will never have to pay for anything he says or does as long as you’re around to cover his ass, will he?” TK asks.
“Fuck you.”
Glancing at him, Undertaker shakes his head. “You seem more upset that we’re considering stripping your son of his leather than you did at losing the woman you were going to marry days ago. Do you even care that he cost you Emma?”
“Of course,” he shouts. “But you’re asking me to choose between my son and the woman I love!”
“And what about your daughter?” Jennings says. “You always choose your son over your daughter, but the truth is, Zane needs to be held accountable for his actions. The excuses you make is the reason only you seem to be surprised that we’re having this conversation now.”
Letting out another deep breath, VP glares at the former President. “You don’t understand. You never will.”
“What I understand is how you’ve stripped him of being a man. At some point, someone needs to show him that his feelings aren’t important to the rest of us. And it doesn’t mean he has any right to lash out when he’s upset.”
Hunter Fontaine folds his hands on the table and locks eyes with the fellow Original Ten.
“It’s a hard pill to swallow when you realize you’ve allowed someone in your family and your club to mistreat your daughter.
Trust me, I’ve been there, but the actions of our sons reflect on us as fathers.
We’ve failed. The sooner you come to grips with that, the quicker the healing begins. ”
“I have not failed my son the way you failed Elliot. Who’s only your nephew, by the way. He’s not your son.”
“Fuck you, man,” Elliot calls. “I made mistakes and had an ego. But I only slapped Lily once, which sounds terrible to say, but I never tried to kill her. I figured my shit out, but your son has been told it’s acceptable to treat the women in his life like shit by you.”
“That’s fucking bullshit,” VP snaps. “He treats Margaret like a princess. And Lane was his queen.”
Colt laughs and shakes his head. “Tell me, which fairy tale is it that the princess gets chauffeured around by her drunk father? And if he cares so much about his princess , then why the fuck has she not left my house since his wife died? Yeah, real king-like behavior there. Great fucking father just like his old man.”
“At this point, I think it’s safe to say that VP is just as responsible for what’s happened as Zane is. He’s trying to defend and condone his behavior when it’s not defendable,” Shep says.
“Says another fucking stray,” VP snaps.
I’m getting really fucking tired of that term now.
Eyebrow raised, Shep smirks. “One of the OG strays, thank you very much. When I was a prick for the sake of being a prick, no one gave me any leeway. I had a reason to hate Psycho more than Zane has a reason to hate Lex. Psycho’s family killed my daughter, but I was told to deal with or leave.
But Zane losing his mom to cancer thirty fucking years ago is totally fucking different? Special treatment much?”
He slams his hand on the table and stands. “You think it’s not a big deal? To watch someone you love die a slow and painful death? You’re forgetting that he’s had to watch that happen twice now. His mom and his wife.”
“It’s no worse than your daughter being raped and murdered on the side of the fucking road by a rival club!” Shep shouts back. “I wasn’t allowed to express my anger when I found out, so Zane sure as fuck doesn’t get a free pass, either.”
“I move to remove Zane from the Deranged Drifters,” Ky says. “According to our laws, we only need a majority, not a unanimous vote.”
Sitting down, Venom’s hands shake as he scans the room. “If we vote to keep that motherfucking sitting at this table, you’ll be replacing me as Sergeant at Arms because I will not sit with him.”
“You’d leave?” Jennings asks.
Colt’s just as surprised as the former President, but Venom smirks. “No, I’ll get my ass kicked out because I won’t just remove him from this club. I’ll remove him from this fucking planet.”
The way VP sits with his arms crossed, anger and disdain on his face, makes Colt wish he wasn’t sitting at the head of the table. He’d love nothing more than to leap across it and strangle his father-in-law. The same way Zane did to Lex.
Every time Lex makes any type of progress in her relationship with her father, he does something stupid to bring them backwards.
“I second the motion,” Rocco says, surprising Colt. “I may not like Lex, but no one at this table should be allowed to get away with putting hands on a woman.”
Rocco Hanson and his girl, Autumn, haven’t been Lex’s biggest fans in a long while, but at least he understands this isn’t something they can condone. And they never will.
“I will give you the choice to decide who tells your son. You wanna take his leather, or should it come from me?” Colt asks.
“I’ll fucking do it,” VP growls as he loses the vote. “It’s on you if he does something stupid because of it.”
“Nah, that’s on you,” Ky says. “You did this.”