Chapter 17 #2
I fling myself into my chair and continue, “I need to tell you something that’s gonna be hard to hear, and I need you to let me get through it before you all lose your fuckin’ minds.”
They all turn at the same time and scoot up to the table.
Jasper states sarcastically, “If you don’t spit it out, I’ll have to beat it out of you.”
I shoot back, “I’m leaving Sons of Rage, resigning my position as club treasurer.”
My old man growls, “The fuck you are.”
My three brothers are just staring at me like I grew a fuckin’ second head. After about three seconds they explode.
Jasper comes out of his chair. “You’re what? How can you even think of such a thing?”
Onyx’s voice booms across the table. “Mica, what the hell are you thinking? You were born and raised a Rager. You can’t just walk away from everything that you are.”
“You can’t just fuckin’ quit. We need you. You’re our money guy. Do any of us look like we can run spreadsheets and shit?” Jasper says disgustedly.
“Let me finish,” I say, and my voice carries the same level of authority it did when we were in the alley after Nova went missing. The room doesn’t go quiet immediately, but they settle enough for me to continue.
“I’m starting my own club.”
Jasper asks, “Where the fuck did this idea even come from?”
My old man is cleverer than the rest of us put together. He guesses, “This has to do with Vulture’s granddaughter, doesn’t it?”
“I’d say she’s more my wife at this point, but yes.”
“You might as well tell us all about it,” he says, looking a little dispirited.
“The club’s name will be Raging Vultures. It’ll be an independent club, allied with both the Sons and Cray’s club but not a chapter of either.”
My old man’s head jerks up. “Wait. You’re planning to take Vulture’s old territory?”
“Yeah, you can either give it to me, or I’ll have to fight you for it.”
To say he’s never been a big fan of my sense of humor would be an understatement. “You’re the brainy one, not the funny one, remember?”
“Ouch,” I respond with a feral grin.
Slate cuts in. “In order to get the territory, you need to have enough men to hold it. Where do you plan to get brothers?”
Before I can answer, Jasper snarls, “Don’t even think about poaching brothers or club girls from our club.”
I joke with him, trying to take the edge off this situation. “What, Jasper? Are you afraid the brothers would prefer me as their club president?”
My older brother just shakes his head in apparent disgust. “Oh, fuck off with that shit. You know the Sons brotherhood is loyal… except you, that is.”
That should sting, but it doesn’t. I’m having way too much fun tormenting him.
Slate brings the conversation back to the issue of manpower. “You still haven’t answered my question, Mica. Where are you getting club members?”
My old man perks up. “You and Nova are having my grandchild?”
“We ain’t never bothered with birth control. I’m not stupid. I know where babies come from. So, I’d say it’s just a matter of time.”
He lifts his chin. “I’ll tell your ma, that the two of you are trying.”
I roll my eyes, “Sure, you can tell her that because it ain’t far from the truth.”
Another silence but I can tell they’re seeing my point now.
“Ma’s not gonna like you leaving,” Onyx says. “You know that, right? If Queenie ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.”
“I’ll talk to her myself,” I say. “She always comes around when grandchildren are involved.”
Slate speaks for the first time. “It sounds like you’ve been planning this for a while.” Of course, Slate’s already putting the pieces of the puzzle together.
“Yeah, I’ve been planning it since before the cave,” I admit. “I talked to Cray about it weeks ago. He gave me his blessing.”
“You talked to Cray before you talked to us?” Jasper looks genuinely hurt and I understand why. I would be too.
“I needed to know if Vulture’s name could be carried forward before I brought it up to all of you. Cray is Vulture’s brother. Since I don’t want bad blood with Nova’s only living family member, I asked his permission.”
My old man is sitting at the head of the table with his arms folded across his massive chest. He’s now staring at me with an expression I can’t fully read.
He can be expressive when he feels strongly about something.
I’ve seen him angry, proud, grief stricken and in combat mode.
What I’m seeing in his expression and body language right now is something new.
Granted, he’s a man dealing with his son pivoting in a direction he never expected. That’s got to be hard.
“I guess the bottom line is do you think you’ve got what it takes to be a club president,” Rock comments. “It’s a whole different role than being a numbers cruncher. I’ve been grooming Jasper for the job his whole life and somehow you think you’re just going to step into the role.”
My eyebrows fly up. “Hell the fuck yes, I do. If you’d been paying attention to me at all, you would know that already.
I’ve been living, eating, sleeping, and bleeding for this club my whole fucking life.
Since I ended up in this marriage you arranged, I’ve been tracking down threats to her life, helping her run her businesses, killing the man who wanted to ruin her just to send you a fuckin’ message about how jealous he was of your success, and I recruited my own man on the inside of the local PD.
Fuck, I even turned him into a rockstar in the process. ”
Glancing around the room, all my good humor is suddenly gone.
And I’ve got zero fucks to give when it comes to getting their approval.
“It’s personally fucking insulting to have you all sit around this table acting like I have to convince you that I’m fuckin’ worthy of living my life and making decisions for my damn self. ”
When they don’t immediately respond, I wrap it up.
“This conversation is a fuckin’ courtesy, not an obligation.
The bottom line is my decision has been made.
If you can manage to get past your shock of me not staying put in the club our old man started, you’ll see that this can only benefit us as a family. ”
I turn my head to pin Rock with a steady gaze.
“Do you want to know what’s better than a son following in your footsteps in becoming a club president?
” Not waiting for him to answer, I hold up two fingers.
“It’s having two sons running two clubs.
It’s twice the manpower to get shit done, twice the fighters when shit goes sideways, and twice the brainpower.
There ain’t ever gonna be a time when club shit comes between me and my family, so the way I see it, you’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain by getting on board with this idea. ”
Rock looks at me for a long, hard moment. I see some glimmer of respect flicker in his eyes. Now that I’ve spelled it all out for him, he not only sees the benefit, but he understands two more important things that I’m waiting for him to bring up.
“You resurrecting Vulture’s old club also gives us security along the border we share, which was the primary reason we wanted that territory. And we get an alliance through you with that cagy bastard Cray, who never trusts any fuckin’ body.”
I just look at him and nod. “Like I said, we only gain with me taking that territory and starting my own club.”
Jasper speaks up. “I don’t understand why your club can’t be an affiliate to the Sons of Rage.”
Still looking at my old man, I answer Jasper’s question, “Because I’m not taking orders from you, Jasper. You might run the Sons, but I’m not putting my club under your thumb as well.”
Our old man speaks up, his voice sounding more confident than angry, “If Raging Vultures is a Sons affiliate, Cray won’t agree to an alliance. Mica’s club offers him a bridge between our clubs.”
“I’m starting to see the benefit to this idea,” Rock says.
“It’s not an idea, it’s a plan. I’m doing this with or without your approval.”
Slate is the one who cuts through all the bullshit. “You’ve already won us over, Mica. So, you can stop being so defiant about it.”
Onyx reluctantly agrees. “We’d have to be blind to not see you’re capable and ready to lead your own club.
I hate that you’re striking out on your own because it feels like we’re losing you.
I don’t even know how to deal with not seeing you hanging around the clubhouse, beating off all the new club girls and being the apple of ma’s eye.
Shit’s gonna be depressing around here for a bit. ”
“You’re not losing me, asshole. You’re gaining a brand-new allied club, one with a club president who’s proven he’ll go the mat for you every single time. Nova and I will still be showing up for Sunday morning breakfasts and showing off all the babies I plan to have with her.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jasper mutters under his breath. “Next you’re gonna be telling me we’ll still hang out on weekends.”
“Why wouldn’t we?” I shoot back. “For the umpteenth time, our clubs are going to be allies. We’ll ride together, watch each other’s backs and we’ll protect our territory together. This ain’t some kind of abandonment. It’s a smart expansion.”
Onyx spins an empty beer bottle that happened to be on the table. Watching the amber bottle twirl, he says, “You call it Slate. Is he lying or telling the truth?”
After a long, thoughtful pause, he gives me a short nod. “Mica’s telling the truth, at least as he knows it to be. Unless something gets in the way of his plans, it’ll play out just like he says.”
Jasper finally cracks a smile. “Raging Vultures. That’s actually a decent name. Did your old lady pick it out?”
“Fuck no. She did like it though,” I tell him, finding my sense of humor again.