Chapter 7
CHAPTER
SEVEN
Riptide
Isn’t that the million dollar question of the day? How do we tell this woman, whose eyes sparkle when she talks about our childhood friend, that he betrayed those closest to him—the ones that always had his back no matter what?
Rio scoots forward on the cushion and begins telling her about Issy’s kidnapping, Gage’s involvement, and how he made amends at the end.
Van is as quiet as a mouse the entire time, even the little man didn’t make a peep through the entire explanation as if he knew his mother needed time to absorb what she was being told.
Van’s eyes are wide and tears gather in them as she listens.
Some sort of foreign reaction inside of me wakes up, and all I want to do is go over to her, pluck her from her seat, sit her in my lap, and comfort her.
But I don’t because I’m a virtual stranger to her as she mentioned earlier upon our arrival and she’d probably think I have a screw loose.
Instead, I clamp my hands into one balled fist and press my blunt nails into my skin making moon-like impressions in it.
I won’t take advantage of the way she’s emotionally spiraling as we dump this information on her.
The man she knew in the beginning isn’t the same as the man Gage was toward the end.
He only showed her the better part of who he was and hid the rest of the bullshit from her.
It’s like he had two separate personalities.
The good Gage and the one with the devil on his shoulder.
“He has a sister?” she questions.
“We were in the dark about that too,” I say, mollifying her.
“That’s all we’re willing to say on that subject,” Rio tacks on. “One day, maybe we can share more about that.”
“I’m still digesting everything you’ve said. I can’t believe he put Issy in that situation. How could he do that?” she asks, sounding dejected. “She was like a sister to him. How could one be more important than another?”
“If I had those answers, I’d give them to you, Van,” I swear. “As it is, we’re still wrapping our heads around things ourselves. We’ve forgiven him to a degree, but that level of deception is a hard pass for us.”
“I understand, I really do,” she mumbles. “I find it commendable that y’all are giving him the sendoff you are.”
“That’s more Issy than us,” Rio clarifies.
“Personally, the guys and I would rather bury him and not give him another thought. But my ol’ lady, even after the bullshit he put her through, feels loyalty toward him and believes that his heart was in the right place and he was struggling with demons but in the end, he wanted to do the right thing. ”
“And he did,” I expand on his thought. “He took a bullet for you, Rio.”
“At least there was something redeemable about him,” Van vocalizes. “I’m so damn disappointed in him. I wish he’d have come to me.”
“We all do and I told him exactly that,” Rio states. “If he’d have gotten over himself and not tried to deal with those fuckers his own, things might have had a different outcome.”
“That’s what’s most troublesome to us,” I tell her. “He knew we’d help him, so what had him going solo?”
“Because he was a fixer,” Van says, blowing out a heated breath.
“He always thought he could take care of everything by himself. His problems were his and his alone just like my problems were his to solve, or so he believed. He never could take a helping hand and carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.”
“Yeah, well he was wrong,” Rio growls out. “He wasn’t part of the club, but he was part of my brotherhood. I would’ve walked through the fires of Hell for him.”
“I’m sorry his betrayal cut you so deep,” Van says.
“We’ve had more time than you to think about it, and it still makes no goddamn sense,” I groan.
“Now I understand BamBam’s muttering of ‘traitor’ the other day,” Van mentions. “It makes sense now that I know everything. I promise you, I wasn’t part of it and had no clue that any of that was going on or I would’ve stepped in and done something. What that would have been, I don’t know.”
“We believe you,” I quickly insert.
“You do?” she probes.
“Yeah. It’s the only way you showing up and demanding answers makes any sense,” I convey. “Otherwise, you’d have been on a fool’s mission.”
“If I had been aware of any of this, I would’ve never come to town. Guilt by association isn’t something I was prepared for,” she acknowledges.
“We won’t fault you for his bad decisions, Van,” I vow.
“Are you sure that includes everyone, Riptide? Because from the side-eyed look I got and from where I was sitting yesterday, that’s not exactly the case.”
“Some of us are taking it personally, Van,” Rio confirms. “It wasn’t just a slight against the club, it was the ultimate betrayal by someone we considered family.”
“It burned us to a degree that isn’t explainable,” I relay. “There’s no stage recognized on the charts for the scalding we received.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Van whispers.
“I don’t think there’s anything you can say that makes any of his decisions make sense,” I admit. “None of us can.”
Rio stands up and walks in her direction.
He squats down in front of her, telling her, “We lost Gage, but we don’t want to lose little G, Van.
Come to the clubhouse, get to know everyone.
I promise, we’re not as bad as our reputation.
We’re a big family that you’ll always be able to depend on if you let us in. ”
“We’re a little chaotic and dysfunctional, but we’ll always be there for you no matter where you are or what you need,” I add, making her a promise I guarantee to both her and myself that I’ll be keeping.
“Are you sure?” she asks, nervously chewing on her thumbnail. “Won’t us being around be a constant reminder of what Gage did to you all?”
“As you’ve pointed out, you aren’t him and you’re not responsible for his actions,” I remind her. “From what you’ve told us, you’re alone in this world and could use a family as well as people you can count on in your corner.”
“Okay. What are you suggesting?” she asks, her eyes ping-ponging back and forth between me and Rio. “I have attachment issues, you can’t bring me in and then throw me away. I barely survived when Gage did that to me, I don’t foresee me climbing my way out of it a second time.”
“We don’t throw family away unless you give us cause to,” Rio insists. “I don’t see that happening, do you?”
She adamantly shakes her head in denial, saying, “Nope. What’s the first step in getting to know everyone?”
“If you were in, Issy suggested a family get together. We’ll do some grilling, start the bonfire, and share a few drinks. What do you say?” Rio ponders. “Are you in?”
“That depends. What are you grilling?” she asks, and I see a mischievous side of her coming out which has me smiling.
“Not rabbit food,” Rio rebuffs, glancing over at the coffee table. “We’re meat and potatoes kind of guys, but for good measure, we’ll toss in a salad… as a side dish, not the main course.”
“Of course,” she laughs. “Name the time and place and I’ll be there.”
“Good. How about tonight, six o’clock at the same place you dropped Issy off yesterday?” Rio states.
“Just follow the music and you’ll find us,” I amend. “We’ll be around the backside of the clubhouse.”
“Gagey and I will be there,” she concludes.
I give Rio a side eye because now I understand what he meant when he told me we had to change the little guy’s nickname. He jabs his finger at her and says, “By the end of the night, I’m gonna have you calling him little G because Gagey is just wrong.”
“We’ll see,” she snickers. “Does it really bother you that much?”
“It really, really does,” he confesses.
“It’s not manly,” I insert.
“Well, he’s not a man,” she contradicts. “When he was born I promised him I wouldn’t call him Junior and little G almost feels the same.”
“It’s not,” Rio and I say at the same time.
“Two peas in a pod,” she mumbles underneath her breath. “I’ll consider it, but I’m making no promises.”
“As long as you understand that we will be referring to him as that to balance things out, we’ll be good,” Rio adds.
“He deserves his own nickname from his uncles,” she states, a slight smile curving her lips upward. “So I’m good with it. I won’t give you any shit over it, I promise.”
“Now that we’re on the same page, we’ll see you tonight,” Rio tells her as he stands from his squatted position.
“Tonight,” she says with a bob of her head.
“Later, Van. Bye, little man,” I toss over my shoulder as we head for the exit. I don’t know what it is about her that calls to me on a molecular level, but I can’t wait to find out—starting tonight.