2. Bear
2
BEAR
M y new wife spent the majority of the ride to the clubhouse looking at her phone, which was fine with me because I wanted to talk to her about as much as she wanted to talk to me. This wasn’t a love match, and I wouldn’t pretend I had anything in my heart for the Caputis other than suspicion and animosity.
But if I wanted to end this war between our families, I would do what I had to do…including putting up with the mafia princess and ignoring the way her indignant gaze made me want to claw her eyes out. Sure, my house wasn’t as big as any blood-money mansion she’d lived in, but it wasn’t a fucking shack.
Whatever. I didn’t give a shit what she thought about our living arrangements. Her opinion changed nothing. We were stuck together regardless.
When I pulled into the clubhouse driveway, she glanced at the building with a sneer, her dark gaze sweeping over the gravel pavement and ancient vinyl exterior with incredulity.
“It truly is a wonder the Roses have managed to hold my family off for so long,” she said. “Everything you own reeks of dereliction and decay.”
I put the gear shifter into park before turning to face her. “Well, feast your eyes, princess. Everything I own is fifty percent yours now.”
She gave me a side-eye before opening the passenger door to hop out. I sighed, running a hand back through my hair. Julia could hold her own, but I feared what would happen when we walked through these doors. I’d never had reason to be afraid of my brothers before, but only half of them had wanted this alliance. The other half had threatened to walk because of it. I was barely holding the fractured pieces together.
Three months ago, the FBI had raided the Steel Roses headquarters and arrested my father, the former president. In his absence, the rest of them had elected me the interim leader, but I didn’t think I was ready for the responsibility. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be ready. I could count on one hand the number of people I trusted, and my wife wasn’t one of them.
Get it together, Montgomery, I scolded myself before climbing out of my truck to lead Julia inside.
At this time of night, most of the members were already here. The old ladies, MC princesses, and hang-arounds mingled about, gossiping and talking and getting rowdy. Normally, I would have found one (or two) to flirt with, but those days were long gone. Recently, I’d been too focused on ending this war to fuck around, and now that I was a married man (with an infidelity clause in my contract), I didn’t see the point.
The room went quiet when we walked in, all eyes turning in our direction. Julia froze, stiffening her spine and steeling her jaw against the pervasive onslaught. Some were curious, my sister among them. Verona sat in her boyfriend’s lap with his arms around her while my acting vice president, KC, looked up from his spot next to his wife, Alba. For the first time in probably all of SRMC history, none of these motley motherfuckers had anything to say.
A tiger had entered lion territory, and all waited to see who would attack first.
“Well?” I said, jumping to my new wife’s defense. “What the fuck are you all staring at?”
Some cleared their throats and went back to their activities. V and Hollywood, a.k.a. my best friend who had started dating my little sister, stood and walked closer.
“Congratulations?” V said, opening her arms to hug me before turning to Julia. “You must be my new sister-in-law.”
“Indeed,” Julia said, holding out a hand for V to shake.
“What’s it feel like to be a married man, huh?” Hollywood clapped me on the shoulder and threw an arm around my neck. Of everyone in the club, he was the comedian, the one most likely to crack a joke to break the tension.
“About the same as it felt being single,” I said, which caused Julia to snap her attention to me and raise an eyebrow.
“It’s nice to see you again, Julia.” Hollywood flashed her his trademark grin and a wink.
“Likewise,” she said, but her tone suggested it was not, in fact, nice to see any of us.
I nodded toward the back of the clubhouse where the MC usually held church. “Is Leo here yet?”
Julia straightened at the mention of her brother.
“No,” Hollywood said. “He texted he’s running five minutes late. He should be here soon.”
I nodded and headed in that direction, but KC and Alba cut me off. My buddy looked suspicious of the Caputi princess. Alba only pushed her glasses higher on her nose and smiled.
“Julia, this is Alba,” I said, introducing the two relatives.
“Right,” Julia said, raising an eyebrow. “Alessandra’s daughter.”
“Penny’s daughter,” Alba corrected. “It’s wonderful to meet you.”
“Well,” Julia said, “any Caputi blood in the Rose thorn bush is sure to make me feel right at home.”
I winced because despite being technically related to the Caputis, Alba had never considered herself one of them. Her mother had run away from that life and faked her death after getting pregnant with her. She’d lived on Rose territory ever since. Alba didn’t know this about herself until two years ago, but now that they were standing side by side, it was easy to see the family resemblance. They had the same nose, the same mouth, the same cheekbone structure.
“C’mon,” Alba said, nodding toward the bar. “You look like you could use a drink.”
Bless Alba and her friendly disposition.
Julia gave me a hesitant glance before following KC’s old lady to the bar with the other MC princesses.
Just as I was heading toward the back room, one of the hang-arounds I used to fuck, Amber, saddled up next to me.
“Hiya, prez,” she said, smiling with her sexiest grin. “How have you been?”
“Oh, just fine,” I said. I hadn’t meant it to be an invitation to flirt, but ever the opportunist, she took it as one.
“Ya know.” She pressed her hands to my chest before sliding them to my neck. “If your bed is still cold after marrying the frigid Caputi bitch, I can warm it just as good as I used to.”
I bit back the insult to my wife and grabbed her wrists, forcing them down. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
She deepened her smirk. “Good. Maybe I’ll see you later.”
I didn’t respond because I wasn’t interested, even if I hadn’t signed a marital contract with a firm infidelity clause. I pushed past her and into the meeting space.
“How’s it going?” KC asked, seemingly holding back a grin at Amber’s blatant invitation. “With Julia, I mean?”
“I’ll be surprised if she doesn’t murder me in my sleep.” I rounded the SRMC table and sat in the president’s chair at the head, gazing over the logo burned into the wood: a rose with a blade going down the center. My father had occupied this seat for over twenty years, and I prayed I could fill his jumbo-size shoes.
“I’m not so sure about that,” Hollywood said, barking out a laugh as he took the road captain’s seat on the left. KC lowered himself into the VP seat on the right, lighting a cigarette as Hollywood continued. “I saw the way she looked at you when Leo announced your ‘arrangement.’”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked. “She hates me, then and now. This isn’t a love match.”
These two fuckers were my best friends in the entire world, and I trusted them with my life. If I could confide in anyone, it would be them first…even if Hollywood had been known to be a gossip worthy of a flock of clucking hens.
“I don’t know, man.” Hollywood huffed a teasing breath. “The way she got up in your face? I’ve never seen a girl with balls that big. She’s the only one who would dare talk to you like that.”
KC raised his eyebrows and blew out a lungful of cigarette smoke. “You know Bear likes ’em rowdy.”
“Shut up,” I said, rubbing my fingers over my eyes at the memory. The first time I’d met Julia, she’d given me a raft of shit for the way her brother had been held captive for months. She’d banged on my chest and shoved at my shoulders, and I was man enough to admit, I did like a woman with passion. Even if she was a Caputi.
“How’d the wedding ceremony go?” KC asked. “Sign your life away?”
“Leo wants a child within a year.” I leaned back in the seat and glanced between them.
Both Hollywood and KC went silent. I had evidently gasted their flabbers.
“A child?” Hollywood said with disbelief.
“He demands too much,” KC said. “I told you he’d try to steamroll you.”
“She agreed,” I said.
Hollywood slammed his hand down on the table and leaned his head back to howl with amusement, causing me to glare at him. If looks could kill…
“Within a year?” He guffawed. “I bet you’re pregnant before winter.”
“I’ll take that action,” KC said, holding a hand out across the table.
“Can you two knock it the fuck off?” I growled.
“Two shifts at the garage,” Hollywood said, taking KC’s palm, ignoring me. “AND a security shift at the Beacon.”
I sighed at the mention of the club-owned BDSM club where my sister liked to take her flogger to my best friend’s ass and tried to push the mental image away.
“You’re on,” KC agreed, giving Hollywood’s hand a firm shake before a few of the other officers filed into the room.
Thor, the MC’s sergeant at arms and KC’s brother-in-law, sat down next to him and cracked his neck. At six-three and built like a Viking, he’d earned his nickname because he liked to beat motherfucking heads in with a sledgehammer. There was a reason he was the sarge. He gave off a “don’t-fuck-with-me” vibe that sent most idiots screaming for the hills. He’d recently married KC’s sister, Selene, and if two people were the definition of opposite sides of the same coin, it was them.
After that, Doc came in alongside Saint, whispering to each other. Doc had been the MC’s enforcer for the last ten years and had earned his reputation as the proverbial Doctor Jekyll. He’d been trained as a surgeon but had suffered some personal tragedy that created in him a Mister Hyde who liked to carve up disloyal fuckers and throw their bits in the fire. I’d seen him do things that nearly made me retch. Saint, on the other hand, had been raised in a Catholic orphanage. He had a complicated relationship with his God that sometimes came out in the form of beating Caputis to a pulp. It was his mercy that had saved Leo from death and his friendship with Julia that had led to the position we were in today.
Doc sat next to Hollywood while Wheels, the MC’s treasurer, sat down next to Thor. I waited until the rest of the Roses filled in around us, all grizzly, haggard motherfuckers that had seen better days.
Three months ago, Gabriella Caputi had ambushed our ranks and killed more Roses in one day than the Caputi fucks had in years. Since then, they had interrupted our trade routes and taken more of our men from us. Things were escalating quicker than I could put a lid on them.
I couldn’t blame my crew for being skeptical of this new match with Julia or the alliance with Leo. I only hoped it didn’t come back to bite me in the ass.
Finally, Leo came into the room. At six-five and wearing a suit that probably cost more than my truck, he dominated the space as he walked. I’d stabbed him in the kneecap the night we captured him so he still used a cane to walk. But other than that, he seemed much healthier than he had in nearly a year. This time, he was flanked by two burly men with guns in holsters under their arms—his security detail. I couldn’t blame him for that either, especially considering Gabriella had put a price on his head worthy of a Powerball lottery. He came to stand next to me, giving me a wink and a shit-eating grin that I ignored.
Once everyone was assembled, someone shut the door to the front and KC stood to bang his rings on the table.
“All right, you fucking pricks, listen up. Church is in session.” He stabbed out his cigarette and nodded at me to go on.
Taking a deep breath, I stood and glanced at the assembled crowd, wishing not for the first time my father was here to guide me. I’d been trying to reach him at the pen, but until his trial, the DA wouldn’t allow any contact with SRMC members, even if they were related to him. All correspondence had to go through my sister, and that chafed most of all.
“Brothers,” I said, taking a deep breath, “we are closing in on the end of the war with the Caputis. Very soon, Gabriella will be dead.”
Whoops came from the crowd, echoing a boisterous applause. Leo shifted next to me and cracked his neck, but didn’t say anything, so I continued.
“I’ve contacted the Steel Roses in New England, Ohio, North Carolina, and Georgia. They’re all riding in for the convention. How are we on arms?” I glanced at Thor.
“We’re stocked,” he said. “After Gabriella stole our last shipment, the IRA was willing to step in. This time, we’re ready for her.”
“Good,” I said, looking to Doc. “What about supplies?”
They knew what I meant. If this went the way we wanted, we’d kill Gabriella and usher in a time of peace. But until then, we’d have to pick off her cronies for information. Doc had a secret stash of poisons he liked to use when he… interviewed… such people.
He smiled. “I’m ready.”
“Fantastic.” I was happy Doc had gotten on board with this plan. A few months ago, he’d been skeptical, taking every opportunity to let his opinion be known. He didn’t trust Leo Caputi, didn’t think we should partner with him, and didn’t agree my match with Julia would be good for anyone involved. Thor had threatened to beat some sense into him, and he’d come around. But when I glanced back to the sixty or so other club members, I saw a mix of emotions on their faces. Some were agreeable, others more distrusting.
“What’s the plan, then?” asked Stallion, a grizzly old-timer who had been in the club nearly as long as my father. His much younger brother, Skulls, had been murdered by Gabriella the night she attacked us, something that had aged the man nearly two decades in a matter of weeks. “Are we gonna sit back and hope that Caputi fucker can get his family to accept this deal?”
Leo tensed and stepped forward, probably preparing to rip into Stallion, but I held up a hand to stop him.
“We’re working on that,” I said. “Leo and my wife have close ties with Caputis who are unhappy with how Gabriella has been running things.”
“And?” Stallion asked, crossing his arms. “What are they saying? When is this supposed to go down?”
“We’re still putting the final pieces into place,” Leo said. “My uncle Sulli and my uncle Frankie are?—”
“Uncles?” Stallion scoffed. “You mean Benito’s brothers? There’s no fucking way they side with us.” He shifted his hard gaze to me. “Bear, you gotta realize this is stupid. If your old man?—”
“My old man is locked up because of Gabriella.” I slammed my hands on the table to get his attention, and he straightened, inhaling at my outburst. I met the gazes of my younger brothers, Castor and Pollux, across the room. Earlier this year, Pollux was in the hospital after Gabriella had the Beacon blown up, and three months ago, Castor had a gun to his head. He barely escaped with his life. “Picasso, Slip, Coins, and Skulls are dead because of her. I almost lost my brothers and sister because of her. They’ve been fucking up our business all year.”
“And how many more did we almost lose because of him ?” Stallion sneered at Leo. “I speak for a lot of us here when I say this plan is fucked-up. You’re leading us in the wrong direction.”
“My father wanted this before the Feds grabbed him,” I said, narrowing my gaze at the dissenter. “Are you suggesting I don’t know what I’m doing? That Crow didn’t know what he was doing?”
Stallion pursed his lips and shifted his stance as if he meant to tell me just that.
Lore cleared his throat and stepped forward before he could. “Look, I understand why everyone’s tense about this. If anyone gets it, I do.” Last year, Leo had taken him hostage and carved out his eye before dumping him back on Rose territory to die in a puddle of his own blood. “It takes all of my willpower to stand five feet from that maniac and not tear his heart out.”
“Reformed maniac,” Leo said, “and I apologize for what was done previously…when we were under different circumstances.”
Lore scowled and glared at the Caputi boss. “But we can’t fall apart now. If this truce gets us peace… lasting peace…isn’t it worth it? We can’t spend our time bickering among ourselves, and if I can come to that conclusion, so can you.”
“They took my brother,” Stallion said. “They took half our leadership, and the other half is in the pen. We’re sitting on our asses, letting that happen.”
“Pretty soon, we’ll have all the pieces in place to put that bitch in the ground,” KC added. “Until then, everyone needs to trust we have it under control.”
Stallion took a deep breath and let it out on a disgruntled scoff but didn’t say anything else, causing Reaper, the brother next to him, to lean in and whisper something in his ear. I didn’t miss the interaction, and I wondered how close those two had gotten in recent weeks.
I glanced at Thor, who watched them like a hawk. It was his responsibility to keep these fuckers in line. He was ex-military, and as far as I knew, he’d done some fucked-up missions for our government that forced him to leave and join a motorcycle club, so whatever it was must have been some heavy-hitting shit. If anyone in the club were plotting, he would find them out.
Then, I looked at Doc, who smoked a cigarette and eyed Stallion with a neutral glare. He had been the most vocal about not trusting this plan, and if there were Roses who were thinking of doing anything against my wishes, he’d be the one they’d go to for guidance. He had a seat at the table. He was the enforcer, the one who carried out the MC’s sentencing.
“So?” I said, directing my attention back to Stallion. “Is there a problem?”
The crowd held its collective breath, and KC tensed, preparing to handle Stallion if he moved too quickly. Phrasing it like that meant something. If there was, Stallion had two choices—he could challenge me or tear off his patch and leave. But when someone joined the Roses, they made an oath to be loyal until death. If he decided to leave, the rest of the brothers would go after him. I wouldn’t be responsible for what they’d do, but I could guess. Until I became president, I would have been a part of it.
“No problem,” Stallion eventually said, shaking his head.
“Anyone else got a problem?” I glanced at Reaper and finally to Lunchbox on the other side of Stallion. They stood in the back with a few other guys grouped around them, seemingly sectioned off from the rest of the crowd.
When no one said anything, I moved on. “You were saying, Leo?”
He nodded. “Sulli and Frankie are in the same boat as us. They’re tired of Gabriella’s bloodbath and eager for a regime change. I’ve talked to a few of my cousins, who have been gathering intel from the underbosses. If we can rally support from the majority, we’ll have her outnumbered and surrounded.”
“Are you certain they’ll go for an alliance with the Roses?” Hollywood asked.
“They don’t have a choice,” Leo said. “Not anymore. Julia is married to Bear. If I’m the boss, we’ll be family. I can assure you, there’s nothing we Caputis hold in higher esteem.”
I ignored the bristle building at the back of my throat and watched as the rest of Roses swallowed that information. In my family, a marriage happened at the clubhouse with the entire membership in attendance. We toasted the health of the couple and the promise of future generations of little Roses running around. The couple announced their love in front of everyone so the rest of the club knew who would come for them if anything happened to either one. None of that happened with me and Julia. So why should they believe it?
Leo had told us everything about our union needed to appear legitimate to win Caputi loyalty. I needed to do the same for my own men, as much as the thought chafed. Julia was my wife in name and image only. To throw a big party celebrating our union seemed to spit in the face of what the Roses held sacred about it. But when we agreed to this thing all those months ago, I knew it needed to be public. It needed to be loud and proud so everyone understood—the Feds, the Caputis, the other bosses and MCs in the surrounding area. This wasn’t some minor truce between two feuding nobodies. This was the end of an era, of decades worth of fighting and territory wars.
“To spill Caputi blood is a sin worse than any other,” Leo said. “Gabriella has overstepped her reach. She’ll pay for that.”
“When there’s more at play, I’ll give you all an update,” I said. “Now, what about the run in a few weeks?”
Hollywood stood and explained his plan for the upcoming trip to our allies out west in Montana. We’d recently made an agreement with the Royal Bastards MC in Helena, who were all too eager to help us with our supply shipments.
“Lore, I’m letting you take the lead on this,” Hollywood said. “Pick your team and let me know the details.”
Lore nodded and smiled before clapping a few of his buddies on the shoulder. Wheels gave the treasury update next, and the realist in me grimaced. The FBI raid and the Caputi massacre had caused us to dip into emergency funds, and now we were running low.
“I don’t wanna scare anyone,” Wheels said, rubbing a hand over his head. “But if this deal with the Bastards doesn’t go well, we’ll be up shit’s creek.”
“Work with the prospects and the old ladies on shoring up a few fundraisers,” I said.
“Once I get access to the Caputi funds, I can help,” Leo added, raising a few Rose eyebrows.
“Thank you,” I said as I shook his hand. “All right, brothers. That’s enough for tonight. Go have some fun, huh? Let’s remember why we do this shit in the first place.”
KC knocked his rings on the table to announce the end of church, and most of the brothers filed out to the front room. The sounds of music and clanking pool balls declared the start of another rowdy night.
While the club had dispersed, the officers stayed behind. Thor and KC shifted their attention to Doc, who rubbed a hand over his mouth and glanced between them.
“I know,” he said, seeming to understand his obvious dissent had fueled more among the rest of the group.
“We need to be united,” KC said. “Especially now. The old leadership is dead or locked up. With us so newly in charge, it doesn’t look great that you’ve been bucking against our ideas. Fear spreads and spreads.”
“I know.” Doc sighed and lit another cigarette.
“Fix it,” Thor growled before pushing to his feet. “Before I have to. Understand?”
“I’ll handle it.” Doc nodded, stood, and walked out front, hopefully to set Stallion and the others straight.
Thor glanced at me with distrust echoing in his gaze before following the enforcer out.
“Don’t worry about them,” I said, turning to Leo. “We’ll get them in line.”
Leo smirked and winked. “I’m not worried, brother. We’re on the same train now. We’ll get where we’re going in one piece.” He clapped my shoulder before limping away, his two bodyguards on either side.
“That’s a problem,” KC said once it was just us and Wheels. “Doc should have kept his mouth shut.”
“I don’t trust Stallion,” Wheels said. “My brother got shot that day, too, so I understand why he feels the way he does.” The only difference was Hollister had lived, despite the vicious scar on his head. “He’s up to something.”
“Thor will keep an eye on him,” I said.
“You need to marry Julia publicly,” Hollywood said. “That’s the only way they see this as a true alliance.”
“Yeah,” I said with a sigh. I’d been thinking the same thing.
“Otherwise, they’ll eat her alive,” he continued. “If they don’t think she’s your old lady, they’re never gonna respect her. One drunken night is all it’s gonna take, and they’ll chew her up.”
“Got it,” I said, nodding toward the door. “Go on. Go get laid. Let me deal with that bullshit.”
Wheels, KC, and Hollywood stood to leave, and I ran my hands over my face, taking a deep inhale and again wishing I could talk to my father. I didn’t know how he’d done this for so long. I’d only been in charge for three months and I nearly drowned with the pressure. The responsibility for everyone in this clubhouse rested on my shoulders. Every drop of Rose blood spilled from here on would be the result of my action or inaction. If someone died, that was my fault. If this plan didn’t work, it would be my fault.
Fuck, Stallion, Reaper, and all their buddies would drag me out into the woods and rip my limbs off before shooting me between the eyes, and I would deserve it.
A hot lance of panic went through my chest, making my heart pound against my rib cage, turning my lungs to ash. I gasped for air, praying the sweet oxygen would soothe me, but it only made me more desperate for a reprieve.
Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, and all that shit.