Chapter 19 #2
“But she doesn’t go by Bainbridge. She’s only just found out he married her without her knowledge, but she’s never been a Bainbridge, ever.
Remember, in Australia, you don’t legally have to change your name when you marry.
You have to make the choice to. Since she never knew, she never had her name changed.
But aside from that, she’d never use Octavia to sign a note.
I don’t think she’s ever used Octavia as her name.
She’s always been Tavi, since she was a kid. ”
“What does that mean?” I begged of him.
“It means…she left you a clue as to where she had gone. She either thought she had to do this because there were eyes inside this club and it needed to look real, and she left this clue for you, or he manipulated her, threatened the club, or even Van, and she had to return, but she wanted you to know where she’d gone. ”
I hated this motherfucker more than I could fathom.
He’d taken her from me. Used the club, me, or Van, maybe all of them, to take her back.
Fuck this fucker was going to be dead, but not quickly.
No…I couldn’t have that. In fact, I may just kill him, revive him, and kill him over and over again until I was satisfied.
Not that I think I could ever be satisfied with his death. Nothing could satisfy me with the level of hatred I had for this motherfucker.
“She wouldn’t take Van back to him,” Mannix stated. “Is he still here?”
I turned to Trojan. “Look up the surveillance from when she left.”
He nodded, tapping away at the computer. Reaper hadn’t said a word. That was worrying in itself, but my mind was on Tavi. Why hadn’t she come to me with this? I would have protected her. The entire fucking club would have. She was the VP’s ol’ lady.
No…she wasn’t. I’d never claimed her. Fuck. Still, my brothers wouldn’t let me down if I asked it of them. I knew that, and yet, I’d kept her my dirty little secret.
The door to Chapel opened and I looked over at Animal, who had a crying Lani with him, then my eyes shot down to Van, clutching at her leg. When he saw me, he cried out and raised his arms for me to pick him up.
Immediately I bent and scooped him into my arms, feeling his little arms wrap around my neck tightly. “Explain…now.”
Lani sobbed and held out a letter. “She asked me…she told me there was a reason, and she would explain when it was time. I didn’t…I didn’t know, Dad, I promise.”
“From the top, Lani.”
Animal stepped forward. “Seems your woman asked Lani to watch over Van for a bit, said she had to take care of something, and Van needed to stay here, but she had to keep it secret. Lani promised her. Then this letter came, and she thought it may be for Mari, because it’s from a lawyer, and she figured Parker was going to be an asshole so she intercepted it. But, it’s not for Mari. It’s for you.”
I looked down at my government name on the front, and the logo for the law firm in the top corner. Animal slid the paper out of the envelope and held it up for me to read. Van had taken to holding onto me like a monkey, and wouldn’t let go.
The top line had my stomach plummeting.
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
In the event of my death, I, Octavia Therese Charman, being of sound mind, will my son Evan Bainbridge, to Dane Hart…
Fuck.
I held Van tighter, realising what she was doing. She had been preparing to sacrifice herself to save me, the club and Van.
Hell fucking no.
Mannix took the paperwork, looking from it to me, and back at it, before he slunk into his chair again. He knew it as well as I did.
“Trojan,” Reaper said, quietly. “Track movements on the Ironborne, on Hardy Bainbridge and whoever the fuck else needs to be tracked. Find out everything we need. Mannix, start talking. What do we need to know?”
I looked at Lani who was sobbing, unable to look me in my eyes. She was doing what she thought was right. I couldn’t fault her for that. I’d done the same thing for most of her life. Tavi never should have asked this of her.
“Prez, I’ll be back.”
He nodded and waved me off, before I slung an arm around Lani’s neck and led her out of Chapel. Van was still clutched to me like he’d superglued himself to me. It was both warming, and startling. I’d never seen him like this, and it pulled at my chest in a way I didn’t expect.
I should have checked on her, not been so up in my head over Tavi leaving. I was a fucking fool.
Once we were outside, Lani started to cry, uncontrollably. Van was starting to sob into my neck as well.
Fuck.
Pulling Lani into my chest, I hugged the both of them as tightly as I could, kissing the top of Lani’s head. “I’m not mad, Lani. You did the right thing by Tavi, and I love you for that. She should have come to me, not you.”
“She was scared,” Lani said into my chest. “I should have told you, I knew she was scared, that’s why she told me to take Van…but I thought she would be back. I didn’t think…”
“It’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong, Lani. I need you to take Van and go see your Mum, take Animal back with you, yeah?”
Lani nodded, and pulled away, wiping at her eyes. I tried to move Van off me but he clung tighter, his sobs getting louder in my ears.
“Van, come on, mate. Go with Lani.”
“No!” he screamed, his cries getting louder and louder as he clutched onto me like I was his life support. It was terror, fear, and missing his mum all rolled into one. It was too much for his four-year-old mind to comprehend.
“I think you need to keep him, Dad. He feels safe with you.”
I nodded, holding Van a little tighter, rubbing his back to soothe him so he would relax. “Yeah, go on with Animal, yeah?”
She nodded, and collected Animal from the steps as I tried to calm Van down in my arms. It was tearing my heart apart hearing him scream bloody murder like he was.
Van was slowly dozing in and out, his little snores in my neck told me so. I was glad I could soothe him, but this may present a problem when I needed to go and get Tavi off that fucker. Reaper came outside, sitting down beside me.
“You should have told me.”
“I know,” I answered.
“I don’t want secrets between me and my VP,” he continued. “Secrets and lies are where we break down.”
I nodded. “I know.”
“But, I also understand the need to protect those we love. This club is your family, Mav. We will do what we can, at all times. If you came to us sooner, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“You don’t know that.”
Reaper sighed. “We’ll march into Hell for you, brother.
You need only say the word. But if we do this, if you choose her as yours, your ol’ lady, we bring war to our club.
Mannix can help, but he doesn’t have the support to outwardly be on our side yet.
He will be, in essence, our enemy until he can turn it around. ”
“We come so far, only to be pushed ten steps back.”
Reaper half chuckled. It was something Pope always said when we all signed on as prospects. It kept us loyal, strong and resilient.
“Are we going into war?” Reaper asked.
“Yeah, Prez. I need my ol’ lady back.”
Reaper nodded. “Good fucking answer. Get inside, bring our latest prospect in with you. It looks like he’ll be in leather and needing his own Harley soon.”
I smiled down at Van, snoozing away on my chest, his little mouth open as he dreamed. I hoped I could offer him the comfort he needed to keep the nightmares away, while I could. Who knew what I would find when we breached Bainbridge’s mansion.
As we sat back down in Chapel, Trojan smiled over at the gathering crew. “Looks like this’ll be easier than I thought.”
“How so?” I asked.
“The fucker’s getting cocky. He hosts a charity event, all the high rollers in one place, at the same time.”
“Seems too easy,” Reaper added.
Mannix cleared his throat, standing up. “It’s not.
That’s how untouchable he thinks he is. He really does put on a charity event every year for all the most corrupt and fucking powerful men in Sydney.
And they all turn up, because it’s not just about the gambling, the poker games and shit you think it is.
He’s running drugs, and sex trafficking through the casino.
It’s a front for what he truly makes his money on, and it’s why he’s got unlimited support from the men.
He supplies them with whatever they want.
Young, international, or whatever floats their boat, and they give him money.
He stays at the poker table, running cards with his high roller friends, to look legit, but for the most part, he’ll have a woman ‘for sale’ rather than chips. ”
“Are you saying we could take out the entire building, and we’d rid Sydney of the underbelly that’s been plaguing our streets?”
“Not just the underbelly,” Mannix added.
“Half the Ironborne still operating under my father’s legacy, corrupt officials, judges, cops, politicians, businessmen who all pay out the nose for the Ironborne protection.
You’d cut off a limb, and snuff out half the people who’ve been throwing up objections to my changes. ”
I looked at Reaper, then to the rest of the boys. It couldn’t be this easy. Could it?
“What’s stopping us?” Trojan asked him the question we were all thinking.
“If I know him well enough, and since we were best mates growing up, I do, he’ll have Tavi there. Show her off, maybe even pimp her out to some of his friends to make a show of his power, and to punish her. It’s not going to be easy.”
“You said he’s at the poker table all night, right?”
Mannix nodded. “Yes, what of it? He’s a skilled poker player, there won’t be anyone who can best him.”
Reaper’s eyes moved to mine, and we both smiled.
Yes, there is.
“Get a seat at the table,” Reaper ordered Trojan. “Tonight, we take back one of our own, and cut off the head of the snake that’s been threatening our peace treaty.”
Tomorrow, I’ll have my woman back.
One way or another.