Wrath Chapter 18 #3
“You’re right. We have to do something, but it’s not to hide me.
I’m over that. You never did it in the past when things got messy and hot.
I stayed close and was expected to help protect myself and others.
Killer doesn’t change that. We made a mistake in having me hide.
I’ll always be grateful we did it because it led me to Wrath.
” Jalisa paused and smiled at me. “But fighting is in my blood. Don’t tamper with nature.
I’m done running and hiding from Killer and his crew.
It’s time to bring out the crazy and deal with these sick fuckos now.
They’re selling humans. They deserve to meet a gruesome and final end.
And when they do, I want to be there and take part.
Don’t think of denying me,” she warned me.
There was calm acceptance on the faces of Cougar, Psycho, and Panther.
They didn’t expect anything less from her.
The protective side of me wanted to tell her fuck no and lock her in a tower somewhere so she’d be safe.
But deep down, I knew if I treated her this way, she’d never be happy with me, and I might lose her.
I couldn’t live with that, leaving me only one choice.
“Jalisa, I would give you almost anything in the world if it made you happy. As your old man, letting you be exposed to danger and potential harm is absolutely abhorrent and goes against my grain.” I paused.
Her face was tight. “But, if I tried to shut you away, you’d break out and come find us.
That would place you in harm’s way more than if we planned together and I kept you close.
I love your independent spirit. I named you my Lil’ Lunatic for a reason.
I can’t cage you. The answer is yes, you can participate, but you have to follow my rules when we do this. ”
She let out a happy squeal, hopped onto my lap, and pulled my head down to kiss me. I didn’t resist. I heard chuckles from the others. After a good minute or more, I reluctantly broke the lip lock.
“We’ve got work to do, baby. Hang onto that, and we’ll get back to it later,” I pseudo-whispered.
“You got it, Hercules,” she said back.
I heard a groan. It was Storm. “Don’t call him that, Jae. It’ll go to his head. He’s conceited enough.”
I flipped him off, which only made the bastard grin. The joking helped to dispel some of the tension. I caught Psycho’s eye. He was watching Jalisa with misery written all over his face.
“So much could’ve been avoided, and we wouldn’t be trying to play catch-up if you’d been honest and open from the start.
I thought we might not have to kill Killer, though it seemed like a big possibility we would.
Now, I know we have to, and all the men who follow him have to go, too.
If the entire chapter is into trafficking, they must be eliminated as well.
Human trafficking, we’ve been told, has been forbidden in the Black Outlaws MC for the past year since they voted in their new national president, Lion.
However, it has been said that some chapters are still sneaking around doing it due to the money they make.
The national officers are weeding those offenders out. ”
“Who told you that? After I discovered the truth, Killer indicated that it was a staple of theirs. He said everyone was doing it and to stop being such a pussy about it. People are commodities, like anything else, was his argument. I disagreed, but he seemed very secure that it would never stop,” Psycho said.
“He might be, but unless I judged our source wrong, I believe Killer is wrong. What did you guys think? Was it all blowing smoke up our asses?” I asked the others.
“I didn’t want to trust him, but I got the same feeling. I’m happy to hear there’s no tolerance for that in the Outlaws. Those chapters or members who continue to do it will be dealt with harshly. They’ll be made examples,” Panther stated confidently.
“I agree,” Storm said.
“I felt he was telling us the truth,” Cougar added. Glancing at Jalisa, she nodded.
Psycho frowned. “Who were you talking to that told you that, and how does he know?”
“When Killer and his bunch showed their faces at the car show today, they didn’t stick around due to other visitors who happened to arrive at the same time.
Killer’s gang took off. Those visitors came here to speak to us.
It was their head guy who told us,” Cougar told Psycho, without saying who.
I think he was getting back at him for not revealing shit to them until it was almost too late.
Passive-aggressive, but I understood it.
“Who the hell was it?” Psycho snapped.
“Don’t take that tone with me. I’m about a minute away from busting your ass for what you did.
Dad trusted you. You’re his best friend, and you pulled this shit.
Don’t test me, Psycho. You won’t like what you get.
I’m not a kid anymore,” Cougar warned him.
Psycho wisely shut up. Cougar’s whole demeanor shouted that he meant it, and he could back it up.
“Please tell me who told you and how you can trust he was telling the truth about the Black Outlaws,” Psycho asked nicely.
“We believe we can trust the source because it was none other than Lion, their national president. He claimed to be in the area and came to speak to us about the message Panther left two weeks ago. He’s been traveling with his national officers’ team, cleaning up chapters where they’re still running this dirty business.
He promised to check out the Greensboro chapter and to resolve the Killer problem.
He didn’t say how he’d do the last one, but he asked for seventy-two hours,” I explained.
Psycho’s eyes widened in surprise. “Lion was here? Shit, and I missed that. I remember him when he was a chapter president. He was over their Valdosta, Georgia, chapter. We’ve run into each other over the years. I always found him to be a rather honest guy. If he promised something, he did it.”
“That’s good to know,” Storm said.
“I agree with Psycho. I’ve met Lion and heard about some of his past dealings over the years. He takes no shit, deals with you fairly if you do the same, but fuck with him, and he’ll kill you in a heartbeat,” Panther backed up his friend’s observation.
“Then there’s hope he’ll do as he promised. Again, we don’t know how that looks, but if it can prevent us from going to war with the entire Black Outlaws MC and frees Jalisa from the threat of Killer, I’ll be happy. She and I can’t proceed with future plans until this is resolved,” I stated.
“What plans are those?” she asked.
I smirked at her. “The kind where I put a ring on that finger, we get married, and have kid number uno. You wear my property cut, have my name tattooed on your body like I have yours. We love each other. Those are the only remaining steps.”
Jalisa smirked back. “Don’t think that qualifies as a proposal, Wrath.
You want to marry me, you’ll ask me properly.
When you do, I’ll give you my answer. The other things are true, but we don’t have to be married to have a life together or children.
In the biker world, we’re already married,” she reminded me.
“You’re right, we are, and we don’t, but for me, I want you to be my wife in all worlds. I want your name to be Mrs. Lucian Bentley,” I whispered, though the others could hear me. It wasn’t exactly where I envisioned saying this, but I had to say it.
Jalisa gave me a brilliant smile and kissed me again, making the others groan.
“I swear, we need to spray them with ice water. They’re like two dogs in heat,” Storm muttered.
“Spray me and see what I do, Storm. One day, this will be you, and I’ll make sure to repay you,” my woman threatened after she let go.
“I’ll shut up,” Storm vowed, lifting his hands. I knew it was too late to save him from her payback. It would be fun to see.
“What do you want to do about him?” Panther asked, jerking his head toward Psycho.
Jalisa stiffened. God knows I wanted to beat the hell out of him for what he had done and put his daughter through, but he was her dad. I couldn’t. And he wasn’t a part of my club.
“That’s up to you, Panther. He’s your enforcer. It was your club he endangered first. I’ll leave it up to you to decide his punishment, but if you want our help, just say the word.”
“Jae, can you live with whatever we decide?” Panther asked.
“I will,” she said.
“Jalisa, I know I hurt you and broke your trust. I get it. And you’re mad, rightly so. But I have to ask, will you ever forgive me? I don’t think I can stand to lose you,” Psycho said hoarsely. His lashes were wet.
“Dad, I’ll always love you. I’m hurt and disappointed. It’ll take time for me to get there, but I believe I can forgive you. Every girl needs her dad. However, I won’t forget.”
Her reply had him hanging his head. I saw tears drip onto his hands. Now, to get on with entertaining our guests while staying prepared to deal with the fallout, whatever it may be. I hoped we didn’t have to wait long.