Page 21

We sit in silence for several minutes before I broach the subject of dad’s attack on Wildcard.

“It was a misunderstanding. Mine. Something you need to know about being in prison is that everything you know no longer matters. It doesn’t help when you know you’re innocent.I didn’t commit the crime they accused me of. Everyone says they’re innocent, but I was. The gun they found on me wasn’t mine. I hadn’t been carrying. When the cops pulled us over, Squiggy shoved the gun at me. He said that he’d go to prison if they found it on him, but that I’d be okay since it would be my first offense. He promised that they’d never send me to prison. That he’d take care of it.”

“He didn’t.”

“No, he didn’t. Didn’t take me long to realize that he set me up and that he wanted me to go to prison. The club lawyer told me to plead guilty, that the judge would commute my sentence since I was a single dad, and it was my first brush with the law. I argued with the lawyer and Squiggy told me to shut up and plead guilty or I’d never make it out of prison. That’s when I contacted Wildcard and begged him to take you away from here.”

“Okay. But then…”

“I’m getting there,” Dad grumbles, making me laugh. As a little girl, I’d always push him to get to the good part in his stories. He side-eyes me, but grins. “I plead guilty, as I was told, and they sent me to prison. The lawyer told me the judge made an example of me. That he was sorry he couldn’t get my sentence reduced. Bunch of lies. Squiggy stopped by and asked about you. I told him you left weeks ago. Told him we had a row, and you took off. I don’t think he believed me, but it sure pissed him off. Seeing him rant and rave about you being gone told me I made the right decision, asking Wildcard to get you away when he did.”

“So, why…?”

“Girl,” Dad growls out a warning. So I shut my mouth and wait impatiently for him to continue. “I was grateful to Wildcard and trusted him to take care of you at first. When I didn’t hear from Wildcard, I started having doubts. That’s what prison does to a man. It makes him get lost in his head. They wouldn’t letme talk to anyone outside the prison. I wrote letters, but got nothing back. Met with a prisoner liaison and made inquiries about getting an appeal and wanting a new lawyer. That’s when I got a visit from Dale Westbrook. He was the President of the Original Chapter in San Diego. Dale told me I needed to keep my mouth shut and do my time. He told me I trusted the wrong guy and that Wildcard sold you to a sick motherfucker. Promised me you’d stay alive as long as did what I was told.”

“You believed him?”

“What else was I supposed to believe?”

“But Wildcard said he tried to visit you in prison. You refused to see him,” Viper chimes in. I didn’t realize she’d moved closer to us and had been listening to our conversation.

“He didn’t.”

“Could someone have refused his visit on your behalf?” I ask. “Squiggy or Dale, might have had someone on the inside watching you? How else could they have known you were asking for an appeal?”

Dad nods slowly as he considers my questions. “I wouldn’t put it past the bastard. I never considered it. Shit, I’m an idiot.”

“You couldn’t have known,” I assure him.

“But going off half-cocked was stupid. I’m lucky Puma didn’t kill me.”

“You aren’t off the hook yet,” Viper says. “He probably won’t kill you…”

“But he’ll make it hurt. Yeah, I deserve it.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: WILDCARD

“We need to decide on Preacher’s punishment,” Puma says after the door closes behind Brigit.

“He should die,” Chill says. “He isn’t a member of the club. No one gets away with trying to kill club members.”

“I’m not convinced he was trying to kill me,” I disagree. “He could have if he wanted to. He was too close to miss if he aimed center mass. Besides, I can’t agree with murdering the man who might one day be my father-in-law. Brigit will never forgive me if the club kills her dad. They just found each other!”

We both turn to Puma. “If he had killed Wildcard, I would have killed Preacher with my bare hands.” Puma says calmly, but both Chill and I can sense the anger simmering under the surface. “He almost cost me my VP and my best friend. We can’t ignore the attack, but being the dad of a little girl, I can sympathize. If I believed someone harmed Elina, I’d burn the world down. I wouldn’t care who they were. I want to hear Preacher’s reasoning before we pass judgement. This is a decision the club needs to make. However, before we take it to Church. I want to discuss options.”

We spend several minutes discussing several options until we come up with two that we’ll take to Church for a vote. Chill and Puma head into Church, while I gather the members. Mostare in the common room, but I have to search for Viper. I find her outside with Brigit, Alisa, and Preacher. He looks concerned, so I figure he knows why Puma is calling Church. I can’t give him any sign of encouragement, because I don’t know how the club will vote.

“We’re discussing Preacher, right?” Viper asks once we’re inside.

“Yeah.”

She’s silent as we walk through the common room and enter the hallway that will take us to our Chapel. “I don’t blame you for bringing him here. You know that, right?”

Viper nods, but bites her lip. “I do. Although, I still feel responsible. I should have done my research on the guy before inviting him here. He seemed harmless.”

“Did he mention his connection to the club?”

“No, he told me he rode with a defunct club out of Arizona. I don’t think he trusted the Demon Dawgs. After hearing his story, I can’t blame him.”