Page 40

Remi

I’d been home almost two months and I still wasn’t any closer to forgiving Max. My resolve, however, had begun to waiver tremendously over the last couple of days. Especially when Max informed the club that they were all going camping. Seeing him excited about something was strange, but it was good to see him relaxed and enjoying life.

The meeting with Los Santanas went as expected. The second Max showed up, Santos relented, like Max knew he would. Of course, returning three of his men to him dead probably had something to do with that. Since the meeting, everything seemed to settle around the clubhouse.

Max informed me he finally told the brothers about the missing files, and while a few of the brothers had voiced concerns, the consensus was they were all on board with whatever Max had planned.

Standing on the porch, I watched while Maria ordered the brothers around. They worked to pack everything we would need for the camping trip. Kids ran around screaming and annoying them, none more so than Jesse, who couldn’t wait to sleep under the stars.

Myself, not so much, because camping meant we would be sharing a tent. Not just a tent, but a bed. The only ones staying behind were Smoke and Hangman, along with Maria, Axel’s mom, who politely said unless there was a five-star hotel with room service, she would not be going. She also said that someone needed to stay behind to make sure that Smoke and Hangman ate something other than fast food.

I liked Maria. She had a strong motherly feel about her and took to all the brothers immediately, especially Sandman, who she babied like he was her own blood. The woman reminded me a lot of Roxy and the way she handled a clubhouse full of boys. She gave the brothers what they needed, not wanted, and demanded respect. Of course, if any of them stepped out of line, Sandman was more than happy to correct their behavior.

“Hey, baby,” Max said, walking up behind me, wrapping me in his arms.

He’d been doing that a lot lately.

Any reason for him to touch me, he took it.

Not that I minded. Of course, I wouldn’t tell him that. Despite that, it was nice to have the man I fell in love with around me once more.

“You got everything you need packed?”

“Yep.”

He chuckled. “You don’t sound too happy.”

“Four days in the wilderness with Jesse running free. What’s not to love? I’ll be shocked if the kid makes it a day without a broken bone. Are you sure about this, ‘cause once we’re out there, it’s going to take both of us to corral him.”

“How about I watch the brat? You just enjoy the fresh air.”

Tilting my head to look up at him, I frowned. “You want the responsibility of watching our son?”

“Well, he is my son after all, and you deserve a break.”

“I deserve more than that, but I will not look a gift horse in the mouth. You want him, he’s all yours.” I chuckled, then added, “And good luck to you. You’ll need it.”

“Why do I feel like you’re setting me up?”

“Because I know Jesse.”

And to prove my point, a loud scream caught our attention. Bullseye chased our son around the van that would carry all the kids. “Get back here, you little shit!”

“I just wanted to help!”

“Goddammit,” Max cursed and quickly released me, rushing down the steps to save our son from an untimely death.

Morning came quicker than I wanted as I grumpily headed out into the cool morning air. With the kids all loaded and excited, I took a deep breath as I headed for the van when Max whistled.

“Not a chance in hell, babe,” he said, sitting on his bike, pointing his finger to the seat behind him. Too fucking tired of fighting with him, I marched over, passing Sunny, Phantom, Catarina, and Daphne, who all snickered.

Standing beside the grinning idiot, I clipped, “This means nothing.”

“Your ass belongs on the back of my bike, babe. It means everything.”

Huffing, I climbed on behind him, scooting as far back as I could without falling off the damn bike. Only Max wasn’t having it, because before I could utter a damn word, he grabbed my thighs and yanked me forward until I was flush against his back. Revving his engine, he peeled out of the compound and we were off.

The kids were down for the count and the brothers were drinking and having a good time. The day was an event, that was for sure, and while Max had his hands full with Jesse, the boy managed to survive the day.

His father, not so much.

In fact, I hadn’t seen him in a while and wondered where he’d gotten off to. Stepping away from the campfire, I went in search of my absent husband, only to find him not far from the campsite, sitting on a rock and looking out over the edge. Taking a seat next to him, neither of us said anything for the longest time. We just stared out into the horizon. It truly was beautiful up here, and I was glad I came.

“I’m sorry, Remi. So very fucking sorry,” he whispered into the darkness. “I thought I could protect you and still be the man everyone needed. It wasn’t until everything went tits up that I realized my mistake and it almost cost me you.”

“Hindsight is always twenty-twenty, Max.”

“It’s not that,” he murmured. “I knew what I was doing was wrong. Felt it in my gut, and I ignored it and agreed anyway. Why did I do that?”

“Because you never think clearly when there is a threat to me.”

“Then I’m screwed, because when the table learns the truth, they will come for us.”

“You mean me.”

He nodded.

Sighing, I took a deep breath, then said, “Well then, I guess it’s a good thing you don’t think rationally. All I ask is that you let me know the plan before you decide to jump off the deep end again. I can’t take another year like the one I just had.”

“A war is coming, baby.”

“I know.”

“Bad enough we have Satan’s Angels to contend with in five to fifteen years, but this shit with the Soulless Sinners isn’t going away.”

“What about taking it to the table?”

He smirked, looking at me. “Matrix asked the same thing and because it’s biker business, they won’t get involved.”

“And you refuse to bring it to Montana,” I muttered in understanding.

“Yep.”

“What if you were in his spot?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, what if you were sitting at the table instead of him? Would the table help you then?”

“Possibly, maybe, but I’m not in the seat. The Golden Skulls are small compared to the Soulless Sinners. I would have to catch Montana in a major fucking lie to even challenge him, and even if I did that, it would still cause fighting within the Biker Federation.”

“How about failure to uphold his end of a blood pact?”

“What did you say?”

Looking at Max, I asked, “Would that be enough to challenge him?”

“It would be a start, but there is no way I can prove it.”

“Then you need a bigger club.” I frowned as I stared out into the darkness.

“Don’t want a bigger club, baby. I’m happy with the one I got.”

Shaking my head, I looked at my husband and groaned. “Did you even read the files that James hid? He laid it all out in great detail.”

“Laid out what?”

“His plan for you to sit at the table. It’s all there.”

“What are you talking about?”

“My God,” I groaned. “You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?”

“I would really love to know, babe.”

“The files you had Sypher show me. I read them all. That’s why it took me so long to come back. I needed to understand everything, think about it all before I came back. James Doherty wasn’t like his bastard of a father. James knew William would lose. Greedy men always do. So James spent years gathering information and hiding it away from you. He knew it was William that had you kidnapped and ensured that it never happened again. From the moment you returned, he started planning. You are a lot like him in that regard.”

“How?”

“The files. They contained everything from the conception of the Golden Skulls, William’s time in Vietnam, his association with the Society , even the pact he made with George Stone. There is a lot more in there, but what you need to know is that James knew any association with the Soulless Sinners would be one-sided. That’s why he never accepted their help. So, he devised a failsafe, a way for you to overthrow Montana.”

“How?”

“By taking his club away from him, one chapter at a time, starting with the chapter in Nebraska.”