Page 18 of Inglorious (Unwanted Bastards MC #1)

Nanci

I nglorious returned in a great mood, which was at odds with how he’d left me. Cautiously, I approached him as he swung off his Harley.

“Why didn’t you tell me about the cemetery?” I demanded.

“Because you were determined to make me the bad guy,” Inglorious replied.

“No, I wasn’t!”

“Nanci, you came with the attitude I’d not done shit and wallowed in drink.

Yeah, I did wallow, but I made sure they were honoured and remembered.

The reason the cuts weren’t displayed in the common room was because it needed repainting.

I’d been planning to change the décor as I didn’t want Razor and Chill regressing with memories every time they entered it.

But as I drowned myself in a bottle more and more, it slipped my mind. ”

“Inglorious, I thought you’d forgotten them!”

“How could I, Nanci? They were my brothers . Think I’d be this bad for any other reason?

Not even the drinking dulled the pain I felt, so I drank more, and the torment remained.

I couldn’t find relief from the guilt and agony suffocating me.

Nanci, I still suffer those emotions, and it’s a battle not to drink.

It would be easy to lose myself in it and gain some respite from those feelings.

But I won’t fall back down the rabbit hole.

I’ll learn to handle what I feel and deal with it,” Inglorious explained.

Now I felt guilty and ashamed. Inglorious was seriously trying to heal, and I kept dragging him down.

“Let’s call a truce,” I said, and Inglorious looked shocked.

“Inglorious, I don’t want to be president or run the club.

I had a life I loved, and I’ve had to sacrifice that for the MC.

Although it doesn’t sound like it, I don’t begrudge that, as I couldn’t let Seth’s memory fade.

But I resent you for your actions. Now, I might understand a bit better, and I’ve certainly misjudged you on a few things, but I don’t hate you. ”

“Nanci, I never hated you. That was an impossibility,” Inglorious replied.

“That’s good to know,” I replied as warmth settled through my bones. “Where do we go from here?”

“Break bread and be nice to one another. We both hold a lot of resentment and bad feelings. For now, lead the MC. While I want to wrest my role from your hands, it’s not the best idea.

I’m aware I’m struggling, and three weeks sober isn’t enough time to heal.

The club deserves better than a president who’s distracted by his own problems and can’t concentrate on them.

” “Makes you a strong person to admit it,” I offered as an olive branch.

Inglorious looked sheepish. “But a weak man to have caused the trouble anyway and fallen into a pit of despair. It’s a daily battle not to fall into the bottle again.

When I can better control of the urge, we’ll talk.

But I feel like I’m on a precipice, ready to topple off in a strong wind.

Honestly, it wouldn’t take much to push me over.

Acknowledging I need to heal is a huge step, and the same for Chill and Razor.

“I can’t help them, not while I’m fighting this shit.

That means they need you to be solid and dependable.

But I want a promise. Rhea isn’t told any of this.

She escaped and hasn’t set foot back here, like you.

Rhea’s moved past most of the nightmares and is content.

She’s never returned to South Dakota, and she would if she knew about my issues.

Your word, Nanci, that Rhea isn’t informed. ”

“Inglorious, I can do that. I remember what happened clearly.”

“Yup, I bet you do. Unlike Rage and Hellfire, we didn’t have a drawn-out war. Let’s be honest, my side murdered those involved in their sleep and buried their bodies out in the Hills.”

“That’s why Vortex and Hercules left,” I stated.

“Yeah. But as I said, Vortex had no idea Sasha was next. Those of us who survived might have committed murder, but it wasn’t cold-blooded.

Not by a long shot. The club has been clean ever since, and we’re making our way in the world.

Unwanted Bastards don’t do illegal crap anymore.

The first thing we did was burn the drug fields hidden in the Black Hills. ”

I shook my head. Psych had told me it took the Unwanted Bastards three months to extract themselves from the criminal enterprises they’d fallen into, but Inglorious had done it. They’d been legit ever since.

“One day at a time,” I said. Mentally, I made a note to inform Vortex of what had pushed Inglorious over the edge to take out half of the MC.

The Unwanted Bastards’ history was simple.

The club had been opened in nineteen fifty.

There’d been two presidents before Inglorious.

Sting was Inglorious’s grandfather, and he ruled for fifty years before crashing his bike.

Sting went out in a blaze of glory, like he’d planned.

Dandelion took over the MC, and he was a weak assed president.

Unlike his father, Sting, Dandelion allowed everyone to do as they wished.

In the space of Dandelion’s ten-year rule, from two thousand to two thousand and ten, the club spiralled.

Inglorious ended his uncle without hesitation.

He had walked in on Dandelion’s VP, Vapour, raping Rhea, Inglorious’s little sister.

Inglorious hauled the asshole off and shot him in the head in front of Rhea.

Psych had been with him, and they’d gathered those who thought like them.

In a single evening, they put down every bad brother in the MC.

They all vanished within twenty-four hours of what had happened to Rhea, including Dandelion.

Unlike some of the other MCs, there wasn’t a war to regain control and remove the dirt.

In one surgical strike, Inglorious cleansed the filth, but it cost him.

Some of the brothers, for example, Vortex and Hercules, questioned what they saw as cold-blooded murder.

Now I understood it hadn’t been that straightforward or easy.

And I was sure, if pushed, Inglorious could tell me exactly why each ex-member died.

Vortex and Hercules hadn’t stuck around to discover why.

They, like most, had seen it as a purge.

“Nanci?” Inglorious asked.

“Sorry, I was thinking about the past. Inglorious, I was on someone’s list, wasn’t I?”

“Yup. They knew you were Miss Mysteria. They concocted something real nasty for you. It’s why Psych stood at my side,” Inglorious replied honestly.

“Is there evidence?”

“Yup. You don’t need to see or hear it. But yeah, there’s proof of what those assholes had planned. I wouldn’t have made a move otherwise,” he answered. Inglorious held my gaze and let me witness the truth in his eyes.

“Shit,” I muttered.

“You believed the same as Vortex and Hercules.”

“Maybe… Probably… Yes. I understood Vapour being taken out, but not the rest. Now I know.” “What will you do with that knowledge, Nanci?”

“Nothing. What would be the point? That’s in the past, and there’s little left to affect us. We learn from it and move on.”

“Exactly,” he said and gazed at the clubhouse.

I looked behind me. There was nobody present.

“It’s not as painful to go inside. Shit looks different from what they knew. Tolerable is the word I’d use now. I was thinking of changing buildings, but it makes sense to stay there. Anyway, I’ve got stuff to do, catch you later,” Inglorious said and strode away.

I stared after him, guilt swamping me about many things.

Inglorious wasn’t as weak as I’d believed.

He was strong, but not in the way I’d witnessed.

I’d misjudged him in the past, and blamed him for forcing Psych into murder.

That was untrue. I’d underestimated how protective Inglorious had been of the club.

He’d turned me down for the right reasons.

If only Inglorious knew how I had taken revenge for what I’d perceived as a slight.

The thought made me wince. Shit, I’d messed things up, and my only excuse was immaturity.

Unhappily, I sighed. Hindsight was often a damn problem!

◆◆◆

Still contemplating matters, I entered the clinic and found Doc Paul at a desk. On a bunk near him, Kya slept, hooked up to an IV. It was two days after we’d rescued her.

“How is she?”

Doc Paul glanced at me. “Healing. Kya remains on fluids because her mouth is full of sores and blisters, so I’m treating them. They’re getting better, but she can’t eat or drink without them causing pain,” Doc Paul replied.

“Poor baby,” I said, running my hand over Kya’s hair. I noticed she was hugging a brand-new teddy. “Nice touch.”

“Not one I can claim credit for. Inglorious bought her it and some long nightgowns. He’s been with Kya a lot since we… reclaimed her.”

“He has?” I asked, surprised.

“Yup. Inglorious has spent every moment possible with her. It’s been a real surprise. Of course, I knew Inglorious was good with kids. However, he’s treating Kya like the precious girl she is,” Doc Paul replied.

Shame hit me. I’d not even considered what Kya needed. I had planned to take her shopping and spoil her rotten. But honestly, it hadn’t crossed my mind that Kya might need nightclothes.

“Has Kya been interfered with?” I asked, and Doc Paul immediately shook his head.

“No. Malnourished, dehydrated, and physically abused. No doubt emotionally and mentally too, but Kya was spared that.”

“That’s a damn relief.”

Doc Paul nodded. “Kya’s going to require a lot of help.”

“The guys will love Kya to bits, Doc, don’t doubt that. Kya’s Heat’s Princess, trust me, they’ll adore her to the day they die.”

Steadily, I held Doc’s gaze. “Anymore thoughts on joining us?”

“I’m surprised you’ve not been pushier, Nanci.”

“Doc, you’ve no idea how damn hard it was not to be in your face. But you are Snake’s immediate Legacy. Although there’s bound to be someone else…” I broke off as Doc Paul shook his head.