Page 28 of The Secrets We Keep (Sovereign Sons MC: North Carolina #1)

GRAYSON

I lead Sophie further into the clubhouse. Further away from James’ leering eyes.

I don’t feel comfortable with how he’s looking at her, and I could sense how uncomfortable Sophie felt. The asshole has always creeped me out. It’s probably why he and John are so close. They’re both perverts.

We walk into the main room of the clubhouse and take a seat by Rowan and his girlfriend Jennifer at the bar. We’re not technically old enough to drink, but no one would say a word if we decided to. It’s a perk of being the vice president’s sons and members of the club.

“What’s up?” Rowan asks.

“Just avoiding the creeps outside,” I mutter as I take the stool next to his and pull Sophie onto my lap.

“Who?” Rowan grunts as he pulls Jennifer closer.

“James,” I say with an unimpressed look.

“He’s hot,” Jennifer croons making Rowan pull his hand from her waist .

“What the fuck, Jenny?” He grumbles.

“What?” She asks, affronted. “He’s hot for an old guy.”

Jennifer is a cunt. I don’t know what my brother sees in the girl.

She cheats on him. It’s obvious to everyone but him, but he won’t listen to our concerns.

She is his first love, and he thinks he can’t find anyone better for himself.

I just hope that one day, he’ll pull his head out of his ass and dump the bitch.

“Why would you say that?” Sophie spits as she glares at Jennifer. “You’re with Ro.”

Jennifer just brushes her off and heads out of the main room. Rowan doesn’t follow her, thankfully.

“Can you please break up with her? For good,” I ask.

Rowan just grunts in response.

I turn toward the pool table just in time to see James walk inside. His eyes immediately search the room until they land on me and Sophie. He licks his lips as his eyes trace over every inch of her. My jaw clenches.

Sophie must feel his gaze on her, because she cuddles closer to me. I wrap both my arms around her and cover some of her body in the process. James’ eyes leave her body and meet my angry stare. A smirk covers his face when he sees me watching.

I take a deep breath to try and calm my nerves. I can’t just go attack the asshole because he’s the president of the Tennessee charter of our club. I’m just a lowly member of the club. But John could do something about it .

“I need to go talk to your dad for a second, baby,” I murmur softly in Sophie’s ear. “Don’t leave Ro’s side, okay?”

She turns to me with a look of concern but nods her head in agreement. I make eye contact with my brother to make sure he heard me and he gives me a subtle dip of his chin in answer.

I stand up and place Sophie back on the stool before scooting it as close to Rowan as it will go. They’re like brother and sister to each other at this point, so no one will think anything of their proximity.

I head back out to the garage to look for John and find him talking to my dad. Their voices are hushed, so they’re probably talking about club business, and when they catch sight of me, they stop.

“What do you need, son?” Dad asks.

“We have a problem,” I say as I stop in front of them.

That peaks John’s interest. “What kind of problem?”

“James.”

John’s brow furrows. “What about him?”

“He’s looking at Sophie inappropriately and it’s giving me a bad feeling, not to mention, making Sophie really uncomfortable,” I tell them as I run my hand through my too-long hair.

John snorts. “A president of this club is looking at your woman and making her uncomfortable and it’s a problem? ”

“Not just my woman, your daughter. I’ve seen that look in men before and it never leads to anything good,” I argue.

“Son,” John says with a chuckle. “Know your place. The man can look wherever he wants because he’s a president. Maybe some day you’ll know that pleasure.”

He pats me on the shoulder condescendingly and walks into the clubhouse. I’m left staring after him slack jawed. He doesn’t even care that a grown man is looking at his daughter that way? That he’s making her uncomfortable?

My dad’s sigh makes me turn back to him. “Don’t listen to him, Gray. It’s not okay for him to do that even if he is one of this club’s presidents. I’ll say something to him and if he keeps it up, you let me know, okay?”

“Thanks, dad,” I murmur before giving him a hug.

We both head into the clubhouse and I go back to the bar to sit with Rowan and Sophie. Jennifer still isn’t back, thankfully. I lift Sophie up, making her gasp in surprise, and sit in her seat.

“Is everything okay?” She asks as she leans into me.

“It will be,” I tell her with a small smile.

But when I look up and see John and James talking, I don’t think I’m right. James is going to be a big problem; it’s just a matter of time.

I shake my head to clear it of the memories flooding me. I knew that James was going to be trouble, but I didn’t realize how much trouble he would be. He didn’t just cause trouble for Sophie; he’s causing trouble for everyone I love.

Cane and I are in Tennessee with our prospects and Eric in tow. I left Ro and Axel in charge of the club while I’m gone, which means they protect my family with their lives. We didn’t need a ton of members with us, so Cane and I could handle it with the help of the prospects.

I’ve already brought the rest of the charters in on what’s happening today.

They listened to what Eric had to say and backed my decision.

They all drove in today in their cars so we wouldn’t draw attention with more motorcycles in town.

They all parked in a local parking garage so no one would know that we were at the warehouse.

The plan is to let Eric lure James to a warehouse that the club uses for business and that we’ll all be waiting there for him.

When we got here this morning, I had Eric call James and set everything up.

He told him that he had Sophie and Asher at the warehouse.

James should be here any minute. The other charter presidents are hiding in another room while Cane, Eric, and I are waiting in the main room.

When James walks into the warehouse, I want to be the first person he sees.

Eric’s phone vibrates in my hand. I look down and open the text.

James: I’m 2 minutes out.

Eric: They’re ready and waiting for you .

I stuff the phone into my pocket and fist my hands at my sides. “He’s two minutes out,” I tell Cane.

Eric looks unphased. He knows that this is just the end for him. He burned my family too many times. I can’t trust him to truly move on. He will get his quick death, though, as long as James walks through that door as planned.

We hear the rumble of a bike as James pulls into the gravel lot surrounding the warehouse. When the engine cuts out, I don’t move, I don’t breathe. I just wait for him to appear.

The door flies open and James strides in. “Eric, you filthy bastard, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

He halts in his tracks when he sees me standing there with Cane. His green eyes go wide and his face leeches of color. He whirls around and tries to leave, but the prospects are standing in the doorway now, blocking his exit.

“James,” I mutter cooly. “Are you not happy to see me?”

He whirls around again and glowers at Eric. “What the fuck did you do? I got you out of that hellhole and this is how you repay me?” Eric doesn’t respond, he just stares off into space.

“That’s all you have to say?” I bark. “Nothing about sending people to kidnap my old lady and my kid?”

He faces me. “The Silver Springs charter was supposed to be mine. John promised it to me when I bailed the charter out with the funds that my charter fronted. He didn’t have an heir.

Everything would have fallen to some random person.

But no, he decided to take you on and mentor you.

He couldn’t pop out a son, so he got the next best thing.

You,” he says through a strangled laugh.

“You didn’t even know what was going on.

No one from your charter did, except your secretary at the time. He was smarter than all of you.”

“You’re not telling me anything I didn’t already know,” I mutter as I step forward. “Why the hell did you think taking Sophie and Asher would change anything?”

He smiles at me maniacally. “You took something from me; I was going to take something from you.”

I lunge but Cane and a few of the other presidents, who finally made themselves known, stop me from reaching him. The smile wipes off James’ face when he sees them. He knows he’s done.

“I’m fine,” I murmur, and the guys release me. I push my shoulders back and stand tall. “James Black, you have gone against the Sovereign Sons code of conduct. You have betrayed your club. You have betrayed your brothers. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Fuck. You,” he growls and then spits on the ground at our feet.

I chuckle. “You have been stripped of all the titles and rights given to you by this club. I’ll leave it up to the rest of you on what you want to do with him,” I say to the presidents beside me. They nod their heads.

I motion for Cane to follow me to the back room and the prospects grab Eric.

He comes willingly but doesn’t make a sound.

I close the door after the prospects lower Eric to the floor and exit the room.

They don’t get to see anything illegal that our club does, so they can’t be a part of what comes next.

Cane offers me a handgun with a silencer attached to the barrel.

I don’t hesitate; I point it at Eric’s head and pull the trigger.

His body falls to the floor a second later.

I watch as the blood pools around his lifeless form, but I feel no remorse.

He hurt Sophie. He tried to take her and Asher away from me.

“How do you live this life and be a good dad?” I ask Cane after a moment.

He clears his throat. “Sometimes it’s hard,” he admits.

“We do some bad things that could make anyone think they’re a bad person.

I just like to remember that most of the bad things we do are for the greater good.

We do the things we do, so more people don’t get hurt.

We do what we can to protect our community, to protect our friends, to protect our family.

At the end of the day, that’s one of the most important parts of being a good parent.

You’re a good man, Grayson, and Sophie and Asher are so lucky to have you in their lives. ”

I swallow the lump in my throat. His words mean more to me than he could ever know. Being a good father is something I’ve been striving for since I found out that Asher was mine. I never want to disappoint him. I only want what’s best for him.

“Thanks, brother,” I murmur before slapping him on the back. “Let’s take care of him so we can get home.”

“Sounds good, brother,” he smirks.