“Tell her what? That we lied to her? That her dad isn’t dead, but we need him to look that way? That he’s in a coma, and we don’t know when he’s coming out of it? That we’re hiding him from damn near everyone because we can’t have our enemies coming after us thinking we’re weak, or worse, use his condition to truly end him?”
“If it’s the truth,” he says with a tight jaw.
I shake my head at his naive comment. I look at Domino, who was helping me go over numbers when Koop barged in. He just shakes his head at Koop’s antics.
“The truth? We don’t have time to deal with this shit. We’ve got enemies, and we can’t be weak. Telling Ruby is a liability.”
“She can keep her mouth shut,” he spits back.
“Can she? She’s a wild card. Law didn’t even know half of the things she was up to. She’s unpredictable, unstable. You willing to bank your life on her keeping her trap shut? You willing to bank your brothers’ lives? Their wives’… the kids’?”
He crosses his arms and looks away. “Still ain’t right.”
For the first time since he walked in, I agree with him. But right and needed aren’t the same thing.
“Maybe so, but unless you want to go against me and take the president’s badge, it is what it is. So get on board with it and do it quick. I got other shit to deal with, and you throwing a hissy fit about having issues with keeping a secret ain’t even in the top ten of shitty things I need to deal with today.”
He stands quickly before rushing out, slamming the door as he goes.
I turn back to my paperwork, trying to remember where I was.
“He’s right, you know,” Domino says as he clears his throat.
I throw the papers onto the table, giving up completely for the night. “Of course I goddamn know. I just… I just don’t know how else to make it right and keep everyone safe without doing it this way.” I shake my head at the crazy shit show we’re all in now.
“You’re a good boss, Casper,” he says as he kicks his feet up. I give him a look, and he quickly puts them back down.
I huff a laugh at his quickness. That he follows my commands is still asinine to me. Not that the boys didn’t respect me before, but there’s a whole other level now that I’m running shit.
Been at it for five minutes, and I’m already butting heads with some of the top members in the club. Don’t know how Law did it so long. I feel like the world is splintering, and I just started making decisions. I always thought being a sniper wasthe hardest thing. But I only had to controlmyactions then, not worry about everyone else’s, like I do now.
“You’ll get the hang of it. We’ve got your back. Koop does too. He’s just got shit to deal with in his head. When it comes down to it, he’ll play the game you put in front of him. We all will. Boys had a choice, and we chose you. Don’t forget, this is a long time coming. We all knew you would step in for Law one day.”
“Ha, wish someone would have told me. I feel like I just fell down the damn rabbit hole without a clue which way is up.”
“But where would the fun be in that?”
A knock on the door, followed by Atom poking his head in a second later, interrupts us. “Yo, Casper, the vet’s here.”
“Vet?” Domino smirks.
I stand, grabbing my phone off the desk and stuffing it into my back pocket. “Shut it. I’ll be back for this later.”
“No rush. I got no hot woman warming my bed of late. Catch me when you want to review it, and we can do it then.”
I nod before heading out. Not that I’m running after some chick. I’m not. I’m intrigued by Wendi, and we’ve got business. That’s it. Doesn’t hurt that she’s nice to look at. Her sister’s fucking unhinged, but I don’t hold that against her. Penny’s autistic, or that’s what Wendi said when I finally manned up and asked. And yeah, I had to man up to do it. It’s not something you just blurt out; it takes finesse to ask why a person is bonkers.
Coming out of the compound, I find the two sisters easily. Not only because they’re standing alone, but also because Penny’s wearing her signature cat-ear headphones.She started putting them on anytime I came around asking about the dogs. She’s told me she thinks cats are better at protecting, and this is her way of promoting cat protection over dogs.
Like I said, the girl is nuts.
As for her sister? Well, damn, she’s just about perfect.
“Hey, you made it.”
Wendi turns at my voice and gives me a warm greeting. There’s just something about this girl. She’s a civilian and has no clue about club life. She shows her lack of knowledge almost every time I see her. Only once did she show me attitude, and it was that moment that intrigued me.
She isn’t as feisty since that night, which is a bit off-putting, but I think her attitude only came out because we startled her at gunpoint and forced her to patch up Domino. Maybe if I wake her up again like that, I’ll see that side of her.
