“What?” he said, downing the glass of whiskey before pouring himself another glass.
“Why my dad kept my daughter alive,” I said, staring at Reaper and watching him flinch. “That makes no sense. Mere said he killed Bella’s parents. Why not just kill Bella and my daughter?”
“You sure you’re ready to learn the truth, ‘cause it’s not fucking pretty?”
“Just tell me the truth.”
“Power is a funny thing, fucknuts. Everyone wants it, but only a few have the balls to take it. Your dad tried and failed, just like his pops before him, but I have faith that you will be different.”
I stood at the window, gazing down at the cityscape that had been my home for my entire life. A profound sense of uncertainty washed over me, leaving me to question if I had ever truly understood anything at all. Ever since Reaper first suggested that there was deception within our own organizations, a sense of unease took root, a feeling that he might actually be correct in his assessment.
Fucker had been right about everything from the beginning. Why would he lie now? The moment my world intersected with that of the Golden Skulls, I was forced to confront a harsh truth: my understanding of the world was fundamentally flawed and what I believed to be true paled in comparison to the actual circumstances of my life.
The fact was, Reaper seemed to be the only person who understood the gravity of what lay ahead of him, yet instead of washing his hands of me and the others, he waited and watched as we all made moves and countermoves in our thirst for dominance. That in itself spoke volumes to his patience and understanding of the situation. He didn’t try to persuade us. He allowed us to discover the reality of our situations in our own time while offering assistance when he could. And what did I go and do?
I fucking laughed in his face and told him to get fucked.
What the hell did that say about me?
Hanging my head, I sighed, closing my eyes.
“I’m so fucking stupid.”
“Admitting that tells me you’re not.”
“How am I going to help you protect Sypher if I can’t trust my own brothers?”
“You already know who’s loyal, Montana. You don’t need me to tell you that.”
Turning, I looked at him and smirked. “I think I prefer fucknuts.”
Reaper grinned. “Well, fucknuts, what are you going to do now?”
“What would you do?”
Reaper threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, you really don’t want to ask me that.”
“Why not?”
“Because you already know what I would do.”
“Kill them all.”
“Now you’re thinking like a real biker president. Keep your family close and fuck everyone else, brother. In the end, all that really matters is the brother at your back. So pick wisely.”
Mercy walked into the room, his face pale as he looked at Reaper.
“What?”
“It’s bad, boss.”
“Just tell me.”
“As soon as the table issued the order, most of our clubs aligned with Happy. The only one loyal to us is the Alabama Chapter. They are heading to the Golden Skulls Tennessee Chapter for aid.”
“Grudge?” Reaper asked, taking a step toward my VP. I knew why too, because Grudge was a blood brother to Matrix, a brother in the Golden Skulls.
“Alive,” Mercy quickly stated. “But they took heavy casualties.”
