I shook my head but turned to him. Maybe now was a good time for answers.
“I was just wondering how Silas got involved with the Saints. And how he got the Saints involved with the DiAngelos. I mean, I know all about how he became president of the club. Which, by the way, is horse shit. But, I don’t know much outside of that.”
Dalton exchanged a look with Mac, who nodded. Dalton reclined in his chair, stretching with his hands behind his head. Mac placed his hand on mine on the table, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of my hand. Taking a sip of his drink, Dalton said, “Silas showed up about ten years ago. Mac and I were just punk-ass teenagers; I was barely sixteen. Our dad took Silas under his wing, for whatever reason. At first, everything was great. Silas was like a second dad to us.
“And then our mom… she went out shopping one day. Holly and Jackson had just started dating. This was five years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. The whole club was just different then. We were all hanging out, just playing cards and shooting the shit. My dad got the call first. She was bleeding out on the streets; she knew she was dying. But her priority was just telling us she loved us one more time. By the time EMS got there, it was too late. DOA.
“She’d been gunned down in the street like a common dog. But she was the heart and soul of this place. Her and my dad started the Saints. It did something to us. It killed my dad. We buried him barely any time after Mom. Silaswas there the whole time, a refuge in our storm if you will. He carried our mom’s casket to the grave, and then our dad’s. Mac took over but—”
“I wasn’t ready.”
I realized the whole table had been listening when everyone looked to Mac, whose words had been so quiet we could barely hear him over the rest of the room.
“I wanted to be. But, to be honest, I was still a kid. I had no fucking idea what I was doing.” His eyes were haunted and I leaned into him. “What happened next… That night, that fucking coma. When I woke up, Silas was different. I was even less fit to lead, and he saved my life. Saved Dalton’s life. It seemed like the only logical solution at the time. By the time I realized I sold my soul to the fucking devil, club rules prevented me from taking it back.”
“I don’t get it,” I said, looking at them all in turn. “Once you realized he was a Class A asshole, why couldn’t you just kick him out?”
To my surprise, it was Jackson who answered. “It doesn’t work like that, Nicky. Clubs, especially one as big as ours, operate on an honor system. There’s a strict set of rules. We have our own laws and procedures and shit. Even to kick out a prospect like Daniel for some dumb shit, it takes more than just one guy saying fuck it. There’s a voting system.”
Diego nodded, his arm wrapped around Maria who was playing with her wedding ring. “When we voted on Silas taking over, the vast majority of us just assumed it was temporary. Shocker, Silas had other plans. He had a few people in place. And to replace a president, even a temp one, you have to have a majority vote. He’s got enough pull that we haven’t been able to vote him out.”
“That’s bullshit.”
Holly and Maria nodded in agreement with me, and Dalton smiled at me.
“We’ll figure it out, Vixen. Mac and I have a plan.”
“But in the meantime, you have to play ball withgroups like the DiAngelos.”
“We have our ways, gorgeous. What did you think all those motel rooms were for?”
I gave Mac a confused look, and Dalton leaned forward. “What we say cannot leave this table.”
His words were a stark wake-up call, and I looked at the ground. I was a fucking traitor, and the words burned when they left my lips.
“Of course not.”
“The motel rooms aren’t just for bikers and their families who need a place to stay. What Silas doesn’t know is that we use them as a refuge for people trying to get away from the DiAngelos. Victims of sexual assault, families of people who cheated them in some way, people who just want an out. We stash them at the clubhouse, use our connections to build them a new life. New names, new identity, new everything.”
I gaped at Dalton and then looked up at Mac, who had his arm around my shoulders. A glance over at the other side of the table revealed they all knew about this. Not a single surprised face.
“You guys save them?”
Holly flagged down a server for a drink refill and said, “We try. We can’t save them all, but we try. Silas is going to get his one day, Nicky. Don’t doubt that.”
I couldn’t believe it. I needed names—names of the people they’ve saved. I could use this to get pardons when I brought the DiAngelos down, if pardons were even necessary. I was elated. I knew my men and my friends were good people, but now I had proof. Leaning forward, I pulled Dalton by his collar until his lips met mine. Kissing him deeply, I heard someone clear their throat, but I wasn’t quite done. Turning, I met Mac’s lips with my own and he made a deep, guttural sound of appreciation.
Another, louder sound of someone clearing their throat came, and I reluctantly drew away from Mac. He was watching me carefully, a crooked smile on his face, while Dalton looked like a kid in a candy shop.
“I love you twoso much. Please don’t ever forget that.”
“I’m sure the hotel has rooms available if you three need to disappear for a bit…”
Jackson’s voice was light and teasing, and Holly quirked an eyebrow at me in amusement. Diego coughed, trying to hide a laugh, and Maria smacked him in the shoulder.
Dalton returned his hand to my thigh, once again playing with the charm there. “If we leave now, we aren’t coming back.”
I blushed and leaned back into Mac’s side. Suddenly, microphone feedback pierced the air, and I winced. Looking over to the stage, I saw Silas and four DiAngelos in front of a podium. I swallowed thickly. I knew exactly who those men were. One, of course, was Luca DiAngelo. Next to him was Armand DiAngelo, king of the gun trade. Then there was Michael DiAngelo, who dealt and made more drugs than you would find in a Walgreens. And lastly, worst of all, was Robert DiAngelo. He oversaw it all. If evil were ever to take a human form and walk the earth, it would look a hell of a lot like him.
