“To be fair, that was before Maxum broke into her house,” Seth piped up, just asking for me to comment on his shit.
“True, and I’m all for letting her into the clubhouse to protect her from him. It seems we collect strays now.” I glared at Seth.
“When are you going to let it go?” he demanded.
“Never,” I said, drinking my beer. “Or at least not till she earns her kutte, which if you ask me will be never.”
“She saved my fucking life and nearly got choked to death for it, or did you forget? If she hadn’t been there . . .”
“Oh, come on, Seth, you could have handled that without her interference. You’re the fucking Enforcer,” I raged. “What the fuck are you the Enforcer for if you can’t handle a fucking gun in your face? If shit goes down, you better fucking have your balls back from that bitch or you’ll have hell to pay. You both will.” Okay, so maybe I lied when I said I was alright now. That fuck should have done something, but it didn’t. I didn’t know if it was because we were in such deep shit now or if there was something more keeping me from being satisfied.
Seth got up and marched over to the pool table and started shooting the crap out of the balls. I couldn’t blame him for not wanting to be near me. While I had a right to be pissed, taking shots at Reagen and my own Enforcer were not the best ways to deal with it. There was one person who deserved my ire that was nowhere near me.
Kara.
Fuck, if I didn’t see me taking it out on her and that tatted body in all kinds of ways right then.
“You have got to control your temper, Tony,” Austin scolded, always ready to keep me in check. That was why he was my VP and my best friend. “The bitch hasn’t done anything, and I think you’ve punished Seth enough. He’s been nothing but loyal to you. Sure, he made some bad judgement calls, but he’s been loyal to the club. That’s what matters most of all in the end.”
I knew Austin was right— loyalty was what mattered most in the end, and Seth had the loyalty of a dog. Was it too much to ask for this bitch? Was it really her fault she got knocked around by her old man so much that she had to flee into enemy territory for sanctuary? Had I become so jaded that I couldn’t see a real woman in desperate need of help? I ran my hands through my hair. Maybe what I really needed was to get to know the bitch. I had heard Seth’s telling of her tale, but I had never bothered to hear hers. “Seth, bring Reagen over here,” I called out to him.
“What for?”
“I was just thinking, maybe it’s time I heard her story, from her.”
“Sure, okay. What about Kara?”
“Kara can fucking wait. Reagen comes first,” I said. For some reason, I enjoyed the idea of making Kara wait. I knew it would piss her off, and that pleased me.
Seth motioned Reagen to join us.
“Hi Reagen. It came to my attention that I haven’t been fair to you, so I want to hear your story, judge it for myself.”
“I take it if I refuse, I’m out?” she asked stubbornly.
“Well, no, because if I kick you out, I’ll lose my Enforcer, and I can’t risk losing my Enforcer during this bloody war, but I’ll never trust you.”
Reagen began when they first left the Midnight Saints. Then, she recounted every beating. With every account, Austin and I began to get angrier and angrier. Our anger was no longer toward Reagen, but toward the asshole who would dare lay hands on her. Tears were pouring down her face, but she kept talking. Seth held her hand. At last, she told us how she got rescued and arrived at the clubhouse.
“They would have let him kill her, Tony,” Seth added, and I couldn’t deny that now. I never really should have in the first place.
“Reagen, I am sorry for misjudging you and I commend you for your bravery and smarts to get the hell out. No man will ever hurt you again. As your Prez, you have my word on that. Saints don’t condone domestic violence. I should have seen you for what you really were, and I apologize for that. You have the full protection of the Midnight Saints from now on.”
“Thank you!” She got up and went to the bathroom.
“Well, fuck!” Austin said. “She’s lucky to be alive. Okay, now we have to discuss this Kara issue.”
“Ah, fuck. Kara. No one trusts her enough to vote for her. It’s not even an issue. She’ll never be Prez. If she can behave herself, she can stay at the clubhouse. She is a target, so that’s the least we can do.”
“Okay, moving on then, Maxum and the Shadow Order. He intends to wipe us out.”
“Yeah, I know. If we spread out, he won’t be able to wipe us all out. Problem is our number one enemy knows where the clubhouse is and knows how to get in. Now, we can up security, but if he does make a move on the clubhouse, we’re screwed.”
“Unless we have the Crypt Keepers backing us. That’s the only good thing Kara has done, if she indeed has them under an agreement. We need them. We need their numbers, Tony.”
“Yeah.” I scratched my chin. “Yeah, we do. What did she offer them?”
“Whores and beer, from what I heard,” Seth said.
“Free whores and beer?” I asked.
“Friends discount,” Seth said.
I rubbed my chin in thought and
