I haven’t spoken to him since that day at the hospital. It’s been hard because I completely blame myself even if I can tell that Sophie blames herself. I wish there was some way I could convince her that it wasn’t her fault.
My head snaps up from where I’m sitting at the clubhouse. I’m having a beer with some brothers while Sophie is in a meeting with the crew that’s going to help her renovate her bakery. She didn’t know if she should continue with the bakery right away with the club in grief, but I told her it might be easier for her to have something to focus on.
“Fuck off! You don’t know what it’s like! I fucking miss her every day! I’ll never get to see her smile, hear her laugh, watch her annoy my brothers, or even yell at me again! I can’t get any of that back!” I hear Torch roar. His voice gets louder with every word, pain clear on his face.
His dad takes a step back. Pain comes over his face. You can tell that it’s hurting him to see his child in so much pain.
“Son, let us be here for you. Let ME be here for you,” he says. I don’t think that I have ever seen the President more vulnerable than he is right now. In the home of his club, in the privacy of his brothers and their Old Ladies, he tries to get through to his son.
But when I look at Torch, I can see the wall go up around him. The light has been out of his eyes for weeks. I don’t know how we will ever get him back. I’m not sure we ever will.
He looks at his parents as clear as day. “I need to get away. Everything reminds me of her.”
I can tell that no matter what anyone says he’s going to leave, and who knows if he will ever come back.
I look at every brother in the room and I know that they all fear the same thing.
Prez nods his head in defeat. “Okay, but we need to take care of that fucker before you go. You need to be the one to do it,” he says, his voice firm. When he looks at me for confirmation, I nod my head.
We agreed that Torch should be the one to end Vince. We have been working out a perfect plan for why he disappears since he’s rich and well known in his community. We didn’t want to take any chances that Sophie’s mother would rat us out, but she still has Lily’s revenge a head of her.
We have to play this smart so that there isn’t any fall back on the club.
We need to have it so that although people might suspect us, no one will be able to prove it.
We don’t let anyone get away with hurting one of our own.
Torch nods his head when the door bursts open and one of Stitch’s brothers comes in wheeling a huge fucking suitcase.
He nods at his brother and looks at Prez. “Found this one mouthing off about the Vicious Snakes last night. Good thing she was so drunk that no one believed her. Once I got her name, I knew who she was and what she meant to this club. Nicolas was a good man. He didn’t deserve to die and not see his little girl grow up,” he says unzipping the suitcase to reveal Sophie’s mother.
I feel Sophie shaking. I look at her with concern when she moves her hand off her mouth, puts both hands on her knees, and lets out the most unattractive snort I have ever heard from her. I can’t help but look at her in horror at the sounds she’s making.
“Babe?” I ask getting a little worried about the level of crazy she’s showing right now.
She points at her mom. “She’s in a suitcase! I mean who thinks of that?” she says as she resumes laughing. Everyone lets out a chuckle as their shoulders relax. I’m pretty sure that everyone is just glad that Sophie isn’t pissed; however, once she heard that her mother killed her father, she had no problems in seeing her being taught a lesson. She lost time with her father and never had a loving parent for so many years.
After everyone settles down, Stitch’s brother speaks up. “Well, I needed to get her here undetected. On the plus side, no one will be looking for her. I made it look like her and Vince ran off together and emptied their bank accounts. The money is sent to an account for the club. Think of something to bring that woman justice. Her name should be remembered. Don’t let them take that from you. As far as everyone knows, Sophie ran off with a broken heart having caught her mom and fiancé in the bedroom.”
I see Sophie’s jaw drop. “Wow, I don’t know what to say to that. Why would you do that?” she asks quietly.
He gives her a sad look. “I lost someone important to me once. That woman didn’t deserve the kind of hate they were throwing around. I have my own brand of justice, and I know that you guys will make sure she is taken care of,” he says with a nod before he leaves.
Everyone is quiet for a moment. Sophie’s mom lets out a moan from the floor. Lily walks right up to her, grabs her by the hair, and starts walking to where we have held Vince for the past month. Lily’s face is a mask of determination.
We made sure that Vince had enough in him so that he wouldn’t die on us, and I also spent some time down there getting my own punches in. I know that
