“No,” Bowie says with anger in his voice. “I want everyone connected to us here. The brothers are right about Cash. He’s a vindictive son of a bitch. He’d use anything as leverage, even kids.”
A chill works its way through my body, as I think of either of those children being hurt. Marcus has never physically hurt me, so I can only pray he wouldn’t hurt the girls either. But knowing Bowie’s father is involved, I’m not sure if anyone is safe.
Tin-Man nods, while pulling his phone from his pocket. Bowie doesn’t wait for an update on the girls, just grabs my hand. He pulls me across the room, while the others follow behind us. He leads me down the hall and into his room. Looking from me, to the rest of his family. “I want y’all to stay in here.”
“Why can’t we sit out there with everyone else?” Rachel asks, placing a hand on her hip.
I can tell she’s ready to throw one of her teenage tantrums, but Bowie stops it. “You’ll stay in here, because I fuckin’ told you to. I’m warning you right now, I’m not taking any shit from you today.”
Without giving her time to respond, he looks to Tag. “I’ll have another man on the door, but I want you to stay in here with the girls.”
“I won’t leave them,” Tag says as he straightens his shoulders.
With that, Bowie walks from the room without even saying goodbye. I look around to the people I’ve grown to love over the last few months and blurt out, “This is all my fault. I’m so sorry.”
I’m President
Bowie
I walk into the main room and look around, until I spot Rollo. I lift a finger in the air, letting him know to round up the boys. “Time for church.”
Not waiting to see if he followed my order, I head to the chapel. When I step inside, I see the empty table. I look to the head of the table and see my chair; the chair I have wanted to sit in my entire life. I walk over to it and finally take my place as President of the Savage Outlaws MC, fulfilling the destiny my grandfather laid out for me.
A few minutes pass before my brothers join me. Tin-Man takes his seat in the VP chair, and Toke attempts to sit to my left in the Sargent at Arms spot. I shake my head and say, “I’m willing to give you a chance, seeing you voted to out Cash, but I’m going to have my own men by my side.”
“I can understand that,” He says, leaning towards me. “But choose wisely, brother. These men may call you President now but that doesn’t mean they have your back.”
I can tell by the look in his eyes that he knows more shit is headed my way, and that’s something we’ll have to talk about soon. There’s something else we need to talk about first. “What the fuck is going on between you and Nina?”
“It’s not the time to talk about that.”
“Maybe not, but I still want an answer,” Tin says, entering the conversation.
I swear I can feel the anger flying off him. I try to ignore it and focus on Toke. “I’m telling you right now, if you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”
“That’s not gonna happen. She’s mine, and now that Cash is out, I’m gonna make sure everyone knows it,” Toke’s eyes move to Tin. “I’ve spent the last ten years taking shit from your dad just to keep your mom safe. I promise you I’d give my life for hers.”
He waits for a response from Tin, one that never comes, then looks back to me. “Now, let’s get church started. You got some shit that needs to be handled.”
For some reason, I get the feeling he’ll be by my side every step of the way. Taking a chance, one that I hope doesn’t come back to bite me in the ass, I make a decision. “Take the Road Captain’s seat. Trade patches with Rollo, when the meeting is over.”
Something in his eyes shift, letting me know that I made the right choice. “Appreciate it.”
I lift my chin, acknowledging his words, then look to the room. “Some of you were on the road yesterday, so you may not know what the fuck is going on. Just to get a few things straight, I’m your President now. You answer to me and only me. Anyone got a problem with that?”
“About fuckin’ time, as far as I’m concerned. That bastard was gonna get us killed if shit kept going on like it has been.” One of the boys that wasn’t here for yesterday’s church says before asking, “Who’s gonna be sitting beside you.”
“Rollo is now your new Sergeant at Arms,” I motion for Rollo to step forward and point to the chair beside me. I give that a second to sink in and say, “You can see Tin’s already in the VP’s chair, and that’s where he’s staying.”