Blood in the Water(107)
“Pres?”
Sam blinked several times before he lifted his head to look at Paul. Maybe he’d been asleep with his eyes open. “Paul? What’re you doin’ here, brother?”
“I need a word.”
Samuel’s brows drew down in confusion and concern. He motioned at a chair with a steady hand. “Have a sit. What’s up? Is it Ash?”
“No. She’s good. Well, as good as she can be. She was asleep when I left.” Paul pulled out his usual seat and dropped into it. He would have liked to have done the brave thing and stayed standing, but the enormity of what he was doing was beginning to hit him and his knees were suddenly weak.
“What’s up then that you come find me at this time?”
“Need to speak to you.” He saw something, a light, maybe something hopeful, flicker in Samuel’s eyes. “No. Not that. I wish it were. It’s not that.” He felt like the worst kind of bastard for crushing a father’s hope. He truly did wish he’d been on a mission to request permission to marry Ashleigh. If only that was the reason for his visit, but it wasn’t.
“Shark, Paul, brother. You’ve got me worried. What do you need?”
Paul took a deep breath, leaned his elbows on the table to brace himself and looked Samuel directly in the eye. “When I patched into the club, when I came to the Priests, I was on a mission to kill you.”
Samuel seemed to be frozen. His expression of concern hadn’t changed, but it was like someone had shot a freeze ray into the room.
“When Chiz called me, I was goin’ to patch and I was goin’ to do it in good faith. I had no intent. But Jimmy and Giles sat me down and asked me to end you, and I agreed.”
“Jimmy wants me dead?” The surprise was evident on Samuel’s face.
“Yeah. I didn’t have all the pieces at first, but I think I do now. Spike Pierce is lookin’ to turf you out of the deal with the Rojas. I don’t think he’s picky, I think if he can’t position the Tails in the Priests’ place then he’ll set up with the Mexicans, but he aims for you to be gone whatever he does. Jimmy said they wanted a bigger cut of the profits, and maybe that’s true. But I think Spike is the driving force, he’s goin’ to patch over the Rabids with or without the deal. Jimmy thinks he’s got a friend there, but I don’t think that’s as much the case as he thinks.”
“You didn’t have a choice.” Samuel nodded to himself.
“Not after they asked me. I knew I’d be dead if I turned them down once they showed their hand like that. It doesn’t excuse what I did, though, comin’ into your club, your family.”
“Fallin’ in with my girl.” Paul saw the first signs of real anger in Samuel.
“Yeah, fallin’ for Ash.” At that, Paul had to break his eye connection with Samuel.
“Were you behind that thing, runnin’ me off the road, the shootin’? Is Dean’s death on your hands?”
He looked Samuel directly in the eye again. “No. I swear to God; on my worthless life, no. I never made a move. I couldn’t, right from the get-go you all showed me what’s real, what it was like to be a part of a real family. You showed me real brotherhood. Right away I knew I couldn’t do it, didn’t want to do it. I’ve been tryin’ to think of a way to make everythin’ right, and comin’ clean to you is the only way I see.”
“I should kill you.”
“Yes, you should.”
Confusion painted Samuel’s face and tone momentarily. “You saved my life. At the park that day, you saved my life.”
“I told you, right from the go I knew I couldn’t, wouldn’t, do it.”
“When were you supposed to kill me?”
“They said no timeframe. You and Terry both if I could. But they’re gettin’ antsy. Spike called me a couple of weeks ago, the night after the shootin’ in the park. They threatened Ash if I didn’t get somethin’ done.”
“They threatened my daughter and you didn’t tell me?” The anger was back and stronger this time.
“I tried to keep her safe. I wouldn’t ever let her get hurt.”
“I should kill you.” Samuel said again, almost to himself this time.
“Yes. You should. I don’t see that you have a choice otherwise.”
“You want to die?” Samuel cocked his head to one side, studying Paul.
“No. No, I don’t. I want to live. I want to be a part of this club I want a life with your daughter. But I can’t have that be based on a lie. I won’t live that lie.”