Princess (26 page)

If this is club life, no wonder my father loves it, because I do too.

VIKING

The following day…

Yesterday I met with
Prez and my Nomad brothers. I wanted everyone’s opinion on my ideas to merge the club over. They were a little hesitant at first, but once I explained all of it out in detail, they were much more open then I’d expected.

There was a vote, and I was named the new President of a hybrid Charter. Prez said he’d contact the other Charters to inform them of us and the decision. After being a part of the Oath Keepers, I know what types of men are in the MC, and I’m pretty honored to be a President affiliated with them.

Ares was in that meeting and surprisingly he approved of the plans.

I also found out about the run to Mexico we pulled since Exterminator was there. He said that he let the cop know about the maid and then hours later some mafia guys in suits showed up and took her. According to Ex, the Russians are on a massive manhunt for one of their sisters that were taken. The cop asked to use us in the future, and Ex agreed as long as there are no exotic animals involved.

I’m hoping with the time it’ll take to build our Compound and get everything set up that my Nomad brothers will trade their wanderer patch for one that says Texas. I can’t think of any better men to have in my club.

Nightmare showed up to the meeting. He thought Ex was bullshitting him about everything that was going down and he needed proof. It was pretty fuckin’ hard to watch him walk in using a cane. He claimed that once it’s healed, he won’t need it, but I was the one who saw the gash first, and I’d be surprised if he ever walked without it again. He was at the party but stayed sitting, so I had missed it.

Scot came too. He asked the brothers to approve his request to hand in his Nomad patch. He’s not planning on leaving Nancy anytime soon and asked to be a part of my hybrid crew. I was honored.

Being surrounded by my brothers made me realize just how lucky Odin is going to be. He not only has Princess fawning all over him, feeding him too much, but he’s going to learn the true meaning of brotherhood and loyalty.

Before I left yesterday, Prez pulled me to the side and requested I bring my woman to her mom’s house. I tried to let him know I wasn’t getting in the middle of their relationship shit, but he reassured me it’s because her mom needs to see her and that he wouldn’t cause trouble.

We’re headed to her house now, and I’m a tad bit nervous how she’ll take the news of Princess and me. Of course, I won’t care if she’s not welcoming, but I want this part of our relationship to be somewhat easy on my woman. She’s already dealt with way too much when it comes to me and our family drama.

“You straight, Cinderella?” I check as we dismount off my bike.

I’ve been asking her randomly ever since I found out how bad her anxiety can get. I never want to see my Ol’ Lady shut down like she did when my father had her. She admitted that it happened the first night we saw each other also with the attack. I guess she felt strong with me there beside her, but that once she was away from me her tears and shakes set in for a few hours.

“I’ll be fine; I’m just happy we’re finally getting a chance to visit, and you’re meeting her.”

“Me too, baby.” I place a swift peck on her lips and follow her up the pathway.

We climb the stairs to the porch, and she stops mid-stride. “The door’s painted,” she mutters softly.

“Yeah?”

Clearing her throat after a moment, she knocks on the front door. Pulling her hand to her chest, she rubs her knuckles with her fingertips. I don’t know what’s up with the sudden weirdness, but somethings gotten to her.

Her brother opens the door, stepping out of the way for us to enter. “P.” He greets her, then turns to me, “Viking.” He nods and I return it.

Prez comes into the dainty living room looking exhausted; he has dark bags under his eyes, and he’s dressed in plain clothes. You’d never guess that he’s the President of an MC, seeing him like this.

The couch has sheets, and a pillow pushed carelessly to the side and a half eaten grilled cheese sits on the coffee table in front of it. Princess notices and becomes annoyed, “Geez Brent, you need to clean up your crap. You’re too old to be making Mom do it. Did you move back in?”

He huffs, “No, of course not. That’s Dad’s, not mine.”

Prez approaches us, “Heya, sug’, thanks for coming,” he says to Princess then turns to me shaking my hand, “Brother.”

“Brother,” I respond, paying him the same respect.

“Mom?” Princess calls but gets no answer.

Prez cuts straight in, “We need to talk about your momma.”

“What’s wrong with her? What did you do this time?”

PRINCESS

Furious at the mess
my dad’s left my mother to deal with, I question him, ready for him to admit that he’s staying here to have her wait on him like he sometimes does. He’ll walk through the door after being gone months, and you’d swear he was a long lost king or something with how my mom treats him.

His hand tangles in his overly long sandy hair as his head drops, his eyes on the floor instead of meeting my irate gaze. He opens his mouth to say something, but then a huge crash comes from my mom’s bedroom.

“I’ve got it, Dad,” Brently jumps, but my dad rushes in front of him.

“No son! Not unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

“It is, talk to Princess so that she can stop this bullshit.”

“Excuse me?” I gape at him. Who the fuck does he think he is, suddenly being a dick to me all the time. I’ve barely walked in the freaking house.

A moan comes next from my mom’s room, and I quickly skirt around the table, beelining for the bedroom door.

“Wait!” My father shouts, but I ignore him, throwing the door open.

“Mom?” It takes a second to see a table knocked over with stuff spilled everywhere. I find her on the floor, crumpled in a small, frail ball, a small amount of throw up beside her.

“Shit! Mom! Are you okay?” Rushing over to her side, I start to help turn her over when I’m stopped by a firm hand. My head shoots up, finding my father’s stern gaze.

“Don’t move her like that,” he orders and I yank my shoulder out of his grip.

“Get off me; I’ll take care of her. I always make sure she’s okay.”

“I know,” my dad croaks as tears start to fall down his cheeks. I’ve only seen him cry one time in my life, and I thought I had hallucinated it all. “I know you do sweetheart, and I’ll owe you for the rest of my life for taking such good care of the woman I love.”

“What are you talking about?” I’m so fucking confused. What is going on?

His shoulders shake as sobs begin to take over. Brently comes in to help Mom to bed, and Dad just bawls, so much to the point that I start crying. It’s so fucking scary to see the man that you’ve always known to be unreadable and hard, crack before your eyes.

“Dad, talk to me please, what the hell’s happening?” I glance at my mom, clearly on a ton of medication looking the weakest I’ve ever seen her. Brently fixes her pillow and softly wipes off her cheek with a baby wipe.

That’s when I notice it…I see a big piece of her hair’s missing, and I know exactly why she’s been so absent. She’s been hiding it from me. With a hoarse cry I turn to my father, my watery eyes overfilling and blurry to where I can only make out his shape. “God no! Please, no, please, please, please tell me she’s okay. I have to be wrong; this can’t be happening.”

“I’m so sorry, sugar.”

“No!” A guttural bark leaves my mouth, shaking my head.

“I’m sorry,” he repeats, and I get so irate inside.

“Fuck. You! Get out of my mom’s house, you piece of shit! Get the fuck out, all of you; she was fine when I was here with her!”

Viking forcibly wraps his huge arms around my body, pulling me up off the floor and carrying me out into the living room while I scream at everyone, blaming them for this tragedy. It’s not an easy feat for him as I kick and scream, weeping that my mother is in that bed dying, and he’s taking me away from her.

“Shhh, Cinderella,” he repeats softly into my hair, tightly cocooning me in his warmth until I’m too sad and worn out to fight any longer. The one person that’s been there for me my whole life, my constant, is lying in that bed, struggling for her life. And no one told me before it was so late.

Once I’m silently crying, he sits on the small sofa with me in his lap, sweetly playing with my hair like he did the night he saw me freak out. The thought of my mother looking so frail is terrifying. She’s always been so stubborn and strong, her only weakness being my father, and now this.

My dad and brother eventually come out of her room and sit on the couch, both with their own tears coating their scruffy faces.

Viking, ever my strength, starts talking. “I can understand why this wasn’t said over the phone, but Princess should have been notified sooner. How can she have time to make peace?” he directs at my father.

“None of us have. My wife’s been sick for a long time, but she’s kept it from her family. She’s always been like that, though when something’s been wrong with her. I came over one night and found her passed out on the kitchen floor. The doctor said by her body and tests that she had probably been there for longer than twenty-four hours. We don’t know if she was out the whole time or not, but he said her body shut down to throw it in protection mode and that if it would have been longer, then she would have most likely passed. That was about two months ago.”

“When you started answering her phone?” I ask quietly.

His defeated gaze meets mine. “Yeah. Then it progressed so rapidly. She told me she could beat it, and she didn’t want either of you to know unless it looked like she wouldn’t make it. The minute she had an ounce of energy, I’d call you and have her leave you messages. This last week’s been the worse; she was in the hospital for most of it. I was hoping she would bounce back, but at this point, there’s no telling. It’s up to her body and the medicine to work together and fight back.”

“She can’t have surgery or something to get it removed?”

“Not until she makes it through this round of medicine. Believe me, honey, I’m on them, calling her doctors daily, leaving messages about her having surgery. I even tried to bribe the doctors with the money I have set aside for you guys. Ares went as far as threatening to kill one surgeon. I had to talk him down and pay the man off. He wasn’t even the right kind of doctor had he gotten the guy to agree eventually. It’s been one giant clusterfuck.”

“So what do we do then?” Sitting up, Viking’s big hands wipe away my tears, always taking care of me.

“We wait and see, but in the meantime, you tell her you love her as much as you can.”

“I can do that.” I nod. “Does she have a nurse that helps out?”

“Yeah, but she doesn’t like anyone seein’ her like that. You know how beautiful your momma’s always been and stubborn. She doesn’t like help when she’s sick.”

“So what happened in there earlier?”

“If she wakes and is going to be sick, she tries to make it on her own instead of saving her energy like we beg her to do.”

“I don’t even know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything, sug’.”

“I’m surprised you’re here so much. Is that why there’s rumors about Ares being President?”

He nods. “Yeah, I uh, I told him that I’ve had to stay away from her long enough, I’m not wasting anymore time.”

“You could have been here the entire time; you made her fall apart every time you left. I was the one behind with her, helping her pull it back together. You didn’t just do it once either; you did it over and over, and she’d be a mess for days, weeks; hell, sometimes for a full month. But now that she’s sick, you want to play hero?” I can’t stop the words tumbling out as my emotions spiral.

“I know. I tried to stay away, but I loved her too much. I’d stay gone for as long as I could handle, but I always came home eventually.”

“Ha. That sounds pathetic; really you had to stay away? Really? We were your family, your wife, and children. We wanted you!”

“I know it, but I couldn’t fucking help it!” His voice increases as his eyes start to dry. “I had to stay away. It wasn’t my choice; it was for your safety after I received threat-amongst threat against you all. I had to keep you safe. I knew if you hated me, you’d stay away from me and no one could get to you. I get it; I fucked up your life. I know that, and I live with it every fucking day. You don’t think I wanted my life?” He points toward my mom’s room, “That woman has owned me since I first laid eyes on her!”

“So what’s different now that you can come right back into everything?”

“My son is grown and has brothers that will help him if needed. My beautiful daughter is the Ol’ Lady of the President of an MC club, who’d blow up half the fucking country to find her. You’re both safe,
finally
. If they come for me, well they can have my life. I only care about my wife being alive and healthy and my children.”

“Look, Dad, I want to believe you, I really do. I promise to try, okay?” My mother’s sick, she wouldn’t want her family fighting like this. If I have to bite the bullet and back off, I will.

This whole time, I was trying to protect her, and I’d even go to extreme lengths to do it, just like my father did. I only wish that I’d known that I was protecting her against the wrong thing. I was too busy hating my father when I should have been loving my mother.

Thank God, I’ve found a love so strong with Viking because I’m going to need the extra backbone and support when I help my mom kick cancer’s ass. She’s a stubborn Ol’ Lady who leads the pack; in my heart, I know she’ll win, and she’ll finally get her man.