Hellbent (Four Horsemen MC Book 5) (16 page)

"Here, here." Goat banged his fist on the table. "None of you were here for it, and much as it pains me to admit, Cap was. He wasn't talking shit, that's the way it was. But. He still ratted to the Feds. He can't be President."

Shep held up a hand. "One vote at a time guys. None of us are down with how Cap handled it. God knows I'd beat the shit out of a prospect that made that decision today."
Depending on who it was.
"But is it Pale Rider worthy? That's the question."

"If one of our prospects came to us, told us that a member was dealing coke in our neighborhoods, plotting to kill our brothers to become a Raptor, how long would that member’s Pale Rider vote last?" Voo's soft Creole tones were pointed. "How quick would we be to put that bastard down?"

"That bastard is my father," Axel's voice was all the more dangerous for being quiet.

"No disrespect, bro—but I don't think your vote should be considered here," Voo answered.

"Excuse me?" Axel stood and Shep was reminded that while Ryker might be the hothead of the two, the more dangerous temper was Axel's. Slow burn, long build—exponentially more lethal once unleashed.

He had learned that the hard way growing up with those two.

"You can't see an issue like this clearly. It's about your pops, how could you?" Voo was as a calm as a pond in the middle of a fucking meadow. Never rattled. "Nobody expects that of you. But we've got to consider that Cap's tellin’ the truth—especially after what you remembered. And if that's so, we got to consider that."

"I still get a vote—no matter what my father did!" Axel clenched his fists.

Ryker chose that part of the conversation to walk into. He exchanged a look with Axel, which apparently included some kind of sibling telepathy, because Ryker turned on Voo and chimed right in with, "You can go fuck yourself!"

Voo winked at him. "This is usually where I'd make a 'your momma' joke, but it seems poor timing."

Ryker came across the table, and it was only through the grace of Cowboy and Goat that he didn't get to Voo—who hadn't even bothered trying to get out of the way, was just sitting in his chair, grinning to egg the Rollins’ brothers on”

Shep nearly choked. "Guys—focus! Anybody else need to say their piece?" When no one spoke up, he continued. "As I said early, ain't none of us think Cap should have ratted. But we all agree, this MC and that one are two different things—almost two entirely different clubs. Agreed?"

They all nodded, a couple hittin’ their fists on the table to signal assent. Here it was—if he ever wanted a chance to preach, he'd gotten one. And it had to be good enough to save Cap's life.

"Right now, we're not talking about taking Cap's Prez patch, beating his ass or even stripping his cut." Shep let the horror of having your cut stripped sink in. His throat threatening to close as he considered the very real possibility it could happen to him. "We're talking about killing Cap." He rested his gaze on Duke and let the rest of them follow suit. "About making Duke kill our brother."

Even Axel and Ryker looked down at the ground, shame hiding in their shoulders.

"For my part, Cap's never been disloyal to me. Or to the MC as I know it now—to the Phoenix Chapter. We spend a lot of time judging other people—outsiders, civilians, other MCs. But 'think on your sins' is not something we say just to them." Shep jerked his head at the motto on the wall. "Every now and then, it's something we need to do ourselves, especially before we weigh a vote like this. So, I'm asking you now,
brothers.
Think on your sins."

He let a few minutes pass in silence, let them consider what they might be hiding. He caught Ryker and Axel's gaze each.

Then he said, "Vote. All in favor of Captain meeting the Pale Rider?"

The door banged open.

Eddie walked in.

If the Prez gets taken out, the VP steps up until a vote occurs.

                                                                 ~FourHorsemen Prospect Handbook

* * * * *

 Shep's heart ached for Eddie in this moment. And part of him just wanted to cross the room, put his arms around her and make sure she knew she wasn't alone. But right now, he needed to be strong for the men and get the business at hand done.  “We’re about to make a decision. You can’t be here.”

 “I’m sorry about barging in, but I have some info you need.” Her eyes widened, her teeth worrying at her lip.

If Eddie was insisting, this had to be damn important. No one knew more about the rules than her.

He sighed, then waved his hand. “Okay then. Tell us.”

“Actually, its somethin’ you gotta see and I’m sorry about this, but Beauregard is gonna be conducting this show and tell.”

He held Eddie’s gaze, but his mind’s eyes replayed Beauregard beatin’ on Pretty Boy like he was tenderizing meat and anger laced his gut. Shep gritted out,
“Motherfucker.”

Around him chairs, slid back and various swear words echoed through the room.

"Why the fuck are we inviting Voldemort to this party?" Coyote demanded.

Duke casually did a weapons inventory on himself. Axel and Ryker stared over their mother's shoulder toward the door like an executioner squad.

Shep watched Beauregard—the bastard—saunter on in, smirk on his face and malicious amusement in his eyes. He held Shep's gaze as he approached, stopping a few feet back—maybe a respectful difference. Maybe he was smart enough to stay out of arm's reach.

Shep glared from his position of power at the head of the table. He should say something, but the only words coming to mind were vividly colorful death threats. Somehow
I'm looking forward to watching you bleed
didn't seem like the appropriate greeting.

 “Evenin.'” He looked Shep in the eye and held up a book, tapping it. “In my hot little hand, is my mother’s journal. The one she kept the year your uncle and the rest of the club got into some trouble with the authorities."

Shep went to snatch it, but Beauregard must have seen him coming. He held it back. “Not so fast. I need to know you’ll honor the agreement I made with Eddie.”

“We have a deal,” Eddie gritted out, jaw muscles ticking.

“As I said, I’m gonna need some assurances.” He looked everyone at the table over. Shep gritted his teeth. “Which one of you boys is takin’ over for Captain?”

Cowboy, obviously getting impatient, chimed in, “We ain’t exactly decided, but it’s most likely Shep.”

“That so?” He turned to Shep. “You the new sheriff?”

"You can just consider me judge, jury and executioner for now." Shep stood, fantasizing about slicing the bastard open as he went toe-to-toe with Beauregard. “What deal?”

 He heard Eddie's despairing gasp echo behind him.

Beauregard grinned, staring at Eddie. Shep's fists clenched by his sides while the asshole just stood there like
sucks to be you guys
and shrugged. “Trust me. If you care about your auntie at all, you’ll honor our deal.”

Shep's gun was cocked in his hand before he fully registered reaching for it. From the chorus of echoing clicks, he and his brothers were of the same mind.

The bastard held up his hands and laughed. “Easy now. I came here as a courtesy, to help Eddie here out.”

"What. Fucking. Deal." Shep gritted out.

“We made a bargain.” Beauregard grinned.

Shep considered re-explaining the question. With his fists.

“It’s more like blackmail than a deal,” Eddie said. She stared at Beauregard as if he'd crawled out from under a rock and followed her here. Maybe he did. “I came to the manor to bargain for the journal and one thing led to another. It ended with him shooting the FBI agent with my gun.”

Shep had heard enough. He shoved Beauregard against the wall, digging his forearm into the bastard's windpipe. He'd never considered ripping someone's throat out with his bare teeth before.  “You’re tryin’ to set her up for murder, you piece of shit? I’ll—“

“What?” Beauregard choked out. “You can’t do a fuckin’ thing about it. The gun’s safe in my vault and the body is hidden by now.”

"You'd do well to remember what I told you about wrath." Shep had spent a lot of time fighting his inner demons, denying their existence. But in situations like this, they didn't feel like something that needed fought. They felt
useful
. "My guns are right here and I don't care if they find
your
body."

Axel and Ryker stood beside him, the glint of their guns catching in his peripheral.

Shep forced air into his lungs. He really, really, wanted to fucking shoot this asshole. What was it Pretty Boy had said about a guy needing put down? Beauregard had risen rapidly to the top of his list.  

 “If I don’t walk out of here, my people will make sure the FBI gets all the evidence. So basically? Your ass is mine. You’ll cooperate, or she’ll go down for murder.” He paused, grinning. “Of a fed.” Paused again, the melodramatic son of a bitch. He might as well grow a sinister handlebar mustache and twirl it. “In Texas.”

DNA evidence in the murder of a Fed. They'd crucify Eddie and there wouldn’t be a damn thing they could do—not with that much media attention.

"Shep," Axel croaked.

“Fuck." Shep tried to pull it together, looking at Axel and Ryker. Like it or not, the bastard had them all by the short and curlies.

Suppressing a growl, he shoved the guy away. Beauregard straightened his coat and gestured to the book on the table. "Reed 'em and weep."

 Shep gritted down on his teeth and flipped the book open.

“I took the liberty of markin’ some pages you might find interestin’,” Beauregard muttered. “I hope you ain’t the shy sort, because my momma held nothin’ back.”

Shep swallowed his distaste and began to read aloud. They didn't have time play pass the diary of sordid shit. Eddie plugged her ears and looked away. Jesus, that woman was tough. He pushed through it quickly, trying to spare her the indignity, even as he read a lot of really personal shit some woman had written about her husband.

He rushed through the more lurid descriptions, choking out the passages where she described Joker’s plans to sell out the MC, abandon Eddie and his sons, and start a new life. Forsaking all that Shep had come to hold sacred in his life. The betrayal tasted bitter even just speaking the words.

What an asshole.

But at least it backed up every damn word of Cap’s story. Maybe it would be enough to save his life.

When he finished, the room was silent. Feeling slightly nauseas, he looked at his brothers.  “We gotta vote now,” Shep said. He glanced at Eddie and Beauregard. “You two wait outside.”

“Actually, I’ll be on my merry." Beauregard rolled his shoulders and grinned. “Once I know we’re all squared away?”

“We gotta vote that out, too, but I don’t think we got much of a choice,” Shep said. Someday, he was going to hunt this bastard down and put him in the ground. And herein lay the issue. For all Shep had tried to be a peaceful man, when people he loved were threatened, he lost all restraint. All pretenses of being good.

Being a righteous man had been his life’s goal and he had shoved the whole damn thing out the window when it he’d had to choose between being a good man and saving Pretty Boy’s life. Apparently all of that expensive schooling hadn’t taught him how to resist temptation, how to turn from sin. How to exorcise the demons he’d been born with.

But he had learned patience. And he had a very long memory. He caught Beauregard's gaze. "You and me, we got a reckoning coming."

He smiled, holding the door open for Eddie. "Looking forward to it."

The door closed behind them and Shep immediately started rethinking his decision not to kill Beauregard on the spot.

"I'd put a snake in that man's truck if there wasn't already one driving it," Voo said.

"Don't let that stop you," Shep said softly.

There was a general ease of tension in the room. Shep ran his hands through his hair. "Well, fuck me."

He looked around the room and they were all staring at him. Right, time to lead. He cleared his throat and sat down at the table, waving them all to calm back down.

"You know," Duke said, leaning back in his chair. "I could just watch the guy until I find the right opportunity to pop him in the back of the head."

"Duly noted," Shep said grimly.

Voo cleared his throat. "I think at times, it is helpful to focus on who the enemy actually is."

"Exactly. This is time to circle the fucking wagons, guys." Cowboy pounded his fist on the table. "Let's get this shit done, so we can concentrate on what's important. Fucking Beauregard over."

"Hard," Ryker added.

Shep swallowed. "Captain and the Pale Rider?"

A chorus of, "Nay."

The knot in Shep’s stomach unwound, relief washing through him. He had done it; Cap didn’t have to die.

"Can we all agree he's no longer President?" Shep asked. They nodded at him. He closed his eyes, praying silent thanks.
 "Well, that'll be my only act as stand-in. Time to pick a new leader."

Axel straightened. "You're the VP."

"I'm aware." Shep's lips twitched despite the somber atmosphere. "I intend to stay that way, too."

Axel looked around. All the brothers were staring at him. He shook his head, his throat working as he turned to Shep.

Shep held the gavel out. "It's you, brother."

"We have to vote—"

He was interrupted by a chorus of "ayes", albeit some more enthusiastic than others. Shep didn't know what an enthusiastic noise from Duke would even sound like?

Shep tugged Axel to his feet and forced the gavel in his hand. He felt like such a fucking hypocrite, presiding judgment over Captain with all the shit he was hiding himself. But he just couldn't let someone else take the responsibility of calling a vote like that on their shoulders.

Axel looked around the room, probably trying to wrap his head around the moment.

Shep clapped a hand on his shoulder. "You got this, brother. And I got you."

Axel's arms wrapped around his shoulder and he pounded a fist on Shep's back. "Thank you."