I scoffed, “Yeah, your word doesn’t mean shit to me.”
“Fair enough.”
For the next half hour, I silently stood in the storage shed with Aim, leaning against the wall and waiting. I hoped he would grow uncomfortable with the silence and my unwavering scrutiny and start volunteering information. Either he didn’t have anything to share, or he was using the same tactic I was because he didn’t utter a word.
The shed door eased open, and Tiny stuck his head around the corner. “Prez, can yo—oomph.”
Tiny stumbled to the side as a blur of blonde hair and bare legs barreled past him. I barely had time to brace before Layla launched herself into my arms. “Copper!” she cried and buried her face in my neck.
“Layla,” I breathed. With one arm under her ass and one around her shoulders, I held her to me as tightly as I could without hurting her. Aim sucking in a sharp breath faintly registered, but I was too consumed with Layla to acknowledge his presence in the room.
I loosened my hold on her and pulled back. “Baby, let me see your face.”
Slowly, she raised her head and met my eyes. One look at her swollen and bruised face spawned a rage so intense I had to put her down and push her away from me so I didn’t hurt her. I didn’t lose my temper often, but when I did, everything in my path was at risk.
Tiny moved to push Layla behind him as Batta appeared and blocked the doorway. I was about to go at it with Batta and physically move him out of my way when Layla’s words had me freezing mid-stride.
“You!” she shrieked. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
I turned to see her pointing a shaking finger and glaring at Aim. “You know him?”
“He, h-he,” she swallowed and straightened her spine. “The night I escaped from Hastings and Hensley, he was the guard.” She turned her tear-filled eyes to me. “I thought they were all arrested. Why is he here?”
I took a step closer to her, and it killed me when she flinched and took two steps away from me. “No! Don’t come any closer.”
“Tiny, get her out of here, right the fuck now,” Batta yelled with his big hands pushing against my chest.
“Don’t you fucking touch her,” I roared and shoved Batta.
Suddenly, my back was against the wall, and Judge’s forearm was pressing hard against my throat. “She doesn’t need to be in here, Prez, and you know it. I ain’t stopping you from whooping his ass. I’m just not going to let you do it in front of her.”
Aim cleared his throat. When he spoke, his tone was much more authoritative, “Grab a chair and have a seat. I can explain everything.”
27
Nothing could have shocked me more than the words that came from Aim’s mouth. While I wanted to believe he was lying, I knew he wasn’t. What he said connected all the dots, and he claimed to have the documentation to verify he was telling the truth.
“I don’t know how you want to play this, but it would be best if what was said in this room stays in this room for the time being,” Aim said.
“I can’t let you and Asp walk out of here without giving my brothers an explanation. And quite frankly, I’m not comfortable keeping it from them, especially my officers.”
“I get that, but the more people who know, the greater chance this has of blowing up in all of our faces. I can’t let that happen when I’m this close to the end.”
“About that. What happens when all is said and done?”
Aim shrugged. “I don’t know. It won’t be my decision to make. It’s not important right now anyway. We have more pressing issues to work on.”
I nodded and rubbed my chin with my thumb and forefinger. “Here’s what I’m thinking. You let me tell my officers what’s going on. Then, we agree to let you and Asp go and tell you where the guns are stashed in exchange for a truce and money to repair the damage done to my clubhouse. Oh, and you let us beat on your VP for taking my Old Lady before he receives whatever punishment you’re going to dole out.”
He looked at me skeptically. “You think your brothers will go for that? Seems like a slap on the wrist given the circumstances.”
“That’s why I want my officers to know the truth. They’re the ones who vote on club decisions. The club members have to go along with whatever we decide. They may not like it, but they trust me and my officers to lead them.”
“Okay, I’ll agree to letting your officers know.” He paused and squirmed in his chair. “There’s something else you should know, but only you. If that’s not something you can handle, I’ll keep it to myself for now.”
I didn’t know if I could handle anything else. He’d already dropped a massive bomb on me, and he wanted to add to it. I pinched the bridge of my nose when I felt the twinge of an oncoming headache. “Is whatever you have to say going to affect the safety of my club and its members?” He shook his head. “All right, go ahead.”
“My father died in a freak accident at work when I was seven years old. My mother passed away a few years ago. I was the only family she had, so she left everything to me including a safe deposit box. I went to see what she kept in it and found some documents indicating my biological father was not the man that raised me. So, I started digging for more information, and that’s what ultimately led to me being involved in this whole situation,” he explained as if he had repeatedly rehearsed the conversation.