Road to Destiny (Scorpio Stinger MC Book 5) (12 page)

“How?”

“My family has always been at the helm of this club and it should stay that way. I know you feel obligated to Cobra’s wishes, and in a way I even understand why he asked you and not me. But that’s fucking bullshit. I can do this. For fuck’s sake, I’m a Malone. I was born into this.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. One thing the Malone men were good at was assuming their birthright was given. That it would fall into their laps just because of their bloodline and not because they actually deserved it. That kind of thinking didn’t go down well with me. I was all for the best man getting the job.

“No offense, but if Cobra thought you were up for it he’d have asked you and not me. I made a promise to him, one I’m committed to keeping whatever the price I have to pay. And that includes pissing you off.”

“You’re fucking right. It does piss me off.”

I rubbed both my eyes. I hadn’t slept much, and that dreaded twitch was threatening its return. “I’d hoped it wouldn’t have come to this—us fighting against one another instead of working together for the better of the club. That’s what Cobra wants.”

Razor’s fist came down hard on the table. “Fuck you, Ryder. Fuck you for using Cobra’s wishes against me. I’m going to be Pres and that’s all there is to it. You can stay on as VP if you want, but I kinda have a feeling that it’s not going to quite work out between us.”

“You really want to do this, Razor? Cobra hasn’t even been taken off the machines yet. For fuck’s sake, at least let’s wait till that’s over before deciding on something permanent.”

Razor glared at me. “Why wait? What if he never opens his eyes again? And even if he does get better, he’s not going to be able to resume full club duties straight away.  Let’s just get it the fuck over with.”

I opened and closed my fists by my sides, struggling to not plant them into Razor’s smug face. “I’d recommend you don’t do that. I’m going to honor Cobra in any way I can. I suggest you do the fucking same.”

Of all the people on earth, the one I’d always believed was in my corner had turned against me. Cobra hadn’t even been out of it for twenty-four hours and already mutiny was rearing its ugly head. I had no doubt that some of the brothers would support Razor. Hell, if I hadn’t made an oath that I intended to honor, I’d let him go for it. It would solve my dilemma with Jade.

But I didn’t have a choice.

My word meant something to me, and I was going to stick to it even if it killed me.

I had no idea how to deal with this. Razor had always worked with me, not against me. It was foreign that we couldn’t see eye to eye and do what was best for the club and not any individual in particular. When I’d taken on the role of VP I’d never expected for this day to come so soon.

Yeah, there were no certainties in life besides change and death, and now I was dealing with the two of them at once, staring them squarely in the eye, both inevitable.

“Let’s not talk about this anymore. I’m going to put your crazy talk down to shock and grief. If Cobra dies, then after his funeral we can talk again. For now, we need to rally together, to stay strong. You get that, don’t you?”

Razor sniggered. “That’s fucking classic. You telling me what to do. I’m not going to change my mind on this. Ever since Cobra got shot I’ve been thinking about it. In fact, I was going to talk to him about it before he went into a coma—tell him that I was ready if he wanted to step down and be with his family for a while.”

“That’s noble of you.” Sarcasm dripped from my voice.

“But since Cobra’s not in any state for a conversation, I’ve called all the boys together for a club meeting in an hour, so stick around. I’m thinking the sooner we settle this, the sooner everyone knows where they stand.”

That arrow was aimed directly at me.

Razor had never been much of a team player, always preferring to be on the outside. Yeah, he knew just how to walk on the very edge of the line without crossing it.  And the few times he had crossed it, Chopper Malone had been there to thump his ass back into shape.

This was going to be interesting as fuck. His sudden interest in being president didn’t align with how he usually operated, and I was curious to see how he was going to handle this. “Sure. But know I’m also going to be telling the boys what Cobra’s wishes are.”

“It’s a no-brainer that the brothers will want a Malone as president and not somebody we rescued from juvie.”

I laughed out loud at the irony. “MC clubs, including the Scorpio Stingers, are notorious for being criminals and lowlifes, and most leaders have a rap sheet longer than the toilet paper you use to wipe your ass, so don’t talk to me about being in juvie. You and Cobra were there for a reason, too.”

Razor’s face turned red. He really needed to get a handle on his anger issues.

I sighed and turned on my heels to leave but hesitated for a moment by the door, looking back at Razor, at how he’d casually placed his feet on the desk as he blew circles of smoke from another one of Cobra’s special cigars into the air.

As if I were the enemy, Razor glared at me from under his heavy eyebrows. “Blood is thicker than water. Remember that, Ryder Knox. Remember where you came from and who saved your fucking life.”

A
n hour later, I went straight to the boardroom to find most of the patched-in members already there, their noisy banter dying down the instant I stepped inside. Razor sat in Cobra’s chair at the head of the table. He lifted his chin, challenging me to question his right to be there. 

“Hey, don’t let my presence stop you all from talking shit,” I said, taking confident strides toward the table and pulling a chair up next to the president’s. If he thought he was going to intimidate me, he was mistaken. I didn’t scare that fucking easily.

Everyone shuffled toward the table. The older members took their seats without further words while the newer members stood behind them. The air was thick with anticipation, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if some of the brothers were hoping for Razor and me to get physical and determine the outcome the good old-fashioned way with our fists. We hadn’t had a brawl for a while and one always seemed to calm the boys down when tensions were running high. An overload of testosterone together with frayed nerves was a recipe for things to get ugly.

My fists itched as I opened and closed them by my sides. Fuck, if the boys wanted a fight I wasn’t going to be the one to disappoint them.

“Let’s not waste time,” Razor said with his trademark smirk. “You all know why we’re here. I’m challenging Cobra’s decision to make Ryder president. Hell, some of you have known me all my life. You know where my loyalties lie and, most importantly, that I’m a Malone.”

“Hear, hear,” one of the newer patched in members called out. “The
Malones
rule.”

I glared at the younger man. Inappropriate and juvenile comments like that didn’t go down well with me. I’d put him on fucking toilet cleaning duties for the next few months so that he could learn some respect.

Razor’s lips curled up and his voice filled with snark. “The old man would turn in his fucking grave if he knew about this horseshit. Cobra wasn’t thinking straight with a bullet to the fucking head. So I’m claiming what’s mine. If my brother ain’t able to be Pres, then I’m taking over from him.”

A few of the fellows cheered him on and raised their fists in support. I made a mental note of the fuckers’ names. In future, I wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw them.

I pushed up from the chair and stood with crossed arms, planting my feed wide as I pushed my chest out a few inches.

The room went quiet again, and everyone turned to face me. “If you fuckers think I’m giving up that easily, you’re dumber than you look. I may not be born a Malone, but I’ve been adopted by Chopper as his own. I’ve sworn an oath to my brother. Are you really going to tell me that you’re going to fucking ignore Cobra’s wishes because Razor wants to go on a fucking ego trip?”

“Razor deserves it; he’s a true Malone,” Axel piped up. “I support him.”

Hammer jumped up from his seat, spit flying as he spoke. “Axel, you’ve never been known as the smart one, so shut the fuck up and let Ryder finish.”

Axel lunged forward, as if he were going to punch Hammer.

“Whoa,” I yelled out while holding a hand up, “calm the fuck down and let me talk.”

Ox appeared behind Axel and with a single hand, he pushed the man back down into his chair. At least I knew who
was
supporting me.

“Listen, Razor has every right to challenge me, and if he weren’t such a fucking hothead I’d tell him that I’d gladly hand over the reins to him. But we’re dealing with more than egos here. I made a promise to our Pres. You know what that means . . . that I’ll honor it.” I looked around the room slowly, making eye contact with every man. “This is life and death, an attack on
all
of us. This is the time for us to stand together as one, not be split apart by fucking mutiny.”

“It’s simple then. Just step the fuck down and let Razor take over.”

I raised an eyebrow at young Axel. “You’ve been a member for five fucking minutes and you think you know everything. Do you know anything about loyalty . . . or honoring a promise you made to a best friend and brother? You’ve got a lot to learn, kid, so I suggest you shut up and listen.”

Hammer nodded. “It takes more than a person’s bloodline to make them a leader. I support Cobra’s wishes. He’d want us all to back Ryder.”

I held up a hand. “That’s true. But let’s not rush into things just yet. We should wait and see how Cobra does before we make anything official. Hell, he’ll probably be back and kicking ass before we know it.”

“Bullshit. My brother is in a fucking coma. Chances of him coming back are close to zero.” Razor pointed a finger toward my chest. “You just wanna stall things.”

I straightened my back and stood a little taller. “And you just wanna rush things.” I took a deep breath to calm the annoyance in my gut. Taking a step closer to Razor, I locked my gaze with his. His eyes were cold and hard, but it didn’t stop me. “So what I’m gonna suggest is that we wait it out for two weeks.”

Razor reacted by cursing while his face contorted in anger. “That’s fucking dumb.”

What was he trying to do? Cause mutiny and disruption? It wasn’t the time or place, and I couldn’t agree more with Cobra that Razor wasn’t ready for leadership. He let his fucking anger rule him instead of his brain.

My harsh tone of voice didn’t invite argument. “In the meantime, I’m VP, and I’m running this fucking show until we decide otherwise.”

Razor slammed his fists onto the tabletop, sending a bowl of peanuts flying. He opened his mouth to speak, but Ox had moved closer and nudged him in the ribs.

“I changed your fucking diapers, Razor, so don’t get me mad. We wait two weeks. In the big fucking scheme of life, it’s nothing. And you got time to prove to everyone why you even stand a fucking chance of being Pres. But it ain’t happening right now, so deal with it and quit whining. We got bigger shit to worry about.”

I gave Ox and Hammer each a thankful nod. They’d have my back while we sorted out the fucking mess the club was in.

Razor spun around, his face inches from mine. “And what you gonna do about catching my brother’s attackers? I want revenge. I’m not resting until I have their blood on my hands.”

I took a step back to put some distance between us. “I’m working with Summers and Savage to track them down. Those fuckers will be caught and brought to justice, of that you can be one hundred percent sure.”

“For fuck’s sake, Ryder,” he roared, his veins bulging at his temples as if they’d burst at any second. “You’ve turned soft and into a fucking pussy. You’ve got the fucking law involved? Since when doesn’t our club take care of our own fucking business?”

Razor’s buddies made some noise in the background, agitating the crap out of me. I ground down on my teeth, clamping my jaw tightly. So help me if I didn’t want to punch his smug, angry face.

“You think this is easy?” I hissed. “I wanna find those motherfuckers and personally wipe the scum out with my own bare hands. But you know what that’s gonna do?
Do you?
” I yelled, just about to crack.

Razor’s eyes widened as he stared at me.

I tapped the side of my head. “
Think,
for once in your fucking life. It’s just going to bring more danger to our club. More retaliation.
More killing
.”

My nostrils flared as I indicated around the room at the brothers who gawked at me, some with their mouths hanging slightly open. “Unless it’s okay with you that any of these boys get hurt or killed because of your fucking anger and need to do things your way.” I paused to catch my breath. “Grow the fuck up and think of the good of the club and your brothers before thinking of what’s good for only you, Razor Malone. It fucking sucks what happened to Cobra, and poor Mia is barely coping.” I threw both hands up in the air. “You want the whole club to be subjected to that?”

Once I’d started ranting, I couldn’t stop myself. All my rage and fury had unleashed, and my fucking soul was on fire. “Or do we for once take a step back and do the right fucking thing? What’s best for everyone—letting the law nail the bastards for what they did instead of inviting further death and mayhem to the Scorpio Stingers.”

The whole room was quiet except for my heavy breathing. 

Hammer started clapping slowly, then Ox joined in, and one by one, everyone except Razor and his young sidekicks began clapping, too.

Thank fuck I was getting through to most of the brothers—at least for the moment. I didn’t need more shit in my life, and it was time I stood firm for my beliefs.

M
aybe Razor was right, and I didn’t deserve Cobra’s faith in me. But like fuck if I’d admit that seed of doubt to anyone. My head pounded as I made my way back to my room and back to my woman. I needed her comfort and her understanding. She always knew how to help me take a load off my shoulders.

I was only halfway down the hallway when I bumped into Logan. “Hey, bro.”