I close my eyes and grab his arm when he tries to leave. “This can never blow back on her. He’ll slit her throat without a second thought. I won’t be the fucking reason she’s dead,” I whisper.
“It won’t,” he says.
I grip his arm tighter, letting him know how serious I am. “Brooks, please, as my uncle and my president, promise me.”
“I promise Zane,” he reiterates.
I rest my head in my hands after he leaves. I know we’ll vote on this. Nothing happens in this club without a vote. It’s like putting my personal life up for a vote. I fucking hate it, but I don’t see any other way. I get my shit together and leave, calling Kace on my way out.
“Hey,” he answers.
“Meet me at my house in ten,” I say and hang up.
I jump on my Harley and peel out of Souls. My head is all over the place. The good, the bad, the victory, the defeat. I need to think clearly and Kace is who I turn to. Kace or pussy, but pussy doesn’t usually give me answers. Not the ones I’m looking for anyway.
When I get to my house, Kace is already there. He gets off his bike and meets me. “Everything alright?”
“I have no idea, brother.”
We get inside and I tell him everything that happened with Brooks. He hasn’t said anything so we sit in silence.
“Shit,” he finally mumbles.
“Fuck, I know.”
He runs his hand over the scruff on his face. “I’m not gonna tell you what to do. It’s genius and it’s reckless.”
“You don’t need to tell me, brother. You fucking know it’s gonna be voted on and everyone is gonna be in. I can’t destroy her, Kace,” I plead.
“Z, if you do this, no matter what the outcome is, you’re gonna lose her. Kingsley will kill her or she’ll kill you,” he explains.
I blow out a breath and nod. “I’ll just have to make sure she kills me.”
“No, fuck this. I’m gonna vote against it. I’m finally back, finally know I’m not dying. I’m not gonna lose you over some bullshit idea. I know you love her, Z. You always have. But, it’s not worth your life or hers,” he says, pacing the floor.
“I thought you weren’t gonna tell me what to do,” I joke.
He flips me off and continues to pace. “I’m not telling you what to do. I’m telling you what I’m gonna do.”
“Doesn’t matter. It doesn’t need to be a unanimous vote. Not for something like this. I need you to vote it in,” I say, passing him a joint.
“Why?” He takes a hit of the joint, handing it back.
I grin and grab it. “Because even if only for a while, I’ll have Harper.”
“You’re a goddamn idiot, you know that right?” he asks with a laugh.
“I’m well aware.”
Later that night we are all around the table. Brooks is dragging it out, making it a point to keep it for last. I keep glancing at Kace and he nods. He knows how it needs to play out, no matter how fucking hard it is.
“I talked with Z earlier,” Brooks begins. “We came up with a plan that needs a vote.” As he explains everything to them, I keep my eyes on the table in front of me. I’m already pissed that Brooks said ‘we’ like I sat there with him and planned this. He wants to make sure if shit happens, they all know it was partly my idea. “So let's vote.”
It’s all yesses around the table. Enzo, Porter, Reid, Damon. Then it comes to Kace. He stalls, making all of us look at him.
“Kace,” I say, catching his attention.
He says yes and it continues on to Alex, then me. It’s unanimous. We leave the room and Tyler and Finn, the new prospects, start handing out drinks.