Page 12 of Bane's Beginning

“Dude, Prez is right,” Hawk said. “We all list our family members when getting voted in for a reason. Just because we don’t hurt bitches and kids, doesn’t mean that every other club doesn’t.”

“Yeah, son,” Pops said. “We all know what you’re capable of down in the basement. Imagine someone getting their hands on Thea and bringing her down to theirs.”

I clenched my fists under the table. I knew what Pops was saying was true, but it didn’t mean I wanted to think about it.

“Okay, I get it. I fucked up,” Ares said, lifting his head and acknowledging everyone around the table. “Now that she is here, how can we keep her safe?”

We spent the next 30 minutes or so discussing an emergency extraction plan for if Thea went back to school and we needed to either get her here for lockdown or have someone go watchover her. We assigned two brothers as her emergency contacts, mapped the quickest routes out of California, and established which chapter would move first if she ever called. That’s what we do as brothers, we think ahead and do our best to protect our own.

***

THEA

I sat on the couch in the living room of the clubhouse with a few other women around me. Serena introduced me to a woman named Anna, who was a little older than me and Crash’s sister.

I also met Anna’s mom Alice and a few other wives named Grace and Cherry. They were all staring at me like I was a freak show, but I couldn’t blame them seeing as I’d just fired a gun outside and now I’m seated next to them on the couch.

The guys were in what they called Church, which I learned was a meeting for club business, but not everyone was invited today so there were still men walking around the clubhouse. Apparently, that’s where they go to talk about some serious shit, and today, that serious shit was me.

Talk about a big elephant in the room.

“Sorry,” Serena finally broke the awkward silence. “We just can’t believe that Ares has a sister.”

Anna laughed from beside her. “No shit, and you're as tough as nails. You’re going to fit in great here!” She offered me a smile and I returned it. I didn’t see any point in being rude to these ladies because they’d been nothing but nice to me since I got here. I just didn’t know how I felt about Serena yet. It’s not like I blame her for anything, but I wasn’t ready to be around someone who was both pregnant and happy when I was neither.

“I’m sorry for causing such a big scene,” I said sheepishly. “My brother is just hard-headed as fuck, and sometimes you got to out-scream him to make him listen.”

“Can we talk about how epic that was?” Anna shouted. “I thought Serena was a badass for how she whipped that boy into shape, but damn, girl. You blew that out of the water.”

We all laughed at Anna, and then they started asking me questions. I told them a little bit about why I was here, not about the fact that I set my ex’s bed on fire or what led to that, but I told them that I had some drama with my best friend and my ex and I needed to get away so I could focus on school. They all agreed that Bridgette was a bitch, and I appreciated that.

I learned a little bit about them as well. I learned that Serena is really from New York City and she came to town wanting to get away from her parents. Apparently, they were forcing her to marry some jackass who liked to beat on her. She decided to run away and work for a small doctor’s office where she could help people who really needed it. Soon after moving to Haven Hills, my brother had a motorcycle accident and was too hard-headed to go to the ER so he waited and went to her clinic. A few weeks later, he got hurt and their club doctor was out of town, so he ended up at her doorstep, and the rest was history, or so I’m told.

Anna was different. Her parents were Alice and a guy they called Old School. Anna’s dad was a founding member so she grew up in the club life, along with her brother Crash. She was a sweet girl, but was very blunt and not afraid to speak her mind. I liked that about her because there is nothing worse than someone who fakes their personality. With these ladies, what you see is what you get.

The door opened across the room and a lady stepped in. She was in her late 50s or early 60s, but she didn’t seem to look like it very much. She had long blonde hair and deep blue eyes that seemed very familiar. She was also covered in tattoos and was wearing a worn-down Guns ‘n’ Roses t-shirt like it was authentically from the mid-80s and a pair of blue jeans with steel-toed boots. She looked like a badass, both in a hot and terrifying way.

“Hey bitches,” she called out walking towards us. “My phone has been blowing up all afternoon telling me to get down to the clubhouse. I had to leave my man in bed. What the hell is going on?”

“Momma, so glad you could finally join us,” Cherry said teasingly.

“Jane, meet Ares’ long-lost sister, Thea,” Serena said as she ushered her hand in my direction. Jane, as I came to know, looked me over and her eyes widened with shock and a hint of amusement.

“You’re shitting me,” she asked, looking at me then to the other ladies in the room. “Well, hi, sweetheart. Welcome to the family.” I was taken aback when Jane pulled me in for a hug, but I wasn’t going to be rude so I hugged her back and then we both sat down on the couch.

“Technically, I wasn’t lost. My brother, on the other hand, hadn’t told me about any of this.”

“What a jackass,” Jane said as she lit up a cigarette. “Do we know why he kept her from the club?”

I knew the question wasn’t for me. All of the ladies shook their heads, and Serena responded, “They’re in church discussing it right now.”

“Well, this Sunday just got a lot more interesting. I’m Bane’s mom, by the way,” she said as she gave my thigh a reassuring squeeze.

“Bane?” I said as I looked over questioningly to Serena and Anna.

“That’s the Prez,” Anna said with a smile.

Oh.