Page 36 of The Clover Chapel (Jamison Valley 2)
I couldn’t imagine how painful it would be to lose your mother at such a young age. My mom wasn’t the most outstanding role model, but she was still my mom. She was always there for me.
“She was murdered because of my father,” Nick added.
The muscles in my frame locked. “Your father killed your mother?”
“He didn’t pull the trigger but it was because of his fucking selfish choices that she’s dead.”
“What happened?” I asked.
Nick leaned forward and took a drink of his own whiskey before sitting back. “My dad is the president of a motorcycle gang. And it is a gang. Everyone calls it a club, they pretend like it’s just a group of guys taking weekend rides on their Harleys, but it’s a gang. They use violence to intimidate people who don’t do as they want. They have little respect for the law. And they charge their clients a fucking fortune so they can rake in a wad of cash every month.”
“What kind of clients?”
“Mostly they provide protection services for whoever will pay. Some local businesses in Clifton Forge. That’s where I’m from. They run an underground fight circuit around the state and take a rake from every fight. But their biggest clients are drug smugglers. The club provides protection for shipments coming down from Canada. They make sure the drugs don’t get hijacked or caught by the cops.”
“Canada?” I asked. “I thought most imported drugs came across our southern borders.”
“Drugs made from plant extracts do. Marijuana. Cocaine. Heroin. But a lot of meth is brought down from Canada. It gets made way up north and then driven down. Border security is tight at the official crossings but Montana’s a big state. There’s a lot of border that doesn’t get watched.”
“So I’m guessing that somehow all of this illegal activity led to your mother’s murder?” I asked.
“Yeah. Dad’s operation was expanding and they pissed off a rival gang. They retaliated by going to our house in the middle of the fucking day and executing my mother while she was gardening. My brother and I found her when we got home from school.”
A sharp pain traveled from my heart and settled in my stomach. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Nothing to say, Emmy. Just need you to understand what my life has been like.”
“Okay.” I nodded.
“When I was little, I couldn’t wait to be in the club. Then after Mom died, I couldn’t wait to break free. Dad got his revenge, brought an end to that other club and then acted like everything was okay. He kept expanding and digging deeper into the underground. He never once admitted that his need to be the most powerful club in the Northwest is the reason why I don’t have a mother.”
I shook my head but remained silent.
“It caused a lot of tension between Dad and me. He had always planned for me to take over the club but I made it clear I wasn’t going to prospect. I turned eighteen the week before graduation, got my diploma and left for Colorado. I started going to school down there to be a diesel mechanic. I got my certification a couple of years later and started working in a garage.”
“That’s when you met me?”
“Yeah,” he said, “that’s when I met you. Me and those guys I was with all worked at a garage in Colorado together. We decided on a whim to take a road trip to Vegas for the weekend.”
I sipped my whiskey. “Why did you leave Colorado?”
“My younger brother was just graduating high school. I thought if I lived in Montana, maybe I could convince him to live with me and not join the club. The job at the fire station was open and I decided to give it a try. Gave up being a mechanic and came to Prescott.”
“Did he join the club?”
“Yeah.” He frowned before swallowing the rest of his drink in a huge gulp.
We sat in silence but my heart beat louder and louder. I took a few jagged breaths and ignored the nervous energy pooling in my belly.
Because this was the end.
I had held onto Nick, or the idea of Nick, for almost ten years. After tonight, it would all be over. I could move on with my life. I would have no reason to think of him again. To look at our wedding picture. To secretly wear my ring.
“Why did you leave me?” Just asking the question hurt.
“I got a call from Dad after you fell asleep. He was in a fight with another club. Again. One of the younger guys in Dad’s club got shot and killed. He was my age and we’d grown up together. Anyway, Dad said they were getting threats against family members. That both my brother and I were at risk. Told me to watch my back.”
My nose started to burn and I felt tears.
