Smoke and Steel (Wild West MC #2)(99)

I didn’t know he’d done that.

“So, they had experience with this already,” I remarked.

“Yeah.”

Okay.

Now the tough stuff.

“Did you tell them about Rosie?”

She shook her head. “No.” She looked at her lap then at me again, “Did you know that Resurrection lost a brother in the war Chaos was having with Benito Valenzuela?”

I felt my heart squeeze.

Core had given me the condensed version, and apparently it was very condensed.

“I…no. Lost, like, he died?”

She nodded. “They were all willing to go down so Chaos could be free of that situation. It was a pretty extreme act of penance. And Rosie didn’t miss it.”

Oh God.

I held my breath.

“It’s not my place to speak for her,” she carried on. “I just know there’s no bad blood between Chaos and Resurrection, that died with Bounty, and I know the reason for that is Chaos took its cue direct from Rosie.”

“Wow,” I whispered. “Does Resurrection know this?”

Archie took in a deep breath and said, “That’s the thing, Hellen, they have to, but it seems like they don’t care. To them, the act was still committed and that was their flashpoint. Jagger thinks, and from what he says, I agree, your man’s club does what they do in order to stay the course. It isn’t about atonement anymore. It’s making certain they don’t go back. And I get that. If I’d done something like what they’d done, it’d scare the fuck out of me I might do it again. It’s like fighting addiction, every day is a new day where you have to make the right choices. You find a touchstone to help you make the right choices. Rosalie is their touchstone.”

So they understood in some way that Rosalie had moved on?

“That make sense,” I mumbled then asked, “But they know Rosie is…” I didn’t know how to put it. “Okay with them?”

She tipped her had to the side. “I’m not sure she’s gone to each and touched their head and formally absolved them, but the club Chaos is would never associate with them if that wasn’t the case, and Resurrection knows it. And the club Resurrection is would never be in Chaos’s space if they didn’t know it too.”

That also made sense because it was clear Core hadn’t forgiven himself, and maybe none of them had, and they didn’t because they needed that reminder to stay true to what they aspired to be.

“Now, to get to what I should have made time to tell you months ago,” she began.

I lifted my chin, an invitation for to go on.

“For me,” she began, “Jag’s history, what he came from, what he belongs to, is one of the reasons I love him so much. There’s something really beautiful about being your own individual, but still understanding how important it is to be a part of something bigger. To demonstrate loyalty and put the work in to keep a family healthy, even as you’re all giving each other the space to be just who you are.”

She lifted a shoulder and hitched her lips before she carried on.

“I’ve never been a joiner, because most things you join, if you already aren’t like them, they make you be like them. Think like them. Dress like them. Act like them. Honestly, I understand wanting to be a part of a community, but stuff like that worries me. Losing your identity, who you are to a collective whole.”

I was with her on that.

“But I get what Chaos has,” she went on. “It’s kind of the same thing, still, it’s also the antithesis. There’s a sensibility they all share to be in that life, but other than that, anything goes. The joining for them is a celebration of differences, and it works. Like, there’s Tyra in her high heels, and Lanie with her award-winning advertising firm, but also Rosalie, who’s a biker babe down to her bones. Then, of course, me, who’s not like any of them. I mean, really, really different women. On the face of it, not much in common. But I’ve never seen a stronger sisterhood than the one we share.”

I thought about this. About how much I liked Janna, Peanut, Choppy and Ducks, but how completely different the last three were than Janna. Further, how I was different than all of them. But how lovely they were with Janna, accepting she preferred to be quiet and in the background while they were loud and rowdy, and how cool they were with me.

So what Archie said made me feel happy.

Because I knew I’d have in Resurrection what Archie had in Chaos.

She reached out, touched my knee and kept going.

“And we wouldn’t have that sisterhood if they didn’t have their brotherhood,” she carried on.

Yes.

That.

Absolutely.

“They are not in Jag’s and my business,” she continued. “They’re not a part of our day-to-day lives. At least, not mine. Jag works in the garage. Jag goes to meetings. Jag works with the club. What I’m saying is, there’s no insidious ‘you have to be this way, act this way, dress this way.’ However, if we ever needed anything, if something happened, all of them would be at our backs.”

“Yes,” I said softly, feeling this down deep.

Like Janna texting me. And Eight returning my things. And Beck coming to visit me.

Something happened, and they were at Core’s and my backs.