Faith & the Dead End Devils (Sweet Omegaverse, #8)(120)

I wanted to laugh at Rider's scowl, the clear impulse to resist King's order written in the sour twist of his mouth. He dragged his feet and scraped the legs of the chair against the carpet. Petulant. He would make a bad prez, and I suspected his rule over the club might be shorter-lived than he imagined.

"I'm willing to announce my resignation at church today," King said.

All of Rider's scorn, all his bravado, evaporated at once into open shock, a new and almost clumsy version of the man now sitting before us. "What?"

"My records are good, if you want to use them to keep up the runs and the contacts. You'll be able to find everything you need," King continued.

Rider raised his hand, cutting in. "You said willing, so I'm assuming you want something first."

King leaned back in his chair, lips curving up. "To wipe out the Wasted."

Rider barked out a laugh, eyebrows rising. "Now? Now you want to run them off? Wasn't it your idea to give them their little corner?"

"It was a mistake, you were right," King said with a syrupy magnanimousness. "And we've never been in a better position to clean them out. Eve's pack is offering their help. We take it, as a club, and I will hand the presidency to you."

"And take our road captain, enforcer, and my brother with you," Rider said, glancing at my bondmates surrounding me.

King shrugged. "You're better off building your own cabinet anyway. Coke is as good in the garage as Ghost."

"I don't need your advice," Rider spat, leaning forward, his face growing red. "I grew up in this club!"

King just answered him with a smile. "And now it can be yours."

Rider's gaze slid in my direction as he slowly sank back in his chair. "She must really be something in the sack."

King's voice lowered. "Do you want to antagonize me, Rider? Or do you want to accept the position you and I both know you would never have earned on your own?"

Rider's hands clenched at his side, fists growing white for a moment, before he exhaled and settled. "If you want to give up on the men who swore themselves to you, give up on the work you put into this club, and pass on the crown you've been clutching for years…then yes, we'll wipe out the Wasted and I'll take your place."

I swallowed hard, but King was calm and steady in the bond. He had no doubts as I held my breath and waited for them to pop up.

King nodded his head once and reached his hand across the desk. Rider's reached back and they shook solemnly. "See you in church," King said.

Rider glared at all of us as he rose from his seat, but he turned his back and left the room in silence. Bear's hands were working at my tense shoulders, and the bond was watchful.

"I feel a little sorry for the others," Bear admitted.

King spun in his chair and shook his head. "They'll vote him out in a year or two. Buck or Cubby will put it all back together."

"How do you know?" I asked.

King smiled at me, warmth stirring in my chest. "I told you, princess, I've been making this decision slowly for a while now. I did what I could for the club. And moving on looks a lot sweeter with you on the horizon."

Bear kissed my head and then I slipped back to King's lap, lifting his face to mine. "That was smooth," I murmured, dipping my head, grinning with him as we kissed.





"So where will you go?" Adam asked me, brow furrowed.

I shrugged and lifted the drink Ghost had made for me to my lips. It was sweet and syrupy, and there was enough spiced rum to warm my chest with every sip. "Dunno yet. King says not to worry."

Adam rolled his eyes slightly, and I kicked him under the table. "I just can't imagine those guys in, like…you know, a nice house with pretty shutters, like you want."

"Is that what you want?" I asked.

Adam blinked at me. "No, I like being on the road with my pack. Eve says we'll always find somewhere to settle for my heat."

"Well, I don't need that house either," I said, shrugging and scowling. "I don't need any house, unless it has my pack."

Adam stared at me, lips slightly parted, and I lifted my chin before he could challenge me again. A rap of knuckles on the table interrupted us, Jamie wearing a sly smile.

"We need to get Eve out of here before she hustles all the bikers and we end up in a fight," Jamie said, nodding back toward the pool tables.

"Not again," Adam sighed, sliding out of the booth and then pausing to turn back to me. "See you tomorrow?"

Adam and his pack had come to the club everyday, so much so that some of the Devils had started to accept their presence as a welcome given. It still gave me a slight pang to watch Adam leave, and I understood that uncomfortable question in his tone. Would we be separated again? Had our bond broken somehow when Omikron stole me away?

"Tomorrow," I said, nodding and reaching out to grip his hand in mine.

With our own packs now, we would never be what we were to each other before. Our universes had split to revolve in new directions, but something was growing easier between us every day.

I searched the bar as Adam walked away with Jamie, a note of vague panic calling to me in my chest. I'd seen my pack briefly after their club “church,” but King, Bear, and Chance had left with Rider and a few others to do some scouting on the Wasted. Ghost had been assigned my babysitter for the night, and he'd been attentive while still leaving me and Adam to ourselves.