Page 64 of Harmless
“No,” Rori snapped. “You arepeople. You’re not just expendable bodies anymore. You all could matter to someone else.”
“You said it was our choice,” argued the first fighter. “This is what I choose to do.”
“Fighting at your command, how could we lose?” added the Saint, his smile cunning as he looked up at Rori. “We all saw you liberate us in the pit, your divine bird flying above your head.” He gestured to Astarte, sitting on a nearby tree branch. “And the Butcher’s jaguar, who led their guns away from us and allowed us to be saved. These gods of vengeance wanted us to find you, Aurora. It had to be for this reason.”
The agreement and support was getting louder among the ex-gladiators, the guys nodding, grinning, and moving in place. They were itching for a fight. Rori kept shaking her head, but she was clearly losing this battle.
“Can I just address the elephant in the room, as it were?” The question came from Carter, who stood from the truck’s bumper and turned to face Rori. “You know what I’m gonna say, Ror,” he warned. “We talked about this.”
“Carter, don’t,” she growled through her teeth.
I exchanged a confused look with Santos across the truck bed. How did the two guys sleeping with Rori not have a clue what this was about?
“Why not?” her cousin challenged, spreading his arms out to the side. “These guys can fight, they’re learning to ride, they’re loyal to you and will follow you anywhere.” He dropped his arms. “Why not form your own MC with these men as your riders,” he grinned smugly, “and you as their president?”
The next look Santos and I shared was one of,Oh sweet holy fuck, how did we not see that coming?
“Yeah!” The Hunter pumped his fist, and his shout was followed by a wave of support.
“Fuck yeah, let’s do that!”
“We follow the light! Aurora for president!”
“I look good in leather, sign me up!”
“No!” Rori waved her arms in an effort to calm the crowd. “It’s not happening! I don’t know how to be a fucking MC president!”
“Yeah, you do.”
Rori’s gaze snapped down to me, and the next thing I knew, I was climbing up into the truck bed to stand beside to her. Because that was where I would always stand, especially when she couldn’t see the greatness within herself.
“You do know how,” I repeated, raising my voice so everyone could hear. The crowd had now gone silen,t but as far as I was concerned, it was just me and her. “You were born to lead an MC, Aurora Wilder. You sat on a motorcycle before you were crawling.”
“Torr…” She was shaking her head and her voice had that low pissed-off tone, but I would not be deterred.
“You were raised by four of the greatest men and riders this world has ever seen,” I went on. “Since the day you were born, you have been learning how to lead. Not just how to fight and be ruthless but how to be kind and show compassion when it’s needed. You know how vital it is to lean on your family and to offer a shoulder when someone else needs that support. Don’t you see, Rori?” I held her gaze. “No one is a better fit to lead a club than you.”
She didn’t respond, only blinked a few times. A breeze rustled some leaves, but it was dead silent beyond that.
“How does this work?” the Hunter piped up. “How do we make her president?”
I looked at Carter, who cleared his throat. “Well, for the inception of a brand new club, presidents are usually nominated. If there is more than one person nominated, members can vote if they want to be civil. The old ways used to have contests of some sort. The would-be presidents would fight hand-to-hand, race each other on a dangerous stretch of road, that kind of thing.”
“I nominate Rori!” the Hunter yelled.
I nodded at him. “I’ll second that.”
“Third,” Santos called out.
“Any other nominations?” Carter scanned the dozens of faces, barely hiding a smile. When nobody answered, he asked, “All in favor of Aurora, the light, ‘Rori’ Wilder as your president?”
Every single hand shot up. Well, every one except Devin, who had remained off to the side, curiously apart from the other fighters. His arms were folded, his expression blankly observant. It was anyone’s guess what was going through that guy’s head, but he didn’t seem thrilled at what was happening.
“Congratulations, Prez.” Carter reached over the tailgate to pat Rori’s leg, who was still apparently too dumbfounded to speak. “Normally, a president chooses who goes into their cabinet positions. Vice president, treasurer, road captain, all that. But it seems she needs reality to sink in first.”
Chuckles rose up from the onlookers, or rather, club members, and there was a new sense of excitement buzzing in the air. I was starting to think I should bring Rori inside, give her some private time to process, maybe a stiff drink, when her hand shot out to clasp my forearm.
“Torr.” She blinked rapidly and chewed her lip, like it was just now all sinking in.
