Page 66 of Harmless
“Fuck.” I rubbed my eyes again. “All of you, I swear to God. You all think I’m some badass savior when I’m not.”
“Don’t believe the lies you tell yourself.” I heard the smile in my aunt’s voice. “You are capable of far more than what you believe.”
“I just don’t want to let anybody down.” I chewed the nail at the edge of my thumb. “I don’t want to fail anyone.”
“It’s not easy being a leader. And let me tell you, men, and bikers especially, are some hard headed sons of bitches. You’re going to get a lot of pushback for every decision you make, especially because you’re a woman.”
“Great,” I deadpanned.
“But remember you’re not alone, Rori. That’s what a club is, a family and a support system. The right people will stand by your good decisionsandtell you when you’re legitimately fucking up.”
At least I could be certain of that. Torr was just as likely to stand by me as he was to put me in my place.
“You can do this, sweetheart,” my aunt said softly. “Youarethe right person for this. Trust your instincts. And if you’re still not sure, trust your VP.”
I sighed out a long, resigned breath. “Okay. Thanks, Aunt Kyrie. I love you.”
“Love you too. Oh, and bring back my daughter alive or I’ll kill you.”
We shared a laugh at that before hanging up, and I realized I felt a little lighter. Like maybe my newfound presidency wasn’t a totally unwanted burden. As my finger hovered over my fathers’ phone numbers, I started to think maybethiscall would actually be the hard one.
I hit Shadow’s number and brought the phone to my ear, wishing once again for a shot of booze.
He answered on the second right. “Rori!”
“Hey, Dad. How’s—”
“Are you okay? Do you need anything? The guys and I can ride out at a moment’s notice.”
“Oh God, Shadow, leave her alone,” said a woman’s voice in the background before yelling, “Hey, Roriiii!”
“Hey, Aunt Noelle! What are you doing with my old man?”
“I’m touching up her sleeves.” The buzzing of a tattoo machine came through the phone. “So you’re good?” Shadow pressed. “You’re okay?”
“Yeah, Dad, I’m fine. Hey, Aunt Noelle!” I said to Reaper’s sister, who was also Carter’s mother. “Your son’s an asshole, by the way.”
“Aw, what’d he do this time?”
“Made me president of a brand-spankin-new MC.”
The line fell dead silent.
“He didwhat?” My father broke the silence first.
“Surprise,” I said in a lame singsong voice. “Guess I’m following in your footsteps after all, Dadow.”
There was a rustling on the phone, and then I heard Shadow’s muffled voice speaking to Noelle. “…later?…moment to talk with my daughter.” Another few seconds of rustling and muffled voices followed before Shadow came back on the phone. “What the hell happened, Rori? Your mother’s been trying to call you back, by the way.”
Yeah, I’d dodged a couple of her calls. Asking for her advice on my guy problems had kind of taken a backseat to my newfound leadership position, and I didn’t feel ready to have that conversation with her yet. How funny that I found it easier to talk to my mom about threesomes than a new job.
“I texted her and told her I was fine! Just busy.”
“Clearly,” Shadow said snidely. “So a mission with just you and Torr turns into you becoming president of a club, huh?”
“He’s my VP, if it makes you feel any better.”
“Uh huh. Who else do you got?”
