Page 108 of Bad Luck, Hard Love
I press a quick kiss to her temple before following Raze's path. The noise of the party fades as I move down the hallway, replaced by the muffled sound of serious conversation behind the chapel door. When I push it open, I find Raze seated at the head of the long wooden table, and Hero standing near the back wall with his arms crossed.
“Thor,” Raze nods as I close the door behind me. “Take a seat.”
I settle into the chair beside him, noting the serious expressions around the table. “What's the situation?”
“Vegas chapter is completely disbanded,” Hero says. “What's left of their territory needs to be handled. Can't leave a power vacuum in a city like this.”
“And the properties?” I ask, already knowing this conversation was coming.
“Clubhouse, safe houses, legitimate businesses—all of it needs new management.” Raze slides a folder across the table. “Mother chapter is considering establishing a permanent presence here. Someone needs to oversee the transition.”
I open the folder, scanning the documents inside. Property deeds, business licenses, bank statements—the entire infrastructure of what used to be the Vegas chapter laid out in black and white. The numbers are staggering.
“You're talking about a full charter,” I say, looking up from the papers. “Not just cleanup.”
“Exactly.” Hero pushes off from the wall, moving to lean against the table. “A city this size, with this much potential? It's too valuable to abandon.”
“Who's running it?”
The two men exchange glances, and I feel their collective stare. Raze clears his throat, leaning forward in his chair.
“We want you,” he says simply. “You and Charlotte to make Vegas your home base.”
“Me? Run a chapter?”
“You've earned it,” Hero interjects. “What you did here, how you handled the situation with Roberts—that's leadership material.”
I shake my head, pushing back from the table. “I'm a road captain. That's where I belong.”
“You were road captain,” Raze corrects. “Now you're something else. Something more.” He taps the folder with one thick finger. “This city needs someone who understands what it means to protect people. Someone who won't let power corrupt them.”
“And Charlotte?”
“She's already proven she can handle this life,” Hero says. “A woman who can slit her abuser's throat and walk away clean? That's old lady material right there.”
The casual way he says it makes my chest tighten. Charlotte's strength isn't something to be celebrated—it's something that was forged in hell, tempered by pain she should never have endured.
“She's been through enough. She doesn't need the stress of running a chapter.”
“She doesn't need it,” Raze agrees. “But she might want it. You should talk to her.”
The truth is, I've been so focused on protecting Charlotte from the aftermath of Terrance that I haven't considered what she might want beyond safety. The assumption sits heavy in my gut—another man making decisions for her, even with good intentions. I can’t do that to her. Now or ever.
I lean back in my chair. It's everything I've worked for in the club—recognition, power, my own chapter. The kind of opportunity that doesn't come twice.
“I'm honored. Truly. But I can't accept.”
Raze's eyebrows shoot up. “Can't or won't?”
“Both.” I close the folder, sliding it back across the table. “Vegas is nothing but trauma for Charlotte. Every street corner, every building—it all reminds her of what happened here.”
“She's stronger than you think,” Hero argues. “Stronger than most men I know.”
“It's not about strength. It's about what she deserves after everything she's been through. And that's not spending the rest of her life in the city where her nightmares were born.”
“And what about what you deserve, son? You've earned this.”
I shake my head. “The club has given me purpose for a long time. Structure when I needed it, family when I had none. But I think my purpose lies elsewhere now.”
