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— EDDIE —
I’m listening to the doctor’s ramblings but nothing is making sense because I’m not paying attention. When we arrived at the hospital and were about to go into my mother’s room, the doctor stopped us and wanted me to answer a few questions.
First question? Did my mother endure any extreme pressure or does she have any underlying stress? Naturally my thoughts went straight to the papers and everything else faded to the background.
“Could you please rephrase what you just mentioned? I’m not sure if I understand completely what happened with all the medical terms,” Gracy says, and I’m thankful she’s with me.
The doctor nods at Gracy but turns his attention to me again. “We believe your mother had a vasovagal syncope. This caused her heart rate and blood pressure to suddenly drop, which led to reduced blood flow in her brain. It was the reason she lost consciousness. We were worried she might have an underlying medical condition such as a heart or brain disorder. Your mother mentioned she’s had a low heart rate all her life, has something like this happened before? Do you know if she endures underlying stress or maybe extreme pressure? Were there recent changes that could have triggered a stressful moment?”
I now know for a fact what happened to my mother was because of the papers Gracy noticed on the table. I don’t know where my mother got them from, but it’s the damn reason she’s in the hospital. More anger hits me because this whole thing that landed me in prison is like a black hole, swallowing everyone around me into this mess.
“She’s been missing her husband more and more these days, and Eddie just came back after a long time, and he has been wrapped in some issues. I’m sure as a mother she’s worried and maybe it all became too much,” Gracy offers because I’m still tongue-tied. “But I also know that she’s been more tired the last few months and has made a few changes. Less work, more time to relax. She assured me nothing was wrong with her physically and that it all had to do with getting older one day at a time. Should we have been more alert? Should I have forced her to go to the doctor? Would it have prevented what happened to her today?”
Everything is running through my head and it’s mostly guilt when I hear the last few things Gracy is mentioning. Should I have been more alert too? I can’t think of anything to say to mingle in this discussion, mainly because I haven’t been around my mother in a while.
And for fuck’s sake, what do I even say to this doctor? The truth? I can’t even comprehend everything myself. And do I even want to talk to my mother about this while it’s probably the reason why she’s in this hospital bed? The doctor in front of me offers me his hand and I warily take it. Seems I missed half of the conversation yet again.
Gracy squeezes my hand and says, “Let’s go see your mother.”
Yates and Ash are waiting across the hall as we enter my mother’s room. Like last time there are beeping sounds and machines surrounding her but she’s sitting slightly up. The smile she gives us both is warming my chest.
“Hey, Ma,” I croak.
She waves me over. “Edgar Augustine, come give your mother a hug. I won’t break.”
Little does she know my own heart is breaking seeing her like this and knowing what put her in here isn’t over and handled yet. It makes me feel even more like a failure. I drag myself over to the bed and carefully hug her. The deep sigh ripping from her body is letting me know the hug is something she gathers strength from.
“Don’t ever scare me like that again,” I mutter. “I’m not ready to lose you too.”
“I’m still here, son. I’m not going anywhere. Well, maybe home soon because I would like to spend the night in my own bed but they have mentioned I needed to stay overnight.”
“Yes, they need to keep an eye on you but from my understanding if everything goes well, they will release you tomorrow and Eddie and I will be right here to pick you up. So, you’d better do as ordered and get some rest. And I will make sure you won’t have any extra work or stress, you need to take it slow for a while,” Gracy says, though she too knows about the papers.
I’ve never trusted a woman or shared crucial information with one. The world I grew up in was one raised in an MC where brotherhood was strong but crucial information was club business. Things discussed in church aren’t meant to be out in the open.
Though, I know very well each club and president have their own little rules, but I know for a fact my father never involved my mother with club business. And yet it doesn’t stop her from worrying about all of it. It’s the reason I convinced my father that me buying the estate for her was a great way to keep her mind busy.
The little things she did for the construction company weren’t really needed and she would always rave about her dream to run a tiny bed and breakfast. Being in the construction and the real estate world along with it, I got wind about the estate becoming for sale.
It cost me almost my whole savings I had gathered through investments, but it was worth it when I saw her face the moment I brought her to the gate and told her it was hers to run and turn into her little paradise.
Though my father was a hard worker and a man of little words, he helped me and my mother after I bought the estate. There was some construction work needed and he took control. And I know it bothered him when I bought the estate but I also knew all his money was wrapped up in his company.
It’s always the next job where money is needed to be pumped into, it’s the way he’s always worked and how we all got to where we were. But I owed them both. Every cent I made was with the help of my father as I worked my way up his company where he gave me all the possibilities.
He allowed me to go through college, get a degree and through working for his company, I made my first paycheck. Due to the MC I could save on everything so I could invest and I was lucky enough it all worked out.
It’s the reason I invested it all back into property. The whole needing money to make money was true for me and the reason I was able to have enough to do everything I wanted. Though the estate I bought for my mother was different.
After I bought it, we all decided it was better if it would stay in my name, because my father kept telling us how fragile running a construction company was. Investors failing, market plunging, if I kept it in my name my mother would always keep her dream if something happened to my father’s company.
It’s also the reason why I bought the MC property and the bar next to it. Both investments and making sure everything was kept in the family. And with the estate being my mother’s dream, I know it’s not causing her any stress, if anything it’s a stress relief because she’s mentioned many times how waking up every morning in her bungalow and seeing the view of the ocean sets her mind at peace.
“The estate practically runs itself, it’s not what’s caused this nor will it cause her the added stress,” I grumble. “Ma, it was the papers we found on the table that landed you in here, wasn’t it?”
Her whole face falls and the bleeping of the machines starts to change.
“Calm down, Maggie,” Gracy says, her tone filled with worry.
“The papers,” my mother gasps and grabs my arm. “You need to get them. They can prove you’re innocent and there’s a note from your father. You need to read it because he wrote down his thoughts about what went wrong with the mall project and how he was heading to meet Rush along with Nicolaus. He confronted Nicolaus earlier that day with the two sets of documents he found and how he saw Nicolaus’ son, Rush on camera exchanging them. Your father took the papers out of the container outside where Rush threw them in and put everything in an envelope along with a copy of the video. He needed to know if Nicolaus was in on it too.”
My mother furiously shakes her head as her hand tightens into a fist. “William never should have tried to solve it internally like club business. What was he thinking accepting Rush’s suggestion to meet up in that building? He should have gone straight to the police with everything he had, and the suspicions. But instead he put it in the safe and went to meet Rush along with Nicolaus. And the note your father wrote clearly states Nicolaus didn’t know and didn’t believe Rush would do such a thing. It’s obvious Rush killed them both. It wasn’t an accident; Rush took my William away from me. I didn’t know, Eddie. I didn’t know this envelope was in the safe all along, and I wouldn’t have ever found it if it wasn’t for you and Gracy.”
Her words thunder through my head. There’s a video showing Rush swapped those documents? Clearly, I didn’t check inside the envelope well enough, only the documents concerning the investment for a mall project where investors transferred thousands of dollars into a bank account. One of the two versions we now found was in Rush’s name and bank account.
But that fucker changed it all when he got caught and made it seem I was the one ripping everyone off. He must have done it in the days after the deaths of our fathers. So, ultimately there were three sets and no one knew about these two my father had safely stashed in his safe...to protect the evidence as he went out to investigate on his own.
I had my suspicions Rush had something to do with everything. Mainly due to a text I received right before my father left for that meeting where he let me know he needed to talk to me about Rush and the company.
Why the hell didn’t my father do things differently? Trusted another person to have his back? Trusted me. I’ve asked myself these questions many times. Even more because I’ve been stabbed in the back by one of my own brothers. And now I realize he not only betrayed me, my father, and his own father. But I’m sitting on evidence that gives motive for the murder of my father and his own.
I can’t wrap my head around the fact someone wouldn’t twist his hand about killing his own father. Over money? Or was Rush deep into something bigger he couldn’t get out of? Fuck. It’s driving me insane.
“What was it about me and Eddie that made you check the safe?” Gracy questions.
My mother’s face turns to my old lady and she gives her a warm, but sad smile. “You two reminded me of William and myself. When Eddie told me he was going to claim you as his old lady it made me want to hold the leather property cut William gave me when I became his old lady. It was in the safe. We put it there many years ago because I didn’t have to wear it. In the years of our relationship where he was building up the club I did. It has a patch on the back that says ‘Property of Barhamer.’ Wearing it made everyone aware who I belonged to, who protected me. Through the years everyone knew and respected me and it made wearing it unnecessary. I wanted to preserve it.” Her eyes trail off into the distance and I know her thoughts are with my father.
“I would love to see it,” Gracy says, her voice filled with emotion.
My mother’s head turns in her direction and she reaches out to stroke Gracy’s cheek. “I wanted to give the cut to Eddie so he could give it to you. But when I took it out of the safe, I noticed the envelope lying underneath it.”
“I’m going to make everything right,” I vow fiercely. “All you need to worry about is getting your strength back so you can enjoy sitting on the patio while watching the waves of the sea caress the beach. Remember the mornings and nights you and dad would spend together.”
That’s one thing my father did and never let anything or anyone influence that time of day. My mother gives me a radiant smile as she repeats the words my dad used to say. “Sunsets and sunrises are there to remind you of time passed and time to come, a solid promise of life and how the world keeps turning.”
“A life shared together and hold strong to embrace a new day,” I croak, words my mother used to say to my father in return.
A lone tear slides over her cheek. “Promise me one thing, Eddie.”
“Anything,” I tell her, my voice a strong promise.
“Don’t make the same mistakes your father made. Even if you think you’re protecting the ones you love, don’t. He never shared club information with me, but in return I never asked. But looking back now...I would have rather carried some of the burdens with him because in the end he thought he needed to take everything on himself. Maybe I’m taking this the wrong way, and with Rush’s father involved and Nicolaus being his VP and everything, maybe William felt like he couldn’t trust anyone, but I dread this is what got him killed. Gracy is right here, Eddie, and she’s strong. She’s been there for me every day since I met her. Don’t shut her out, don’t shut anyone out and think you can handle everything by yourself.”
Through all this turmoil of emotions I feel like I need to lighten the mood. My mother needs it more than anything. This leads me to quip, “I don’t need the sales pitch, Ma. I already claimed her and I intend to keep her; sunsets, sunrise, and everything in between while this world keeps on spinning.”
Fuck. The way her eyes start to water makes me doubt if this was the right thing to say.
She turns her head to Gracy. “I would like to have grandchildren very soon.”
“Ma!” I snap.
My mother chuckles vindictively and says, “It was worth a try to speed things up with me lying in here. I’m not dead yet, son. But, like I said, I would like to have some grandchildren. Embrace what you have. Fully embrace, Eddie.”
I understand her underlying tone. And I know she’s right and I have been trusting Gracy from the start, even more than others. I’ve even shared about the papers. We all learn from our mistakes and this is too big to handle for only one person.
I reach out and take Gracy’s hand. “I am, believe me, I am.”
Gracy gives me a shy smile and now even her eyes are filling with tears. Shit. We need to get out of here before mine start to water.
“Ma, I need to go handle things now. I’m putting a prospect in the hallway to keep an eye on you. If there’s anything, holler, okay? We’ll come by tomorrow to pick you up so don’t start to hit on any sexy doctors because come morning, we’re busting you out of here.”
She smacks my upper arm but grabs it right after and gives a slight pull. Knowing what she wants I lean in and give her a hug.
“Take my cut from the safe and give it to your old lady, let everyone see who she belongs to.”
“Will do, Ma,” I tell her, and give her an extra squeeze and a kiss on her forehead.
I take a step back and let my mother hug Gracy. They exchange some hushed words before we leave the room. Yates comes with us while Ash stays behind to keep watch.
I don’t expect anyone to come after my mother, but I’m not taking any chances. The three of us head for the clubhouse A black limo is parked in front and when we drive up to the gate and Yates punches in the code, I can see Clemente is sitting in the limo when he slides down the window. He drives up behind us and when Gracy and I get out of the car, he walks up and gives Gracy a hug.
I know they’re family but it bugs me to see Gracy in any other man’s arms. Crazy and unnecessary but it’s just the way my mind works.
“We need to talk,” I grunt.
Clemente steps back but stays close to Gracy. “Do you want to discuss everything inside? Or in the checked and safe surroundings of my limo?” Clemente says.
Remembering my mother mentioning the video that caught Rush swapping papers reminds me of technology. Normally I wouldn’t think twice about these things but what if someone is listening in on things? Doesn’t have to be Rush but Clemente mentioned how there were eyes on Rush and maybe there’s a chance we have a rat in the MC, an undercover cop, or a bug planted in church.
Dammit, I have to stop doubting everyone and everything. Even my mother told me not to make the same mistake my father made.
This makes me state, “Limo. But I need Gracy in there too, along with Yates.” I turn my attention to my VP. “Yates, give me two names of brothers you would trust blindly.”
He’s been around this MC when I wasn’t and knows what we’re up against and what happened in the past. All of this makes him the perfect man to know who we can trust to discuss a plan of action.
“Rooney and Rhett,” Yates replies instantly.
And that’s just it. No questions whatsoever why I’m asking or what needs to be done, a solid reply without thinking twice.
“Get them. And let the others know we’ll be right there to have a meeting with everyone, okay?” Yates nods at my words and heads into the clubhouse.
It doesn’t take long for him to return with Rooney and Rhett. All of us get inside the limo.
Rhett whistles low. “Dude, all that’s missing is the pink lights in the roof and you’d have a pimpmobile.”
The all black leather interior and the minibar in front of the large couch does give the impression a few people can have quite the party in here.
“Shut your mouth, imbecile,” Clemente grunts. “A simple pimp couldn’t afford this bulletproof vehicle. And there’s no way I’d pay women to step inside my limousine.”
“Well, excuuuuuuse me,” Rhett whispers underneath his breath.
Clemente gives him a glare and connects his eyes with me. “This is how you want to do this?”
It’s not hard to miss the undertone. He doesn’t like me bringing in others to discuss this. Though, I’m the one in charge. Besides, “I’d rather not do this at all but I see no other way around it.”
Gracy places her hand over my thigh and I cover it with mine. Clemente eyes the movement and I know deep down he’s still not happy Gracy and I are together.
Without taking the papers out of the pocket of my leather cut, I voice the words, “I have evidence Rush is the one who set me up to rot in jail. And with it a video too, all of it implies he’s also responsible for the death of his father and mine.”
There’s only silence ringing loud. I know Rhett and Rooney know about the accident my father and Rush’s father were involved in and they also know I went to jail for brazen fraud.
“The mall project. Rush put it all in my name when he knew it went to shit. I suspect Rush never expected my father and his to find out about what he was doing. Seeing Rush’s job was handling the administration parts and no one checked what he did. And for fucking real, how did he ever think to get away with scamming investors out of their money? We’re talking about hundreds of thousands here. He forged the papers and made it seem I was the one behind everything. Long story short, I have the original documents along with the ones Rush exchanged them with so the money all went into his back account. He changed them again when it went to shit and we all know they’re in my file as the so-called evidence that got me convicted. Because that fucker put my name on it.”
I shake my head because even for me all of this sounds confusing so, I add, “In the end there were three versions of the contract but there was only one others knew about. The original one, which was never used, the one with Rush’s bank account, and the one that got me convicted. I now own all of them and to make it all complete, there are also a few handwritten notes from my father along with a video. This video shows Rush opening the safe and clearly swapping files, everything points to Rush. Except,” I rub a hand over my face and release a deep breath. “For the life of me I can’t figure out the motive. What would he need all that money for? He was like me, involved in our father’s construction company. Rush had a damn desk job and was making good cash. I know he lived royally and where I invested my money—and was very lucky to be successful with it—he spent it on women and snorting blow but this? I don’t get it. And turning everything in won’t give me justice for the death of my father or the years I spent behind bars. My gut is telling me this is bigger and I can’t wrap my mind around it. I’m missing something and it might all blow back in my face, but...I need clear eyes, ears, and a sane mind to help me take the next step.”
More silence greets me until Clemente leans in and places his forearms on his knees. “The day your father died happened about a week before you went to jail? How long ago was that? About two, two and a half years ago, right? I looked into your case; after you were arrested, the money was returned. You made sure of it by selling some of your property. Even if you didn’t do it, and never pleaded guilty. Still, you were convicted of felony embezzlement...brazen fraud. The judge might have made an example out of you because of previous embezzlement cases in the months prior by others who were indeed guilty.”
I nod slowly. “Rush was also screwing my lawyer, making me feel like the bitch didn’t do anything to plead my case and instead got me a higher sentence, even if I changed lawyers. There were several complications. It didn’t matter if it was my first offense and the money and bank account was never linked with me, hell...they didn’t even exist. Like you said, the judge might have made an example out of me, but it didn’t help my case when I punched Rush in the face in front of the courthouse. Everything about my case has been one fuckup. I should be happy I only got the few years along with a reduced sentence because I could have killed that fucker with my bare hands if they gave me a chance.”
“I might know Rush’s motive for needing a load of cash,” Clemente says and his gaze slides from me to Gracy. “Something happened a few years ago. The timeline...it fits.”
