Your daddy thought he made out an old friend.
“The plan was for him to ride toward me and I would meet up to cover him and Rose. I didn’t make it in time. We were only seconds too late. A pickup rammed Cage from behind out of nowhere. The second cage that followed them pulled to a stop when they saw me and a few brothers rounding the bend.
“Shit got ugly. Spark took down the motherfucker driving the truck and we cleaned house with the others.”
“From the truck?” King cuts in.
“Yeah, there were about five of them. We put them all to ground.” Mix nods. “Your daddy and Rose were hurt bad. I didn’t want to move them, but if we didn’t, I knew we would lose them both. We loaded Rose and Cage in the bed of that truck those fuckers were in.”
He pauses with a haunted look in his eyes. His face has turned red as he speaks. I can tell he’s reliving it all.
He continues. “The other truck… I saw that motherfucker. I saw him with my own two eyes. I should have put him to ground for what he did. That night he beat Jewels to death in front of those babies, I should have killed him then.”
“Misty’s father?” King says tightly.
Mix nods. “Pop has had a hard-on for your daddy and me for a long time.” He takes another pause to shake his head. The sadness surrounding him is palpable.
“Jewels was a wild one. Misty reminds me a lot of her. She cornered Cage the same way Misty did you, King. She was content with taking what she wanted. Rose had been playing hard to get then. So, Cage took the bait.
“When Jewels came to me claiming she was pregnant with Cage’s son, I promised I’d protect her. Pop hadn’t put two and two together. Jacky had those hazel green eyes, but I’ve known your daddy since we were in diapers. I knew his mama too. She had those eyes.
“By the time Cage found out, he didn’t want Rose to know. She and Jewels locked horns whenever they were around each other. Jewels would press Rose’s buttons. And that Rose had a temper.” He chuckles.
King furrows his brows. “What are you saying, old man?”
“Jacky is your little brother. Pop eventually figured it out. He blamed me and Cage for his life falling apart and for his beating Jewels like that. Pop was crazy, jealous, and greedy to begin with. Our friendship had long since crumbled. We all came up together, but he didn’t show his true colors until your daddy became prez.
“It didn’t matter that Cage wasn’t the only one Jewels cheated on him with. He had a hard-on for your daddy. All Pop talked about was becoming prez someday. And then it happened for your daddy.”
“Wasn’t he the club treasurer?” I question.
Mix nods. “Until he started to unravel. Cage wasn’t going to let him take the club down with his shit.”
“So, are you telling me Pop is the one that’s put a price on our heads,” King says with narrowed eyes.
Mix gives a nod. “It’s been a long time coming. He’s been playing the shadow, trying to find the right pockets and support to do it. Some of the brothers who didn’t like the changes your daddy made early on left. They’re the ones who helped Pop try to take Cage down.”
“Un-fucking-believable,” King bellows.
“No one thought you would step up to take your daddy’s place. They had plans to challenge and overthrow me when I took over. I was too old for that shit. I knew you would handle things. Cage felt the same way.”
“Hold on,” King and I say in unison.
We look at each other, then turn back to Mix. “You keep talking about my daddy like he survived,” King says as he steps toward Mix and tilts his head.
“He and Rose did, for the most part,” Mix says as he looks between us both.
“You didn’t think they could kill your old man did you?” The sound of a raspy voice comes from behind us.
King and I spin around at the same time. Standing tall in the doorway is a scarred-face Cage. He looks older, but bigger and more sinister than I remember. His golden hair is tied back as if to show his scars with pride.
As I take him in, I notice the slight tumor on his right arm. Cage sees me home in on it and flexes his chest, taking a