I think?” I asked.
He nodded. “Talk to me.”
“I think you have to break it down. The medical professionals are doing their thing on the cancer end, and while they work on that, you need to put your energy into handling what you do best.”
“Holding a gun to their heads?” he asked with a smirk.
I smiled and shook my head. “No, babe, I’m talking about the club. You’re the VP, it’s your duty to step up when the president can’t. Whether it’s desperation, fear, anger, or sadness, you need to take all those intense emotions and channel them into keeping the MC running the way it’s meant to, the way Buddha’s groomed you to do. If you wanna help him, take that stress off his shoulders so he can focus every ounce of energy he has into beating this shit. Half the battle is mental, give him the peace of mind of knowing things won’t fall apart while he’s fighting for his life and that his place will be there when he makes it through . Who else can step up to the plate?”
Torch didn’t say anything, he just sat there staring at me like I was talking gibberish.
“What? Wrong answer?” I asked.
“No, it’s exactly the right answer,” he muttered. “I’m just trying to figure out what the fuck I ever did to get so lucky. I don’t know a single old lady who ever encouraged her man to do more with the club.”
I grabbed another stool and planted my ass in front of him. “You didn’t get lucky, I fell in love with you for the man you are and your loyalty to the brotherhood is a big part of that. Why wouldn’t I encourage you to make it a priority at a time like this? I don’t want you to change, I didn’t marry you to turn you into someone else.”
“What if I get really fucking fat and bald? Maybe get all my teeth knocked out?”
I laughed. “Then we’ll get you a heavy-duty sex swing, dental implants, and a razor for your head. Unless you have a lumpy one under all that hair, then we’ll have to talk about a hair transplant.”
He chuckled and kissed my hand. “You know stepping up to the plate means less time at home, right?”
“I know, babe,” I assured him. “Just remember, you made a promise not to hide important shit from me. And if there’s anything I can do to help Buddha or the club, you let me know, okay? No questions asked.”
“Yeah… Okay.”
There was something about the way he glanced down for a split-second that had me wondering whether there was more to the story. But it was hard to tell whether I was reading too much into it or if he was just drained, so I decided to let it go and transition to a different discussion. “Listen, while we’re on the topic of disclosure, I should probably tell you I got offered a hacking job a couple days ago. I haven’t decided whether to take it yet.”
His face perked up at having something else to talk about. “How does that work? Somebody emailed you?”
“No, Silas approached me in person actually. He’s a repeat client, I’ve done probably thirty or forty jobs for him.”
Torch pursed his lips. “Who is he and how did he find you?”
“No idea honestly, Silas is a mystery even I can’t figure out. He has contacts everywhere, from the mob to Feds to international warlords, but he’s always done right by me. There was a job early on where I had to break into a guarded server room and he set me up with all kinds of training, everything from guns to self-defense to losing a tail. I mean, I was already the fighting kind and had some street smarts from my time being Mitch’s errand bitch, but Silas helped me step up my game. For him it was just an investment, for me it was a lifesaver. Mitch greenlit me right around the same time and I managed to get away from his goons twice when they caught up to me because I knew what to do. And I really can’t complain about the stupid amounts of money he throws my way to be discrete, so I haven’t turned him down too often. There’s only been a few jobs I couldn’t do from behind a screen though.”
“Is this one of those?” Torch asked, looking somewhat concerned. “You’re not a woman on the run with nothing to