Golden Atonement - Chapter 70

Epilogue

Three days after the Rockefeller Tree Lighting Ceremony,

Seeing the time, I closed my journal and slipped it inside the top drawer of my desk.

It was something I started recently.

I don’t know why, but I made an effort to write in it every day.

I think I read somewhere that journaling was an excellent form of therapy. Apparently, it helped get out words that sometimes were hard to physically say. I had noticed a few weeks before Emma left that she had started one and figured why not give it a try?

I didn’t know if it was working or not.

I guess only time would tell.

Getting to my feet, I headed out of my office. Turning off the light, I closed the door behind me. Making my way down the hall, I remembered the large Christmas tree Remi and the others picked out and spent hours decorating. Never in my life could I remember a Christmas tree in the clubhouse. Not even when Pops ran the place. It just wasn’t done. The club was different from back then.

I knew that now.

Yes, we were still a motorcycle club, and yes, we would happily step over that imaginary line to do what needed to be done, but the fact was the Golden Skulls were more than just a motorcycle club.

We were a fucking family and always would be.

Walking through the clubhouse, I absently turned off lights while I made my way toward the common room, when the front door opened and in walked a young girl.

Stopping dead in my tracks, I stared at the familiar face when she turned and looked at me.

“Uncle Reaper?”

Before I could utter her name, the girl ran to me, crying, while Jules walked in behind her, along with two toddlers.

Walking over to the woman, I said, “Jules? What are you doing here?”

“Trust me,” the woman huffed. “If I didn’t have to be here, I wouldn’t be. But Vicious showed up in the middle of the damn night with his kids in tow, handed them over and told me to get them safely to you.”

“Where is Vicious?”

“Hell if I know.” The woman sighed when she walked the two toddlers over to a couch. “Like I said, he just handed me his kids and left. He looked like shit, Reaper. Ain’t joking around either. When I asked where Linsey was, he said nothing, then barked at me to get his kids to you.”

Kneeling before Elizabeth I asked, “Sweetie, what happened? Where is your dad and Linsey?”

The young girl sniffed, shook her head, and threw her arms around me. Looking up at Jules, I frowned.

“I got the same reaction,” the woman said, taking a seat on the couch. “Every time I mention either one, she starts to cry.”

Carefully extracting Elizabeth, I handed her over to Jules, then reached for my phone and tried dialing Vicious myself, only to hear, “The number you have dialed has been disconnected and is no longer in service.”

Frowning, I dialed Montana.

Waiting for the call to connect, Remi walked in from the kitchen.

“Max, it’s late. Let’s—” she stopped mid-sentence. The second Elizabeth saw her, she ran to my wife, crying.

My wife looked at me for answers as she held the crying girl.

“I don’t know, babe. Vicious’ phone is disconnected, and Montana isn’t answering his phone.”

“Call Maxim,” my woman instructed as she consoled Elizabeth.

Doing as she asked, the call connected.

“Maxwell.”

“Maxim, what the hell is going on in New York. Vicious’ kids just showed up without their parents.”

“It’s bad, Reaper. Really bad.” Maxim sighed. “There was an incident at Rockefeller Center a few days ago. I would have called sooner, but information has been fluid. What I can tell you is Vladmir and Montana have been shot.”

I quickly looked at my wife.

“They alive?”

“Barely,” the man said. “Vladmir took a bullet to the gut. Montana took two: one to his shoulder, and the other to his side. Look, Reaper, I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just gonna say it. Linsey is dead. Steele showed up at the tree lighting ceremony and before anyone could take a shot, he slit her neck. Vicious lost his shit, Fury too. Both men had to be locked down. In the midst of everything, Malice’s twin brother showed up and all hell broke loose. It’s a clusterfuck here. Malice took off after his twin, Mercy has Rage and Torment looking for Vicious, and Fury dropped his cut when he learned that Montana didn’t fulfill his marker to you. He blames Montana for Linsey’s death. Vicious vowed revenge. Hate to say this, brother, but the Soulless Sinners are imploding.”