Ice (Bones MC 14)

Ice (Bones MC 14)
Marteeka Karland
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2023 Marteeka Karland

“Got some changes comin’.” Cain, president of Bones MC, wasn’t one to mince words. I could tell by the look on his face whatever was getting ready to happen was huge. It made me nervous. Cain was also the only dad I’d ever known. He had always been straightforward about club business with me and my brother, Daniel, since we’d first gained our patched member status. The fact that I didn’t have a preview of what was getting ready to happen made me doubly nervous. “I’ve given this a lot of thought. Torpedo and I are in agreement, so this is happening.” There was silence around Church as we all waited for what I was certain would be a bombshell. “I’m stepping down as president of Bones.”

“Fuck,” I hissed.

My brother, Daniel, shook his head slightly, a denial when he knew Cain would never fuck around about something like this. “Son of a bitch. Why didn’t he say anything?” Daniel’s muttered question was meant for my ears alone.

“Beats the fuck outta me,” I answered just as softly.

I’d have thought the rest of the club would be murmuring or protesting or… something, but the shocked silence around us told me no one else had a preview of this either. I looked around at the faces of the men in the room. Most of them kept stony profiles, but a couple raised their eyebrows or shuffled their feet.

“I’m stepping down because I can’t run both ExFil and Bones any more. Too old for this fuckin’ shit.” The officers smirked while the rest of us just glanced at each other. “ExFil has to keep going. It’s the main way we fund Bones and keep us all comfortable without going too far outside the law. So I’m going to throw my focus into the company. Keepin’ Argent Tech on our side as long as possible will help not only ExFil, but Bones as well.”

“You sure about this, Cain? We still need you here.” That came from Deke. He was closer to my age. A test pilot of the extreme variety. His grandfather had been a test pilot back in the glory days and Deke was more like him than modern-day pilots. He preferred to fly the fuckin’ planes himself. Or helicopters. Or fucking hot air balloons. As far as I knew, there wasn’t a thing the man couldn’t pilot.

His sentiment was echoed around the room. Cain smiled. “Guys, I ain’t leavin’ Bones. Just steppin’ down as president. I want to spend some time with my granddaughter and I’m not ready to hand over ExFil to anyone. Something has to give. Much as I love my club, I’m spread too thin. Besides, I can still be part of Bones without being president.” He snorted. “And I’m fuckin’ tired.” That got more chuckles.

“I’ll be stepping down too,” Torpedo said. “Me and Bohannon are heading up another chapter in Nashville. Kiss of Death MC left a void there when they imploded that hasn’t been filled. We’re going in with the idea of stabilizing the region. Filling the gap and adding another club close to home to have Bones’ back. We’ll be sister clubs just like Salvation’s Bane. To do that, we need to set up a presence there.”

I glanced at my brother, who met my gaze and held it. As much as it was hard to live in Cain’s shadow, I knew I still had a lot to learn from him. We both did. “Where he goes, we go.” Daniel nodded his agreement. It eased something inside me. If Cain moved to South Carolina where the ExFil headquarters was, we’d go with him. It would mean we could help Mom with our younger siblings as well as keep an active role in ExFil.

“So. As to who’s taking over.” Cain glanced at Torpedo, who grinned and gave him a slight nod. “Obviously, the patched members will have to take a vote to decide, but we’re going to leave you with our choice of replacements. I’d hope you’d give them our full weight when you consider them. Neither of us gives the recommendations lightly.” There was a smattering of murmurs all around.

“This oughta be good,” I muttered.

Daniel grunted.

“For Bohannon’s position of Sergeant at Arms.” Cain nodded to Bohannon, who took up the announcement.

“Stunner. He doesn’t say much, but he sees everything.” Bohannon grinned at the other man. “He’s also harder on himself than anyone else could ever be so you’ll never have to worry about security being an issue.”

Someone called out from the back. “Just don’t say anything about his wife.” That got several laughs. Everyone knew not to mess with Suzie. Not that anyone would. Suzie was the pride and joy of the club. Stunner was her fierce protector and defender of her honor. The only man in the club who’d ever disparaged her had finally ended up kicked out. After he got the fucking shit beat out of him by Stunner. Twice. Pig had very nearly died after that last incident. Would have if Cain hadn’t stopped it.

Stunner didn’t say anything. His face was hard, the weight of what had just been put on his shoulders obvious and considerable. He wasn’t the most sociable of men, but he would definitely have been my pick for SAA. Guy was protective of the club in general but Suzie in particular. And their baby girl? Yeah. God help any man who tried to date that girl when she grew up.

He was also Cain’s son-in-law.

“As for president and vice president…” Cain looked at Torpedo. The other man nodded once, his lips curling on one end before speaking.

“We’d like Cliff to take on the role of president while Daniel picks up vice president.”

“What the fuck?” My outraged question came out more of a husky squawk. This couldn’t be happening.

Cain raised an eyebrow. “Problem?”

“Damned straight there’s a problem,” I said, my temper spiking even as I broke out in a sweat. “Surely to God there’s someone more qualified here than me, Cain.”

“Ditto,” Daniel said, stepping up behind me. “For that matter, you’ve been running the club and ExFil for years. You never said anything about stepping down. What the fuck?”

“I’m saying it now. You sayin’ you ain’t up for this task?” He narrowed his eyes, taking us both in. I’d seen that look many times in the past. Usually when one or both of us tried to defy our father. And, yeah. We usually did it together, thinking we could get away with it. We never did.

“Cain…”

“No, Cliff. You guys are ready. Wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise.” He shrugged. “But it’s not up to me now. You guys are our recommendations. Patched members get the final say.”

“No need to drag our feet,” Arkham spoke up. “I vote we accept all three into the specified roles.”

“I’ll second that,” Data said with a grin. “I watched all three of ‘em grow up. Can’t ask for no better.”

“Well, that was fast.” Torpedo grinned. “Guess we weren’t the only ones who knew the youngsters were ready to take over.”

“Anyone opposed?” No one said anything. I looked around the room, trying to get a feel for who would be my allies and who would pick at my heels, trying to trip me up. But I saw only friends. Family. Bones could be a rough MC, but we were all brothers. If anyone in the club threw their weight behind us, they meant it.

“Fuck me,” I muttered.

“And ditto again.” Daniel just shook his head.

“Well, we can’t have a president and vice president with no road names.” Carnage said thoughtfully. “You guys resisted until now. Got somethin’ in mind?”

“Ice,” Shadow said, stepping forward with a big grin. “I seen Cliff fight. There’s ice in his veins when he gets focused. He’s Ice.”

“What about Dan?” I wasn’t sure who spoke, but my heart beat fast. This was happening. I stuck my chin up. Well, if we had to take road names, I couldn’t think of a better way to gain them than this.

Shadow grinned. “Cyclone. ‘Cause he’s a fuckin’ whirlwind when he needs to be. Man can create devastation in the most stubborn of trailer parks.”

“Oh, man…” Daniel sighed in resignation. “Really, Shadow?”

The big man shrugged. “They fit. You know they do.”

“Trailer park. You had to bring the fuckin’ trailer park into it.” Dan tried to scowl at Shadow, but the smile tugging at his lips finally won until he chuckled. “Son of a bitch.”

I looked at my brother. The pride in his face was something I was pretty sure was mirrored on my own. As much of a surprise as this was, it made me proud to think the club I was raised in, had handpicked for my brother and Suzie to make our home with, was confident enough in me to give me and Daniel the reins.

“They definitely fit.” I held my father’s gaze. “You sure this is what’s best for Bones?”

“If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t have recommended it. You and Dan have lived and breathed this club since you first came here. You’ve done everything I’ve asked of you and you’ve learned willingly. It’s time to put that knowledge to work.”