the strongest or the stupidest motherfucker alive. “How bad is it?”
“Late stage,” Buddha muttered. “I faked a trip and had my lymph nodes taken out while you were off on your honeymoon, but it’s in my bones too.”
Torch couldn’t find any words, his brain was under attack from all different directions.
Mace broke their tense silence. “Boss, why the hell didn’t you tell us?”
“It’s nobody else’s problem, this club’s got enough money issues to deal with,” Buddha calmly replied.
“It’s not our problem?” Mace fumed. “That’s the dumbest shit I ever heard. The whole point of this club is loyalty and brotherhood, you don’t just freeze out your family and you sure as shit don’t go making back-alley deals on your own. Fuck, you of all people should know that.”
Buddha sighed. “If I’d thought this whole thing was even a little risky, I never would’ve done it. I’m sorry, brothers, I really am. Not sure what else I can say right now except I’ll find a way to fix it.”
Part irate over the betrayal, part scared shitless over the possibility of Buddha dying, Torch struggled to get his vocal cords to work. “I just don’t… Shit… Goddamn it, man.” That was as much as he could choke out. Anger quickly faded into hurt.
Why the hell was this happening? The man was only fifty-one. Granted, the life expectancy of your average outlaw wasn’t much longer than that, but fuck, Buddha had narrowly escaped death more times than a cat. It was wishful thinking, but he’d always just seemed invincible. Torch couldn’t even remember him having the damn flu.
“You should’ve been upfront, brother,” Mace said. “There’s easier ways to get money.”
“Easier than picking up a bag and dropping it off the next day?” Buddha challenged. “Where else would I get it?”
“The club—”
“The club’s profits are down, there’s nothing to borrow against. And I already took out a second mortgage on my house last year to fix the electric and plumbing, so there’s no equity there. I know you boys think I’ve lost my mind, but I considered all the options. This opportunity came along right as I was about to give up, it just seemed like a sign or some shit.”
“And none of us would’ve argued, man,” Mace himself argued. “All I’m saying is we could’ve taken precautions. We need a leader, not a fucking martyr.”
Buddha rubbed his bald head. “I know. I fucked up.”
Fucked up was an understatement, but Torch knew there was no point in beating a dead horse. “It’s done,” he grumbled. “You think the seller set you up?”
“No, I’ve known him since grade school. The man builds furniture, he doesn’t have any criminal connections. He needed the money to get his daughter and grandkids out of foreclosure.”
Torch closed his eyes and thought hard about what to do. “Alright,” he finally spoke up, “you’re gonna focus on your chemo while we find the pieces of shit who stole from us and try to get those coins back. In the meantime, we need to pay off Cora or we’ll have an even bigger problem on our hands. I’ll talk to Liv about the cash. I don’t know if it’ll be enough, but she’s got money spread out.”
“Over my goddamn dead body,” Buddha snapped. “Livia’s done more than fucking enough for this club. She may be different, but she’s still a woman and can’t be a member. I know you two have an arrangement, but this is my health and my mess to clean up. You’re not telling her about Cora or the money. That’s an order.”
“How the fuck do you figure you can give orders after the shit you just pulled?” Torch seethed.
“I’m still your president. You wanna call a vote and strip my patch when we get back? Fine. But until then, I’m telling you to leave your old lady out of this.”
Torch shook his head in frustration. “When are you supposed to get with Cora?”
“The day after tomorrow. I’ll talk to him tonight, I’m
“Late stage,” Buddha muttered. “I faked a trip and had my lymph nodes taken out while you were off on your honeymoon, but it’s in my bones too.”
Torch couldn’t find any words, his brain was under attack from all different directions.
Mace broke their tense silence. “Boss, why the hell didn’t you tell us?”
“It’s nobody else’s problem, this club’s got enough money issues to deal with,” Buddha calmly replied.
“It’s not our problem?” Mace fumed. “That’s the dumbest shit I ever heard. The whole point of this club is loyalty and brotherhood, you don’t just freeze out your family and you sure as shit don’t go making back-alley deals on your own. Fuck, you of all people should know that.”
Buddha sighed. “If I’d thought this whole thing was even a little risky, I never would’ve done it. I’m sorry, brothers, I really am. Not sure what else I can say right now except I’ll find a way to fix it.”
Part irate over the betrayal, part scared shitless over the possibility of Buddha dying, Torch struggled to get his vocal cords to work. “I just don’t… Shit… Goddamn it, man.” That was as much as he could choke out. Anger quickly faded into hurt.
Why the hell was this happening? The man was only fifty-one. Granted, the life expectancy of your average outlaw wasn’t much longer than that, but fuck, Buddha had narrowly escaped death more times than a cat. It was wishful thinking, but he’d always just seemed invincible. Torch couldn’t even remember him having the damn flu.
“You should’ve been upfront, brother,” Mace said. “There’s easier ways to get money.”
“Easier than picking up a bag and dropping it off the next day?” Buddha challenged. “Where else would I get it?”
“The club—”
“The club’s profits are down, there’s nothing to borrow against. And I already took out a second mortgage on my house last year to fix the electric and plumbing, so there’s no equity there. I know you boys think I’ve lost my mind, but I considered all the options. This opportunity came along right as I was about to give up, it just seemed like a sign or some shit.”
“And none of us would’ve argued, man,” Mace himself argued. “All I’m saying is we could’ve taken precautions. We need a leader, not a fucking martyr.”
Buddha rubbed his bald head. “I know. I fucked up.”
Fucked up was an understatement, but Torch knew there was no point in beating a dead horse. “It’s done,” he grumbled. “You think the seller set you up?”
“No, I’ve known him since grade school. The man builds furniture, he doesn’t have any criminal connections. He needed the money to get his daughter and grandkids out of foreclosure.”
Torch closed his eyes and thought hard about what to do. “Alright,” he finally spoke up, “you’re gonna focus on your chemo while we find the pieces of shit who stole from us and try to get those coins back. In the meantime, we need to pay off Cora or we’ll have an even bigger problem on our hands. I’ll talk to Liv about the cash. I don’t know if it’ll be enough, but she’s got money spread out.”
“Over my goddamn dead body,” Buddha snapped. “Livia’s done more than fucking enough for this club. She may be different, but she’s still a woman and can’t be a member. I know you two have an arrangement, but this is my health and my mess to clean up. You’re not telling her about Cora or the money. That’s an order.”
“How the fuck do you figure you can give orders after the shit you just pulled?” Torch seethed.
“I’m still your president. You wanna call a vote and strip my patch when we get back? Fine. But until then, I’m telling you to leave your old lady out of this.”
Torch shook his head in frustration. “When are you supposed to get with Cora?”
“The day after tomorrow. I’ll talk to him tonight, I’m
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