Page 56 of Venom's Sting
Amy’s expression clears. “What? Edmund was there too?”
I shake my head, “No, but he found them. I guess that’s when they started to cook up their plan.”
She looks thoughtful.
“We have a contact at the Las Salinas PD. Between arresting your grandfather’s killer and catching the two escapees who’ve been hiding out on your family’s ranch, he’s managed to earn himself a promotion,” I add.
“That’s a two birds, one stone situation if ever there was one,” she responds.
“I agree. That only leaves Edmund to deal with. He’s been kind of running the show and had his finger in every dirty little pie down at the ranch.”
“Well, unless I miss my guess, he’s probably the one my grandfather willed his ranch to. That means he’s going to be a very rich man,” Amy says.
I realize I never told her the whole reason this mess started, “Interesting you should mention that,” I tell her. “Our club attorney, Smoke, started looking for your grandfather’s will. Edmund was convinced that it had been changed in favor of your mother—that was the reason they kidnapped her. Long story short, they were hoping that they could convince the old man to change it to make them the heirs. Problem is, when our attorney looked into it, Rufus didn’t actually have a will, at least not one that had been filed or officially notarized.”
“So they abducted my mom for no reason?” she says.
I nod, “Yeah, that’s about the size of it.”
Amy looks thoughtful, I guess it’s a lot to take in. Then she says, “What does that mean in the context of my grandfather’s death?”
“In the state of California, if a man dies without a will, then all his assets are divided equally among his children. Smoke reckons that means that it will be divided equally between your mom and all four of Rufus’s sons, assuming there’s proof that they are his sons. Naturally, Big Joe and Hal’s share will go into a trust for them. If Edmund knows what’s good for him, then he’ll agree to forfeit his share in exchange for safe passage out of our territory and not being pursued by the Legion for his many crimes against your family and our club.”
“Oh, wow,” she responds, clearly shocked by this turn of events. “I was not expecting him to roll over quite that easily.”
I pull her in tight, “That leaves your mom, Dan, and the ingrates. A four-way split of seven thousand acres and the ranch, plus whatever other businesses Rufus had, is going to be life changing money for the four of them.”
Her face brightens, “I’m glad about how the situation was handled.”
“To be honest, I think Siege and Rigs just wanted to reach a solution, so they could go home and forget this ever happened.”
Her face flushes a light pink, “I can understand that. Maybe we should suggest Edmund’s share goes to your club for all their help? The clubhouse got damaged and that’s not gonna be cheap to repair.”
“I believe that was brought up, but our club officers refused.” Pulling a stray strand of hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear, I say, “I’m sorry grandchildren don’t have inheritance rights in California.”
She makes a dismissive gesture with one hand. “I don’t care about my grandfather’s money. I never did. I’m just happy my mom is inheriting enough to set her up for life. She deserves some peace and happiness after everything she’s been through.”
My phone beeps again and I pick it up. “It’s a message from Smoke, saying that he’s meeting with Dan and your mom about the funeral and estate. They’ve retained him to guide them through this process. Apparently, your grandfather had some oil and gas rights that need to be dealt with immediately upon his death or it might slow down the process of sorting out his estate. Your mom is requesting your presence to help her understand the situation better.” Looking up from my phone, I ask, “Are you good to go or do you need to rest some more?”
“No. I got a few hours of sleep. If my mom needs me, I’m good to go.”
I’m a bit sad that my dream of spending the day in bed with my woman has been spoiled, but the sooner we deal with this, then the sooner we can make a start on the rest of our lives.
Chapter 20
Ven
It’s been a couple of months since everything went down at the Grayson farm. Siege, Rigs, and Smoke did a damn good job of unraveling a complicated situation and ensuring that everyone involved got what was coming to them in one way or another. There are still some legal issues to work through, but hopefully that’ll all be finalized soon.
Everyone has been working hard to put the whole situation behind them. My mom’s ankle has healed up. She’s taken a real shine to both Rage and Carol, so we’ve become like an extended family.
Today is a very special day. I pull up in front of the clubhouse to find Amy waiting for me. She’s wearing jeans and a red blouse that looks amazing against her black hair and pale skin. She does a twirl for me and shows off the new property cut. When we were in a fake relationship, she had one of our generic ‘Property of Savage Legion MC’ cuts, but now my name is proudly on her back. A surge of pride flashes through me on seeing my woman wearing my name.
She comes running out and climbs onto the back of my bike like she’s been doing it her whole life. Grabbing her helmet out of my rear storage compartment, she puts it on quickly and slides her arms around me. Everything about this interaction feels smooth and natural. Amy was born to be a biker’s old lady, mine to be exact. She might have come into my life by accident, but I couldn’t have picked a better woman to call my own.
I rev my motor and off we go. One hand drifts to my vest pocket to make sure I have what I need. A little hard square presses against my palm and I’m reassured. We speed down the highway along the coast, a gentle breeze swirling around us and the salty ocean air filling our nostrils. I enjoy snaking around the curves along the familiar route to my maman’s restaurant.
When we pull in and I cut my motor, Amy takes off her helmet and runs her fingers through her hair. The minute she sees all the other bikes, her mouth falls open.