Chapter 31

JUSTIN

Justin was nervous as hell as they went into the back banquet room of the upscale restaurant on Wednesday to find the Bianchi men sitting and waiting.

They all were very good-looking with classic Italian dark hair and olive skin.

Luca stood up and offered his hand to Justin. “Nice to see you again, Mr. Mariner. Let me introduce my father, Giovanni Bianchi, and my brother, Matteo.”

Justin released his hand. “Thank you for meeting with us. I need to ask some questions, and I need my table to hear what you say.”

“I understand, Mr. Mariner, but what can we possibly know that can be so important?” Gio asked, swirling his wine as the others sat down.

“I know that Luca has probably told you about my relationship with Avery,” Justin started, but Matteo cut him off before he could say anything else.

“Yes, it seems like you hurt my little sister deeply by your club being assholes.”

“Matteo! I told you to let the man talk,” Gio scolded, and Matteo held out his hands in surrender.

“You have to understand our position, Mr. Bianchi. We had to run a check on her to make sure our organization was safe,” Mikey reasoned.

“I’m sure that you do the same thing. You have to protect your family and your men.”

“Si, we do things like this. But we also take into consideration the actual person involved.

“And when you talk with Avery for one second, you know that that woman could never and would never hurt anyone she encountered. EVER,” Luca countered.

Justin nodded. “I agree with you, Luca. Avery is unlike anyone I have ever met. She isn’t one of us and that’s why I love her. She brings a sense of peace and calm to the fucking crazy life we live.

“So please, I am begging you, tell me and my table what the truth is. Does she know about this life? About what you do?”

Gio sighed, hearing the hope in the large man’s voice, and he started the story of his relationship with the Harper family. He told them everything he told Avery the week before.

Luca and Matteo could see the excitement on Justin’s face as he understood that she really was innocent and knew nothing about the underground world they all walked in.

Gio finished, “I held that little girl when she was hours old and once her father, my best friend, placed her in my arms, I knew I would never be the same.

“Avery is special and I don’t know how to describe it.

“I call her a little flower in Italian because one of my favorite memories of her is running in my gardens when she was three, smelling each flower she came across.

“Matteo and Luca were trying to get her back to the house for lunch, and it took them almost 20 minutes because she couldn’t leave without smelling each and every one of them.”

“She is very different, gentlemen, in every way, shape, and form,” Luca added. “She is my little sister and better than every single one of us; way too good for any of us or this life.”

“And yeah, we fucked up by not telling her about this life, but that was at her father’s request. I loved my uncle and wanted to honor his wishes and protect my little sister,” Matteo added.

“I never in a million years would have imagined that she would catch the eye of an MC president. But now that she has, you have to know that I will do everything I can to make sure she is safe and happy.”

Justin nodded. “I understand. That’s all I have ever wanted. Avery is special, and I do love her.”

“So do you have the information you need?” Gio asked.

Justin looked at his brothers and saw the shame and remorse on their faces, knowing that they had misjudged her and interfered in his personal life.

“Yes, Mr. Bianchi, I think we do,” he said, standing and offering his hand again to shake all three men’s hands. “I can’t thank you enough for agreeing to this meeting.”

Justin turned to go, and his men got up to follow, but they all stopped when they heard, “Is Avery okay? We haven’t heard back from her since I spoke with her.”

Justin turned. “What do you mean?”

Gio sighed again. “After we talked and I told her the truth, she said she needed time to process everything. When we text, she only gives one-word answers and won’t answer our calls.

“I just want to make sure she is handling this well. We can’t lose her.”

Justin saw the fear in the men’s eyes and knew they loved her just as much as he did.

“Well, according to my daughter, she has been at school every day, so I am assuming she is.

“I pulled the guy I had watching her so she wouldn’t get more upset, so I don’t know her comings and goings. I can check when I get back and let you know.”

“We would appreciate that,” Gio replied, and the men started walking away.

“Oh and Justin?” Luca called, and Justin turned. “Can you convince her to get rid of that damn roller skate she drives? No one over 5’5’’ can get into the thing.”

All the men on both sides laughed. “I totally understand. I will see what I can do.”

They drove back to the clubhouse they were staying at and immediately went into the chapel to meet.

“Justin, I just want to say—” Mikey started, but Justin growled, “Don’t say a fucking word. Any of you!”

All the men sat stoic and waited for him to continue, knowing how upset he was. Justin stood up and paced for a second, then leaned over the table and looked at each man before he continued.

“I have given my life to this club. Every fucking day of my life—since I was born—I have been a member of Devil’s Reign, and it has been an honor to serve.

“I have given up time with my daughter as she grew up, and I know I will have to in the future as well.

“I knew what being president entailed, and I wanted to do my best for you—my brothers and everyone in our family.

“But the shit that has gone down with Avery is the LAST fucking time that I allow any single one of you to interfere in my personal life.

“I may have lost the woman I love because your paranoid thinking and jumping to conclusions forced me to end the second-best thing I have ever had in my life.”

They all watched him and felt the anger and pain rolling off him, almost like a caged tiger.

“I will not tolerate another episode like this. I want you all to know and understand this. I will take drastic measures and replace the whole table if I need to. I will have men that are loyal to me.

“If you don’t like that or can’t live with it, you tell me now and I will make arrangements, no hard feelings. You take a few minutes and think about that. I’m gonna go get us some drinks.”

Justin went out to the main room and to the bar. He had a sweet butt put some beers, a bottle of whiskey, and some shot glasses on a tray.

He waited a few minutes then went back in, setting the tray down and letting everyone pick their poison. He sat back in the head chair and let them take a drink.

“So what’s the verdict?” Justin asked.

“Justin, we are all sorry about what happened the way we acted. We thought we were protecting you,” Mitch started, “but we can see that our prejudices got the better of us.

“We discussed it and we are all on board with you. There will be no more interference in your personal life unless you ask.”

Justin nodded, pounded the gavel, took his beer, then went to his room to think of a way to get Avery back. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, but he wasn’t giving up.