Chapter 52 Jaxon's guilt
Jaxon's POV
I sat in my father's office and hated myself.
The federal files were spread across the desk in front of me. Years of cooperation documented in meticulous detail. Payments, information exchanges, protection agreements. All of it signed by Vincent Romano, president of the Steel Wolves MC.
My father had been a rat. A federal informant who sold out rival clubs to keep his own people safe. And I'd known about it for weeks since he died without telling anyone.
The worst part was understanding why he did it. The letters from who I presumed to be federal agents made it clear. ‘Cooperate or watch the club get destroyed. Trade information about enemies or lose everything’
He chose the lesser evil and betrayed other clubs and people with shady businesses to protect his family.
Now that same choice was being forced on Sage. Marry a man she didn't love or watch everyone she cared about die.
I picked up one of the letters and read it again. The federal agent who'd handled Vincent was named Morrison. He promised full immunity for any crimes committed by Steel Wolves members in exchange for information about the other MCs and their operations.
Vincent had fed them details for years about drug routes and weapons shipments. Anything that would hurt the club's enemies without directly exposing Steel Wolves business.
But somewhere along the line, Robert Cordova found out. And dad had him killed to keep the secret safe.
The guilt of that decision must have eaten my father alive. Maybe that's another reason why he made the marriage contract with Diego. It was insurance in case everything fell apart. It was a way to protect Sage even if the federal cooperation was exposed.
But dad was dead now, and I was left holding all his secrets with no idea how to fix the mess.
My phone rang. Elena's name flashed on the screen.
I let it ring twice before answering. "What?"
"Good evening to you too, President Romano." Her voice was smooth and pleasant. "I'm calling about the wedding arrangements."
"Sage hasn't made her decision yet." I snapped at her.
"Actually, I heard she announced her intention to honor the contract at your little club meeting tonight. Congratulations on reaching an agreement."
Word traveled fast. Someone at that meeting had talked to the Blood Sisters already.
"She needs more time," I said.
"Time for what? To change her mind? To let that enforcer convince her to run?" Elena laughed softly. "No, I don't think so. Diego and I have discussed it and we've decided to move up the timeline."
My grip tightened on the phone. "What timeline?"
"The wedding will take place in two weeks instead of one month. That gives your sister fourteen days to prepare herself mentally and gather whatever belongings she wants to bring to her new life."
"That's not enough time."
"It's more than generous considering she tried to wiggle out of the contract altogether." Elena's voice hardened. "Be grateful we're not demanding she leave tonight."
"And if I say no?"
"Then we'll consider the contract breached and act accordingly. Is that really what you want, Jaxon? War over a wedding date?"
I closed my eyes and pressed my fingers against my temples. A headache had been building behind my eyes for hours.
"Two weeks isn't reasonable," I tried again.
"Two weeks is what you're getting. Actually, I'm being generous again. Let's make it even simpler." Elena paused. "Sage has until noon tomorrow to formally agree to the marriage. If we don't have her commitment by then, Diego will consider himself released from any obligation to be merciful."
"What does that mean?"
"It means the threats he made in private become public promises. It means we stop pretending this is about honor and contracts and admit it's about power and consequences." Her voice went cold. "Noon tomorrow, Jaxon. That's your deadline. Get your sister to agree or prepare for war."
She hung up before I could respond.
I sat there staring at the phone. Noon tomorrow was less than eighteen hours to convince Sage to sacrifice herself or watch the Blood Sisters destroy everything.
The federal files mocked me from the desk. Dad had made impossible choices to protect the club. Now I was facing the same situation and I had no idea what to do.
Part of me wanted to fight, to gather the brothers and prepare for war. To go down swinging rather than hand my sister over to a man like Diego and Elena.
But the rational part knew we couldn't win. Even if we fought with everything we had, we'd lose.
I pulled out my phone and called Ryder. He answered on the third ring.
"What?" His voice was tight.
"You need to come back to the clubhouse right now. Elena just called. She wants to move up the wedding timeline."
There was silence on the other end. Then Ryder's voice came back low and dangerous.
"How much?"
"She's giving Sage until noon tomorrow to agree or they're declaring war."
"Fuck."
"Yeah." I rubbed my face. "I know you're with her." I almost growled at the thought.
"We're at your house."
"Bring her back. We need to figure this out as a family."
"Family? I thought you kicked me out?" He sounded surprised.
"Don't make me change my mind." I said through gritted teeth.
"There has to be another option," he said.
"If there is, we have less than eighteen hours to find it."
I looked at the federal files again. At my dad's choices, his betrayals. His attempts to protect the people he loved even when it cost him everything.
Maybe that's what being a leader meant. Making impossible choices and living with the consequences.
"Bring Sage back," I said again. "We're not giving up yet."
I hung up and started gathering the federal files. If we were going to find leverage against the Blood Sisters, we needed to understand every deal dad made and every secret he kept.
Somewhere in these papers was a way out.
The office door opened and Tommy stood there looking exhausted.
"The brothers want to know what's happening," he said.
"Tell them we're working on it."
"They want answers, Jax. Real ones. Half of them think we should fight and half think Sage should honor the contract. They need you to lead."
"I am leading."