Page 10 of Coal (QUEENS WRAITHS MC #2)

Looking around at all the brothers in the dining room, it can only be Brass or Iron out there. I’d not noticed that Iron had left us earlier. I’d been so fixated on the woman currently clutching the shirt at my back.

“Iron?” I call out.

“Nope, it’s Brass. Iron’s checking on the staff they secured.”

“Bring him in, brother, we need to clear a few things up anyway,” I tell Brass.

Brass pushes Aiden Kelly through the door, and my estimation of him rises when the first thing he does is check on his sisters. The surprise and relief show on his face when he sees us protecting the two of them.

And my estimation rises when the first thing he does is ask them, “Are you both all right?”

Thea moves from behind my back to my side, but I wrap my fingers in the loop of her jeans, holding her next to me. He may care for his sisters, but I wasn’t ready to trust him just yet.

He looks over at his father and smirks before turning towards me. “Thank you for that. You’ve just made my job much easier. Now, if you could call your sniper off that’s got my men pinned, I’d appreciate it. ”

“Not yet,” I tell him. “I’ll call him off as soon as your sister and I are on our way to the registry office. We’ll meet you and your other sister there. Make sure you bring your niece with.”

Aiden’s face pales when he turns to look at Kara, who shakes her head, “He’s not marrying me,” she assures him before continuing, “he’s marrying Thea; they only came to make sure that Maeve and I were okay, and if they found us mistreated, they were going to take us away.”

Aiden turns to look at me, asking, “Is this true?”

“Which part?” I ask. “The part about me marrying Thea, or about making sure the girls were safe?”

“Both,” he replies.

“Both are true, and for the one, we don’t have a lot of time. Thea and I need to get to the registry office if we want to get married today. Your dad left the bride’s name blank for us to fill in. Seems he has some clout in your local government.”

Aiden smirks, “He did, but not anymore. All his little dealings are being brought to light as we speak, and it’s going to look like he’s done a runner.

I do need my guys, though, to secure him if you want us to be at the ceremony.

But first, I need to speak to Thea, so if you could let her go, that would be grand.

And the only reason I’m even discussing this is that I’ve looked into your MC and I like what I’ve found.

I think we’ll eventually be working on common ground, but not until I clean up the years of shite, he’s mired us in. If I could speak to my sister, please.”

Looking down at Thea, I ask, “You okay speaking with your brother, babe?”

Thea frowns and rolls her eyes at me. “Of course I am. He’s a good man, my brother.”

“Okay,” I agree, removing my finger from the loop and letting her go, which she does, rushing into her brother’s open arms. Seeing them together, you can see they are related more so than the other two girls.

He’s whispering something to her, and she’s nodding when he gives her one more squeeze and lets her go.

I’m happy that she immediately returns to my side.

Kara has been watching from next to Nickel, but so far has said nothing.

Aiden looks down at the floor, then back up at me. “Do you promise that my sister and my niece will be safe with you?”

That is one thing I can promise with no worries at all. “I promise they’ll be safe, and your niece will be spoilt rotten by my mom and sister. ”

Aiden stares at me for a long time before he seems to come to a decision, and thank fuck, he does, because I’m worried that we’re going to miss our appointment.

“Okay, let my men in to secure him, and I’ll follow to the registry with my sisters and my niece. But I’m warning you now, a single hair is hurt on either of their heads and I’m coming for you.”

“And I’d let you,” I assure him. I have no intention of Thea or her daughter being hurt on my watch.

Looking over at Copper, I order, “Let Blue know he can let them go and follow us outside.”

Holding out my hand to Thea, I usher her out of the house to our sleds, wondering where she’s going when she opens the driver’s door to an old, rusted Ford that’s parked at an angle in the driveway, door still open.

“Babe, what are you doing?” I ask her just as she was about to get in the vehicle.

She frowned a little at me. “Following you; if we’re going to get my daughter after this, I’ll need a car.”

I shake my head at her. “Grab whatever you need. You’re not driving our daughter in that death trap. We’ll hire you a vehicle to get you home.”

Imagine my surprise when the strong woman who had stood up to me and had taken shit from her father without falling crumpled in front of me, tears welling in her eyes until they overflowed down her cheek.

Sharing a look with my brothers, wondering what the hell I’d said that had brought about such a reaction.

Walking towards her, I pull her away from the door and wrap my arms around her, burying my hand in the thick waves of bright red hair that crown her head.

She sobs as if her heart is breaking against my cut.

I have a mother and a sister, so I knew that this crying jag had long been coming.

My brothers have moved away to give us some privacy, but they are watching.

When her crying stops, she sighs and relaxes against me.

Only when I’m sure she’s finished do I ask, “Want to tell me what that was all about?”

She shakes her head against my chest. “Not really, but I will. You said our daughter, and then you said you’d hire us a better car. Nobody has ever looked out for us like that,” Thea whispers.

Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, I gently lift her head from my chest and cup her cheeks in my palms, wiping away the tears from under her eyes.

“Thea, you need to understand something about our MC and my family. We sometimes do bad things—not always, but sometimes—but when you are family, there is nothing—and I mean nothing—we won’t do to keep you safe.

By agreeing to be my wife, you’ll get full protection, as will your daughter.

And as we’ll be married, that makes her my daughter, so she’ll be looked after just the same as you, my mother, and my sister are.

All I ask from you is loyalty and fidelity. Understand?”

Nodding her head in agreement, she replies, “Yeah, I understand. And you? Will you be faithful?”

Smiling at her, I assure her, “You’ll understand when you meet my family, but we take our vows seriously in my family. As long as we’re together, that’s not something you ever have to worry about.”

The smile I got was as bright as the sun, and I wonder how I’d ever thought her plain.

“Okay,” she agrees. “Let’s go and get married.”

She grabs a backpack from the back of the car and walks towards the sleds.

Handing her my helmet, I swing my leg over the seat and sit down before holding out my hand to Thea and helping her on behind me.

I’d never had anyone but my sister on the back of my sled, and I can’t say that I hated it.

The warmth of Thea’s body seeps into mine as she relaxes into the ride.

I’m a little sad that it was over so quickly.

Thea directed me to a parking area that I hadn’t seen on the map.

We wait for her family to arrive, and I fell instantly in love when Thea takes her daughter from her youngest sister, kissing her chubby cheek and blowing raspberries on her neck, making her laugh.

Thea turns towards me, and seeing the two of them looking so much alike from their brown eyes, curly red hair, and smiles, does something to me.

I rub slightly at the ache that seems to have developed suddenly in my chest.

“Are you sure about this, Coal?” Copper asks softly. “You don’t need to marry her. We can make another deal.”

“No,” I answer him, not taking my eyes off the woman I was about to make my wife and the little girl in her arms. Bolt had gone over and was playing with the baby.

Turning towards Copper, I realise that I hadn’t answered him properly.

Repeating my last answer, I tell him, “No, I want to marry her. Can’t explain why, just that it’s the right thing to do. ”

Copper stares at me for a minute. When he realises that I’m completely serious, he nods, “Okay then, looks like I have another sister. About time really, you’re getting a little long in the tooth.

I mean, we’d all been born by the time Dad was your age.

You’re slacking, old man.” He laughs when I punch him in the shoulder.

“Cheeky fucker. You’re only a little younger than me.”

Copper smirks and walks over to Thea and Shea, who is now in Bolt’s arms.

An hour later, I’m married and posing for a picture with my wife and daughter. I feel bad that Thea didn’t have a pretty dress, flowers, or a ring, but I promised that I’d make it up to her, and I would.

“I don’t need any of that,” Thea looks up at me. “I just need to know that my daughter is safe, and that I can stop looking over my shoulder and find somewhere to continue my work. If you can give me that along with your promise to be faithful, then I’m happy. I don’t need anything else.”

Seeing how serious she is, I take her word for it, but that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t be buying her a ring, anyway. I was a possessive fucker, and I want both my name and my ring on her finger. Although, with the type of work she did, maybe a tattoo would be better.

“How do you feel about tattoos, baby?”

Thea shrugs, “I like them. Why?”

“Just wondering,” I answer, making a mental note to contact Hawk and book a session for the two of us as soon as possible.

My life had taken a turn in the last hour.

I’d gone from free and single to married and a father in the space of a few hours.

I wonder what my folks were going to say when we got back home, which sadly wouldn’t be today.

Instead, I’d had Nickel arrange one more night at Butcher’s house, and I’d asked him to hire a vehicle for Thea and Shea.

We’d sleep there tonight, and tomorrow morning Aiden, Kara, and Maeve would bring over the rest of their stuff and the tools that Thea said she couldn’t do without.

Over the next few hours, I found Thea easy to be around.

She didn’t mind the humour amongst my brothers and seemed at ease with just about everyone.

Even Butcher hadn’t fazed her when he’d come over to give me the key again.

She’d just smiled at him and gone about getting Shea out of her car seat and had followed the brothers into the house, letting me deal with him.

The amusement in his usually dead eyes takes me by surprise when he hands me the keys. “Come to buy guns and end up with a wife,” he smirks at me. “And a baby.”

Shrugging, I take the keys from him. “Never let it be said that I’m an underachiever.”

“Uh huh, I hope this doesn’t come back to bite you on the arse. Her father’s a piece of work.”

“Hopefully not, considering they’re having a bit of a reshuffle and new leadership over in the Kelly household.”

“Really?” Butcher’s eyebrows raise as if in disbelief at my words until he sees that I’m serious. “Interesting. The son is okay. I’ve wondered how long it would take for him to make a move. I guess having your sisters sold to seal a deal is what it took.”

Now I’m the one surprised. “You knew why we were here?”

He smirks again, replying, “Coal, you’ll come to understand that I know everything that happens here, and if I don’t, I know someone who can find information out for me. I needed to see what you were made of.”

“Interesting,” I muse, staring at him. I have a feeling that I know what his answer will be but asked it anyway because it’s always good to know what a man’s trigger points are. “And if you found out that we’d accepted the deal?”

“None of you would have made it home,” he states coldly.

“Good to know,” I grin at him. “Glad to know that you’re on the same side as us.” Clapping him on the shoulder, I turn and walk away, whistling slightly, feeling good about things for the first time in a while.

Now all I had to do was get to know my wife and new daughter.