Page 17

Remi

Sitting on one of the picnic tables behind the Diamondback clubhouse, I looked around the area and sighed.

It was so fucking hot here. And holy shit, was it dry.

Nothing green for miles. Just the scorching sun blistering down, suffocating dry heat, and flat terrain. No mountains, no trees, no ocean.

I fucking hated it here.

I still didn’t know why Dakota insisted we stay.

It made no sense. As far as I knew, the threat to me was gone. So why was I still here in this hellhole? Of course, when I asked, nobody told me shit. The only response I got was it was for mine and the kids’ safety.

Safety from what?

To make matters worse, since my conversation with Vicious, I had begun to question everything and everyone. I didn’t know who to trust anymore. Surrounded by the Diamondbacks and the Stone brothers, a seed of doubt took root and I couldn’t shake it.

The only ones immune to the possible threat were my kids and even they were on alert.

Hearing Jesse laugh, I looked over at him while Kali’s daughter, Tabitha, chased my son around the backyard. Some of the Diamondback brothers milled around. The little girl was a spitfire and refused to take no for an answer. The second she saw Jesse, my son had no choice but to fall in line and be the little girl’s friend.

In a way, I was grateful to the little girl. Her strong inclination and determination brought my son out of his depression, and he was now smiling and laughing again.

For that, I would always be grateful.

Emma was another story. My daughter still wanted nothing to do with me and had fallen deeper into silence. She flat out refused to even be in the same room with me anymore.

I knew what she wanted. I wasn’t stupid.

She wanted to go home. She missed her dad and the rest of our family. In a way, Emma was like me. Taken from everyone she loved and raised in a world no child should be a part of. Emma still had nightmares from her time with that fucking cult.

Why Reaper didn’t let Ghost just wipe those bastards off the face of the earth, I would never know.

“Remi?”

Looking up as Shadow walked over to me, I said, “Can I have one of those?”

Shadow frowned. “You don’t smoke.”

“First time for everything.”

“Babe, I don’t think Reaper would—”

“It’s not his choice anymore, Shadow. Either give me one or I will have one of your new brothers give me one. Choose?”

Sighing, the sweet man handed me a cigarette and his lighter.

I don’t know why I wanted one.

I hated when Reaper smoked.

I couldn’t stand the smell it left behind on him and his clothes.

Placing the cigarette between my lips, I flicked the lighter and inhaled, instantly regretting my decision.

Coughing, I handed the lit cigarette to Shadow, shaking my head.

“Yep. I fucking hate that shit.”

“Then why ask for one?”

“Because I needed to be sure.”

“Sure of what?”

“That I was still me,” I said when he handed me a bottle of water, taking a seat next to me on the picnic table.

“Ari’s worried about you.”

“So is everyone else.”

“I’m not.”

I huffed. “You’d be the only one.”

“Want to know why?”

“Not particularly.”

“Because I know you’re just angry. It’s an emotion I am very familiar with. Anger can be very therapeutic if you let it. Anger can allow you to see past the bullshit to the core of the matter. Just don’t let it control you. That’s where most people go wrong.”

“Like you?”

Shadow took a long drag of his cigarette and sighed. “Yeah.”

“Are you happy here?”

He shrugged. “I’ve got Joan and my sisters. I’m happy.”

“That’s not what I asked and you know it.”

“I know,” he said, looking at me before he added, “But I’m where I need to be at the moment.”

Narrowing my eyes, I looked at the former enforcer for the Golden Skulls and wondered what it was he wasn’t telling me.

More lies and deceptions.

It was all too much. I didn’t know what to believe anymore. Nothing was what it seemed, and I was beginning to suspect I really knew nothing at all.

Looking down at my hands, I whispered, “I saw Vicious on my way back here from seeing Sunny.”

Shadow smirked. “And how is my old friend?”

“Good. He told me some things.”

“I’m sure he did. Vicious never could keep his mouth shut when it involved people he cared about.”

“But you can?”

Shadow looked at me and smiled. “I know when to stay quiet.”

“He was right, wasn’t he?”

Shadow said nothing as he slowly got to his feet and snubbed out his cigarette in the dirt. Looking around the desolate area, he groaned. “I miss the ocean. Maybe someday I will see it again.”

Watching him head back into the clubhouse, Vicious’ words came rushing back.

He sent me to watch the Soulless Sinners.

From around the corner of the clubhouse, I saw Kansas, Dakota, and Arizona talking. All in a deep conversation when Dakota looked up and saw me. Instantly, all three men stopped talking and smiled. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled.

Something wasn’t right.

I fucking knew it.

I was missing something. Something big.

All three men walked off, disappearing back into the clubhouse. I tried to make sense of everything when Shadow came walking back outside.

“Remi, you have a visitor!”

“Remi, would you like me to stay?” Kansas asked as I stared at the man sitting across from me.

“No.”

“Alright then.” Kansas got up from the table. “Mr. Ivenok, you are welcome to visit with Remi, but you will need to make arrangements to stay somewhere else for the night. Got no problems with the Bratva, but my clubhouse is full at the moment. I hope you understand.”

“I do,” my father politely replied, never taking his eyes off me. “In fact, I had hoped to take Remi to lunch if she doesn’t have plans.”

“She’s not allowed to leave the compound.”

Slowly turning, I clipped, “I’m a grown ass woman, and I can do whatever the fuck I want, Dakota.”

Dakota sighed. “Remi, we’ve gone over this. You are still in danger.”

“The threat to my daughter is dead, Mr. Stone.”

Dakota growled while Kansas held up his hand, stopping him from saying anything more. Looking at us both, Kansas nodded. “I think lunch will do Remi some good. She’s been cooped up here for far too long. If you don’t mind, I would, however, like to send one of my brothers as extra protection.”

“I am more than capable of protecting my daughter.”

“And you’ve done such a marvelous job of that already,” Dakota snarked.

Vladmir slowly got to his feet, buttoning his jacket. “This was a mistake. I should never have come. Please forgive my intrusion. I will leave now.”

“No, stay,” I ordered, getting to my feet and glaring at Dakota. “What the fuck is your problem? Why can’t I leave?”

“You know why. I told you this many times.”

“Vladmir is right. Petrovitch and Baranov are dead. The threat to me is gone. Why the hell am I still here in Oklahoma?”

Dakota looked at Kansas, who shook his head.

“Someone better tell me the fucking truth right now or I’m taking my kids and fucking leaving.”

“Just tell her, Kansas,” Shadow said leisurely, leaning against the doorway, watching the drama unfold.

I didn’t buy it for a damn minute.

I’d seen that fucker in action. Shadow didn’t have a fucking leisurely bone in his fucking body.

“Remi is stronger than you all give her credit for.”

Kansas groaned. “Fine. There’s a bounty out on your head. Satan’s Angels are gearing up for war.”

“And?”

“And Montana thinks that with you here, safely surrounded by the Diamondbacks and my men, they won’t be able to get to you,” Dakota finished.

I sighed. “This is never going to fucking end, is it?”

Dakota pushed off the wall and reached for me.

Flinching, I stepped back.

Halting, Dakota’s face fell. “Remi, I should have told you. I’m sorry. You’ve been through so much already. I was only trying to protect you.”

Shaking my head, I whispered, “No. You were doing what Montana ordered you to do. There is a difference.” Turning to Vladmir, I asked, “If I ask you a question, will you tell me the truth or a lie?”

My father looked me right in the eyes and replied, “The truth.”

“Where is Reaper?”

“In New York City, at Saint Agatha’s Catholic Church. He has been since he killed Baranov.”

“And this new threat?”

“A recent development that the Soulless Sinners have assured my boss is under control.”

“But you don’t believe them?”

Vladmir smirked. “In my line of work, I rarely believe anyone until proven otherwise.”

“What would you do in my situation?”

Vladmir shook his head. “I can’t answer that, moi malen’kiy lev. This decision has to be yours.”

Looking over at Shadow, the man I knew the most smiled but said nothing.

“I’m going to lunch with Vladmir.”

“Remi—” Dakota moaned.

“No. I’m done being lied to. Either start telling me the truth or I’m gone. I’ll see you all later.”

Leaning forward on the table, I picked at the salad before me, not really hungry. I didn’t know what I should do. I knew what I wanted to do, but running away never solved anything. In my experience, if someone wanted to find me, eventually they would. Plus, it wasn’t just me anymore. I couldn’t take the kids and just vanish. What kind of life would that be for them?

They didn’t ask for this life. They were just trying to survive it.

“What can I do?”

Smirking, I looked at Vladmir and said, “Go back in time and choose differently.”

He sighed, slowly closing his eyes.

I knew what I said hurt him, but it was the truth. If he had chosen differently, my life would have been different. I could have had a normal life. Anything other than what I survived.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, leaning back in my chair. “That wasn’t fair.”

“No, you had every right,” he said, looking out the window. “I should have chosen differently, and because of my actions, you paid the price.”

“Why didn’t you keep me?”

“Because I was scared. I just lost your mother. Watched my best friend cut you out of her belly. We were at war with a man named Sergio Pavlov. I couldn’t protect you.”

“Did you regret it?”

He looked at me and the sorrow in his eyes damn near robbed me of my very breath.

“Every damn day.”

“I met them once, you know, Satan’s Angels. They came to the club looking for Ink. They weren’t nice about it. The president, Steele, ended up killing his own daughter, before killing Gadget and Torque. I was pregnant back then. Because of them, I lost my baby.”

“I’m so sorry.”

I shrugged. “It’s alright. I wasn’t very far along.”

Reaching for my hands, he added, “No, it’s not alright, Remi. You loved that baby. I know you did. Your mother was the same way. When she learned she was pregnant, she fell instantly in love with you. She talked about you all the time. She couldn’t wait to meet you. She wanted you so badly, my little lion. You were loved, truly loved, from the moment you were conceived.”

“I wish I could have met her too,” I whispered.

“You look just like her.” He smiled, reaching inside his suit, retrieving his wallet.

Opening it, he handed me a worn photo.

“I wish I had more, but that is the only photo I have of Nina. She was coming out of class one day and I took that. I don’t know why. In my line of work, pictures are easy identifications of those we love. But seeing her smile that day, I couldn’t stop myself.”

“She looks happy,” I murmured, looking at my mother for the first time. We did look alike, well, minus the hair. My mother had dark, almost black hair, but everything else, I was all her. Right down to the way she smiled.

Handing the photo back, he shook his head.

“Keep it. She belongs to you.”

“Thank you,” I said, running my finger over her face. “Vladmir?”

“Yes.”

“Why is Reaper still in New York City?”

My father sighed while he leaned back in his chair.

“Because he believes you’ve moved on.”

“Why would he think that?”

“Because after he killed Baranov, he saw you in the arms of Dakota Stone. We thought when he left with the others, we wouldn’t see him for a while. But not even a few days later, Maxim got word that Reaper had shown back up, drunk and covered in blood at Saint Agatha’s. When he got to the church, Reaper was full of rage and he tore a room apart. Last I heard, the man’s been drunk ever since.”

Sighing, I closed my eyes. “Shit.”

“His actions are not your concern, Remi. He’s a grown man.”

“But it is my problem if he believes a lie.”

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t kiss Dakota. He kissed me. Jesus Christ. Talk about perfect fucking timing. Reaper has always had perfect timing for everything, and now he believes a damn lie.”

“That’s why you flinched back at the clubhouse.”

I nodded.

“Well, if you want my opinion, I suggest keeping that secret to yourself for the time being. Reaper needs to come to grips with everything he’s done. Right now, he’s angry. Angry at everyone but the one person he should be angry at.”

“Himself.”

Vladmir smirked. “Knew my daughter was smart.”

Grinning, I replied, “No. I just know Reaper. Only when he’s exhausted everyone else will he look and see the root of the problem.”