Page 1 of His Flawed Ride (Sons of Lost Souls MC #16)

M y heart pounds, faster and harder, until it feels like my chest is going to crack open and my heart fly out.

Holly lies besides me, sleeping soundly, unaware of the anxiety running through me.

My old friend, regret, has returned. Only this time it isn’t India that plagues my nightmares.

It’s Nora. Though regret is regret, it’s different this time.

Nora isn’t dead and the murder I allowed her to witness of her ex is one breath away from being a whisper on her lips.

I vowed to never live with regret after losing India but here I am once again.

Slipping out of bed, I pull on my jeans and hoodie and creep out of the room.

I grab my pack of smokes and my phone, and head across to my parents’ house.

I let myself in with the key under the mat and I don’t try to keep quiet.

My dad is a light sleeper, and I want to wake him.

While dad’s home, my mom sleeps like the dead.

In their kitchen, I grab a beer from the fridge and pull out a chair at the table. I listen to my father’s soft thuds coming down the stairs and blink when he flicks the overhead light on.

“What’s goin’ on? You look like shit.”

I crack open the beer and tip the bottle to my lips. Dad takes a seat as I sink half the beer, and finally say, “I’ve fucked up.”

“Is anyone dead?”

I shake my head. “No one we give a shit about, but it’s connected.”

I finish the rest of my beer in three long gulps and slam the empty bottle down on the table.

“You’re gonna have to talk to me, son. I can’t read your fuckin’ mind.”

“Nora.” Even saying her name is like I’m invoking her to open her mouth to the wrong person.

Dad sighs. “I wondered when this would happen.”

“You did? Why haven’t you said anything?”

He collects two beers from the fridge and passes one to me. I accept gratefully and crack it open.

“I didn’t say anything cause the gavel belongs to you now. I meant it when I said I wouldn’t involve myself in your decisions.”

“I wish you had this time, Dad. I should never have let her stay and watch Grim kill her ex. He fuckin’ sliced and diced, beat him bad before ending him as all the brothers watched on.”

“And now you don’t trust Nora to keep her mouth shut,” he remarks.

“I thought I did but lately, I’m having fuckin’ nightmares about it. It’s on my mind all fuckin’ day, every fuckin’ day. It won’t quit.”

My heart is pounding again, the beer doing nothing to ease it. I rub at my chest, but it does nothing to help.

“Usually,” Dad begins. “There’s only one way to fix this type of regret.”

My eyes widen, but not in shock at what he’s implying, but because I instantly think it’s the out I need.

“Though it’s a clusterfuck, there will be ramifications that follow. Grim, for one. She’s his old lady, the mother of his kid. And the fact he’s a brother.”

“Shit, Dad, you think I don’t know that.”

“What is your gut saying, son?”

It takes a while for the words to come but when they do, the pounding of my heart begins to ease.

“That I have to take a trip to Mercy.”

The mountain never fails to take my breath away. I wouldn’t want to live here but I can appreciate the view when I visit the Mercy chapter. Only JJ knows about this trip, Tack and the Mercy chapter have no idea I’m coming, or now here.

I kill my engine and sit for a moment before climbing off and walk over to Holly.

It was a long drive for her with our few month old son and two kids.

Rayna wouldn’t leave town unless Sebastian could come with us and because I’m a sucker for her happiness, I let her have her own way.

Not to mention, if my daughter is happy, I have peace.

“Leo?”

Tack stands on the wrap around porch to the clubhouse, hands on hips, and a frown on his face.

“Hey, you can relax, I’m only here for a flying visit. Have you got a spare cabin for my family to stay in?”

“No need to ask, brother. I’ll have my old lady bring over clean sheets and groceries.”

“Thanks.”

Rayna and Sebastian, phones glued to their hands, wander off.

“Don’t go too far, Ray!”

Without turning, she yells back, “We won’t!”

“And watch out for your cousin, Seb!”

“I will!”

I unlatch the baby seat and pass Roman to Holly while I collect our bags.

“Put them down, I’ll get a prospect to take them over to where you’ll be staying,” Tack orders and I do as he says.

“So, why the flying visit? It’s a long way to come with the old lady and a new baby.”

Paranoia radiates from him and I’m glad I’m not the only one suffering.

“No need to worry. This is personal.”

His paranoia vanishes but unfortunately mine remains.

An hour after we’ve settled in, Holly is asking to visit with Nora. She’s been asking to visit and meet Grim and Nora’s baby son since he was born. I haven’t seen Nora since her and Grim drove off into the sunset and I wouldn’t have any interest in them now if it weren’t for my mistake.

While Holly gets herself and Roman ready to go, I’m in charge of getting Rayna and Sebastian ready.

“But, Dad, can’t we stay here? We’re in the middle of…”

Cutting her off, I say, “I don’t care what you’re in the middle of, get your shoes on and be ready to go in five minutes.”

“Dad…”

“Make me repeat myself and I’ll toss your phones off the mountain.”

“Daddy, you can’t throw Seb’s phone, Uncle Zach…”

Christ. I reach out to take their beloved phones and they both jump up to their feet and run out of the room.

I find Holly staring with a quizzical expression on her beautiful face.

“What?”

“You’re on edge, I’ve never seen you take it out on Rayna before.”

Instant guilt sets in but then I remember why I dragged my family here to the mountain. I’ll make it up to my daughter once this is dealt with.

Grim sees us in and my guard has never been built so high.

Holly and Nora settle in the living room with Rayna and Sebastian sulking on their phones on the couch.

There’s another regret, purchasing a phone for my daughter.

I still don’t understand why she needs one at her age but as she spends all her time on it, it must be important to her.

I follow Grim into the kitchen and sit at his table while he grabs two beers from the fridge. I don’t particularly picture how my brothers live when they move out of the clubhouse, but noting the homeliness around me, it suits him.

“I haven’t heard or seen anything to report since I’ve been back, I would’ve let you know if I had.”

“That’s not why I’m here.” Now I’m face to face with him, I can’t bring myself to bring the killing of Nora’s ex into conversation.

Apparently, it only takes one long look at me for him to take a good guess.

He frowns as he asks, “You’re here about Nora’s ex.”

Apart from asking him to keep an eye on the chapter on my behalf, the only thing we have tying us together other than the patch, is the killing of Harry Stuart.

I shake my head. “Not her ex. Her.”

His frown deepens. “Why? We don’t even talk about it anymore. Are you worried she’s gonna say something?”

I won’t lie. “That’s exactly what I’m worried about.”

Grim pales before me and he glances toward the living room then back to me.

“Leo, I know how we deal with people we don’t trust. What the fuck, brother? She’s my old lady.”

A glimpse of role reversal hits me, and I can feel everything Grim is feeling, like someone was saying this to me about Holly.

There have been a few times I’ve seen genuine fear come from a man. This is one of those times. Grim is terrified for his old lady.

“Brother, I just needed to see for myself that we’re all moving on and shit is in the past.”

“Honestly, Leo. I can’t say it enough. Nora isn’t a risk to us. If we had stayed in Willow’s Peak you would’ve seen that for yourself, Nora has put it so far in the back of her mind, it’s like it never happened. She’s all about me and my kid. You have nothing to worry about. You have my word.”

My silence has him pulling out the chair opposite me and lowering his voice when he says, “Leo, tell me it’s enough for you cause I’m starting to think that you haven’t ridden all this way just for my word.

” I take no pleasure in his fear, but my one mistake has cost the club and myself the ultimate price before.

“Prez, say something. In my head, I’m out the door with my family cause while I’d never go against you or our patch, I will do what I need to in order to protect my family. ”

The weight of my paranoia fills every inch of the kitchen, drawing us so close I can taste his fear laced with confusion.

For the sake of peace with a brother, I tell him, “I’ll take your word.”

I physically force myself to relax and in turn Grim’s shoulders sag with relief then he laughs.

“Fuck, Prez, you got me going there.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. Shit, brother, the last few months have been all over the place.”

Grim leans back in his chair and sinks his beer. I leave mine untouched.

“Come on, let’s go do the family thing. Nora’s made up you’re here. She doesn’t miss Willow’s Peak, but she bonded with your old lady.”

In the living room, Rayna and Seb have been dragged into having their photos done with the babies and my old lady and Nora are in their elements faffing with all the kids.

I hide out on the couch and pick up Rayna’s phone. Before I can bring it to life, it’s snatched from my hand.

“Dad! That’s private!”

I bark out a laugh.

“Oh baby girl, you have no privacy till you turn eighteen and even then, it won’t be much.”

Laughter fills the room, and I make a mental note to go through her phone later and see exactly what’s so private.

Holly drags her back into photo time, and this is what I needed. To see life moving on surrounded by family and the club. All safe and sound and no secrets being shared with the wrong people.