Page 10 of Lore (Serpents of Chaos MC #3)

LORE

“This is him?” I ask, staring at the picture of Atiana’s soon-to-be ex-husband.

It’s been two weeks since I went and picked her up, and we still haven’t found him.

We sent two of our prospects, Romeo and Patch, to watch their house, but it looks like he returned, realized she was gone, and never came back.

“Yeah, and she was right, he’s been working for some shady people.

He’s been helping them move money into offshore accounts.

He’s incredibly smart. If he weren’t such a piece of shit, I’d have him working for the club.

” Blade smirks, sliding the information across the table.

“On paper, he’s an accountant. He makes good money.

He met Atiana when he moved into the same building as her.

Didn’t take long to knock her up and then marry her.

I have no doubt that he’d be trying to track her down.

She was smart to leave her phone behind. ”

“He’s been working for the mafia,” Angel adds, leaning back in his chair and studying me. “He’s been crossing the wrong people, stealing money from them. I don’t know who is going to take him out first, them or us.”

“I don’t care as long as he’s taken care of,” I admit.

“And what’s going to happen then?” Prez asks, running a hand over his beard, his expression thoughtful. “Have you spoken about that? Is she going to move nearby so you can see Rider all the time?”

My jaw tenses. “We haven’t spoken about it, but ideally, yes. I want her as close as possible.”

Like under me in my bed.

“I notice you haven’t been fucking around since she got here,” War points out, smirking. “With you and Haze out of commission, there’s going to be a lot of unsatisfied women around here.”

“Or maybe he’s just been more stealthy,” Blade suggests with a shrug. I’m about to punch him right in his glasses, but then I realize I need him. With this Trent guy being all techy, Blade is going to be one of the weapons we can wield against him.

My blue balls are also none of their business.

Atiana has been keeping our relationship focused on the kids and the kids only.

In fact, I’m pretty sure she is trying to friend-zone me.

Trying being the key word because even she can’t hide the chemistry and sexual tension between us.

She’s trying to pretend it’s not there, and for now, I’m letting her.

She’s been through something, and she needs time. I get that.

She made me wait for her for a long time when we met in high school, and I don’t expect her to go easy on me now after I hurt her so much.

“Did you tell her about the flowers that arrived at the gates?” Prez asks, and I wince.

“No, she doesn’t need to be even more stressed,” I admit. The flowers were a simple threat to let us know that Trent has figured out where she is.

I don’t give a fuck, though, as long as he stays beyond those gates.

If he steps inside our clubhouse, I’ll kill him.

“You should tell her,” War suggests, regarding me carefully.

“Are you a relationship expert now?” I tease.

“Ora’s wearing my patch, isn’t she?” is all he replies, smirking. “She’s about to have my child. And she’s wearing my ring.”

War officially proposed to her, and they plan to get married after the baby is born.

“I’m working on it,” I grumble.

“Never thought I’d see the day,” Ghost mutters, speaking up for the first time since he got here.

“Really? How’s stalking Xanthe going?” I mock, sick of them all giving me shit.

His expression doesn’t change. Then again, it rarely does. “She’s safe.”

I slam my fist against the table. “And my woman is going to be safe too.”

They all share a look.

Yeah, I know it’s not like me. I’m the fun one who makes a joke out of anything. I rarely take things seriously. Life is a playground, and I’m usually the one on the wildest ride, but I have too much on the line now. I have a fucking woman and two children to protect.

“Yes, she will be,” Prez replies, glancing around the table. “Keep your eyes open. We’ll continue taking turns watching the security cameras, and the prospects will be watching Lu’s bakery at all times. Angel and Ghost are going to continue hunting Trent down.”

“Any word on Daisy?” Scorpio asks, and the table goes silent.

I know the baby isn’t mine, but there are a few other men sitting here right now who were with her around that time.

“Why, do you know whose baby it is?” I ask, curious as fuck. I know some of the men did the testing before she disappeared.

“Not yet,” Scorp replies, but he shares a look with our Prez that makes me think he’s lying.

I don’t have the time to deal with that right now, though.

“Wait, Lore. Are you okay?” Prez asks, and his stare is so intense that I want to look away. “You’ve had a few big surprises. And you seem a little more on edge than I think I’ve ever seen you.”

My jaw clenches. “I’ll be fine, I just need to… make sure they are going to be okay.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this serious.” He pauses. “ Ever .”

“This woman has him turning into Ghost 2.0.” Scorp smirks, lip twitching. “Do you need to see a shrink? I know a good one. Old you would have nailed her in a second.”

“I’m fine,” I reply through clenched teeth.

At least I will be.

“Yeah, you sure sound it,” Prez mutters.

When I leave church, I go in search of Atiana, finding her playing pool with Romeo. Her face has healed, and she looks more beautiful than ever. I can’t look away when she throws her head back and laughs at something Romeo says, and my eyes narrow.

I know that fucker is not that funny.

Romeo has already fucked Lu before she got with Haze, and now he’s flirting with Atiana?

“You okay?” Bones asks, coming up next to me and clapping me on the back. “He’s a good-looking fucker, isn’t he? It’s the eyes. Women love that shit.”

Romeo has one blue eye and one brown one. There’s a name for it, I know. I just don’t fucking care.

“You know with as much shit-stirring as you do, the brothers might want a little payback,” he adds, and I can hear the fucking amusement in his tone.

Cracking my knuckles as I silently seethe, Romeo is about to lean over her to show her some shot like he’s a pro player or something, and I’ve officially had enough.

Bones grabs the back of my cut, holding me back. “You sure you want to do that? What happened to the carefree fucker I used to know?”

“He found out that when it comes to her, he doesn’t like sharing, after all,” I growl, and Bones laughs, his body shaking as he finds amusement in my predicament.

It gets even worse when Suit approaches her, bringing her a drink. A fucking drink. I shrug Bones off and storm over there, hell bent on punching Romeo in the face until Atiana turns around and smiles widely when she sees me. “There you are! Ora is baking with the kids. She’s amazing with them.”

My anger seeps out of me, my shoulders relaxing as she gives me all her attention. “Yes, she is.” I glance up at Romeo and Suit, hoping they take a hint and leave us alone, but they don’t.

Suit takes a seat like he’s not going anywhere, and Romeo nods at Atiana to take her shot.

“You want to get out of here for a bit? Go for a ride?” I ask her. She’s been stuck here in the clubhouse and hasn’t complained once. She left to get groceries a few times with Ora, Lu, and four of us watching them, but that’s about it, aside from taking the kids to the park.

I asked Prez about building a playground in the backyard, and he agreed, so I ordered an epic one, and the brothers are going to help me build it. Omen, who used to be a carpenter by trade, is going to make a treehouse for them.

I can’t wait to see the kids’ faces.

“I’d love to go for a ride,” she replies, shooting her last shot and sinking the black ball. “Good game, Romeo. Better luck next time.”

He smirks and nods.

My eyes narrow. That bastard beats all of us at pool, so he let her win.

From the corner of my eye, I see the twins heading into the stripper pole room with Rose and Brandy. Not wanting Atiana to realize what goes on in there, I quickly lead her to the kitchen so we can check on the kids and ask Ora if it’s all right if we head out for a bit.

When she’s more than happy to watch them, we head back to her room so Atiana can put on some boots. As she’s lacing them up, she looks up at me. “You know I meant it. You’re really good with Rider. And Dove.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you for including Dove in everything,” she blurts out.

“Of course. She’s mine as much as Rider is,” I say softly, handing her the new leather jacket I bought her. “You don’t need to thank me for something like that.”

“I do. I want you to know how much it means to me,” she admits, taking the jacket from my hands.

“It’s gorgeous,” she says, her brow furrowing. “Whose is it?”

“Yours,” I reply, kissing the top of her head.

“I bought it for you yesterday. I’ve been wanting to take you for a ride since you got here, but I had to get these first.” I help her into the jacket that fits like a glove, then give her the new helmet I bought her.

“I heard you telling Suit that you’ve never been on a ride before. ”

“Thanks, Lore,” she says, her tone gentling. Her doe eyes stare up at me, and I know in this moment that I’d give her anything she asked for. “That’s really sweet of you. I’ve always wanted to ride on a motorcycle.”

“I love being the one to give you all of your firsts,” I say, closely watching her reaction.

I can see the moment she puts up her wall, shutting down.

I know I hurt her, but she has to forgive me sometime, right?

She climbs on behind me, and I show her where to put her feet. And then her breasts are pressed up against my back, and I put my hand on her leg, revving the engine, closing my eyes, and taking a deep breath.

A moment of peace washes over me.

Yeah, this is exactly where I’m meant to be.