Page 23 of Lore (Serpents of Chaos MC #3)
LORE
We’re just leaving church when War comes up to me. “You know I owe you an apology.”
“About what?” I ask, frowning. I don’t think I’ve ever heard War apologize to anyone except his old lady. “Am I dying or something?” What else could be so fucking wrong that he would say sorry? “Is Daisy’s baby mine? I swear I didn’t come inside her pussy at all in those weeks. It’s not me, right?”
He studies me for a moment and then smirks, shaking his head.
“We don’t know who the dad is yet. Daisy has moved across the country. We know where she is, though, just waiting for her to give birth.” He pauses. “But if it were you, you’d be fucked. At least Suit will step in and put a patch on Atiana.”
“I’d kill him first,” I threaten, then narrow my eyes. “Wait, what are you apologizing for then?”
“I told you that you could never be faithful to one woman. I was wrong,” he says, clapping me on the shoulder.
“To be fair, I think I was telling you that I’d step up and take Ora if you didn’t.” I wince.
“Yeah, that’s why I don’t give a fuck that Suit has been doing the same to you.” He smirks, running a hand over his dark hair. “Actually, I kind of enjoy it. Haze does too. You deserve all the shit you get thrown at you, brother. We even paid him to keep that shit up.”
Goddamn motherfucker!
“Well, this conversation took a dark turn,” I mutter. “Weren’t you saying sorry?”
“That moment is over. You ready to get this fucker?”
“Yeah. The time for waiting is over. He’s not going to stop. But we need to play it smart.”
“We will. By the way, Atiana’s property patch came in. When do you want to do it?” he asks, pausing before he turns toward the staircase.
“As soon as possible.”
He smirks, and I head to the living room where the kids are watching a movie while Atiana draws some tattoo designs, with Dove’s head on her lap.
She’s been working on them every chance she gets, wanting to show Curse and Rune some of her ideas, along with her social media page highlighting all the work she’s done in the past. She’s so talented, and I know she’s going to be a hit in the shop.
The thought of men hitting on her all day makes me see red, but at least I can have Curse and Rune watching over her when I can’t.
As soon as this is all settled, I’m moving us all into my house. The tenants are leaving next week, and I’m going to furnish the place and make it perfect for my family.
“Everything okay?” she asks when she sees me.
I nod. I won’t tell her our new plan because I don’t want her to have to worry about the fate of her soon-to-be ex-husband. The fact that she’s still legally married makes me feel physically ill. “Yes, it will be very soon.” I turn to the kids. “What are you guys watching?”
“ Hercules ,” Dove replies in a sweet sing-song voice.
“Mom likes making us watch movies that she watched when she was younger,” Rider pipes up, sharing an amused look with me.
“You can’t beat the classics,” I say, tousling his hair and sitting down next to him. When he jumps on my lap and hugs me, I close my eyes and take in the moment. He could have made this so fucking hard for me if he wanted to, but he’s just so loving.
Loving and forgiving.
He might look like me, but he got those two traits from his mother.
I kiss the top of his head and turn to see Atiana’s honey-brown eyes gentle on me. I love you , she mouths.
“I love you, too, Butterfly,” I whisper, smiling at her. I’m about to ask her what she’s working on when my phone buzzes with a text from Prez.
Prez
Aspen overdosed. Funeral in a couple of days.
“Shit,” I mutter.
I know that Haze and his sister, had a strained relationship after she purposely called him to see her in rehab so that Pippa and the Isle of Insanity, a rival MC, could kidnap Lu. But at the end of the day, it’s still his sister, and he’d looked after her for his whole life.
“What?” she asks, putting her pencil down.
“Haze’s sister, Aspen, passed away,” I explain, putting Rider down gently. “I’m going to go and check on him.”
“Let me know if I can do anything,” she replies, her brow furrowed in concern.
I give her a lingering kiss and then head to the bar, where I see Haze sitting there, alone, a drink in hand.
“How are you doing, brother?” I ask as I slide in next to him.
He lifts his head, his amber eyes filled with grief. “I cut her off. I haven’t even seen her since?—”
“It’s not your fault,” I tell him. Aspen had been struggling with addiction for a long time, and nothing Haze did to help kept her sober.
“I know, but… still feels like I’ve failed somehow. She had no one at the end.”
“And she did that to herself,” I reply gently, pouring myself some scotch. “You did the right thing after what she did.”
“I know,” he admits, downing the rest of his glass and slamming it back down on the counter. “Well, I should probably go and apologize to Lu.”
“Took your shit out on her?” I guess, and he winces, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Something like that.”
“Go get down on your knees.” I smirk, and his lip twitches. “I’m here for you if you need anything. Even if you assholes were happy that Suit was making a play for my fucking woman.”
Amusement flickers in his eyes. “Got what you deserved.” He stands up and claps his hand on my shoulder. “Now you can double it and send it to the next brother who falls.”
Bones steps into the room, Skull right behind him. “We drinking?” he calls out.
Haze shrugs and sits back down. “Fuck it, I guess we are.”
And that’s how we all got fucked up.