Page 26

I stare at the girls as they hang out across the room from me. I could have lost them.

If I hadn’t sent them to go get Midnight, if that man hadn’t caught my attention, everything could have ended so differently. I would have mourned any of the shop employees if they had died, but if I had lost the twins or Midnight, I would have been devastated.

I can’t lose them. It would kill me.

Sienna giggles at something Selena says, making me smile. Kids are so resilient. You would never know by looking at them that they witnessed a botched shooting, and I only use the word “botched” loosely because no one was actually hurt.

Was that intentional, or had the man never used a gun before?

“Hey, you okay?” a soft female voice says behind me.

I look over my shoulder and see Natalie, Kaitlyn, and Tara all walking toward me.

“Hey, I’m good. What are you guys doing here?”

“We thought we could come check on you,” Kaitlyn says as they take seats around me.

“You didn’t have to do that. I know you guys are all busy.”

“Trust me, we wanted to. I grabbed some books for the girls. Do you mind if I give them to them?” Tara asks.

“Of course, thank you for thinking of them,” I say, completely blown away.

It amazes me the way they defer to me as if I am their mother, even though I’m not. These women hardly know the girls and me, yet they showed up for us in ways others haven’t. It means more to me than I think I will ever be able to express. I just hope that someday, I will be able to pay them back.

“How else was I going to win being the favorite aunt?” Tara winks before walking over to the girls.

“Sneaky bitch,” Kaitlyn mutters under her breath, making Natalie and me laugh.

“Be nice.” Natalie scolds her with zero heat.

Kaitlyn touches her chest. “Me? I’m always nice. It’s my middle name.”

“Somehow I seriously doubt that,” I say without thinking about it.

Both girls turn toward me and stare, making me squirm. Shit, did I fuck up?

“I knew I liked you,” Kaitlyn says after a beat, making me relax.

“She’s got your number already,” Natalie quips.

“All right, now that I’ve made two girls very, and I mean very, happy, how are you doing?” Tara says.

“I’m okay.” I shrug, rubbing my arms.

Kaitlyn scoffs. “There’s no reason to hide from us, babe. We’ve been there.”

“You guys have survived shootings?” I ask, studying the women around me.

“My ex was abusive and didn’t take it well when I left. He’s continually made our life hell,” Natalie says, reaffirming the little bit that Midnight told me.

“I grew up in a club. I’ve seen my fair share of bullet wounds and walked the line.” Kaitlyn tells me.

“What they are trying to say is we’ve been there. This life isn’t easy, but we do it for the men we love. We’re here for you if you ever want to talk,” Tara says.

“Thank you. That means a lot to me. I’m not ready to talk about it yet, though. Can we talk about anything else, please?” I ask them softly.

“Of course.” Natalie nods.

“Who’s the new guy? I didn’t think we had patched anyone new in,” Tara asks.

“Hades? Long hair?” Natalie asks.

Tara nods.

“He was at the shop getting a tattoo when shit went down. Midnight told me he was a nomad or something like that.” I frown, trying to think back to what he called him specifically.

“That pans out. He’s hot,” Kaitlyn says.

“Don’t say that too loud or Colt will paddle your ass,” Tara teases.

Kaitlyn winks. “Maybe that’s what I’m going for.”

“I wonder how long he will stick around. Nomads usually bounce right away, right?” Natalie asks.

“Typically,” Kaitlyn says before looking over at me. “My dad is the president of his own club in Texas. I grew up in this life.”

I nod. “That makes sense.”

“Well, for Reaper’s sake, I hope he leaves before Evelyn comes around,” Natalie says.

“Who’s Evelyn?” I ask.

“Reaper’s younger sister, and let’s just say the girl likes to flirt just to give her brother an ulcer,” Tara says, laughing.

“She’s a fucking riot, you’d love her,” Kaitlyn adds.

Natalie rolls her eyes. “I don’t think he’s her type, though, but then again, I’ve never seen her with anyone besides her doctor friend who comes by to help her when she needs it.” Natalie looks at me. “Evelyn is a doctor in Vegas and is always on call with the club.”

“You guys have a doctor on call?”

The girls nod.

“And lawyers,” Kaitlyn says.

Tara nods. “Law enforcement. Or at least we did.”

“Basically we have a little bit of everyone on payroll, that way we are never left hanging,” Natalie tells me.

“That’s…” I trail off, unable to find the words.

“Yeah, it’s overwhelming, but it’s the real deal,” Kaitlyn says.

“Let’s talk about something else,” Tara says.

“What do you have in mind?” Natalie asks her.

A devious look crosses Tara’s face.

“Oh god, please behave. We promised Midnight that we wouldn’t scare her away,” Natalie moans.

“Wait, what?” I ask, shaking my head.

“He was worried we would chase you off.” Natalie shrugs.

“That’s sweet and totally uncalled for,” I say as my heart aches in the best possible way.

He asked his friends to behave because he wants me to stick around. He doesn’t want me going anywhere.

Tara clears her throat, bringing the attention back to her. “I would ask you how the sex is, but I’ll skip it this time and go right for what we want to know.”

“Okay…”

“Do you like pineapple on pizza?” she asks, making me relax.

Kaitlyn busts out laughing. “That’s it?”

Tara shrugs with a small smile. “I’m being nice. I already know her reading preferences, or lack thereof, which we are working on, and it’s obvious she’s more than happy with our boy Midnight. What more is there to know?”

“Answer her question, you’re getting it easy, trust me,” Natalie tells me.

Taking a deep breath, I nod, hoping I’m answering correctly. “Yes, pineapple belongs on pizza as long as it also has black olives. It’s the right balance of salty and sweet.”

“All right, fine. You passed the test. We shall keep you.” Tara sighs dramatically.

I can’t help but relax as I study the group of women. I don’t mind the idea of them keeping me. Not if it means I get to keep Midnight and the girls too.

“Church is in session,” Reaper says as he bangs the gavel.

I look around the table at my brothers. Colt and Wrath sit on opposite sides of Reaper. I’m sitting next to Colt with Trigger to my right. Next to him is Honk, who hardly looks present taking the seat at the end of the table. On the other side you have Pinky and Twitch.

“We’re in deep, gentlemen,” Reaper sighs.

“We’re all in agreement it’s Dansworth, right?” Pinky asks as he scans the table.

All of us nod. William fucking Dansworth has been a pain in our asses from day one. He’s the one behind all of our issues.

Trigger looks over at me before he speaks, silently warning me about what he’s about to say.

“Speaking of Dansworth, it’s recently come to my attention that Miranda is living in his building,” he says.

Twitch frowns and looks at me. “Miranda, as in your ex, or is it just a coincidence?”

“My ex,” I confirm.

“Shit…” Honk mutters.

I raise my hand before anyone can say anything else. “Look, I know the score, and I’ve already told Trigger. If she’s feeding him information on us, I understand she has to be taken out. I won’t hold it against anyone who makes the kill. I only ask that if it happens that we keep it from the twins and they never find out.”

The guys nod grimly.

“Is there a risk of her taking the girls?” Pinky asks, voicing my worst fear.

“Not right now, no. Lainey and I have them doing virtual school here at the clubhouse. We decided to stay here until things die down.”

“Smart,” Trigger says.

“What are the chances of her knowing anything? She hasn’t been around in years,” Colt says.

“Fucking slim on our end. When the girls were around, I never answered my phone. You guys knew I was out of service when I had them before Lainey came around. Anything club-related besides my cut stayed here at the club, so even if she somehow got into my house to look around, she wouldn’t have found shit.”

“And you kept the girls separate, so it’s not like she could weasel anything from them,” Reaper adds.

I nod. “Exactly.”

“Thank God for small favors then,” Colt says, rubbing his jaw.

“If her hands are dirty, then her time has come to an end,” Reaper confirms before turning back to Trigger. “What else do we know? Have we figured out the situation with our payroll?”

As of recently we’ve started having cops turn on us despite them being on our payroll.

Trigger grunts as he swipes on his tablet. “Some of our resources are still in our pocket and know not to fuck with us. As for the others, I’ve gotten into their bank statements. Some of them have had large sums of money deposited while the others haven’t but have been spending more cash than usual.”

“So he bought them,” I grunt.

Trigger nods.

“I wonder what he has on them…” Pinky muses.

“Who the fuck knows,” I mutter.

“We have a bigger problem,” Wrath tells us.

Reaper hangs his head and takes a deep breath. “What’s up?”

“Medinas are getting antsy. We can’t keep putting off a run. I’ve been in touch with the Devil’s Den, and they are willing to do this next one a little differently if necessary.”

“Jesus Christ,” Reaper grunts.

“We can’t say no to the money,” I point out.

“Well, it’s not like we can put this on pause any longer. It has to be done,” Reaper informs us.

Wrath nods. “I’ll arrange everything.”

“What’s next?” Reaper asks.

“Hades. Is he staying or just passing through?” Pinky says.

The guys turn to look at me. “I don’t know his plan. I’m just thankful he stepped in when he did.”

“He had gotten approval to swing by and get tattooed. I offered to extend it where he was helping Midnight out. As for him staying any longer, I don’t know, but I can ask. If he wants to stick around, does anyone have any objections?”

Colt, Wrath, and I shake our heads.

“I like him,” I tell everyone.

“He’s never caused problems,” Colt adds.

“I don’t know him but I’ll trust your guys’ judgment” Twitch says.

Reaper stares down the table, and I follow his stare. Honk is looking up at the ceiling, not paying attention.

“Honk, you have any objections for Hades hanging around for a while?”

“Good kid, could use a haircut, though,” Honk says halfheartedly.

I bite my tongue to stop myself from laughing. He isn’t wrong.

“So everyone is in favor of him staying if he so chooses?” Reaper asks for clarification.

“Aye,” we all say at once.

“Very well, anything else?” Reaper asks.

A look of anguish crosses Wrath’s face as he clears his throat. “I would like to address Honk and his drinking.”

Honk sits up and glares down the table. “Excuse me?” he says deadly calm.

“Your drinking is out of hand. We are all worried,” Colt tells him.

Honk narrows his eyes. “You lose the love of your life and then see if you don’t do the same thing. I’m fine.”

Colt’s jaw clenches, but fuck if it doesn’t hit me right in the heart too. We all feel for him, but we can’t continue to let it slide.

“Where is Harlee right now, Honk?” Reaper asks.

“She’s at home,” he snaps.

“Wrong. She’s hiding out in Bullet’s room,” Reaper corrects him.

Honk’s hands fist on the table. “That boy needs to stay away from my little girl.”

“From where we are sitting, he’s the only one looking after her right now,” I tell him bluntly.

“Fuck you. All of you.” He gets up and stumbles before heading toward the door.

When the door slams shut behind him, the room falls silent.

“That could have gone better,” Trigger says.

“No shit,” Reaper snaps.

“He’s not going to listen to us,” I say, shaking my head.

“You’re right.” Reaper nods.

“So what are we going to do?” Pinky asks, still looking at the door.

“I think there is only one person who can really get through to him, and I would really rather not put her in that position,” Reaper says.

It makes sense. There is only one woman here who might be able to talk some sense into him with how close she was to his wife.

“Natalie,” Wrath and I say at the same time.

“Nailed it in one guess” Reaper mutters.

Pinky snaps his fingers. “Hey, wasn’t Sarah friends with Elenore too? Maybe she could join Natalie, so she doesn’t have to do it by herself.”

I forgot that Sarah, Evelyn’s mom and Reaper’s half sister’s mom, was friends with her.

“That’s a good idea. I’ll call her.” Reaper scans the table. “Anything else?”

Everyone shakes their heads no.

“All right, meeting adjourned, Get the fuck out of here.”

“That was a shit show,” Colt mutters as we stand.

“You can say that again,” I say quietly.

We leave church, and I come to a stop when I see Lainey sitting next to Kaitlyn as she talks with Natalie and Tara. Something about the sight takes my breath away. I might have just left one of the most awkward meetings I’ve been to in a while, but just the sight of her makes it all fade away into the background. It’s almost as if just seeing her makes it seem like our problems aren’t as big as they are.

“It’s a great feeling, isn’t it?” Colt says as he slaps my shoulder.

“Yeah, man, it is.”

“Come on, let’s go get our old ladies.”