Page 6 of Priest’s Sunbeam (Renegade Souls MC: Next Generation #2)

Sunshine

Though she hadn’t planned to return to Colorado for months, it was comforting to be home.

“Thanks for collecting me,” she begrudgingly told Seb as she hopped from the truck once inside the Souls’ compound. The vast building before her was home, and she smiled despite feeling wrung out and tired from the emotional trip of being so close to the man of her heart.

“You say that like you think I’m gonna drop you off and leave.” He replied gruffly, grabbing her suitcase from the back seat. “Let’s get you inside.”

Even though it was late, a lockdown gathered people, and the courtyard was packed with vehicles.

The compound had expanded a lot since she was a kid. Rider and Zara’s sprawling house was on the same land near the clubhouse. They’d built several smaller properties and a bigger bunkhouse for the prospects.

The clubhouse was a buzz of activity and noise, and she closed her eyes for a second, relishing the familiar sounds.

She smiled at the faces she’d missed and took hugs from those coming up to her. Cash was first, and she hugged one of Snake’s twins. She could only tell him apart from Bowie because he had a neck tattoo, and so far, Bowie didn’t.

“Wish we were seeing you in different circumstances, Sunny girl. How are ya?”

“I’m good. Tired.” And all too aware, Sebastian stood only feet away, with his gaze glued to her. She could feel it in her skin. “Have you been keeping out of trouble?”

The guy smirked. “It depends on who you ask.”

That sounded right.

All the legacy boys were riotous, but then, so were some girls.

Amidst a throng of troublemakers, Sunny felt she was the lone good girl. Her only target for trouble was the man trailing her.

“Hey, Priest, Prez will wanna know you’re back.” The pair smacked hands.

“I’m gonna get Sunny settled first.” He replied, and Cash nodded, bouncing his gaze between them like he could read the tension in the atmospheric cloud above their heads.

She wanted nothing more than to lean back and feel his chest pressed into hers, bringing the comfort only Seb could give.

She didn’t understand his moody attitude, but she was now home, surrounded by her loved ones.

There was no reason she had to breathe him in.

He could go his way, and she could go hers.

Cash sauntered off to sit with Saint, and without turning around, she glanced over her shoulder, “Thanks again. I should find my parents.”

“Not so fast.” A hand on her waist zapped electricity to her limbs, rendering her incapable of moving. She slowly turned to face him, inhaling the darkness of his eyes as he stared at her. “I meant what I said, Sunshine. Enough of this not talking to me. We’re gonna be friends again.”

Her heart lurched, aching to crawl across the floor to him. To be in Seb’s orbit was her favorite place, but she couldn’t do that to herself just because he deemed it so.

His stubbornness, however, was no secret to her. He’d argue all night, so she just nodded.

“Whatever you say, Sebastian. I’m tired and want to talk to my parents and see if my sister is okay.”

Seb stunned the breath out of her when he stepped forward and latched a hand around hers. “Let’s go find them, then.” He announced and started the long walk toward the back rooms.

As they rounded a corner, a man stepped out of his office, and Sunny felt herself smiling at his towering figure.

To everyone, he was the most notorious MC prez in the country.

To Sunny, he was her favorite uncle. “Uncle Rider.” She said, dropping Seb’s hand as she stepped into his arms to receive a hug.

“How are you, sweetheart? Sorry, we had to bring you home this way.”

“It’s okay. I got my exam out of the way. Harper’s safe not being here, right?”

His lips flattened a little, but she saw amusement in his blue eyes. “Yeah, the nutcase has her under house arrest. Your folks are out back waiting for you.” He kissed her forehead and set her free, then looked at Seb. “A word, Priest.”

When he got patched in, Seb used his surname for his road name to honor Preacher. But it had been so long since she’d heard anyone use it. She’d never called him by his road name. To her, he was Seb and always would be.

She made the mistake of looking at Seb, and his eyes were so soulful, so tortured, like he didn’t want to be dragged away from her.

But she was probably imagining things, so she cracked a little smile. “Thanks for driving me home, Seb.”

He nodded and followed Rider. She couldn’t help but watch his long strides until he was out of sight. Only then did she make her way to the kitchen.

All the held-together emotions came spiraling out when she heard their familiar voices, and her breath stuttered in the doorway.

Gia Hawk was the heart and soul of their family.

If a woman deserved to be on a pedestal, it was her.

Sunshine always knew that without her, her father would cease to breathe.

Gia was his beating heart, and it showed when she spied them in a clinch, Gia sitting on his lap, their heads together, murmuring.

Smiling, she joked. “Less of the smooching, child present.” She repeated the same warning every time she caught them in an embrace. She found their need for small, physical gestures endearing.

Their heads lifted in sync, and Gia reached Sunny first. Her hug was tight and welcoming.

“Oh, I’m so happy to see my girl.”

The hug transferred to her dad, and she latched her arms around his lean waist, feeling his love and sense of safety in that hug. He coasted a hand down her hair, cupped Sunny’s face to tip it up, and kissed her forehead.

“Sunny girl.”

“Where’s Clover?”

“She’s sleeping in a room upstairs. Are you hungry, sweetheart?” her mom asked. Sunny shook her head. “I’ve eaten. So, who’s going to tell me what’s going on?”

They looked at each other.

“Dad.” She reminded Hawk. “We’re no longer kids. You can protect us, but also be open. I won’t freak out, but I prefer to know what you can share. Please don’t keep me in the dark.”

“She’s your daughter, little bit,” Hawk gruffed and coasted a hand to the back of Sunny’s head before setting her free so she could sit around the table.

As far back as her memories went, Hawk had been a vigilant guy with his family.

Almost too much. Sometimes, she didn’t understand, but Gia would explain that keeping them safe and happy was his only job, and he took it seriously and occasionally needed them behind locked walls.

His affection had blinded her to his controlling nature; she’d never questioned why he kept such a close watch on his daughters, always fearing some unseen threat.

She supposed now, because of this, his vigilance made sense. While she waited for one of them to speak, her dad leaned his tall frame against the kitchen counter. The color of her eyes, which she shared with him, was grave.

Her mom started. “Surveillance photos came to the clubhouse last week, but there’s been nothing new since, and no notes point to who it could be.”

“So, there’s nothing for Lawless or Angie to search?” she guessed. Those two were hacking sleuths.

“Not quite, but they’re on it, anyway. Lawless has his ear to the pulse of the dark web for whispers.”

“The club has enemies,” Sunny said.

It went without saying that this wasn’t the first lockdown she’d experienced in her short life. Typically, however, the enemy was identified. Rival clubs would occasionally bump up against the Souls.

But this felt different if it was an unknown, and the cold skittered down her spine.

“I have more,” Hawk stated in his rough voice. “This is because of something I’ve done in the past. I’m going to stop it.”

“Of course you will, baby.” Agreed, her mom.

“Is lockdown necessary if it’s only been photos?”

The growl rumbling out of her father’s chest was answer enough, and she caught the sympathetic glance of her mother, asking her to understand.

“So, what can I do?”

“Nothing, honey. We wait.”

“I don’t mean going out and hunting for this person,” she tittered a little. It was probably exhaustion and her adrenaline crashing. “As if Dad would ever hand me a gun,” she smiled at his scowl. “I meant I can pitch in and help if things need doing around here.”

“I’m sure Zara will find something for you to do.”

“Good. I want to keep busy.” Being a rule follower by nature, she asked. “I’m assuming I need a prospect if I go out?”

“Yes.” Hawk gruffed.

“I think Sebastian would take over that duty.” Her mom said, a twinkle in her eye. She knew Sunny’s feelings and the reason she had left Colorado.

“No,” she blurted. “A prospect will be fine. I probably won’t go out, anyway.”

“How was the ride here?”

There was that knowing glint again, and Sunny shook her head, not wanting to discuss Sebastian with her dad right there.

“It was uneventful, other than the car following us.”

“What?” he roared and pushed off the counter, bristling like a scrap yard dog.

“Oh.” She gasped. Seeing her dad angry was always a sight because he was so soft and loving with his girls. “Yeah, I think Seb is telling Uncle Rider about it right now.”

Without warning, he shot out of the kitchen like he’d been launched from a cannon.

“Is this serious, or is Dad overly cautious?”

“I think it’s a bit of both,” Gia admitted. “But your dad’s hunches are never wrong, so I’ve learned to listen to them over the years. Hopefully, it will be nothing, someone who isn’t a major danger to us or the club.”

“And if it is?”

“Then the club will deal with it.”

As is their typical practice. It was unspoken, but they both understood the meaning. They might not know the full details of what the Souls men had done or were doing to secure their status, but Sunny trusted her family to do what was needed.

If that made her just as complicit and diabolical as they were, as most accused the MC of being, then she’d wear it. It was never that clear-cut.

“While your father is gone, tell me the truth, Sunny. How was the journey with Seb?”