Page 26 of The Secrets We Keep (Sovereign Sons MC: North Carolina #1)

GRAYSON

I walk into the garage and look around the large space for Cane, finding him in the bay that Sophie’s old car is sitting in.

The car wasn’t road worthy, so no matter what Cane did to it, it wasn’t going anywhere.

Unless it was the scrap yard. Cane is the best mechanic I know, so when he tells me something is shit. It’s shit.

“Finally ready to scrap that piece of shit?”

He chuckles from under the hood. “I’m just picking over the few good parts. They’re coming to haul it out of here in a few minutes.”

“Good,” I mutter.

I won’t lie. I’m eager to get everything out of Sophie’s life that was there as a part of her struggle. I couldn’t be there for them for the first six years of Ash’s life, but that doesn’t mean I can’t go overboard now.

“I don’t know how it was functioning to begin with,” Cane mutters as he pulls a part from the car and puts it on the counter before wiping his hands off. “She had some DIY fixes in here. So, she obviously remembered a few tricks from her time here. She’s a tough chick.”

That was high praise coming from Cane. “Yeah, she is. I just came out here to let you know we’ve got church in an hour.”

“No problem, pres. I’ll be there.”

I nod and head back inside, finding my brother and Axel at the bar. Rowan has a shit eating grin on his face and Axel looks unimpressed. I walk up behind them and slap them both on the back. “What’s the problem, Ax?”

That just makes him scowl harder and Rowan laugh harder. “Wren is giving him hell again,” Ro gets out between laughs.

I smirk. Axel and Wren have been foes for as long as I can remember. They both love to give each other shit, but Wren is better at dishing it out than Axel is. “What did you do now?”

“What did I do?” He asks affronted. “Why do you always think it’s me?”

“Because it always is,” Rowan and I say at the same time.

He sighs and swipes his hand through his dark blonde beard. “She’s going on a date with one of the members of the Devil’s Knights, so I was giving her shit for it.”

“Ahh,” I reply .

“What do you mean, ‘ahh’?” He grumbles.

“Nothing,” I chuckle.

Anyone with eyes could see the sexual tension between the two of them. Well, anyone but them . Sometimes it’s hard being in the same room with them. If they fucked and got it over with, things would probably be a lot easier for everyone. But I doubt that will ever happen.

“That club is full of wannabe punks,” Axel mutters. “They’re going to be a problem; I can feel it.”

A scream pierces the air, and we all run in its direction.

When we get to the front gate we find the tow truck inside the gate, a van with open doors outside the gate and Cane and two prospects holding three men on the ground.

My eyes scan the scene, and I see Sophie clutching Asher to her chest. I rush over to them and wrap my arms around them.

“What the hell happened?” I bark out.

“We were walking into the gate and a van pulled up,” Sophie rushes out. “Two men jumped out and grabbed us. Cane and the prospects stopped them.”

My blood boils but I bite back the urge to beat the shit out of the three men on the ground and usher my family inside, instead.

I lead them to the large sectional in the living area and make them sit down before I jog into the kitchen to get them both a bottle of water.

When I come back into the room, I hand Sophie her water and then sink to the floor in front of Asher.

His wide eyes meet mine and my heart sinks.

“I’m so sorry, buddy. Are you okay?” I rasp. “Are both of you, okay?” I turn to Sophie whose wide eyes match Asher’s.

“We’re okay,” she says softly.

“I’m okay,” Asher whispers. “Why would they do that?”

“I don’t know, buddy, but I’m going to find out,” I grit out. “You guys stay right here, okay?” They nod. “Chef!” I bark. It only takes him a few seconds to appear.

“What’s up, pres?” He asks, looking concerned.

“I need you to sit with my girl and my kid while I handle something, okay?”

“You got it,” he says with a look of determination.

I pull Sophie and Asher into my arms and give them both a kiss. “I will be back in a little bit, okay? If you need me, you come to church and interrupt. I don’t care how silly it may be, okay?”

“Okay,” Sophie murmurs.

I nod and take a deep breath, rising to my feet but not leaving them for a moment. The last thing I want to do is leave them after someone just tried to take them, but I need to deal with it. To find out why. To see if there is still a threat.

“I’ve got them, pres,” Chef murmurs, sensing my reluctancy .

I nod and turn on my heel, heading toward church. When I walk through the door, the room is packed. We already had church planned, so most of the members were on their way to the clubhouse for that. We’re three people deeper than we’re supposed to be, though.

The men are maskless, now, but I only recognize one of them. Eric. The other two look like kids, maybe twenty years old at the most. I stop in front of them, my jaw clenched so tight that I feel like my teeth are going to break.

“Eric, it seems like you don’t take my lessons to heart,” I growl before I rear back and land a punch to his cheek, whipping his head to the right.

He spits out blood, but he doesn’t move thanks to Axel and Cane holding him in place. “You think it’s all about you,” he chuckles. “But it’s so much bigger than that.”

I pull out the seat in front of him and sit down, spreading my legs wide. “Enlighten me,” I grunt.

“What’s it get me in return?” He sneers.

“A quick death.”

His face leeches all its color and he visibly swallows. “I’m not the one you should be worried about.”

My brow furrows. “I don’t know, Eric. You’re the one who attacked my old lady and just tried to kidnap her and my kid. Who the hell else would I be worried about?”

“I would have left town when you wanted me to, but my president didn’t let me,” he confesses.

“James?” Axel asks.

James Black is the president of the Tennessee charter, the very charter that Eric defected to. He was one of John Parker’s closest friends, which is why he was chosen to head up the Tennessee charter.

“Yes, James.”

“What the hell does James have to do with all of this?” I ask.

Eric sighs. “John owed him. From what James told me, after he started the Tennessee chapter, John came to him for help. He told him that the club was broke and that he needed to borrow against the Tennessee charter.”

“What do you mean the club was broke? When was this?” I press.

“It was about ten years ago. John was using club funds to support his lifestyle. He was paying for hookers constantly. He burned through almost everything and he made sure the old timer who was secretary hid it from the club.” That member passed away years ago, so there is no way to confirm that.

“He borrowed money from James and invested it. He was able to bring the club back into the green, but it was under one condition,” he says before he looks me in the eye.

“He was supposed to marry Sophie and take over the club, unless John could find another heir.”

The room was snuffed into silence. I sit up in my seat and run my tongue along my teeth. “So, you’re saying that James went after my son and old lady because he thinks he deserves my charter?” I ask, my tone deadly.

“Yes,” he admits. “He doesn’t think you’re worthy of the mother charter.”

I nod my head and turn to the two kids. “If you leave my town and never show your faces here again, I’ll let you go now.

Do you understand?” They both eagerly nod their heads.

“Good, get the fuck out of my sight and forget everything you’ve seen and heard here.

If we see you here again, you’ll regret it.

Take them out of town and make sure they understand my order,” I tell Cole and Nash.

They remove them from the room, and I turn back to the rest of my members.

“What do you want us to do with him?” Axel asks with a nod toward Eric.

“We’re going to use him,” I tell everyone before turning back to Eric. “You’ll get your quick death if you lure James to us.”

“You trust him to do that?” Rowan asks.

“I trust him to do whatever he can to cover his ass,” I grunt. “He knows he’s dead either way. He’ll choose to have it happen fast.”