Page 32 of Wild Night (Vicious Reapers MC #2)

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

POSEY

As I hold Nathan in my arms, my gaze on his little, chubby-cheeked baby face, I can’t help but feel a sense of peace and yearning.

Next year, around this time, I’ll be holding my own little chubby-cheeked bundle.

I can’t believe that my life has turned into this.

I’m not sure if I should even blink out of fear that this could possibly be a dream.

“Okay,” Dakota abruptly announces.

I look over at her. She’s smiling, her eyes sparkling as they search mine. I almost ask her if everything is okay, but she starts to speak, so I don’t say anything. At least not immediately.

“Let’s go to Lainey’s. I’m not back to work until next week, but I think we need to celebrate not only your return, but your pregnancy, and the fact that you and Ivy are living together now.”

She says the words, but the last five are in what feels like slow motion. Living together. Living. Together. Now. Oh my god, we are, aren’t we? I mean, I’m back here in North Carolina, my bag is in his house, but I have nowhere else to go and no real money to get my own place, either.

Well, I could probably afford to float myself for a while since Monty made sure to pad my bank account after the Lucian debacle, but still, I have no job here, so even if I could afford somewhere, I’m not a candidate to rent anything until I find some kind of employment.

We’re living together.

I’m not sure how that makes me feel. Panic should be setting in, but aside from my thoughts being a jumbled mess of words strung together, I’m not scared-panicked. I’m excited-panicked.

Thrilled, even.

“We’re living together, aren’t we?” I ask on a hiss.

Her eyes widen at the same time her lips curve up into an even bigger smile. She nods her head once. “You really are, and I’m here for it.”

“I think I need a pastry,” I mutter.

She laughs softly. A few moments later, Nathan is strapped into his car seat, and I’m strapped into the passenger seat. Dakota jumps into the driver’s seat and shifts the car into Drive , then pulls away from the curb.

“Have you really taken in your new town yet?” she asks as she drives down Justin’s street and stops at the four-way stop at the end of his neighborhood.

I almost laugh at her question. Then my brain starts moving a million miles a minute with thoughts that fill it, one after the other, with no breaks in between. Just a running stream of what the fuck I’ve been through.

I don’t think she realizes what actually happened when I was here, before I ran away like an idiot and nearly got myself killed.

Definitely got myself in a sticky situation.

And ended up under the protection of some kind of mob boss and his motorcycle friends.

Who just happened to be the Vicious Reapers and were nice enough to keep me safe, but really didn’t have to.

And I could have ended up in an even worse situation.

The stars were definitely aligned, and I’m trying not to take any of it for granted.

“I’ve really only been to the clubhouse, Lainey’s bakery, and Justin’s office,” I say.

She smiles, though she focuses on the windshield and driving. I can tell she’s happy. “You call him Justin,” she whispers. I feel my cheeks tinting pink at her observation.

“He asked me to,” I say.

“I bet he did.”

Instead of driving straight to the bakery, she starts to give me a tour of Thunder Rock. It’s not much of a tour, because it’s really freaking small. It reminds me a lot of Shellgrove, where I lived in California, minus the beach being nearby. Which I’m okay with, because there are mountains.

Lots and lots of gorgeous mountains.

I’m not sad about trading the beach for the mountains. It’s not like I spent a lot of time on the sand anyway. I was busy working and picking the wrong men, which all took a lot of time away from activities like relaxing on the sand.

Maybe I can relax in the fresh mountain air, though, after I get a job of some kind and figure out what this life is going to be like here, of course. And then there’s this relationship. Is it really going to work out?

I feel like I’m just playing with a bunch of different ideas in my head, a bunch of what-ifs on the future, without knowing much of anything and causing myself to stress out about it instead of just enjoying the ride.

Then again, I tried to enjoy the ride the last time, and all it did was get my ass in trouble, so I feel like my questions and panic aren’t necessarily unwarranted, especially since all that stuff just came to a head.

When Dakota pulls into a parking spot and shifts the car into Park , I realize that we’re right in front of the bakery. I also realize that this baby is the best-behaved baby on earth. I’ve been lost inside my own head, and if he’s made even a cooing noise, I haven’t heard a thing.

“You need to tell me what you’re panicking about.”

“What?” I whip my head around, and my eyes find hers. She’s turning slightly, facing me, her eyes focused on me and nowhere else.

“Tell me what you’re panicking about,” she repeats her words, arching a brow as she waits.

I think about lying to her. About telling her that everything is okay, but decide against it. She needs to know the truth, and so I spill everything. Right there in the parking spot in front of Lainey’s bakery, with the scent of fresh-baked goods hitting my nose and causing my stomach to grumble.

And when I say everything. I mean every single thing. It’s a stream of consciousness, my words spilling out of me without even taking a moment to breathe or think. I know without a doubt that I'm overwhelming her, because I’m overwhelming myself.

But by the time I’m finished with my story, we’re both silently crying. Well, she’s silently crying, while my tears spill down my face as I wrap up my life story. Then I feel her hands reach out, taking mine and squeezing.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“For what?”

Shaking my head once, I pinch my eyes closed then open them slowly. “I just unloaded everything on you when I’m supposed to be older, wiser, and more mature. I shouldn’t have done that.”

Dakota snorts. “Girl,” she says on a laugh, “this is just your story, and it was time to unleash it. Now, let’s go get some pastries and talk about the future.”

“The future?” I ask on a sniffle.

She hums. “Babies, marriage, the club life. We have a lot to go over, all of which we can’t do without sugar and carbs.”

And there it is. My chaos doesn’t negatively affect her.

There is nothing in my niece’s eyes but love and acceptance.

Just like when Justin looks at me, that’s all I see with him, too.

This is where I was meant to be, where I was meant to land.

I feel it now, deep inside of me. Everything else that has happened has just been preparing me for this part of my beginning, for this world.

And I’m tired of panicking about it. I need to embrace and accept it, because this is fate and love.

This is everything my sister would have wanted for us. I know it, deep in my bones. The cult and whatever else happened with her be damned, this is what we dreamed about late at night when we whispered our hopes and dreams.

This is perfection.

IVY

“That is fucking weird,” Bullet announces.

“No shit,” I snap. “That’s why I called you.”

He dips his chin while his eyes continue to scan the paper as if it’s going to give him an answer. It’s not going to give either of us anything. If my surveillance footage can’t give me anything, this little note won’t.

“Could it have been a client? Maybe during a meeting?”

I let out a laugh. “I try not to fuck with my own clients,” I point out the obvious. I know he’s just going through the options about it, though. Trying to go through all the possible scenarios.

“Any of them serving?”

“A few,” I murmur. “All guilty for whatever they did. I try not to lose when I know the client is innocent.”

Bullet’s brow arches. “That sounds a little scary,” he says. “What about us?” he asks.

My lips twitch into a smirk. “Reapers are always innocent,” I state.

It’s his turn to chuckle. The conversation drops because he knows that what I do for the club is not the same as what anyone else does. My focus needs to be this fucking note, and so does Bullet’s.

“I don’t understand how it got in here,” I mutter. “My cameras have been on.”

Then Bullet’s eyes fly to mine, and I can tell that something entered his brain. He clears his throat. “You still logged in?” he demands.

“Yeah.”

I watch him walk around my desk, sink down in the chair, and then his fingers move across the keyboard.

He doesn’t say anything to me, his eyes focused on whatever the fuck he’s looking at.

I’m no slouch when it comes to computers, but I also don’t do much for the surveillance company.

I’m more of a silent partner. This is my job.

This is my focus. I’m not down at Thunder Security Supply so much.

“I’m going to need to call in someone else,” he mutters, almost as if he’s talking to himself. A few seconds later, Razor confirms that he’s on his way over and is bringing Viking with him.

“Razor and Viking?” I ask.

Bullet grunts, then leans back in my office chair, his focus on the computer screen in front of him as he speaks. “They know more about this shit than I do. They’re the ones who research the shit we buy and sell.”

Taking my phone out of my pocket, I send Posey a text to let her know that I won’t be home right away. In fact, I don’t know when the fuck I’m going to be home, because I don’t know what the fuck I’m dealing with here.

PRINCESS: That’s okay. I’m with Dakota. I think we’re going to head to the club. I’ll see you there.

The thought of her being at the club without officially being claimed turns my stomach. Even though I’ve told everyone with fucking ears that she’s mine, I know those assholes. And I know any one of them would want a taste of Posey if they thought they could have it.

They can’t.

BE GOOD. SEE YOU SOON.

PRINCESS: I’m always good.

My lips twitch into a smirk at her response. She is, too. The fucking best.

I KNOW.