Chapter 4
Legacy
Duke had been right. Riding with the wind whipping my face had made me feel better than the burn of hard liquor ever could. When he asked if I fancied going to visit one of our new chapters in Cardiff, I jumped at the idea. And he had been right. A change of scenery had been good.
But it was good to be home now.
Although, the clubhouse wasn’t really my home since I had a cosy little flat in the city as well. One that I sometimes crashed at since my sister had moved out. I rarely stayed there, but it was a good place to keep on hand if I ever needed to get away. I didn’t use it often, but it was there if I did need it.
Slowing the bike as we rounded the corner, I let out a sigh of relief.
Home sweet fucking home.
Pocket stepped forward, his bear like hands clutching the chain-link gate to slide it open. We could easily ride right through, but there was a look on his face that told me he wanted to talk.
He eased over to us. “Good ride? How’s the ‘Diff?”
At first, I didn’t know what the hell he was on about, and then it clicked into place. He was talking about Cardiff. Sometimes I forgot he wasn’t a local boy and was born there. Even after knowing him for years, I still wasn’t aware of why he had moved to our chapter. I was guessing there was a story there. All the brothers of the Savage Sons had stories. Most of them didn’t share, and Pocket was no different.
“Cardiff is good. They have a shiny new clubhouse.” Duke lifted his eyes to our own. “We need to upgrade.”
“You had a visitor earlier.”
“I did?” A slow smile spread across Duke”s face. “I knew she would come running.”
“Not you.” Pocket turned his attention to me, his eyes narrowing. “You.” He tilted his head.
“Me?”
“A woman came looking for Legacy?” Duke sounded dumbfounded. “I wasn’t even sure he liked women.” Smiling ruefully, he held up his hands. “Sorry, brother, but I’ve never seen you with anyone.”
“Sure you have, the club girls—” Pocket started to argue, but Duke cut him off.
“I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about dating. You know, taking a girl out, licking her until she screams and comes knocking on the gates for round two.” His eyes twinkled. “You have been keeping secrets.”
I remained silent. There was no woman who would come knocking at these gates and asking for me. There hadn’t been for years. The club girls were different, and I eased some of the tensions of being a man in their tight little bodies, but all of them knew I wasn’t in the market for anything but a good time.
“Wasn’t a chick,” Pocket said. “Was a boy. A kid, actually,” he added when I shot him a surprised look.
“I don’t know any kids.” I shook my head. “Must’ve been a mistake.”
“Well, what can I say?” Pocket shrugged. “He asked for you by name. Your actual name. And you’re the only Elliot here. Maybe he got the wrong club. I told him to get back to school.”
“School? When was this?”
“The first time was this morning, according to one of the prospects. I spoke to him myself just after lunch. He said this was more important than school and I told him to run along and play with his train set.” Pocket chuckled.
Duke joined in with his laughter, but I didn’t. I had a horrible sinking feeling in my gut.
“Was probably a hang around. They are getting younger and younger these days. I wouldn’t worry about it, brother.” Duke chuckled. “Unless you’re thinking this is a paternity thing?”
I was worried, but not for the reason he was suggesting.
“What did he look like? Did he give you his name?”
Pocket didn’t turn his eyes on me. They remained fixed to a spot over my shoulder. “Ask him yourself.”
Twisting on my bike, I stared at the boy standing on the corner. Tall, with blond hair falling into his eyes, he was the spitting image of his brother, only younger, skinnier.
My eyebrows slammed down in a frown.
Sliding off the bike, I kicked the stand down. “I’ll be back.” Taking off at a trot, I was in front of him in seconds.
“Conner?” I couldn’t believe it was him. If he hadn’t looked so much like Paul, then I wouldn’t have recognised him. He had been an annoying little kid when I had seen him last. I was betting he was still an annoying kid, but he wasn’t small any longer.
Hands pushed deep into his pockets, he scuffed the toe of his black school shoes back and forth across the pavement. They already looked like they had seen better days and the friction wasn’t doing them any good.
“You remember me?” he asked, his voice small.
“Yeah.” I was about to say, of course, but closed my mouth on it. It had been ten years. He probably didn’t need or want to hear that I could still picture that frightened, sad little boy clinging to Kate at Paul’s funeral. “I’m surprised you remember me, though. You were only little when I last saw you.”
He shrugged.
“How did you know I would be here?”
Another shrug.
I sighed heavily. “Why are you here, Conner?” Reaching up, I ran my fingers through my hair. “A kid like you shouldn’t hang around places like this. Kate wouldn’t like it.”
He lifted his blue eyes to me. And to my dismay, they were filled with tears. “Kate is why I’m here.” His voice cracked and broke. The fear in it was clear. He was scared but trying not to show it. He wanted to be brave. One of the men.
He wanted my respect.
“Kate’s in trouble.”
Placing my hand on his shoulder, I waited for him to continue. He didn’t.
“Looks like you’ve been finding your fair share of trouble yourself, lad?” My eyes landed on the black eye. It didn’t look too bad, but I bet it had hurt like a bitch. “Have you been fighting?”
He shrugged, and I made an exasperated sound in my throat. What was it with everyone shrugging answers at me today?
“I’m not worried about me. I can handle myself but Kate…”
There it was. The worry in his eyes again.
“She went and spoke to them, even though I told her she shouldn’t.” He blurted out in a rush of mumbling. “And this morning she wouldn’t come out of her room. She called in sick to work. She never calls in sick. And she won’t let me in and—”
“Breathe, just breathe.” I needed him to calm down because what he was saying wasn’t making any sense. “Who did Kate go and see?”
“The Hunters.”
My eyes fluttered closed at that and I took a deep breath, and then another one. “I see.” If I let on for even a second how worried that particular piece of news made me, I would worry the kid even more. Closing my hand around his bicep, I led him forward.
“Where are we going?”
“I’m going to borrow a car and then we are going to see what trouble Kate has got herself into.”