Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
River
I crossed my arms over my chest as I stood outside of my clubhouse doors, watching Tristan and Jesup ride onto my lot unannounced. To say that I was pissed that they hadn’t told me they were coming was an understatement. This was the second time they’d pulled this fucking shit. The lack of respect was grating on my nerves.
His ties to Adelaide did not give him free pass of my fucking territory or my clubhouse.
On top of the blatant disrespect, anyone could have followed them. At least if they had informed me, I could have put up proper safety measures around town and my clubhouse to make sure that they weren’t tailed by anyone.
But no, just as it was always Tristan’s style, he did whatever the fuck he wanted to do without regard to the woman he was supposedly in love with. I was at my goddamn wits end with him.
“What the fuck are they doing here, River?” Sam asked as he stepped up beside me, his eyes narrowed on the two idiots riding onto my lot.
“Fuck if I know,” I answered gruffly. “I had no fucking idea they were riding in.”
I clenched my jaw when Sam scoffed. “Fucking dick,” he muttered.
Reina poked her head outside, and I met her eyes coolly, arching a single eyebrow at her in question. She swallowed nervously but kept her gaze on mine. Pride swirled in my chest for her. She was slowly coming out of her shell, being braver, and I had my woman to thank for Reina finally becoming stronger.
“River, Adelaide just got sick all over the kitchen floor,” she informed me.
“Fuck,” I cursed. I looked at Sam. “Don’t let them into this clubhouse until I come back out to find out what the fuck they’re here for,” I ordered before I turned around and strode into the clubhouse, heading for the kitchen to go take care of my woman.
Adelaide was bent over, dry heaving into the trash can that Reina had probably put in front of her. “Reina, get one of the women to clean this kitchen up, and then make Axel a bottle. It should be almost time for him to eat.” I crouched so that I was at eye level with Adelaide. She looked up at me through teary eyes, breaking my heart. Her face was pale, and she gagged again, squeezing her eyes shut as she did so. “Can you make it to our room if I carry you, darlin’?” I asked her gently, reaching out to push some of her dark hair behind her ear.
She nodded, slowly standing back up to her full height. She was pale and swaying slightly on her feet, her hand reaching out for me to hold herself upright. I quickly slid my arms under her back and knees to lift her against my chest, striding out of the kitchen to take her to our bathroom. Her skin was practically on fire, and I knew if I couldn’t get this fever to break soon, I would need to take her to the doctor.
Adelaide hated doctors. Hell, she barely tolerated her midwife.
I pressed my lips to her forehead before I sat her down on the closed toilet seat. “Sit right there for a minute,” I ordered before I strode back into the bedroom and grabbed some Tylenol for her to take to see if I could get the fever to break. Tylenol was safe for her to take during her pregnancy, and I knew if I had to take her to a doctor, this is what they would prescribe her for her fever anyway.
When I strode back into the bathroom, she was leaning her head back against the towel rack behind the toilet, her eyes closed. Sweat trickled down the side of her face. I frowned. Fuck, I hated that she felt like shit. “Adelaide, darlin’, I need you to take this,” I coaxed as I crouched in front of her.
She slowly opened her eyes, taking the bottle of water I had grabbed and the Tylenol from me. “Do you want to lay in here, or do you want me to put you in bed with a trash can?” I asked her as I soothingly rubbed her belly, feeling Jaxon kick beneath my hand. Adelaide moaned in discomfort, her hand weakly reaching up to wipe the sweat from her face.
Jaxon moved under my hand again, already seeming to know my touch. “Bed,” she grumbled. “Is Axel going to be alright?”
I lifted her easily, loving that she was such a good mom that she was still worried about him despite how ill she was. “Yes, darlin’. Reina has him, and I’ll take over from her when I find out why Tristan and Jesup are here.”
She looked up at me tiredly. “They’re here?” she asked, frown lines appearing on her forehead. She didn’t look happy that they were here, and that surprised me. Normally, she would be ecstatic.
Guessed after what Tristan did to try to ‘protect’ her, she wasn’t too happy with him.
I nodded, clenching my jaw. This was the last damn thing she needed on top of her being sick. “I’ll come in to check on you in a little while, darlin’,” I promised as I laid her on the bed. “Try to get some rest.” Grabbing the little trashcan from the corner of the room, I set it beside the bed in case she needed it.
“I love you, River,” she mumbled, her words almost incoherent as she snuggled into my pillow, passing out almost immediately.
A small smile touched my lips. “I love you, too, darlin’.” I softly replied, though I knew she wouldn’t hear me. She was already lightly snoring, her illness knocking her out easily.
When I stepped outside, Tristan and Jesup were standing beside their bikes talking to Sam. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I snarled as I strode up to them.
All three men turned their eyes to me as my boots crunched across the gravel lot. “We need help,” Tristan told me. “This conversation can’t happen over a phone, and I couldn’t warn you in advance that I was coming. My club is fucking falling apart. I’ve got a rat, and I don’t know who the fuck it is. We were fucking ambushed yesterday on a run. I lost three fucking guys. And three days ago, my fucking clubhouse got shot up.”
“They took Zyla,” Jesup interrupted him as he shoved his hands through his hair. He was stressed and tired. Dark circles were imprinted under his eyes, and he looked like he hadn’t slept in days. “Goddammit, River, even if you don’t decide to help the club, just help me get Zyla back,” he begged me.
I’d always liked Jesup more than Tristan, and if anyone asked me, I always thought Jesup would have made a better president than Tristan. He was calmer and more collected than Tristan, better at making decisions, and he was damn good at reading people. I also had mad respect for him for keeping his mouth shut even though he figured out with only one look that I had feelings for Adelaide.
“How long has she been missing?” I asked, giving Jesup my undivided attention. I frankly didn’t give a fuck about what Tristan had to say. I would help Jesup because no woman deserved to go through the hell that Zyla was probably going through at that moment.
“She was taken yesterday when we got ambushed. I can’t track her cell phone. Whoever took her left it lying in the club parking lot. Everyone is claiming they didn’t see her get taken. I’m at my wits fucking end, River,” Jesup told me, sounding panicked.
“First, calm the fuck down,” I snapped. “Panicking and losing your head isn’t going to get her back home to you.” He drew in a deep breath, nodding his head.
I looked at Sam, and he met my eyes, inclining his head to me, already knowing what I was thinking. I looked at Jesup. “I’m going to make some phone calls and see what I can find out. Give me three hours, and then we’ll ride out of here back to your territory. I’ll see if I can find out more there.”
“And do what with Adelaide?” Tristan demanded, finally speaking up, though I’d been enjoying his silence.
My eyes flashed with anger that he had the fucking audacity to question me about my woman, overstepping my boundaries about her. Only Joey had that privilege, but that was because he really did put her first, and he held her together, breathed life into her so she could live for me.
“Don’t worry about what I do with my woman, Grim,” I snarled. Anger sparked in his dark eyes, but I didn’t give a fuck. “She’s not your fucking concern anymore.”
Turning on my heel, I strode back into the clubhouse. Reina was holding Axel in her arms as he played with a lock of her hair. “You,” I said as I walked up to her. She snapped her eyes up to my face. “I need you to take care of Axel until Adelaide gets better. I’ve got to ride out in a few hours, and I don’t know when I’ll be back. Adelaide is sick as fuck. She’s not capable of taking care of him right now.”
She nodded in understanding. “I’ll take care of him, River,” she promised.
I nodded at her before I strode down the hall to my room, quietly opening the door so I wouldn’t wake Adelaide up. I quickly packed a small duffel, and once I was done, I strode over to the bed, gently shaking her awake. I didn’t want to disturb her, but I wouldn’t leave without first letting her know where I was going and what was happening. She was my old lady. She needed to know. Hell, she deserved to know.
She blinked up at me slowly, her tired eyes meeting mine. I ran my fingertips over her cheek, noting that her skin was still hot and clammy, but it wasn’t as bad as before. The medicine was beginning to take effect. “I’ve got to ride out, darlin’,” I told her quietly.
“Why?” she asked, moving so she was closer to me. I slid my hand over her body, soothing her, wishing I could take her illness away and make it my own.
I ran my hand over her hair. “Zyla is missing,” I informed her. She sucked in a sharp breath of air at the sound of her friend being missing, then proceeded to cough. “Jesup needs my help.”
“Find her, River,” she begged, her voice raspy. She let those beautiful, exhausted brown eyes meet mine, letting me see the fear for her friend there.
“I will. I promise,” I assured her as I ran my fingertips down her back. “I’m going to call Joey and have him ride in to keep an eye on things around here. To keep you and Axel protected while I’m gone.”
She nodded. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to her forehead, thankful that her fever seemed to be breaking. “Get some rest, darlin’. I love you. Call me if you need me.”
She closed her eyes. “Be careful, River.”
I smiled softly. “Always, darlin’.”
I grabbed my duffel bag off the floor and strode out of my room, quietly shutting the door behind me. Once I was in the hallway, I dropped my duffel bag to my feet, then tugged my phone from my pocket so I could call Joey.
He answered on the first ring, just as I knew he would if I called him. “What’s up?” he asked.
“I need you to ride up here,” I told him. “I have to help Tristan and Jesup. They have someone on the inside ratting to outsiders. They’ve lost three members so far, and now Zyla is missing. Been missing since yesterday.”
“Can’t believe you’re helping that fucking asshole,” Joey growled. I released a long sigh. This was why Adelaide was still my woman despite Joey changing. He would have put a bullet in Tristan’s skull a long time ago for the shit he had done to her. “He does nothing but tear her down, River.”
“She loves him,” I reminded him. Because she loved him, I wouldn’t let myself nor Joey harm Tristan. Even if she gave us the order to, I wouldn’t let it happen. Because after he was lying cold and dead in front of her, she would lose a part of herself, the part of herself that had and would always belong to Tristan.
Joey sighed. “I know, and that fucker has no idea how precious that fucking love is.” That, Joey had right. Tristan didn’t, and he never would. Adelaide didn’t give her love freely, but when she did give it, she loved deep and hard. “Fuck. Yeah, I’ll head up with Ink and a couple more of my men within the next fifteen minutes.”
“Adelaide is sick,” I informed him. Joey muttered a ‘shit’ under his breath. “High fever, throwing up. Reina is taking care of Axel until she’s better. Just keep an eye on her and try to keep her fever broken so I don’t have to haul her in to see a doctor.”
“That woman hates doctors,” Joey grunted. I laughed quietly. At least he knew that as well. “I’ll take care of her, River. You can trust me.”
“I know. That’s why you’re getting this phone call. Shoot me a text when you’ve got your eyes on my woman,” I ordered.
“Understood,” Joey said.
I hung up and headed to the chapel, began making more phone calls, trying to get as much intel as I could before I rode out to the Sons of Death’s territory.
Before I rode into what would probably be a fucking war zone.
I knew Tristan’s club wouldn’t survive this. If it did, it would be a miracle, and there would only be a small ass club left behind, not the one he’d built up over the years.
The Sons of Death’s days were limited.