Chapter Ten
KAIA
The clubhouse feels different in the early hours of the morning.
There’s a heaviness in the air, a solemnity that always settles over us before the men ride out and into uncertainty, into war.
I sit in the main room with the other old ladies, Izzy, Novah, Lani, and the few other women whose men are staying behind to protect the compound.
Nobody talks much.
What is there to say?
We all know the risks.
We all know that some of the men who ride out tonight might not come back.
Frankie brings me a cup of coffee, her usual flirtatious demeanor replaced by genuine concern. “You okay, honey?”
“As okay as I can be,” I answer honestly.
Lani reaches over and squeezes my hand. We’ve all been through this before, the waiting, the not knowing.
“They are the best fighters I’ve ever seen,” she says quietly.
“Hurricane’s smart and experienced. He’ll bring them home.
He has to. Because if Grit gets hurt out there, I will personally kill him. ”
A slow smile crosses my face. “Who Grit or Hurricane?”
She snorts out a half laugh. “Both of them!”
I nod, but the fear is still there, sitting like a stone weighing heavily in my chest.
Frankie slides into the chair opposite me, her eyes settling on Raid.
“I can’t even imagine my life without that grumpy bastard.
I can’t even fathom what it would do to Addi.
They’re really getting to know each other now that her mother’s gone, and…
” She sighs. “Shit! I hate nights like this. It was easier being a club girl than an Old Lady.”
The rest of us chuckle as Novah shoves some cake into her mouth. “Well, I’m stress eating, so… that’s fun.”
Lani’s eyes widen in excitement. “Oh, I’m down for that. Is there more?”
Novah giggles, pointing to the kitchen. “I made a whole cake. Go, knock yourself out.”
Frankie and Lani both stand abruptly, heading for the kitchen, and I smile as Lani glances over her shoulder. “Want some?”
I glance down at my enlarged stomach, but figure I may as well jump on this bandwagon. “Hell yeah.”
Lani winks at me as she and Frankie take off for the kitchen, and I place my hand on my belly. The twins are restless, kicking and squirming like they’re picking up on my anxiety. I rub my belly absently, trying to calm them and myself at the same time.
At exactly two a.m., we hear the rumble of van engines starting up. My heart clenches as I realize this is it.
They’re leaving.
We all stand and move toward the main entrance, watching through the windows as the men carry out their final preparations. Hurricane moves through his brothers like the natural leader he is, checking gear, giving last-minute instructions, making sure everyone’s ready.
Then his eyes find mine through the glass, and everything else fades away.
He strides toward me with that confident walk that made me fall in love with him in the first place, all controlled power and barely contained intensity.
When he reaches me, he doesn’t hesitate, pulling me into his arms and kissing me like his life depends on it.
“I love you, Kaia,” he says against my lips, his voice steady despite the emotion in his eyes.
“You and our babies are the reason I fight. You’re the reason I’ll find my way home. ”
I touch his face, memorizing the feel of his skin, the scratch of his beard. “We’ll be here waiting for you. All of us.”
He places both hands on my belly, leaning down to press a kiss there. “Daddy’s gonna come home to you,” he whispers to our unborn children. “I promise.” Then he straightens, looking into my eyes one last time. “You’re my heart, Sha. Everythin’ I am, everythin’ I do, it’s all for you.”
“Come home to u-us,” I whisper, my voice breaking.
“Count on it, baby,” he replies with that cocky grin that’s gotten him through every impossible situation he’s ever faced. Then he turns and walks away, and I watch the man I love transform into Hurricane, President of NOLA Defiance, a force of nature ready to take on the world.
The vans begin to pour out of the parking lot, and I stand here with my hands pressed to the glass, watching as my husband leads his brothers into the night like the warrior he’s always been.
The sound of their vans fades into the distance, leaving behind only the echo of my heartbeat and the movement of our babies inside me.
And all I can do is wait.
All I can do is hope.
All I can do is believe that love is stronger than war, and that the man who owns my heart will find his way back to the family who needs him.
Because Lynx ‘Hurricane’ Ladet doesn’t know how to lose.
And I refuse to let him start now.