Chapter 36
“What’s on your mind, Daddy?” Riley straddles my lap, distracting me from the work I’ve been throwing myself into.
“You know I hate it when you call me that,” I remind her. “And you know that I love how you punish me for it,” she teases me with her lips until I grab her face and hold it still so I can kiss her.
“Jas has the kids and I missed you while you were gone on that run. You can’t have more work to do.” She rests her arms back on the desk showing me what I’m missing out on, and making it a real challenge to focus.
“Riley, Prez asked me to get this squared up and I wanna see it through for him.”
“And it can wait till the morning.” She pouts.
“No.” I shake my head firmly, trying to pry the deeds for The Black Pearl out from under her ass.
“Thorne, I know what you”re doing.” She folds her arms under her tits and gives me that judgy, little stare that makes me wanna ruin her all over my desk.
“I ain’t doin’ nothin’. I’m just tryin’ to put shit right for Prez.”
“No, you”re avoiding talking to me. You”re shutting out your feelings and throwing yourself into all this crap so you don’t have to think about the fact that you”re losing one of your best friends.” She calls me out and don’t it just make me wanna fuck the cleverness right outta her.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and shake my head when I realize I can’t hide from her how I feel.
“I already lost Tac, I don’t wanna lose him too.” I throw the pen I’m holding at the desk as I let it all out and show my fuckin’ weakness. Riley’s been through so much, I’m supposed to be the strong one.
“Doesn’t that feel better?” she pulls me closer and as I breathe her in all I can think about is how grateful I am, not just to have her, and the kids, but that a man I’ve always looked up to is giving everything up so I get to keep ‘em.
“Sometimes I hate myself for draggin’ you into all this. You shouldn’t have to worry that ya could end up alone with the kids, you deserve better,” I admit, feeling powerless. Things could have been so different had a different agent been on this case, and if I had Cliff Adams in front of me right now, I’d strangle the fuckin’ life outta him for what he did.
“Sometimes, I think you forget where I came from.” She pulls away and smiles at me. “Thorne, you showed me a side of love that I never knew existed, you love Gabriel like he’s your own son.”
“He is my son.” I frown because I refuse to have him thought of in any other way.
“I’m grateful to be here, among all these people who care for each other and help each other. I have friends I never thought I’d have and I…”
“Say it,” I urge her, because I know how much she hates to talk about her past with Raphael, and despite what she thinks, I could never forget what he put her through. There are nights when I dream about killing him all over again for it.
“I’m healed.” She smiles looking so brave and fuckin’ strong that a surge of pride lifts a smile onto my face. “You did that.” She slides her hand over my stubble and when she kisses me again, I stand up from my chair and lift her off the desk. Whatever there is left to do can wait till the morning.
* * *
“I didn’t realize you were comin’ today.” I put on a polite smile when Sylvia lets herself into our cabin. I also note the way she looks over my bare torso like I shouldn’t be shirtless in my own kitchen.
“It’s a surprise visit.” I wonder if the old woman likes what she sees since she’s still staring at it while I finish sliding Riley’s pancakes onto her plate.
“We really need to do morning sex more often.” Riley comes breezing outta the bathroom fixing her hair and is completely unaware that we have company.
“Shit.” She stops on her feet when she notices Sylvia. “I mean, we weren’t expecting you.” Her awkward laugh and the way she tugs the shirt of mine she’s wearing, to cover more of her thighs, has me hiding my smirk behind my hand.
“I can see.” Sylvia clears her throat and sits at the table.
“These look very tasty, Thorne.” She looks up at me and smiles curtly, and I hold in the growl I wanna make and return to the stove.
“Gabriel is with Jasmine and Storm,” Riley informs her as she takes her own place at the table.
“I should hope so.” I see the trace of amusement in the wrinkles around Sylvia’s lips.
“And don’t worry, you weren’t interruptin’ anythin’ at all,” I point out, placing a coffee in front of Riley and kissing her cheek. The old woman grins back at me sarcastically while Riley eats her breakfast and makes those sweet little ‘mmmm’ sounds that never fail to get my dick hard, even if the woman whose son”s throat I slit is sitting at my breakfast table.
“Enjoy.” I slide a plate in front of Sylvia who looks a little shocked, but the smile it earns me from Riley is worth it. She’s always asking that I make more of an effort with Gabriel’s grandmother, and today I’m feeling generous.
“Well, that”s very kind of you.” She takes the knife and fork I hand her and starts eating.
“I’ll go get the kids. Gabriel will be so excited to see you.” Riley excuses herself from the table when she’s finished and heads to the bedroom, and I throw her a look for leaving us alone when she comes back out fully dressed and heads for the door.
“You”re good for her,” Sylvia tells me as she chews around a mouthful of pancake and I have to question if I heard her right. “I know we don’t see eye to eye, but I like the way you take care of her. Gabriel too,” she admits, almost looking sad.
“I like that I get the chance to.” I sit opposite her, studying the old woman hard and trying to imagine what it’s like to be her. I appreciate things must be hard for her. Every mother loves her son, it’s not something you can switch off, no matter how bad they are.
“I want you to know you can trust me, Thorne. I carry a lot of guilt for what Raphael did. I don’t condone it and, as much as I would like Gabriel to know where he came from, I understand why it’s important that he doesn’t.”
I nod my head appreciatively, feeling empathy for her when tears start to well up her eyes.
“I’d like us to be friends, for Riley’s sake, even if not for our own. Believe it or not, I can be quite fun.” She laughs at herself and I’m surprised at the way it makes me smile. “I want to be part of this family, I have nothing else and not many years left, so I guess what I’m asking is for you to do an old lady a favor.” Gabriel comes bursting through the door interrupting us and running straight to jump on her lap.
“I have to go and see Prez.” I drain the last of my coffee as I stand up.
“What, now?” Riley looks disappointed.
“Yeah, now. I took last night off, remember?” I raise my eyebrows at her and watch her blush all over again. “Is it a problem?”
“Well, kinda, I thought you’d be home today so I told Shaniya I’d help out at the drop-in.”
“I’m sure Sylvia will watch the kids.” I shrug, noticing how Sylvia looks almost as surprised as Riley.
“Ummm, yeah, sure.” She shakes herself outta her shock and agrees enthusiastically. Nodding my head at her I go to our room to get dressed.
“Thorne, are you sure about this?” Riley chases after me and closes the door so we won’t be heard.
“You trust her, don’t ya?”
“Yeah, I do, but you?—”
“We’re movin’ on, Riley, what he did can’t hurt us anymore and it shouldn’t hurt her either.”
I watch the smile tug on her lips as I take her hand in mine and kiss her knuckles.
“What’s gotten into you?” she asks, narrowing her eyes and trying to read me
“I guess I just figured life’s too short for holdin’ grudges. Neither of our parents are still with us, Sylvia’s the closest thing the kids have to a grandmother.” I kiss my girl on the cheek.
“Wait… Amee too?” Now she really looks shocked.
“I told ya from the start, darlin’, there will never be no differences between the kids.”
“I wish you knew how much I love you,” she tells me, reachin’ up on her toes so she can kiss me.
“I got a pretty good idea.” I think back to how she looked when she took my cock this morning, something in the way that she looks at me whenever I’m inside her never makes me question it.
“Have fun at the drop-in.” I kiss her one last time before I open the door and head back into the kitchen where Sylvia is already at work mixing up more pancakes for the kids.
“Now, you both be good for Grandma.” I ruffle Gabriel”s hair and lean down to my little girl’s high chair to put a kiss on her head. I look across at Sylvia, who’s wearing a huge beam and mouths a ‘thank you’ before I pick up the paperwork I need and fling my cut over my shoulder.
* * *
“So, it’s all in order?” Jimmer checks, not even bothering to read the paperwork before he signs it.
“All the businesses are bein’ transferred into Jessie’s name, the compound too,” I assure him.
“And my personal assets?” He looks at me once he’s finished.
“I checked your will and it’s all goin’ to Ella, though there is somethin’ we need to add. Vex transferred the ownership of his cabin to you a few months ago, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember.” He looks a little distant and I wonder if he’s thinking about the last time he visited the stubborn, old bastard who lives up on the hills and refuses any help. I know he’s spoken to his son, Raze, about taking over our Long Beach charter and he still hasn’t given his answer. Soon, Prez is gonna have to start thinking of some other options.
“About that.” Prez stretches out his neck. “I’m gonna ask ya to do somethin’ that may seem a little crazy.” He leans forward across the table.
“Everythin’ you”re askin’ me to do here is crazy.” I take the opportunity to give him my opinion on the situation. I get what he’s doing, I appreciate it, but it should have been a club decision.
“I need ya to have Maddy do her fake ID trick for a woman, mid-thirties, and put that cabin in whatever name she chooses. Then when all this shit blows over, you hand all that information to Kathrine Consuela and tell her it’s hers if she needs it. Write that down and get it done,” he tells me pointing to the notebook I got open in front of me and almost looking embarrassed by his request.
“Wait, that”s the agent that put you in here?” I check I’m hearing him right.
“Yeah, and she’s put a whole lot on the line to ensure this goes down the way I want it. I want her to have some security.” I don’t argue with him, just nod my head and agree to get it done.
“You know each person that”s come in here has given me their thoughts on what I’m doin’. You”re a man whose opinion I’ve always valued. I’d like to know what you’re thinkin’.” He surprises me when he asks.
“Are my thoughts gonna change your mind?” I ask, hearing the tiny bit of hope that comes out in my voice.
“No, but it might just ease it.” He laughs at me.
“I think what you”re doin’ is stupid. I think it’s sad and unfair, but it’s selfless, it’s brave and it’s typical of ya.” I put on a smile for the oldest friend I have left.
“It ain’t completely selfless,” Prez admits with a real sad look on his face.
“Look, Prez, we’re far too fuckin’ old for bullshit so I ain’t gonna pretend that I’m gonna get the opportunity to say this to ya again.”
Prez nods his head like he respects my honesty. He knows, as well as I do, that he’s a dead man walking the minute he gets put inside a real prison.
“We may have all taken our cuts at different times but we all made the same promises and signed ourselves up for the risks this life brings. What you”re doin’ here is keepin’ me out there with my family, and there ain’t enough gratitude in the world that I can give you for that.” I tell him, trying my best to keep it together.
“It’s where you belong.” He smiles at me.
“I hope ya took Monica’s advice and had some protection worked somewhere into your deal.”
“Don’t be worryin’ about the deal I make here, that”s my business, you just keep the finances on track, and try and repair some of the damage done to Long Beach. Raze is gonna have his work cut out, the last thing he needs is financial problems, I don’t care where you have to draw the money from to help him out, you make it happen.”
“So, Raze is taking the job?” I ask, knowing that, last I heard, he hadn’t given a straight answer.
“He’ll take the job,” Prez assures me with a confident grin on his face.
“How’s Jessie?” he asks when I go to get up and shake his hand.
“He’s in denial, and he’s sure he’s gonna find you away outta this,” I tell him knowing, as well as Prez does, that it’s gone too far for that now.
“Have his back. The first year’s gonna be the hardest, but I know that kid’s gonna do amazin’ things for the club.” I see the pride on his face and nod.
“I got his back, Prez, just like you got ours.” I shake his hand and somehow manage to hold in my emotions when I turn my back on him and walk out the door.