Chapter Eighteen
Caius
I can hardly believe she’s here. In my arms. Safe. Last night, I slept more soundly than I have in a long time. There’s a certain peace I feel in Romy’s presence.
There’s so much we need to talk about, but holding her this morning while lightly toying with her blond hair as she sleeps doesn’t have me in any kind of hurry to wake her up.
Questions keep piling up in my head. The one that spins me around and around is how did we go from enemies to lovers to much more in the span of less than a year? This six-month separation, though I didn’t remember her again until recently, felt like a lifetime of being apart.
But when I saw her, cuffed to that bed, raped and abused, my heart roared in agony. I can’t explain the pain I felt in that moment. Excruciating, debilitating, maddening.
She’s safe now.
I can hear a small voice whispering from the floor and then slurping sounds of the dog licking. Kaitlyn tries to suppress a giggle but fails. This makes me smile. It fades when I remember she doesn’t know me as her uncle, but instead some murderer who killed her daddy.
Another reason to stay curled around Romy, nuzzling her hair.
Reality is too much to face right now.
“Mommy?” Kaitlyn whispers. “Mommy, wake up.”
I sit up on my elbow to face the little girl. When she sees me, a flicker of recognition glimmers in her eyes. Maybe there’s hope for us yet.
“Do you want breakfast?” I ask, trying not to appear intimidating in any way, shape, or form. “I bet your dog needs to go outside, too, huh?”
“Sunshine,” Kaitlyn says, eyes peeking up at me just over the edge of the bed. “She probably needs to poop.”
I scrunch my face at her and she lets out a silly giggle, clearly pleased at grossing me out with the mention of dog shit. This has Sunshine getting excited, yapping at her antics, which in turn makes her laugh more.
“Time to get up?” Romy asks with a yawn.
Leaning forward, I give her a kiss on her head. “Sleep in a little. I’ll make sure these two get breakfast.”
Kids are resilient and block out bad shit. Trust me, I know this from personal experience. I’m hoping this is the case for Kaitlyn. Maybe she’ll even actually remember who I am and that I’m not a bad guy.
You murdered a man in cold blood.
You’re a bad guy.
I feel zero remorse. Watching Portman bleed out, naked and helpless, was satisfying as fuck. He deserved far worse for what he did. Far fucking worse. He got off easy if you ask me.
After me and Kaitlyn each take turns in the bathroom and are dressed, I lead her and Sunshine out of the stupid football room. Voices can be heard in the living area of the clubhouse.
“Bermuda has a big spread going at the big house,” Nees says from the sofa, engrossed with his phone. “They’re all awake over there.”
Kaitlyn sticks to my side, clearly choosing me as her protector over Nees. I relax slightly. Perhaps she trusts me simply for the fact her mother does.
Not her real mom.
Try telling those two that. An outsider would have no clue they weren’t related. They clearly love each other a lot.
As soon as we go outside, Sunshine trots off to sniff around to get the lay of the land. Kaitlyn takes in the colorful scene around us. We’re surrounded by every shade of green on the trees, grass, and brush. The sky this morning is bright blue and cloudless. Maybe everything seems more intense because I’m finally out of my mind fog.
Kaitlyn sees a patch of flowering weeds and runs over to pick them. I don’t stop her. Kid can collect whatever she damn well pleases after the shit she’s gone through. Sunshine becomes interested in what she’s doing and then starts eating the yellow flowers.
I give a sharp whistle, and the dog jerks her head guiltily my way. “Let’s get some real food.”
Kaitlyn clutches her flowers and comes back over to my side. Sunshine dutifully follows, tail swishing happily.
There’s such a serenity in this moment.
Is this how normal people live?
My entire life has been such a mindfuck. Not having to be on guard or constantly searching is freeing.
Kaitlyn is impressed with the many motorcycles in the garage. There’s always someone in there working on them. Since they’re all new-looking, I’m guessing they’re modifying them, detailing them, or just doing random maintenance. Bizzy and Gibson both give me a nod as we pass.
Once inside the big house, we’re met with the heavenly scent of bacon. My stomach rumbles audibly and it makes Kaitlyn giggle. She’s so fucking cute.
“Look, Uncle Caius, they have a pool!”
She runs through the kitchen and over to the back door, in awe of the sparkling water. While she points through the glass, enthralled in what she sees, I’m still reeling over her calling me Uncle Caius.
So she does remember me?
It’ll take some time, but I have hope we’ll get there.
“Can we eat outside by the pool?” she asks, nose pressed to the glass.
“Yeah, kiddo, that’ll be fine. Go ahead and sit out there. I’ll bring some food to you.”
She all too eagerly bursts out the back door and claims a seat at the patio table. Sunshine plops down by her feet, both of them seemingly happy with their morning so far.
“Heard she walked in on you,” Bermuda says, coming to stand beside me. “Looks like she’s over it.”
“Guess Nees told you?” I scrub my palm over my face and nod. “They fucked with her head. We’ll see what all she truly remembers and if she’ll ever forgive me.”
“Let her go swimming and I’d say you’ll be forgiven.” He clasps me on the shoulder and squeezes. “Come get it before Bizzy goes in for seconds.”
It takes a couple of trips, but I manage to get enough food for me, Kaitlyn, the dog, and a plastic container filled with stuff to take back to Romy. By the time we finish eating, Koyn and Filter step outside to join us. They light up to smoke, far enough where we don’t smell it, but close enough that Kaitlyn scrunches her nose.
“Smoking is bad,” she whispers to me. “Are those men bad?”
I wash down the rest of my food with some orange juice. “Nah, kiddo. They’re good people. You don’t have to worry about anything here.”
“I think Mommy likes it here.”
“Why do you say that?”
She keeps her attention on the strawberry slice she’s trying to stab with her fork. “This morning she was being lazy and happy. She doesn’t ever get to be lazy.”
“Oh yeah? How come?”
“Daddy…” She frowns and flashes me a confused look as though something isn’t computing in her brain. “She just had to do a lot of stuff at our house. I think my baby sister makes her sleepy.”
My heart aches for this child. She’s been through so fucking much in her lifetime.
“We’re going to meet later this evening,” Koyn tells me as he stubs out his cigarette under his boot. Then he picks up the butt and tosses it in an outdoor trashcan. “We need to debrief and plan what’s next. You good?”
“I’m good,” I assure him.
The back door opens and a blonde with arms full of Walmart shopping bags comes out. Copper’s woman, Stormy, is beautiful. She’s also feisty as fuck. I suppose to be with a guy from a biker gang, you’d have to be.
“You must be Kaitlyn,” Stormy says as she makes her way over to her. “Did you get your stuffies and dolls me and Hadley left for you?”
Kaitlyn nods, smiling shyly. “Thank you.”
“Of course, sweetie. We heard you left in a hurry and didn’t get to bring any of your belongings.” She hands her a bag. “Don’t worry. We got you some things.”
Kaitlyn reaches into the bag and pulls out a sparkly pink blob of material. “A swimsuit!” She waves it around with such excitement, she nearly takes out her mostly full glass of orange juice.
Stormy winks at me before speaking to her again. “I brought my swimsuit over too. We could go swimming if you want. I got some other things for you.”
Kaitlyn eagerly empties another bag that has some pool toys and a unicorn floatie inside. Her breakfast is a thing of the past as she now sits on the ground, digging in more of the bags. Sunshine, the nosy dog, sniffs in one by Stormy’s feet.
“Smart dog,” Stormy says with a laugh. “Copper insisted on getting her some treats.”
Sunshine’s tail starts wagging wildly at the mention of the treats. Stormy pulls out a bag and tosses it at me. I tear it open and feed a couple to Sunshine. It’s not the bacon she had for breakfast, but the dog doesn’t seem disappointed about it.
“There’s dog food in the back of the truck, too,” Stormy tells me. “Some stuff for Romy as well.”
“Thank you,” I tell her. “This means a lot.”
She shrugs as though it’s no big deal. “You somehow got yourself involved with the guys and we take care of our own.”
“Can I go swimming now?” Kaitlyn asks me, giving me her best puppy dog eyes. “Please, please, please.”
I chuckle because she’s cute as hell. “We have to feed Romy first.”
“Go ahead,” Stormy says with a grin. “I’ll get this sorted out and keep an eye on her.”
“You okay with that, Kaitlyn?”
She nods, grinning wide. After having spent some time with these people, I know they’re good despite their outward appearances.
Stormy helps Kaitlyn put everything back in the bags and the two of them go inside so she can get changed. Koyn makes his way over to my table, Filter by his side.
“The pool is popular with everyone around here,” he says. “These Oklahoma summers aren’t for the weak. I don’t know how people make it through July and August without a pool.”
He’s not wrong. It’s late morning, not quite noon, and hot as fuck. I’ll need another shower when I get back to the clubhouse. A dip in the pool does sound enticing.
“I didn’t ever say it,” I mutter, voice gritty with emotion, “but thank you. Thank you all for helping me get my girls out of there.”
They both nod as if it was nothing. But it was a lot more than nothing. This group of men worked together to help me reunite with Romy and Kaitlyn, and I’ll forever be grateful to them.
“It’s not without strings,” Koyn reminds me.
“I know. I’m prepared to do what’s necessary to pay my debt.”
“Good. Information and your skillset are what we need.”
“You have it.” I pause before asking the question that’s been plaguing me. “What happened to Portman’s body?”
Koyn pulls out another cigarette from his pack and lights up again. The smoke billows toward me, but I don’t wave it away, instead letting the scent of tobacco comfort me.
Why would it comfort me?
I have a brief flash of my dad smoking on the front porch when I was around Kaitlyn’s age. He hadn’t quit yet at that point in his life. I’d played with my toy trucks in the yard, watching him as he installed a swing for Mom. My chest tightens at the fond memory.
“Dragon torched the place,” Koyn reveals. “Any evidence that may’ve pointed to you or us is gone.”
I let out a relieved breath. “What about the facility?”
“Torched that too.” Koyn cracks his neck audibly before pinning me with a hard stare. “That other doctor wasn’t there.”
“Doc Junior. Huxley’s son.”
Koyn nods. “Spend time with your girls, but this evening, we’re going to talk about what happens next.”