Chapter Twenty-Six
W hen watching movies, you never realize the aftermath of a big shootout.
My ears were ringing for nearly thirty minutes. I could barely hear as Gunner ushered me out of the place and to Shirley’s car. I couldn’t even ask why he was in her car.
All I could focus on was Gunner not letting my hand go. He had to have looked over at me a million times on the drive to the hospital. Once there, he took me right to my mom’s room.
The tears started running freely as I found Lee by her side.
In that moment, though, I didn’t care how he got here. I was only glad we were all together again.
I got a full rundown of Mom’s injuries, but overall, she is going to be okay.
“They are going to keep you overnight, but the house isn’t safe to go back to. I’ll have Crow work on fixing it back up so the landlord can have it, but with everything that happened, Smoke and I would like to invite you to live in a family house on the compound,” Gunner tells us after the doctor leaves.
“I don’t know…” Mom trails off.
I can see the hesitation in her eyes.
“They aren’t the Crossbones, Mom,” I insist.
“Please, Mom, for us,” Lee pleads.
She nods, her eyes closing. “I was a dumb girl. You know my parents didn’t treat me right. I told you that once when you asked about grandparents. What I didn’t tell you was that I got addicted to coke. I ended up partying with this guy. He was the life of the party. I thought that he was what I wanted. He didn’t want to settle, though. I thought I could change him, so I stayed. I let him do things to me that if I had been sober, I’m not sure I would have been okay with. I don’t want you to go into that. I can’t regret the man, though. He brought me both of you. I would have stayed forever, dealing with the abuse if he hadn’t hurt Lee. That was the wake-up call I needed. I’m sorry I didn’t protect you both. I’ve been a terrible mother.”
Moving to her side, I grab her hand. “You have fought tooth and nail to give us the best life you could. You aren’t a bad mom. You are an amazing one. You gave up everything, then worked yourself to the bone to give us a life.”
“I missed most of your life. Then I didn’t stop you when you gave up yours to help keep Lee’s intact. Now I find that he was working too? I failed you. I don’t even know what’s going on in your lives anymore.”
“Stop being hard on yourself, Mom,” Lee chimes in, grabbing her other hand. “We are a family. This is what we do. The Saints are our family too. They have been supporting us more than you know. Gunner and Crow fixed up the house so it wouldn’t be such a hazard. They gave me a job and taught me skills to help me in the future. I know that man was a poor example for bikers, but these guys aren’t like that. They go out of their way to do nice things for us. They fixed Sloane’s car. They gave me clothes. Bear has dropped off food more times than I can count. They care about us, Mom. That includes you.”
I look over at Lee at that last admission. I had no idea that Bear was dropping food at the house. The brothers have been doing more than I realized for us. It makes me feel blessed to have found them.
“Please, Mom. We will be safe on their compound. You can quit one of your jobs and start living your life again. Lee has been doing better in school too. He promised me he will graduate with honors. Take the house. I know you have been doing it alone for so long, but it’s okay to ask for help.”
She looks over to Gunner, prompting me to do the same.
He is quiet several moments before he finally speaks. “Mary, you have been running for so long, always looking over your shoulder. You did an amazing job with these two, though. Lee is one fine kid. He’s respectful and has a good head on his shoulders. He is loyal and kind. I can see you reflected in him. Don’t get me started on Sloane.” He looks at me, winking. “She is a spitfire. When she believes in something or cares for someone, there isn’t a thing in this world that she wouldn’t do for them, just like you. You don’t like me, and yet you called me because you knew that Sloane trusted me. That was brave of you. You could have called the cops, and we might have never found them. I think you know what you need to do, but we won’t pressure you. If you want to go back to your house, we will make it as safe as possible for you. We won’t leave you unprotected.”
“We will take the house,” she rasps, looking down almost ashamed.
“Don’t, Mom. It’s okay to accept this,” I say, rubbing her hand.
“I know, but it’s going to take some time getting used to it. I’m not used to having support outside of you two.”
“You’ll see. It is going to be amazing. Where is this house anyway?” I ask, looking over at Gunner.
“Uh, so you haven’t seen that area yet. It’s further back on the land. It even has its own entrance and stuff.” He rubs his neck.
Lee lights up “The subdivision?”
He nods. “Yeah.”
Lee looks at me. “That’s where I’ve been building that house I was telling you about.”
I look over to Gunner. “The family they were building it for isn’t going to be upset?”
He shakes his head. “Trouble, I was building it for us.”
My mouth drops open.
“Damn,” Lee whispers.
Mom looks at me with a small smile on her lips.
“You don’t mind us moving in too?” she jokes.
“It only has two bedrooms. It’s a starter home. I’ll stay at the clubhouse until I can build us another one.”
He reaches out, his hand landing on my shoulder.
“I’d like that,” I tell him.
“Good. Can I talk to you outside?” he whispers against my ear.
“We will be right back.”
As we step from the room, I’m shocked to see a majority of the club there.
“Is your mom and Lee okay?” Crow asks as he steps forward.
“They are. Nothing permanent. Thank all of you for coming.”
He smiles at me. “Of course.”
“Watch them,” Gunner grunts, pulling me down the hall. He steps into a random door, bringing us into a supply closet.
“What’s going on with you?” I ask, smiling at him.
“I didn’t want to ask in front of your mom. They can have the house. I don’t care about that, but I need you next to me. Please tell me you will stay at the clubhouse with me. You can go over there every single day. I don’t care if you only sleep in my bed at night. I just need you by my side.”
My eyes start to tear up at the vulnerability in his tone. “Of course I will.”
I cup his cheeks, kissing him.
He pulls back after only a moment. “Be my old lady,” he demands.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Be my old lady.” He is stoic as he waits for an answer.
I shake my head, making his face fall. “Daddy, I thought I was already your old lady.”
His eyes meet mine, pure happiness shining in them.
“Of course you are. I’m getting you a cut with my name on it. How would you feel if I tattooed my name across your head? Would that be okay?”
“Whoa, that’s going a bit far.” I laugh.
He kisses me softly. “I know. I just want the whole world to know.”
“Don’t worry, Pierce. I will shout it from the rooftops. I belong to Gunner, vice president of the Saint’s Outlaws MC. No other can have me.”
“I like the sound of that.”
As he kisses me senseless, all I can think is me too .
It’s been two weeks since I almost lost Sloane.
To say I have been sticking to her like glue is an understatement. When I thought I was going to lose her, my life was meaningless. I went into that place ready to lay down my life for her. I didn’t want to be in this world anymore if she wasn’t in it with me.
Thankfully, my woman is smart and beautiful. Still, she still wakes with nightmares from that night.
Being in the business we are in, we learn to live with taking lives. It doesn’t happen often, but it is sometimes necessary.
I didn’t consider what it might do to her. She says she’s okay, but I know she is still learning to come to terms with it. I wish I could make it better for her. It’s why I have her working on an old-school car that was supposed to be my project.
“You need help?” I call out to her, antsy to get my hands on it.
She glares at me. “I can do it.”
I sigh, rubbing my hand on my face.
I’m about to change her mind when Smoke calls me.
“What’s up?”
“Church” is his only response.
Making my way to Sloane, I kiss the side of her head. “I have to run up to the clubhouse. Fox and Jagger are watching you. Right, boys?” I call out.
“We won’t let anything happen to our little badass,” Jagger jokes.
“Mine,” I growl at him, making her laugh.
“Go, caveman. I will be fine.” She chuckles, leaning up to kiss me.
Leaving her there is hard, but I decide to make it quick. By the time I make it to church, I’m the last one there.
Taking my seat at the table, I look to Smoke.
“Crossbones has been in touch. We killed half of their council, but the other half wasn’t there. They are not happy with what we did, even if it was warranted. They claim that their president’s blood being involved meant he had the right to take them. Either way, they said we need to make it up to them.”
“Fuck them,” I spit out.
“I’m inclined to agree. That’s not why we are here. I know there isn’t a single brother here willing to do business with them,” Smoke starts. “So I reached out to our cartel connection. I explained the situation and advised that we would be unwilling to work with them. Turns out they weren’t getting their product from the same cartel but a different source. One who is the competitor of our friends. So not only are we starting beef with them, but we now have issues between our suppliers. Things are going to get dicey and quick. I need you all to know that so that we can be prepared.”
“Fuck, I wouldn’t want to cross the Medinas,” Tank mutters.
“This isn’t good. We need to stockpile weapons,” Bear adds.
I sigh. “I’m on it. I’ll call Fang with Lotus and see what they can do.”
“I want to add more prospects. I have a whole pile of applicants on my desk. We have two right now. I think it’s time we patch them in. I want to add six to our roster. We will likely narrow it down to two. Let’s vote on it.”
Not a single brother votes against it.
“Good. It’s going to be some tough times, but we can persevere.”
As he dismisses us, I stay behind.
“You really think it’s going to come to that?” I ask him.
“It’s going to be bedlam. We will keep our family safe, but I’m afraid of what will happen. We need to keep our eyes open.”
Knocking on the table twice, I stand. “On that note, I’m going to go see my girl.”
“Cherish her, Gunner. Tomorrow’s not a promise.”
As I walk back to the shop, I can’t help but feel like that is an omen. I hope this war ends quickly and without bloodshed, but that’s a fool’s dream.
Truth is, we might end up losing some of our brothers. It’s a scary feeling.
By the time I get back to the shop, I’m ready to be alone with Sloane.
“Let’s get out of here,” I whisper into her ear.
“I’m not done.”
“We have this one for a week. Come with me.”
She wants to argue, but she must see something in my eyes. She nods her agreement.
“Fox, you’re responsible for locking up.”
“Aye aye, captain.”
Walking Sloane to my bike, I take in her beauty. She really is gorgeous. How I thought she was annoying at first, I will never know.
I get on the bike and wait for her to climb on behind me. The ride is short. So short that she gives me a questioning look when we get off.
Grabbing the packet of papers from my bike, I walk her into the middle of the empty lot. Her mother’s house is right down the way. I almost picked the land right next door but decided her mom might accidentally see things she shouldn’t see if we lived on top of each other. This is as close as I’m willing to live.
“Sit.” I pat the ground next to me.
She does as I ask. Then I start flipping through the pages. “This is what our new house is going to look like.”
She starts looking through the pictures and descriptions. I note every time she marvels at something, or if she scrunches her nose. By the time she gets to the back, she has stars in her eyes.
“Why three bedrooms? I thought you wanted a starter home.”
I shrug. “I’m going to knock you up one day. I want to be sure we have enough room for them.”
She chokes on her words as her eyes widen. “I’m nineteen and on birth control. We are not having kids any time soon.”
I frown. I never thought to ask her about birth control. That’s an easy fix. I’ll hide it until I knock her up.
“Gunner, that look on your face spells trouble.”
I smile at her. “You would know, Trouble.”
“I swear I hate you sometimes.”
Pulling her into my side, I kiss her roughly. I wait until she is panting for more before I pull back. “You love me.”
“I do love you, Pierce. More than anything in this world.”
“I love you too, Sloane.”
I don’t add the rest like she does. She doesn’t need the words.
I’m going to prove them to her with my actions every day until the day we die.