Chapter 5
Declan
“Mind if I kick it off?” Jasper asks me, and I nod.
The sun’s just going down on the second night of the party and the only people inside the gates are family. Well, with the exception of the Brookhaven’s chauffeur. He’s currently being suspended by his ankles in Wolfman’s den, so he definitely wishes he wasn’t here with us.
I look over the men and women in front of us, proud of the life I’ve built, and I whistle for silence so Jasper can start speaking.
“Walking away from Declan when we first met, Flint asked me what I thought of him. I knew Flint liked him, so I didn’t say anything. We all know Flint and he wouldn’t let up until I admitted I thought Declan was an asshole …”
“Yeah, he is!” Diesel yells out, interrupting Jasper, and getting a round of laughter from my brothers.
I just shrug and tilt my head to the side. They ain’t wrong.
“What Flint said that night stuck with me, ‘Just because he’s an asshole, doesn’t mean he’s wrong.’” Jasper pauses, giving me a little grin. “After all these years and miles on the road, I know for a fact that my first impression was right. But I have long trusted you to have the best interests of your men, and those you consider your friends, in the forefront of your mind. Last month we were friends, now we are brothers and because of you, because you never shied away from making the hard choices—that extends to every man here.”
When the crowd in front of us roars in approval, he grips my shoulder with his left hand while shaking my hand with his other. Even though there’s a lump in my throat, we are not huggers.
“Amazingly enough, I won the only popularity contest I ever cared about—of course, it made me Flagstaff’s President, so y’all can judge if that was a win or not,” I drawl out, trying to lighten the moment. “For years, riding under the Royal Bastards’ colors was the only thing I cared about. It took losing a friend to realize how heavy and tight the chains around me, around all of us, had become. And I’m not promising that the road in front of us won’t have its own trials, but I can say without hesitation that I trust my life, and yours, to the men here with us today.”
My eyes scan the crowd until they fall on Jenna and the kiss she blows me interrupts the beat of my heart. “I’m one of the lucky ones around here, with an Ol’ Lady who’s always got my back …”
“You do have a great ass!” Jenna yells out, and I feel my cheeks flame red as the men laugh and cat call me.
“Woman,” I growl out in a warning tone that she knows I don’t mean. Reaching for the leather I left on the table behind me, I hold it up in front of me. “You’ve looked a little down since I took your old cut away, so why don’t you get on up here and try on your new one?”
With all the grace that a seven-month pregnant woman with a petite frame can manage, Jenna glows as she comes forward and I motion to the prospects to hand out the other Ol’ Lady cuts to their men.
Helping the love of my life into her cut, I pull her forward by the lapels before slamming my lips down on hers, then lift my face up to the sky and bellow, “Northern Grizzlies!”
My yell is echoed by all around me and the energy in the crowd almost becomes its own entity until the roar of motorcycles approaching the property nearly drowns us out.
I stand in front of Jenna, squinting my eyes against the setting sun as I try to make out who’s pulling up to the gate. The prospects over there are looking at me, and I wave for them to open it when I recognize Tin’s distinctive bike.
Seven bikes ride in, stopping in a semi-circle near the crowd in front of me.
“Sorry we’re late,” Tin starts as he gets off his hog.
“Some of the guys disagreed with this choice,” Ransom says, shutting down his bike but staying on it. “I told ‘em to fuck off.”
He pulls his sunglasses off to show a fresh black eye and that’s when I notice the bruise along Tin’s jaw. The right side of my mouth pulls up in a grin, imagining that conversation and sorry that I missed it. It’s been a while since I’ve been in a good, old-fashioned brawl.
“We agree to your terms, if you’ll have us,” Tin continues, looking between Jasper and me.
Just as I open my mouth, Jasper nods his head, stepping forward, and it clicks in my mind that I report to him now. “Glad to have you with us,” he says, shaking Tin’s hand. “We’ll figure out the details and the cuts tomorrow.”
“Guess I’m extending my trip a few more days, since I’ll have to check their financial records now, too.” Fury’s voice startles me, but I try not to show it as I take a step to the left, allowing her space to stand beside me as I raise my other arm to pull Jenna up against my opposite side. “Huh. You can smile.”
“I smile plenty.” Enjoying the feel of Jenna shaking with silent laughter at my response.
“You smile at your wife, I’ll grant you that,” Fury says, matter-of-factly winking at Jenna. “It’s just that I’ve never seen anyone whose resting face is an actual glower before.”
“Young lady,” Flint says, coming to join us. “Considering you were raised in your father’s house …”
“Just making a point, old timer,” she sasses back, hip checking Flint like he’s a beloved uncle before she looks back to me. “Are you going to tell me what you found so amusing?”
“That you think the Grave Knights have an accounting system for you to review,” I respond, letting out a chuckle as I clap her on the back and leave the women there with Flint so I can have a word with Ransom.
“Who’s that?” he immediately asks me, looking over my shoulder and I know he’s talking about Fury. “I think I’m in love.”
“She’s the Northern Grizzlies’ overall treasurer,” I tell him. “Treat her with respect, even when she asks to see your club’s finances.”
“Are you shitting me?” he asks, only tearing his eyes away from her long enough to share a grin with me. “Well, damn. I’m liking the idea of this merger more and more. I’ll catch you later.”
Proving Fury wrong, another chuckle escapes me when he claps me on the shoulder and heads directly toward her. Not getting a chance to discuss what I came over here for, I hope to get the chance to speak with him before he starts drinking.
I’ve already let Axel know, and left it up to him about telling Joey, but Ransom needs to hear about Tonic directly from me. I know that Wolfman and Timber had to make a decision the other day, and while I feel it was the right one, I need Ransom to understand his chance for any retribution has passed.
Later, when outsiders are allowed in, the sounds of the party are reminiscent of what it was like before so many of us settled down. Not that I’m really paying attention. Especially not when I’m dancing with my woman, or later, when she’s lying in my bed, with a bag of chips propped against her rounded belly while I’m rubbing her feet.
Jasper
“You’ve been busy,” Emma says, sinking into the seat beside me with a beer for each of us.
“They never tell you how exhausting world domination is,” I sigh, placing my beer on the ground at my feet as a wrap an arm around her shoulder and nuzzle into her neck. “God, I miss our home.”
“I just spoke to the sitter and the kids are good. She didn’t sound frazzled, so maybe she’s lying,” Emma tells me with a soft laugh before taking a sip from her cup. “Or she zip tied them for some peace.”
“I hope this one works out,” I fervently whisper.
The newest, in a long line of babysitters, is the sister of one of the teachers Emma is friendly with from the high school. We had her out a couple of times, without incident so far. All I can think is that she has some Mary Poppins magic going on, but Emma won’t let me install cameras in the house to confirm that.
“Do we have anything we need to worry about?” she asks, and I know she’s not referring to our monsters.
Flint, Vector and I had a long conversation prior to making the deal with this chapter. While we’re more isolated where we are up in Idaho, Vector has nearly a dozen MC chapters within a day’s ride of him in Virginia.
“Declan tied up the loose ends.”
That’s the only answer I’ll give her and she nods her head, knowing that I’ll neither lie nor go into details with her. A woman’s loud moan cuts through the night, drawing my attention for a moment. This time it’s one of the local prospects fucking a woman up against the side of the clubhouse, rather than someone out of sight on the roof.
I look back at Emma’s face, searching for her reaction, and I wonder what she’s heard from the Ol’ Ladies down here. It’s easy to tell her mind is more focused on my answer than the half-naked couple and the crowd they’re attracting.
Studying her face, I think back to how she looked the night I found her on the side of the road and will always be grateful she took a chance on me.
While my answer was the truth, and I’m not worrying about the Royal Bastards holding a grudge, some part of me will always have to be on guard against the shadow organization that Declan had been chasing.
Hoping that they’ll accept the loss of the Brookhavens as an even exchange for Parker King, along with Declan’s word that this chapter, that now bears our name, will stop digging up more dirt on them.
We turned over what they had to Dylan’s contact at the Bureau. If they can’t take them down, we would never have stood a chance.
That’s not an easy pill for any of us to swallow, but the need to keep our own families safe is a pretty strong incentive.