7. Riot
SEVEN
RIOT
It’s barely midday, but the rumble of music from the common room is already loud enough to rattle the fucking walls. I grit my teeth, staring up at the ceiling, my body vibrating.
I’m so fucking tired. I haven’t been able to sleep a full night since the park and that prick.
For the last three days, it’s all I’ve been able to think about.
Ivy’s strong—probably the strongest woman I’ve ever known—but she’s holding too much inside, and those seams are starting to split. Little by little, pieces of her—the ones she thinks she’s holding together—are crumbling, and it’s only a matter of time before the whole damn thing falls apart.
The shit she admitted broke something inside me. Her pain and suffering makes me want to burn everything to ashes. She doesn’t think she deserves love?
Fuck.
She deserves so fucking much—more than I’ve got to give her, but I want to try anyway.
That scene replays on a loop like a movie every time I try to rest. Less than five fucking seconds I was distracted, and when I turned around, that shithead kid was sitting with my girls, all snake charm and lies.
But they’re not your girls.
The fuck they’re not. I sat with Ivy during those midnight feeds. I helped her change Seren when they first came home. I watched movies until she was was too exhausted to stay awake.
I’m the one who has been there.
Jason or Jensen—whatever his fucking name is—doesn’t get to slide in and play the hero now.
Not when she looked so scared.
I grind my molars together, huffing a breath.
Jason needs to learn how to read the room. She was clearly uncomfortable, and he either didn’t notice or didn’t care. Both scenarios make want to smash his teeth down his throat.
She doesn’t think someone can love her?
Her sister and brother adore her. Even Mace loves her, and the list of people he gives a shit about is in the single digits.
I love her.
I love her .
Fuck.
I wince at the reverberation of the music and swallow my already frayed temper. The old me would’ve lived for this nonstop party bullshit. Now? It just grates on my last nerve.
There are things I want more, and I hate how bad I want them.
I’d give anything to be in my brother’s apartment right now, or even at my place. The clubhouse no longer feels like home, but my brother’s family does.
Ivy and Seren do.
For the first time since I took the patch, I fucking resent the job I’m doing for Nic and the Sons. He wanted boots on the ground, and I’d agreed. Why wouldn’t I? I had no ties back then, no idea how important certain people were going to become in my life.
Cleaning up the chapter is how we build a better future. But getting Crank out the door, Grub on his fucking heels, is a challenge. Our President and Vice President still have support, which fucking baffles me. In the few years since they took over, the pair of them have destroyed the legacy left behind by Nicky’s dad and grandad.
And that makes my blood boil.
When I first joined the Sons, brother meant something, loyalty was guaranteed, and I trusted every single patched member of this club with my life.
Now, the only people I’d let watch my back are Nicky, Mace, and myself.
One day, things will be different. I have to believe that. We can turn it around, and I take great pleasure in knowing Crank’s time here is numbered.
Oh, you’re going to fall hard, you fuckin’ prick.
All the people we lost, all the shit we had to do to keep the peace, will be worth it when Nic sits at the head of that table, the gavel in his hand and my brother at his right-hand side.
I can imagine Ivy sitting at the bar, Seren tearing around our feet with Mace and Maylie’s kid. I can picture Toby learning to ride, and all the family parties we’d have here.
Chaos wrapped and packaged in laughter and fucking happiness.
But they ain’t stepping foot inside this building until it’s safe.
The noise grows louder, and it’s like a toothpick jammed under my nails. Fuck this. I get out of bed, pull my kutte on overtop my hoodie, then grab my wallet, keys, and phone.
When I step inside the common room, my body snaps to attention, but outwardly, I’m relaxed. My jaw flexes at the sight of Chloe Winters riding Crank like she’s auditioning to be a fucking porn star.
If Sandy saw her daughter like this, she’d burn this place to the ground, and I’d hand her the fucking petrol can.
She’s an adult, yeah, but this ain’t right. Everyone knows her dad is someone in this club, and watching that shithead treat her like she’s a convenient hole feels like spitting on the patch.
But Chloe ain’t my problem to fix—not today, anyway.
I head for the bar, passing Diesel leaning against the wall in silence. He doesn’t say a word, just watching, waiting.
It feels like we’re all holding our breath.
I drop onto a stool, my back to the room so I don’t have to watch. Between my shoulder blades itches, like someone’s got a knife at my back. Even here, sitting at the bar in a room that’s been my home since I was seventeen years old, I don’t feel a second of peace.
My leg bounces as Riley wanders over. Instinct says to move, but I lean in, grinning like I’m not a ball of tension internally.
“You want a beer?” he asks.
I want a bottle deep enough to drown in.
“Ain’t hanging around for that long,” I say. “Grub not here yet?”
It’s unusual for that cunt to be gone when Crank’s here. Wonder where that slimy little shit is.
Riley shrugs. “I haven’t seen him since last night.”
“Nic?”
“He was here an hour ago, but I don’t know where he went.” He leans over the bar. “They don’t tell the grunts shit around here.”
I snort. Some things never change.
“They tell you just as little once you get a patch, kid, but expect you to know everything.”
Something moves behind me. My shoulders stiffen, and my fingers drift towards one of my knives.
I don’t relax when Blade drifts up to the bar.
He’s right behind Crank and Grub on the list of people I don’t trust. The weaselly bastard sets off every warning light on my internal dashboard.
I turn on my stool, my shit-eating grin hiding the tension snapping through me.
“Where’s your brother?” he asks. No hello, how’s it going? Prick .
“How the fuck should I know?”
He scowls. “You see him, tell him I want a word.”
I let the monster peek out of the cage just a second. “Do I look like a fuckin’ secretary? You know there is this thing called a phone, right? You dial his number and talk to him like a big boy, all without draggin’ me into your shit.” I pull mine out of my pocket and show it to him.
He sneers, the long scar that runs from his cheek all the way up to his ear seeming to split the side of his face.
“He ain’t picking up.”
Probably because he knows it’s you.
“There’s also this thing called voicemail,” I say. “Leave a message.”
My phone vibrates in my hand. I glance down, expecting to see Nic or my brother’s name, but it’s Ivy.
A grin splits my face. I glance up at Blade, who hasn’t moved. “You mind?”
“Is that your brother?”
“No, it’s fuckin’ not.”
He glares at me as I step away from the bar and swipe my finger over the screen to accept the call.
“Hey—”
That’s all I get out before her shaken voice is in my ear. “I’m so sorry for calling you, but I tried Maylie and Mace. Neither of them are answering. I didn’t know who else would pick up.”
Cold slides down my spine as Seren screams in the background. “What’s goin’ on?”
“Seren’s sick.” Another ice pick slides between my ribs when her voice cracks. “She won’t stop crying and she’s hot to touch. I called an ambulance, but it’s been ten minutes and nobody has come.”
I signal Riley over, ignoring the shake in my hands. “Keys,” I mouth to him, and he tosses his at me without a word.
I’m barely aware of anything as I push through the door into the parking area.
“Are you at home?” I bark down the line.
“Yeah.” She makes a soothing sound, trying to calm her daughter. Her screaming cuts through me. “What if something happens to her, Riot? What if the ambulance doesn’t get here in time?”
Fuck, she’s killing me.
“Take a breath, Vee.” She does, ragged and panicked, like she’s drowning. “That’s it, sweetheart. In and out. Just like that.”
I unlock the van and climb inside, jamming the key into the ignition. I hit the loudspeaker button before sliding the handset into the cradle on the dashboard. The sounds of her ragged breaths fill the cab, and my stomach is a bottomless pit as the engine roars to life.
“I’m sorry for calling, but I didn’t know what else to do. I don’t know where my sister is.”
“Hey, you always call me if you’re in trouble, you hear me? Always. I’m on my way. I’ll be there as fast as I can. Just keep talkin’ to me.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
She says it like I’m her fucking hero. I’ve never been anyone’s knight in shining armour, but fuck, I want to be hers.
“How long has she been like this?” I ask as I overtake a slow-moving car, darting into the opposite lane and narrowly avoiding a collision with a vehicle coming in the other direction. I ignore the blaring of the horn as I slip back into my lane.
“She was fussy last night, and then this morning, she seemed lethargic. I gave her some medication, thinking she’d settle, but then she started crying and hasn’t stopped since.”
Invisible hands clamp around my throat as Seren’s high-pitched cry cuts through me.
“It’s okay. I’m almost there.”
I have no idea what the fuck I say to her in the next few minutes as I break every speed limit to reach their building. I use the fob to open the gate, frustrated at how long it takes to slide back, and as soon as I’m in the space reserved for their apartment, I cut the engine.
I lose connection with Ivy, and I curse, even though I’ll be with her in less than a minute. I want to hear her voice, to keep talking to her.
I sprint to the lift, stabbing the button to call it. The tin box feels claustrophobic as it climbs the floors. Every second stretches into hours.
By the time I reach the front door, I’m coming out of my skin. I can hear Seren from behind it, still making that distressed wail that turns my stomach to ice.
“Vee?” I yell her name even as I stride towards the living room and the sound of the cries.
Ivy’s tear-stained eyes meet mine, her cheeks drained of all colour while Seren’s are so red, they’re almost purple.
For a second, I just stare at them both, all thoughts emptying from my fucking skull. Then my brain kicks in.
I grab the changing bag from the side of the couch, slinging it over my shoulder before snatching up the car seat. “I got the van downstairs.”
“Riot.” She sobs my name, and even though I want to be moving, I cross the space between us and pull them both against my chest.
I breathe her in, my nose nearly in the crook of her neck, and she clings to me like I’m the only thing stopping her from going under.
“It’ll be okay,” I lie. I don’t have a fucking clue if it’ll be okay. “I got you.”
I don’t know why I do it, but I press a kiss into Ivy’s hair as she trembles beneath me.
“Come on, baby. Time to go.”
Ivy doesn’t say a word in the lift or when I strap Seren into the car seat. The silence wraps around us, thick and heavy as I pull out of the space and drive towards the hospital.
“You doin’ okay?” I split my gaze between the road and her.
“No.” Seren continues to scream, and anxiety prickles along my skin. “Thank you for coming. It means everything that you did.”
Is she fucking crazy? “Darlin’, I’ll always come. That ain’t a question.”
Ivy lets out a sad, choked sob. “I’m sorry. I’m just not used to having people other than Maylie and Toby to rely on.”
My throat constricts to the point of pain, and I stare at the road, trying to choke down the anger I feel towards her father. He should have been there for his children, should have taken the burden off Maylie when his wife lay dying. Maylie shouldn’t have been eighteen and taking care of them, and Ivy shouldn’t have been eighteen and made a mother against her will.
I bite it all back. This ain’t the time or the place to think about this shit.
“You have people now,” I assure her. “You’ll never be alone again.”
She turns to me. “I know, but Riot, that works both ways. You have me too.”