Chapter 19
Viper
After a long, restless night, I found myself parked outside Camden’s new place. I hadn’t seen or talked to him since the morning I’d confronted him about his secret family, and I hadn’t planned on ever talking to him again.
And yet, there I sat—staring at his front door.
I think it had something to do with Bec’s phone call, telling me she’d lost her latest patient.
He was a young guy who’d lost his fight with cancer and left behind a wife and two kids.
Hearing about his funeral made me realize just how short life really was, and I started thinking about my fallout with Camden.
I wanted to believe that I didn’t care about him or that he’d made a mess of things, but the fact that he came to mind proved he still meant something to me.
Hoping I might be able to set things right between us, I got off my bike and made my way up his front steps. I was about to knock when the front door opened and Camden stepped out, quickly closing the door behind him.
He feigned a smile. “I was wondering how long you were going to sit out here.”
“I was wondering the same thing myself.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m not exactly sure,” I scoffed. “We left a lot unsaid the last time we spoke, and I guess you could say it’s been weighing on my mind.”
“It’s been bugging me, too.” Sorrow marked my brother’s face as he admitted, “I fucked up, Thatch. I know that, and I can’t really explain why I’ve done the things I’ve done.”
“I’m gonna need you to try because none of this shit makes any fucking sense to me.”
“I didn’t set out to find myself another family.” He motioned his head towards his house. “That shit just happened. I met Callie, and she loved me in a way that Mia never did. I needed that. I wanted it. I felt like I deserved it, so I didn’t walk away.”
“And what about your wife?”
“I know it wasn’t right, but fuck, I spent years trying to be the man she wanted, and it was never enough.
She always wanted you, and I resented the hell out of her for it.
I resented you, too.” His words were laced with both anger and anguish as he grumbled, “You got to go off and live your life the way you wanted, not giving a flying fuck what anyone else thought while I stayed behind and busted my ass trying to be everything everyone expected. And it still wasn’t enough.
That shit wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair.”
“No one expected you to do all that shit, Camden. You took all that on yourself.”
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I really did have it all wrong.
” He looked defeated as he sat down on the porch step.
“Hell, we used to have a good thing. We used to be so close. I could come to you for just about anything, and then Mia came along, and all that changed. We grew apart, and this big divide came between us. We started resenting each other, and I don’t even know why. ”
“We broke the ultimate brother code.” I sat down next to him as I said, “We let a woman come between us. That’s on both of us.”
“Yeah, we did. I wish I could take it back. I wish I could go back and change everything. If I could, I would.” I could hear the anguish in his voice as he said, “I’m really sorry, Thatch. I’m sorry about everything.”
“That makes two of us.”
“So, what do we do now?”
“I reckon we either keep holding grudges or we can put this whole thing behind us and get on with our lives.”
“And if we choose the latter?”
“I get my brother back.”
“I’d like that.”
“I would, too.” I patted his shoulder and said, “I can’t believe you have a son.”
“He’s really something, Thatch. You gotta meet him ... for real this time.”
“I’d like that.”
Camden stood, then led me into the house, where he introduced me once again to Callie and his son, Cason.
While I didn’t agree with how he’d done things, it was good to see that my brother had finally gotten the life he’d always wanted.
I didn’t stay long, but I could tell it meant a lot to both Callie and Camden that I’d come by.
It meant a great deal to me as well.
I wanted to make sure Bec had time to get back from the funeral, so I took the long way to her house. On the ride over, I thought about all the crazy shit that had gone on over the past couple of weeks. The Broken Knights had caught us off guard, and it cost us dearly.
Thankfully, we were starting to get back on track. We’d gotten the storage lot to working order again—replaced the broken locks, repaired the fence, and cleaned up units. I’d also been in contact with Dax.
He and his brothers had been keeping a lookout for any Broken Knights that might’ve made a return to their clubhouse, but none had been found.
It seemed we’d dealt with all of them the night they showed up at the lot, but Dax gave me his word that they’d continue to keep an eye on things just to be safe.
Bec had dealt with her own run of bad luck with Trevor and his mother. They’d both put Cat and Bec through hell, but that was done. I made sure of that. I hadn’t told Bec about my visit to the prison and never planned to. The way I saw it, Trevor was a problem, and I dealt with him. End of story.
When I finally arrived at Bec’s place, I was pleased to see her car in the driveway. I pulled in behind her and parked, then rushed up to the front door and knocked. Seconds later, it opened, and Bec appeared with a warm smile on her face. “Hey there, beautiful. How was the funeral?”
“It was really nice. The church was absolutely packed. It was good to see that his family had so many people who cared about them.”
“Good. Glad to hear that.”
“What are you doing here?” Her brows furrowed. “I thought we were meeting over at your place.”
“We were, but I decided to come pick you up.” I motioned my head behind me. “I thought I’d take you for a ride.”
“Today?”
“No time like the present.” Cat was spending the night at her grandparents, so I figured this would be the perfect time to ease Bec’s concerns about moving in with me. I pointed to her feet. “You might wanna throw on some boots and grab a jacket.”
She looked down at her open-toed shoes and grimaced. “Oh, okay. Give me a second.”
“Might wanna change into some jeans, too.”
“Anything else?”
“Layers are always good.”
After scurrying around upstairs for almost ten minutes, Bec finally came back down, and she looked like she was about to go skiing in all her winter garb. I chuckled as I took in her oversized coat and thick gloves. “It’s almost sixty degrees out and sunny.”
“You said to layer up, so I layered up! Besides, I’ll probably freeze on the back of that bike.”
I leaned towards her and kissed her. “I’ll keep you warm, baby.”
“Yeah, I bet you will.” Rebecca opened her coat as she sassed, “Good thing I have all these layers.”
“I’m gonna look forward to peeling you out of all those layers tonight.” I gave her a swift slap on the ass, then said, “Now, get moving, hot stuff. We’re losing daylight.”
“Okay, okay. I’m coming.”
She closed and locked the door, then followed me over to my Harley. As I helped her put on her helmet, she asked, “So, where are you taking me on this ride of yours?”
“You’ll see.”
She gave me a skeptical look, then climbed on behind me.
She slipped her arms around my waist and held tight as I eased out of the driveway and raced onto the main road.
Unlike the time before, she was a little tense, and I could feel her grip tighten every time I hit a turn or kicked up the speed.
But she never complained. She just sat back and took it all in.
Eventually, she loosened her hold on my waist, and I could tell she was getting a feel for things and starting to enjoy the ride.
As we got closer to our destination, her body tensed once again.
The second we came upon a red light, she eased up and put her mouth up to my ear.
“Are we going where I think we’re going? ”
“We are.”
“You didn’t give me any warning or time to prepare?”
“You’re the one who said you never met the brothers.”
“And you said I had!”
Before I could respond, the light turned green, and we were off again.
I pulled through the gate and parked, and we both got off my bike and removed our helmets.
As she started peeling off some of her layers, she had an apprehensive expression on her face.
Knowing she was still a little concerned about meeting the guys, I tried to ease her mind.
“You got nothing to worry about, babe. The guys are gonna like ya. Hell, they already do. Now, they’re just gonna like you that much more. You’ll see.”
“I certainly hope so.”
I reached for her hand and led her inside.
It was a Sunday afternoon, so most of the guys were gathered in the family room watching football while the girls were in the kitchen making dinner.
I knew it would be a lot for her to take in all at once, but I figured it was the best way to at least meet everyone.
It would also give me the chance to let the boys know that I’d finally claimed myself an ol’ lady.
I had to admit it felt a little strange entering the clubhouse with Bec by my side. I’d been walking into that club for over twenty years and never once had a woman with me. It was a bit surreal.
As we stepped into the family room, I slipped my hand around Bec’s waist and led her over to the guys. Lynch was the first one to notice that we’d approached. He looked at me and then over to Bec. He studied us both for a moment, then said, “Ah, hey, Prez. Who you got there with ya?”
“This is Rebecca.” The room fell silent as the other brothers turned and listened. “You might’ve seen her here before with Delilah.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right. You work at the nursing home with her, right?”
“I do,” Bec answered.
“Hey there, Becca.” Hawk stood up and stepped over to shake her hand. “It’s good to see ya again.”
“Good to see you, too.”
“Does Delilah know you’re here?”
“I doubt it.” Bec chuckled. “I didn’t even know I was coming here myself until we pulled up.”