30. Silas
THIRTY
SILAS
PRESENT DAY
“What is this?” Natty’s mouth gaped as I took her inside the garage that sat off the side of the cottage.
I smiled, feeling a blush crawling up my neck. “This is my truck.”
Her face lit up. “Because you’re a farmer now.”
“Just get in.” I shook my head as she began laughing at me.
We had several flat boxes in the back, ready to be assembled, so we could move her out of the clubhouse today. We were also planning to help pack up Red and Brooks’s apartment, regardless that I didn’t think she was ready for it. Her grief was getting better, but pieces of pain still lingered around her eyes and mouth when she didn’t think I was watching.
As soon as we pulled in through the gates of the Stone Riders club and parked, Laura, Penelope and Callie were there to greet Natty with open arms and offered to help take up a few boxes. I was about to follow her when Killian arrived next to my door.
“Can I help you?”
He smiled, using the expression he often did with his enemies. “Yes, actually. Can you get the fuck inside and have a little chat with us?”
I wasn’t in the mood to make waves. I just wanted to move Caelum out and go back home. So I followed Killian inside, into their church, where Wes Ryan and Jameson King were already waiting for us.
“Were you ever planning to tell us that you’re no longer the president of The Death Raiders?” Killian tipped his chin up, taking a seat at the head of the table.
I dug my nail into my jeans and tried to withhold the rage simmering under my skin. Still took practice not to react first; those dark things woven within me still had wings, ready to take flight.
“Why would I have to tell you that?”
Wes scoffed and sat forward. “Forgive us for assuming you were one of our allies.”
It really was a stupid assumption. This club lived by a code that made them soft as fuck.
“Because it was our guys who had to go and clean up the two dead bodies left behind.”
I narrowed my gaze on Killian and flicked an annoyed glance at Wes.
“Why the fuck were you called at all?”
Jameson was leaning back but sat forward to address me. “Because Natty called my cousin to have someone from the original defectors found, gagged and interrogated by Alec Veda.”
Still fucking hated that she’d done that, but I didn’t blame her. I knew she wasn’t able to get through to me at the time and she was desperate to find Fable.
“I called Matt, from Sons of Speed, and told him to come.”
“We got there first and cleaned the scene, which meant we delivered a body to Sons of Speed, and now they think Stone Riders killed him.” Killian’s tone turned icy.
Well, that was a problem wasn’t it?
“How the fuck is that my problem then? You should have left it.”
Wes sat forward, glancing at Killian. “It was Giles’s territory, and that mill is located near product he can’t have the police know about. Searching the area was out of the question. So we showed up to help him. Not you, or Sons of Speed. So, yes you will still fix this. Who’s taking over for you?”
“Lance Hurst.”
Killian muttered a curse .
“He hates Killian,” Wes said distractedly.
Killian stood and pushed the chair. “So we gained an enemy by you stepping down, and now Sons of Speed thinks we killed their president?”
“It’s not really my concern what happens to your club. I can make a call and fix it with Sons of Speed, but I’m out.”
“No, you’ll fix all of it by swearing to ride with us under our patch if we need you.”
Wes tossed a leather cut on the table.
“You fucking serious?” I glared at all three men. Jameson was smirking, covering his mouth as if he was smothering a laugh.
Killian slid the cut closer. “We’re dead serious. You won’t even be an official member. You don’t have to come to meetings or church. But if we need you to ride with us for any reason, you’ll be there.”
I glared up at him, then reached for the leather and stopped when I realized what it was.
“The actual fuck.”
I stood, holding up the cut.
The Stone Riders name and acronym was on the front but on the back…
Property of Caelum
“You gave me a property patch?”
Jameson burst out laughing; Wes chuckled too and even Killian smirked.
“She gets an actual member’s cut because we know that if we need Natty, she’ll be there for us in a heartbeat. She’ll always be one of us no matter what happens.”
A smile crept up my face, actually enjoying their antics. Stupid fuckers were actually pretty funny.
“Fine. I’ll ride with you when you need me.”
Jameson pointed. “And be sure to wear your property patch when you do.”
I walked out of the room, giving all three men the finger.
It was agonizing sitting on the floor, experiencing the grief of the people in this room while they put Brooks and Red’s things into boxes.
“Callie, do you remember this?” Killian asked, holding up some piece of pottery that had clearly been done by a child.
Callie started laughing while also crying. She did both, frequently.
“They were the victims of so many of our school projects.”
Killian smiled again. “I gave them an entire diorama I made once.”
“Do you think they ever cared that we just kept bringing them stuff?”
Simon Stone piped up from the corner. “They loved every second of it. You were the kids they never got to have.”
That made my chest feel tight. It took a lot to make me emotional, but suddenly I was on the verge of tears. Maybe because my mother was here with them as they sorted through Red’s things, or perhaps it was because my wife was silently crying as she packed the kitchen. But, fuck, the mood was somber.
I left them all in the living room where I’d been packing boxes and pulled Natty’s hips until her back was nestled against my chest. She set the dishes down, and abruptly turned, flinging her arms around my neck, burying her face into my shirt.
Sobs escaped her as she shook in my arms, and I just held her. The murmurs in the living room grew quiet as Natty continued to break.
“She hated these dishes.” She pulled away, pointing at the offending items. Her face was blotchy and wet.
Laura appeared in the archway, pursing her lips while she watched us.
“What would Red do if she were here, knowing she had to pack something we hated?”
Natty sniffed, swiping at her face, then let out a sweet laugh.
“She’d smash ‘em.”
“She wouldn’t keep any of this stuff…I mean, she loved the minimal lifestyle. She saved her money for her makeup, her leather riding gear, and their road trips. They’d want all of it spread out, given away or used in a bonfire.” Natty looked around, folding an old tattered dish towel.
Simon appeared in the doorway. “Then that’s what we’ll do. We’ll say goodbye properly before we bury them. And we’ll say goodbye to you too, Natty. ”
I marveled at the way Natty beamed, as if having Simon offer to say goodbye to her, or give her a send off from The Stone Riders meant something to her. It still warmed some dead place inside of me when I realized how settled she’d become here.
We continued to work, but it all felt a little lighter, now that we knew we would be burning their stuff and smashing a shit ton of dishes. The night fell quicker than any of us anticipated. Natty started drinking with Laura, and the two seemed to have the most fun out of any of us as they danced under the starry sky, raising their bottles of bourbon while loud music roared from the speakers, and Stone Riders remembered two of their most revered members.
I sat on the edge of an abandoned car that had made its way into the back; apparently, it had been caught on fire at some point. But it made for a good place to observe this community that had adopted my wife and helped her discover who she wanted to be. That gave her people to love, to grieve, and to miss. Friends who cried with her, drank with her and held her while she was sad. Raw, unfamiliar joy spread through me like all that sunshine I was always craving from Caelum.
A fresh feeling of hope burst in that organ that had felt dead for so long.
This was our home, our future…these would become our friends. The people we’d spend our holidays with, and I’d have to call to help plan her birthdays. Because while I’d been raised as a Destroyer, accepted becoming a Death Raider, it looked like, through love, I’d reluctantly and permanently become a Stone Rider.