Chapter 3
Chapter Three
BIG RED
EARLIER THAT DAY
“ G uys, I’m heading out early. I have to pick the kids up,” I say as I hang up my coveralls.
Bear pops his head up from under the hood of the car he’s working on. A smirk stretches across his lips, and Diablo and Chains bark out a laugh.
“Yeah, we heard about your laundry mishap at breakfast,” Diablo says with a snort.
Chains wipes his hands off with his rag and smiles over at me. “Colton was pretty vocal at the kids' table this morning. You really ticked little man off.”
“I swear nothing is a secret with my kids anymore,” I grumble.
As I walk out the door, I hear all three of them roaring with laughter.
I seriously need to talk with my kids. Must they tell everyone of my screwups?
Once I’m settled in my truck, I head for the kids' school. The drive is only eight minutes from the shop. When I park the truck, I walk over to the pickup line.
Crystal is already here to pick up the other children. When she spots me, she smiles with a wave. All the women around her turn around, and when their gaze locks on mine, I instantly feel naked.
I hate doing pickups. These single mothers are worse than vultures. I swear one of them damn near dry humped me when trying to arrange a play date between our kids.
I always try and brush them off as gently as I can, but these women are persistent as hell.
Once I’m in front of Crystal, I wrap an arm around her and kiss her cheek.
“How was work?” she asks.
“Same ol, same ol. How was your day?”
“Any day I get to spend surrounded by my grandbabies is a good day, so I can’t complain.”
I’ve never met anyone who would voluntarily watch a group of kids every day, but Crystal loves it. She has all the kids over at least twice a month for sleepovers. Her house is designed purely for the kids.
They have a game room and a nursery. There are three bedrooms with bunk beds. She also has a movie theater with nice recliner seats and a popcorn machine. She and her husband are filthy rich, and they spoil the children every chance they get.
Before I can continue my conversation with Crystal, one of the moms interrupts us.
“What? No hug and kiss for the rest of us, Red?” Lydia purrs.
Lydia is the head vulture of the group. Every time I’m around her, she throws herself at me, despite the fact that she’s married.
Crystal coughs to cover the laugh that slipped out. I narrow my eyes at her. That makes her smile harder.
“I don’t think your husband would appreciate that.”
Just as I suspected, she doesn’t waiver. Stepping closer to me, she drags her finger down my chest. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”
I know these thirst buckets think that just because I’m a biker, I don’t have any standards, and I’ll do anything, but boning a married woman is a strict no-go for me.
“But I would,” I tell her as I remove her hand.
Her mouth falls open, but the bell rings before she can say anything. “Ladies.” I give them all a slight nod and step around the group.
Crystal says goodbye to the group and follows me to the other side of the line. I cross my arms and frown at her.
Throwing her head back, she laughs. “What did I do?”
“Nothing. You did nothing. You could have helped me out back there.”
“I could have, but it was just so much fun watching you sweat.”
I laugh right as the doors burst open, and kids come running out. I’m not waiting long before Cindy and Colt come out, followed by Hannah and Marco. The kids say their goodbyes, and Cindy and Colt follow me to the truck.
“How was school today?” I ask as I pull out of the school parking lot.
“Good,” Colt says.
Cindy doesn’t say anything, so I angle my rearview mirror to look at her. Our gazes lock and she looks out the window. “It was good, Dad.”
“Cindy.”
“Dad. It's fine. I told you if it got out of hand, I would say something.”
As soon as we make it back to the clubhouse, I’m going to see if Tech has found anything on this kid's parents. After I deal with his parents, I’ll be dealing with the school. They should be doing something about this.
Arriving at the mall, I take Colt to his favorite department store. Cindy and I follow behind him as he begins picking out clothes.
I know most parents think that their kids shouldn’t be able to pick out their own clothing, but I disagree. As long as it’s nothing inappropriate, I let my kids decide. They’re old enough to know what they like and don’t like.
After Colt is satisfied with everything he’s picked out, we make our way toward Cindy's section.
Whatever is going on at school is really taking its toll on my baby girl. She doesn’t even light up like she normally does when she’s shopping. She picks out a handful of items and calls it quits.
When she starts walking to the register, I notice the frown on my son’s face. He knows as well as I do that Cindy loves to shop.
After I pay for the clothes, we head to the food court. I know dinner will be served at the clubhouse, but it’s kind of a tradition for the kids and me to eat at the food court every time we come.
“What’s it going to be today, kids?” I ask as I look around the food court.
“Tacos!” Cindy and Colt shout together.
Once we have our food, we take a seat at an empty table and eat. Halfway through the meal, a shriek of laughter catches our attention. A little girl is being tickled by her mother while her father sits across from them with a smile.
I hear a sniffle beside me and turn around. My heart constricts in my chest, watching the agony swirling in my little girl's eyes.
I could kill Chloe for leaving my children to feel like this.
I lay my hand on top of Cindy’s. “Baby girl?—”
“Don’t,” she snaps. “I already know what you’re going to say, but all I want to know is why. We deserve to know why she left us. Why does everyone get a mom but us? Did she hate being our mother so much that she just had to abandon us?”
I’m left speechless. There are a number of reasons why Chloe left, but how do you tell your children your mother left because I couldn’t love her.
I haven’t told anyone I was the main reason Chloe walked out. She thought after two children that I would give her my patch and my ring, but no matter how hard I tried…I just couldn’t fall in love with her.
Before I can open my mouth to say anything, Cindy and Colt get up with a sigh, throw away their food, and begin grabbing their bags. Knowing they don’t want to continue this conversation, I follow suit, and we leave.
As we head back to the clubhouse, an idea crosses my mind. I know this won’t fix everything that’s going on with them, but it’ll definitely put a smile on their faces. When we arrive at the trampoline park, their faces break out into a full-blown smile.
“Let’s go have some fun.”
I pay for our wristbands and socks, and after two hours of jumping, rock climbing, and zip lining, they're not as happy as I would like them to be, but there is some improvement in their mood.
“How about we go to a late-night movie like we used to?” I ask them.
“Can we go an hour early to play in the arcade?” Cindy asks.
“Sure,” I say, shrugging.
“Yes!” they cheer and race off to the truck.
I might not be able to change the fact that Chloe walked out on them, but I can damn sure make them happy.
After a long day of shopping, trampolines, and one long movie later, we headed home. The kids had so much popcorn and candy during the movie they're not even tuckered out. They’re rambling away in the backseat about their favorite scenes from the movie.
As I approach the clubhouse, I first notice police lights and the gate is left wide open. Pulling through the gate, I see a lot of commotion in front of the clubhouse. Parking my truck, I spot one of the prospects.
“Kids, stay in the truck.”
“What’s going on, Dad?” Cindy asks.
“I don’t know, but whatever you do, stay in this truck.”
I get out and call Levi over. Out of all the prospects, he’s been here the longest. “What’s going on?”
“All I know is they came with a warrant for Cara, but they didn’t give me any other details.”
“Shit,” I hiss. “Stay in the truck with the kids so I can see what’s going on.” Levi nods and hops into the driver's seat.
As I approach the clubhouse, the front door is slammed open, and a cop ushers a handcuffed Cara toward a cruiser. Viper is hot on their heels, with Blade, Thor, and Torch trying to hold him back.
“That’s my fucking ol’ lady! Let me go!” he shouts.
“Viper, believe me, man, I get it. That’s my sister. I’m just as pissed as you, but if you go over there right now, you’re only going to make this worse for her,” Blade says.
The officer slams Cara down on the car's hood. “Aah,” she grunts.
The brothers rush forward, cursing. All the officers draw their weapons. The brothers freeze, but they're fuming. If it wasn’t for the badges on their shirts, they would be leaving in body bags.
A rumbling growl comes from the entrance as Duke and Daisy come charging toward the officer who is pinning Cara down.
“Fuss!” Cara commands.
Duke and Daisy come to a halt. Their bodies shake as if they’re ready to lunge at any given moment. For the first time ever, those two look like they’re about to ignore a direct command from her. Duke and Daisy are highly trained Great Danes. They’re larger than average, and when pissed off, they are deadly.
Cara notices the look in their eyes. She glances around the group. “Somebody get them out of here!”
Bear and Tiny try to guide them inside the clubhouse, but they dig their claws into the ground, refusing to leave her. They end up having to pick them up and carry them inside. As big as Tiny and Bear are, it isn’t an easy task.
The officer holding Cara down begins to frisk her. When his hand moves between her legs, she begins to resist. His elbow comes down on her neck, and she grits her teeth.
“Stop! You’re hurting her!” I hear Colt scream.
I turn around and watch in horror as he and his sister come running toward the scene. I try and make a grab for them, but they dodge me, running full speed. Luckily, Diablo and Chains snag them before they can get too close.
They struggle against their uncles, trying to get to the woman who has become a mother figure in their lives. Tears stream down their faces as they continue to try and break free.
“Please!” Cindy begs.
Cara wipes her face of all the pain and anger she’s feeling to focus on my kids. “Cindy, Colt, listen to me. I need you to go inside the clubhouse, okay?”
“B-but…they’re hurting y-you,” Colt whimpers.
“I’m okay. I promise. Just please go inside. I promise I’ll be back soon. Cindy, I need you to be a big sister and take your brother inside. Can you do that for me?”
“Promise you’ll come back?” Cindy cries.
“I promise.” Cara nods toward the door, and Cindy grabs Colt's hand, leading him inside.
“Nice speech, darlin’, but I still need to finish frisking you.” The officer chuckles.
The officer begins to squeeze Cara’s breast in a harsh grip, and Viper loses it.
“You motherfucking pig! Just fuckin’ wait till I get ahold of you!” he seethes.
“Threatening an officer, Viper? I should take you in with your ol’ whore.”
That’s when I notice District Attorney Vincent Langley. Why am I not surprised he has something to do with this? He can hold a grudge like you wouldn’t believe. Ten years he’s been after us. After finding out his woman was a regular through here, he waged a war on us. We had no clue Savannah was his wife. After he found out, she left him. Over the years, he tried coming at the club with anything to try and take us down. Now it seems he’s decided since he can’t get us, he’s going after the women.
Fuckin’ coward.
“Watch your fuckin’ mouth! This is bullshit, Langley, and you know it!” Viper hisses.
“Actually, it’s not. She assaulted an officer tonight, and that particular officer is my brother.”
“That piece of garbage was an officer? He was beat?—”
“Not another word, Cara!” Paul shouts as he storms out of the clubhouse. “Our lawyer will be meeting you down at the station.”
Vincent smiles wide at Paul, not the least bit intimidated. “Well, seeing as it’s a Friday night and courthouses don’t open back up till Monday, I’m afraid there isn’t much I can do. She’ll have to spend the weekend in jail at the very least.”
Vincent tells the officer to take Cara in. As they load Cara in the backseat, Viper mounts his bike. Before he can start up the bike, his phone rings.
“What?” he barks into the phone.
He listens for a few moments before saying, “Are you sure?” After a few seconds, he ends the call.
“Who was that, Prez?” Blade asks.
“Michael. Sara sent over surveillance footage from the parking lot, proving Cara’s innocence. It was self-defense. Michael said he can have her out by morning, but he doesn’t want any of us going down to the station. He’s afraid our tempers will take over and make things worse.”
“Well, can you blame him?” Paul asks with a raised brow.
“She’s my ol’ lady.”
“She’s also in their custody. While you’re making threats, she’s alone with men who hold power over her.” Paul walks away, leaving Viper in a panic.
“Fuck,” he growls.
Thor and Ghost approach the group. “We’re going down to the station and sit all night. I know there’s not much we can do, but we can at least give some updates and possibly talk to the chief. Why the hell wouldn’t he give us a heads up about this?” Thor asks.
“Because for the first time ever, the old bastard decided to take a vacation,” Viper grunts.
Curses go around the group. Now we know why Vincent made his move. The chief protects us, and he knows it. He just doesn’t have any proof.
“I don’t care what Michael says. I’m going down to the station. I won't leave until Cara is out of there.” Viper starts his bike. Thor and Ghost race over to their bikes and follow him out the gate.
I make my way inside the clubhouse to find Cindy and Colt.
I find them in the common room with Sara and Crystal trying to console them. As soon as their eyes land on me, they run to me. I bend down to catch them. Standing up, I hold both of them to me.
“Crystal, can you tell Levi to bring my truck home?”
She nods while wiping her own tears. I know this is hard on her, watching her daughter being arrested. I walk home with my kids still in my arms. Their whimpers die down the closer we get to the house.
By the time I’m walking through the door, they’re out like a light. I don’t know if it’s the exhaustion of the day or if they’ve cried themselves to sleep. I don’t bother putting them in their beds. I take them to my room instead.
After the emotional roller coaster they’ve been through today, I know they need me to be close. Hearing the agony in their voices while watching Cara be arrested nearly killed me.
Sighing, I get into bed to get a few hours of sleep before all hell breaks loose. I know Viper. He isn’t about to let this go. And he shouldn’t. Vincent took it too far coming for his ol’ lady.
I just have a feeling this war isn’t going to be an easy one.