Chapter 21
Curtis
“She’s a cunt,” Jesse snapped, tossing a towel at Dylan. “Fuck her.”
“Stop,” he ordered. “She’s not.”
“She broke up with you after you almost died.”
“Keep your voice down,” he hissed, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Finn wasn’t in the room. “She’s pissed. I get it. I didn’t even call her after it happened.”
“Oh, poor fucking Isla,” Jesse argued. “You didn’t let her know you were in the ICU. You didn’t call her because your phone was taken as evidence because it was covered in your blood.”
“Can we stop talking about this?” Dylan asked miserably.
Jesse paused to look at him. “Fine,” they said. “But I reserve the right to rant about it when you’re not so emotional about it.”
“I’m not emotional,” Dylan protested.
“Okay, bud,” Jesse said.
“You two ready for school tomorrow?” I asked, making Jesse jerk in surprise.
“Where’d you come from?” they asked.
“Been standin’ here for five minutes,” I replied. “You got everythin’ ready for school?”
“All set,” Dylan replied with a nod.
“Good.” I looked back and forth between them.
Dylan’s hair was trimmed out of his eyes, and Jesse’s was in fresh new braids.
Neither of them had any bruising left, but Jess still had about a week before the wires were removed from their mouth.
They’d lost about five pounds that they couldn’t really afford to lose, but Teddy assured me that they’d gain it back once they started eating real food again.
“Uncle Will is gonna stay here tonight, yeah? He’ll crash down on the couch. ”
“We know,” Jesse replied easily.
“I’ll be back tomorrow night at the latest.”
“Got it,” Dylan said.
“Don’t give Teddy a bunch of shit,” I warned. “She’s stressed enough about her new job startin’ and sendin’ you guys off to school on the same day.”
“We’ll be on our best behavior,” Jesse said firmly.
I let out a sigh.
“Seriously, Dad,” Dylan said, waving me off. “We got this.”
I took them at their word and headed back upstairs. Finn high-fived me as he passed me.
“I’m headin’ out in five,” I reminded him.
“I know,” he said easily. “See you tomorrow.”
When I reached our room, I found Teddy sorting laundry.
“Hey, baby,” I called. “I need to head out.”
“Oh, shit,” she said, spinning to face me. “Already?”
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” I promised, walking over to kiss her goodbye. “Sorry the timin’ is fucked.”
“We’re good. It’s going to go off without a hitch,” she assured me. “When will your uncle be here?”
“Any minute.”
“Okay, good.”
“Love you,” I murmured against her lips, stealing another quick kiss.
“Love you too,” she replied, grinning softly as I pulled away.
“Curtis?” she called over her shoulder, catching me at the doorway. “Could you tell the big kids that I’ll do their laundry with ours if they bring it to me in the next ten minutes?”
“They can do their own laundry.”
She just looked at me, raising her eyebrows.
“I’ll tell ’em,” I promised.
I moved back downstairs and called out goodbyes to the kids as I headed toward the front door.
“Bye, Dad,” Dylan called back.
“Bye,” Finn said.
“Bye, Pop,” Jesse added.
I froze and turned to look at them.
“Cool?” they asked, tilting their head as they watched me. “I call my dad Dad, but you know…he’s where he is, and he will be pretty much forever, so I thought—”
“You can call me whatever you want,” I replied roughly.
“Pop it is,” Jesse said.
“Mine’s dead,” Finn said, wrinkling his nose. “Can I call you Pop, too?”
“Sure, pal,” I ground out.
“Nah, I like Dad better. That’s what Dyl calls you. Can I call you that?”
“Nice,” Dylan said, reaching out to fist bump with Finn.
“Yeah,” I said, trying to keep my shit together even though none of them were paying attention to me anymore. “Whatever you want.”
“Bye, Dad,” Finn called with a short wave.
My hands were shaking as I let myself outside and locked the door behind me.
I’d already packed the bike, and Draco was parked next to it, waiting for me.
“You cool?” he asked.
“Kids just called me Dad,” I replied shortly as I pulled my helmet on.
“Fuck yeah,” he said with a wide smile. “Atta boy.”
“Shut up,” I grumbled as I turned on my bike. “Let’s get this done.”
We rode to the club first to meet up with some of the boys and then headed north. Casper’s contacts had taken a while, but like always, they came through in the end. The men had split up after they’d left our house, but neither of them had gone far.
We caught up to the first one at his trailer outside Stevenson, Washington. He’d found someone who was willing to rent it to him under a fake name, and he’d repaid the favor by cooking meth in it. When he opened the door, the stink made my eyes water.
I shot him where he stood.
Then we set the place on fire.
About a mile down the road, I instinctively ducked my head at the sound of the trailer exploding.
I didn’t feel any satisfaction as we continued north. I’d been given the opportunity to take care of the men who’d hurt my children however I chose to do so, but in the end, I just wanted to get it over with and get back to my family.
We found the second man on his way home from work, which was a stroke of good luck. He sped up when he realized we were behind him, panicking as we closed in, and on a curvy stretch of deserted road, he lost control.
I parked my bike and walked to the piece of shit car wrapped around a tree to make sure he was dead. I didn’t need to check for a pulse when I got there. The man hadn’t been wearing a seatbelt, and his body hung halfway out of the broken windshield, his head caved in.
I stared at him. “Look at you,” I mumbled emotionlessly, looking into his vacant eyes. “Got off on hurtin’ kids, but when it came down to it, you were so afraid of the consequences you killed yourself.”
“Done?” my president asked as I walked back toward my bike.
“Done,” I confirmed. “Let’s go home.”
It was early morning when we rode back into town. We went straight back to the club, and I followed the group inside, leaving my phone on the bar as we filed into church. My grandfather, Casper, was already there, waiting.
“Get a good night’s rest?” Grease bitched at him as he rounded the table.
“I’ve been busy,” Casper replied, leaning back in his chair.
As soon as Dragon had lowered himself into his chair, Casper spoke again.
“Recently, a few interested parties have reached out,” he announced, his gaze on me. “And after speaking with them, we agreed on a course of action regarding David Granger.”
I straightened against the wall as Draco’s hand wrapped around my biceps.
“Early yesterday morning, one of those interested parties made their move,” he continued. “With no assistance from the Aces, they dismantled his organization and…reorganized to their satisfaction.”
“And Granger?” I asked.
“He didn’t survive the reorganization,” he replied.
“It’s over,” Grandpa Dragon informed me. “Completely.”
I fell back against the wall in relief.
“You can let Teddy know that Granger is dead,” he said, rising to his feet. “Word has spread far and wide at this point.”
“Yeah, I will.”
“I’m goin’ home while Brenna’s still in bed,” he grumbled.
“Gross,” Draco muttered quietly next to me.
“Be glad you’ve got my genes,” our grandfather replied as he walked out of the room. I wasn’t sure how the hell he’d even heard it. “Maybe you’ll still be fuckin’ your woman when you’re my age.”
“Jesus Christ,” I groaned in disgust as Grease and Casper laughed.
“Not a fuckin’ word,” my dad ordered, pointing at them as he shoved Draco and me toward the door. “Had about all I can take.”
His hand landed on my shoulder, and he gave me a gentle shake as we grabbed our phones.
“Safe,” he told me, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled. “Now, just gotta live your life.”
“That’s the plan,” I replied.
Draco slung his arm over my shoulders as we headed for our bikes. The sun was barely rising on the horizon, and the air was filled with the sound of Harley pipes as the brothers headed for home.
“Hey, Curt,” Draco said cautiously as we separated. “Got somethin’ to tell you.”
“Shit,” I mumbled, turning to look at him as I climbed onto my bike. “What?”
“Roxanne, you know?”
“My car? Yeah, I know it,” I said in exasperation.
“It was all of us.”
“What?”
“The club bought it,” he said with a small grin. “Stored it in that huge shop that Woody and Cecilia have on their property.”
“No shit?” Surprise making my voice go all high.
“Figured you might still be wonderin’ about it,” he said with a shrug. “I just wanted you to know that we’ve got you, yeah? Even when you weren’t here.”
“Already knew it,” I informed him.
“Sure, you did,” he said sarcastically, starting his bike.
We rode home side by side, and I waved at him as I pulled into the driveway. By the time I’d parked and pulled my shit out of my saddlebags, Uncle Will was coming out of the house.
“Thanks,” I said quietly.
“Pay me back by comin’ to dinner. Reb hasn’t seen you since it all went down, and she’s worried.”
“I will,” I replied. “I didn’t know if she should see the kids when they were—”
“I know. You’ve been shieldin’ her your whole life,” he said, slapping my shoulder as he passed me. “But she can handle more than you think. Come to dinner.”
Teddy was waiting for me in the doorway as I climbed the porch steps. Her hair was tousled, and her cheek had a little mark from her pillow.
“You’re home,” she said softly.
“Go inside, baby,” I whispered, crowding her back into the house. “It’s cold out here.”
“I thought you wouldn’t be home until tomorrow.”
“It is tomorrow.”
“Later tomorrow.”
“Didn’t take as long as I thought it would,” I said, leaning down to kiss her.
Her eyes searched mine.
“It’s all good, Teddy,” I told her, hoping that she could read between the lines because there were some things that I’d never be able to tell her, and this was one of them.
“All good?”
“David Granger was killed yesterday mornin’,” I said, dropping my shit on the floor so I could fit my hands against the sides of her throat, tracing the delicate skin of her jaw with my thumbs. “Some kind of dispute over his business.”