Chapter 7
Will
I stare down at my Omega’s sleeping face as I debate on whether I should stay or go with my brother.
“She will be fine,” Ian whispers, his hand rubbing up and down her back as she snuggles deeper into him. “I’ve got her.”
I know he does, but I want to be here with her, too. This Omega quickly wormed her way into my heart, and the more time I spend with her, the more the wall around my heart slowly starts to crack.
She’s not like any Omega I’ve ever met. She’s not like her. Nova has treated me with nothing but respect and kindness. She never pushed, never asked for more than I was willing to give. I know it’s not an act. If she wanted to use me, she would have by now.
The biggest reason I tried not to get attached to her in the beginning wasn’t only because of my past trauma, but because of the plans my brothers and I had—the ones we’ve been working toward for years.
Now that our father is dead, as well as some of the other dirtiest scum within the MC, what does it mean for us? For all the plans we had? It’s something my brothers and I are going to have to sit down and talk about.
Right now, though, we needed to head to the compound and check on the people there. We don’t owe them anything yet, but we are still doing it anyway.
The fact is, the MC was our entire lives growing up, and we know not everyone there is evil. A lot of them were born into this life with no escape, or they found themselves trapped. I feel for them. They didn’t deserve the bullshit they were dealt.
Now that my dad is gone, maybe things can change for them.
Another major reason we’re going is to make sure our cousin, Rafe, wasn’t among the fallen men.
Nodding at my brother, I head down to the garage where Nick is waiting for me.
“We taking the truck? Or...” I ask.
He shakes his head and tosses my bike helmet in my direction. “I think taking these for a spin is fitting, don’t you?” Nick asks, grinning menacingly.
I raise a brow, looking from my helmet over to my sleek, black Harley-Davidson.
“You know you want to. You’ve been dying to go for a ride for a long time.”
He’s not wrong. When we left the MC, we took our bikes with us.
They’ve been locked up here in the garage pretty much ever since.
Last time we went for a ride, our father's men tried to run us off the road.
He later pounded on our door, telling us that because we left the MC, he revoked our rights to ride.
It was fucking stupid and made no sense. It’s not like we were on our bikes wearing a cut, but we didn’t argue with him. It wasn’t worth the energy. We’d have done anything to get him to leave us alone.
“Fine,” I sigh, “Let’s get this over with.”
The last thing I want to do is go back to that place. Just because the people we had issues with are dead doesn’t erase all the bad memories that come with it. She is still there. I haven’t seen her in years and I would have lived a long and happy life if I never saw her again.
You’re an adult now, Will. She has no power over you, and she hasn’t for a long time.
Still, phantom hands skim over my body, forcing an uneasy shiver to rush through me. Shaking my head, I slip my helmet on.
Nick does the same.
Straddling my bike, I start it up and it purrs to life.
A smile splits across my face, and the vibration beneath feels incredible. I almost forgot how good it felt to be on a bike.
“Ready?” Nick yells.
At my nod, Nick takes off out the open garage door. A moment later, I follow.
The drive to the compound is smooth. The fresh ocean breeze has me happy to be back home.
Being back on the bike, zipping along the roads almost has me forgetting where we're headed.
When we pull up to the familiar gates, my stomach drops and the happiness I felt on the road is gone.
We wait on our bikes as we idle near the front gate. Two men step up to the fence, guns pointed our way.
Nick pulls his helmet off, shaking out his blond hair.
“What do you want?” one of the guys asks. He’s not someone I recognize.
“We were sent by Ghost,” Nick announces. “To check on everyone.”
The other guy with a buzzed head covered in tattoos, however, I do remember. Terk. He was a prospect when we left.
“You want me to believe you actually fucking care?” Terk spits.
Nick glares at the men. “Let us in.”
“Fuck you,” Terk snarls.
“Let us fucking in, before I make you,” Nick growls back, pulling out his gun.
I groan, sighing heavily. This is not the way to get them to let us in.
The three men all have guns pointed at one another. Shaking my head, I pull out my phone and send a text off to Kane.
A few moments later, Terk’s phone starts to ring. He frowns and pulls it out of his pocket, not moving the gun pointed at Nick. He answers it, but I can’t hear what he’s saying over the rumbling of our engines.
Whatever Kane is telling him, Terk does not seem happy about it. Eventually, he steps to the side and opens the gate. I grin, tucking my phone away.
We could have forced their hand, but that would have probably ended up with Terk and his buddy dead. Not the best impression, killing more men when so many lives have already been lost, even though the world is a better place without them.
Nick shoves his helmet back on and takes off through the gate, flipping Terk off as he goes. I follow after him, laughing as Terk shouts and curses behind us.
The place looks the same, if not worse than it did when we left. It looks like shit, as if people moved into a junkyard and made it their home.
We pull up to the clubhouse and turn off our bikes. Pulling my helmet off, my heart sinks as I look around.
Kids run around with no fucking shoes on and ripped clothes. What the actual fuck?
My eyes find Nick’s and I know he’s wondering what the hell is going on, too.
As we look around, we see it’s a lot worse than we expected. The place is a shithole. The clubhouse looks like it’s one bad strong breeze away from crumbling.
Garbage litters the ground, broken run-down cars are scattered all over the place, along with what looks like burn barrels and other random junk.
“What the fuck happend to this place?” Nick hisses.
“I have no idea,” I mutter, running a hand through my bright red curls.
“Christ,” Nick mutters. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Kane isn’t going to like this. It’s like this place is the poster child for severe poverty.”
“Or The Hills Have Eyes,” Nick mutters, staring at an old man sitting on the deck, eyes closed, mouth open, snoring away. He’s dressed in dirt covered clothes, full of holes. “Fucking hell.”
With one last look around, I realize the children are staring at us like we are some kind of aliens. I quickly follow Nick into the clubhouse.
“What the fuck is that smell?” Nick gags, waving his hand in front of his face.
My hand goes up to my nose, covering it as the putrid smell hits me next. Looking around, I see nothing but men scattered around the place, all dressed in the MC’s cut.
The place smells of cheap sex, beer, and vomit.
My lip curls in disgust. What the fuck has my father done to this place? It was never a classy joint, but it was in decent shape. It’s like no one has any pride anymore.
My eyes scan the room, stopping when they reach the bar. My gut turns as my heart starts racing in panic. I’m a grown-ass man, I shouldn’t fear anyone.
Yet, as I watch her laugh and chatter with the two women sitting at the bar with her, I feel the need to vomit.
Julia Rigs, our stepmother, and the monster of my past.
“Well, you sure look like a mourning widow,” Nick snarls.
Julia’s laughter stops as her head snaps our way. Her lips part in shock. “Nick.” She jumps to her feet, her eyes flicking over to mine and I swear I almost puke at the excitement in her eyes when she sees me. “And Will.”
Unable to look at her, my eyes dart away.
“What are you two doing here?”
“Heard the old man finally got what was coming to him,” Nick answers.
“Hey!” one of the girls from the bar shouts, stumbling over to us as she slurs her words. “Those are our husbands you're talking about.”
Nick looks her up and down with a sneer. “Yeah, you three look absolutely wrecked about losing them. All smiles and laughter.”
“We are. They were our husbands. Our everything!” the other lady, who’s still sitting at the bar, shouts.
“Sure, lady. Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Nick snorts.
“Don’t come in here and disrespect our fallen men,” Julia spits. “You two and your brother abandoned your family. You left like they meant nothing.”
“Because they didn’t,” Nick deadpans. “We don’t have respect for people who abuse kids and rape women. Who get off on being evil like it’s some sort of power trip.”
“You are a disgrace.” One of the women lifts her chin and huffs before turning around and stumbling toward the back of the clubhouse.
“Why are you here? If you hated your father so much, then why come back?” Julia asks, crossing her arms as she eyes us up and down. I hate how her eyes linger on me a little too long.
“Ghost asked us to come and check on everyone. He’s on his way down. Should be here by tomorrow,” Nick explains, and Julia’s face pales.
“He’s coming here?”
I give my brother a look. Why is she so afraid?
“Yes,” Nick answers her. “Why?”
“No reason,” she laughs nervously.
“What the fuck happened to this place?” Nick asks. “It wasn’t exactly the most aesthetically pleasing place before we left, but fucking hell, why are there kids running around looking feral?”
“They’re kids.” Julia scowls. “They get dirty and have fun.”
“Dirty?” I ask. “They look like no one is taking care of them.”
“We do the best we can.” Julia shoots her eyes over to me, but her glare softens. Don’t. Don’t do that. I don’t want you to look at me with any warmth.
“Where are their mothers?” I ask.
She sighs. “Most of them are sweet butts. They popped them out and took off. None of them wanted to stick around and the men wouldn’t let them take their kids. They are property of the Steel Devils.”