CHAPTER 9
MAYHEM
There’s no doubt in my mind that the next time I’ll see my mom happier is when she finds out that I’ve gotten Addyson pregnant.
Which is a crazy fucking thought for a man who did not believe a woman strong, kind, and soft enough to stand at my side existed.
Then she burst through the door and everything I knew to be true was blown out of the water.
As I watch Addyson on the couch as she chats with my mom, she’s relaxed in a way I know is good for her.
She’s been nursing a beer since dinner, which she insisted on helping mom with.
I wish there were more women around, especially her age, but the women who are family and even some of the Old Ladies to a few old timers don’t spend a lot of time in the clubhouse.
It’s not like I can blame them. They’ve carved out their own lives and it’s how it should be. You better believe they show up on family day though.
Lucifer is going to give me a whole bunch of shit when he finds out I’m claiming my Tempest. I already know he’s going to warn me about her being a harbinger of what is to come.
Maybe he’s on to something.
I’m interested to see how my brothers do as they start to fall. It’ll be entertaining for sure.
Ripper walked into the clubhouse right before dinner after being relieved from his shit cop watching duty. Duckie is on him now. Knowing he’s out there and pretending that everything is fine, which was the report from my enforcer on the matter, makes me want his blood.
Now he’s leaning against the bar next to me watching everything. I already know this is the calm before the storm. Wagner will go down swinging to protect himself. Especially considering some of the skeletons he’s trying to hide.
He won’t be able to stop some of them from coming out. The fact his mistress hasn’t stepped forward means his hold on her is strong or she’s scared out of her mind. Who knows what the whole story is there; Anchor is still looking into her.
A woman being murdered isn’t an uncommon occurrence, but Kendra with the cop husband is a different story. There’s meat there. Wagner will want to find out about the evidence Addyson has. He won’t be able to let it go, not when it’s a matter of time before someone uncovers exactly who he is.
It’s the digital age and everything leaves a trace.
How messy this whole thing gets depends on Wagner and the moves he makes.
“Son,” Battle slides into place at the bar next to me, his eyes locked on my mother.
It sure as fuck isn’t an uncommon sight. Not for me. He’s always been obsessed with her and the feeling is mutual.
My mom is a strong woman, but she’s soft in the ways that matter. She helped make this club into a family and give it some humanity when the darkness threatened to take over.
We’re good now with more of our business being legit than not. It wasn’t always that way though. What we do outside the law is strategic, to ensure the power we hold isn’t questioned, and worth the effort when it comes to being paid.
What can I say, business is business. My father taught me well and he had mom as his moral compass.
“What’s the deal with you and the damsel in distress?” My dad’s question isn’t judgmental or harsh, more curious.
I tear my eyes away from Addyson long enough to glance at him, but it’s about all I can manage. Before I can answer him, the clubhouse door opens and my brother slinks into the room. He goes straight to mom who immediately introduces him to Addyson.
When my woman smiles at my little brother, the fucker practically melts. My eyes narrow and my fingers tighten around the glass in my hand to the point it creaks. I’m about to slam it down on the bar and stalk over to them when Mom starts to shoo Arch away.
Maybe I’ll start calling him Archie. He hates it. That’ll fucking teach him.
It’s not like I’ll hurt the kid. I love him far too much for that. How could I not? I was 18 when he was born, a total surprise to my parents who stopped trying after a few miscarriages.
I don’t remember a lot about that time, but I remember Mom being so sad. She tried to hide it and devoted even more of her time to the club kids and the brothers who, let’s face it, are big kids in leather cuts a good portion of the time. Then she stopped being sad.
Looking back, I think it’s when they stopped trying. I’m glad Mom started sparkling again when she hadn’t been for a while.
Then, just as I was about to graduate from high school, Mom found out she was pregnant. It was a big to-do and there was a lot of worry about her miscarrying again along with her age.
I’m not sure if everything just aligned perfectly for Arch to come into the world or what, but Mom glowed her entire pregnancy and thrived. I had seen enough of the other Old Ladies to know it didn’t always go that way.
Now my little brother is about to be 18, graduate high school, and become a prospect for the club. I think my father would burst if he were any more excited.
“Go and heat up dinner since you didn’t grace us with your presence when we were all around the table.” Mom gives Arch a little shove toward the kitchen.
Her ability to lay on the guilt is still strong, I see. It makes me chuckle.
Battle joins me and I can hear the awe in his voice as he comments, “She always knows what button to push.”
He turns toward me, his gaze expectant. Yeah, I know he’s not going to let this go. Not like I can blame him, he’s aware of my stance on having a woman on the back of my bike. Fuck, I wish I could take Addy out for a ride, but it’s not safe.
The moment the danger is dealt with, I want to feel the sun on my face, the wind in my hair, and my woman’s arms wrapped around me.
I can think of a few ways to fill the time until then.
My lip twitches as I look into my dad’s eyes, the same ones I inherited. “Addyson is mine,” my tone doesn’t leave any room for misunderstanding or argument. There’s a finality in my voice; one I know to be true.
Ripper freezes and any brother close enough to me to hear me turns their head. I don’t look their way. Battle doesn’t seem surprised.
“Yeah,” my dad chuckles, “I figured that’s what you were going to say.
I recognized the look on your face when you saw her walk into the kitchen this morning.
She rules you.” When I narrow my eyes, he smirks and shrugs one shoulder.
“That’s how it’s supposed to be. She rules you.
She gives you peace and a place where the burden of this life doesn’t exist. You keep her safe and I mean all of her—her heart, body, and soul.
You protect her with all that you are and love her with everything you can be. That’s how this works.”
Ripper grunts and I glance his way. There’s something like longing in his eyes. But I won’t be surprised if there’s a club angel spit roasted between him and Rampage before the night is over.
“Looks like Mom already knows what my plans are,” I acknowledge with a nod of my head toward the women who are looking very cozy with their heads together and smiles on their faces.
“Your mother was always the brains of the operation,” he chuckles, amusement dancing in his words.
It reminds me of the days when I saw Mom welcome Dad home from a run or a hard day. He would be covered in dirt and grime, but she never cared. She was always there with her arms wide and her heart full enough to top him off and keep enough for herself.
She would wrap him up in her arms and hold him close. At the time, I thought it was all for her. It was her eyes filled with tears and worry lining her face after all. But maybe I had it wrong this whole time.
Maybe it was for him most of all.
I know there have been many days when I could have used that kind of warmth welcoming me home. Fuck. Is that what I have to look forward to?
Like she knows my mind is mulling her over, her brown eyes lift and clash with mine. There’s a heartbeat when she freezes and then she smiles. The movement is slow at first and then it’s as if something breaks free.
Her smile is gorgeous. I want to step closer and close my eyes while I tilt my face in her direction.
But I force myself to stay in place.
When I wink at her, the corner of my mouth twitching with the desire to return her smile, her cheeks turn pink. Fuck me, she’s adorable.
“You better treat that woman right,” Battle rumbles.
When I look at him, his blue eyes are hard and filled with warning. He’s not just my father right now. He’s the former president of the Devil’s Saint’s Charleston chapter. He’s the man who I learned to fear and respect equally.
We’ve had to figure out when and where the line is between his role as my dad, and his position as the former president. I would be surprised about how serious he is about Addyson, but I’ve met the woman. Just a moment in her presence is enough to fall under her spell.
My brothers would already protect her with their lives, and I haven’t taken my claim to the table yet. I will. I have to, the need of it thrums through me.
The thought of declaring her mine and her wearing my name on her back has my cock throbbing in my jeans. It’s not a good look considering my mom is in the room, but it’s unavoidable as I soak up every breath Addyson takes and every smile that she gives away like they aren’t all mine.
The need to throw her over my shoulder and hide her away in my room is almost too strong to ignore.
“I’ll treat her like a fucking queen,” I promise my dad.
His body relaxes and he gives a nod before glancing toward where Sin is sitting with another angel, Candy.
While Sin’s focus is jumping between my woman and me, Candy is eye fucking Road Rage.
I’m sure my brother will take her up on what she’s offering before the night is done. Rage isn’t one to abstain.
Fuck, I wasn’t either.
I’ve never been the kind of man to be ashamed of my choices. I made them with a clear mind, and I own them. Regrets are for death beds and all that shit.
Now, as I look at Addyson, I have to question some of my previous decisions. Sure, I thought a woman like her existing and coming into my life would be an impossibility.
I was wrong.
Very fucking wrong.
“Good,” Dad grunts. “Or else I wouldn’t even try to stop Scythe from kicking your ass. He counts your woman as a little sister. She’s the only person Tallulah had at her back for a long time. I wouldn’t want to be the man to break her heart.”
“I’m not fucking breaking her heart. I’m claiming her. The next time we’re in church, I’m putting it to the table,” I share my plans with him, my voice solid and sure.
Battle’s grin widens as he nods, satisfied with my answer. It’s for the best because I was about to swing on my dad for the first time in my life. Over a woman.
Fuck, life is wild.
Rampage stalks over to my woman and with the dramatic flair of a high school theater kid, he falls to his knees at her feet. Again.
“Hey pretty lady,” he holds his hand out to my wide-eyed woman who places her hand in his instinctually. The moment his lips touch her skin, I’m slamming my glass down on the bar.
It shatters spectacularly. Addy’s wide eyes snap over to me, and Rampage looks amused as fuck.
“Seems you won’t have to take it to the table after all,” Dad mutters next to me while Ripper chuckles under his breath.
Rampage isn’t at all deterred. “I’m coming to you with my heart and my helmet in my hands,” Rampage continues, not bothered by my outburst. “Can I take you on a ride, Addyson? It would be an honor.”
“Rampage,” the sound of me growling my brother’s name in warning is deadly as fuck.
Everyone freezes except for Addyson whose head is going back and forth between the man prostrating himself for her, and me, the man about to rip the head off one of his best friends.
When Rampage looks over at me, the amusement in his eyes is clear to see. “Get your hands off my woman.”
The moment the declaration leaves my lips, he lets go of her and raises his hands in surrender. He jumps up to his feet from his knees in one powerful, fluid motion.
“You got it, Prez,” he’s barely able to hide the laughter in his voice.
My eyes lock on Addyson and I’m stomping across the room without a single care given to the shattered glass at the bar or how many people are witnessing my unhinged behavior. It’s all because of Addyson.
When I’m looming above her, I grit out through my teeth, “You’re mine, Addyson.”
My hands are gentle as I grab her and throw her over my shoulder because the thought of hurting her makes me sick to my stomach. The gasp she lets out goes straight to my cock and my feet don’t move fast enough as I head toward our room.
I barely even hear the cheers of my brothers in the common area behind us. I’m on edge and I can only hope I can hold off in case she’s not ready after the last few days she’s had. If she’s not, then I’ll wait.
I’ll always wait for her. She’s mine.
And I’m hers.