Chapter 14. 2
She didn’t know who Scar was. She knew the name, sure, and vaguely recalled him standing stoically by the door at Demon’s over the years, but she didn’t know him. Her own guilt for him saving her life was conflicted. It almost didn’t feel real in a way, like a bad dream she couldn’t shake. She couldn’t fathom the strength it took to put yourself between an oncoming bullet and a stranger.
Because Scar would not have known her either. She hadn’t been anyone to him, neither friend nor enemy.
It was…hard for her to wrap her mind around it, but her concern for Pirate overshadowed her own trauma. Dr. Rutenberg was working on it with her too, but privately over the phone during the rare times that Pirate left her at the apartment with Jumper and Jasmine.
Pirate’s recollection of that night was so vivid. Sophia felt like she was back on that damn bridge. If it wasn’t for the fact that that bridge was the only way out of town without taking the mountain route that would add hours onto any trip, Sophia was pretty sure she’d never drive over or step foot onto that bridge again.
Her father and the family’s foundation was providing the money to help restructure the bridge and make it safer. Accidents could always happen, but that bridge was an old design with low hanging rails. The idea was to make larger barricades between the road and the edge of the bridge.
Though it was like pulling teeth to get him to say the words, Pirate finally admitted that he hadn’t let go of Scar’s hand. Scar had peeled Pirate’s fingers off of Scar’s wrist when it was evident that Scar’s body weight was pulling Pirate off of the bridge too.
Sophia’s gratitude towards Scar doubled at this news. He’d not only saved Sophia’s life with his sacrifice, but he’d saved Pirate’s too. Her man was too stubborn to have let go of Scar’s hand of his own volition. She knew that Pirate would have held on, even if it meant following Scar down into those icy depths.
Sophia would never wish death onto anybody—well, other than child rapists and animal abusers—but she would forever be grateful to Scar for his sacrifice.
With everything else going on, the day that Sophia and Pirate could file for divorce came and went without them realizing it. They ended up going to the lawyer’s a few days later to sign all the necessary documents and officially file. In some ways, the time seemed to drag on and it felt like they’d waited forever to right their drunken mistake; and in other ways, it was hard to believe it was only ninety days since they’d stepped foot on that pirate ship in San Francisco.
Since Pirate’s Charger was demolished and Sophia’s Bug was deemed unsafe by Pirate, they’d both ended up going car shopping at the beginning of May. Sophia got an Acura Integra hatchback and Pirate got a replacement Charger with the insurance company’s payout.
A surprise came knocking on their apartment door a couple of weeks after the attack at the bridge. The same lawyer that had shown up at the clubhouse with Fletcher had a settlement offer for Pirate. So long as Pirate did not pursue any criminal or civil charges against the Montague family, the lawyer was prepared to issue a check to Pirate for a total of two million dollars. If that did not suffice, the lawyer was also authorized to offer Jasmine and Jumper a hefty sum. It was the Montague family’s hope that the money was enough to cover any wedding expenses they’d lost. Additionally, a donation had been made to all of the charities Sophia actively supported.
Before Pirate could make a decision, Sophia had pulled him aside. She advised him to act as if he was denying the amount and see if the lawyer would go any higher. She might not feel the immense guilt Pirate did for what happened, but she was extremely pissed. Stephon Montague’s insistence on covering for his son his entire life had led Fletcher down a destructive path that would one day put him on a bridge pointing a gun at Sophia.
She had every intention of bleeding the man dry. Men like Stephon Montague would do anything to keep their names clean.
The lawyer did end up going higher, though he had to make a phone call to authorize the amount. Pirate received four million, seven hundred and fifty thousand went to Jasmine and Jumper, and an additional donation was made to Jasmine’s clinic for fifty thousand dollars. As Pumpkin’s Power of Attorney, Steel was able to settle on Pumpkin’s behalf and he was also getting a check for four million.
To a man like Stephon Montague, it was a drop in the water, but for Pirate, Jumper, and Jasmine, it was a lot of money. The papers were drawn up and the money would be deposited within the week.
Before leaving, the lawyer asked Pirate for the name of the man who fell off the bridge. As far as the authorities were concerned, Scar was a John Doe. Even Bulldog refused to give Scar’s legal information over for the investigation. The official story was that he was a stranger who’d gone over the bridge.
Sophia didn’t understand the secrecy around Scar. Had he been wanted by the law or something? And, even if he was, why keep the secrecy even after his death? But the club was extremely tightlipped about the whole thing.
Pirate told the lawyer the same party line: that he didn’t know who the man was.
Though the lawyer was disappointed, he accepted the news and departed. Sophia had a feeling if Pirate had answered the lawyer, Scar’s family—if he even had any—would have gotten a settlement offer too.
Since Sophia and Pirate’s divorce was uncontested and no money was being exchanged between the two, that entire sum was now Pirate’s.
Not that it mattered. He planned on sharing his entire life with Sophia and that meant everything that was his was also hers. Yet he still tried to argue when Sophia had thrown those exact words back at him and explained that everything that was hers was also his . Apparently in Pirate’s world, everything that was hers was still hers and everything that was his was hers too. It made no sense to Sophia, but she would allow the silly man to have his delusions.
For now.
When Pirate and Sophia got home from seeing the divorce attorney, they walked into the apartment to find Sophia’s parents sitting in the living room with Jumper and Jasmine.
“Mom, Dad,” Sophia exclaimed, rushing over to meet them. “What are you doing here?”
“We wanted to talk to the four of you,” her dad answered as he hugged her in greeting.
As Sophia reached to hug her mom, Pirate and her dad shook hands. Then Pirate leaned over to kiss her mom on the cheek before guiding Sophia over to take a seat on the couch next to Jasmine and Jumper. Despite now having millions in the bank, Pirate hadn’t done anything with the money. There’d been no changes to their living arrangements or to his spending habits.
Sophia knew very few people could resist the temptations that came with that sort of money. She was very proud of Pirate for not changing who he was just because there were a lot of zeros in his bank account balance now.
Jumper sat on the left of the couch while Pirate sat on the right side with the girls in between them. Her parents sat in dining room chairs facing them.
Sophia’s dad took her mom’s hand and nodded to her encouragingly.
Her mom looked to Sophia. “I am so sorry for bringing Fletcher Montague back into your life. When he reached out to me, I got silly dreams of you settling down and giving me grandbabies in my head. I didn’t look into his history or even check in with his father to see what he thought of Fletcher being back in town.”
Sophia shook her head. “It’s not your fault, Mom. No one saw any of this coming. I don’t blame you for his actions.”
Bea smiled thankfully at Sophia before turning her attention to Pirate. “I want to thank you for saving Sophia’s life. I’m aware that you lost a friend that night.” Her mom held up a hand to stop Jumper and Pirate from speaking. “I know what the news and reports say, but I also have eyes and ears around town. I know people who were on that bridge that night. I’m aware that the man who fell into the water was a friend of yours.” She lowered her hand. “And I am here to offer my sincerest condolences as well as my apology for any part I may have played that led to his death.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” Pirate told her immediately after she stopped speaking. “As Sophia said, Montague’s actions were his own. You had no part in them. Neither I nor any of the club hold you responsible for him.”
Bea dabbed at the corner of her eyes. “Thank you. The guilt has been weighing on me and I needed to clear the air. Especially with you and Sophia actually dating now.”
Sophia’s eyebrows drew down. “What do you mean ‘actually’?”
Her mother raised an eyebrow. “Do you think I don’t know my daughter well enough to know when she’s lying? The day you and Pirate came to the house and you told me you were dating, I knew you weren’t. I let it slide.”
Sophia wasn’t sure she liked the fact that her mother was so easily able to read her. “Why?”
“Because of the way he looked at you.” Bea’s eyes moved to Pirate. “You were in love with my daughter even then, weren’t you?”
Pirate nodded. “I was. I didn’t know it, but I was.” He reached over and took Sophia’s hand. “I’m still in love with her.”
Her mom smiled lovingly at him. “Then I—” She stopped, grabbed her husband’s hand, and then corrected, “I mean, we would like to officially welcome you to our family.”
Pirate squeezed Sophia’s hand as he said, “Thank you.”
Darnell Groveton then turned his attention to Jasmine and Jumper. “We had a wedding gift that we planned on giving the two of you when you returned from your original honeymoon. Under the circumstances, we chose to continue with our original plans. Only, we’re telling you a little earlier than anticipated. We hope that this way, you will be ready when it is.”
Jumper and Jasmine exchanged a look before Jazz asked, “I don’t understand. You weren’t charging us for the use of your estate. I thought that was our wedding gift.”
Sophia’s dad gave Jasmine an indulgent smile. “My dear, you are like a second daughter to me. I also owe you for all the years you’ve kept this one,” he pointed at Sophia, “out of jail.”
“Hey!” Sophia snapped, indignant. At her father’s raised eyebrow, Sophia slumped back against the couch. “Okay, yeah, fair point.”
Jasmine smiled at her bestie before turning back to Sophia’s dad. “I appreciate the offered gift. It’s unnecessary, though. We aren’t getting married for several months now.”
Darnell shook his head. “No, this was necessary.” He reached into his suit’s inner pocket, pulled out a set of keys and tossed them gently to Jasmine.
She tried to catch them, floundered, and ended up dropping them. Jumper caught them partway down and brought them back for Jasmine.
Curious, Sophia looked over Jasmine’s shoulder to see if there was any indication what the keys were to. It was actually more than one set of keys.
It was four of them hooked together on one larger ring. Each individual keyring held two sets of keys and a monogrammed silver keychain.
Jasmine with the silhouettes of a dog’s and a cat’s heads.
Jumper with a dog’s paw print.
Sophia with a winged fairy, or maybe a sprite.
Pirate with a skull and crossbones.
Jasmine looked at Sophia, Pirate, and Jumper for a clue, but the three of them shook their heads at her. Sophia had no idea what was going on. Jasmine turned back to Bea and Darnell. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand. What are the keys for?”
Bea reached into her purse and pulled out a jewelry box. It was rectangular like one would expect to hold a necklace. Except it wasn’t pearls inside the box when Jasmine opened it.
It was a single piece of paper the size of a fortune from a Chinese cookie with an address written on it.
Sophia’s parents stood as if they were preparing to leave. Her mom smiled down at the four of them. “I hope you love it as much as I do. Good luck!”
They took the bikes over. Aerial joined them in her sidecar attached to Jumper’s Indian . All four wore their cuts. Pirate’s original cut had been recovered from his Charger but was damaged beyond repair. Demo ordered not only him a new one but a property cut for Sophia.
None of them recognized the address or even the street name, and all were equally confused when they came to a newly paved drive none of them even knew existed before today. Pirate knew approximately where they were. The club’s property was several acres. The owners of the property before it was a distillery had been farmers. When the distillery purchased the property, they purchased all of the land, though they’d only used a small portion of it. The club had purchased everything as well, since the distillery did not want to deal with multiple sales to get rid of all the property and had undersold for what the land was worth by a good deal.
If his geography was correct, Pirate, Sophia, Jumper, and Jasmine were on the very far side of the club’s property. But he had no recollection of a drive being at the end of the club’s land. Were they even off of the club’s land? He’d have to look at a map, because he wasn’t entirely sure.
The Grovetons’ wedding gift became apparent almost immediately after entering the paved drive. A construction crew was gathered around a newly erected structure.
He could make out two very distinctive A-frame roofs with a flat roof between them. At present, only the wooden frame was up but there was no doubt in Pirate’s mind that it would one day be a house. The shape of the house with the two peaked tops kind of reminded him of cat ears.
Jumper and Pirate pulled up next to one of the club’s construction trucks. As they were dismounting, Cage came walking out of the structure with a yellow hardhat on his head, a tool belt around his waist, and no shirt on. He had a sheen of sweat coating his skin.
Pirate narrowed his eyes. He knew damn well that Cage was a stickler for the safety rules and it was against OSHA regulations to work a construction site without proper attire. From the appreciative glances Cage got from Sophia and Jasmine, Pirate knew the man had taken his shirt off for that purpose only—and he did not appreciate it.
“Put your damn shirt back on,” Pirate growled at his club brother.
Cage took off his hard hat and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. With a shit-eating grin on his face, he unhooked a water bottle that had been attached to his tool belt, uncapped it, and then poured the damn thing over his head.
Jasmine and Sophia both sighed wistfully as the water dribbled down Cage’s face, to his throat, and onto his finely toned chest.
Both Jumper and Pirate started forward at the same time, having every intention of forcing a damn shirt onto their club brother and maybe using a staple gun to keep it there, but Cage dodged their advance. He bolted around them until he came up behind the girls.
“Save me!” he begged of them. “Your evil men want to take away my gorgeous body from you for your viewing pleasure!”
Jasmine and Sophia laughed, leaning against each other. Sophia asked to see Cage’s water bottle. He handed it over to her and then bent his knees so his head was more easily accessible to her.
Sophia opened the bottle. But she didn’t pour the contents over Cage’s head. Instead, she held the bottle out for Aerial to lick and stick her tongue inside as she awkwardly tried to drink from the too small mouth.
Then Sophia put the cap back on the dog-slobbered bottle, sealed it tight, and shook it like a cocktail mixer. When she was done, she handed it back to Cage.
He took it, slowly, and with an open mouth. “That was mean,” he whined.
Sophia just smiled at him. “I’m aware.” She turned her head to the right and met Pirate’s eyes.
He winked at her. “That’s my girl.”
Now moping like someone had taken away his favorite toy, Cage reached into his back pocket and put his t-shirt back on. “Follow me,” he sulked.
The four of them, plus Aerial, followed Cage up to the structure. There, Cage opened up a metal cabinet that looked out of place enough to most likely be part of the construction crew’s equipment and not a permanent fixture. He pulled out a hardhat for each of them.
“Aerial’s got to stay out here,” Cage informed Jumper. “I don’t want her to step on a dropped nail or anything.”
Cage took out another hat, turned it upside down, and poured the remainder of his water bottle into it. Then he placed it on the ground next to Aerial. “We’ll be quick but that should be enough to hold her over while she waits.”
And get rid of the rest of his dog-slobbered water , Pirate thought wryly.
“So this is the left house,” Cage said as he brought them through the doorless entryway. “Which side is whose is up to you guys. I’m just building the damn thing.”
“Wait,” Jasmine said. “I’m still a little lost. What is this place?”
Cage turned. “Mr. and Mrs. Groveton didn’t tell you?”
The four of them shook their heads.
“Well, this is awkward,” Cage said with a dry laugh. “Okay, we’re changing course. Follow me this way now.”
He took them through a hollow wall and over to where an architecture table was set up. On it, Pirate recognized the blueprints of a house.
Cage moved to the other side of the table so the four of them could get an unhindered view. “Mr. and Mrs. Groveton commissioned my crew to build Jasmine and Jumper a house as their wedding gift. We’re on the backside of the club’s property and a drive will be added so you can reach the house from crossing the property from the clubhouse entrance or coming down the drive you just did. However, this isn’t just a standard home. It’s a duplex.” He pointed to the identical side of the house. “House A on the left is where we’re standing. House B is on the right. They are completely separate homes that are connected into one structure by a shared living room and balcony.” In the center of the two peaks, Pirate saw the outline of a second story roof balcony with a living space on the schematic of the first floor. “Both homes will have a master bedroom with a master bath, two spare bedrooms, and a full guest bath upstairs. First floors will be individual living rooms, dining rooms, laundry rooms, kitchens, and offices with the communal living room that has a wet bar connecting the two sections. Exterior will have a shared four-car garage, patio, and a fenced in gate.”
Pirate was seriously impressed.
“I can’t believe this,” Jasmine breathed out. “I mean, it’s so generous. I never expected… I mean, they’re giving us a home for a wedding gift.” She was squeezing Jumper’s hand so hard her knuckles were turning white. “But why the duplex?”
Cage’s eyes flicked to Sophia and then back to Jazz. “Pretty sure they knew your bestie was going to be moving into whatever house you moved into, so they gave her a home here too.”
Sophia and Jasmine exchanged excited looks.
Sophia slapped Jasmine’s arm enthusiastically. “The keys! There was one for each of us.”
Jasmine pulled out the keyrings. “Pirate too!”
Jumper and Pirate looked over the girls’ heads at each other. “Some detectives these two are,” Pirate commented adoringly.
“I believe they call themselves ‘ninja detectives’,” Jumper corrected. Looking down at his fiancée, Jumper asked, “Is this what you want? If we do this, it means no escaping Sophia. You’ll be stuck with her forever.”
Jasmine laughed. She kissed her man and then turned to her bestie. The two embraced tightly. “Yes,” Jasmine exclaimed. “I love this! I’ll have you and my Sophia and all the dogs and room for any others we adopt along the way!”
“What am I?” Pirate asked, indignantly. “Chopped liver? And she’s my Sophia.”
“I can honestly say I licked her first,” Jasmine told him with a smug smile.
Pirate’s eyes narrowed but then said, “Yeah, but I guarantee my licks give her a lot more pleasure.”
Sophia burst out laughing. Her smile confirmed Pirate’s words.
Jasmine looked ready to argue but shrugged. “I guess you can move in too. If you insist.”
Sophia reached back and took Pirate’s hand without letting go of her hold on Jasmine. “ I insist,” she told Jazz. She looked to Cage. “Tell me more about this house. What features will it have and can I add a swimming pool?”
Pirate took a deep breath. He’d been putting off this conversation, so it was past time to be had. The atmosphere around the clubhouse hadn’t been the same since the day of the bridge attack. The tension always intensified as soon as Bulldog entered the room. Despite the two of them spending time together in the cellar with Fletcher, they hadn’t talked. Not really. Not about the elephant in the room.
Pirate raised his hand and knocked. Jumper, Jasmine, and Sophia were at the clubhouse, the girls showing off the pictures of their new house to the others.
Pirate was ecstatic about the idea of moving in with Sophia. Officially. Though she’d been living in the apartment with them and spending every night in his bed, they’d never had that “will you move in with me?” moment most couples have. Now there would be no question. It was no longer his bed, but theirs .
He really loved the sound of that. Which was ironic, since they’d gotten divorced that morning.
Bulldog opened the door, his one-year-old daughter in his arms. Upon seeing Pirate, he took a wordless step back.
Pirate entered the house, shutting the door behind him. He followed Bulldog into the living room. His SAA put Georgie down in a playpen with her older brother, Caleb. Pirate didn’t know where Lila, Cassie, or Abby was. He figured he might as well get this conversation over with before they were interrupted.
“I’m sorry.”
Bulldog didn’t turn around.
“I can’t imagine the pain you’re going through. If I lost Jumper, it would be excruciating. I don’t know how long you and Scar knew each other for and it doesn’t matter. He meant something to you and I know you’re in pain. I’m sorry I couldn’t save him. It took me some time, and a hypnosis session with Dr. Rutenberg, for me to remember something I’d been suppressing and it’s something you have a right to know, Bulldog.”
Slowly, his SAA turned around to face him. The depth of pain in the older man’s brown eyes made it difficult to look at him, but he did. He had to. Pirate owed Scar this much.
“Scar knew he was dying,” Pirate told Bulldog evenly. “I saw it in his eyes. I was trying to hold onto him, but his weight was pulling me down. With the rain and my grip slipping on the guardrail, I believe he knew I wasn’t going to let go. Scar made me release my hold on him, Bulldog. He knew he was going to die and he refused to take me with him. Scar saved Sophia and my life that night.”
Bulldog didn’t say anything for a long time. When he did finally speak, his voice was laced with grief. “If Scar had to die, I know he would have wanted to go out saving someone he loved. At least I know he didn’t die in vain or for some asshole’s selfish stupidity. Thank you.”
Not knowing what else to say, Pirate nodded once. He started for the door but paused and then turned back around. “Did Scar have family? Besides us, I mean?”
“He had a sister down in Texas,” Bulldog answered gruffly. “But the two weren’t close. They’d stopped speaking before he’d joined the Army when he was eighteen.”
It was hard to think of Scar as an ordinary child with parents and a sibling. Even now, after his death, it seemed to contradict the mysterious man.
Pirate cleared his throat. “If you do reach out to her, please pass on my condolences.”
Bulldog nodded solemnly and then sat down on the couch, focusing on his youngest children.
Pirate left the house and headed towards the clubhouse.
Sophia and Jasmine were sitting on barstools next to each other. They were showing off the pictures of their new home. Sophia laughed at something, throwing her head back with vigor. Fuck, he loved that woman.
She was everything he could have hoped for and more. He knew there were going to be some difficult days ahead. The club needed time to heal, to mourn. What had meant to be a weekend of celebration had turned into a horror beyond imagining. Scar might not have worn the Via Daemonia colors anymore, but he was no less a part of them.
He always would be.
Time would pass. Wounds would mend, but there would always be the memory of the silent man in their midst. The man in the shadows.
As Pirate approached Sophia, leaning down to claim her lips, he knew his future was set. He was going to marry this girl. Properly and soberly. It might not be today or tomorrow, but it would be one day in their near future. He was looking forward to it. To the idea of kids with their mother’s sass and their father’s tenacity.
Sophia pulled away from him. Though she was smiling, there was concern in her eyes too. “You good?”
“Yeah,” he answered honestly. “I’m just thinking of adding a voyage on a pirate ship in our future.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? And is there a sexy bar wench on this voyage with you?”
“The sexiest.”
Sophia’s smile widened. She reached behind her at the bar to where a glass with two fingers of rum was sitting. Picking it up, she offered it to him. “Looking forward to setting sail with you, my dashing pirate.”
Tossing back the liquor, Pirate snagged his woman around the waist. “Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho.”