Cambria
When four figures entered the clubhouse as if they owned the place, I wondered who they were.
The way Jalisa and Betty greeted them told me they were friends.
I was brought forward and introduced. The Dark Patriot named Undertaker was intimidating as hell.
The man left me almost speechless. The dangerous vibe he emitted screamed to fuck with him at your own risk.
The woman with him, who smiled so sweetly, I was stunned to learn was his wife, Sloan. Talk about opposites attracting.
When Smoke and Everly were presented, I almost fell on the floor at their feet.
Shadow had talked a lot about them. When he revealed their online names to me, I was blown away.
They were both known in the hacker world as the elite of the elite, and no one knew who they were.
To think they were part of a motorcycle club and friends with my man was unbelievable.
All I did was shake their hands and nod.
They hadn’t lingered after that. The four of them headed to church, leaving Dylan and the three of us to wait it out in the common room.
The ladies tried to keep my mind occupied with wedding talk.
It helped, and holding Dora, who was five and a half months old, was another good distraction.
She was at the stage where she smiled, cooed, and interacted more.
“You seem to be pretty good with her. Before you know it, you’ll be holding one of your own,” Betty said out of nowhere.
I chuckled, thinking she was teasing. “I do like children, but you’ll have to wait a few years before you see me with one of my own. Shadow and I need time to get ourselves in sync as a couple. Then, we’ll talk about kids. I know he wants them, and so do I.”
“Girl, these bikers have a way of sweeping us off our feet and dazzling us, so that before we even know it, we’re either pregnant or they’ve convinced us that we should jump right into it.
Dora was born a year and two weeks after my first meeting with Wrath.
He was all for having babies out of the gate.
Hell, he’s already talking about when we can start on the next one.
He grew up without siblings, and he wants his kids to be close.
I had Dylan growing up, but we would’ve loved to have had more siblings or cousins.
We’ll see how long it truly takes,” Jalisa said, smugly.
I admit that her confession and the way they went on to discuss their friends and how quickly they had kids had me rethinking things. I needed to discuss it with Shadow. While I wanted them, I didn’t think it would be good to get pregnant when all this drama and danger were hanging over me.
I became so engrossed in listening to their stories about the other clubs that time flew by.
I was startled when I heard voices and the sound of boots approaching us.
The entire club and its guests swept into the common room.
Dylan had heard them and positioned himself behind the bar.
He was ready to serve them. Some went straight to the bar.
Others scattered to the pool table. Wrath, Rage, Shadow, and the four guests came to the table I was at with the other two women.
Wrath leaned down to kiss Jalisa, then he took their daughter from me.
Dora beamed happily up at her daddy. The utter love on his face for his old lady and daughter was evident, softening him and making him more human.
Rage kissed Betty, then dropped one on Jalisa’s forehead before tickling Dora with his beard, making her coo.
Shadow sat next to me and pulled me closer until our bodies were almost plastered together.
He gave me a slow, intense kiss that left my brain foggy when he let up. He chuckled.
“I love that I can do that to you,” he whispered.
“It’s not fair. I go loopy, and you’re fine,” I grumbled.
“Twilight, you make me forget my name. I just cover it better than you do,” he confessed.
I was smiling at him when a throat cleared, causing me to glance away from him. The two Patriots and two Warriors were watching us.
“Cambria, I must say, I’m glad Shadow found someone who can relate to what he does.
It can cause some tense moments, but overall, it’s great when your partner is into the same things as you are to a degree.
If he gets to be too much, though, call me.
I can help you figure out an appropriate punishment,” Everly said, grinning.
“Hey, there will be no ganging up on your men. Don’t get her into trouble, Everly,” Smoke warned his old lady, though he was smirking as he did. She didn’t appear a bit intimidated.
“I have to do the same to the big guy here when he gets all macho and tries to tell me I have to stay home with the kids. I remind him I was a Marine long before I was his wife and the mother of his sons. I can handle myself. And if he’s so worried, we’ll just do the jobs together,” Sloan added.
“Do all of you have kids?” I asked.
“We do. Smoke and I have Adan, he’ll be seven next month. Our daughter, Audriana, turned five years old two months ago,” Everly informed me.
“And we have two boys. Caleb will be five in nine days. Cash is two and a half,” Sloan added.
“When you’re gone for work, who watches them?” I inquired. The conversation about children had me thinking about them and how it worked when the couples did work like ours.
“Anyone in the club will step up to watch ours, so it varies. But since we all live in the compound like you do here, it’s not as disruptive as some might think. They see all the brothers and their partners as aunts and uncles,” Smoke explained.
“We’re lucky that one of the other Patriot founders, Sean, is married to Undertaker’s sister, Cassidy.
Our boys usually stay with them, although the other Patriots have taken care of them.
It’s similar to how your club family works.
We do the same for them when they need someone to care for their kids.
We don’t have as many as Dublin Falls has.
But out of five couples in our core circle, we have nine kids.
The latest two were added in June and July of this year,” Sloan clarified.
“And how many do you have in Dublin Falls?” I asked.
As soon as I asked, I noted the amused looks exchanged.
“At last count, sixty,” Smoke said.
I choked on the sip of soda I took when he answered. As I sputtered and coughed, with Shadow lightly patting my back, I tried to wrap my mind around the size of that club and how wild it would be to have that many children within such a confined space. When I could breathe and talk, I had to ask.
“How big is your club and your compound?”
“We keep our count to no more than thirty members. In some cases, that has meant guys end up prospecting with us but joining one of our other chapters in Kentucky or North Carolina. However, they usually go directly to them to prospect. We’ve been toying with the idea of starting another chapter in the Black Mountain area of North Carolina.
So far, we haven’t, but maybe one day. So far, none have gone to Hunters Creek, which is also in Tennessee.
Our compound is bigger than this, but not enormous.
Think of it like a large neighborhood in town,” Smoke outlined.
“When this is all over, Shadow has to bring you to Dublin Falls, that way you can see for yourself. And I know the rest of the club will want to meet you. We love it when one of the guys adds more people to our tribe. We need all the estrogen we can get to battle the testosterone,” Everly added, winking at Smoke.
The ongoing antics of both couples, though Undertaker was more subdued, had me laughing and enjoying myself.
I was shocked when they mentioned they would be staying here to help.
I argued that I didn’t want to take them away from their kids, but I was told not to worry about them.
They were in great hands and would have a ball with their family.
Plus, they’d take time to go back if it became a protracted period, though they hoped it would be over in two weeks. I prayed it was.
That conversation was the one that led them to inform Betty, Jalisa, and me about their plans. I was aghast at the idea of Undertaker going to prison, but he assured me it wasn’t as difficult as I imagined. And he’d done it before. I hated to agree that he looked the part of a criminal.
By the time the evening drew to a close.
I was tired and needed to sleep. The two couples would share the guesthouse.
It was plenty big enough for them. As we broke up for the night, Rage and Betty offered to show them where they were staying.
There were loud and multiple wishes for a good night as we parted.
Shadow’s arm around me made me feel safe and loved.
I hugged him close as we walked the short distance to the house.
???
The clubhouse was loud and busy tonight.
The club hosted an impromptu party with a feast. Which Wrath had ordered from town rather than burden any of us with making stuff last-minute.
Or it was the plan, but when we ladies read his message he sent out this morning, Betty, Jalisa, and I got to talking about what we could do to supplement the food.
The next thing we knew, Sloan had volunteered to help.
Everly was neck deep in work, so she apologized for not being able to help. I told her it wasn’t necessary.
I should’ve been doing the same, but Shadow had banned me from doing it for at least twenty-four hours.
He claimed I needed the break. I argued he did as well, but he refused to stop.
I’d been practically pushed out of the house to join the other women at the clubhouse.
The enormous kitchen there had room for all of us to cook and bake up a storm.