Soul
Emery is standing at the center of the clubhouse, glowing bright as a beacon in her white lace wedding dress. As happy as I was to drive her to the chapel and marry her, she deserved more than that. Which is why I’ve let Tempe and Willa run wild planning this party.
I slide up behind her, wrapping my arms around her belly. “You’re too pretty for this place. I should have rented a venue.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s perfect.” Her blue eyes flick to me as she spins in my arms. “And stop holding my belly before someone guesses that I’m pregnant before we announce it.”
“We could announce it right now.” I shrug.
“Not on our wedding day.” She tips her chin up.
Her dark hair shines, falling in silky waves over her shoulders.
“The second you decline a glass of champagne, the girls are going to figure it out.”
She rolls her eyes, knowing I’m right. “Well then, they can figure it out, but I’m not announcing it.”
“Whatever you say, wife.” I nuzzle into her neck, kissing her until she giggles. “How are you feeling this morning?”
Her nose scrunches. “Better than yesterday, but my stomach is still a little sour.”
Emery’s morning sickness kicked in while we were away last weekend, and it hasn’t let up since.
The first time she ran to the bathroom to puke, she tried to stop me from following her.
But I promised to be there for everything this time.
It doesn’t matter to me if she’s puking or needs a foot rub. I’ll do anything to take care of her.
I’m going to be there for every kick, every ultrasound. I’ll be at her side, holding her hand while we welcome our baby into this world. I’m not missing a thing.
“All set!” Reagan pops up with Charlie in her arms. “Surprise. What do you think? Isn’t she the cutest flower girl in the world?”
“Oh my god, I can’t handle it.” Emery immediately starts crying; her pregnancy hormones bring tears to her eyes at least once a day. “She looks perfect.”
“She does, doesn’t she?” Reagan smiles, handing Charlie to Emery.
Charlie’s lilac dress bunches at her waist as she sits on Emery’s hip, smiling up at us.
“She looks so grown up in this.” Emery wipes away the tear. “Isn’t she perfect, Hayes?”
“Both of you are.”
“Oh god, cue the waterworks.”
Reagan steps forward, fanning Emery’s face. “No crying before the ceremony. You’ll mess up your makeup.”
“I’ll try,” Emery says, taking a deep breath.
“By the way…” Reagan leans in, dropping her voice. “Congratulations.”
Her eyes fall to Emery’s stomach, and I laugh as Reagan walks away.
“Told you they would guess.”
“Fine, you were right.” She rolls her eyes, bouncing Charlie on her hip. “But look at her, Hayes. Reagan picked out the perfect dress. She looks so grown-up already. Next thing we know, she’s going to be attending prom and introducing us to her boyfriends.”
“Yeah, and I’ll be introducing them to my guns.”
Emery glares up at me, but she can’t hide her smile. “I feel bad for any guy who tries to date Charlie or any of the other girls around here.”
“I don’t.” I grin, and she shakes her head.
Charlie reaches for me, and Emery hands her over. She’s growing up so fast; I can’t keep up. Soon, she’ll be crawling around everywhere, getting into trouble. I can’t wait.
“I have a surprise for you two,” I say, pulling Emery to us.
“This party is surprise enough. You don’t have to do anything more for us, Hayes.”
I tug her closer, kissing the top of her head. “That’s where you’re wrong. I want to do everything for you. Besides, what’s a wedding without a honeymoon?”
Her eyes widen. “We’re going on a honeymoon? But…”
She glances at Charlie.
“Don’t worry, we’re bringing Charlie. I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to do this with the three of us. We’re going to Connecticut this summer. Seeing the ocean. Maybe even taking a trip up to Maine.”
“You’re taking us to the East Coast?” Her smile grows.
“You said you hadn’t been.”
“And Steel is okay with it? He doesn’t need you here?”
“The guys can cover for me for a few weeks.”
“How did I get so lucky?” She wraps her arms around my shoulders, capturing Charlie between us as she lifts onto her toes for a kiss.
Until Charlie grabs her earlobe and tugs.
“Ah!” Emery pulls back, and I reach for Charlie’s hand, replacing Emery’s ear with my fingers. “This is why I don’t wear earrings.”
“Smart.” I tickle Charlie’s belly, and she giggles. “Be nice to Mommy.”
She collapses against me, giggling. I rub her dark hair, which is already starting to get longer.
“Emery.” Tempe pops her head through the back slider. “Aimee wants to get a picture.”
“I’ll be right out.” She reaches for Charlie, and I hand her over.
“You too, Soul.” Tempe smiles, making it clear it’s not optional.
“He’ll be there in a second, wildfire.” Steel slips past Tempe, kissing her on the top of the head as he walks past. “I need him for a second.”
“You’re not working before the wedding.” Tempe crosses her arms over her chest, glaring at him.
“I’ll be right back,” he tells her.
She rolls her eyes. “Mm-hmm.”
I kiss Emery and Charlie, watching them disappear out the back door with Tempe as Steel approaches.
“You’re going to get in trouble,” I say to him, turning to follow him toward church.
“I’ll make it up to her later.” He grins.
Chaos laughs, coming up behind us. “No one needs to hear about that shit.”
Legacy, Havoc, Ghost, and Venom are right behind him. I thought Tempe was joking about Steel working, but something must be up if everyone is here.
“Well, shit, what went wrong?” I ask as we filter inside, but no one takes their seats.
“Sorry to do this on your wedding day.” Steel sighs, frowning. “I just got a call from the guys in Texas. Seems we’ve got a problem at Ironside Ridge.”
“What the fuck happened?” Chaos steps forward. “Kincaid didn’t call me.”
“I just heard. It happened last night. The guys have managed to keep it under wraps for now, so Kincaid likely doesn’t even know, but word is spreading as we speak.
” Steel scratches his jaw. “Someone ran Jackson off the road last night. He’s in the hospital.
We think he’ll push through, but it’s getting messy.
Cops said it was an accident, but the guys think someone targeted him. ”
Jackson has been leading the guys in Texas, and while it’s not an official Twisted Kings chapter, he’s the one they report to, and he answers to Steel.
“You think the ranchers did it?” I guess.
“They’ve been giving us nothing but trouble,” Steel says. “We need that clubhouse up and running. This sets us back even more. The guys there say they’ve got it under control—”
“But this proves they don’t.” Chaos shakes his head.
“Exactly. They’re good guys. Their presidents vouched for them.
But I don’t know them personally, and I don’t like not having eyes on the place.
Even if we’re just going to use it as a spot for clubs passing through, we need to be able to wrangle our territory.
And that’s what it will be the moment that clubhouse is built—our territory.
Chaos sold that portion of land to the Twisted Kings. It’s ours, and we need to protect it.”
“I can take a trip out there and check in,” Chaos says.
“I can go with him,” I offer.
“No.” Steel shakes his head. “I need you here right now. Even with Zane out of the picture, other clubs are already trying to push into our area. We need to keep a strong front.”
“Then send me.” Venom steps forward.
Steel crosses his arms over his chest. “If I send you out there, I need you to stay for a while. Get the locals under control. Get the clubhouse built. Get shit up and running. It’s not a short-term gig.”
“I get that. I’ll take care of it.” Venom’s arms relax at his sides. “I’ll stick around as long as you need me to, Prez.”
“You sure?”
“Anything for the club.”
Steel nods, reaching his hand out to Venom. “All right. Let’s get you to Texas.”