Chapter 13
Stone
I slowly swirl my scotch in my glass, ignoring the family day that is currently going on behind me. The brothers laughing, the kids running around, and all the old ladies hanging around and talking, mainly about how Ashley isn’t here, which isn’t a shocker.
Cole’s here, but his mama is at work, something she refuses to give up despite Trigger’s pleading, because well, she did keep them afloat, and it’s her independence, something I think Trigger has realized over the past few months.
Maybe I should spend the day with Cole, perhaps he can take me outta my funk, my fucking heartbreak, my need to tear this world apart.
My wedding ring catches my eye, and my jaw ticks.
Three months and no sign of my wife, not even Dirty can find her, though the fucker has taken Caleb away for some father-son bonding. I can’t hassle him, and even Doc can’t find anything out through the hospital.
It’s like she fucking vanished, but I know she hasn’t because she still stays in contact with her family, her sister who refuses to tell me where Rose has gone, explaining she needs to do this.
I sigh as I run my fingers through my short hair, as Cole's laughter echoes, and I turn and watch as Trigger runs after him with a water pistol, and I smile slightly.
Since he ignored his wife’s calls, putting his mistress before his family when his son was borderline being hospitalized from a severe ear infection, Trigger has been, I don’t know, different, I guess.
He’s there more for his son, and the fucker didn’t even protest when I put in a vote to have Virginia kicked outta the club, though he’s probably just going to her apartment in town.
I fucking warned her to pack her bags, and not one brother stood by her, not even Trigger, which pissed her off as she was escorted out by the prospects.
“Uncle Stone!” I hear shouted to my left and I look to see Caleb running my way, dodging the brothers who try to grab him. They are eager to get the favorite uncle title and I chuckle as I stand just in time for the kid to throw himself at me.
I pick him up and hold him tight as I ask, “Now what are you doing here, huh? I thought you were away for daddy and Caleb time?”
Caleb shakes his head with a grin and admits, “Nope, we’re back now, but guess what….” He leans closer like he’s about to tell me the biggest secret, and I play with him and put my ear to his mouth before he shocks me as he gloats, “I got to see my favorite nurse, Nurse Rose!”
Son of a…
I shoot my eyes up instantly locking them with Dirty as Trigger stands beside him with his arm wrapped around Cole, looking stoic as he eyes me, then Dirty, who doesn’t fucking look one bit guilty.
Back up, the fucker actually brought back up, so I don’t kill him in front of his son.
“You saw Rose, huh, buddy?” I confirm not breaking eye contact with my soon-to-be-dead friend, my brother, and Caleb, completely oblivious to the tensions rising in this room, nods excitedly as he admits, “She took me to this really, really big park, then bought me an ice cream.”
Pure fury builds, and by the tense smile Dirty is giving me, he knows I’m going to fucking shoot him. His son is the only thing stopping me. The fucker found my wife and didn’t say anything, instead he went to wherever she is and saw her, he fucking saw her.
Yep, dead, he’s dead.
“Hey Caleb, where’s my cuddle?” I hear and I look towards the door to see Ashley grinning at him, instantly gaining Trigger's attention, and Dirty mutters, “Fuck,” knowing the three people who would stop me from killing him are about to leave his side.
“Aunty Ashley, guess what, guess what,” Caleb shouts as I place him on the floor before running over to Ashley, Trigger and Cole following him.
Ashley picks Caleb up and asks, “What, sweetheart? Did you have a good time in New York?”
New York…
I look at Dirty sharply, and he gives me a hesitant smile.
My wife has been in New York all this fucking time, a twenty fucking hour drive away!
“I saw Nurse Rose!” Caleb gloats, and honestly, I’m beginning to really dislike the kid right now.
Ashley looks at me with wide eyes while the brothers tense. My jaw ticks when I hear, “Fuck,” from Doc in the corner of the common room.
He’s having a meeting with his dad over the senator's daughter, who gives Elsie a run for her fucking money where brothers and having a luxury life are concerned.
Cynthia Smith is a spoiled daddy’s girl who gets everything she wants, and what she wants is the president of the Rebels, who's also a fucking doctor.
And daddy is trying his hardest to make that happen.
What better way than an arranged marriage, using having the senator's office as a bargaining chip while his dad tries to push for it.
Doc marries Cynthia, we get their backing, and not one brother will be pulled over or arrested.
As far as I’m concerned, the fucker is an idiot for even considering it.
His dad isn’t Pres anymore, he doesn’t run the club.
Maybe Doc needs to stop thinking he needs to make him proud because he’s done that.
He became a doctor, he’s taken over the club and brought in more cash flow.
He’s done, and he needs to see that because right now, Canine is taking advantage of his son wanting to still make him proud.
He’s wanted an alliance with the senator's office for fucking years and could never manage the deal.
It pissed him off because once a judge on our payroll had granted bail for a brother, the fucking senator would try to overrule it.
Canine wants to finish what he started, to get one up on Senator Smith, even if it means using his own son.
“Brother, before you kill me, I need you to let me explain,” Dirty tries and I fist my hands, trying my fucking hardest not to grab my gun as I growl at him.
“Explain what exactly, Dirty?” I ask, “That you fucking lied to me about not finding my wife,” I hear several gasps, most likely from the women who were not aware I married Rose, but I ignore them and growl, “Or the fact you went to see her without even fucking telling me?”
He winces and admits, “She needed time brother,” and I narrow my eyes but he holds his hand up and reminds me, “She had just found out you were married to Elsie –”
I cut him off, “I divorced Elsie a week after meeting Rose, fucker, and you know it!”
He ignores me and continues, “She saw Elsie hanging off your arm and because of your loyalty to your dad, to the club, you allowed it and she took it the wrong way. Not that you can blame her and honestly brother, I wasn’t even going to let Caleb say anything, I thought after my conversation with Rose she was going to call you, allow you to explain about Elsie and about your role within the club but uh… ”
His words tail off as he looks around the room, then clears his throat.
“But what, brother?” I prompt with force, my stomach tightening.
He’s about to piss me the fuck off…
“She went out on a date two nights ago,” he admits, and I take a step forward as I growl.
He winces just as a hand grabs my arm and Doc says, “Don’t kill the messenger, brother,” and I glare his way and remind him, “He wouldn’t have been the messenger if he had told me he found my fucking wife to begin with.
He watched me tear the town apart trying to find out where she went! ”
“She needed time, brother, needed to leave. She only has three and a half weeks left of her course in New York before she returns and continues it here,” Dirty says, and I sneer at the fucker, causing Doc to hold me tighter, knowing I won’t hit my Pres.
Though I would hit my best friend…
“Don’t even think about it, I’m still your Pres,” Doc murmurs, seeing where my mind's gone, and I snap, “That fucker lied to me, you lied to me. You said you had no idea where Rose went!”
“And I didn’t, until three weeks ago when Sally finally let up and explained Rose had taken the course to help her gain the qualifications to go towards her cardiology certification with children, something, mind you, brother, she put off for five months because of you,” Doc says, and I swallow hard.
Kimmy explained that Rose had put things off, that she chose me every time her career was brought up, not just by her supervisor but also by her parents. I lost it because she never told me, never gave me a chance to support her.
I trashed my room here at the club, and several brothers had to hold me back, which was probably the second time since Rose left that it had happened, the first was when I found the note.
They don’t call me Stone for no reason, okay, that’s a lie. I originally got the name because I threw a stone at a school fair and it accidentally hit a nun in the head, knocking her out.
I was nine…
But since then, my name became clear because of how hard I would lose it. My dad mentioned I throw a punch harder than a stone hits a wall or something like that.
“Brother,” Dirty says, and we lock eyes as he states, “she didn’t want to go on the date, I could see it clear as day, and she couldn’t even admit it when I point-blank asked her.
She’s doing it to make herself move on, now, you need to go to her, tell her the truth about everything,” he nods to my left hand, “Then after she finally hears you out, come home and let her finish the remainder of her course,” I narrow my eyes but he puts his hand up and states, “It will show her you are willing to allow her to breathe, that you won’t go all alpha male while she’s processing everything you’ve told her. ”
My jaw ticks, and the urge to tackle him and beat him bloody pushes me, even though that domain is Viking’s. That’s the brother who runs our fight club and is basically a nomad.
Swallowing the urge to hit the fucker, I demand, “Address!” and he nods as he gets his phone out. He types something before my phone buzzes, and I check it to see he’s sent me her location, then another pops up, a hospital.
“The first one is the apartment they’ve set her up in, the second the pediatric cardiology hospital she’s working at,” Dirty confirms.
I nod once before turning and walking towards the door without another word to him or Doc.
I see Ashley smiling at me, who has leaned back against Trigger's chest, his arm wrapped tightly around her like he’s worried she’s going to disappear.
She will when the truth comes out and it will come out.
I learned the fucking hard way to see it does.
“Go make sure she knows you want her,” she says, and I smirk and reply, “I will,” and she grins wide as I kiss her cheek before giving Trigger a pointed look, and he swallows hard.
I love the man, he’s family, my brother, but how he’s done the dirty on this amazing woman. The same one who has stood by him since they were ten and who I really don’t think has cheated or started an affair, makes him a jackass who doesn’t deserve her.
Instead of confronting her, he broke the one rule she always spoke out against, cheating.
Ruffling my hand through Cole's hair, I leave, stating, “Elsie or Selena asks, I’m away on club business.”
The bitch has been hanging around a lot more, having my sister invite her to the club, and if I’m out and about, she pops up like an unwanted wasp, trying to cling to me, thinking we’re still married.
I can’t fucking wait to shout the truth from the rooftops, which will be as soon as my actual wife hears me out.
Fuck my dad and his pathetic excuses.
I stretch my back ten hours later as I stop at a gas station before removing my riding mask as my phone rings for the fifth time, and I know it's Kimberly.
I quickly remove one glove before grabbing my phone from my leather Rebel’s jacket before answering, “Hey, Kimmy.”
“Finally,” she exasperates, “I just spoke to Rose and I-I, dammit, I really wanted to respect my sister, to allow her to complete part of her course in peace, but she went out on a date with a colleague and I can’t have that.”
I smile slightly at the respect she’s giving me, telling me this.
“I know, sweetheart,” I reply, and she gasps, “You know?”
I chuckle and admit, “Yeah, I found out late yesterday.”
“Oh,” is all she says, like she’s disappointed that I haven’t demanded to find out where her sister is, so I let her in on my plan as I admit, “I’m halfway to New York. I’m going after your sister. Dirty found her address.”
“Oh, thank god,” she breathes, and I chuckle.
Did I mention Kimmy and I have become close, like brother and sister?
“I’ll message once I get to New York, and don’t worry, Kimmy, I’m only staying for about a week before giving your sister time to process what I said. When she returns home, I’m going all alpha on her,” I admit, hearing her sigh with relief, making me smile.
This girl just wants the best for her sister, and she knows that is me, but she also wants her sister to complete what she always wanted to do. I fucking respect the sixteen-year-old for it.
We chat for a few seconds and I help her through some algebra questions before I hang up and put my phone back in my cut, ready to get back on the road.
It’s time to show Rose that when I said she’s mine, I meant it, and whether she’s ready to hear it or not, she’s my wife, and I want her home where she belongs, in my arms always.