Stiletto immediately halts, realizing what she’s done has put the club in major jeopardy.
My mother looks right at me. “Unless you give me something I want.”
We stare at each other for a few moments before I clear my throat. “One appearance, and that’s it. I go to one appearance and you forget you ever came here.” I hated my life as a kid in that house, but my life now is with the Reapers Rejects MC and I’m not going to have my bitch of a mother and her money-hungry lawyer be a threat to them. When you’re family, you do whatever you can to protect everyone else in it, even if it’s likely going to bring up every trauma of your childhood you buried deep down inside.
Chapter Five
Reset, refocus, readjust, restart—as many times as you need to, but never give up
~ Unknown
Hammer
Dracus, Tex, and I went out on a run early this morning into a neighboring town. We even brought Razor, who Zane is trying to determine if he’s a good match for Amara as the VP down in Mexico. He’s fluent in Spanish, which I’m sure is a plus, and he’s got history in the club life. He was a Nomad for many years but decided it was time to settle down. I don’t know too much about the guy, considerin’ he’s the silent type, but that’s cool. I’m not one of the brothers in the club who needs to know everythin’ about everyone. I respect the fact people want to keep some things private.
We’ve already been back at the club and it’s just Razor and me out now. Ashley had her baby girl, Rory, yesterday and Blackjack is hoping they’ll be able to come home tomorrow or the following day. Fuck, it’s crazy we have another baby around. Natalie, Grim’s ol’ lady, has been in the hospital for a while now. They’re trying to keep her baby in the oven and she’s on constant bedrest. I can’t remember the technical term for what Natalie has, but I do know she has to be on it, or the baby could die. Grim stopped by the other day for a few hours to check in on his kids. Well, they’re Natalie’s kids from her previous marriage, but they’re as much his now. He loves the damn kids like they’re his blood. Grim’s a good, stand-up guy. Grim ended up telling us when he stopped by that they could schedule a c-section since their baby is viable, but Natalie didn’t want to do that. She wants their baby to keep growing as much as possible, and I can’t blame her there. The woman probably feels like the only safe place for the little one is in her belly. Shit, they’ve been through so much already.
Now we’re on a run in town checking in with a new supplier for Tart. Ashley is pretty much the woman in charge of the bakery, and she made sure Blackjack knew the list of things that still needed to be done. We just left a baked good supplier who will provide the bakery with flour, almond flour, coconut flour, sugar, extracts, icings, and pretty much everything they need to run the damn place. They didn’t want to give Ashley the same deal they gave the previous owners, but I talked them into it considering she’s keeping things on their menu that were original to their café. Plus, she’s doubled the order every week, so if you ask me, they should be honoring the twenty percent loyalty discount, and now they will be.
Razor still has his cut on stating he’s part of the Raiders of Valhalla and a Nomad. “You talk to your Prez yet about patching into our club?” I ask him.
As far as I know, we’ve been allies with the Raiders of Valhalla MC since they founded their club. Patching over into the Reapers Rejects shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
Razor shrugs his shoulders, “Not yet. I haven’t spoken to Runes about anything official. He does know the conversations I’ve had and for the consistency I want in my life. Turns out they’re setting up a satellite home base in Tallahassee. Our VP’s ex-ol’ lady just died, and he’s gotta take care of the kids and shit. Hell, if I knew we ever would’ve settled down like he’s startin’ to do now . . . I would’ve made a bigger play at gettin’ the VP spot. Fenrir is a good one, but I’ve been doin’ this a lot longer than he has.”
I lean against my bike and take in the bright sun on this late April day. I think the snow’s finally behind us, and I, for one, can’t wait for it to get warmer. I’m itchin’ to get some time in upstate and have a few days of complete isolation in a cabin, swimmin’ in the water, relaxin’ as much as I can.
In the midst of my daydream, I spot a familiar face across the street. One that causes me to forget Razor and I were even talkin’ in the first place. I watch the scrawny blond fucker walk up the street and turn the corner, instantly causin’ me to follow him. Now, I haven’t seen him around in ages, but every time I do see him, it means trouble is nearby. His previous employer was the General, and the man has been dead for a while, which means someone else is trying to move into this territory.
Footsteps are hot and heavy behind me, meanin’ Razor’s followin’ my lead. I turn the corner and spot him smirkin’ like a bastard by a dumpster with someone else
