“That your bike?” Shep asks with raised brows, pointing to the bike parked next to them and my grin grows. Besides finding Kady, getting back on my bike has been one of the things I’ve been looking forward to most.
“Sure is. She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?”
He nods. “Hell, yeah. Actually, I’ve been thinking about getting one myself.”
“Yeah? Come by the club sometime and I’ll let you take her for a ride.”
“You know,” he muses, slapping my shoulder again. “I just might have to do that. Thanks.”
We say good-bye and I step out into the parking lot, finally a free man after seven years. I stop just past the gate and stuff my hands in my pockets, breathing in deeply. It’s not possible but I swear the air feels different on this side of the fence. Chance and Smith run over to me and Chance dangles the keys to my bike in front of me.
“Welcome back, brother. You ready to take her for a spin?”
“Like you wouldn’t fucking believe.”
He hands me the keys and throws his arm over my shoulders as we walk out to the parking lot. “Everyone else is setting up a party in your honor back at the clubhouse.”
“Cool.” I nod. “You know if Streak found anything about Kady?”
“Uh,” Smith says, sharing a look with Chance. “I’m sorry, man, but no. She’s a fucking ghost.”
I grit my teeth and the bike key digs into my palm as I make a fist. I’ve never personally met Streak since he joined the club after I was locked up but everyone else talks about him like he’s God so I figured he was my best shot at finding my girl but after months of searching, he hasn’t found anything.
“Listen, we’ll keep searching,” Chance adds and I nod.
“Damn right, we will. I’m not going to stop until I find her.”
* * * *
The rumble of the bike between my legs feels damn good but I can’t shake the nagging sense that I’m doing something wrong. After years of being locked up, being free again is a mixed bag of emotions that’s going to take more than the thirty minute ride to the clubhouse to sort through. I know this but it still makes me uneasy as Chance and Smith lead the way into the parking lot. The clubhouse looks exactly the same as I remember it and its familiarness offers me a tiny sense of peace - something I desperately need in this moment. When I first got locked up, I always imagined that I’d be coming home to Kady, that we’d finally be able to start our lives and make up for lost time but each year that I didn’t hear from her slowly killed that dream. I won’t give up, though. Now that I’m out, I’ll spend every free moment I have searching for her. There is nothing more important than us being together again and I have to believe that fate is on my side.
I pull into a spot next to the other bikes and kill the engine as Smith and Chance climb out of the truck.
“Hope you’re hungry, dude. The girls have been cooking all day for this party,” Chance says and I arch a brow as I climb off my bike and glance up at the clubhouse.
“The girls?” My mind drifts back to the parties we used to have before I went away that were full of booze, drugs, and half naked girls dancing around the clubhouse. Maybe it’s just because I’m older now or maybe because I’ve spent seven years without the one person that means more to me than anyone or anything else but none of that sounds even the least bit appealing. I barely resist the urge to grimace. Chance glances over and laughs.
“Naw, it’s not like that anymore, dude.”
“Then what’s it like?”
“You’ll just have to see for yourself,” he says as we stop in front of the door. I roll my eyes, not convinced, and yank it open, stepping inside as the familiar scent of booze and smoke hits me in the face. The clubhouse is exactly as I remember it and totally different all at the same time. They haven’t changed the layout any but the giant stripper pole that used to sit in the middle of the room is gone and the only women in the room are fully clothed. Marilyn Manson is spilling out of the speakers but it’s not so loud that you can’t carry on a conversation. And it’s clean.
Shit, maybe things really are different.
Then again, it’s easy to keep up appearances for one night.
“See?” Chance asks and I nod.
“Yeah, guess you were right, man.”
He points to the couches in the corner. “Go have a seat and I’ll have someone grab you a drink. What do you want?”
It’s weird to think that I could literally have anything I want and my mouth waters as I glance over at the bar near the back of the room. “Uh, how about just a beer?”
Beer was never my favorite before I got locked up but right now, it sounds amazing.
“You got it.” He sets off to get my drink and I walk back over to the couches and plop down. As soon as I’m seated, Blaze works his way through the crowd and sits next to me with a grin.
“Welcome home, Henn.”
“Uh, thanks,” I mumble, eyeing him warily. I know the club has made some major changes since I’ve been gone but the man in front of me isn’t anything like the MC President I left behind. Back then, the club was sold as a family but that’s not what it was. Sure, I had my brothers and they had my back but only out of necessity. The one thing that drove us all and bound us together was the burning desire to make as much money as we could and nothing more.
“How are you doing?”
I glance out at the people gathered in the room and sigh. “Good. This is a little weird though.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. Just give it a little time and I’m sure this place will feel like home again in no time.”
Home.
That’s a word I haven’t had a meaning for in a long damn time.
After I graduated high school, my parents kicked me out of the house and cut me off in a show of “tough love” and that’s how I found my way to the club. It turned out to not be the family I had hoped it would be. Instead, I started focusing on setting Kady and I up to build the family we both desperately wanted in the future but in doing so, I made some terrible decisions and took risks that I never should have. And I’ve paid dearly for it.
“Yeah,” I murmur, running my hand over the stubble on my jaw. “To be honest, Blaze, I’m not sure how long I’m going to be sticking around here. My main focus is finding Kady and the club was never her favorite thing.”
He nods, glancing out across the room. “I understand where you’re coming from but things are a lot different now. We’re different now - more of a family than we ever were before and I think if you give us a chance, you might change your mind. I mean, hell… look at Storm.”
I turn to watch our VP as a gorgeous blonde with generous curves and long legs smiles up at him and passes a tiny little baby into his arms.
Damn.
That’s a sight I never thought I’d see in here.
“Maybe just spend a little time to get to know us now before you make any big decisions and we’ll be here to help you in finding Kady, too.”
My gaze snaps to his at the mention of her name and I clench my fists. Until I find her, I have a sneaking suspicion that nothing will feel right. She’s the missing piece - always has been and always will be. But it’s not like I have anywhere else to go and I could use their help in finding her.