“What do you remember from when I was locked up? Is there anything that could help me find her?”
Blaze meets my gaze and sighs. “Why don’t we sit down and talk about that tomorrow? For right now, just enjoy being home, okay?”
“Yeah, okay,” I agree half-heartedly. All I want to do is start searching for my girl but I know he’s right. I’m not going to get anything accomplished tonight so I can hold off until tomorrow. Even if it kills me.
“Welcome home, man,” Storm says, sitting down on the couch across from us and I nod to the baby in his arms.
“Thanks, brother. I like your new accessory.”
“Wait, wait,” Smith interrupts as he falls onto the third couch. “You have to ask him her name.”
I shoot a quizzical look at Storm who rolls his eyes.
“When the fuck are you going to let this go?”
“Don’t you dare curse in front of my daughter, Logan,” the blonde I saw Storm with earlier snaps as she joins our group and sits next to him.
“Sorry, Kitten.”
“Uh, I’m never gonna let this go and you still have a story to tell,” Smith adds. The blonde shakes her head and meets my eyes.
“No, I’ll tell the story. I’m Ali, by the way, Storm’s wife.”
“Nice to meet you,” I answer, shaking her hand as she offers me a warm smile.
“Okay, so it went like this, when I was pregnant with this little peanut, I mentioned that I liked the name Magnolia but Logan was vehemently against it. He said there was no way in hell we were naming our daughter Magnolia.”
Smith snorts, taking a sip of his beer and I glance over at him with a grin.
“Ah, let me guess…”
“Goddamn it, I looked down at her right after she was born and the only fucking name in my head was Magnolia. It just fit,” Storm thunders, interrupting me as his daughter stirs in his arms and laughter booms around us. My gaze bounces around the group as I try to wrap my mind around this whole situation. Before I was locked up, you never would have found us like this and I’m struggling to reconcile the club I remember with the group of people sitting around me now.
Another blonde joins the group and sits in Chance’s lap, introducing herself as Carly, Chance’s wife, as a big, burly motherfucker in a cut and a tiny little redhead sit at the the other end of the couch. The man holds his hand out to me.
“Nice to finally meet you, brother. I’m Kodiak.”
I nod, shaking his hand. “Nice to meet you, too.”
“And I’m Tate,” the redhead says, smiling at me and I nod in her direction. Smith nudges me and I turn to look at him as he points to Tate.
“Don’t piss that one off.”
I arch a brow. “Why?”
“Just trust me, dude.”
“Oh, come on, Lucas. I haven’t ever done anything to you,” she cuts in, flashing him a deadly smile and I can’t help but laugh. Oh, that girl has got trouble written all over her.
“Yet,” he retorts before turning to me. “Ask her what she did to poor Kodiak, though.”
Kodiak shakes his head. “No need to drag all that shit up.”
“Well, hell,” I drawl, studying her. “Now I’m curious.”
“I may have tazed him,” she answers with a shrug and Smith barks out a laugh.
“You’re forgetting about the bullet hole you put in his leg.”
She shrugs again, fire in her eyes as she pins Smith with a look and smiles as she glances back at Kodiak. “Ancient history. Right, baby?”
“Sure thing, sweetheart,” Kodiak answers, trying to hide his grin as he wraps his arm around her shoulders. My gaze drifts around the group again as they continue joking with each other. It’s an odd feeling. Like maybe this place could finally be the family and home that Kady and I were always searching for but without her here, I feel lost and out of place. All I want to do is pour all my energy into finding her and no one else is taking this as seriously as I am. Everyone just assumes that she ran after I got locked up, like she couldn’t handle the mess that I’d gotten myself in but they don’t know her like I do. My girl would never turn her back on me.
Something happened to her.
I know it as sure as I know she’s the one woman in the world for me.
“Hey, you okay, Henn?” Chance asks and I glance up to find everyone staring at me with concern in their eyes. I run my hand through my hair and stand up, my head buzzing and my chest aching with how much I miss her.
“Uh, yeah… I’m just tired. I think I’m going to call it a night.”
Chance glances at his watch. “It’s only seven, dude.”
“Yeah, I uh…” I run my hand through my hair again, unable to come up with a good excuse.
“Go on up,” Blaze says, nodding toward the stairs. “Your room is exactly the way you left it.”
I nod, thankful for his interruption, and tell them all goodnight before shoving my hands in my pockets and walking upstairs to my room. I hope they know how much I appreciate the effort they put in but until I find my girl, I can’t focus on anything else. She’s the only thing that matters.
Chapter Two
Noah
I watch the sun rise through the window and as soon as the clock hits seven a.m., I march out of my room, ready to demand answers. If memory serves, no one will be up for a few more hours at least after they partied hard into the night but I can’t wait anymore.
My footsteps echo down the long hallway and my heart hammers against my ribs as my stomach churns. Every single cell in my body is on edge, demanding answers that I know no one has but any patience I had is gone. Last night was hell as I tossed and turned all night long on a mattress that was too damn nice to be comfortable after sleeping on a cot for the past seven years and without my roommate’s snoring to lull me to sleep, the clubhouse was just too damn quiet. So I passed the hours by going over everything I already knew in my mind and obsessed with all the things I don’t. And when that got old, I started picturing all the awful shit that could have happened to her in the seven years we’ve been separated but it all came back to one nagging, persistent question - what the hell happened to my girl? I rub my tired eyes and suck in a breath. I’m fucking exhausted and I can’t decide if what I need is enough caffeine to fuel a small army or a sedative.
Stopping in front of Blaze’s door, I raise my hand and knock three times before listening for movement.
“For fuck’s sake,” he grumbles from the other side of the door and I grimace. I would apologize but as far as I’m concerned, I’ve been incredibly accommodating. If I had been left to my own devices, I would have hit the ground running and started my search for her the moment I was free of the prison. “What the hell do you want?”
“It’s Henn. Can I come in?”
His heavy sigh greets me through the door. “Yeah, come on in.”
“Thanks,” I answer as I open the door. He pulls a shirt over his head and plops back down on the edge of the bed with the fly of his jeans still unbuttoned as his gaze rakes over me.
“You look like shit.”
I smirk. “Thanks, boss. Nice to see you, too.”