“Maybe,” I answered, reaching for a clean bottle and the container of formula, the process of making him his bottle becoming almost instinctive now. “But memories don’t really disappear. One day, you’ll just get stronger. You’ll find a way to cope with them. And you’ll realize they can’t hurt you anymore.”
“You think I’ll get stronger?”
“You already are.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes while I waited for Gage’s bottle to heat in a pot of hot water. I fought a smirk as I watched her pull her burger back toward her, as though the anxiousness that had turned her stomach a few minutes ago was now settling.
I picked up Gage’s warmed bottle just as a grinning Adrian walked through the kitchen doors. “Okay, so someone tell me…” he started, coming over and leaning his shoulder into the refrigerator door and folding his arms across his chest, “… when guys apply to join the club, is there a part that requires them to be hot and tattooed, or is that just a coincidence? ’Cause Avery just introduced me to Rein and Bandit, and well…”
“Coincidence,” I growled.
“Requirement,” Thayleah answered at the same time, followed by a short giggle.
I tossed the bottle at Adrian, watching him fumble a few times but finally managing to catch it before it hit the floor. “Okay, okay,” he huffed out, rolling his eyes at me before turning to Gage. “Come on, mister, let’s get out of Daddy’s way before he has a hernia or something.”
“I swear,” I mumbled under my breath, my shoulders sagging as I shook my head.
Adrian drove me crazy at the best of times, but I simply had to think back to that day with Avery stuck in the car and remember how he had my back and how he looked after my old lady when push came to fucking shove.
Thayleah handed over Gage, and Adrian was gone, flying out the double doors and up the stairs like some kind of manly, tattooed Mary Poppins.
It let me breathe a little.
Having a welcoming party for two new brothers was stressful enough without having to constantly be aware of where my baby was. “You good here?” I asked Thayleah while taking a couple steps toward the door, needing to get back to things and welcome my new men properly.
Her head bobbed up and down as a smile filled her cheeks.
This one is definitely real.
“Yell if you need me.” I left her to her devices, walking out into the main room where the music was playing, and the club was alive and kicking. Some of the Exiled Eight had come down from Vegas, and a handful of workers from Empire and Dynasty had made the trip too.
“There you are,” Shake announced as I approached the table he was sitting at with Rein and Bandit, the deep frown etched on my Vice President’s face an instant concern. I took a seat, looking between the men as I waited for some kind of explanation. “I’m gonna send these two on a job.”
I let out a sharp laugh, leaning back in my seat. “Their patches aren’t even sewed on yet, and you’ve lined them up?”
Shake gritted his teeth. “The asshole who raped Phee when she was in that group home, he got out last week.”
My gut twisted. Phee had only just recently admitted to the hell she went through courtesy of the foster care system. Shake had been keeping an eye on the bastard, just waiting for an opportunity to take him out, whether on the inside or the outside.
But it seemed like that had passed, and now we had to consider the options.
“Phee isn’t gonna come in,” I announced, making Shake cough out a laugh.
“Yeah, we already established that,” he answered before nodding to Rein and Bandit. “And she’s not gonna be happy with me announcing two bodyguards following her around all day every day either. So, it’s gonna have to be discreet. Rein has contacts in the area Phee’s in. And his probation lets him be in Cali for family reasons. Gives us time to know she is protected while we look for this bastard.”
I leaned back into my chair, eying the two men carefully. “You realize this means you leave tomorrow, and you don’t come back until it’s done.”
They nodded in sync.
No apprehension.
Not one moment to consider.
“The club is my life,” Rein announced when I didn’t respond right away, Bandit nodding in agreement. “They gave me something neither of my fucking parents could give me. Family. And we do what we have to for family.”
Shake nodded. “My sister… she’s been to hell and back before. She doesn’t let people close and is quick to see through someone’s lies and bullshit,” he explained, the corner of his mouth curling up as he described Phee, though even I think he was downplaying the fire that consumed her. She was a sweet kid. But she was broken, damaged, and still playing in defensive mode, just like Thayleah, who was still struggling and finding it hard to define then and now.
Maybe that was why Shake kept his description to a minimum, so these guys didn’t get scared of just what they were about to get themselves into.
They were bikers.
But I’d seen Phee throw a punch.
“The one thing I shouldn’t have to say, but I’m going to anyway,” Shake continued, narrowing his eyes and clenching his fists. “She’s been through enough bullshit in her life. You keep your hands, lips, and your dicks to yourselves.”
I chuckled under my breath as Shake and I both pushed away from the table. “We’ll talk about the details tomorrow,” I told them, both nodding as Shake and I walked away, both our old ladies meeting us halfway across the room. “You sure this is a good idea?”
“I’m not losing my sister again,” Shake growled, a darkness settling over him. No doubt reliving that moment she was taken from him the first time. How hard he fucking fought for her only to come up empty-handed. “Rein and Bandit will get close. They’ll keep her safe.”
“Rein and Bandit? Looking out for your sister?” Meyah confirmed with raised eyebrows.
Avery stifled a laugh with her hand, and I hooked my finger through the loop of her jeans, pulling her in close. “Want to share with the class what’s so funny?” I taunted, and she quickly pressed her lips together.
Meyah, though, wasn’t so tight-lipped.
“You’re gonna stick a hot, tattooed young man like Rein in front of your sister and pretend like there isn’t going to be any chemistry between them?” she questioned, speaking very slowly. “Rein is basically you. He’s strong and loyal and—”
“Trustworthy,” Shake cut in.
I saw Meyah’s concern, though.
And I thought Shake would too, but he waved his hand, shaking his head, his blinders clearly pulled down. So focused on keeping his sister safe and protecting her, he couldn’t see the possible problems that he could be about to create within the club, between brothers. “They’ve been warned.”
He ushered Meyah away, leaving Avery and I standing there, watching them go.
“If Meyah’s right…”
“I know,” I answered, shaking my head.
“You’re the president. Send someone else.” Her voice was barely a whisper, a conversation just for us, though the worry was thick. She knew how a betrayal would impact the club. She knew how bad it could hurt the trust between brothers. And she knew if those emotions arose, just how practically impossible it would be for them to fight them, away from the club, in their own little world.