“Fuck. I wouldn’t want to be Kenzie.” I could feel Saint’s attention prick up at that, but I ignored him for the moment. “What about Bubbles? Saint said she pulled that shit on him too.”
For a second, I was sure he’d disconnected the call, then he ground out, “Is Saint there?”
“Yeah. Want to speak with him?”
“Yes. I fucking do.”
I shoved the phone at Saint as I turned around and stepped back to the table. “Wolfe wants to talk to you.”
“Wolfe?” he asked hesitantly.
Though the conversation should have been one-sided, I could hear Wolfe’s voice down the line. “You sure that spawn ain’t your brat?”
“No. I always used a rubber. Always. And I never fucked her when I was drunk. Hell, you know me, Wolfe. I don’t even get drunk that much anymore.”
He didn’t have to say that was because of Ama. That went without saying.
Wolfe grunted. “Ink keyed you in on what she pulled with me?”
“Yeah.”
“Know who the father might be?”
He snorted. “Your guess is as good as mine. I mean, I guess she has her favorites, and I figure I’m one of them, but she gets passed around the club. You know that.”
“Yeah, unfortunately I do.” Wolfe grunted again— figured it was going to be one of those days when he did that more than scream. I had to figure that was a blessing considering the night he must have had.
I couldn’t imagine the ATF had been ‘friendly’ when they’d raided our place. Most of the brothers would have been hauled into the front yard in handcuffs and tossed on the ground, face forward.
I didn’t doubt the ATF would have landed a few kicks to the back too.
Saint cleared his throat. “I-I know it’s not my place, but is Lucie okay?”
“It’s your place. Or ain’t you my son-in-law now?” Wolfe grunted. “Trust me to get a daughter who doesn’t fall far from her mother’s tree.” He huffed. “Dear God, please don’t let Seamus and Matty follow the same path.”
I had to laugh at that, and Saint grinned at me when I grabbed my phone and set it on speaker. “A harem, huh? I don’t see why not. Especially with that red hair. Remember before Lucie? Flame always had his pick. Didn’t matter he wasn’t interested in anything other than a fuck,” I said with a laugh.
Wolfe sniffed. “Bastard. Always did have the luck of the Irish.”
“Handy considering he’s, what? Polish?” Saint laughed and I smirked at him because Flame was hardcore Irish. That was why one of his kids was called Seamus of all things. “Anyway, you need me to come in soon?”
“No. If you come in, Ama will want to and the place is a fucking mess. I don’t want her upset.”
A rough voice came from the doorway. “Daddy, I’m not four. I swear, you treat me like I’m going to break apart at any minute.”
“Baby,” Wolfe rumbled, his voice loaded with regret. “I didn’t think you’d be able to hear.”
I winced. “Sorry, man. That’s on me.”
“It fucking is.”
Ama grunted—the sound was way too much like her dad’s. “Daddy! Stop it. Anyway, I want to come home. I don’t have any clothes or anything here.”
“Buy some. Fuck’s sake.”
“No. Matty and Seamus are going to be nightmares too. You know they hate being away from the clubhouse. If they’re not causing chaos there, they’re not happy.”
I had to laugh at that because she wasn’t exactly wrong. They were good kids, and slept like logs—thank fuck, because I had no idea how to entertain two kids under seven—but they ran on high-octane fuel.
Wolfe grumbled, “It’s gonna make them upset, baby. The raid… the place is a mess. They were looking for shit that wasn’t here so they upturned everything. I have a huge pile of furniture that we need to burn.”
“Did they touch our bedrooms?”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “I know it won’t be a problem for you, considering you spend zero time there anyway.”
Was that a hint of amusement in his voice? Christ—that meant he knew about her sneaking away too. I was starting to feel like I was in the Twilight Zone or something—why the fuck hadn’t they beaten the shit out of me? Or... my stomach twisted into knots, I guessed they’d just trusted me. Trusted me to do right by her. Hell, that made me want to well up like a pussy. Jesus.
Wolfe grunted, breaking into my thoughts with, “But the boys? I’m going to have to figure out how to get their room sorted.”
She winced. “I didn’t realize. I’m sorry, Daddy.”
“Not your fault, baby. I just want to keep all my kids safe and happy. You get me?”
“I do.” She cut me a look, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what she was asking. I nodded and smiled at her gently. Though her return smile was slow in coming, she said, “We can keep them here until you get their place sorted.”
“Thanks, honey.” He sucked in a breath. “Okay, this might be random, but Bubbles is saying she’s pregnant. Have you heard anything about that?”
“Like what?” she questioned, evidently puzzled. “You know I don’t really hang out with the sweetbutts. They don’t like me. You know that.”
He sighed. “Yeah. I know. Never mind. Just trying to figure out who the father is.”
“Why? Plenty of kids are born without them knowing who the dad is.”
“Yeah. True.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, I better be off. Love you, baby.” To me, his voice turned harder. “Keep your phone on. If I need you, I’ll call. Saint, Keys, you there?”
“Keys is asleep, Daddy.”
“Okay. Well, Saint, the order is the same for Keys too. We may have an active threat against the club. We’re thinking it’s law enforcement so there’s no physical threat, but we could be wrong. You watch out for Ama, Matty, and Seamus, you hear me?”
“I do, Wolfe.”
“Good.”
When he cut the call, Ama stared at the phone for a second, then dismissed it, got to her feet, and headed for the coffee pot after she grabbed a mug from the dishwasher I’d set to run overnight.
After she poured herself some, she murmured, “I need to figure out how to keep the hell spawn entertained.”
“Your momma brought a shit ton of toys with her,” I pointed out. “Not like they haven’t got stuff to play with.”
“True.” Reaching up to rub her bottom lip, she stared pensively down at her coffee mug.
Frowning at her, I asked, “What’s wrong?”
When she turned her gaze on me, I wasn’t sure what was going down. “Nothing.”
I didn’t believe her, but if she wasn’t going to tell me yet, what could I do?
20
Ama
As I watched my brothers cause chaos in Ink’s neat backyard, there was a thread of disquiet that broke my inner peace. All should be right with my world, after all. But it wasn’t. The outside world was rupturing the quiet, but that was the way in an MC. There was always some kind of war, some enemies, be they the legal or outlaw variety.