Unable to hold myself back, I rise from the chair and walk the distance between us to sit right next to her. "Quinn, look at me." I take her hands and wait for her to meet my gaze. "This isn't because of you. I know Ward probably told you over and over, but none of this is your fault. I'm glad you got out of there. You and your baby are gonna be safe here."
A tear rolls down her cheek. "But if they keep trying to hurt the club..."
I shake my head, squeezing her hands. "The Aces have a lot of enemies. That's what happens in this life. But they don't stand for hate groups like that. Either way, they'd probably end up adding them to their list of enemies anyway. They're going to take them out so no one has to worry about them, especially you and your son or daughter."
Hearing Quinn’s story and how scared she was for something to happen to the club that had taken her in, it reminds me of my own situation.
I saw a lot of myself in Quinn.
"Do you know anything about my story? Mine and my siblings?"
Quinn shakes her head slowly. "I mean, I've heard just a few things, but I never knew what was true."
I took a deep breath. "Twelve years ago, our parents were murdered by a gang that my father was part of. Ward's family lived next door to us, and they took us in, raised Eddie, helped Lana and me out more than we could ever say. But now, that's coming back to haunt us, and the club is involved. I feel so guilty, knowing that these guys are putting their lives at risk to help protect me, to protect my family, but you know what? I need to remind myself, that's what family does. And they're my family. We may not be blood, but this is the family we've chosen. You were meant to find us, and you're our family now. It's easier said than done, but don't feel guilt over that."
Quinn stares at me in awe. "Wow," was all she could say, and for some reason that makes me laugh, and in turn, she ends up giggling sheepishly. "I mean...I guess I didn't think of it that way."
"You wouldn't, and under different circumstances, I wouldn't either."
Taking a deep breath, Quinn straightens her back, her hands moving to her stomach. "Thank you, Leah. This really made me feel a lot better." She eyed the food on the tray then. "And I think I'm kind of hungry now."
Laughing, I stand up, reaching my hands for her to take. Getting up from the bed, Quinn waddles over to the desk and sits down. "I'll leave you to it. Make sure you come to me if you need anything at all, okay?"
"Okay." She smiled brightly at me. "Thank you again. You're an amazing friend."
I just gave her a smile. "That's what I'm here for."
Leaving Quinn to eat her lunch, I head out of her room, shutting the door behind me to give her privacy. It weighs on me, just imagining what Quinn had gone through before she got up the courage to leave. Briefly, it made me think of my mother. She had stuck by my father throughout everything, but it had cost her her life. And almost her children's lives. I don't like thinking about this, almost blaming my mother for not getting us out sooner. Maybe she would be alive then...
But I can't think about that. What's done is done. All we can do is move forward, take care of what we have to, and live our lives as best we could.
CHAPTER 40
WARD
"SHE’S AGREED TO COME in here and give us every bit of information she has, but this is still rough for her. If any of you make her feel uncomfortable, pressured, or like she's at fault for this, you'll have me to deal with. Am I understood?"
My question was more of a statement, but it was met with accord from the men sitting around the table. I knew that wasn't something I had to say. Not a single one of these men would make a woman feel uncomfortable, especially a pregnant one. But I had to get it out there. I had to cover my bases because I wasn't risking spooking Quinn or making her feel unwelcome in this clubhouse.
"Alright." Standing up, I walked over to the doors, opening one side and looking out. Quinn was seated with Leah at the closest table, looking a nervous wreck.
"Come on, darlin’," I said, attempting a soothing smile. "We're ready for you."
Quinn exchanged a look with Leah, and my woman just smiled, squeezing her hands. "You've got this," she said to her, which seemed to calm the younger girl down some. With a deep breath, she got up carefully and walked over to me. I stepped back to let her in the room, closing the door behind us.
Bear stood immediately to grab a chair from the side of the room, lifting it easily and carrying it to the end of the table next to my chair. With my hand on the small of her back, I guided Quinn over to it, pushing my chair slightly to the side so that she could face all of the executive members of the club.
Once we both had taken our seats, I turned my gaze next to me at the girl who looked like she wanted to be anywhere but at this table. "Quinn," I said softly, reaching out to place my hand on her shoulder. "You won't have any judgment here. I promise."
Taking a deep breath, she glanced at me and nodded. "I know."
"Good. Now, tell us everything you can about The Forgotten. Even things you might think are insignificant. Anything we can use against them, use to find them, anything that could help us form a plan."
Her skin was a lot paler than normal, but it was obvious that she was internally psyching herself up to get all of this out. Another deep breath in, she held it for a moment before blowing it out. "Okay. The Forgotten were formed about...ten years ago? By a few guys who were really anti-government, specifically the last administration." She looked embarrassed for a moment but continued. "The main guys were Ron Rigel, Dwayne Gerlach, and, uh… Steve Norman. They're still the head of the group, but they've got sons and nephews and other guys that have joined. They were really small at first, but as things got worse here. Like, between the races? Their numbers got bigger. They started in a small town in Oregon but got a lot of people involved through social media. They've spread, they have "chapters"..." Trailing off for a second, Quinn looks down at her hands as she wrings them. "My dad got involved a few years after they started. At first, it just seemed like a group of likeminded guys that could bitch about stuff, shoot guns and prepare for the apocalypse." Her eyes rolled and she let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "They're so fucking convinced that the government is going to turn on them. But it got worse..." She swallowed hard, her eyes growing wider, ever so slightly. "My two older brothers joined. And they started making plans to do things. Really messed up stuff. But they mostly just protested places, got drunk and caused scenes in public, destroyed property, got into fights..."
Quinn stopped talking then, looking like she may not be able to continue. I reached my hand out to squeeze her shoulder again. "If you need to stop, it's okay."
Glancing at me, she shook her head. "It's fine." As she gathered up her wits again, I glanced around the room. Every single pair of eyes were watching her intently, and I could see that quite a few of them weren't happy at all by what they were hearing.
"They're all these really...angry, volatile men, thinking that the world owes them but is also out to get them. They have a lot of weapons. Hidden all over the place, and I think some of them know how to make bombs." She glanced at the group in front of her, looking embarrassed at the reminder of the bomb that took out our warehouse. "I don't know where they get the weapons, though. I'm sorry."
"Don't be, it's okay," Kang speaks up with a shake of his head.
She gives him a small smile and continues. "Their main...headquarters, if that's what you can even call it? Is out of Coos Bay, Oregon. Another is in Centralia, Washington. That's where I was. The leader there is Fred Merton and his sons, Brett and..." There was a flash of something across her face that I didn't quite catch, but it was obvious that whatever name she was about to say brought her pain or fear to speak out loud. “Um, Brett and Gary Merton. My father is Ken Russell, Fred’s right hand man, and my brothers are Kenny and Tim." She looked up then. "They're all very dangerous. Unpredictable."
Tank leaned forward, resting his massive forearms on the table, his trucker hat backward as he tried
his best to come off non-intimidating and calm as possible. "You said that you think they're behind the bombing because they found out you were here. Why do you think that?"
Quinn was back to fidgeting, but now she was rubbing her protruding belly as if she was trying to sooth the baby inside. "They want to control women. They think they're just....a step up from slaves, basically. They see them as property. And I..." She swallowed hard, unable to meet anyone's gaze. "I was their property. My dad and my brothers, they...gave me. Gave me to..." Her voice trembled. "To Gary. And he's..." Closing her eyes for a moment, the silence filled the room, almost weighing down on us as we waited for her to continue. Finally, Quinn set her shoulders back, sat up straight, and looked at the rest of the men at the table. "Gary Merton got me pregnant. Against my will. And when I found out, I had to leave. But there's a chance he could have found out that I was pregnant. And that would make him want to get me back even more. But I can't let that happen." She shakes her head, almost violently. "The things they teach the children, how they train them. It's barbaric. And I won't let my child be part of that. They can't get their hands on him or her, and I can't go back."
Reaching out to her, I took her hands in mine. "You aren't. I promise you that. You'll be protected. Both of you. And we're gonna take these fucks down."
"We'll make them pay, Quinn," Joker chimed in, shifting closer to the table. "Every single one of them. Especially that fuckhole, Gary."
There was a momentary wince from Quinn beside me, but there was also a hint of a smile, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "Thank you, guys. I can't tell you what this means to me."
"We know. Would you be able to remember any addresses or phone numbers? Homes, businesses, places they hang out?"
Quinn nodded, and Hawkeye was already tearing a page out of his notebook, sliding it and a pen towards her. "Get everything you can remember down, and we'll do the rest."
There was a new sense of confidence in Quinn as she grabbed the paper and pen, scooting as close as she could to the table and began to write.
I knew that we were closer to taking care of this problem, but in the back of my mind, the nagging reminder of the other issue still lingering gnawed away at me. We were going to keep Quinn safe and get our revenge, but Leah, Lana, and Eddie were still in danger.
Secure still, though - I had to remember that. And we weren't stopping on that investigation for the Forgotten problem. I would never put that on the backburner. This was at least a weight off of my shoulders.
CHAPTER 41
LEAH
TWO DAYS INTO THE lockdown, people were starting to get a little antsy. Every non-member of the club could tell that tensions were high, despite the fact that the guys were trying to keep any and all discussions of club business away from us. Ward spent most of the time in his office or in church, meeting with one group of men or another, pouring over their computers, over notes, and over surveillance footage. And both days since we had been locked in, I had made myself busy, making sure everyone was fed, supplies stayed stocked, the kids were supervised and fully entertained, and that no one was wanting for anything.
This new role I had been thrust into was actually not that bad. And by not that bad, I mean I was kind of killing it. I wouldn't admit that out loud - at least, not seriously - but I couldn't deny that it came naturally to me. Maybe it was easier to immerse myself into this position because there wasn't much else for us to do, but I didn't think that was it. I genuinely liked taking charge and taking care of people. And I was damn good at it.
It made me proud, and it made me feel worthy to stand next to Ward as his other half.
If he was the King here, I was his Queen, not to stand behind him, but next to him, supporting and holding him up, having his back, and taking the part of the burden that I could.
We made an amazing team. I couldn't deny that.
During the lulls in the day, though, I wasn't really able to relax. There was still work to be done, even if we couldn't actually leave the clubhouse. Or the compound, at least. There was enough security around the perimeter of the gates that made it safe for us to go out back, especially to let the kids run off their energy in the park, but for the most part, we stayed inside, just in case.
Lana, Camilla, and I were determined to have our grand "re-opening" party ready for the moment we were given the go-ahead to leave lockdown and resume working. Camilla was all in, going a little bit crazy when it came to the ideas she was having.
"Listen, people love to be treated like VIPs," she was saying as we sat at one of the round dining tables, all of our things strewn about in front of us as we tossed ideas back and forth. "I say we discount bottle service for the night, so it's more affordable and therefore more appealing to the people that don't normally go for it. We play it up big on social media, limited amount of room, etc. etc., but we also hold back one or two booths for a contest. Like, for every share on social media you're entered? Free advertising and we're giving people the opportunity of a night out for free!"
I grinned at her. "You really are a genius, Cam. I'm all for it. Lan?"
My sister nodded eagerly. "Totally! Kickass idea. Are we still gonna have regular drink specials at the bar for non-VIPs?"
"Definitely. Gotta give them perks, too. Now, cover or no cover?"
My sister and I answer at the same time. "Cover."
"Nothing too crazy, non-VIP only," Lana adds.
I nod in agreement. "Exactly. VIP is already paying enough. Something like ten, fifteen bucks?"
Camilla gazed over her notes, no doubt doing the math in her head as she looked at the deal prices she had worked on earlier. "Fifteen. It adds to the exclusivity, too." She pushed her notes away and turned her laptop around for us to see it. "How does this look for the advertisements? Obviously, we'll have to add date and time with pricing and stuff, but this is the basic idea."
The image was absolutely gorgeous. It was done in the color scheme that matched the inside of Darlings, and while it looked flashy and definitely grabbed your attention, it wasn't crowded or too busy. "That's incredible, Cam! I love it."
After Lana agreed, Camilla fist pumped in the air. "Killin' it!" She turned the computer back to face her. "How are you guys coming with show plans?"
The two of us dove into the sets we were planning for the big night back, talking about the music Alani had sent us and the crowd favorites we wanted to bring back. That was pretty much how we planned our shows to begin with. There were certain numbers that were a big hit, ones that we would do often, or others that we could save for a special occasion to really bring out the big guns. And then there were the ones that just didn't work. We never gave up on a set immediately - it could have been the arrangement, the night, the crowd, or the dancers - until we tried it at least once or twice more. If it failed, then it failed. It was all part of the process. We came up with new ones constantly, and always had multiples in the works, so it never put us out. We were resourceful, and this was the perfect time to continue practicing that approach.
It was at least another hour of collaborating before we were interrupted. This time by an exhausted looking duo of Kim and Ronnie. The two tall, slender ladies dropped themselves heavily into the open seats out our table, each heaving a sigh.
"Rough morning with the kids?" Lana asked them.
"Me, yeah," Kim answered before shooting a look at her friend. "I don't know what she's sighing about. Her and Hawk snuck away before and have been missing for an hour, so I'm pretty sure it's not the kids that exhausted her."
Ronnie didn't even bother hiding it. She just grinned and shrugged. "He wore me out, what can I say? My man has stamina. And he's been so busy and the kids are always around, we need to sneak off get it where we can."
"And get it you clearly did," I piped up, which caused the table of girls to start laughing. Ronnie just tossed her head back and raised her hands in the sky. "I can't help it that my husband is a sex god!"
"Are you telling everyone
I'm a sex god again?" Hawkeye strode into the room, a cocky smirk on his bearded face, but his eyes were playful as he looked at his wife. No one could deny that the man was very, very good looking. Tall, slender but still muscular, shaggy brown hair and colorful ink covering his arms, Ronnie had caught herself a fine man.
Not as fine as mine, but I couldn’t help but appreciate another work of masculine art.
"Just letting them know how lucky I am," she said, her smile practically lighting up her face as she tilted her head back.
He stopped just behind her and leaned down to kiss her. "Please, don't stop on my account. Keep telling them how I rocked your world."
"Bryan Arthur Sinclair, Sr., you may have given me three beautiful grandchildren, but I would greatly appreciate it if I didn’t have to hear about your sex life with my daughter." Janice, Ronnie's mother, appeared behind the bar, her short orange-red hair practically glowing where she stood in the doorway leading to the kitchen.
From what I knew, Hawkeye hadn't had a great upbringing, with his adoptive parents being neglectful and occasionally abusive. He had spent most of his adolescent years at Bear and Tank's houses, basically being raised by their parents. Once he started dating Ronnie, the Albrights accepted him right into their family, even before they were married. As much as Janice is his mother-in-law, she's also his mother, and he treated her as such, with great admiration and respect.
"Sorry, Mama J." He flashed her a dazzling smile before looking back down at his wife. "Gotta go take care of a few things. I'll be back in time to help wrangle the little animals for dinner." He kissed her again before turning and walking to the hallway leading towards the offices.
"Jesus, you two are stupid cute and so gross," Kim grumbled.
Heart of a Rebel: Rebel Aces MC Part 1 Page 22