Chapter Fourteen
Rogue
I find myself waking up in my office chair with the empty bottle of liquor still in my hand as the sun begins to rise and show its light through the blinds. Tossing the bottle into the trash bin beside me, I look around and discover Bane isn’t here any longer. He must’ve gone home to his old lady. Needing to shower and change, I stand only to realize the pounding inside my head. Fuck, I haven’t had a hangover in years. But sleeping in an office chair hasn’t helped my cause either.
Rubbing my eyes, I walk to the door and open it, finding Outlaw walking toward me with a plate of food in hand. “Morning, Daddy. Made you some breakfast,” she offers as she extends the plate in my direction.
“Thank you, baby girl,” I tell her as I accept the food and walk my way over to a barstool and plop back down.
Still sleepy and not quite all the way awake, she joins me after preparing me a cup of coffee and lays two ibuprofens beside my mug. “You’re welcome, Daddy. You need to put something in your stomach. You need your energy.”
“Don’t forget that you also need rest, now,” I begin, speaking through a mouthful of pancakes and eggs as I scarf them down, “you’ve got my second grandbaby in your belly.”
She places her hand over her small bump. “I am, promise. Merc has Melodi outside playing on the swings.”
A flashback from all those years ago blazes through my mind and I immediately abandon my seat and race outside. I watch Merc’s eyes grow wide as I rush to them. “Woah, Pres, everything okay?” He quickly pulls Melodi from the toddler swing and shields her using his body.
Abruptly my sprint comes to a halt and I begin scanning our surroundings. My emotions are running high and my instinct to protect this club and my family are consuming my every thought. Add in the sleep deprivation and it would seem as though I might slowly be losing my mind. Too many revelations have recently been brought to the surface and the chaos in my life is enough to rival a world war. Slowly, I’m feeling like I’ve lost any control of things in my life, and with enemies looming, I stay unsettled. Maybe I should just set up a meeting with Gunner between our clubs and make a decision; one where we aren’t sitting ducks. We should strike first, rip this band aid off, and end the Death Destructorz MC once and for all. Swallowing, I slow my breathing as I cannot see a single threat outside. “Sorry, Merc. Just a lot going on that has me—”
“Paranoid?” he interjects.
“I was gonna say concerned, but I suppose that’s another way to put it,” I answer, shifting my eyes to Melodi who has her arms extended for me.
“Papa,” she says through the quivering of her lower lip and instantly I reach for my little angel, pulling her close into my chest.
“For now, I think it’s better if we all stay indoors,” I begin to explain as I turn on my heel to head back inside, “I need to speak with Gunner, but be prepared either way for church this evening. I’ll text the others and let them know.”
“Sure thing,” I hear Mercenary answer close behind me.
The moment I step foot back inside the clubhouse I notice Harmony chatting it up with her newly discovered sibling. One thing about my girl, she’s stubborn and persistent. She’ll probably have answers before I do. And, as much as I want and need to sit down with him right now, I need to make sure we take care of the outside threat hanging over our heads. “Hey, Rogue,” Gunner calls out my name from the opposite side as he makes his way down to the common area, “we need to have a meeting stat.” Although his words alarm me, his tone remains cool and collected, the sign of a good and stable president; something I feel I’m lacking in the present moment.
Both Harmony and Rory’s eyes shift toward me and Mercenary intervenes, retrieving Mel from my arms. “It’s almost time for her nap anyway.”
“Thanks,” I tell him, “Papa will see you soon,” I finish after kissing the top of her tiny head.
“What’s going on?” I ask the moment I hear the door behind me close.
“One of our moles has some information. Death Destructorz have already arrived in town and are preparing to blindside us sometime tomorrow. I’ve already put my men on one of my jets and they’ll be here in a few hours.”
My blood feels like it turns to ice at this revelation. “I’ve already decided to have a meeting of my own with my members this evening. But it sounds like that needs to happen sooner rather than later.” I pull out my cell and send out an emergency group text to my brothers. “Done. They’ll all be here shortly. Once your men arrive, we can have one meeting. How long will it take them to arrive?”
“Three, possibly four hours at most,” he answers. “I’ve instructed some of my men to stay back in California to protect the women and children,” he informs me.
Outlaw, Melodi, Bella, Harlow all flash through my mind first. I need to come up with a foolproof plan to keep all of ours safe as well. This will not end the way things did with Marx all those years ago.
Bella
Needing to keep myself busy, I strip down all of the beds in the house and begin washing the bedding and remaking them. I dust all the window seals, scrub down the walls, clean out the fridge then bleach it from top to bottom. I plan out the week's meals, arranging them for two, hoping that Rogue will get past his anger and join me for at least one daily meal. Whatever scrap he’s willing to toss my way; I’ll take and enjoy until he fully comes back around to me. I miss him to the depths of my heart; I’ve never felt so alone in life as I do without any of my family willing to be here at my side. Not that I blame them, I just wish that they’d be more open to the predicament we were all in during those tremulous times.
In my heart, I honestly felt he’d end up hating me more than wanting to be part of Rory’s life. He’d just lost the most precious person in our world, I hated myself and I couldn’t bear to see that same look coming from him and aimed at me. There was only so much loathing I could take back then. “I’m sorry, Aurora,” I state out loud, hoping my friend understands and finds a way to reach out to me from beyond and help me get through this. Do I deserve her assistance? No, most likely not, but her heart was golden and she always put everyone’s happiness above her own. Is it right that I ask her to do that for me and Rogue now? No, but Rory, he deserves to have this piece of his life solved. For him, I hope she helps me get through to our family.
Grabbing a cup of coffee, I walk out onto the back porch and sit on the swing hanging from the rafters. As soon as my rear end touches the cushion, a butterfly makes its way to me and lands on my shoulder. Now, I wouldn’t take this as a sign of anything on a normal day, but the weather has cooled and they shouldn’t be flapping their wings around. A whisper wind lands on my cheek and my eyes briefly close. “We miss you, and I would give anything to hear you tell me what I should do; what I can do, if anything,” I tell my friend. “I’d give them all up if it meant you were still here.” I begin laying my life out for her. I tell her how bad I felt the night after Rogue and I were intimate, how I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror for months afterward. How I named my boy after her, and how much he looks like Rogue… and his temperament; don’t even get me started on how much he reminds me of his dad. We don’t have medical confirmation that he in fact belongs to Rogue, but I’ve always felt in my heart that he was his.
Out of my peripheral, I see PeeWee walking around the side of the house, phone in hand. He lifts up his face and when he notices me sitting there, he quickly pockets it. “You need to go back inside, Bella.”
“Why? I’m not doing anything wrong, PeeWee. I’m just having a cup of coffee.” I lift up my mug and show him. “It wasn’t demanded of me to stay inside of the walls, just not to leave the property.”
“Just heard from Pres, we're on a light lockdown, which means you stay inside until you’re further informed,” he advises me as he lifts his arm and points with his finger to the back door. “Back in you go.”
Staring at him like an annoying gnat, I stand up and march my way
inside. I don’t understand why PeeWee is so rough and gruff when it comes to me, but he needs to pull that stick out of his ass and learn how to plaster a smile on his face every once in a while.
Chapter Fifteen
Rogue
Before I get my brothers in here, I want to have a solid plan in place for the women and children. I do not want them anywhere near this property or at their homes, I want them escorted safely away to an undisclosed location. Sure, we have the secret hiding spot, or what we refer to sometimes as our own version of a panic room; but it’s still on the premises. “I want all of this club’s women and children as far away from here as I can possibly get them in a short amount of time. But not so far that if God forbid something does happen, we can’t reach them rather quickly,” I inform Gunner, thinking out loud. Immediately, he pulls out his cell and begins placing a call. “What are you doing?” I inquire with the tilt of my head.
“Granting your wish,” he supplies, never making eye contact with me. Normally, this would be up for a huge debate, but we’re racing against the clock, so this time, I’ll allow him to help take the reins. But I do listen in on his conversation. “Frost, I need shelter and protection for some women and children, along with heavily armed escorts.”
Frost? Heavily armed escorts? My heart hammers erratically inside my chest as I don’t know this man he’s speaking to or the other ‘escorts’ as he’s put it. I listen as he finishes by telling the man that he’ll send his coordinates via a secure link and vice versa once they’re done speaking. As he proceeds to pocket his phone, I ask, “Who is this Frost character?”
He straightens his tie before looking me in the eyes, and replies, “A military connection I have down here in the south. Well, ex-military. They are top notch and excelled in their areas of expertise and training. They work solely for me and I can assure you that your club's women and children couldn’t possibly be in better hands than with these men. Look, Rogue, we’re in this together and I’d like to think that at this stage, we can trust one another. Speaking of which, do you have any extra information on Bella?”
“I told you before that she is no threat nor is she a traitor to either of our clubs. Now, to Rory and myself personally? Yeah, she’s still on my shit list for that offense. You seem to have connections and more money than God, I’m surprised any of this was even a surprise for you or needed clearing up,” I chide.
“You’re right, I do, and anything I’ve already asked I assure you that I’ve known the answer to for some time now. But some things aren’t my place to freely hand out the information. Pieces can be brought to light, but then it’s up to the person or persons to handle the situation as they choose. I learn a lot about people’s character by doing this,” he calmly answers.
“So, you just go around tossing gasoline on fires?” I snidely remark.
“In a way, but it all serves its purpose and only benefits myself and my brothers. Look, we can spar or prepare the women and children of your club to be picked up, but time is not on our side,” he reminds me. “I need to grab my laptop and send the location and in turn receive the one where the women will be safely tucked away. So, argue or get to business? Oh, and I’ll need an actual layout of the floorplan here including any hidden areas.”
This is my fucking club and clubhouse, so having another MC president come in and essentially take control has the alpha side of me ready to fight. But, unfortunately, my ego must take a backseat on this one. “Fine,” I agree, digging out the floorplan along with the added tunnel and hand it over to him, “go do what’s necessary. I’ll prepare my brothers and they can inform their old ladies. Oh, one last thing. If you already know the answers to so many questions as you say, is that boy mine?” I toss out there, challenging his knowledge and so-called connections.
“You know he is. You will want to run your own DNA test I’m sure, but I’ve got all the proof already in a file with me. Swabbed the rim of your glass when you visited California,” he supplies. “I’ll bring it down and hand it over after I go take care of this,” he finishes.
Turning on his heel, he exits my office and I’m not far behind him. His news isn’t even alarming, it’s honestly what I expected, although I will have a follow-up test of my own performed. Damn, he is good, and I’m glad we have him and the backing of Steel Empire. Looking out into the common room I count heads and notice that all of my men are here besides the ones assigned to detail duty. “Church!” I alert them before heading back into my office, which now feels more like my living quarters. One by one, they usher in and take seats. I explain everything that’s going on and what precautions I’ve already got being worked on. I do not put this up for a vote because there’s no need. War is on its way to us, and not a brother here would disagree with the plan I’ve set in motion to completely remove their families from the premises. “Now, I don’t know exactly how much longer it will be before this cavalry will arrive to escort your women and children to safety, so go prepare and comfort them,” I order. “Oh, and once they’re off the premises, we meet back in here to finetune the details,” I finish, before they all scurry out, besides Bane.
“I assume Harlow is safe staying where she’s at?” he inquires.
After letting out a deep sigh, I reply, “That’s our only hope, brother. We couldn’t possibly get her back here and with the others in time. Plus, she’s with two of the most loyal and well-trained members we’ve got.” He nods.
“Think I’m gonna give her a call, but I don’t want to alarm her so I’m gonna keep this as quiet as possible. I will however be alerting Shade and Stretch, unless you’ve already done so?”
“They got the group text along with everyone else.” I look down at my cell to see that they’ve texted back with some vague questions. “You might wanna fill them in first. They need to be on high alert. That would be the one thing I’d reiterate, which goes without saying once you inform them.”
“I know the drill, Pres,” he rebuts, leaving the room.
I’ve already put PeeWee on notice, but I need to call and inform him to bring Bella here so she can be escorted along with the other old ladies and children to safer grounds.
After being informed that Bella was taking her sweet time soaking in a bubble bath, PeeWee assured me he would put the pressure on her and have her here shortly.
Leaning against the frame of my door, I sip on a whiskey-filled glass, allowing its warmth to temporarily comfort me as it slides down my windpipe. I watch as Pyro kisses Shara and her small bump. Fox as he holds and loves on Novalee and his infant daughters. Sandman as he holds Aria tightly, rubbing her large, pregnant tummy. Edge comforts a weeping Talia while they both coo and love on their new son, and lastly, my Outlaw. She’s afraid and I can sense it, but much like her father and her mother, she holds her chin high, never letting it show. She’s a natural born leader and I couldn’t be more proud of her than I am now. Merc is holding Mel playing a game of pattycake as he, too, keeps a stiff upper lip. My eyes shift and I catch Rory coming down the stairs, walking straight up to his sister. By the looks of it, they seem to be accepting each other nicely as friends while they transition into the role of siblings which I know will take some time. Hell, I don’t even know my boy, but my protective instincts have already begun to kick in.
Bella
“I’m hurrying,” I bellow out from behind the bathroom door as I slide one foot into the leg of my jeans. “Stop the banging already. I can only go so fast.” I haven’t lived my life as an old lady, and while this isn’t brand new to me, it isn’t something that’s routine just yet either. I was told a light lockdown, so I proceeded to abide and draw myself a full, soothing, bubble bath; one I originally planned on spending some time in. But, no, once I began the grueling process of shaving, I was abruptly interrupted and being rushed to get out so I could be brought to the clubhouse. I know things in this lifestyle change on a whim, but I couldn’t stop mid-shave. Plus, it was only an extra five minutes or less.
“No more time to waste, Bella. We need to get moving, now,” PeeWee continues demanding.
“Just one more minute,” I impart as I am now fully dressed and running the brush through my hair. One last close-up in the mirror and I decide this is good as it’s gonna get. Ugh, why do I feel like I’m headed straight for my punishment? Perhaps I am, and if so, I suppose it’s what I deserve. Carrying the weight of my decision for so many years has grown tiresome; especially now that it’s no longer a secret. “Your day has come, Bella. Time to face the consequences of your actions,” I whisper to myself before twisting the knob, pulling the door open. “Ready.”
“Finally. Another minute wasted and I have no doubt Pres will have my head on a platter,” PeeWee supplies.
Rolling my eyes behind him, I let out a heavy sigh. While a part of me is a bundle of nerves, the other knows it’s time I reap what I’ve sowed.
Chapter Sixteen
Rogue
Approaching me quickly as he walks down the stairs, Gunner is changed, he’s now in jeans, boots, a T-shirt, and his club cut. This man is literally two different people. My crossed arms fall to my side as I feel my brow furrow. “Get everything worked out?”
Rogue's Retribution: Twisted Iron MC Page 11