I held back a smile because I knew that not only would it be in poor taste, but I doubted there would be any more good news coming out of his mouth.
"I know you have had a lot on your mind and have been worried about her so you have missed what the fallout has been. You should know the Diablos are pissed there was no trial, but know there is evidence that Jacob went rogue. They still see Reagen as a turncoat, but it wasn’t up to him what to do with her and certainly not to abuse her the way he did. We are at a cease-fire right now it seems while Kade deals with the matter internally. I think it's the best thing to make sure she is a patched member."
"I agree." Tony looked down, and I could tell there was more. "C’mon, Prez, you're worrying me."
"You remember Casey, right?"
"The stripper?" Casey had been a real help, and I had heard he was to become a prospect and a bit of a spy for us, but he didn’t really fit the MO. Not that it ever stopped anyone. Our very own Treasurer was some pretty rich boy.
"Yeah, so he brought us some new intel about the Order. It looks like Maxum is in full control now and has ordered for Isaac Palacio to be taken out, and his men are in chaos, can’t find him. I think they may have succeeded."
"Shit, as in Palacio, the drug lord?" Here I thought he had just gotten too deep in with the drugs because he liked to take them, but it was time to accept that our Prez was long gone and positioning himself to be so powerful there was no way to go against him.
"Seth?" I heard her voice the most clearly since she came back, and I had to go, leaving Tony hanging. There was no choice.
My hand ran down her scarred cheek and that side of her body, and she melted into me even though I knew it must hurt a little. We didn’t need any words even though I had so much to say. I had been so afraid this thing we had would be gone after what he did to her. But what we had was alive and real. The real deal and all.
"I'm so sorry, Reagen, I should have been here."
"Don't you dare do that!" she hissed at me. "Don’t you blame yourself. He was going to come for me one way or the other. But he’s fucking dead, Seth. Six feet under. There's no more."
Damn, she was stronger than I gave her credit for.
"I hope you’re ready to be patched as soon as you're better because I am not letting you go and now, neither is Tony."
"Me, an ol' lady? You, an ol’ man?" She had a smile on her face, and I felt like my world was complete even though I knew a lot of shit was coming down the pipeline. I leaned down and kissed her, savoring the flavor of her lips.
"Mmm, I can't wait to taste all of you again."
Epilogue
Reagen
Six weeks later
“So, it’s been confirmed then, that Maxum and The Shadow Order have had Isaac Palacio killed?” I asked, getting filled in after the meeting I missed. I got patched in officially a month ago once I was healed, and man, did we spend that night celebrating. I had been so worried I wouldn’t feel like myself especially with the scars, but I felt more myself than I ever had. Well, until this week. I had been getting sick and had to miss the meeting to see the doc. I had news for Seth, but I wanted to know what I had missed first. The club had been on edge ever since I killed Jacob, waiting for someone or something to blow up in our faces. Maxum was busy making a name for himself elsewhere, but I knew once he had enough power, we were all doomed if something wasn’t done about it beforehand.
“He didn’t just stop at that. He killed Maya, their son, and Isaac’s younger brother, Santiago. I guess they wanted the organization totally crippled and without a leader. We think he is taking over the cartel for The Order.”
I wanted to throw up, not just because I felt so sick but also at the thought of Preach, Maxum, the former Prez of the Saints who led church services every Sunday, ordering the brutal murder of an entire family. Child and all. It didn’t make any fucking sense. I was sure all the men felt the same, especially the ones who had been with the club since they were young. The thought of Preach being this kind of man just didn’t compute with anyone.
“I just don’t understand the point of it all. He has run this club since he was only nineteen. He took in strays from the street, taught all of you to help others where you could, and that the only reason to break the law is to have the power of God. What’s happened to him?” I didn’t exactly expect him to have an answer, but I couldn’t help but say it out loud.
“A lot of us are beginning to think this may have always been the plan. You know Kara hated that man and that was why she left. No one ever understood why she did, but maybe this was it. Maybe she saw something behind closed doors that none of us knew and we were all too damned starry eyes to notice and listen to her.” He hung his head in shame, and my thoughts went out to Kara. I knew her before all this shit, before I tucked tail and ran with a man I thought I loved to another MC. I never thought Preach was this bad, but I knew he was not that good of a father to her. Very judgmental, but I thought it was par for the course with a preacher’s daughter. Stereotypes and all.
“I think we need to talk to her.”
Seth shook his head. “You know we have already been there, done that. She hates us all and probably for good reason. No point in disturbing her in her peaceful life now and getting her involved in all this shit. She is better off safe and as far away from Maxum and his schemes as possible.”
I saw where he was coming from but internally disagreed.
“So, what’s the plan, then?”
“The Crypt Keepers have some great hackers and PIs on their side, so we are going to keep that relationship stable and use them to track the moves of Maxum and The Order. Probably the Diablos too, though they have been quiet other than some internal issues.” He snickered at that, and I let a half-smile creep up my face. They certainly had it coming.
“So, it’s a wait and see, then?” I didn’t hide the disdain in my voice. I didn’t think it was a good plan. But that was a problem for another day. We had other things to discuss now. I put my hand on his knee and rubbed it, getting him to look at me with those brown eyes of his.
“Look, we can argue about this all day, but I actually have some news. I don’t know how you’ll feel about it, but I think I am actually a little excited . . . and nervous.”
“Shit, now I’m nervous, what is it, babe?” he asked, and he looked like he was about to sweat bullets. It was so fucking cute, especially for a big man like him.
“Well, you know I went to see the doc 'cause I’m sick. Well, it took so long 'cause I was sent to a clinic down the road. I had to get something done. I paid a little extra so I could show you this, hope you don’t mind.” Out of the pocket of my cut, I pulled the delicate, smooth picture I had paid out of pocket for even though it was very early. It was no more than the size of a peanut and barely looked human, but I wanted to give him something special to go along with the news.
“Is this? Are you . . . ?” I could see tears forming in his eyes and wrapped my hands around his strong neck, the muscles flexing under my grip.
“Yes, I am pregnant, and this little guy . . . or girl, is ours,” I told him, not holding back a grin. The thing was, even if we weren’t married and the timing was not ideal for the club, I still saw it as a damn miracle, a sign I was on the right path. I had been gifted with something beautiful after all the ugly shit I had been put through, and with the date, I knew this baby was one hundred and ten percent ours. There was no DNA of the man I killed along with that girl I used to be.
“I’m gonna be a father.”
I couldn’t tell if it was a question or not, but I thought it was a good sign when he pulled me tight and kissed the fuck out of me.
“It’s very early, but everything looks healthy. I go back at twenty weeks for another one of these, so we’ll need to start an album.” I winked at him as I pulled back a little. His eyes and fingers were still on the little black and white photo of what would become our child. “So, how does it feel?”
“Li
ke I don’t deserve it,” he admitted, looking at me. There was something heart-stopping about seeing such a tough man get emotional. “But then again, I don’t deserve you either.”
I straddled his lap, feeling his hardness grow against me. I knew we would find the right way to celebrate this news, though my mind was also on other things. “That’s for me to decide, remember?” I teased him, licking his lips.
“Damn, I just want to take you right here.”
“Why don’t we save it for a private party a little later?” I winked at him. “I’ll meet you back in the room. I want to tell some of the girls, you know?” He nodded and slid his tongue across his lips making me both laugh and shiver. I waited until he was far enough away and pulled my phone out, dialing a number I hadn’t in too long. I couldn’t believe I still remembered it and wondered if she even still had the same one.
“Who the fuck is this?” she answered, and I immediately knew her voice. I had lucked out.
“A blast from the past.”
“Reagen? What the fuck is up with you?”
“A hell of a lot,” I grumbled, thinking about all there was to catch up on. “Look, we need to catch up, but first, there’s some things you should know.”
“Is it about the Saints, because I have already had a fucking unpleasant visit, Reg, and I am not in the mood to rehash it.”
“I thought you might say that, but I also thought you had a right to know what your sperm donor is up to,” I whispered, headed outside to the back where all the cycles were parked. Some prospects were shooting the shit so I wasn’t entirely alone, but they couldn’t hear me from where they were.
“Oh, so he has done something bad enough that you’re on my side. What happened?”
“He hasn’t just double-crossed us, Kara. It’s so much more than that. Last time I saw him, he held us at gunpoint and was tripping out on some hard shit. And now rumor has it he is with The Order and has killed an innocent mother and child to get in with a cartel. The Saints are flipping their shit, Kara. I don’t think even you could have seen this coming.”
“Ha! I knew he would show his true colors one day. I think it’s time me and you met up, talked about what I might do to help the Saints with dear old Daddy.”
Abandon (Midnight Saints MC Book 1) Page 12