by Addison Jane
In the end, the Sanders had shot themselves in the foot. With Allen’s dramatic show at the day care center and then Amber Dean, Edward’s daughter, showing up to testify that she had heard Allen blackmailing Edward with regards to Hayley’s pregnancy, there was no way in hell they could prove to be fit guardians.
Amy had left them and Allen decided to represent himself.
Also a bad move.
He couldn’t control his temper and Mary just sat silently, never once standing up to her husband or speaking for herself. My heart ached inside for Hayley. I never met her, but it was obvious to me now that she hadn’t had the best parental figures growing up. It’s no wonder she was fighting so hard to do things on her own and make a life for herself and Jayla. She didn’t want her to have the life she had. She wanted something better for Jay.
Blizzard and I were going to make sure she got it.
Matthew made sure he expressed our concerns to the judge who listened with patient and considering ears. Kat and Lucy, two of the girls from X-Rated, read statements talking about Hayley, who she was, what her passions were, and what she wanted for her daughter. Her day care teachers wrote letters explaining how much Jay had grown in our care. We took the stand and talked about plans for the future, our hopes and dreams not only for Jayla but for us all and our family.
It was a long process, but I was actually glad for that.
We needed that time to rightly express how we felt, and how much our love for Jay had grown over the last six months. It really was quite beautiful to see all these people supporting us, to see them all praise how we supported our girl and how perfect her family was. It warmed my heart, and I couldn’t express to any of them just how thankful I was that they gave us this gift. I just hoped they knew how much it meant to both Blizzard and me.
Matthew walked out the doors behind us with a wide grin on his face. “Welcome to the world of parenthood!” he crowed, sending up a round of cheers from the brothers who crowded around us. He patted Blizzard on the back. “I’ll have the paperwork all set up tomorrow. Make sure you come in to sign it. But as far as this all goes… it’s done. Congratulations.”
“Thanks Matthew. We really appreciate everything you did,” I told him genuinely. Matthew was a good guy and an excellent lawyer. The club was lucky to have him.
He gave me a soft smile and a nod of the head. “Glad to help. Now go get that girl.”
Elation spread through me like wildfire, and I grabbed Blizzard’s hand. “Can we?”
He dropped his head, resting his forehead against mine. “We can do whatever you want to do, baby?”
I licked my lips and reached up, twisting his tie around my hand and yanking him forward, claiming his lips. Hoots and hollas surrounded us as Blizzard lifted me off my feet with his forearm under my ass, and began carrying me across the carpark to his bike. With my skirt so tight, I couldn’t do what I wanted to do and wrap my legs around his waist and grind against him—fuck who saw.
This was my life. This was my future.
These people had saved me.
They rescued me when I felt like my soul was far too tainted for anyone to ever love again.
I screwed up once. I believed that family had everything to do with blood. I would have done—and almost did do—whatever I had to in order to be a part of that. I listened to my father, I believed his lies, I trusted him.
He was my dad.
He should have protected me.
He was my blood.
Turns out, blood really isn’t thicker than water.
I found family in the people who forgave me for my mistakes. They understood that it wasn’t me. They saw through the manipulation and fear and saw the pure heart that I held inside. They loved me despite my flaws, my mistakes.
They loved me, supported me, protected me—even from myself.
While I still had ties to my Italian blood, I knew that this was where I was meant to be. They gave me everything I’d ever dreamed of—one huge dysfunctional, crazy, rough, and at times embarrassing family. A sexy, sweet and strong alpha male who sees through my bullshit and pulls me to the surface when I feel like I’m drowning. And a beautiful little girl who, just like me, is getting a second chance.
Blizzard slowly lowered me to my feet, his hands sweeping torturously slow over my curves until he cupped my face. “You ready to go?” he whispered against my lips. “Time to take our daughter home.”
Hearing the words caused me to choke up. “Yes.”
“Yes?” he asked with a slight smirk.
I cleared my throat, standing a little taller and looking my man in the eyes. “Yes. Forever, yes.”
The murmur of my brother’s voices filled the air as we made our way into Church. Ham held the door open for us as we filed in one after another and took our respective seats. I wasn’t entirely sure what we had been called in for, but Optimus demanded every single member get their ass there. No excuses.
I reclined in my chair as I waited for Op to get to the point. I had a meeting in just over an hour at our security firm to discuss a big job we would be working at the end of the week. I needed to get in and make sure my boys knew exactly what they were doing and had their heads on straight. It was one thing I took very seriously.
Security was my thing. I made sure people were kept safe. Now that Op had put me in charge of the business that we created, I was busier than ever. Brothers by Blood chapters from all around the states were looking to me to help them build their own, because of how successful both our chapter and the Troy chapter had been.
We were making a lot of money, and I now had a team of over twelve men who worked permanent jobs every day, and another ten who were called in for bigger events and high profile members of the wider community. Even now, I was thinking about employing a few more boys in order to stretch our reach a little bit further.
It was keeping me on my toes with meetings, contracts, enquiries and bookings.
But I loved it.
It was what I was good at, and everyone knew that.
“It’s time we voted,” Optimus said simply when the room came to silence.
I looked around seeing frowning faces and raised eyebrows, finding relief in the fact that I wasn’t the only one confused about what the hell he was talking about. “And what are we voting on today exactly?”
Optimus smirked. “Ham.”
I found I wasn’t entirely surprised by this admission. Ham had been around for a long time now. I guess maybe just over a year. While there was no specific time limit for someone to have to prospect, it was usually around this point where the brothers felt as though they understood someone well enough to trust them with their lives.
We’d had a lot of shit happen over the last year.
A fucking lot of shit.
While other years aren’t exactly quiet and relaxing, we don’t usually have people trying to kill our members or our girls every couple months.
I liked Ham. I knew what my vote for him would be a long time ago. The kid was trustworthy, reliable and loyal to the fucking bone. He never argued, never made a fuss and got shit done. He was definitely one of the more promising prospects that we’d had, and I would happily ride with him through hell’s fire and be confident that he would have my back.
Of course, I hadn’t missed the eyes he had for Meyah since she’d been spending more time at the club with Hadley. So far my Old Lady had yet to mention it, maybe hoping that I wouldn’t notice. She was shit out of luck there.
I’d let it slide so far. Like I said, I liked the kid. He was smart and had his head screwed on the right way. As far as I was concerned, he could look after Meyah better than any other punk-ass teen boy around here could but I would let it play out. She was old enough to make her own decisions now, and if he was the one she wanted, there was gonna be nothing I could do to stop it.
Her mother, on the other hand, would be another story.
“I’m gonna be the first one to say yes,” I stated clear
ly, folding my arms across my chest.
“Agreed, a definite yes,” Blizzard confirmed with a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
In order for a prospect to get in, the vote must be unanimous. If one brother feels like he can’t trust another, then it just can’t be done until that trust is earned.
The votes went around the table, one yes after another and when it finally reached Optimus, he couldn’t help but grin. “Looks like we got ourselves a new brother.”
I could practically feel the excitement filling the room. This wasn’t just a great honor for a prospect, but patching a new member meant a new addition to our legacy. We all knew how it felt to finally get that patch, how much pride soars through you to know that you’re part of something. We all joined the club for different reasons but the one thing we have in common was our love for the brotherhood, and Ham had proved that over and over again.
“Get him in here will you,” Op ordered.
Camo stood up and went to the door. “Come in man, need you for something.”
While prospects weren’t allowed in Church normally, it wasn’t unusual for us to call them in to give them their marching orders or let them know if there is something going on that they need to be aware of. Ham stepped through the doorway, pulling it closed behind him and waiting in silence.
“Well kid,” Op breathed out a heavy sigh for dramatic effect. Then he reached under the table and lifted a box out, placing it on the flat surface. With a harsh push, it skimmed down the table, Ham catching it before it slipped off the end. “Congrats.”
He looked puzzled for a moment, looking down at the package in his hands. He slowly opened it, his eyes growing wider and wider, just like the smiles of the brothers around the table. “You serious?” he whispered as he pulled out the patches that were inside.
Prospects had two patches—a top rocker, and a bottom rocker. The top read the name of the club and the bottom read ‘Prospect.’
In his hands he now held the club’s emblem and a new bottom rocker that read ATHENS, indicating our area or territory. It would replace his prospect patch and secure him as a fully patched member of the Brothers by Blood MC.
“Fuck,” he hissed, gripping the patches tightly in his fists like he was scared we were going to rip them from him.
“There’s one more in there,” Op said, indicating to the box.
Ham frowned, searching the soft packing material until he pulled out a much smaller patch, which had his road name imprinted on it.
“Shake?”
Op hadn’t told us that he’d already picked out the kid’s road name, but as he said it, I found myself nodding.
“Yeah, Shake,” Op confirmed. “It’s kinda an ode to your family, short for Shakespeare. But also, I felt it fit you pretty damn good. Over the time you’ve been with us, not once have you complained, not once have you protested when something’s been asked of you. And not once have you let any of the shit going on around you impact on the way you do your job. You’re strong, loyal and unshakeable.”
The brothers around the table all nodded and hummed in agreement.
It was a good choice.
A perfect choice.
Ham’s face lit up. “Man… I… I can’t even tell you how much this means to me.”
“You proved yourself to every man in this room,” Op continued. “But don’t let that go to your head. Every day we must remember to respect and support our brothers. You represent us, your actions reflect on all of us. It doesn’t end when you get your patch. You remember who we are and what we stand for.”
“Yeah, Prez,” Ham replied, his head bobbing.
Optimus stood from his chair. “Now, go sew that shit on ‘cause we wanna get these celebrations fucking moving. I need a drink.”
Ham took a deep breath before rushing from the room. I stayed sitting, just to let Op know that I needed to talk with him. He sat back down after my brothers exited and the door was closed.
“Meeting with the security team in an hour to discuss the game this week,” I explained. “We’ve got a great team, in my opinion. They listen, they’ve got their shit together, and they’re hard ass fuckers,” I explained simply. “These kids decide to start any kind of shit… they’re gonna find themselves in a whole lot of trouble.”
The school that Athens was playing for the state championship were known to be ruthless. Their coaches encouraged intimidation tactics from not just the players but from their fans. It was pathetic if you asked me. Adults teaching children that violence and strong-arming people was going to get them ahead in life.
Most of the club were going to be helping out with security at this event, not just for the security side, but because we always supported the school in sports and other events, where we could. So, if I catch any of those little punks being assholes, they better run fast. I wouldn’t hurt them of course, but my brothers could be pretty fucking scary when we needed to be and we would make sure they learned the true meaning of intimidation.
“Good. Deacon will be there.”
I caught the small flick of annoyance on Op’s face and couldn’t contain my smile.
“So any shit, and you let all the boys know to take them straight to him, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars.”
“You still holding a grudge?”
Before Optimus had finally claimed Chelsea, Deacon had made a play for her. He at the time was also trying to get info on the club, suspecting that we had some dirty shit going down with the mafia. Unfortunately for Deacon, Op and Chelsea had too strong of a bond to ever have it broken.
“He caught up with Chelsea last week, giving her pictures and shit of her parents,” he answered through tight lips. “She’s at peace with what happened, but it will always be a sore point for her. She doesn’t need that right now.”
I nodded in understanding. Sometimes the past needed to stay in the past.
“We’ll need to call a meeting later in the week to let the guys know what the happenings will be after I talk to the officials today.”
“Yeah, no problem. They’ve already been warned,” he agreed before pushing back his chair and standing again. “Now, let’s hope the kid sews fast ‘cause I wasn’t lying when I said I needed a drink.”
My fingers moved across the keyboard as they tried their best to keep up with the thoughts that seemed to be spewing from my brain. It felt good to get back into study again. Teaching was always what I’d wanted to do.
At first, I’d considered elementary school, but it wasn’t long into my first semester at college that I realized it was my passion for creative writing and telling stories and reading books that fueled me and I soon changed course.
Teaching teens wasn’t going to be an easy task I knew that.
I had been one myself.
High school was one of the most trying times of our lives as we fought to fit in, make friends and figure out just who we were. It could be challenging to do that, along with making the grades we needed to pass and possibly get us into college. Although even with all that, I knew it was teenagers that I wanted to work with, teaching them how beautiful the written word was, how it could fill us with so much passion and inspire us. I wanted to share my love with them and watch them grow as they developed more understanding.
English could be a complicated subject, but I knew that teaching ABC’s and 123’s just wasn’t going to be enough. I wanted to challenge my students and have them challenge me.
Working with Leo’s niece Meyah over the last couple of months had reaffirmed everything I felt all those years ago when I’d first enrolled. So, after talking with Leo, he encouraged me to pursue that dream again.
Re-reading over the last sentence I’d written, I screwed up my nose, hitting the backspace button again and again until it was completely gone. “Damn it, it makes sense in my head, why can’t I write it down?”
“I heard talking to yourself is the first sign of going crazy.” I looked up to see Chelsea standing
in the doorway with a wide smile.
I made sure to press save before I slammed down the screen of my laptop and rubbed my eyes. “Too late, pretty sure I’m already there.”
She giggled as she breezed into the room, her eyes moving to the renovations that Leo and his brothers had been doing. “Wow, it looks great.”
With a wide grin I jumped off the bed and followed her through what would soon be a doorway into the room next door—Macy’s room. I had to laugh when Leo suggested it, sticking to his word that he wouldn’t have sex in the same room as his daughter, and proving to me time and time again just how amazing he was. This was something that he believed in and if that’s what he wanted, I supported him one hundred percent.
It wasn’t long before he’d come up with a plan and with Optimus’ approval, we now had a door sized hole into the empty room next to ours, a room that would now belong entirely to Macy. She was excited to say the least, and she was growing so quickly that she was beginning to need more space. A space that was all hers and that she didn’t have to share.
At first, I wondered why he’d chosen to do this as opposed to renting or getting a small house for us to live in like Blizzard and Rose did. They were close to the club but they had the space they needed for their growing family, but it didn’t take me long to understand why he wanted to stay. The clubhouse was his home, it was where Macy felt comfortable and most important of all, it was where she would be safe.
Being the Sargent at Arms for the club, Leo’s primary concern was making sure that the members and their families had a space where they were protected. Where they could be comfortable and not have to worry about their kids playing in the yard or people lurking around the neighborhood. Not to mention, Macy loved being here, she loved the brothers and the old ladies and she was even quite fond of a few of the club girls. This was her family, the people who had raised her from a baby, and while she was so young he didn’t want to take that away from her.