‘Lexi can keep herself safe.’
‘She thinks she can. She thinks she can do anything, and that’s because I taught her well. Sure, she can hit out and fight as good as any man I’ve met. She’s tough. But since Ozzie arrived, she’s changed. She’s lost a bit of that tough edge. She’s more vulnerable. And she needs him. She needs Coby. Just as much as he needs her.’
‘And this is really what you want for this chapter?’
‘It’s what needs to happen. Things have to change because this is where my grandson is going to grow up. It’s been a long time coming, but we had to wait until all those pieces fell into place. Until everybody knew what the fuck they were doing with their lives.’
The man looked straight at Charlie. ‘Even after all this time, you’re sure you want to do this?’
Charlie nodded, taking another sip of coffee. ‘For my daughter. For my grandson.’
The man looked down at Ozzie again, watching as he pulled the napkin apart, his concentration totally on the job in hand. And then he raised his little head, a fistful of torn napkin in his hand that he held out to the man, another big, baby smile on his face. ‘Then we do it.’
‘We help Coby do it.’
‘We help Coby.’
‘Just like he helped you, Shane.’
***
‘Jesus Christ!’ Kip sighed, leaning back against the wall, lighting up a cigarette. ‘And you fucking tell us this now? Half an hour before Dad’s due to turn up with my goddamn nephew?’
Lexi had pulled her brother aside, wanting to talk to him alone. While everyone else got used to everything Tay had just told them – about Shane’s death, about Coby’s visit to England; about the real nature of his and Lexi’s relationship – she wanted to talk to her brother alone.
‘I don’t give a fuck about Shane. Not really. I mean, I liked the guy but… what you’ve done… You kept my nephew a secret, Lex.’
She leant back against the wall beside him, taking the cigarette from him.
‘I thought you’d given up,’ Kip said, watching as she took a drag, blowing smoke up into the night sky.
‘I have. Once I knew I was pregnant that was it.’ She handed the cigarette back to him. ‘I just needed that one drag.’
‘What a fucking couple of days, Lex.’
‘I know,’ she sighed, stuffing her hands in her pockets, staring straight out ahead of her, into the darkness of the dimly lit compound. ‘And I’m sorry. I really am. I didn’t want any of this to happen, it just… nothing was making sense at the time, Kip. Nothing. Coby was the only one who made me feel anything back then. Everything else was just numb.’
‘Jesus!’ He pushed a hand through his hair, throwing his head back. ‘This is fucking crazy!’ He looked at her, right into her eyes. ‘Is that it now? No more skeletons to come tumbling out of that closet? You told me everything?’
She looked back at him, smiling a small, quick smile before turning her head away from him, looking down at the ground.
She heard him breathe in deeply, exhaling slowly. ‘I guess it’ll be good to see Dad again. Be strange, though. Seeing him over here. But good. I mean, I haven’t seen him in so long.’
‘Too long, Kip.’
They looked at each other. ‘We’ve got to start being a family again, sis. All of us, this whole club, everyone. We’ve all got to start being a proper family.’
‘This is supposed to be a brand new start, Kip. The beginning of a new era.’
He was the first to turn away, taking one long, last drag on his cigarette before he flung it to the ground, stamping down on it with his boot. ‘So much shit, Lexi. You’ve kept so much shit hidden from us.’
‘I made mistakes. But I’m trying to fix them now. We all are.’
He looked at her again. ‘When’s Dad getting here?’
‘He said he’d call when he was on his way.’
Kip reached out and took her hand, an action that made Lexi’s eyes fill with unexpected tears. ‘You okay?’ he whispered, squeezing her hand, which made those tears start to fall slowly down her face.
She nodded, quickly wiping her eyes with the back of her other hand. She didn’t want to do this, didn’t want to fall apart. The last time she’d done that she’d vowed it would never happen again. Lexi Hart didn’t fall apart. She didn’t do that. ‘There was a part of me that didn’t want to come back here, Kip.’ Her eyes met her brother’s again, his hand still holding tightly on to hers. ‘Because I knew the crap I’d caused, the pain some people still felt at everything that had gone on. But I had to come back.’
‘Because of Coby?’
‘Because of Coby.’
He let go of her hand, slipping an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in against him and she clung tightly on to his waist. ‘I never stopped loving you, Lexi. You’re my sister. I couldn’t do that, I couldn’t stop loving you. I can’t deny that I hated you, for a long, long time. Shit, I’m like Dad in that respect. I bear grudges far longer than I need to. But I never, ever stopped loving you. No matter what I told you.’
‘You told me I was dead to you.’
‘I’ve been a prick, okay?’
She looked up at him, throwing him a smile before she kissed him quickly. ‘Yeah. Not gonna argue with that one.’
‘Bitch!’ He laughed, tickling her waist, making her giggle out loud.
‘Well, there’s a sight I wasn’t expecting to see any time soon. But it sure warms my heart to see it now.’
They both looked over at Angie, who’d just come out of the clubhouse.
‘Listen, Lexi, sweetheart, your daddy’s just called. He’s gonna be on his way over here soon and, he’s only in the diner across the street, so, he won’t be long. You ready for this?’
Lexi let go of Kip, folding her arms across her chest. ‘Where’s Coby?’
Angie nudged her head in the direction of the clubhouse. ‘Inside. He’s talking to Kel and the others.’
‘Is everyone… are they all right? I mean, with everything?’
‘Darlin’, nobody’s all that concerned about Shane. Maybe one or two of them are a little bothered by the secrecy surrounding Coby’s visit to England, you know, the lack of a vote, all that kind of stuff. Solo decision making never does go down all that well around here, as your stepfather’s already found out. And of course they’re sad that you felt the need to keep Ozzie from everyone here for so long. We’re your family, honey. So secrets like that cut deep. But they understand.’ She looked at Kip. ‘You doing okay, baby?’
Kip nodded, just as Jesse walked outside.
Angie looked from him to Lexi. ‘You two want a couple of minutes?’
Lexi locked eyes with Jesse. ‘Please.’
‘Your daddy’s on his way, remember? So don’t be too long, okay?’
Jesse took Kip’s place against the wall beside Lexi, waiting until Kip and Angie had disappeared inside before he spoke. ‘A baby, huh?’
‘I’m not going over it again, Jesse. We explained everything in there.’
‘I know but, Jesus, Lex… come on! It’s still a shock. I had no idea all that shit was going down between you and Coby.’
She stared at the ground again, scuffing the heel of her boot on the wall behind her. ‘It’s complicated. But we’re getting there.’
‘You think he’s ready to be a dad?’
‘I wasn’t ready to be a mum, Jesse. But I had to get used to the idea pretty fast.’
It was Jesse’s turn to stare down at the ground. ‘You know, there’s still a part of me that wishes you hadn’t come back here, Lex.’
She felt her heart break listening to those words. Because Jesse really hadn’t deserved any of this crap. She’d hurt him in ways he didn’t even know about, and that pain would never go away. The weight of those lies, the secrets she could never reveal, they would always be with her.
Jesse’s eyes met hers again, a few seconds of silence passing before he spoke again. ‘I only ever wanted you to
come back here if you were coming back to me.’
‘I’m so sorry, Jesse…’
‘I could have given you everything, Lexi.’
She shook her head, trying so hard to keep those tears she was determined not to cry at bay. ‘No, baby, you couldn’t. We couldn’t have had any of this.’
‘We could. There’s no reason why we couldn’t.’
There were so many reasons. And she had to turn away from him when she saw he had tears in his eyes, too. Hadn’t she caused him enough pain?
‘Come here,’ he whispered, pulling her into his arms, and she clung on to him, remembering how it had once been with this man. And how she’d ruined it all because of something she should never have gone near. That dangerous game she’d started to play. And how that game had been the catalyst for everything that had happened since. ‘I’m always gonna care about you, you got that?’
She looked up at him, kissing him quickly, their lips locked together for what was probably a little longer than they should have been. But it felt like a proper end to what they’d once had – a finality. That line had been drawn under their cracked and confused relationship, giving them both the permission they needed to finally move on. ‘Ditto.’ She smiled, hugging him once more, careful not to aggravate his still extremely painful shoulder.
‘Something I should be worried about here?’
Lexi pulled away from Jesse, turning around to see Coby standing there in his familiar and slightly battered biker jacket, his hair pushed back off his face.
‘Just sorting a few things out,’ she said, taking Coby’s hand, letting him pull her against him.
‘Kip’s looking for you.’ Coby threw Jesse a small smile before the younger man walked back inside. ‘He all right?’
Lexi shrugged. ‘What about everyone in there?’
‘It’ll sort itself out, Lex. I promise you.’
She looked at him. ‘You’re promising me a lot of things right now, Coby.’
He swung her into his arms, his hands resting on her bottom as he kissed her long and slow, her arms falling around his neck, her fingers twisting into his hair. ‘Because I love you, kid.’
‘So, loving me means you get to promise me all sorts of stuff?’
He smiled, pushing her harder against him. ‘Yeah. Kind of.’
She felt his hard-on digging into her stomach, and she reached out to stroke his face, kissing him quickly. ‘You’re gonna have to put that away, soldier. No time for standing to attention now.’
‘Having our boy here is not gonna stop me from fucking his mum,’ he murmured, his lips touching that spot just below her ear, sending a ton of tiny tingles shooting right through her.
‘You reckon?’ she breathed, sliding her hand down, touching him, causing him to groan out loud.
‘Jesus, Lexi…’
‘Come on.’ She took his hand, dragging him around the corner. ‘If we’re quick…’
Shutting the gate to the small yard behind the clubhouse she quickly unzipped him, sinking to her haunches, grasping him in her hand, enjoying the sound of his low, almost guttural moans, the way his knees gave way as she ran her fingers the full length of him.
‘Fuck! Lexi… Jesus Christ!’
She leant forward, replacing her fingers with her tongue, trailing it over him, teasing him mercilessly, until even she could hold out no longer, finally taking him in her mouth.
‘Fuck!’ His shouts were even louder this time as she kept her hands firmly on his thighs, holding him steady as her head rocked slowly backwards and forwards, until she’d taken him fully. He tasted warm and musky, and she prepared herself to receive a different kind of shot this time, his hardness almost too much to take as she pulled him in as far as he could go. And it took just seconds before she felt him still, before he exploded in her mouth, shooting that beautiful toxin of his down her throat and she took it, accepting it all, swallowing it down, the poison and the pain and the forever she wanted with this man. Whatever it might entail.
She pulled away, freeing him, wiping her mouth with her forearm as she stood up.
He looked at her, zipping himself back up, a smile on his battered and battle worn face. ‘You are gonna fucking kill me, kid.’
She pushed herself against him, their fingers intertwining, her mouth resting on his as she spoke. ‘And like I said before, soldier – as long as that’s my job, and nobody else’s.’
He laughed a low, deep, sexy laugh, and she felt her stomach contract. ‘Why did we waste so much time, Lexi?’
She gently stroked his hair from his eyes, kissing him quickly, and despite the fact every inch of her was crying out to see her son again, she wished she had just a little bit more time alone with his daddy. ‘Because of this place, baby. This place made us back off, lose each other.’
‘And this place brought us back together.’
She kissed him again, closing her eyes as he kissed her back, his fingers tightening around hers, their bodies pressed so close together there was no air, no space between them. ‘At what cost?’ she whispered.
And that was a question Coby knew was about to be answered. Soon.
‘Hey! There you both are…’ Tay looked at them, leaning back against the gate post, his arms folded, an eyebrow raised. ‘Are you kidding me? Charlie’s just seconds away and you two are sneaking off for a quick fuck by the trash cans? Seriously?’
Lexi pulled away from Coby, but kept a hold of his hand. As strong and tough and kick-ass as she could sometimes be, right now she just wanted to keep holding his hand.
‘We weren’t, as you so crudely put it, Stepdaddy, indulging in a quick fuck.’
Luca suddenly turned up behind Tay. ‘You found them, then.’ He looked at Lexi and Coby, then back at Tay. ‘You’re kidding me, right?’
Lexi rolled her eyes, dragging Coby away from the wall. ‘We weren’t fucking, okay?’
‘I believe you,’ Luca shouted after them. ‘Real ladylike language, by the way, Lex. Nice mouth you’ve got there.’
She turned around quickly, winking at both Luca and Tay. ‘Yeah. That’s exactly what your VP thought when I had it wrapped around his dick not five minutes ago.’
‘Jesus, Lexi, honey. You’re my stepdaughter, darlin’, I didn’t need to hear that,’ Tay groaned, shaking his head.
Coby turned around, too, and shrugged, smirking slightly. ‘What can I say?’
‘Charlie’s at the gate,’ Tay said, the mood suddenly turning serious again.
Lexi felt Coby’s hand slide back into hers, squeezing it tight, her stomach clenching with nerves. And excitement. And an overwhelming love for her son, the baby she’d been apart from for far too long now; something she was never going to let happen again. Not if she could help it.
‘Do you two want to go down there on your own?’ Tay asked. ‘See Ozzie first before he has the rest of us thrown at him?’
Lexi couldn’t help smiling at her stepfather. ‘I don’t know…’ She looked up at Coby. ‘What do you want to do, baby?’
He squeezed her hand again, closing his eyes briefly, taking a long, deep breath. ‘Maybe that’s a good idea.’
She stood on tiptoes, kissing him quickly, smiling as she gently stroked his cheek with her thumb. ‘Okay. Come on. Let’s go.’ She looked at Tay. ‘Tell Angie we’ll be there in a little while.’
Tay walked over to them, kissing Lexi’s cheek and giving Coby’s shoulder a reassuring but gentle slap. ‘Come on, Luca. Let’s go back inside.’
Lexi turned to Coby. ‘You sure you’re ready for this?’
‘I should’ve been ready a long time ago. Shit, Lexi… he’s five months old. Five months I fucking missed… I should have been there. For both of you.’
‘You’re here now, baby. You’re here now. And he is going to love you. He is going to love you so much. Almost as much as I do.’
Coby smiled, pulling her in for one more hug, a few more seconds of just him and this woman who’d fucked with his head and confused
the shit out of him for so long. And there was no other way he wanted it now.
***
Charlie stood at the gate, Ozzie snuggled into his shoulder as he played with the scarf tied around his granddad’s neck.
‘They’re coming, kiddo,’ Charlie whispered, watching as his beautiful daughter walked towards them, clinging tightly on to the hand of Coby Walker. A man Charlie had learned to trust with his life. A man whose love of and loyalty towards the Lone Riders and everything it stood for had been integral to Charlie’s plan over the years. But he was also a man whose relationship with Lexi had caused that plan to stall, sent it veering in directions Charlie hadn’t always wanted it to go. But the same aim had always remained. And now they were just a few steps away from that plan finally coming to fruition. ‘Look! Here’s your mum and dad. God help you,’ Charlie laughed, causing Ozzie to laugh, too, a sound so beautiful it caused Lexi to let go of Coby and run the last few yards to the gate, which was slowly sliding open now, someone back inside the clubhouse having obviously flicked the switch.
Her heart was beating out of her chest as she saw her baby boy, and she watched as her father stepped over the threshold into the Lone Riders, Paradise chapter’s compound. A place Charlie Hart hadn’t set foot in for a long, long time. But it still felt like coming home. Because all of these chapters, every single one of them – they were all his and his father’s creation. All their work.
‘Oh, Jesus…’ Lexi couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down her face now, blurring her vision as Charlie handed Ozzie over to her. ‘Hey, baby! You’ve had a long couple of days, haven’t you? You and your granddad…’ She looked at Charlie, her free arm outstretched, ready to hug him.
‘I’ve missed you, kiddo,’ Charlie said, kissing his daughter’s cheek. ‘Newcastle just isn’t the same without your pretty face hanging around the compound.’ He pulled away, stepping back, sticking his hands in his pockets as he looked over at Coby. ‘But I guess you guys get the benefit of that now, huh?’
Revolution (The Lone Riders MC Series Book #1) Page 26