Road to Redemption

by Piper Davenport

  “Oh, right. I thought I recognized you.” I frowned and helped her sit up. “How did you get messed up in this?”

  “I suck at choosing men.”

  I bit my lip. “Oh.”

  “Hawk’s gonna fuckin’ rain down death.”

  “If he can find us,” I whispered, low enough so Lily couldn’t hear me.

  “He’ll find us.”

  I swallowed my fear and nodded.

  “He will,” Ashley said. “Trust me. Dad’ll get him and Booker on it. No one can hide from them.”

  “My brother will help too.”

  “Oh, right. Isn’t he FBI?”

  I nodded. I was quickly figuring out the club knew a lot more about me than I knew about them.

  Ashley shook her head. “Never thought I’d see a day where club and law business mixed. It’s gonna be interesting.”

  “Why are you so calm?” I asked.

  “Because we’re still alive, my dad’s a badass, and so is your old man. Until they hurt us, we have a chance to plan.”

  “Until?” I challenged.

  “Well, let’s be honest here, Payton, they’re not good guys, so anything can happen.”

  “Great,” I whispered.

  “Will the bad guys huwt us, Mama?” Lily whispered.

  I sent a look of warning toward Ashley, who didn’t react. “We’ve got you, honey, and Daddy will come.”

  She nodded and crawled into my lap again.

  Ashley made it to her feet and walked the space. “If we could find something sharp… something to cut our ties with, maybe we could fight our way out.”

  “Or maybe we could not risk our lives and wait.”

  She rolled her eyes as she continued to walk the space.

  “Mama, I have to go potty,” Lily whispered.

  “Okay, honey.” I swallowed down the bile at the sight of the bucket. “You’ll need to use the bucket, honey.”

  I walked her through what she needed to do and, thank the Lord, she did it with no mess. Once we got out of here, I was going to buy the girl a freakin’ pony.

  Of course, now I had to pee. But I was determined to hold it for as long as I could.

  The limited light we had coming through the window was disappearing faster than I would have liked.

  “I found something,” Ashley whispered.

  “What?”

  “There’s a nail sticking out here… if you can use it to get loose, maybe you can get me loose.”

  “I think you’ve been watching too many movies,” I grumbled.

  “Just try.”

  I shuffled to where she stood and found the nail she was referring to, but I knew from experience that zip ties were hard to break. Granted, I’d never been tied up, but had used them to keep cords organized in our entertainment unit and things like that. Neither Macey nor I could ever undo them without scissors or a really sharp knife.

  Before I could do anything, however, we heard muffled popping and I knew it was gunfire. “Lily, come here,” I demanded, and the three of us moved to the space behind the stairs. Ashley and I used our bodies to shield Lily, keeping her back to the wall.

  The whole thing was over in minutes. I saw lights flickering from the stairs, then someone must have flipped a switch because light flooded into the room.

  “Payton!” Hawk bellowed, his voice panicked.

  “Here. We’re here.”

  “Down here,” Hawk called.

  I shuffled us out of our hiding place and Lily and I were suddenly pinned in Hawk’s arms.

  “You came, Daddy.”

  “Yeah, baby girl. I’m here,” he rasped.

  Ashley was untied and pulled into a bear hug by her dad, before being ushered up the stairs.

  “I can’t move,” I said, and Hawk released me. I gasped. “You’re bleeding! Why are you bleeding? Cut me loose! I need to look.”

  “It’s nothin’, baby,” he said, and lifted my face. “What the fuck did they do to you?”

  “I think they just hit me. I was unconscious, but I’m okay.”

  Brock rushed down the stairs and pulled me into a hug. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay.” How many times did I have to say it? “Can someone cut me loose please?”

  Hawk pulled out a knife and did as I asked. I immediately pulled his cut away from his chest and lifted his shirt. “Honey, this doesn’t look good.”

  “EMTs are here,” Brock said. “Let’s go.”

  The three of us were whisked into an ambulance and rushed to the emergency room. Alex’s wound was much worse than he let on, and he required surgery and a two day stay at the hospital. Lily and I were fine, well, other than my minor concussion which meant I wasn’t allowed to sleep for twenty-four hours. Kyle had been shot in the neck, but no arteries were hit, so after surgery, he made a full recovery.

  Once again, my family closed ranks and Lily was cared for, I was fed ridiculous amounts of food… food solved everything in my mother’s opinion… and Alex was fussed over. Once Alex was released from the hospital, he was set up in his room again, which meant we were never alone, and Alex was getting a little surly.

  “Time for your pain meds,” I said, and entered his room the day after he was released. He was standing at his bureau, pulling out a T-shirt. “What are you doing? You’re supposed to be resting.”

  “I’m sick of being in bed, Payton,” he said, and grimaced as he lifted his arms.

  “Let me help.”

  Once his T-shirt was on, I checked his bandages and forced him to sit on the bed. He pulled me between his legs and kissed my stomach. “God, I want to fuck you so bad right now.”

  I giggled. “Honey, you just had surgery. There will be none of that for at least two weeks. Doctor’s orders.”

  “Fuckin’ doctors,” he hissed.

  “If you promise to be really good, I might take care of you later.”

  His eyes brightened. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah,” I mimicked. “But this time it’ll be you who can’t move. Tearing your stitches is not an option.”

  He grinned. “I’m better at following the rules than you are.”

  I snorted. “Right. We’ll go with that.”

  “Where’s Lily?”

  “She’s upstairs. Brock and Bailey are here, so if you feel up to eating with us, dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes.”

  “Yeah, that’d be good, babe.”

  I smiled and kissed him. “Good. Lily’s been asking if she can wake you.”

  “She can always wake me, baby.”

  “No she can’t. But I love that you’d say that.” I handed him the pain pills. “Take these and we’ll head upstairs.”

  He did as he was told and we moved slowly up the stairs. I found it interesting that he straightened and suddenly got stronger as we entered the family room. His face was tight, but he forced a smile as he walked toward my family. I loved that he let his guard down with me, but wondered if he’d ever show anyone else his vulnerability. Probably not. I wrapped my arm around his waist gently and smiled up at him. As long as he was always honest with me, it was enough.

  Eighteen months later…

  I CAME AWAKE with a groan and Alex reached for my arm. Pain sliced through me and I whimpered.

  “Payton?” he whispered.

  “I think… ah… ooof.”

  Alex knifed off the bed and flooded the room with light.

  “Too bright,” I moaned.

  He shut off the light again and turned on the bathroom one. “I’ll get the bag. Should I call 9-1-1? I should get Lily. Should I get Lily, ’cause waking her might take time?”

  I forced back a giggle. “Call Mom, honey. I’m okay. You don’t need to call 9-1-1.”

  He nodded and grabbed his cell phone. “Hey, Melissa? Yeah, she woke up in pain. Yeah. Ah…” He focused on me again. “How far apart are the contractions?”

  “About six minutes,” I said, and took a deep breath.

  “Six minutes,
” Alex said. “Yes. Okay. Right. Thanks.” He hung up and grabbed his jeans he’d dropped on the floor before we went to bed. “What do you need?”

  “Well, if you can help me out of bed, honey, that would be a good start.”

  “Fuck, sorry.” He rushed to my side and lifted me gently so I could stand. “Sweats. You want your sweats?”

  “Yes, that would be great. Um, ohmigod,” I breathed.

  “What, baby?”

  “I think my water just broke. I’m soaked.”

  “Okay. It’s okay.”

  He helped me into clean clothes and guided me to the sofa at the end of our bed. As I sat attempting my breathing exercises, he finished dressing and then slid my fluffy slippers on my feet. Another contraction hit and I forced myself not to call out.

  Alex knelt in front of me and took my hands. “You ready?”

  I clamped my jaw shut and shook my head.

  “Okay, we’ll wait a minute.”

  We sat and waited through my contraction, my mother rushing into the room a few seconds after it passed.

  “Hey, honey,” she said, and cupped my face. “I can’t believe my baby’s having a baby.”

  I giggled. “Me neither, Mom.”

  “Okay, Alex you get her to the hospital. I’ve got Lily and I called Macey. She’s on her way. I’ll join you as soon as Anna relieves me.”

  “Thanks,” Alex said, and helped me stand.

  We inched down the stairs and out to Alex’s truck. He lifted me in, buckled my belt, and then we were off. We were less than ten minutes from the hospital, but it seemed to take longer, especially during contractions. Even with the pain, though, I was blissfully happy.

  After the Russians had waged war on the club, the Dogs of Fire went on the offensive and took down several of the key players. I don’t know how they did it and, quite frankly, I didn’t want to know.

  The final walk through of our house happened one week before our wedding which meant we had only a few days to move in, and this threw me into a stress tizzy, the likes no one had ever seen. Alex survived it, mostly because he drank a lot of beer. And I mean a lot. Even in the midst of what would be my final meltdown, I recognized the lengths he was going to make me happy (partly because my mother pointed them all out… yay, Mom). He organized every member of the club to act as moving men, which meant everything was moved in one day. Several of the club member’s “old ladies” showed up to help me unpack, which added to my family, Macey, and Dani, so it made for light work.

  Our wedding was perfect. My parents wanted a traditional Catholic wedding, which Alex didn’t object to (much), but it was funny having biker men and women sitting in the beautiful cathedral in amongst my very formally dressed family and friends. It was perfect.

  After a rockin’ reception, Alex and I stayed one night at the Hotel Monaco in downtown Portland before we took off for a magical beach honeymoon in Cancun. My parents watched Lily (who I officially adopted), so we had an entire week to ourselves, and as promised, he’d packed some very creative toys including my clamps, which we utilized every night until I got pregnant. After that, I was just too sensitive.

  Bailey discovered she was pregnant a month before I did, so we giddily planned the birth of our babies together. Kristen and Gordon had a beautiful baby boy who showed up a month early, and was now a perfect little walking terror. They couldn’t have been happier.

  Life for the James’ family settled in to a surprisingly normal one for a badass biker bounty hunter and his elementary school teacher wife. I joked that I should write a book about our love story, considering it was just so unique.

  Hunter Alexander James arrived six hours after my labor had begun, weighing in at seven pounds, eleven ounces and twenty-two inches long. He was healthy, he was beautiful, and he was all ours.

  “You’re so beautiful, baby,” Alex whispered, and kissed me before kissing our son’s head. Tears slid down his face as he smiled at us. “I’m in awe of you.”

  I ran my hand down his cheek and let my own tears flow. “Thank you for our life, Alex. Thank you for our children.”

  A tiny little gasp sounded and we looked to see Lily rushing into the room, my mom closely following. At six years old, Lily was beyond excited to be a big sister. She’d grown out of her speech issues, which honestly, I was kind of sad about, but I suppose I’d have to let my kids grow up at some point.

  “Hey, honey,” I said. “Meet your new brother.”

  Alex lifted her onto the bed and she stroked has hand. “He’s so cute, Mommy.”

  “I know. Do you want to hold him?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Okay, come sit up here beside me and Daddy will help.”

  As the rest of my family piled into the room, Alex guided Hunter into Lily’s loving and capable arms and I basked in the glow of unconditional love surrounding us. When Macey walked in to check on us, my circle was complete.

  I had the best man in the world at my side, two gorgeous kids, plus the most loving friends and family on the planet.

  Alex said that I’m his light, and perhaps I did help illuminate his road to a redemption of sorts. I’m not sure about all of that. What I do know, is that Alex is my protector, my lover, my soul mate, and my one true love, but most importantly, he is my awakening.

  ABOUT PIPER

  Piper Davenport writes from a place of passion and intrigue, combining elements of romance and suspense with strong modern day heroes and heroines.

  She currently resides in pseudonymia under the dutiful watch of the Writers Protection Agency.

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