by Lake, Rae B.
Clean sits back down, as well as Mack. "Wire you sit there." Clean points to an empty chair at the end of the table. The one that would be used by the Road Captain if we had one.
I take my seat and wait for Ink to say what he needs to say.
"What’s going on brother?"
"I’m unhappy here." Ink says right away.
All of our jaws drop and I can see Clean getting ready to ream him out, but Ink put’s his hand up to stop him. "It’s not just Roth running around, or the Spawns still trying to get in good with us, but even being in the same place with Siren just reminds me of the shit I went through. It feels like I can’t put it behind me. I can’t fucking break free from the chains holding me. I’d thought about dropping my rags all together, but there is no way that I would be able to do that. I love each and every one of you. But now my woman is haunted by the shit that went down here and I know she needs a fresh start too. I am requesting a location change."
"You leading? Nomad?" Mack asks.
"No, I don’t want to go Nomad. I want to lay roots, it just can’t be here. I’ve been looking through a few of the emails and applications of people that want to become one of us and I see that so many of these motherfuckers are coming from the south."
Clean leans back, "You want to start a new chapter?"
"With your permission. Give me a chance to put some of these monsters in my head to bed. Get Jazmine out of this place."
"That shit isn’t going to be a cake walk, starting a club from scratch is going to be fucking hard." I say.
"I know it, but I figure if I had a few original members that could show me the ropes."
I smile immediately, Ink is a smart motherfucker. "You think you going to get Prime and Ryder out of retirement?"
"They’ll come out to make sure the patch is respected. Once I get on my feet then they can leave if they want."
"Smirk. Just makes us stronger." Mack says looking to Clean.
"You need this brother?" Clean looks to Ink making sure that this is the right thing.
"Yeah man. I wish I fucking didn’t, but I need this."
"If this is the only way to keep you in our family then I vote yea."
I quickly vote yea along with Mack. Pope is still in the room though he doesn’t have a place at the table, he votes yea as well.
Ink puts his head down as if he is ashamed, "Thank you, I knew I would be able to depend on you guys."
I reach over and put a hand on his shoulder, "You do what you have to do. No matter the road you’re always going to have your brothers."
"Did you have anywhere specific in mind?" Clean asks.
"Key West, I feel like I need a bit of a vacation." Ink replies.
Clean chuckles before he stands up. "Any more of you motherfuckers got anything else to say or can we get this damn wedding on the way? I’m ready to party." Clean looks around. When no one says anything, he declares church closed.
I hop out of my chair and we all leave out of the back room. People are already out in the back fieldwhere Keeley wants to have the ceremony. Now that a plan has been set it’s time that we all start on the paths we are meant to be on.
Dillon
Of course, I’m running late. The girls have already knocked on my room door several times. I look around the room, the one that I'd started out my time as a Wing in. The room where I’d learned the ropes, my first real home and realize this may be the last time that I would be able to call it home again.
Pope rushes to get his book and take his place at the head of the aisle. As the chaplain of our group and a former bonafide man of the cloth it would make sense that he would officiate the renewal. I dart to the bathroom for a quick second just to make sure that I’m looking my best for my woman. When I come out Brendan is standing in the hall waiting for me. His face is set in a blistering scowl and he pats an envelope against his thigh.
"Brendan?" I say as I move closer to him. "Everything ok?"
"Yeah, I mean I think so I just … fuck man I don’t know. I think I overstepped."
"What the fuck are you talking about? Overstepped how?" I can feel my face start to heat up. Whatever he had to say had something to do with that envelope.
"I know you didn’t ask me to, and I probably shouldn’t have done it, but I know if it were me that I would want to know for sure. I didn’t look at it and I haven’t told anyone else, but …" He holds the envelope out to me, "I had a DNA test ran on MC."
My brain shatters, and the envelope suddenly feels like a red hot frying pan on my fingertips. I drop the small envelope on the floor instantly.
"What the fuck! Who the fuck told you to do that shit?" I rush him and grab Brendan around the collar pushing him against the wall behind him. He immediately puts his hands up and looks down. Ashamed of what he’d done.
"I’m sorry Wire. I thought you might want to know. I thought maybe Keeley would want to know."
"If we did that is something that we would have fucking asked for. You don’t just take that shit upon yourself." I let him go and take a step back.
"I’m sorry. You don’t have to look at it. No one knows."
"Fuck out of here." I turn my back to him, fucking disgusted that he would do some shit like that and I hear him walk away. After a few moments, I manage to calm down. I know he had meant well, but this is fucked up. I bend down and gather up the envelope and shove it in my inside pocket. Everything inside of me wants to just light it on fire, but there is a small voice in my head that says I should open it.
"Wire, what the fuck man, you taking a shit?" Clean calls out.
"Shut the fuck up, I’m coming." I say as I make my way with him out to the back field. The girls really went all out for this. It’s not as big as our first one, but it’s just lavish enough to make Keeley happy.
I basically run to the end of the aisle and the second I get settled Siren starts singing. Her voice is angelic to say the least. First Lily comes out with a crown of flowers in her hair and a pretty princess gown on. She throws flower petals on the ground and stands next to Angel when she gets to the end of the aisle. Then after a heartbeat Keeley comes out with an ankle-length off-white dress, her long hair is curled beautifully and flowing to the side. Her father on one arm and MC clutched in the other.
I feel like the luckiest motherfucker in the world to be getting a second chance with her. Her smile is so bright as she keeps her gold eyes glued to mine. Is it possible that she has gotten sexier in the last two minutes, because I just want this shit to be over with so I can toss her on the bed and suck the juices out of her pussy?
A loud laugh draws my attention away from her and I turn my eyes to MC, and his bright gold eyes focus on me. He smiles and puts his fist in his mouth, and in that instant the weight of the envelope in my pocket evaporates. MC is mine, no matter what. I lean over and kiss his forehead before Keeley shifts him over to her father.
Marko puts his hand out for me to shake, the same as the first time I’d married his daughter.
He pulls me into a one-armed embrace, "Dillon, if I have to do this again, you are going to be missing body parts. Don’t hurt her." He pulls back a polite smile on his face and pats my shoulder.
If it were anyone else, I’d be fucking offended, but Marko Juric is the leader of the Juric crime family. One of the strongest people in all the Croatian Mafia. If he told me he was going to cut me to bits I believe him.
He kisses Keeley on the cheek before he moves to the side. Keeley steps up closer to me and Pope begins the short ceremony. When he gets to the part where he asks Keeley if she vows to be mine again, I hold my breath until she says I do.
"Do you Dillon, take Keeley, to be your wife to have and to hold-" Before he can finish his statement, I reply, "Fuck yes, every time yes."
The crowd laughs, but I’m serious as fuck. I would marry this woman as many times as she wanted me to.
The second the ceremony is over I grab my kutte from Clean and slip it on. Keeley pulls the chain that I gave her years ag
o out, so it’s seen by everyone. Clean stands where Pope is, but before he starts he takes a step back and moves to the side of me.
"Prime, if I’m not mistaken this is your job."
Prime’s head pops up and I turn to look at him. He is the founding member of the Wings of Diablo MC. If there is anyone who should be allowed to complete this ceremony besides my President, it would be him.
"Fuck out of here." Prime replies, but I can see the smile forming on his face. There’s nothing like being recognized by your club.
A loud roar erupts from everyone that is there. Prime hasn’t done anything with the Wings in years. He had his kutte on and that was all he needed.
"Clean, stop fucking around and get this over with." Prime tries to dismiss him.
"Nah. This is your spot right now." Ryder, Archer, Ink, and even Pope pull Prime up, so he is standing where Clean once was.
"You bastard motherfuckers!" Prime says as he stands in front of us. "It’s my understanding that you’ve both heard this whole spiel before, but I think maybe I should remind the both of you about our ways. Wire, you have always made the best decisions for our family, they may not have always been the best, but they were always made with the best intentions for your brothers and this clubhouse. You come to us again and ask that we take Keeley back into our fold. You are requesting that she once again be inducted into our family?"
"Yes." I say and don’t move my eyes from her.
"Keeley, you’ve heard all this before, but now you truly know what it entails. So I will ask you again, do you swear to uphold our laws and protect this club before anyone else?"
"I do."
"Do you realize that this life is not for the weak or unsure?"
"Fuck yes I do." She laughs and the rest of the club chuckles along with her. After everything these women have gone through, I’m happy she is so sure of her answer.
"Does anyone have any reason she shouldn’t be accepted into our family?" A loud roar erupts from everyone around us. Their seal of approval. She smiles and throws herself into my arms. I kiss her like she is hiding my very last breath in her mouth. I’m complete now that I have her with me and everyone knows it. Good times or bad, I know Keeley will always be a part of our family. Nothing will ever take that away from me again.
Three Months Later
The Nomad Chapter has become a vital part of the Wings of Diablo. Not only does it allow a place for our brothers to get away if they need it, but those wishing to prospect have to go through me before we collectively decide what chapter they will be able to call home. If they want to be a Wing they will be stationed where we put them. Ink is just getting his club set up down in Key West and just like he had suggested, Prime and Ryder decide to come out of retirement temporarily until he was established. Just to make sure. I honestly think that Prime will leave again, but Ryder is bored out of his mind being retired. I would bet money that he will stay with Ink and Jazmine down in the keys.
Keeley and I had a nice two story home in Texas. It was far enough away from clubhouse activities that I felt she was safe, but close enough that if I had to I could ride out and get to where I needed quickly. It also helped that if I needed to get somewhere fast I had a pilot who could fly us wherever we needed to go. Fly had joined me in my Nomad crew along with one other new member, Roth.
It took weeks of back and forth. Half of the crews didn’t want him anywhere near our family while the other half thought he was an asset. He would never have a home, but as a nomad he could help those who needed it. Ink was the final one to give his approval. Ink understood that Roth was trying to right his wrongs, he just didn’t want Roth to do that anywhere near him. I have also set up a satellite clubhouse near the border of Oklahoma. It’s close enough that I can ride there, but still stay home with Keeley and the kids. It’s a hard road, but it’s the right one.
I open the door to our house, Max comes up wagging his tail and licking my hand.
"Good boy. Everyone ok today?" I ask and he barks once in response.
I walk into the living area, Lily’s on the floor with a makeshift fort around her and the TV on playing the credits of some Disney movie. MC is in his bouncing chair playing calmly with a teething toy. He makes happy noises when he sees me and reaches his arms out for me to pick him up.
Keeley is on the couch asleep with textbooks spread out all around her. This woman is forever studying something. I shake my head and start to pick up the books. I leave them right were they are when I look at the first page that it is open to and see she is reading up on genetic markers. My heart falls. I had told her to stop thinking about this shit, but it seems like she can’t. I can’t fucking blame her, MC is mine, but sometimes I find myself looking at him wondering if his hair is the same texture as mine, or if his lips have a different shape then Keeley’s. It bothers me sometimes, but it seems like not knowing is driving her crazy.
I can end her torment once and for all, but I’m fucking petrified that it may not be the answer we want.
One way or another we have to know.
I put the books back where Keeley had gotten them from and walk over to my closet. I open my personal safe where I keep some of my guns and other weapons that my family all knows not to mess with. Wrapped up in a bloody cloth is a bunch of letters and other paperwork that no one needs to see. One of the letters is the unopened envelope that Brendan had gave to me at our vow renewal.
I make my way back to where Keeley is laying down and gently shake her awake.
"Oh Dillon, I didn’t hear you come in." She quickly tries to close the books, not wanting me to see what she was reading.
"What if he’s not mine?" I say and her eyes pop up to mine, the nervous smile she was just wearing falling away as she realizes what I'm saying.
"I still love him, and I know you do to."
"I can’t let you give him away, that’s my son." I tell her making sure she knows now that no matter what this letter says, he’s mine.
"I know. He knows it too. No father has ever loved his son the way you love that boy." She rubs a hand across my cheek before her eyes dart down to the crumpled envelope in my hand. "Why are you saying this now? What’s in the envelope?"
I let out a sigh before I tell her what I’ve hidden from her. "Brendan had a DNA test run on MC when he was in the hospital. He gave me the results the day of our vow renewal. I’ve never looked, he’s never looked, no one knows."
She puts her hand to her mouth and stares at the paper in my hand.
"I hate that this shit rules your thoughts, but I just fucking pray that if he ends up biologically being that fuck’s you will still be strong enough to leave it in the past. That we can still move on like we’ve been doing with our daughter and son without this hanging over us."
"We can. I can." She says right away. "It’s closure."
"Closure? Well, here it is." I hand her the envelope and her fingers shake as she takes it from me.
I turn my gaze on MC who is still calmly playing with his toy in the chair, and a hum descends over me. My peace, he’s my peace. I can feel Keeley opening the letter next to me, but it’s like I’m underwater. My eyes never leave MC. He realizes I’m staring and blows a spit bubble before he laughs harder causing me to chuckle along with him.
"Dillon!" I think I hear my name. Keeley shakes my arm and I finally look to her. She is sobbing and I look away. I can’t do this.
Keeley grabs my chin and shoves the paper in front of my face. My eyes cross as I try to focus on what is in front of me. I back up slightly and see a chart with a bunch of numbers. I don’t know what any of it means, but my eyes scroll down to where there is a paragraph of words and in plain English it says, "The probability of Mr. Dillon Ryans being the biological father of Marko Charles Ryans is greater than 99.9999 %. Conclusion: Based on our analysis, it is practically proven that Mr. Dillon Ryans is the biological father of the child, Marko Charles Ryans."
I snatch the paper out of her hands and re-read the sa
me line over and over again. "I told you! I fucking knew it! He’s mine. I fucking knew it." I grab Keeley and hold her as she cries her tears of happiness.
"Eww, what are you two doing? There are children in the room." Lily yawns and then covers her eyes when she sees us holding each other.
I kiss Keeley’s forehead before I look back over to my son, a hundred percent all mine.
"Pope, go check on Yogi and find out what the hell is taking him so long. It’s just a fucking keg for fuck’s sake." Clean calls out and I move my ass from behind the bar to go find the prospect. When I get outside, I see the new prospect Wire had sent up for us trying to heave the heavy keg towards the door.
"Boy what is taking so long, put your back into it."
"Sorry Pope." He says as he strains and continues on his way. I kick him in the ass as he walks by. Just as I turn to walk back to the clubhouse a car pulls up near the entrance. It wouldn’t look strange to anyone else, but it stands out to me. This car belongs to my ex-wife. I haven’t seen her in years so when I reached out to her and asked if she still had my external drive I was surprised to hear that she did. I was even more surprised to hear her say that she would drop it off sometime.
I didn’t think sometime would be now.
"Tracey? Wow, you look great." I say as she gets out of her car carrying a box with what looks like my stuff.
"Hmm, yeah, save the shit."
The pleasantries drop away immediately, "What the fuck is that about?"
"You know, when you reached out I actually thought that maybe we could rekindle what we once had. But I look around and see that you haven’t changed a bit!" She jerks her finger to the clubhouse, bikes lining the front, and club bunnies walking out to smoke with nothing but flimsy clothes on.
"Tracey, it’s not what you think."
"Really, are you sure? Because it looks like you’re hanging around the same type of people that killed Blaine. Who are you going to get killed this time?" She snarls in my direction. Before I can stop myself my hand snaps out and I grab her by the throat.