by Khloe Wren
“Honey, we’re home!”
I smirked at Nico. Strange kid. Then made my way over to the bar where my brothers stood together.
“Hey, prez. Good to see you.”
After giving each of the men a back slap I faced Arrow.
“Anything new happen since my early morning phone call from Wolf?”
Arrow nodded. “Plenty. We were waiting on you to come in before church was called.”
He’d barely finished speaking when a shrill whistle filled the air.
“Get your asses to church. Charons, too.”
Glancing over at the familiar voice, I winced when I saw Wolf. We really did look alike and I knew the boys were gonna give us hell for it. Once we all crowded into the small room behind the bar, Wolf banged a— I frowned and looked closer. Yep, his gavel was a fucking meat tenderizer. Silence reigned within moments.
Wolf stared me straight in the eye.
“Appreciate you getting here so fast. Those of you who aren’t familiar, this here is Scout, the president of the Charon MC.” After a couple seconds of mumbled greetings and head tilts, Wolf thankfully got into why we were here. I didn’t want to waste time with this. Thoughts of Marie, Ariel and Joey had me on edge and even though I’d just arrived, I was already looking forward to going home. “All right, with that out of the way, let me catch you up to speed. Jack’s old lady, Reina, got some of her memory back and she was able to confirm it was a black Cadillac that ran her into oncoming traffic.”
“Motherfucking cunts.”
Wolf raised an eyebrow at Jack’s growled interruption before shaking his head and continuing on.
“As I was saying, Riggs is working on identifying the car. I also sent a couple of our guys to check out the addresses we found in the ledger. There’s definitely activity going on over there...” I stood straighter as Wolf’s gaze hardened while he stared me in the eye. “But we’re going to need the Ice Riders to confirm before we send the intel down to the district attorney.”
The fucking DA? Was he serious right now? What the fuck had we walked into here? A war with a cartel while they had the DA sniffing around? I kept my expression neutral, but inside I was reeling. And praying that when all the smoke cleared after this shit, we walked away without gaining any new enemies. It was for that reason I didn’t ask for details on whatever they had going on with the DA. Ignorance truly was bliss in some situations.
I gave him a nod. “Two birds, one stone. So, what’s the plan? We go shake down the Ice Riders for information before we wipe them out of existence? Because I’m more than happy to have me and my men help you out, but at the end of the day, I want the Ice Riders gone. Completely.”
“Sounds fair. But we take the lead. Once we have what we need from them, you can come in and do whatever the fuck you want to whoever is left standing.”
“I want Chains alive. Got a couple presents I want to deliver before he breathes his last.”
Wolf shifted his gaze to Parrish. “You hear that? Man wants Chains alive, so keep your fucking head straight.”
Parrish sneered his response as though I was asking him to stop breathing or something. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Not what I wanted to hear, but I was smart enough to know it was as good as I was going to get. And seriously, having the entirety of the Satan’s Knights at our backs to deliver our vengeance was well worth the cost of maybe not being able to rub their president’s nose in the fact we well and truly ended this war they stupidly fucking started with us.
“Jack, call Schwartz and see if he’s gotten hold of Ritzer and the warden. If all is clear, we ride in ten.”
I leaned back against the wall with my arms folded over my chest as Wolf continued on, barking out orders to various Knights to find cages and weapons for us to use and other things that needed to happen before we could head out.
I liked this plan. Felt comfortable following Wolf’s lead to get what the Charon MC needed. What I wasn’t so sure about, was getting involved with this fucking cartel business. Mob shit had always made me nervous. They had a nasty habit of coming back later to attempt to even the score, like Sabella was currently trying to do. But such was life. And this cartel had fucking gone after the Knights’ women and children. Fuck that shit. Anyone who pulled that shit deserved to die and I, along with all the Charon MC, was more than happy to help the bastards to their royal reward.
Marie
Of course Bulldog and Rose had no problem coming over to stay with me while Scout was gone. Thankfully our house had a guest room already set up, so it was quick work to get them settled.
I was trying my best to not focus on what exactly Scout was doing each moment of the day, but I couldn’t help it. He’d gone off to “end a war.” He was putting himself in danger and I was worried sick he would get hurt. Especially since he was going in already injured. He’d taken off the bandages on his hand earlier this morning and it hadn’t looked too bad. He’d left the stitches in and covered them with a couple of large Band Aids so it didn’t look like he had more than a scratch. He assured me he would be careful.
“So what’s on the schedule for today?”
Rose’s voice pulled my attention from where I was aimlessly staring out the back windows of the house while I nursed my morning coffee.
“Ah, I guess I’ll head into the hospital.”
“When was the last time you baked?”
I turned to face Rose in surprise at the random question. “Um, not since before the raid. Why?”
I hadn’t time. Or the desire, if I was being honest. She took my free hand and led me over to the couch. When she sat, I followed her lead, taking a sip of my coffee once I was seated.
“We can all see you’re struggling, and I don’t mean with what Scout’s run off to do today. I’m not sure what’s all ticking away in that head of yours, but what I do know, is you always used to bake your worries away. Maybe we should start that routine up again.” She gave me a cheeky grin. “And I know the boys will certainly appreciate it down at your cafe if you start supplying the pies again. Don’t get me wrong, the girls are doing their best, but no one makes pies like you do, darlin’.”
Staying silent, I took another drink as I processed what Rose was saying. I’d been keeping all my doubts to myself, bottling them up, because I hadn’t wanted to worry anyone. Apparently I hadn’t been doing that great of a job of it, if everyone had noticed I was struggling.
“If you ever want to talk, I’m here for you. We all are. We’re family, Marie, and we’re all worried about you.”
My eyes stung with tears as suddenly the pressure in my chest got too much to contain within me.
“I failed.”
Rose jerked a little before leaning forward with a frown. “How on earth do you figure that?”
“I didn’t carry Joey to full term. I couldn’t birth him naturally. He’s still in hospital because I failed!”
Her expression softened and I slipped my unfinished mug onto the end table so I could swipe away the tears that were now leaking from my eyes with both hands.
“Oh, sugar. I had no idea that’s how you were feeling. Now you listen to me, Marie. You didn’t fail at all. No one could have predicted those men were going to storm into your cafe like they did, and it sure as hell wasn’t your fault. From what I’ve heard, you did incredibly well, staying calm, trying to talk them down. It wouldn’t have taken much to push those two bastards the wrong way and to the point they simply shot everyone there and ran. You did good that day, Marie. The best you could, under the circumstances. And you delivered a healthy baby boy. Yeah, he’s still in hospital, but from what you’ve told me, that’s a precaution at this stage, not because there’s anything majorly wrong with him. Many women elect to have a c-section these days. There is certainly no shame in having one. It was the best option to deliver Joey safely. You did all the right things, Marie. There’s no failure in any of that.”
I closed my eyes and pressed a palm over the
scar. The one that Scout had told me he loved because I’d earned it birthing our son.
“I know all of that, I do. Scout keeps telling me. Donna too. But getting my head to accept it? That’s the hard part.”
I risked a glance up at Rose’s face. As soon as she caught my gaze, she smiled gently.
“So, how about we see if some baking will help? Then we can deliver them down to the cafe. We’ll sit down and stay for a coffee and try some of the pie. Spend some time being an adult before we go visit Joey later. You don’t have to be there to feed him earlier than that, do you?”
I shook my head. “No, I’ve already expressed this morning and they have plenty of my breast milk at the hospital for him.” I gave her a watery grin. “Turns out I’m a good cow.”
Rose laughed, then rose to her feet, reaching for my hand to tug me up and into her arms where she gave me a quick, tight hug.
“You’ll be just fine, Marie. I know it’ll take a little time, but you’ll get there. Now, let’s get cooking. Where’s Ariel at? I know she’ll want to help.”
She gave me a final squeeze before she left my side to go find Ariel, who’d been playing in her room the last time I’d checked on her. I appreciated the few minutes alone. It gave me a chance to quickly nip into the bathroom and splash some cold water on my face. I stayed in there a few extra moments, just taking some deep breaths and absorbing the fact I had the best friends in the world.
By the time I made it out to the kitchen where Rose was putting an apron on Ariel, I was smiling and ready to bake some pies.
“Alrighty, then. What flavor should we bake today, sweet angel?”
Chapter 14
Marie
Stepping foot back into my cafe was like coming home. I hadn’t returned since the raid, not once. It was the longest I’d ever gone not coming in since I’d opened the doors all those years ago. Scout had assured me that Zara and Mercedes had it handled and I’d used that to be a coward, not wanting to return to the scene of the crime, so to speak. But it also meant that I’d missed out on everything I loved about my cafe. The atmosphere, the smells and sounds that had been so much of my world for the past twenty years.
“We’re back! And with pies!”
Ariel made her loud declaration the moment she was through the door, making everyone in the place chuckle, myself included. Kids...
Zara and Mercedes both paused in what they were doing and came over to give me a hug. It wasn’t that I hadn’t seen either of them over the past weeks. They’d visited me in the hospital, and we all lived on the same street. But this was different. A sort of welcome home now that I’d finally put my big girl panties on and came in. Unexpectedly, emotion clogged my throat as I hugged them both in return. Thankfully, Ariel once more came to the rescue before it became obvious to everyone that I was having a moment.
“We made a pecan pie and a caramel pie. They smell sooo good. But Mommy wouldn’t let me taste test them, so I can’t tell you if they taste as good as they smell.”
Zara kneeled down in front of Ariel and took the bag with the pies from her hands.
“Well, how about you go sit down with Mommy and we’ll bring you over a little slice of each of them so you can work it out for us?”
Her face lit up and after sliding a quick glance at me, leaned in and loudly whispered to Zara. “Can I have a hot chocolate too? Please?”
I gave Zara a nod when she looked to me for approval before she stood and moved towards the counter where Mercedes had already returned. Taking Ariel’s hand, I let her guide me to the table of her choosing with Rose following us.
“Baby Cleo isn’t here today.”
She sounded a little sad at that. And I frowned when I thought about it. Mac was up north, so who was looking after Cleo if she wasn’t here? Rose spoke up with the answer. “I believe Silk and Eagle are on baby duty today.” She paused and turned to face me. “Which reminds me, we really need to get working on our plan to open a child care center here in town.”
I vaguely remembered her saying something about that in the hospital after we first found Ariel.
“We’ve certainly got the kids to populate one. And that’s just the Charon kids. Open it up to the rest of the town, you’ve basically got a guaranteed success. Do you have a location in mind yet? And did you want to run it? It’ll need a good, solid manager.”
Rose sat back in her chair, clearly lost in thought while Zara set down drinks and pie for all of us.
“Can’t tell you how good it is to see you here, Marie. This place just isn’t the same without you.”
I grinned up at her, pushing aside the guilt for staying away for so long. “It does feel good to be back. I didn’t realize how much I was missing it, both baking and coming in, until Rose gave me a little push in that direction earlier. It’ll be a little while before I can be on my feet long enough to be much good in here, but I’ll definitely start baking again. And dropping in for more visits.”
Baking those pies had done me a world of good. By the time they’d been in the oven and I was washing up the dishes as Rose and Ariel dried, I’d felt calmer and more settled than I had in weeks. I mean, I was still worried sick over Scout and what he was currently in the middle of, and I was still trying to accept how Joey’s birth ended up happening, but I was in a much better place now than I was when I woke up this morning, that was for sure.
“I’ve got it!” I nearly dropped my mug of coffee at Rose’s sudden outburst, but thankfully managed to recover before I made a mess and set it down to focus on my friend. “That vacant building a few doors down from the gym. It’s been empty for years and if we set up there, we can set up a deal for people who want to work out at the gym to use us to look after their kids while they do. But I don’t think I’d be the right person to run things. It’s not like I’m qualified, or anything.”
“You employ people qualified to take care of the kids. I dare say it would earn enough money to pay for a manager too, if needed. I just thought you’d like to be in charge of it since it was your idea.”
She nodded as she thought over what I said.
“I guess at the very least I can oversee the set-up of things, until we can hire on staff. I’ll get Bulldog to take it to the club. If they agree to fund it, it’ll be much easier than trying to get a bank loan or something. And we can use the Charon manpower to get the place kitted out. I don’t suppose you’d like to help me research what we’d need to put in there?”
My lips spread into a wide smile and excitement curled inside my stomach. “It sounds like the perfect project for us to work on while I’m recuperating.”
“Excellent! We’ll start this afternoon, after we go visit that gorgeous son of yours, of course.”
Ideas were already swirling and as we both ate our pie and watched Ariel cut hers up as though she was conducting brain surgery on the thing.
“Mommy?”
“Yeah, angel?”
“I think next time we need to put in more nuts. The radio isn’t quite right.”
“It’s ratio, spelt with a ‘t,’ not a ‘d,’ and okay, we can try it with some extra nuts next time, sweetheart.”
Rose was quietly chuckling at Ariel when I turned to face her again.
“Thank you so much for today. It was exactly what I needed. Truly, I can’t thank you enough.”
My stupid eyes were stinging again when Rose leaned forward and gave my arm a soft squeeze.
“It’s what friends are for, Marie. No need to thank me. I know full well if the roles were reversed, you’d be doing the same exact thing for me.”
That, I would. It really was a wonderful thing to have good people in your life.
Scout
Hanging back with the other Charons, we allowed the Knights to take the lead on storming the Ice Riders’ clubhouse. If we hadn’t known before, we definitely knew now that Jack Parrish was a fucking lunatic. Strapped with enough fucking weapons to fight a literal war, he marched to the front door, putting
three bullets in the first unfortunate bastard that came through the portal, killing him before pulling a second gun free and entering the building with a number of the Knights at his heels. Gunfire instantly filled the air, but I didn’t go to join the party just yet. As planned, I stayed outside with my men, waiting for the other Riders to arrive—assuming Parrish left any of them alive long enough to put the fucking call out for back-up. Our goal here was a clean sweep. The whole club taken down in one hit, so there was no one left to fucking come after us later.
Before long, the sounds of Harley engines filled the air and I glanced at my Charon brothers, and the Knights who had also stayed outside, to make sure everyone was loaded and ready to go as anticipation had my blood singing in my veins.
“First one is mine.”
I got a few nods to my yell. Raising my gun, I took aim at the only entrance to the yard and waited. The moment a bike came through the open gates, I fired at the broad, exposed chest of the fucker riding it. A shiver ran through me, energizing me with the thrill of sending these bastards straight to hell, where they belonged. A grin tugged at my lips when the dead man and his ride went crashing into the line-up of bikes parked in front of the clubhouse, making one hell of a noise as every one of the Harleys fell over like dominos.
From there on out, it was chaos. Bikes kept coming through the gates, and bullets continued to fly, taking them out. We’d taken down eight men before we got a rider who was fast enough to pull a weapon and shoot back. Thankfully, he couldn’t aim for shit and didn’t hit anyone, and the fucker got taken down before he could get a second round off.
Once we couldn’t hear any more bikes, we got busy checking that all the Ice Riders’ we’d tagged were dead, finishing off any that were still breathing as we went. Then we got to the fun part of dragging their fucking bodies inside. The Ice Riders’ compound was outside of town, but gunshots were loud, especially the amount of rounds we’d shot off. Since none of us knew the area or the people in it, we had no real fucking clue how long we had before the cops would show up. But no matter how time limited we were, we all knew we needed to gather all the evidence we could inside so when we blew the place up later, nothing would remain to come back to bite us in the ass. It also had the added benefit of Chains getting to see all his men lying dead at his feet while Parrish worked him over. Assuming Parrish hadn’t lost his cool and killed the fucker already.
