All That Matters (Nightshade MC Book 3)

by Shannon Flagg

  “Why don't you get to the fucking point?”

  “Fair enough,” Drew lit the cigarette and took a long drag. “When I met Roxie, I was smitten immediately. This is all going to get to the point quickly, just bear with me. I fell hard and because of that, I wasn't as smart as I could have been. I believed everything that she told me, took it at face value, which was a mistake. She told me how her children were with their father, that she'd left him because he'd been abusive. She cried that she had to leave her babies behind, there was no choice, so of course when she wanted to get them back, I did all I could to help her. At the time, I didn't realize I was ripping them from a happy home. I thought that I was helping her save them.”

  “They were in a happy home. Josh didn't raise them, Meg did, despite his best efforts to undermine her at every turn.” Train's anger at Josh had never dissipated, even though he was rotting in pieces somewhere.

  “I know that now. As I said, Roxie kept a very detailed journal. Reading it and seeing what she'd done made me sick.”

  “Why are you here? You want to hear that it's okay, that all is forgiven? Fuck that. It's not.”

  “And it shouldn't be. I came here today to tell you both that I was wrong, and I'm very sorry for the part that I played in it. I want to do what I can to make it right.”

  “What are you gonna do? Throw money at us like Roxie threw money at Josh? We can't be bought off.”

  “Leo wants to come home. He wants to come back to you and Meg. I see no reason to not do everything that I can to make that happen.”

  Out of anything that Train thought the man might say, that was the last thing he'd expected. He hadn't even dared to hope that it was possible. “Maybe you do need to come inside.”

  “I'd appreciate that.”

  Train turned and started towards the house. The first thing that he saw was Meg in the door. Her expression told him that she knew something was going on. “You'd better be on the level, because if anything you say causes her more pain, I will kill you slowly.”

  “Pain might be unavoidable. We need to talk about Joshua.”

  Train stopped walking. “What about Joshua?”

  “I've spoken with his doctors, and they all agree that he's not in a place where coming home is going to be an option.”

  Before Train could ask what that meant, Meg came out the door. She stood on the porch, her arms crossed over her chest. “What's going on? You're Drew Lewis, aren't you? I googled you once, found some pictures. What the hell are you doing here? What happened to the boys?”

  “Nothing happened to the boys,” Train told her, he kept his voice low. “Roxie's dead. Drew's here to talk to us about the boys.”

  “They're okay?”

  “They are,” Drew confirmed. “Is it okay if we go inside and talk?”

  “Where are they?”

  “Joshua is at a new facility, and Leo's not far away at all. He's here, in Detroit.”

  “What?” Meg nearly stumbled off the stairs as she surged forward. “Where is he? Where?”

  “He's at the hotel, with his nanny,” Drew explained. “I wanted to talk to the two of you before I brought him here.”

  “You'll let me see him?” Meg's voice cracked and broke. “Oh, please. Please. I'll beg.”

  “There's no need for that. I want to do what's right for Leo and for Joshua.”

  “Is this a joke? If this is a joke, I will slit your throat from ear to ear.” Meg's eyes narrowed and Train knew that look. He liked to call it the mama bear look. It turned him on.

  “So many threats.” Drew let out a nervous laugh. “I guess that I deserve them all.”

  “Oh God, I'm sorry. Please, don't...”

  Train cut her off. “Relax, Meg. Let's go inside.” He ushered her in the door. Drew followed behind them. “Fill her in so that she can start to breathe again.” Train listened as Drew began to talk, but mostly he watched Meg's face. Her expression went from confusion to joy when Leo coming home was brought up.

  “Thank you. Thank you.”

  Drew held up a hand. “Before you thank me, we need to talk about Joshua. His condition has changed.”

  “He's getting better?”

  “No. I'm sorry to be blunt about it, but he's gotten considerably worse. It seems that Roxie enjoyed the attention she got from being the mother of a troubled boy.”

  “What does that mean?” Train asked, even though he was sure that he didn't want to know.

  “It means that Roxie spent a lot of time at the hospital with Leo and when she was there, she used to slip him pills.”

  “What the fuck?” Meg exclaimed.

  “I don't know what kind of pills. The drugs had passed through his system by the time that I made the doctor's aware but the damage was done. Whatever they were, they interacted with his prescribed medicine...” he sighed. “At this point, it's unclear if the damage will be reversible.”

  Train watched Meg walk over to the couch; she sat, covered her face with her hands, and he knew that not only was she going to cry, she was somehow going to blame herself for what Roxie had done. “And all this went on right under your nose?”

  “I'm ashamed to say yes, but Roxie was very...” he trailed off. “It doesn't matter what she was, I hold myself responsible for the damage done to both boys. I want to do what I can to fix it.”

  “To make yourself feel better?” Meg's voice was clear of tears; instead Train heard anger.

  “To make things right for them, or as right as I can make them.”

  “If you want to do that, get Leo here now. Tell me where Joshua is now and sign custody of them back over to me, right fucking now.”

  “I have every intention of signing custody over to you and of speaking to anyone who would object to let them know the methods that Roxie used to obtain custody. I will call Grace and have her bring Leo here.”

  “Now,” Meg repeated herself with a fierce town.

  “Now,” Drew agreed. “Before I do that, we need to talk about Joshua. The place he's in right now is the best place for him. I've done my research, they're the best doctors possible. If there's any hope to be had, they're going to be the ones who make it happen.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “It's a private facility, not covered by insurance. I have the means to keep him there. I'm not saying that you don't. I'd like to cover his care. Also, if possible, I would like to continue to have contact with Leo. He's a great kid. I love him.”

  “I want to talk to Joshua's doctors. I want to hear it from them.” Meg had her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

  “Of course.”

  “I think that's enough talking for now,” Train interjected. “I think it's time for you to make that call and get Leo here.” He walked over to where Meg sat, crouched down in front of her. “Meg, look at me.” She did, and he saw such hurt in her eyes that he was tempted to punch Drew in the face just to get the urge out of his system.

  “I'm okay.” She managed a small smile. “I just want to see him, Train. I want to hold him. Please. Please.”

  “Shh.” He reached out and gripped her chin. “He'll be here. And he's never going anywhere again.”

  “Promise.”

  “I promise,” Train replied without hesitation. There was nothing that he wouldn't do to make it the truth.

  Epilogue

  “Meg! Meg! Javi's here already! Can I go play with him? Can I? Can I?” Leo asked frantically. He accompanied the plea by actually bouncing up and down.

  “Did you get into Train's energy drink again?” Meg used her key fob to lock the car. She was willing to bet not only had he, but that Train had been in the room when it happened.

  “Yes, he did,” Joshua confirmed in the disconnected tone which had become his new normal. The boy was drugged to the gills; according to the doctors, it was the only way to treat the problems that plagued him. He'd already been diagnosed with several things when Roxie had gotten to him with her shit. Now, there were new medica
l diagnoses; his kidneys and liver needed to be monitored to be sure that the damage done by high levels of acetaminophen wasn't worsening. “I didn't. I'm not supposed to.”

  “Good job, kiddo.” Meg reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder. Joshua stiffened but didn't pull away from the touch. “Do you want to go and play with Leo and Javi? The other kids are here, too.” A glance around showed that they were the last ones to arrive. It was all Train's fault, though he would say it was hers for wearing the dress that she'd chosen.

  “I'd rather go and sit inside.”

  Meg wasn't really surprised. She was, however, getting a little concerned that Joshua didn't care to play, or even seem to care at all. In the six months since she'd had custody of the boys back, the changes in Joshua were obvious. Now that he was being allowed home for visits from the hospital, the differences were more pronounced. Maybe she should have been worried about that. “Alright, go on. Behave though, both of you. And Leo, don't play too hard. I do not want dirty or torn clothes. Are we clear?”

  “Yes,” Leo replied. “Thanks.” He took off without waiting for her to say anything. Since he'd been home, he and Javi had gotten even closer. Joshua walked towards the church at a much more sedate pace.

  The sound of Train's approach on the bike drew her attention to the street. While she'd put on a dress, he'd chosen a pair of jeans and a white button-up shirt beneath his cut. He'd also insisted she wear the heels she had on, even though she was sure she'd bust her ass at least once before the day was out. Meg waited for him to park before she walked over towards him.

  “You look seriously fucking hot. Did I tell you that already?” He looked pretty hot himself. “What do you say we go find a quiet place inside really quick?”

  “We are not having sex in a church.”

  “Don't be a prude.”

  “We don't have time to have sex in the church. The ceremony starts in like five minutes because you made us late.”

  “That was your fault for springing the dress on me as a surprise.” He draped his arm around her shoulder. “I guess we shouldn't be late. Where are the boys?”

  “Joshua went inside to sit. Leo's with Javi. I think Sandra's herding them all inside now.” Meg nearly stumbled on an uneven part of the sidewalk. “I hate these shoes.”

  “They do amazing things for your legs and ass, though. Plus, you being taller makes all sorts of positions possible. I've got a couple in mind for when we get to the clubhouse.” He let his hand move down to the small of her back as they approached the church.

  “Is sex all that you think about?” Meg asked with a playful role of her eyes.

  “It's not all I think about,” he huffed.

  “Before you show me those positions, maybe you could try to talk to Joshua a little. I'm worried about him.”

  “Of course you are,” he replied. “I'll talk to him, but I think you've just got to give him some time to adjust, Meg. The doctors all said that this transition was going to be hard. I think he's handling it pretty good, all things considered.

  “Next visit, he'll be with us for three straight days.”

  “And before you know it, he'll be back at home with us on a full-time basis,” he pointed out. “Don't worry, it's all going to work out. Oh shit, there's Caroline. She looks pissed.”

  “She probably is pissed, because we're late. And because I'm the godmother and because she's a super scary pregnant lady.” Meg smiled as they approached the scowling woman. Whatever hormone shots Caroline and Buster had used had worked, worked too well was how Buster put it. Not only was she pregnant, but they were expecting twins.

  “You're late.” Caroline pointed out the obvious.

  “It's her fault,” Train said with a smile. “You'll understand once you see her ass in this dress.” Meg was surprised when Caroline laughed. Just like that, her scowl became a smile.

  “Try and keep it in your pants for the service,” Caroline advised. “This is going to be fun, Shane won't stop crying.”

  “Amateurs.” Train shook his head. “I'll get him quiet in no time.”

  The church wasn't as crowded as Meg had expected, but there were still plenty of eyes on them. She wasn't sure that she'd ever spent any real time inside a church before, maybe when she was a kid. Train didn't seem to notice; he just walked right over to where Amelia stood with Shane.

  Caroline had been right, he was wailing. Meg thought of it as his pissed off at the world cry. The crying ended almost the instant that Train took him. Meg looked around the church, with special attention to the back pews because she figured that was where she'd find Joshua. He wasn't there. Panic sparked inside of her, but then she caught sight of him in the front sitting with Buster.

  Relieved, Meg moved forward to ease into the pew where Train was rocking Shane lightly. He looked good with a baby, really good. Meg could see him with their kids; she hoped they had a bunch of girls. It would be fun to watch them wrap him all around their little fingers. It would be hysterical to watch him be a father to teenage girls. There had been a time when thinking so far into the future hadn't even been an option; those were the days when she couldn't see past her next paycheck. Now, there was no need to worry. She had everything that mattered right in front of her.