by A. M. Myers
“Can I help you?” she asks, her gaze shifting to Shep as her eyes soften. Jesus, she looks like she wants to do him right here on the desk in front of me. Well, well, well… seems good ole Shep has been holding out on me.
“Yeah, I’ve got LeBlanc for you. He’s processing out.”
She nods and points to a bag sitting on the chair in front of her desk. “I’m just finishing up his paperwork. There are clothes for him in the bag.”
Shep scoops up the bag before guiding me to an empty room across the hallway and unlocking the handcuffs. He hands me the bag. “Get dressed.”
I strip down and grab the jeans out of the bag before pulling them on. It’s weird as hell to be wearing normal clothes again but in the best possible way. With each new piece of clothing I pull onto my body, a shred of humanity that I lost over the past seven years falls back into place and by the time I’m done, I almost feel like my old self.
“Ready?” Shep asks as I pull on the jacket they provided and I nod.
“Hell, yeah.”
He guides me back over to the office and the woman glances up again. “He’s good to go.”
“Thanks, Syd,” Shep replies, flashing her a grin and she blushes as he leads me out of the office and I nudge him as he guides me through another set of locked doors.
“So…Syd, huh?”
He shakes his head. “Don’t start with me, LeBlanc. She and I are just friends.”
“Sure you are, Shep. Send me an invite to the wedding, yeah?”
We reach the final door, the one standing between me and my freedom and I suck in a breath as he slaps me on the shoulder.
Shit.
This is it.
“You ready?”
It’s weird. I mean, yeah, I’m more than ready to finally breathe free air again but there’s this part of me that is shaking like a leaf. I’ve gotten used to this life and I’m not entirely sure how to go back to normal. Maybe once I finally find my girl, all of this will feel right but right now, it feels like when my dad was teaching me to ice skate in fourth grade and I stepped out onto the ice for the first time.
“Absolutely,” I reply, shaking off my nerves and Shep chuckles before radioing to the control room. A buzzing sound fills the room and Shep shoves the large metal door open. I suck in a breath and step outside, my heart hammering in my chest as sunlight beats down on me. It’s unseasonably cold for January in Louisiana but I’ve never felt anything better.
“Good luck, LeBlanc,” Shep says, extending his hand as the door closes behind us and we walk along the sidewalk leading to the main gate. I shake it. “I really hope I don’t see you back here.”
“You won’t, I can guarantee you that. I’m gonna find Kady and finally start living our life together.”
My mind drifts back to all the plans she and I had before I got locked up and I’ve spent my time here dreaming about finally seeing her walk down the aisle to marry me and having my babies. Grinning, he shakes his head.
“Man, I wish I could be a fly on the wall when you finally do find her. From the way you’ve described her all these years, I’m sure it will be memorable.”
“Oh, ye of little faith. She’s going to be thrilled to see me.”
“Maybe you should step back inside and we’ll have the doc take a look at you. I think you might be a little delusional.”
I bark out a laugh, taking a step back. “Not a chance in hell.”
“All right,” he sighs as we stop at the front gate and he radios to the control room again. The gate slowly starts sliding open and my heart feels like it’s going to burst out of my chest.
“I am Hennessy!” someone yells from the parking lot and I laugh as I catch sight of Chance and Smith recreating the drunken dance I did on the night I earned my nickname with the club.
“Motherfuckers,” I chuckle, shaking my head.
“They with you?”
I nod with a grin. “Unfortunately.”
“That your bike?” Shep asks with raised brows, pointing to the bike parked next to them and my grin grows. Besides finding Kady, getting back on my bike has been one of the things I’ve been looking forward to most.
“Sure is. She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?”
He nods. “Hell, yeah. Actually, I’ve been thinking about getting one myself.”
“Yeah? Come by the club sometime and I’ll let you take her for a ride.”
“You know,” he muses, slapping my shoulder again. “I just might have to do that. Thanks.”
We say good-bye and I step out into the parking lot, finally a free man after seven years. I stop just past the gate and stuff my hands in my pockets, breathing in deeply. It’s not possible but I swear the air feels different on this side of the fence. Chance and Smith run over to me and Chance dangles the keys to my bike in front of me.
“Welcome back, brother. You ready to take her for a spin?”
“Like you wouldn’t fucking believe.”
He hands me the keys and throws his arm over my shoulders as we walk out to the parking lot. “Everyone else is setting up a party in your honor back at the clubhouse.”
“Cool.” I nod. “You know if Streak found anything about Kady?”
“Uh,” Smith says, sharing a look with Chance. “I’m sorry, man, but no. She’s a fucking ghost.”
I grit my teeth and the bike key digs into my palm as I make a fist. I’ve never personally met Streak since he joined the club after I was locked up but everyone else talks about him like he’s God so I figured he was my best shot at finding my girl but after months of searching, he hasn’t found anything.
“Listen, we’ll keep searching,” Chance adds and I nod.
“Damn right, we will. I’m not going to stop until I find her.”
* * * *
The rumble of the bike between my legs feels damn good but I can’t shake the nagging sense that I’m doing something wrong. After years of being locked up, being free again is a mixed bag of emotions that’s going to take more than the thirty minute ride to the clubhouse to sort through. I know this but it still makes me uneasy as Chance and Smith lead the way into the parking lot. The clubhouse looks exactly the same as I remember it and its familiarness offers me a tiny sense of peace - something I desperately need in this moment. When I first got locked up, I always imagined that I’d be coming home to Kady, that we’d finally be able to start our lives and make up for lost time but each year that I didn’t hear from her slowly killed that dream. I won’t give up, though. Now that I’m out, I’ll spend every free moment I have searching for her. There is nothing more important than us being together again and I have to believe that fate is on my side.
I pull into a spot next to the other bikes and kill the engine as Smith and Chance climb out of the truck.
“Hope you’re hungry, dude. The girls have been cooking all day for this party,” Chance says and I arch a brow as I climb off my bike and glance up at the clubhouse.
“The girls?” My mind drifts back to the parties we used to have before I went away that were full of booze, drugs, and half naked girls dancing around the clubhouse. Maybe it’s just because I’m older now or maybe because I’ve spent seven years without the one person that means more to me than anyone or anything else but none of that sounds even the least bit appealing. I barely resist the urge to grimace. Chance glances over and laughs.
“Naw, it’s not like that anymore, dude.”
“Then what’s it like?”
“You’ll just have to see for yourself,” he says as we stop in front of the door. I roll my eyes, not convinced, and yank it open, stepping inside as the familiar scent of booze and smoke hits me in the face. The clubhouse is exactly as I remember it and totally different all at the same time. They haven’t changed the layout any but the giant stripper pole that used to sit in the middle of the room is gone and the only women in the room are fully clothed. Marilyn Manson is spilling out of the speakers but it’s not so loud that you can’t carry on a conversa
tion. And it’s clean.
Shit, maybe things really are different.
Then again, it’s easy to keep up appearances for one night.
“See?” Chance asks and I nod.
“Yeah, guess you were right, man.”
He points to the couches in the corner. “Go have a seat and I’ll have someone grab you a drink. What do you want?”
It’s weird to think that I could literally have anything I want and my mouth waters as I glance over at the bar near the back of the room. “Uh, how about just a beer?”
Beer was never my favorite before I got locked up but right now, it sounds amazing.
“You got it.” He sets off to get my drink and I walk back over to the couches and plop down. As soon as I’m seated, Blaze works his way through the crowd and sits next to me with a grin.
“Welcome home, Henn.”
“Uh, thanks,” I mumble, eyeing him warily. I know the club has made some major changes since I’ve been gone but the man in front of me isn’t anything like the MC President I left behind. Back then, the club was sold as a family but that’s not what it was. Sure, I had my brothers and they had my back but only out of necessity. The one thing that drove us all and bound us together was the burning desire to make as much money as we could and nothing more.
“How are you doing?”
I glance out at the people gathered in the room and sigh. “Good. This is a little weird though.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. Just give it a little time and I’m sure this place will feel like home again in no time.”
Home.
That’s a word I haven’t had a meaning for in a long damn time.
After I graduated high school, my parents kicked me out of the house and cut me off in a show of “tough love” and that’s how I found my way to the club. It turned out to not be the family I had hoped it would be. Instead, I started focusing on setting Kady and I up to build the family we both desperately wanted in the future but in doing so, I made some terrible decisions and took risks that I never should have. And I’ve paid dearly for it.
“Yeah,” I murmur, running my hand over the stubble on my jaw. “To be honest, Blaze, I’m not sure how long I’m going to be sticking around here. My main focus is finding Kady and the club was never her favorite thing.”
He nods, glancing out across the room. “I understand where you’re coming from but things are a lot different now. We’re different now - more of a family than we ever were before and I think if you give us a chance, you might change your mind. I mean, hell… look at Storm.”
I turn to watch our VP as a gorgeous blonde with generous curves and long legs smiles up at him and passes a tiny little baby into his arms.
Damn.
That’s a sight I never thought I’d see in here.
“Maybe just spend a little time to get to know us now before you make any big decisions and we’ll be here to help you in finding Kady, too.”
My gaze snaps to his at the mention of her name and I clench my fists. Until I find her, I have a sneaking suspicion that nothing will feel right. She’s the missing piece - always has been and always will be. But it’s not like I have anywhere else to go and I could use their help in finding her.
“What do you remember from when I was locked up? Is there anything that could help me find her?”
Blaze meets my gaze and sighs. “Why don’t we sit down and talk about that tomorrow? For right now, just enjoy being home, okay?”
“Yeah, okay,” I agree half-heartedly. All I want to do is start searching for my girl but I know he’s right. I’m not going to get anything accomplished tonight so I can hold off until tomorrow. Even if it kills me.
“Welcome home, man,” Storm says, sitting down on the couch across from us and I nod to the baby in his arms.
“Thanks, brother. I like your new accessory.”
“Wait, wait,” Smith interrupts as he falls onto the third couch. “You have to ask him her name.”
I shoot a quizzical look at Storm who rolls his eyes.
“When the fuck are you going to let this go?”
“Don’t you dare curse in front of my daughter, Logan,” the blonde I saw Storm with earlier snaps as she joins our group and sits next to him.
“Sorry, Kitten.”
“Uh, I’m never gonna let this go and you still have a story to tell,” Smith adds. The blonde shakes her head and meets my eyes.
“No, I’ll tell the story. I’m Ali, by the way, Storm’s wife.”
“Nice to meet you,” I answer, shaking her hand as she offers me a warm smile.
“Okay, so it went like this, when I was pregnant with this little peanut, I mentioned that I liked the name Magnolia but Logan was vehemently against it. He said there was no way in hell we were naming our daughter Magnolia.”
Smith snorts, taking a sip of his beer and I glance over at him with a grin.
“Ah, let me guess…”
“Goddamn it, I looked down at her right after she was born and the only fucking name in my head was Magnolia. It just fit,” Storm thunders, interrupting me as his daughter stirs in his arms and laughter booms around us. My gaze bounces around the group as I try to wrap my mind around this whole situation. Before I was locked up, you never would have found us like this and I’m struggling to reconcile the club I remember with the group of people sitting around me now.
Another blonde joins the group and sits in Chance’s lap, introducing herself as Carly, Chance’s wife, as a big, burly motherfucker in a cut and a tiny little redhead sit at the the other end of the couch. The man holds his hand out to me.
“Nice to finally meet you, brother. I’m Kodiak.”
I nod, shaking his hand. “Nice to meet you, too.”
“And I’m Tate,” the redhead says, smiling at me and I nod in her direction. Smith nudges me and I turn to look at him as he points to Tate.
“Don’t piss that one off.”
I arch a brow. “Why?”
“Just trust me, dude.”
“Oh, come on, Lucas. I haven’t ever done anything to you,” she cuts in, flashing him a deadly smile and I can’t help but laugh. Oh, that girl has got trouble written all over her.
“Yet,” he retorts before turning to me. “Ask her what she did to poor Kodiak, though.”
Kodiak shakes his head. “No need to drag all that shit up.”
“Well, hell,” I drawl, studying her. “Now I’m curious.”
“I may have tazed him,” she answers with a shrug and Smith barks out a laugh.
“You’re forgetting about the bullet hole you put in his leg.”
She shrugs again, fire in her eyes as she pins Smith with a look and smiles as she glances back at Kodiak. “Ancient history. Right, baby?”
“Sure thing, sweetheart,” Kodiak answers, trying to hide his grin as he wraps his arm around her shoulders. My gaze drifts around the group again as they continue joking with each other. It’s an odd feeling. Like maybe this place could finally be the family and home that Kady and I were always searching for but without her here, I feel lost and out of place. All I want to do is pour all my energy into finding her and no one else is taking this as seriously as I am. Everyone just assumes that she ran after I got locked up, like she couldn’t handle the mess that I’d gotten myself in but they don’t know her like I do. My girl would never turn her back on me.
Something happened to her.
I know it as sure as I know she’s the one woman in the world for me.
“Hey, you okay, Henn?” Chance asks and I glance up to find everyone staring at me with concern in their eyes. I run my hand through my hair and stand up, my head buzzing and my chest aching with how much I miss her.
“Uh, yeah… I’m just tired. I think I’m going to call it a night.”
Chance glances at his watch. “It’s only seven, dude.”
“Yeah, I uh…” I run my hand through my hair again, unable to come up with a good excuse.
“Go on up,” B
laze says, nodding toward the stairs. “Your room is exactly the way you left it.”
I nod, thankful for his interruption, and tell them all goodnight before shoving my hands in my pockets and walking upstairs to my room. I hope they know how much I appreciate the effort they put in but until I find my girl, I can’t focus on anything else. She’s the only thing that matters.
Chapter Two
Noah
I watch the sun rise through the window and as soon as the clock hits seven a.m., I march out of my room, ready to demand answers. If memory serves, no one will be up for a few more hours at least after they partied hard into the night but I can’t wait anymore.
My footsteps echo down the long hallway and my heart hammers against my ribs as my stomach churns. Every single cell in my body is on edge, demanding answers that I know no one has but any patience I had is gone. Last night was hell as I tossed and turned all night long on a mattress that was too damn nice to be comfortable after sleeping on a cot for the past seven years and without my roommate’s snoring to lull me to sleep, the clubhouse was just too damn quiet. So I passed the hours by going over everything I already knew in my mind and obsessed with all the things I don’t. And when that got old, I started picturing all the awful shit that could have happened to her in the seven years we’ve been separated but it all came back to one nagging, persistent question - what the hell happened to my girl? I rub my tired eyes and suck in a breath. I’m fucking exhausted and I can’t decide if what I need is enough caffeine to fuel a small army or a sedative.
Stopping in front of Blaze’s door, I raise my hand and knock three times before listening for movement.
“For fuck’s sake,” he grumbles from the other side of the door and I grimace. I would apologize but as far as I’m concerned, I’ve been incredibly accommodating. If I had been left to my own devices, I would have hit the ground running and started my search for her the moment I was free of the prison. “What the hell do you want?”
