Page 22 of Regret

“That bitch was gonna sell out her own flesh and blood again!” I explode, rage filling me to the point I explode.

Shaking off Killer’s hand on my shoulder as Court steps up closer to my side, I don’t flinch as Playboy steps up closer to me either. None of them will hold me back with the fucking pure rage flying through my veins at the thought of Conrad being so fucking close that day and none of us knowing. I was seconds from losing Savannah and I had no fucking clue.

“Valor, you need to calm down,” Killer says, only managing to piss me off even more.

“I’m not gonna fuckin’ calm down. That’s my fuckin’ wife and daughters bein’ talked about. If it were Gwen and your girls, would you be calm? No, you fuckin’ wouldn’t. You’d be destroyin’ everythin’ in your fuckin’ path to get to the assholes after your girls. When I fuckin’ get loud, I need to fuckin’ calm down. Not gonna fuckin’ happen. None of you saw what my wife looked like when she thought she killed her mother. A woman she fuckin’ hates and she still fuckin’ cried because she thought she took a life and it made her a monster. Everythin’ Savannah does is to protect her sisters and that means she sacrifices herself to keep my daughters safe, she’ll do it without hesitation.

“Conrad wants my girls because of their fuckin’ mother and a drug debt she owed. Yeah, I know most of you have been in horrible situations with your ol’ ladies. This one involves mine and I’m gonna fuckin’ do what I need to in order to protect my girls. You don’t fuckin’ like it, I’ll turn in my fuckin’ cut right now. Not gonna sit here and debate a fuckin’ thing with any of you,” I yell, getting in Killer’s face because he’s the man standing between the door and me right now.

“Sit the fuck down, Valor!” Slim yells, his voice echoing in the room around us as we all stop moving and turn to face him. “Your brother won’t step up and say anythin’ to you about your attitude in this situation. I fuckin’ will. We all get where you’re fuckin’ comin’ from, Valor. You’re pissed and you want revenge for your girl. You’ll fuckin’ get it. Right now, we need to put a plan in place so the girls are safe and we can protect them. You goin’ off half-cocked isn’t gonna help the situation at all. Think of the girls and sit the fuck down in your seat. Right. Now.”

Glaring at Slim, I finally sit down and take my seat with Killer and Playboy at my back and Court taking Red’s seat from him so he can be at my side. My best friend moves his chair closer to mine and doesn’t say a word but looks at me and gives a slight nod to let me know he’s got my back.

“No one’s turnin’ in their fuckin’ cut,” my brother says, sitting back in his chair and looking directly at me. “We’re gonna protect the girls at all costs and that means makin’ some changes. Valor, you’re gonna have to pull them from school. I know you said you’ve talked to them about the possibility, but today it has to happen. Take Savannah to the school and grab all their things. For now, they’ll be homeschooled. Once all this shit dies down and is over, they can go back to school and rejoin their teams. Annabell has actually been lookin’ into things and there’s travelin’ sports teams the girls can join once Conrad and his father have been dealt with. Fox, the last thing I want to go over before my brother leaves to get his daughters is anythin’ you’ve found on property here in Pine View.”

“There’s nothin’ here. We started our search in Pine View. Didn’t find anythin’ in anyone’s name here. Kingston expands the search out in a five mile radius every time he looks and still can’t find anythin’ in their names. He’s checked false business names and everythin’ we’d look for in this situation. There’s someone else involved and that’s the name we need. Once we have that person’s name, we’ll be able to dig up a ton more information. I’m gonna be runnin’ through every transaction the assholes have made. I’ve already found several off shore accounts in their names and will be checkin’ every deposit and withdraw to hopefully find the fucker we’re lookin’ for. Buzz is gonna keep workin’ on diggin’ up everythin’ he can so we can send all the information to our friend in the FBI,” Fox informs us as I barely register the words he’s saying because all I can hear is my heartbeat pounding in my ears. This is not what I want to fucking hear at all.

“So we don’t know a fuckin’ thing about where they’re hidin’ out. They could literally be right under our noses and we have no damn clue!” I growl because this isn’t fucking acceptable.

Rationally I know the guys are doing everything they can to find the fucker and his father. It doesn’t do anything if we have no clue where they are.

“No. We don’t know where they are. All signs point to both Conrad and his father being in Pine View right now though. I have no clue if the mother is here with them or if she’s still closer to Benton Falls,” Fox answers, determination filling his face as he turns his focus on me. “We will find them, Valor. If there’s one thing I can promise you, it’s that we’ll find them and make them pay for every crime they’ve ever committed when we do. No one will get the girls and take them from you.”

“You can’t promise me that, Fox. As much as I want to fuckin’ believe you, there’s no way you can guarantee a damn thing. If Conrad wants to get his hands on my girls, he’ll find a way to make it happen. We all know that based on everythin’ we’ve seen in the past. Conrad and his father have a ton at stake right now without my girls in their clutches. I’m goin’ to let Savannah know we gotta get the girls from school. They already know what’s goin’ on and knew this was a possibility. I’ll be at home with my family until tomorrow. I’m sure Savannah will come work on the books and I’ll set up a place for the girls to do their work here in the clubhouse so they’re surrounded by men. Court, I want you with me,” I state, not giving a fuck if anyone doesn’t like my choice in the situation.

“Meetin’ adjourned. Valor, go get your girls and bring them home. We’ll all have dinner in the clubhouse tonight. The women are gonna start cookin’ in a little bit and I know they won’t stop until enough for an army is prepared,” my brother says, pointing at Red, Chrome, and Dime telling them to come with me and Court to get my girls.

“Killer, Playboy, Stryker, and Wood I want you four with Valor as well. Don’t let them out of your sight,” Slim orders as Court and I leave the room and I head in search of my wife.

Walking through the clubhouse, I find Savannah in the kitchen with the rest of the ol’ ladies. She’s wearing her rag and there’s a large smile on her face. I’m about to wipe it right off and it feels fucking horrible because my wife doesn’t have many reasons to smile with everything weighing on her shoulders regarding Conrad and them being sold to him by her own mother.

“Love, we need to talk,” I say, walking up to her as she turns to face me and her smile immediately falls. “It’s time. We need to get the girls from school and let them know they won’t be returnin’ right now. Conrad and his father are in Pine View and no one can find them. We have no clue where they’re hidin’ out. There’s more, but we’ll talk in private once we get the girls from school. The guys are waitin’ on us. You wanna call or just show up?”

“I think we need to just show up. What if they’re tracking our phones? Or doing that thing where they can intercept all calls and messages. You know what I’m talking about,” she says, fear filling her eyes as Shy and Annabell surround her and wrap their arms around her the best they can.

“Good idea. We’ll leave our phones for Fox and the guys to go through to make sure there’s nothin’ on them before we get back. Once we get the girls, I wanna take their phones as well. He could’ve done somethin’ to theirs and we wouldn’t know. Maybe we use burners for now until all this shit is over and we can get new phones,” I suggest, taking Savannah from Shy and Annabell and lead her into the common room. “Fox, take our phones. Can you go through them and make sure there aren’t any programs or anythin’ on them that shouldn’t be? I’m gonna grab a burner phone for now. Maybe that’s what the five of us should be usin’ until this shit stops.”

“It’s a good idea, Valor. Kingston and I will get on this while Buzz keeps workin’ on his task. Get the girls and I’ll have somethin’ about the phones when you get back,” he says, stepping up to Savannah as I leave her and go grab a burner phone from Buzz in his room down from my brother’s office.

Once I’ve got the phone set up and ready to go, I head back to my wife and the group of men who will be going with us. There’s already a few guys at the school with them. Court isn’t there already because of church. Vault wanted all of our guys here so Slim sent some of his guys in place of ours. Taking Savannah’s hand, I lace our fingers together and we make our way out to the truck so we can grab our daughters from school. At least two of them should be in lunch right now which will make it easier to get them. I think Miracle is in gym which means we’ll have to wait a few extra minutes for her to change if she decides to. I don’t give a fuck how long it takes to get my girls as long as we get to them and make it back to the clubhouse in one piece I’ll be happy. Then, I need to sit down with my wife and tell her everything that was said in church today. She deserves to know everything and then we can figure out what to tell the girls together.

Chapter Sixteen

Savannah

A WEEK HAS passed since we took the girls out of school and started them on homeschooling. Fox made sure they all had computers set up with extra security that will alert him to anyone trying to hack them. The girls get up at the same time they would each morning so they can sign into their first class of the day before attendance is taken. Each of their teachers goes through their classes as they normally would and video it so the girls can answer or ask questions, email their homework or projects into them, and get the notes each day. It’s almost like they’re in school, but they get to do everything online and from the safety of the clubhouse. The only thing they don’t get to video in is gym. We’ve arranged it with the school so that we’ll do forty-five minutes of exercise with them each day. The school knows the club has a gym set up even if I’ve never seen it before and that we have a ton of room to play volleyball, kickball, and everything else the school would be doing.

Ava is the only one of the girls really upset about her current situation. She wants to be in school and going to the games and competitions with the cheerleading team. My sister is old enough to understand why we can’t allow her to do that right now, but it doesn’t make it easier for her to accept. Especially when they’re reaching the end of the football season and she’d be getting ready to try out for the basketball cheerleading team. Something she wants to continue doing. I’ve talked to the coach and she’s assured me that Ava will be on the team when she’s able to return to school. Right now, their goal is the same as ours about keeping the girls safe and in one piece. My sister will get past this and we will be looking into the competitive cheerleading that Annabell found once this is all over with.

I haven’t been feeling the best for the last few days and it took me until this morning to realize I’ve missed my period. Annabell brought me up a few pregnancy tests because Shy and her are the only ones who know I think it might be a possibility. I don’t know how it would be because I’m on birth control and never miss going to get my shot. It’s one of the few things I mark down on my calendar and always ensure I’m early to the appointment. I wasn’t supposed to go for another month and that would’ve given me more than enough time to find a doctor here and get the shot taken care of when it was time. Shy also reminded me I could’ve skipped a period because of stress. No matter how much stress I have, I’ve never missed a period before. Plus, add in the aversion to coffee lately and I’m guessing I’m pregnant and not just sick from stress or anything else.

After Zach left with the girls, I took the tests and waited for the results in our bedroom. I tried to make the bed and pick up the dirty clothes from last night without constantly looking at the bathroom door I closed in order to stop myself from standing in front of the tests on the counter. No matter what I do, my attention is constantly drawn to the bathroom where our future sits on the counter. We’re either about to add a new member to our family, or I’ve got something else going on and might need to get checked out by Doc or something. I’ve set an alarm on my phone and I jump when it finally goes off. Grabbing my phone from the night stand, I shut the alarm off before making my way to the bathroom so I can see what the tests say. I took all five Annabell brought me just to be on the safe side.

Stepping in the bathroom, my eyes are immediately drawn to the tests and I see positive signs on every single one of them. Holy fuck! I’m pregnant. Zach and I are going to have a baby of our own and I don’t know how to feel about that as I slump down on the bathroom floor and rest my head against the wall behind me. Now is really not the time for me to be pregnant with Conrad still out there and gunning for me. Zach and I really haven’t talked about having kids either. I don’t know what he’s going to say when he finds out.

Grabbing my cell phone from the counter by the tests, I throw all but one away. Tucking the last test into one of the drawers, I make my way downstairs to grab a bottle of water so I can head to the clubhouse. Shy let me know she was making lunch for everyone there and I know Zach and Court are with the girls. They were going to sit with them during their classes and then take them out to run an obstacle course Court set up for the girls. It’s nothing too hard but things they’d be doing in gym if they were still going to the actual school building. So, I can be near them and still get my work done before Vault fires me from doing the books for the club businesses.

As I leave the house and make sure the door is locked behind me, my phone vibrates in my hand. Looking down I see Shy sent me a message and I know she’s going out of her mind wondering what the tests said.

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