Page 4 of Wire

Her eyebrows raise, and she bends slightly so she can look me directly in the eye. She turns a little blurry in my vision and I sniff as I nod and pull her into my embrace. Her spicy cinnamon scent wraps around me, the scent that always comforted me when I was a kid and worried for my Dad. She pulls away, holding me at arm’s length, and blinks the tears from her eyes before sniffing.

“Right child, keep me updated. Otherwise, I’ll have to come down there and get all the tea in person. Maybe I will anyway?”A huge smile spreads across her face before she cackles and then pats me on the butt. “Get going. Talk soon. And shine, baby girl!”

I give her one last tight hug before gathering my stuff from the staff room. Taking one last look around my safe space, I take a deep breath and walk out the front doors to the staff parking. Throwing my stuff into the back of my little hatchback I head home. Not the studio apartment I’ve lived in for the past 7 years, but back to the Death Riders compound.

Dad and the prospects moved my stuff into our trailer last weekend, so I’ve spent the past five days lying in my old room, looking at all the posters I left behind when I moved out to spread my wings.

When Dad took me from my mother, he and Sunny shared a room in the clubhouse. But with me in the mix there were too many people crammed into the small space, so Dad got a trailer for us to live in. The reasoning being that he felt safer having his whole family living at the compound with all his brothers having his back, than out in some bad neighborhood in Roxwell. Which is funny given that the most dangerous thing in Roxwell, Texas at that time were the Death Riders themselves. Sunny and I shared a room until she moved out and I got to decorate my space with posters of boy bands and bookshelves to hold my collections of romance novels.

It seems weird that after spending my young adulthood trying to get away from the MC, I’ll be moving into another. Not that growing up with the Death Riders was bad. But it wasn’t always great either.

My whole life, the Death Riders have been on the wrong side of the law, much to my father’s chagrin. He tried to shield me and Sunny from as much of it as he could, but we still saw stuff that no young person should see growing up. Sunny, more so than me. She protected me from a lot. Even so, I’ve seen enough of the brothers’ franks and beans to last me a lifetime.

Driving back to the compound, I let my mind wander to the Devil’s Rose MC. When Savage floated the idea of having one of the Death Riders learn from the DRMC hackers, I never in a million years thought he would choose me. I also never in a million years thought they would agree. But I guess with Savage’s plan to turn the MC legit, the DRMC is happy to not only ally but offer support when needed.

Pulling up to the gates, the prospect waves me through and I see various men, some I call “Uncle” all giving me chin lifts or two-finger waves as I pull into a free parking space.

“Hey Rem! Last night in the princess room, huh?” Bones is one of the legacy members, like my dad. After Savage ousted Hammer, the old Pres, the MC split in two. Those who wanted to grow old without gun fights and the threat of prison, and those who wanted to get rich quick, no matter how dangerous or criminal. Hammer took a lot of the younger and more dangerous members. Death Riders MC is now a small MC, of maybe around ten members, the bulk of them older men looking for a quiet life.

“Yup, last night in the twin bed before I head off to Devil’s Rose MC.” I give him my most confident smile, but it doesn’t stop him from seeing right through me. He stomps over and places his giant paw on my shoulder.

“Anything happens, you feel unsafe or anxious, or hell, even homesick, you call me. Anytime, OK Rem?”

I place my hand over his on my shoulder and give it a pat, smiling up into his craggy face, “Promise.” He nods his shiny bald head at me and then leads me inside.

It takes a while for my eyes to adjust, coming into the darker common room after being out in the sunlight, but when they do, I gasp, my hands flying up to my mouth. All the MC brothers that I didn’t see outside are all congregated in the main room under a giant pink banner that says “We’ll miss you!” It’s so incredibly sweet and hilarious because all these big, frowny bikers arestanding under it looking a little sheepish. My sister is standing next to the Pres’s Ol Lady, Nat, both of them with grins on their faces. I know this is all their doing.

“Surprise! It’s your going away party!” Sunny yells and lets off a party popper. I blink the tears from my eyes and rush up to hug her before she passes me off to be hugged by men I’ve known for most of my life.

“Thank you for doing this, Remy. I know it’s a big step for you.” Savage smiles down at me before giving me a quick hug.

“It’s OK Pres, it’ll be an adventure. I’ll learn as much as I can so I can help out around here.”

His brows pinch a moment, “You know this isn’t just about you helping out. You’re one of us, regardless.”

I smile up at Savage. “I know.”

Even though I’m nervous, I’m also excited that Savage and the MC thought of me, out of everyone here, to learn from the DRMC. I’ve always loved computers, ever since the day I logged on to Shadow Wrath at the library. Once Dad saw how serious I was about gaming, he surprised me with my very own laptop. Since then I’ve taught myself coding and very basic hacking skills. The chance to learn from real hackers is something I would never pass up, no matter how scary it will be. Before I can think too hard, I’m being pulled into my dad’s arms. I wrap mine around his bulk, my hands not meeting.

“I love you, Remy girl. You watch your back and I’ll take care of everything here, OK?”

I pull back to look at him. “You’ll be careful, right? I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

“Psssh, nothing can hurt me, sweet girl.”

I roll my eyes and snuggle back in for another cuddle, “Love you, Dad.”

“OK, that’s enough. You know you’ll be doing this all over again tomorrow Flack, when we drop off Rem. Now back up,I have wisdom to impart,” Nat’s voice breaks through and I snort into my dad’s chest before pulling back. I can hear him grumbling but he would never say a cross word to the Pres’s Ol Lady. Mainly because she would kick his butt herself.

Nat pulls me to sit on the couch, tucking her long legs under her. “Right, there will be club bunnies there. You need to assert your dominance early, OK Remy Girl? Don’t take any of their shit. If you need to beat a bitch, you beat a bitch.”

I open my mouth to protest, but Nat holds her hand up, stopping me.

“I know you’re a real sweetheart and you just want to love on everyone, but sometimes people need a backhand. You go in there shoulders back, confident as hell, and don’t let anyone fuck with you. They do? You call me. Savage will have me there ASAP.”

I may not want to beat anyone, but I give Nat my most confident smile before I wrap my arms around her.

“Thanks, Nat,” I whisper. I’m going to miss my family here. They haven’t always been on the straight and narrow. Heck, some of them were downright nasty men; but I knew who to stay away from and who to trust. Since Hammer left and took all the bad seeds with him, it’s been a calmer place to be.

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