Page 98 of All Our Ghosts

"Tell me to shut up again, Falcone," Wolfe leans forward, his forearms resting on the table while his voice drops to his ‘I'll kill you where you stand’voice. "I dare you."

The sound of the gavel echoes through the room again as Cole attempts to wrangle the two idiots. "Both of you shut the fuck up. We're taking the meeting. Havoc didn't say anything about Stokes, but he's gonna have questions on why you assholes keep getting picked up and why our runs keep getting intercepted. We owe him an explanation, one that we haven't given before."

"This is a bad fucking idea, man," Wolfe groans leaning back into his seat.

"It's either that or we lose the money coming in from the runs. We don't know what Havoc wants. If meeting him will show that we still have interest in the deal that we have with his crew, then so be it. We can't afford to lose the income that comes from running for them."

I glance over at him. "Cole's right. Now more than ever, we need other crews with us, not against us. If appeasing the Skulls means meeting with them, then why not do a show of good faith."

Cole gives me an approving nod, glancing around the room at the men sitting at the table. "Stokes has to go," he finally says after a moment of silence, "and we need every ally we can get when shit hits the fan."

"When is the meeting?" Wyatt asks from the back corner. "Blake’s going to want to go and so will I."

The corner of my mouth turns upwards at his words. I had seen Wyatt's longing glances at Blake while the girl rambled on about bullshit that half of the time doesn't make sense at all. Still I knew the look.

"Nash, Wolfe, and I will head the meeting with him. Falcone will stay here to keep an eye on the club and the women."

"I'm bringing Kade," I say firmly, leaving no room for argument. "No offense to Falcone, but with the silence from Jeremy, I'm not giving him an opportunity to strike when I'm not here to protect her."

Trey shakes his head and holds up his hands in front of himself. "No offense taken, man, it's the right call."

"So," Cole starts. "Kade's with you. Wolfe and I will lead, and Wyatt," his eyes glance over to the kid. "Grab Blake. I want you both in the van following us." He raises the gavel giving every one of us one last look. "We leave in two days." The gavel sounds through the room again as he stands followed along with the rest of us.

I stand and wait for Cole as the others filter out of the room. The chorus ofI Wanna Dance with Somebodyblares through the Church every time the door opens. We give each other the same questioning look and head out into the main room. My eyes land on my girl. Dancing with a beer bottle makeshift microphone in one hand and Blake's arm wrapped around her shoulder as they sing off-key to each other.

A warm feeling spreads through me while I watch her. Laughing, singing, as if the shit we've had to deal with still isn'tlurking in every corner of our relationship. Kadence is more resilient than she gives herself credit for, and it shows every time a genuine smile spreads across her face and when she still looks at me with that glint of adoration in her eyes. I half expected her to run by now, leaving the car, leaving me and yet, here she is weaving her way into the only family I've ever known. An ache spreads through my chest knowing that she would never get the chance to meet Becca. That my sister would have loved her.

A hand wraps around my shoulder pulling my attention away from Kade. Cole holds out another beer for me and we settle into the closest table. The one tucked back in the corner of the room that allows us to watch over everyone. The men are laughing, drinking, and looking happier than I've seen in a while. Marlowe was right, we needed this. We all needed the reminder that no matter what shit we got pulled into, this club is still a family.

"Thanks," I mutter as my gaze finds her again. They move on to a Queen song but are still laughing and dancing together. I can't help but smile watching her.

"She seems like she's doing better," Cole says from beside me.

I lift the bottle to my lips, taking a swig of the cool liquid. The soft burn spreads down my throat and it isn't lost on me that this is the first night I let myself drink without pain. Hell, it was the first time I drank any alcohol since Kade had shown up. I couldn't remember the last time I had drunk myself into a blackout.

"The bruises are mostly gone now," I say softly glancing over at Cole, "but I know she's still freaked out about Jeremy. She hasn't turned her phone on for weeks."

"Maybe that's for the best." Cole shrugs. "She's lived in fear of this asshole for too long."

I nod in agreement as my gaze catches hers. A soft drunken smile spreads across her lips before Blake pulls her back intosinging. "We'll need to turn it on at some point to see if he's contacted her again."

"Wolfe's already getting her a new phone," He says with a nod, "and we will. But," I glance over when he pauses, "she needs some happiness first."

"I second that," I say, tapping the neck of my beer bottle against his.

We both drink to the idea but I know something else is bothering him. I knew Cole. On the outside he looks relaxed, the baseball cap he wears does a good job of hiding his furrowed brows but even I can see the way his jaw ticks every so often.

"What?" I finally ask.

"You're in love with her," Cole states after a moment.

The words hang in the air between us. I have no idea what it feels like to be in love but I also never gave myself the chance. I was always so wrapped up in my career in the military and, when I got home, the club. Making sure Becca had everything she needed and giving myself over to the deals the club had made with other crews. I lived and breathed this life. At least until Becca's death and at that point I turned into a shell. Numbed with whiskey and secluding myself from everyone that cared about me.

My eyes drift over to Kade again, always searching for her. I always know when she's near. Like some magnetic pull gravitates me towards her. I never want to know what it would feel like not having her in my life. She makes me never want to go back to what I was before.

I knew one thing. I would kill anyone that tries to take her from me.

"Yeah," I mumble. "Yeah, I am."

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