Page 3 of A Crossroads Christmas

Scythe’s pride echoed mine as he agreed.

I lowered my head and kissed my reason for living, giving her some tongue before I scooped up the boys and left the room. Five minutes later, I opened the garage door and backed out, heading toward The Crossroads.

With a quick, longing glance back at my Harley, I turned to the road as the garage door lowered. I wouldn’t trade a single fucking thing about my life, but I sure did miss the days when I could ride my bike anywhere, anytime I wanted.

Was it worth it? The ol’ lady, the twins, and the big fucking house, along with paying bills and driving an SUV? Fuck yeah. So what if I had a few altered parts of my life? I loved my Nylah and the boys. I was a fucking king in my world, my sexy nurse was my queen, and I had life by the fucking balls.

It didn’t get much better than this.

Well, I couldn’t forget about my brother Chrome and the changes he’d brought into my life, too. I knew the missing piece I’d always felt had been found from the moment we first spoke. Once Chrome patched into the Tonopah RBMC, we became inseparable. Hell, he lived in the house next door. I saw his wave as he drank coffee on the porch.

Quite a few of us lived on this street now. Papa and Bess. Grim and Trish. Mammoth and Rowen. Patriot and Mimi. Even my brother and Cam. We’d bought out as many of the homes as we could since it made sense that our kids would grow up together, and our families needed that support.

A street over, more members, including Jigsaw and Abby, had moved in. Spook & Heather. Shadow & Stefanie. Even Diablo and Gina moved on that street. Bodie and Sasha got the place beside them a couple of months back.

The rest of the club members weren’t far, and when properties came up for sale, we’d buy them until the whole damn club owned the neighborhood.

Gavin and Gage babbled behind me in their car seats as I drove toward the clubhouse, glancing in the rearview mirror to keep an eye on them. I upgraded their harnesses last week because the little sneaks figured out how to get out of them while I was driving.

I didn’t mention that to Nylah either.

Was I keeping secrets? Not really. I just didn’t want to stress my ol’ lady when she had a busy schedule and enough on her plate. I’d tell her later when it came up. At some point.

Zane slid the gate to the lot open as I approached, waving as I entered and parked the SUV. It was cold and windy as I opened the side door, unbuckling the boys and tucking them against my chest as I rushed toward the entrance. The daycare was located in the center of the clubhouse behind the chapel where we held church. The location kept the kids hidden from the bar but also easy to access if needed.

Over the summer, Grim hired a crew to help us update the rooms and add additional safety measures, including an escape room through one of the closets that led into a tunnel. It ran nearly two miles and exited into a small building with supplies a short distance from the clubhouse. From there, transportation, food, water, burner cellphones, and prepaid Visa cards would help ensure they reached safety and shelter.

No one could access the kids inside the daycare without knowing the code to enter, and we changed it twice a week. The keypad installed outside the door provided an added layer ofsecurity. Chaos’s ol’ lady Skyla and Toad’s ol’ lady Laramie were the main staff who managed the nursery. Sasha, Mimi, Rowen, and Bess all worked part-time to help since our club family kept growing. Anywhere from six to fifteen kids in total would be present if the older ones weren’t in school.

As Sergeant at Arms of the club, these security precautions eased my mind about the safety of our children and families.

I keyed in the code and dropped the boys off, lowering to a crouch in front of them before I left. “No biting, Gage.”

“Okay, Daddy.”

“And no pinching, Gavin.”

“Yeah, Daddy.”

The twins only fucked with each other, never any other kids. It amused me and Chrome, and we wish we’d had the chance to grow up and have the same experience. Finding each other as adults meant we lost a lot of time, so we never wasted the opportunity to stick close. He entered the daycare as I glanced at the door.

“Give me some tackle hugs.”

I nearly lost my balance as Gavin and Gage launched forward, giggling when I crushed them, only applying enough pressure to squeeze a fart from one of them. “Love you.”

“Love you, Daddy,” they replied in unison.

Chrome smirked. “It wigs me out when they do that. Reminds me of The Shining or some shit.”

I send a glare at him. “Watch your language, fucker.”

His grin widened. “Uh-huh.”

Rising to my feet, I watched as the boys waved at their uncle and then tore ass toward the large building blocks across the room. They’d be busy until snack time.

Chrome followed me outside, waited as I pushed the door shut, and heard the lock engage. We headed toward the bar, taking seats on empty stools.

“What are you gettin’ Nylah for Christmas?”

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