Page 26 of Denial

“There was a fire at the clubhouse. Morgan smelled smoke in her room and let the guys know. They had all just returned from their search for Becker and the hitman. The Wild Kings are there with them. Vault started the system he had installed to deal with fires while the rest of the guys got fire extinguishers to put the fire out. It was in the back of the clubhouse. Annabell and Shy got the women and kids out. For now, our parents and my sister are going to stay in your house on the compound. Dad said not to be surprised if the house is fully furnished by the time we get back if we choose to live there,” I inform Jinx of the bombshell my dad just dropped on me.

“Fuck! I need to call Vault to find out more information and let the guys know what’s goin’ on. Are you gonna be okay in here alone while I take care of this?” he asks me, handing over the plate before standing from the bed and leaning over me to press a kiss against my forehead again.

“I’ll be okay, Jinx. You go do what you gotta do. I’m gonna eat and try to get some sleep. Wake me up if anything happens,” I tell him as he rushes from the room and I hear muffled conversations from other sections of the house.

I eat the sandwich and chips Jinx got me for lunch. As I’m eating, I can’t help but worry about everything going on back home. Deep in my gut, I know this is all because of me and the fact that Becker wants to get his hands on me. It takes forever to fall asleep as thoughts continue to swirl and loop in my mind. When I do manage to sleep, it’s not a deep sleep that’s peaceful. I have one nightmare after another and end up waking feeling worse than I did before my nap.

Chapter Seventeen

Jinx

HEARING THAT SOMEONE set the clubhouse on fire doesn’t sit well with me. Especially when it makes my girl upset and start crying because she knows every member of her family is in Pine View while we’re hiding out in a cabin so Becker and the hitman can’t get to her. Hope has never been one to back down from a fight and I don’t see this being any different. Yes, she wanted to leave Pine View because she was scared about Becker and the hitman getting her, but at the end of the day, her family is in danger now and she won’t let that shit stand for any reason at all. Leaving her alone in the bedroom is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life. I wanted to keep her in my arms and hold her close as she cried until she had no more tears left in her. Instead, I go out to gather the guys so we can figure out what we can do to help or lend any kind of support to the guys back home.

“King, get in the kitchen and make sure anyone else inside is there when I get back inside. Some shit went down and we need to talk,” I tell him as he goes to leave his room for the first time since breakfast.

I’ve already called and talked to Vault. He filled me in on the details of what took place today and how things are going now. It’s not good. The preliminary reports indicate that the fire was started deliberately. Someone set our home on fire with the women and kids inside. If the guys hadn’t just gotten back from their search for Becker and the hitman, I don’t know if things would have been taken care of as fast as they were. Yeah, the ol’ ladies know what the hell to do, but they would be worried about the kids as they should be instead of putting out fires.

“Everythin’ okay?” he returns as I head for the front door to go gather the rest of the guys who are watching the perimeter of the house.

“No, it’s not. Hope is gonna need us all right now and we have some decisions to make. When she gets up, I want to know what she wants to do so we can take that shit into account,” I tell him, not stopping my foreword movement as I fling open the door and head outside to the end of the porch.

Bronx and Ghost are talking as they pass one another and continue on their way walking the edge of the property before the forest takes over.

“Bronx! Ghost!” I call out, grabbing both men’s attention as they stop and turn to face me. “Meetin’ inside now. Get the rest of the guys and make your way in there.”

“On it, VP,” Ghost says, his voice serious as he pulls his phone out and calls the guys to get them in the cabin so we can talk.

I head back inside to find King and Raptor already sitting at the table. Taking the seat at the head of the table, I wait for the others to join me. The three of us don’t talk as they wait to hear what’s going on. I want to explode with the rage filling me, but I keep forcing it down and try to figure out what the best solution is for this situation. Personally, I want to fucking go home so we’re with our family and helping them instead of being here. On the other hand, I don’t want to be anywhere that Hope isn’t. She felt the need to be here when she first left the hospital and that was perfectly okay because it’s what she needed to work on therapy and getting stronger. Now, she’s strong enough to only use a cane and there’s no way she won’t want to go back home if we allow her to make that choice.

It doesn’t take long for the rest of the guys to show up and gather around the table. I make sure the door of the bedroom is closed so we don’t wake Hope up. What I see has me wishing I could go in to her and hold her as she tries to sleep. She’s thrashing and rolling all over the bed from whatever nightmare has her in its hold. Closing the door as quietly as I can, I take a deep breath while leaning my head against the door. I don’t let myself stay there for long because the sooner I get this talk with the guys over with, the sooner I can get back to Hope. Pushing off the door, I make my way back to the kitchen and take my seat once more.

“Hope called Killer a little while ago. When they were on the phone, he told her that the clubhouse had been on fire. They managed to put it out between the sprinkler system Vault installed and the fire extinguishers stashed all over the clubhouse. The fire department showed up after the fire was out and made sure it wasn’t gonna reignite. They’ve already started the investigation into the matter as well. Vault was just informed that it’s lookin’ as if the fire was deliberately started by someone and Fox is searchin’ through the camera footage to see if he can find anythin’. They’re goin’ through the entire clubhouse to make sure nothin’ else has been set up to go off at a later time,” I inform the guys as they all stare at me with varying degrees of rage and shock.

“How’s Hope?” King questions me as he looks toward the hallway our bedroom’s in.

“Not great. She’s havin’ nightmares while tryin’ to take her nap and she was cryin’ when she got off the phone with her dad. I know she’s gonna tell me she wants to go home. Her bein’ gone is puttin’ everyone she loves and cares about in danger. King, you know how she is. Hope doesn’t back down for any reason. Yeah, I admit gettin’ out of Pine View for the last few weeks is what she needed. Now, she’s gonna be ready to go home so she can be with her family. Anyone have any objections?” I ask the men surrounding me as Raptor slumps down in his chair and stares at the table.

“I don’t know if goin’ home is the best decision, Jinx. We all know she’s your girl, but Hope means somethin’ to all of us. Are you sure goin’ home is the best thing to do in this situation?” Raptor asks me, fear filling his voice as he finally looks up at me.

“No, I don’t know that it’s the best thing to do. Hope is gettin’ stronger every single day and you know her as well as I do. She’s not gonna want to hide out when others are in danger. She was taught to fight and defend the ones she loves every day of her life. All the girls were. Did she get taken out? Yeah. By a fuckin’ hitman. I don’t give a fuck how prepared someone is, a hitman is a completely different ball game. So, I’m gonna suggest we leave it up to Hope as to what she wants to do. Can we all agree to that?” I ask the guys around me as I hear Hope scream out.

“Go be with her. We’ll start packin’ everythin’ up. Who do you want outside while the rest of us take care of things in here?” King asks me, his eyes locked on the hallway where his cousin is still screaming as I jump out of my chair and head for the hallway.

“Court, Red, and Deegan go back outside. The rest of you get everythin’ packed up and ready to take off,” I state, not stopping as I head for my girl.

Entering the bedroom, I find Hope tangled up in the blankets and covered in sweat. I slide in next to her, not liking the way she’s arching her back after her injury. Wrapping my arms around her, I hold her close and try to get her to calm down. When she turns to face me, I take in the tears rolling down her cheeks. It shatters my heart into a million pieces to know Becker and all this shit is getting to her this bad.

“Sweet Girl, I’m here. I’ve got you, baby. Nothin’ is gonna get to you when I’m here. Please come back to me,” I say just above a whisper so I don’t scare her in the middle of a nightmare.

I run my fingers through her hair and try to get her to settle down. After what feels like hours pass, Hope finally starts to settle in my arms and snuggle into me. Wrapping my arms tighter around her body, I don’t let go of her as her tears fall on my chest. For the longest time, I hold Hope in my arms and she still doesn’t sleep peacefully. The entire time, she’s tossing and turning, only going completely still when I start whispering to her and running my fingers through her long hair. This is the worst fucking feeling in the damn world because I can’t take that shit from her.

When Hope finally woke up, we talked about things and there is no way in hell she’s willing to stay here in the cabin when her family members have the possibility of getting hurt back home. It’s not just the members of the club who are in harm’s way in Pine View. Our entire family is there and they will do whatever it takes to protect those around them. Even if it means giving up their lives to do so. We’ve heard about it being done before in the past and that was by one of the best ol’ ladies any of the club’s we’re associated with have ever seen. Now her children, husband, and grandchildren do what they can to keep her memory alive and strong no matter what it takes. Including giving the ol’ ladies who are expecting an outfit to bring their little one home in.

The guys packed the entire cabin up while I was in with my girl and King made us lunch so we’re not leaving here on an empty stomach. He used the rest of the lunch meat to make these massive subs with chips he made from the potatoes we got yesterday. I don’t know what the fuck he does when he makes chips like this, but they’re the best things I’ve ever had to eat in my life. Hope stole from all of us because it’s not often King makes them and she’s going to take as many as she can when he does. None of the guys got pissed at her, they simply laughed their asses off and watched as she tried to be slick while stealing the chips from our plates.

I’m driving one of the SUVs back this time while Hope sits in back between Raptor and King. Bronx is with us while the other guys fill the SUV behind us. We’ve been on the road for a few hours and are now less than an hour from home now. Hope has thankfully slept most of the way on King’s shoulder and Raptor covered her with a blanket I brought with us from the cabin. I’ve got the music playing softly because it sometimes helps her sleep when she’s having nightmares. I don’t know what the fuck we’re listening to, but she heard a song and begged me to leave the channel where it was. I’m not about to deny my girl anything so I stopped flipping through the stations and let her have the song she wanted on.

Looking in my rearview mirror, I know Court is the one driving the SUV behind us with Red sitting right next to him. He’s one of the best defensive drivers from what I’ve been told and I’m seeing those skills put to the test right now as he starts to weave all over the road behind us. King pulls out his phone after looking over his shoulder and seeing what’s going on.

---