Page 131 of Nest Of Lies

The whole MC is here today, and I’m handing out burgers while Zaden is dishing up salads. Zion is here with a couple of his crew. He took to Lia instantly, and the pair of them started teasing Zaden mercilessly.

It’s good having Zion here, but it feels wrong, too, now. Zaden is our president, not Zion, and you can feel that in the air.

No booze yet. That comes tonight when the party starts.

Today is all about Nicky. Remembering him. Honouring him. A fallen brother who is going to fly with us one more time.

Lia floats around talking to people. The women talk to her, laughing and joking. She is one of them now, accepted. It’s hard not to like Lia, she is funny and charming. She has an innocence but also a deep wisdom. Lia is kind, and you can really feel the goodness of her soul. She’s won the entire MC over.

The men are respectful and treat her like a sister or daughter. And she seems to have formed strong bonds with everyone, surprising me by asking about their pets or family. She knows things about them that I’ve never known. The prospects joke around with her, but I can see they look up to her. And Kyle…that kid would die for her a million times over. When he told us what she said, that she agreed to go to save Kyle, I’d had to walk away and punch a wall, and then wipe my eyes until the tears stopped.

The sun is shining, a bright and beautiful day, but there’s an energy in the air because of the storm that’s coming tonight. It’s making everything feel electric.

At last, everyone has food, and I turn off the barbeque while a couple of the prospects pack everything up.

Zaden and Zion stand up, and Zaden takes the lead.

“I just want to thank everyone for being here today. Nick was an incredible man with a future that was stolen from him. He loved to ride. He used to paint those diamond things. Nick told me once that his favourite place on earth was any stretch of road with a bike between his legs. So, today we’re going on a long ride, we’re going to honour our fallen brother by travelling those roads, and we’re going to take him on one last ride.”

Zion lifts his drink. “To Nicky.”

He looks straight at his VP, a big man who has tears running into his thick beard.

“To Nicky,” I say at the same time as everyone else does.

Lia floats over to me and leans against me. She looks hot as fuck in her skin-tight jeans and that black, off-the-shoulder top.

“How long are you guys going to be gone?” she asks.

I glance at Ianto, but he drags a thumb across his throat, warning me.

“Don’t know, babe. Hopefully, just a couple of hours.”

She pouts and nods. “I might keep studying, then.”

In the weeks since China was locked up, Lia has been finding herself, and one of the ways she’s done that is by studying.

Turns out, Lia’s love of animals was too big, and when I offered her the chance to study, she took it with no hesitation. We now have a cat named Harley, and a dog named Bullet. The cat is the same one she had in the box. It’s adopted Zaden, much to our amusement, and Bullet is still a pup and going to be amazing when he grows into those giant paws. She wants to help rescue animals, and to be honest, all the club loves her damn pets.

I spot Valen walking towards us in his patches and, just like that, we all reach for and pull on our leathers.

He walks straight to Lia and stops in front of her. “Put this on, baby doll.”

Lia’s eyes are so wide, she reaches out and pulls on the jacket. Valen does it up ultra slowly, but I wheeze, catching a look at our perfect omega, dressed like us, for the first time. She looks badass and hotter than anyone has a right to be.

“You’re with me, baby doll,” he grumbles. “Let’s head out.”

Zaden kisses her hard, and then walks to his bike and climbs on. Valen leads her to his bike, but Ranger catches her, kissing her quickly. Ianto touches her cheek as he passes by. I rush over there, drag her back up against me, and kiss her shoulder.

“Have fun, baby.”

She turns, and almost in slow motion, I see her golden hair catch the light, her blue-green eyes are so full of life. Time speeds up, and she climbs up on the back of Valen’s bike, wrapping her arms around him.

The sound of the purrs of fifty bikes is deafening and exhilarating. More people will be joining us at other stretches of the road.

Valen lets out a wild cry that’s echoed by several members, and then he starts us moving.

A procession of men and metal machines with a love of speed and the open road. In the memory of our fallen brother. Like so many before him.

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