Page 89 of My Darling Mayhem

I traced the shell of her ear, feeling that same urgency in my own movements.

“Darling, it’ll be as though I never left, and you should know by now that not even death will separate us.”

I ignored the tears rolling down her face and turned to grab us towels.

Wren’s mother went with her; Juan hadn’t shown up. They got into her car, the two of them, with Cruz in the back, and drove over to the city's east side. I followed them on my bike and ensured Thistle and my men watched over the side roads so we weren’t followed.

Sarah, Kane’s foster mom, had agreed that I could take him, even at this late hour. I told her I had some urgent business that would take me out of town and that I didn’t want to miss my date to get him. She packed his things for me and had him ready to go. Sleepy but happy, I grabbed my little brother and pulled him into my arms, holding him tight.

Then, under the cover of darkness, I walked him to Wren’s car and buckled him in.

“Kane, I need you to be brave for me, okay?”

His blue eyes searched mine as if he understood how serious this was. I knew he would, and I knew he’d adapt to this change, just like he had to being in foster care, and now removed from it. My chest ached with all the change he’d been forced to go through and how unfair it was that he just kept being expected to deal with the hand he was dealt.

“Wren and Cruz are going to visit some of their family, and I wanted you to go because—” The words caught in my throat because I was still so scared about the possibility of losing him.

Cruz took over, reaching over to grab Kane’s hand. “We’re going to be a family. You get to live with Archer, and he loves my mom. We’re going to be brothers.”

Kane’s eyes slid back over to me. “But Archer is my brother. Unless can you be my dad instead?”

I caught Wren’s smile in the mirror, which had mine stretching while a few tears tugged at my eyes. I pulled him into a hug. “I’ll be whatever you need, buddy, as long as you’re mine. Okay?”

His little hands wrapped around my neck, and I inhaled deeply, knowing I needed to let them go. But it was so painful.

I buckled him, closed his door, and moved to Wren’s door.

Her smile was encouraging. I dipped to kiss her, and then she hugged me.

“If something happens, he’ll be with me, Archer. I’ll have Juan forge the papers. Whatever it takes, I’ll raise him. Okay. Don’t worry about us. We’ll be safe.”

I nodded, but words wouldn’t come. “I love you.”

Thistle was next to me, and I knew he was silently telling me we needed to move. I let her go and stepped back.

“We’ll have six of our best follow them and stay out of sight until we know she’s safe in their territory.”

Dipping my head in thanks, I turned away, shutting my eyes. I heard the gravel crunch under her tires as she drove away from me.

The reality that my club was at war still hadn’t settled in, not entirely, until I arrived in the city and found that our club had been completely destroyed. I walked through the shattered glass and found all the pictures on our walls smashed, our pool tables tore up, our liquor bottles emptied.

My men were somber and angry. They were really fucking angry.

“How are we supposed to respond to this?” Dozer kicked at an upturned chair.

Buck was there, pulling up a table, and replied, “We fight.”

Yeah, but their operation was much bigger and far more lethal than ours. They had been planning this and preparing. They surely would have the numbers on their side. I could get a few allies in my back pocket to be on the safe side, but our club was far from any other clubs that might be an option. The only ones on my mind were those I had considered double-crossing after Simon Stone’s funeral.

I didn’t doubt that Killian Quinn wouldn’t want to solidify a stronger alliance by backing me up, but their club was too fragile and had gone through too much recently.

“We need to be smart about it. El Peligro's previous leader said something happened where our territory became theirs, and we’ve been essentially stealing from them ever since. I need to know what happened and with who.”

Thistle glanced over. “We can get, Ruth.”

She helped us with hacking skills when we needed them. She was an unofficial member of Mayhem Riot, but only when it suited her.

“Do it.”

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