Page 53 of The Gentleness of Rage

“Blame Gunner, he kept knocking me up with twins,” she replied.

“But Aria and Alyssa are twins, so that gene is yours, honey,” I stated.

Autumn opened an eye and looked and me.

“Yeah, it’s all Gunner’s fault,” I agreed.

The brothers kissed their women and kids goodbye. This was a hard moment. This might be the last time one of us saw our husbands and the children, their fathers. If we’d been alone, I’m sure we would have cried, but we had to be strong for the Hellions.

I puffed out my cheeks and gazed out the window at the five men standing by their bikes and our SUVs. The cars would be moved to a private parking lot for when we returned.

“Why am I on this flight?” I asked Lindsey, trying not to scream for the pilot to stop. The children were our priority. They mattered the most.

“We are the ones most experienced with weapons. We’re going to ensure we’ve got shit covered. A security team is meeting us there, but we need to be armed too and confirm the building is secure. The Hellions are fuckers for escaping, we gotta lock the hotel down properly.”

“Yeah. Fury might send someone after the kids,” I agreed.

“The group coming in is based in Texas. They are all ex-military that the Phoenix Trust has helped. So, they’re clear and good to go,” Lindsey stated.

“Trust no one,” I murmured, repeating my dad’s mantra. I felt a pang. I’d not had a chance to say bye to him, and Dad was staying with his former Delta Force colleagues to defend the city.

“Yeah. Hard in this current climate, isn’t it? We’re the front guard. We need to get stuff set up for everybody,” Autumn interrupted.

“So, let’s get shit done. But Sin sits on her pregnant ass. I can’t deal with her bitching,” I said, and everyone laughed.

It was a weak attempt. There wasn’t much humour to be found.

Chapter Eleven.

Jaelynn

Something was going on. Slate seemed pre-occupied this morning, and I knew he was worrying. I was wondering when to tackle it when Slate turned to me.

“Jaelynn, we’ve spoken about the trouble Rapid City is facing. That Fury wants a war to wipe us out?”

“Yes,” I replied. Slate had explained in detail what was happening. However, I felt safer here than fleeing to another state. Perhaps that was because I was quite confident that Slate wouldn’t let anyone harm me. The entire story Slate had told me was complicated, but it basically broke down into a nutjob thinking he was above the law. Obviously, this Fury also had an ego the size of ten Texas billionaires, too!

“Fury is on the move. Last night, we started moving the women and kids out. We are rotating the pilots, and the second lot’s flying out now. Those with families are going first, that also goes for our allies. Once they’ve gone, the old ladies without children are being moved. Babe, I want you on one of those flights,” Slate stated.

I sat down heavily in my armchair. “Slate, you really believe that this is that dangerous?”

“Jaelynn, even our allies are getting their loved ones out of state. Phoe bought a hotel for this purpose. Yeah, it’s that serious. James Washington flew out his family last night. Phoe is flying old ladies, allied families, hell, even cop’s relatives are being moved to safety.”

Anxiously, I leapt up and began pacing back and forth.

“The way you spoke about this, I didn’t take it seriously.”

“Jaelynn, there’s a fuckin’ army headed here. I want you on a plane. I need to be able to fight without worrying you’ve been hurt,” Slate said, holding my eyes.

“Slate, that’s for your old ladies and allies’ wives. They won’t let a girlfriend on a flight,” I replied. I began to wonder if I should rethink my own plans.

“Jaelynn, when a Rage brother falls for someone, and I mean cares deeply for them, they claim them. Not as property, but as somebody that holds their heart in their hands. I claimed you the moment you popped your pert backside off a stool and helped out with no scheme to benefit from it.

“Because of what happened in Jingle Jangles, I didn’t want to push or rush you. But we’re running out of time. In five days, I want you on the last flight, do you hear me? If they arrive sooner, then you will be shoved onto whichever flight we can arrange. But baby, you’ll be going as my old lady, do you understand?”

“No,” I said honestly.

“No?” Slate looked confused.

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