Page 13 of Bond

“We need to find the man a woman so he can have some sprogs of his own,” Bull mutters with amusement.

“You know that’s not how it works,” Noni tells him, slapping his shoulder. “It happens when it’s meant to happen.”

Smiling, I wrap my arm around Rochelle’s waist, tugging her slightly under my arm as I introduce her, “Bull, Noni, this is Rochelle.”

Noni smiled warmly and stepped up to Rochelle, “Welcome to the Crowthorne Crows, Rochelle,” she tells her, wrapping her arms around her in a warm hug. Rochelle’s shoulders relaxed at the warm welcome. I’d known she was nervous, but I’d also known there was nothing I’d be able to say that would stop her feeling like that. I had faith in the Crow women that they’d make her feel welcome, and I wasn’t wrong in my faith.

Noni let go of Rochelle but kept hold of her hand, turning towards Bull as she introduced him, “This is Bull, he’s my Old Man and the President of this club.” Bull smiles and shakes Rochelle’s hand.

Noni continues, “You’ve already met my brother, Rogue; he’s our Vice President, and Julia is my long-suffering sister-in-law.” Noni laughs, and the rest of us chuckle as Rogue crosses his eyes at his sister, sticking his tongue out. It was a purelychildish reaction, but it lightened the atmosphere. Julia stands and welcomes Rochelle just as warmly as Noni and Josie had.

Noni continues with the introductions, “You already know Josie and the guys.” She waves a hand at Cairo, Skinny, and Blaze before introducing the children, “The two older ones are Roman and Rosie—they’re Rogue and Julia’s two. Then you have mine and Bull’s—they are Van, Briana, Alana, and the baby in the pram is Samantha. And lastly, this is Grace, who I miss when she’s back at school. Grace looks after my brood for me,” Noni explains, wrapping an arm around Grace, who smiles shyly at Rochelle and waves.

“And that’s us,” Noni tells her, “You’ll get used to us. Come sit and have some lunch.”

Blaze handed Daisy back to me, and I settled her in the pushchair next to me. As I sat back and waited for the dishes to be passed around the table, it hit me at how content I was feeling; I’m not sure if I’ve ever felt like this. It’s a feeling I like, and as Rochelle absentmindedly settled her hand on my thigh as she chatted, I realised I’d do anything that I had to if it meant keeping this feeling. No matter what, I’d protect what was mine in any way that I had to.

CHAPTER 6

BULL

Leaning back in my chair at the head of the table in the conference room we were using as a temporary meeting room for Church while our new clubhouse was being built farther back on the property. Moving to Zambia and starting a new club had been a steep learning curve for all of us, and I’d had to lean hard on Reaper for those first few months. Noni had unfailing faith in me, and I didn’t want to let her down. Added in the fact that she’d been pregnant, which hadn’t been planned, had sent me into a tailspin at the thought of losing her like I’d lost Gwen.

We’d had to clean house those first few months, and it had been hard, especially learning the laws of a new country and what was acceptable. Luckily, we already had contacts who were born and brought up here. Dex Macgregor and his brothers, as well as Noni’s ex-bosses Ava and Marie and their husbands, had been happy to help with anything we needed, along with Dragon’s best friend, Cassie, who was also related to Dragon’s Old Lady. It had almost felt too easy, the way everything slotted into place. It was good to have allies in a strange country, even if sometimes the hair on the back of my neck stood up in their presence.

There was something about them, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was that always had me slightly on edge in their presence, even though they were the nicest people I’d met. Their families worked similarly to the way the MC worked, with Dexbeing in charge on the whole and most big decisions going through him, although they all worked together to run their businesses.

From what I understood, they all met once a month to go over their companies and to make decisions that benefited them all. I also had a feeling that they weren’t scared of getting their hands dirty if needed—not when it came to protecting their families and those that relied on them.

Although Noni had told me in no uncertain terms that we were never visiting them because there was something in their water—she was sure of it—that made them all have multiple births. I’d laughed but agreed that we’d stay on our side of the country.

As soon as Bond had called me yesterday, I’d put a call in to Dex to see if he knew anything about the Black Mambas. When he’d wanted to know why, I’d explained about Bond and Rochelle.

My thoughts turned to Bond; he’d always been quiet, and I’d known him for a very long time. He’d grown up on the same estate as Skinny and me. He’d been best friends with Skinny for years, and I thought of him as another younger brother. He’d got the name Bond when he joined the military alongside Skinny for the same reasons we did: to get off the estate we lived on. Although I think he’d had it even worse in his house than we did, he never said anything. But when a person preferred staying in our warzone over going home to his place, then you knew whatever he lived in wasn’t good.

That he hated dirt and untidiness, even on himself, spoke volumes. I’d often wondered if we should get him assessed for OCD, but Noni had said to leave him be; it wasn’t affecting him or the way he lived. That didn’t mean I didn’t worry about him, especially over the last year. It had taken some time, but I’d finally figured out that he’d met someone on one of his trips tothe city and that she wasn’t free to be with him. He’d withdrawn so much from everything that I was beginning to wonder if we should send him back to the UK for a bit, but something had held me back. We’d all kept an eye on him to make sure he didn’t fall too far.

I’d been surprised when he’d said he’d do the trip into the city yesterday. With the use of the plane we now had, there was no need for us to drive the three hours in and out, and we’d found a different supplier.

When he’d called, I’d been hard-pressed not to get on my bike and head towards the city to escort them back. I’d said so while I’d been on the call with Dex, but he’d told me to hang on and he’d have some of his guys who were already in the city follow them instead. Not that Bond had been aware of that. Dex had assured me that his people would only make themselves known if there was a threat.

None of us had been able to settle until we’d heard his vehicle park behind the hotel. Noni and Julia had held me and Rogue back, instead insisting that his closest brothers go and meet them along with Josie so it wouldn’t overwhelm them.

I could already see the difference in him last night when we’d checked in. Rogue had drawn the straw for this morning’s meet at breakfast to see what she was like. It didn’t surprise me in the slightest at how protective we all were over him, and the need to make sure that Rochelle was good enough for him had been eating at me, even though Rogue, Blaze, Skinny, and Cairo had all assured me that she was perfect for him. Added in the fact that he’d taken to her daughter like a duck to water helped settle me some.

Watching the two of them interact at lunch had me realising that they were completely in sync with each other after only a night.

Deep down, I knew I wouldn’t relax until we got rid of Rochelle’s brother-in-law because we’d have to if we wanted to protect her and keep her and Daisy safe. I knew deep in my heart that if something happened to either of them, we’d lose him.

The door of the conference room opened, and Noni came in smiling, her wild red hair hanging loose today, green eyes sparkling and her face clear of worries. “Hello, handsome,” she says, bending to kiss me. Threading my hand through her hair, I deepened our kiss when she went to pull away. “Fuck, Noni, you get more beautiful every day,” I mutter against her lips when I let her up for air. She laughed softly, pressing another kiss to my lips and replying with a soft, “Thank you,” before sitting down on my right. Rogue would sit on my left when he arrived, with Julia next to him and so on. I’d made sure there was an extra chair brought in for Rochelle earlier.

“What do you think?” I question.

“I like her; she’s had a hard time, but she hasn’t let it break her. I think she’s perfect for him, and he’s already bonded with her little one, who is gorgeous and so frigging tiny,” Noni answers, knowing exactly what I wanted to know.

“No!” I state unequivocally.

“Just one more,” she teases. And I knew she was teasing because we’d both agreed that the four children we had were more than enough. I don’t think my blood pressure could take it if we had to go through another pregnancy.

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